Webdiary - Founded and Inspired by Margo Kingston

"The Islamic leader’s summit was established to make the very tentative first step in greater co-operation between federal authorities and the various Muslim communities. With thirteen hand-picked Islamic leaders showing up (Sheikh al Din Hilaly was a noticeable absentee), this small goal was achieved... The summit was a PR coup for all concerned but when it comes to the Muslims, especially young Muslims, living in Preston, Auburn, and Lakemba nothing much has changed. When it comes to feelings of resentment on Australia’s ‘Arab street’, the dramatic upsurge in dog whistle politics and feral journalism during the last two weeks has widened the divide in Australian society." Iain Lygo

"Australia's harsh measures of keeping people locked up 'forever' have permanently damaged hundreds of people and broken their trust in what Australia has to offer and the confidence in a belief in their own ability to engage with and in society on the deepest level of their being. Demand for life-long psychiatric and psycho-social support services for the long-term detainees was not a part of the Georgiou deals. Just like Australia ignores life-long support for those in the Aboriginal community whose broken personal cultures and lifestyles - damage entirely due to the encroachment of white culture in their regional areas and its violent superimposition on Aboriginal culture - have driven them into alcoholism, Australia ignores that the policies themselves are to blame for the fact that we owe it to the political prisoners of Howard's attempt to win the 2001 election to have a full program of restorative justice, no matter what it costs to the budget." Jack H Smit

When I was in high school our high school German teacher, Siegfried Ramler, who had been an interpreter at the Nuremburg trials got hold of films of the Holocaust and showed them to the student body. It was memorable alright; to this day I can still see portions of it playing in my head. His point, the world should never again have such terrible events and he wanted all of us to be aware of what a misguided leader can do to his own people and other people. It has stayed with me since the moment I saw it along with the lesson that the danger can come from anywhere, but particularly from within one's own society, as happened to Germany of the 1930s and 1940s.

"I understand that Fairfax has received a number of complaints from people who contributed to my former WebDiary on the Fairfax website. Those complaints relate to an email sent to those contributors directing them to my new Webdiary. I wish to inform everyone that Fairfax was not responsible for sending those emails, which were sent on my behalf solely for information purposes." Margo Kingston

"Excewz moy, but as a Fusheries Offica, I thenk ewe hev too mini mini cockles in that fushin’ vissal. Yes, indeed our lives changed when two passenger planes were hijacked and driven into the World Trade Center towers in 2001. But did any of us envisage that this new interest in 'border security' would lead to an explosion in so-called “reality” television shows?" Polly Bush

Who reads other discussion forums? Those who have sought good political conversation will know they are very rare. Well mannered inclusive unmoderated political and social internet discussion forums that actively seek to accommodate all views on the spectrum are like thylacine. We hope they are out there but does anyone have a screenshot? Those who understand the quality and rarity of Webdiary recognise that it is impossible to achieve without some form of moderation.

It's difficult when you live here in Adelaide to comprehend how much of a nexus to southern hemispheric activities our insignificant little city has become, and was possibly planned to be since the end of the Second World War. In 1947, in his novel following his theories of geosynchronous orbit and satellite-based communications, Arthur C. Clark presumed that Britain would be the supreme extraplanetary power because of her control of Woomera. According to U.S. Homeland Security Consultant Scott Bates, Adelaide was mooted as the centre of humanity's nuclear-winter survival outpost at the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

"I hope that it will not be too late for Hicks, when our Senate resumes in September, for it to propose an appropriate opposition parties and independents’ consensus motion calling for due judicial process for Hicks either in an Australian or US civil court,  and registering a Senate view that the US military “court” does not meet that standard of procedural justice. Even if such a motion does not get the numbers to pass – and who knows, it might if more than one Coalition Senators abstains or absents himself/herself from the vote -  the very act of the Australian Senate voting on such a motion would send a powerful message in Canberra and Washington." Tony Kevin

"To be critical of globalism does not require an anti-globalisation stance, despite what some would have us believe (including the Howard Government). They'll go on pointing out that it's 'just trade' (which is really just the frame they prefer because it makes any opponent appear 'protectionist'), they'll carp on about inevitability (debunked yet again in John Ralston Saul's The Collapse of Globalism), and they'll smirk and say that it's nothing new (and we may ask: So what? Does that make critique of it taboo?)." Craig Rowley

Recently, my understanding of the nature of Webdiary and that of Fairfax suddenly and dramatically diverged, and as a result I ended my relationship with smh.com.au.

