Webdiary - Founded and Inspired by Margo Kingston

"Like many other traditional Chinese medicines, acupuncture has for many centuries been viewed suspiciously in the West. It seems to work, but how? Is a scientific answer possible?": Ming Liu

"The neo-liberal story may be true. But it is an excuse. It may not be true. Having witnessed Mexico’s slow growth over the past 15 years, we can no longer repeat the old mantra that the neo-liberal road of NAFTA and associated reforms is clearly and obviously the right one." J Bradford DeLong

"Without endangering those in China, news organizations could conclude deals with other companies to ensure that uncensored reports are echoed from one free server to the next, thereby defying China to filter the entire Internet if it wishes to eliminate content. Of course, news organizations operate as businesses, and defying powerful governments can be a bad business strategy.": Jonathan Zittrain

"That grand force of theological irrelevance and political violence called al-Qaida are obviously getting desperate. Their pope Usama bin Ladin is probably still living it up (if you could call it that) in a cave. And thanks to Sheik Phillip bin Ruddock, Rev Usama can’t even receive those secret communiqués from his alleged Aussie understudy Jihad Jack anymore." Irfan Yusuf

"Mr Board’s crucial role, however, was to ensure that no-one was ever told about the scheme or knew anything about it. He was vastly experienced in these things having already been sent on trade missions about which he knew nothing to places as far afield as Mesopotamia and Persia. Little Johnnie thought it was a pity that we didn’t have Imperial Honours anymore because Mr Board definitely deserved a knighthood for this one. The Treasury Secretary said it would be sufficient reward to put him on the Board of the ABC and make him a Governor of the Reserve Bank. Mr Board liked that idea very much as he hadn’t been sacked as a CEO for a long time and could do with the cash. " From Chapter IX of the Chronicles of Nadir, as told from the grave by Tom Lewis.

"President Bush recently invited journalists to imagine the world 50 years from now. He did not have in mind the future of science and technology, or a global population of nine billion, or the challenges of climate change and biodiversity. Instead, he wanted to know whether Islamic radicals would control the world’s oil. Whatever we are worrying about in 50 years, this will surely be near the bottom of the list. " Jeffrey Sachs

"9/11 is not only a moment in history – it is also a moment in television history. This leads us to our opening questions. Do we respond to the images themselves, or to what the images depict? And further, what part do these images play in cultural memory?": Stephen Smith

"On Saturday I had sat with my friend Bounthanh and we watched Thai TV, all the reporters in the mandatory acid yellow that indicates deep and abiding love for the Thai king. It must be particularly unnerving for the old boys and girls of the Lao Peoples’ Democratic Republic whose one party police state is run with an iron fist and an eye to the borders. The police presence in Vientiane yesterday was probably more closely linked to the Politburo having a feeling in their collective water about what was to come over the river and wanted to show the Lao people that a similar party was not theirs to have.": Melody Kemp

"Malaysian society is now gripped by a fundamental question: is the country, which is more than half Muslim, an Islamic state? In practice, various religious and ethnic groups give Malaysia a distinctly multi-cultural character. But the Malaysian constitution provides room for arguments on both sides of the question, and the relatively secular status quo is facing a serious challenge. " Maznah Mohamad

"The point is not that public confidence (or lack thereof) in an election outcome doesn’t matter. It does. But the broader picture – whether, as in Mexico, a country is able to continue to go about its business as its political institutions sort out the mess – matters far more. Unlike in Ukraine, investors have shrugged off the noisy demonstrations in Mexico City’s streets and remained focused on interest rates and fluctuations in the global economy. This suggests that governing principles and sturdy political institutions, not powerful individuals, have become the bedrock of Mexican governance. " Ian Bremmer

"The most alarming implication of genetic selection is that only the rich will be able to afford it. The gap between rich and poor will become a chasm that mere equality of opportunity will be powerless to bridge. That is not a future that any of us should approve. But avoiding this outcome will not be easy, for it will require that selection for genetic enhancement is either available to no one or accessible to everyone. ": Peter Singer

"America suffers an excess of the ‘real’. No one admits to any limit to impunity. From natural disaster in New Orleans to military disaster in Iraq, there is no reappraisal. The answer, it seems, is to create a new reality – add a new layer of illusion. In short, to further the state of self-delusion. Why are there gates and fences around Disney World? It is the only way to set it apart from the rest of the ‘real’ America." Stephen Smith

"Cinemas everywhere will soon be showing former US Vice President Al Gore’s film on global warming. “An Inconvenient Truth” has received rave reviews in America and Europe, and it will most likely gain a large worldwide audience. But, while the film is full of emotion and provocative images, it is short on rational arguments." Bjørn Lomborg

"John, on this anniversary I’m here to remind you that this re-writing of post-9/11 history is pure bullshit. A simple examination of the arguments had in those days reminds us all that we did not have to and indeed should not have invaded Iraq if we really wanted to win the global fight against terrorism; that many of us argued as much with every ounce of passion and clarity we could muster, at the time; that events have, largely, proved our arguments prescient and yours utterly, disastrously wrong." Jack Robertson

Senate Team Report for the sitting week beginning Monday 11 September 2006. Thanks to the Australian Democrat Senators.

"Globalization can be changed; indeed, it is clear that it will be changed. The question is whether change will be forced upon us by a crisis or result from careful, democratic deliberation and debate. Crisis-driven change risks producing a backlash against globalization, or a haphazard reshaping of it, thus merely setting the stage for more problems later on. By contrast, taking control of the process holds out the possibility of remaking globalization, so that it at last lives up to its potential and its promise: higher living standards for everyone in the world. " Joseph Stiglitz

"We're engaged in a global struggle -- and the entire civilized world has a stake in its outcome. America is a nation of law. And as I work with Congress to strengthen and clarify our laws here at home, I will continue to work with members of the international community who have been our partners in this struggle. I've spoken with leaders of foreign governments, and worked with them to address their concerns about Guantanamo and our detention policies. I'll continue to work with the international community to construct a common foundation to defend our nations and protect our freedoms." George Bush, President of the United States

"Was it really a war that started on September 11, 2001? Not all are happy about this American notion. During the heyday of Irish terrorism in the UK, successive British governments went out of their way not to concede to the IRA the notion that a war was being waged. “War” would have meant acceptance of the terrorists as legitimate enemies, in a sense as equals in a bloody contest for which there are accepted rules of engagement." Ralf Dahrendorf

"This year, the US will borrow roughly $800 billion to finance its trade deficit. Incredibly, the US is now soaking up roughly two-thirds of all global net saving, a situation without historical precedent." Kenneth Rogoff

August statistics and financials

"Every now and then I get these bulletins from the Democrats. Although they are quite clearly partisan, it also seems to me that they are an efficient summary of what is happening in the Senate, and might partially fulfil the original Federal 'Webdiary' function of Webdiary. So I'm publishing this one, which concerns the Bills and speeches expected this week. If people feed back that they think this is a good idea I'll make a habit of publishing these bulletins for us to discuss." Hamish Alcorn

"US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld once said that the measure of success in this war is whether the number of terrorists we are killing and deterring is larger than the number that the terrorists are recruiting. By this standard, we are doing badly. In November 2003, the official number of terrorist insurgents in Iraq was given as 5,000. This year, it was reported to be 20,000. As Brigadier General Robert Caslen, the Pentagon’s deputy director for the war on terrorism, put it, “We are not killing them faster than they are being created.”" Joseph S Nye