Webdiary - Founded and Inspired by Margo Kingston

"Murray Bookchin, political philosopher and activist, died last Sunday aged 85." Obituary by Hamish Alcorn.

"The Migration Amendment (Designated Unauthorised Arrivals) Bill is the most profoundly disturbing piece of legislation I have encountered since becoming a member of parliament.": Petro Georgiou
"Mr Speaker this legislation ... is not a matter between conscience and patriotism. For surely each one is worthless without the other and ethical principles should inform them both.": Judy Moylan

"The debates I heard yesterday around Telstra’s decision not to spend $4 billion providing fibre to the node infrastructure see-sawed around Telstra as the big baddie with big prices on the one hand versus Telstra as home to Mum and Dad shareholders on the other. Shareholders who shouldn’t be forced, through imposed price regulation, to donate their capital to the profits of the overseas multinationals that are Telstra’s competitors. On the whole I find myself more or less in agreement with the Telstra position.": Tony Phillips

"In the years of the American war in Indochina, the tiny landlocked country of Laos became the most heavily bombed country on earth. Some 30 million tonnes of bombs rained down on the population of Lao in a deluge of death and destruction. And still, each year at least 400 Laos are killed by Unexploded Ordnance (UXO). Not mines, as in Cambodia, but unexploded bombs, missiles, and bombies - brightly coloured anti personnel cluster bombs particularly attractive to children. It is fitting in a time of media dominance of events like war, and our increasingly short term memory for horror, to remind ourselves that long after CNN packs its cameras, BBC reporters take off their flak jackets, and the ABC has filed the footage, the aftermath of war goes on. And on. And on." Melody Kemp

"In August 1981, IBM introduced the 5150 personal computer. It was not really the first personal computer, but it turned out to be 'The PC,' and it revolutionized not just business life, but also the way people thought about the world. No good deed goes unpunished: by making the PC, IBM practically destroyed itself as a company. Its innovation gave rise to a huge number of new and dynamic companies, forcing IBM to reinvent itself completely in order to compete with them – just one example of the socially transformative effects of the PC. ": Harold James

"Americans tend to talk a lot about morality and justice. But most Americans still fail to realize that their country’s refusal to sign the Kyoto protocol, and their subsequent business–as-usual approach to greenhouse gas emissions, is a moral failing of the most serious kind. It is already having harmful consequences for others, and the greatest inequity is that it is the rich who are using most of the energy that leads to the emissions that cause climate change, while it is the poor who will bear most of the costs. ": Peter Singer

"Burma is failing miserably to live up to the standards of decency that the Southeast Asian region is setting for itself. The military remains firmly in control, the rule of law is absent, and the government refuses to admit to the systematic sexual violence committed by its soldiers as they terrorize the population. All of Burma’s people deserve security, and refugee women and girls who have experienced gender-based violence need the world’s solidarity and support. ": Teresa Kok Suh Sim, Nursyahbani Katjasungkana and Eva K. Sundari

"In judging Fitzgerald, it is necessary to look at his work in its entirety, acknowledging that his later virtues for the most part make up for his earlier vices. Racism may be wrong but racists are still people, complex and changeable. Some prejudices may be unclear to the casual observer, forming part of the common ethos of the time. Fitzgerald's work shows a late-blooming but rising awareness of race issues and the injustice perpetrated by racial stereotypes. If we are not judged by our most mature moments, by what should we be judged?": Solomon Wakeling

"It is appalling that the world has decided to blame the United States for the crushing end to five years of global trade talks last month (the so-called "Doha round"). I am the first to admit that the US under President George W. Bush has not covered itself with multilateral glory in recent years. But accuse America of sabotaging the trade talks? Give me a break.": Kenneth Rogoff

"Students across the nation – Jewish, Muslim, Catholic and Baha’i – have announced a united national prayer chain for peace in response to the growing and increasingly serious nature of the middle-east conflicts. The student groups call on all Australians to pray together in unity for peace in the Middle East, particularly in Lebanon and Israel, that we may encounter one another in harmony, having deep concern for the victims of violence, and for all those who suffer. We hope that all may be inspired by the wisdom of peace, the strength of justice and the joy of fellowship." Media Release from The Australasian Union of Jewish Students, The Muslim Students Association of Australia, The Australian Catholic Students Association and the National Baha’i Youth Committee.

"The wars in Lebanon and Gaza constitute a grave threat to democratic reform in the southern Mediterranean. These wars are inflicting heavy punishment on precisely those peoples who have held fully free and fair elections in the region, while eroding the legitimacy of Israel’s democracy.": Álvaro de Vasconcelos

A Statement on the Middle East by Canberra’s Church leaders

"Albert Camus's The Outsider is usually billed as a disturbing work about, well, an outsider. Meursault is nothing of the sort. He is a normal person. He could be one of Howard's battlers. His attitude to life is one that ignores social stigmas. Most people do.": Solomon Wakeling

July statistics and financials.