Webdiarists, please feel free to ask any questions you like about what happened and why in comments to this statement. I will answer all bona fide questions unless I am unable to do so due to legal considerations arising from the termination of my contract to write for, edit and publish Webdiary for smh.com.au for three years.

To suddenly uproot and take Club Chaos on the road to find a new home would be a mammoth challenge, and while many in the Club Chaos community seemingly embraced a Taking It To The Streets (TITTS) approach to life, whether the crowd would commute with the Pub’s relocation was always going to be risky.

Plus, the creation of a new kickarse pub meant the crowd would have to gather in temporary digs as the new and improved Club was built.

Yet Kingo had a dream - a field of dreams - that whispered, "if you build it, they will come".

"You just have to have an opinion and a desire to contribute its complimentary strengths to the constructive Webdiary mix. Nobody else on this planet can express the unique ideas in your head - claiming to know what you think, or aspire to, or mean, or believe, or hate, or are frightened by - except you. So long as you follow Margo’s house rules you are warmly welcome to do so. Share your ideas with the front bar crowd and you’ll soon learn why those who have been returning to drink here again and again for years are so loyal to the generous, tenacious, optimistic and bighearted publican leaning on the counter behind the bar."

As has been related by Margo elsewhere, one step on my journey to this place was a meeting with our local MP, Tony Abbott, to express our concerns about the way the war in Iraq had been handled. In that meeting Abbott said “if in the end there are no WMD and Iraq has a fundamentalist government, it won’t have been worth it”. We asked him if he was prepared to debate that in a public forum, and to his credit he said yes, and duly did – you can read a full transcript of the debate at the North Shore Peace and Democracy website.

When we came to advertise the debate with a media release, Margo pitched up in our dining room with a bottle of red and (with frequent breaks for her to nip outside for a smoke) we talked into the night about how hard it was getting to have real debate in Australian politics – both sides just shout slogans and issue soundbites that belittle or ignore the other side – and there almost always is a real point of concern in the view from the other side.

Holding my pen, though the ink has run dried,
But I know these walls will speak,
To tell to the world, all the things they try to hide,
The words and views that should be heard.

What have they done to my lovely country,
Why all the trees are so still?
The only birds that fly are those made of steel,
They flatten my mountains and my hills.

We've arrived in Futureworld now.  In this new world, the people will be empowered by technology to redress the power balance. For a long time, the powerful have been concentrating control.  Media in Australia is less diverse, less independent, and less interesting than ever. Politics seems more cynical than ever and business seems more ruthless than ever.  Media, politics and business work in ways that only a short time ago were considered unthinkable.

"I was going to write another piece for this new genesis of Webdiary, a piece about anger and my want to change the world and how Webdiary has allowed me to express my opinion to a large audience and why I was connected and driven to help change and extend the ideals and ethics of those who had been long term Webdiarists.

