I think he may have buggered up Shakespeare as well

For every scene of the bloody harpooning or the dragging of a whale up the ramp on our TVs, why have they not paid for 15-second grabs, immediately following, featuring two or three of the appalling scenes described by Mirko Bagaric ("Not having a whale of a time behind the farm fence", February 21)? Pretty soon we'd be eating a lot more whale meat, or we'd all be vegetarians. Alan Cook Merewether It is impossible to disagree with Mirko Bagaric when he condemns human cruelty to animals by asserting: ''Suffering is suffering. It is always ugly. It is always unwelcome. It always needs to be stopped. There are no exceptions. A person with the capacity but not the inclination to cease suffering is morally incomplete.'' But isn't this the same Mirko Bagaric who has argued for exceptions to the prohibition against torturing humans: ''The belief that torture is always wrong is, however, misguided and symptomatic of the alarmist and reflexive responses typically emanating from social commentators'' (''The 'yes' case can outweigh the 'no''', May 17, 2005). If there is no logical basis for ranking animal pain lower than its human equivalent, inflicting pain on humans is equally illogical. John Sneddon Ashgrove (Qld)Charity workers The federal government has granted Mission Australia, in partnership with the multinational Navitas, the lion's share of the Adult Migrant English Program from the middle of this year. Does this mean we can look forward to underpayment of staff in education as well as in community welfare (''Mission Australia kept funds from staff'', February 21)? Annette Finlayson East Rosetta Stone Spanish (Latin America) Corrimal No forcing freedom The tragic loss of another young Australian soldier in Afghanistan coincides with revolution on the street in various Arab states. There, people have had enough of oppression. They demand freedom, and may possibly secure it by their own efforts. Foreigners could not have achieved this, even if they wished to. Nor can we, as foreigners, do it in Afghanistan. Amanda Findlay Elizabeth BayThick as thieves Should the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission take NAB's official ''break-up'' announcement from the other big banks as an admission that there was something far too cosy in the previous relationship? Richard Hale PaddingtonSure to hate Gatsby Baz Luhrmann plans to remake The Great Gatsby, and the taxpayers may be helping him (''Gatsby heads to town with hand in government pocket'', February 21). This is the man who made the pretty average, but colourful Strictly Ballroom, the awful but colourful whatever it was about Paris in the 19th century and the hideous Australia. Now he is playing around with one of the great novels of the 20th century. I think he may have buggered up Shakespeare as well. If God exists, and She reads the Letters page, please don't let this happen. Michael Ingram Cowra Woolly-minded I loved the story on the intelligence of sheep (''Sheep aren't stupid after all? That's something to ruminate on'', February 21). I note the researcher used Welsh mountain sheep - I would start to give it some credibility if she could replicate the results with Australian merinos. John Martin Allandale Sheep may be able to plan ahead, but my cat Raffy is looking forward to using his platinum credit card, an offer for which was recently sent to Mr Raffy Kerr, East Balmain, by American Express.

Posted in: Rosetta Stone,Rosetta Stone Outlet,rosetta stone software,Rosetta Stone V3