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Recent Comments

Fiona Reynolds: Who takes care in Summer holidays ... 1 week 6 days ago
John Pratt: Merry Christmas in Summer holidays ... 1 week 6 days ago
Ernest William Graham: Terrific title in Hatred and Fear vs Hope and Freedom 1 week 6 days ago
Marilyn Shepherd: Alga, you do go on in What happened to Akram al Masri 1 week 6 days ago
Marilyn Shepherd: Ah, Franklin so here you are in What happened to Akram al Masri 1 week 6 days ago
Ernest William Graham: And their alternative? in Kevin's bedtime story 1 week 6 days ago
Scott Dunmore: Good to see in Kevin's bedtime story 1 week 6 days ago
Submitted by admin on November 11, 2011 - 12:11pm.
About Webdiary
Who we are, how to register, how to comment, editorial policy, etc.
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Submitted by admin on December 24, 2008 - 8:43pm.
Summer holidays ...
... Webdiary and its moderators are off on a frolic, chilling, recharging, what you will.
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Submitted by Democratic Audit on December 18, 2008 - 2:17pm.
Democratic Audit Update December 2008
The latest update from the Democratic Audit program at Swinburne on how our democracy is working.
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Submitted by Marilyn Shepherd on December 18, 2008 - 1:48pm.
What happened to Akram al Masri
One of the favourite statements made by the [former] Minister is that “people in detention can go home anytime they choose to co-operate with Australian authorities”. But the cases of Akram al Masri and three other Palestinians gave us an excellent opportunity to claim release on a writ of habeas corpus due to the inability of the Minister to have other countries co-operate with his plans.
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Submitted by Richard Tonkin on December 17, 2008 - 2:33am.
Famous last words: "So what if the guy threw a shoe at me?"
 Once upon a time, as the Coalition forces gathered at the Kuwait/Iraq border, a publicist brought along some representative national flags and placed them in the hands of invading soldiers.  This provided an image of international unity behind the invading of Iraq to sieze Saddam's Weapons of Mass Destruction.  Now, whether it be by accident or design (I prefer to think the latter) the Iraqi cameraman has given the U.S. a living flag, representing resentment of perceived injustice.
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Submitted by Hamish Alcorn on December 16, 2008 - 11:28pm.
Saving the World Part 2: Literacy
Malthus was wrong as demographers well know. It’s well known that the projections Malthus made of the English population failed to unfold, and the steep upward curve of population plateaued and now actually creeps downward, not just in England but in many parts of the World.  We know perfectly well what the key factor is in causing that plateau, and it’s not affluence as such, it’s not telling the Catholics to shut up (Ireland and Italy have among the lowest fertility rates in the World), it’s not giving out free condoms and abortions, it’s not an authoritarian imposition of small families, and it has nothing to do with immigration. It’s teaching women to read.
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Submitted by Guest Contributor on December 15, 2008 - 7:37pm.
Lack of action on climate change
Not only is today's announcement deeply flawed and short-sighted policy, one that all but ignores the science and economics of what is at stake, but it is also – and you must know this – a deliberate betrayal of the democratic process by the ALP and you personally.
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Submitted by Guest Contributor on December 12, 2008 - 1:46am.
Hatred and Fear vs Hope and Freedom
"We've disrupted plots to attack our homeland. We have captured or killed hundreds of al Qaeda leaders and operatives in more than two dozen countries -- including the man who mastermind the 9/11 attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.  The terrorists continue to pose serious challenges, as the world saw in the terrible attack in Mumbai last month. Al Qaeda's top two leaders remain at large. Yet they are facing pressure so intense that the only way they can stay alive is to stay underground. The day will come, the day will come when they receive the justice they deserve." - U.S. President George W. Bush
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Submitted by Richard Tonkin on December 12, 2008 - 12:09am.
Kevin's bedtime story
This crash is beginning to hit the fan at levels that many have expected since its commencement, and meanwhile the PM's delivering a show that should be on air between Teletubbies and Sesame Street.