However, during the initial writing and the re-writing and editing the world changed. What is it that John Lennon said, "Life is what happens to you whilst busy making other plans"?" Marc MacDonald

"I sat at his funeral, listening to a liturgy that touched on war (the issue of Iraq's disarmament had reached a crisis; Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan occurred; we had been working with warriors), and the priest spoke about the way my colleague, my friend, had as a child written a moving plea for world peace. All the while I contemplated how I was living my own life. Reflecting on what small part I played in bigger things, and whether I was doing what is best. When I am called to account (or rather some priest recounts my deeds) what will be said?" Craig Rowley 

For years, I took no interest in political affairs or debate. It is far easier, in some ways, to take what is dished out by our leaders and just join the line at the checkout. But I found myself incensed at the latest Iraq invasion, and at the misleading manner in which our leaders swindled the public into supporting their neo-colonial resource war. Our other military engagements closer to home, in particular our involvement in East Timor, I found just as misleading and contrived, as it too smelt of neo-colonial greed over vital resources.

Those who profess to favour freedom, and yet deprecate agitation, are people who want crops without ploughing up the ground. They want rain without thunder and lightning and they want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters:

This struggle may be a moral one; or it may be a physical one; or it may be both moral and physical; but it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them, and these will continue till they are resisted.

As the new age of the internet public media continues to dawn it is indeed exciting to be part of the new digital world of socially responsive and interactive journalism. Like the universe itself there are many uncharted regions here and the patrons of Club Chaos are going to have to get used to some new rides and some new drinks.

If we were immortal we could contemplate knowing it all. We could harbour ambitions of total understanding and comprehension of all things. We could pretend that we, as individuals, seek the truth. It might even be some kind of race: which immortal can reach Nirvana first? Our mortality says to us, quite simply, ‘Forget it, you’ll be dead before you’ve really started’.

G'day. In March this year I advised Webdiarists in Club Chaos general meeting that I could no longer cope with Webdiary on my own, and several people offered to help. Discussions continued in comments to Club Chaos GM: my thoughts, Jack R to pull beers at Club Chaos and Upgrading Webdiary: a call for volunteers. When it became clear that Webdiary would need to go independent to pursue its vision interested Webdiarists rallied to make it happen.

I'm the buck stops here person. I set the overall direction for Webdiary and have overall responsibility for the content of the site and the direction we take. Harry Heidelberg created our temporary home and threw a sensational 5th anniversary party for Webdiary which brought those of us dreamers who could get to Sydney a chance to meet for the first time. Jack Robertson was contributing editor at a crucial time - the time when I would have given up without assistance to meet the demands and expectactions of Webdiarists. Hamish Alcorn is our transition manager, Kerri Browne is our comments manager, Marc Macdonald is our strategist and PF Journey has taken charge of the challenging task of working out how to make Webdiary financially sustainable. David Roffey is our troubleshooter and Polly Bush is our official historian and pisstaker. Caroline Compton looks after planning and administration. Carl Baker is our website designer. Ian McPherson, David Browning , Nigel Sim and James Woodcock are building our permanent home and Roger Fedyk is our archivist. John Augustus found me a fantastic lawyer and David Roffey, Roger Fedyk, Craig Rowley, Michael Ekin Smyth and Caroline Compton pitched in to edit comments.

We haven't finalised the structure of the independent Webdiary yet, and I'll let you know all about it as soon as we do. Webdiary is not a a political party, a lobby group or a charity. It is not lefty and it is not righty. The priority here is independent media.

If you'd like to join the team, or help in any capacity you wish, let me know.

Margo Kingston

G'day Webdiarists, and thank you for visiting Club Chaos at this chaotic time.

While we're here, please let me know about any hassles you have using the facilities by posting  a comment. And if you're a Moveable Type whiz who has ways to improve on what we've done, please post!

A small team of  volunteer technical whizes are building Webdiary a new and permanent open-source home (if you'd like to help let me know) and after we move in we'll develop your ideas and mine to further Webdiary's Charter. Webdiarists, we've now got our hands on the levers of  content AND and the publishing platform. If we build the foundations right for Webdiary's home I reckon we'll have fun creating it together.

Come back any time,

Kingo

kingstonmargo@yahoo.com.au

MARGO NOTE: I am reviewing my charter in the light of the move. All input welcome.

First published April 26, 2001, in Webdiary entry "What's the point?"

