Webdiary - Founded and Inspired by Margo Kingston

"There will always be vulnerable people in our society and there will always be people who seek to profit from them. The only way that we can protect them and protect society by extension, is to have laws which can moderate and control behaviour. Making something illegal merely pushes it underground and into the hands of criminals." Roslyn Ross

"There is an ongoing underlying crisis for democracy in Queensland, and that is that there is no opposition, and that situation is for the time being entrenched institutionally." Hamish Alcorn

Solomon decides to go back to reviewing classic novels after all: "Kubrick played up the comedy in the novel and Lyne played up the tragedy. This speaks of something lacking in the work as a whole. The only genius of the work is in the selection of such a taboo topic, not in its execution – bar a few lines of brilliance."

"We need to reject “us-versus-them” logic, in which Israel is pure and the Arabs are evil (or vice versa). Every state in the region must embrace compromise and mutual respect as the basis of a lasting settlement. Israel will not be able to avoid territorial withdrawals to the 1967 borders by exercising its military might; the US will not be able to ensure oil security through continued military occupation in the Middle East; and terrorists will not be able to destroy Israel or foist their fundamentalist ideas by force on moderate societies." Jeffrey Sachs

"Was the ABC’s reason for pulling Jonestown, the unauthorised biography on the influential radio presenter Alan Jones, political or commercial? Was it the result of an ABC Board stacked with appointees who share the political interests of the incumbent government, or a board dominated by people with a narrow business outlook?" Glenys Stradijot

"The journey to enlightenment in Australia is by no means complete. But on the issue of sexuality, it has certainly commenced. As the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights told the recent conference in Montreal it is a matter of fundamental human rights and basic human dignity. In the end, it is not only about gays. It is about all people and the quality of freedom and mutual respect in the society that we want to live in. The momentum is unstoppable." Michael Kirby

"A progressive realist foreign policy would start with an understanding of the strength and limits of American power. The US is the only superpower, but preponderance is not empire or hegemony. America can influence but not control other parts of the world. Progressive realism requires America to prepare for the future by defining its national interest in a way that benefits all." Joseph S Nye

"The Japanese Prime Minister, Junichiro Koizumi, Minister is currently stirring the regional political pot with his repeated visits to the controversial Yasukuni shrine. TV news readers allude to the temple as housing the spirits of war criminals. Most Australians probably are wondering what all the fuss is about. After all John Howard is a shrine junkie, visiting any war shrine he can be photographed at.": Melody Kemp

"Last week we had the latest terror scare/media frenzy with the uncovering of the 'plot' in Britain to blow up multiple airliners over the United States. The lurid story told how, using a technique attempted in the 1990s but not previously on the radar in the post 9/11 media stories, well organised suicide bombers would breach airport security and simultaneously carry out their dreadful mission.": Tony Phillips

"Once again, protests against Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi’s annual visit to the Yasukuni shrine are breaking out in China as well as South Korea. Koizumi’s insistence on paying homage to the war dead interred at Yasukuni, where convicted war criminals from World War II are among the buried, has been damaging relations with Japan’s neighbors for years. Yet Koizumi remains defiant." Wenran Jiang

"Existing parties urgently need to recapture the support of citizens. To succeed requires programmatic clarity, organizational honesty, and an understanding of the concerns of societies that have lost their traditional structures. Those structures are gone forever, but a liberal-democratic order cannot succeed through situational politics built on popular resentments." Ralf Dahrendorf

"Damage to infrastructure and the environment will continue to be felt once hostilities cease. Of course, infrastructure can be rebuilt much more quickly than the environment can be restored or recover on its own. In the case of Lebanon, however, the two are closely linked, as much of the environmental damage comes from destroyed infrastructure.": Arne Jernelöv

"In light of this State’s proud victory in the battle to secure the Air Warfare Destroyer I thought it timely to provide you with a defence industry perspective of South Australia. As part of this discussion, I would like to give you a very brief overview of Raytheon Australia and our position in the defence market in order for you to be able to put my remarks in context." - Mr Ron Fisher, Managing Director Raytheon Australia, to The Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce.

"The migration bill before Parliament presents us with a litmus test; it gauges our commitment to what we discuss here as the human rights of ‘the other’ that is inseparable from the rights of the child." Stephen Smith
[UPDATE: The withdrawal of the bill doesn't reduce the importance of Stephen's arguments of principle ...]

"Tonight seems to be the eve of the hoped for ceasefire in the conflict in southern Lebanon and northern Israel.  If all falls into place tomorrow there is a real opportunity to make a play for a greater peace, if only the pause in hostilities can be translated into something longer lasting and further reaching.  Will all those involved in the immediate conflict, and more importantly the war by proxy behind it, just give peace a chance? Or is hope in what is possible only false promise and more probably the parties will be taking us to the brink again before the year is out?" Craig Rowley

"Lebanon’s reconstruction, so painstakingly carried out in the 1990’s, is now at risk of being undone. But Lebanon is not alone in that respect: according to the UN and several independent studies, countries in transition from war to peace face roughly a 50% chance of sliding back into warfare. ... Any transition to peace may well prove ephemeral unless policymakers make political reconciliation and integration – not optimal economic policies – the bedrock priority. Despite its failures, the UN is probably still the best-placed organization to oversee such efforts.": Graciana del Castillo

"Christianity in its many forms, Hindu and Muslim faiths, and traditional religions or beliefs, are of enormous influence in the Pacific, and anybody seeking to really understand the Region who ignores or neglects the very strong religious currents Out There is making a category (fatal) error. One of those currents concerns the impacts of contemporary fundamentalist or pentecostal, often US-origin or influenced, globalizing, often direct satellite broadcast delivered, 'religious' operations.": Dr Mark Hayes

"2006 brings us the political commentary that we deserve – The longest decade by George Megalogenis. It must be read by anyone who wants to be literate in contemporary politics, not, I suppose, because it brings anything new to the table but because these little excursions in to the recent past are necessary once in a while to quell our appetite for politics as entertainment." Solomon Wakeling

"Some days ago I received a photo of a young Israeli loading a DU shell into a tank, somewhere near the Lebanese border. To be exact it was a M829A3 120 mm APFSDS-T (High Explosive Anti Tank Multipurpose Shell with Tracer). While it looked as if it had been modified in Israel, it is one listed by ATK, with 10kg of DU as the warhead. ATK used to be known as Honeywell. The shells are fired from tanks, for instance the American supplied Abrams M1, usually against other armour plated vehicles. But interestingly neither Hamas nor Hezbollah have tanks ... the shells are being used to blast buildings like those in Qana - of which Beiruti artist and musician Mazen Kerbaj sighed: 'Qana was where Jesus turned water into wine. Now they are turning children into ash.'": Melody Kemp

" The failure hardly comes as a surprise: the United States and the European Union had long ago reneged on the promises they made in 2001 at Doha. Seldom have so many had to give up so much to protect the interests of so few." Joseph Stiglitz