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Submitted by Guest Contributor on December 10, 2008 - 1:55pm.
The chance of a lifetime
Today, as we celebrate the 60th anniversary of the UN Declaration of Human Rights, we've been given a once in a lifetime opportunity to ensure that human rights are finally protected in Australia. (GetUp)
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Submitted by Guest Contributor on December 8, 2008 - 3:35pm.
A hoax call that could have triggered war
Nuclear-armed Pakistan went into a state of ‘high alert’ last weekend and was eyeing India for possible signs of military aggression, after a threatening phone call made to President Asif Ali Zardari by someone from Delhi who posed himself as the Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee. Whether it was mere mischief or a sinister move by someone in the Indian external affairs ministry, or the call came from within Pakistan, remains unclear, and is still a matter of investigation.
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Submitted by Marilyn Shepherd on December 7, 2008 - 9:24am.
Human Rights Overboard
For all those who want an explanation for this cruelty it seems to come down to a statement made by Philip Ruddock to the Los Angeles Times in April 2002 “if you come separately, you are not entitled to family reunion”. The result is there for all the world to see.
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Submitted by Andrew Glikson on December 2, 2008 - 2:22pm.
Dangerous climate change: Lessons from the recent history of the atmosphere
According to Anderson and Bows (2008) it may be too late to arrest climate change by reduced carbon emission alone. Humanity needs to fast-track development of techniques for atmospheric CO2 down-draw to levels c. 350 ppm and below (Hansen et al., 2008). (Andrew Glikson)
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Submitted by Hamish Alcorn on November 27, 2008 - 12:01am.
Ecological Keynesianism
Forests pump salt back down into the ground. They retain water to minimise flooding and feed the water into the water-table over a much longer period of time, as well as through condensation contributing further to precipitation, thus pushing back desertification. They stop erosion and rebuild soil. They lock up millions of tons of carbon, provide habitat and corridors for creatures of foot and wing, deal with all manner of toxins in highly creative ways, and produce oxygen. They keep rivers alive.
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Submitted by Malcolm B Duncan on November 24, 2008 - 1:14pm.
The Howard Drears: Episode One
Let’s take it from the top. Fran Kelly put this project together and she is well respected by other journalists (an interesting enough tale in itself). In my view she hasn’t done a very good job but when all you have to do is sit back and watch a bunch of self-important dimwits who’ve never done a decent day’s work in their lives commit hara kiri in front of you, I guess you lose the incentive to try any harder.
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Submitted by Richard Tonkin on November 24, 2008 - 4:01am.
A Presidential Pardon for David Hicks?
In doing so, they've shown the control order as unnecessary.  The idea of asking the AFP for the order was passed to the South Australian Government by our Foreign Minister, Bush sycophant Alexander Downer.  There are two perceivable useful political purposes for such an order.  One is that it showed the South Australian public that Hicks was a bad man that needed watching.  The other is that it showed the world that another government was prepared to participate in the Guantanamo military tribunal system by honouring its findings. 
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Submitted by David Roffey on November 19, 2008 - 1:18pm.
No earnings, no price
"If you give me $1, I promise to give you 15¢". The SMH can't understand why people aren't taking up this outstanding offer. I think I can ...
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Submitted by Mark Sergeant on November 18, 2008 - 12:34am.
Predicting the Haneef inquiry
I want to get my predictions on the record before the event. A little bit of ego, but mostly as a test of how well I have understood the events, the submissions, and the workings of the Inquiry. Others may want to make their own test.
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Submitted by Richard Tonkin on November 16, 2008 - 10:43pm.
Leaking Rudd, lying Tampa and ships that pass in the night
While this smokescreen runs across the media, defence bosses are coming out ahead of the ABC doco on Howard's government and saying that Tampa was a lie.  Oh, and by way we shouldn't have gone to Iraq.  And the reaction?  Stuff-all. The yin-yang of the Liberal-Labor stories is turning into the two snakes eating each other's tail.  The quiet castigation of the Howard government's two thronged attack on the people of the  Middle East is sneaking past us in the smog.
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