I believe:

* that widely read broadsheet newspapers are essential to the health and vibrancy of our democracy

The mission of the Webdiary is:

* to experiment in the form and content of the Herald online

MARGO NOTE: Webdiary's ethics remain the same, save that the Sydney Morning Heralds' ethics guidelines no longer apply. I have therefore deleted references to that document.

I want you to trust Webdiary. Trust is the ideal at the core of all professional ethics codes, which are guidelines for conduct which aim to achieve that ideal. I'm a journalist bound by a code of ethics drafted to apply to traditional journalism. I've adapted the code to meet the responsibilities of running Webdiary, and set out guidelines for your contributions. These guidelines are always open for discussion and debate on Webdiary and can be clarified and added to as issues arise.

My obligations

1. I will strive to comply with the Media Alliance codes of ethics, which will be in a prominent position on this site at all times.

2. In particular, I will correct errors of fact on Webdiary as soon as possible after they are brought to my attention and will disclose and explain any inadvertent breach of my ethical duties on Webdiary at the first available opportunity.

3. I will respond on Webdiary to all non-frivolous queries or complaints about my compliance with the codes and give a copy of queries or complaints to the online editor.

4. I will not belittle or show disrespect for any reader's contributions I publish, or to any person who emails me.

5. I will do my utmost to ensure that Webdiary is a space to which all readers, whatever their views or style, feel safe to contribute. If you are offended by something in Webdiary, feel free to respond. I won't publish any material which incites hatred.

6. I will let you know when archives have been changed except when changes do not alter their substance, for example corrections to spelling or grammar. I will amend archived Webdiary entries to include corrections of fact and advise you accordingly.

7. I won't publish all publishable emails, but I will read every one unless there's too many to reasonably do so in the time available. If I haven't been able to read all emails, I'll let you know on Webdiary.

8. My decisions on publication will be made in good faith, without bias towards those I agree with or am sympathetic towards.

9. I reserve the right to edit contributions.

10. I will publish most contributions made in good faith which are critical of Webdiary's content or direction, or of me.

My expectations of you

As a journalist I have ethical obligations to readers; as a contributor you do not. Still, there's a few guidelines I'd like you to follow. David Davis, who's read and contributed to Webdiary from its beginning and helped draft these guidelines, explains why. "Webdiary encourages free and open debate. The guidelines for contributors are not designed to curtail this, but to remind you that just as you live in a community in the real world, the same is true in the online world. Being part of a community carries many rights, but there are responsibilities. Rather than eroding the rights, these responsibilities actually protect them."

1. If you don't want to use your real name, use a nom de plume and briefly explain, for publication, why you don't want to use your real name. Please send me your real name on a confidential basis if you choose to use a nom de plume. I will not publish attacks on other contributors unless your real name is used.

2. Disclose affiliations which you think could reasonably be perceived to affect what you write. For example, if you are writing about politics, disclose your membership of a political party.

3. Don't plagiarise, that is don't use the ideas of others without telling us where they came from, and don't copy the writings of others and pass them off as your own. There's no need. Put quotes around the words of other people, and tell us who they are and where you got them from. If you've used online sources for your contributions, include the links so others can follow them up.

4. Be truthful. Don't invent 'facts'. If you're caught out, expect to be corrected in Webdiary.

5. Robust debate is great, but don't indulge in personal attacks on other contributors.

6. Write in the first person. Remember, we're having a conversation here.

Complaints

I am bound by the code of ethics of the Media Alliance union, of which I am a member. The Alliance code follows. To complain about a breach of the code, contact me and/or the Media Alliance. To comment on, question or complain about Webdiary's ethics, post to this entry and I will respond as soon as possible.

MEDIA ALLIANCE CODE OF ETHICS

Respect for truth and the public's right to information are fundamental principles of journalism. Journalists describe society to itself. They convey information, ideas and opinions, a privileged role. They search, disclose, record, question, entertain, suggest and remember. They inform citizens and animate democracy. They give a practical form to freedom of expression. Many journalists work in private enterprise, but all have these public responsibilities. They scrutinise power, but also exercise it, and should be accountable. Accountability engenders trust. Without trust, journalists do not fulfil their public responsibilities. MEAA members engaged in journalism commit themselves to

* Honesty

* Fairness

* Independence

* Respect for the rights of others

1. Report and interpret honestly, striving for accuracy, fairness and disclosure of all essential facts. Do not suppress relevant available facts, or give distorting emphasis. Do your utmost to give a fair opportunity for reply.

2. Do not place unnecessary emphasis on personal characteristics, including race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, age, sexual orientation, family relationships, religious belief, or physical or intellectual disability.

3. Aim to attribute information to its source. Where a source seeks anonymity, do not agree without first considering the sources motives and any alternative attributable source. Where confidences are accepted, respect them in all circumstances.

4. Do not allow personal interest, or any belief, commitment, payment, gift or benefit, to undermine your accuracy, fairness or independence.

5. Disclose conflicts of interest that affect, or could be seen to affect, the accuracy, fairness or independence of your journalism. Do not improperly use a journalistic position for personal gain.

6. Do not allow advertising or other commercial considerations to undermine accuracy, fairness or independence.

7. Do your utmost to ensure disclosure of any direct or indirect payment made for interviews, pictures, information or stories.

8. Use fair, responsible and honest means to obtain material. Identify yourself and your employer before obtaining any interview for publication or broadcast. Never exploit a persons vulnerability or ignorance of media practice.

9. Present pictures and sound which are true and accurate. Any manipulation likely to mislead should be disclosed.

10. Do not plagiarise.

11. Respect private grief and personal privacy. Journalists have the right to resist compulsion to intrude.

12. Do your utmost to achieve fair correction of errors.

Guidance Clause

Basic values often need interpretation and sometimes come into conflict. Ethical journalism requires conscientious decision-making in context. Only substantial advancement of the public interest or risk of substantial harm to people allows any standard to be overridden.

*

For a comprehensive discussion of Webdiary ethics, see my piece Webdiary's ethics.

Feel free to post information and links below.

"This issue has an iconic substance about it that really means that the ramifications of my decision affects my whole party, the party that I represent. Whether it goes forward. Whether it survives or not. And to be completely frank, if the National Party was not to survive, the Australian political environment would become a very much poorer place. It would become very bipolar. You'd really only need four people in the chamber and everyone else could go home. We have to make sure we get this right, not just for Queensland, not just for the future of the National Party, but for the future of a broader view in the political scene in Australia's future."...

"I am not an abortion debate expert, I haven’t talked to 500,000 people about this issue in a clinical study. I do not know how prevalent these views are among the pro-choice crowd, nor do I claim that I am covering everything in this article. I would appreciate your input into the debate, so long as it is both rational and keeping to a general standard of respect for both sides of this debate – including both the people and their views. You can disagree, passionately, or agree vehemently, but civility will be prized, while ad hominem will not." Stuart Lord

Joyce has harnessed people power to stop the sale by convincing very cynical voters that he was different. Then he proved to be the same, almost in an INSTANT! Re-read his maiden speech just 2 days ago, the day after after he was supposed to have been just about won over by the big boys in the Coalition. The Telstra story isn't over yet, folks. Icarus Joyce will get so many emails and irate contact in other forms from pissed off Ozzies he'll either change his mind or collapse as a centred human being.

"Ideologically, the Australian nation is no longer committed to social democratic or socialist ideals of a kind that were often seen to be the cutting edge of practical socialism in the antipodean British colonies a century ago." Bob Catley believes November 11, 1975 "ended the high water mark of the political left in Australia" and began "the transformation of Australia from a regulated economy and egalitarian society embracing a national political culture of social democracy, to a predominantly liberal economy, a more inegalitarian society, and a laissez faire national ideology".