Webdiary - Founded and Inspired by Margo Kingston

"It is our obligation as Japan’s most influential newspaper to tell our readers who was responsible for starting the Sino-Japanese War and the Pacific War." So writes Tsuneo Watanabe, Editor-in-Chief of Japan’s (and the world’s) most widely circulated newspaper, Yomiuri Shimbun, in the introduction to the book From Marco Polo Bridge to Pearl Harbor: Who Was Responsible.

"There is an urgent need to change government policies so that providing services for people with mental disabilities in the community is the norm rather than the exception. Such services must be accessible to everyone who needs them. And governments must reallocate resources from institutions -- and the bureaucracies that have a vested interest in preserving their positions -- to organizations that support community-based living." Dragan Lukic and Judith Klein

"Looking back, it is ironic that the Chinese government’s draconian "one-child" policy, imposed in 1979, was implemented at the same time as the "open door" policy, aimed at capturing labor-intensive foreign manufacturing investment. While both policies must be regarded as successes, over the years the family planning program has contributed to an aging population that may diminish China’s attractiveness as a low-cost, labor-intensive manufacturing hub.": Friedrich Wu

Dr Hayes spent the second 'coup week' of December 11 - 15, 2006, continuing to produce special daily editions of his Pacific News Wrap - 'Mo oe mai i le Pasifika (For you, from the Pacific)'

"To explain the gap between Europe and the US on farm animal welfare, we should look to the political system. In Europe, the concerns of voters about animal welfare have been effective in influencing members of national parliaments, as well as members of the European Parliament, resulting in national legislation and EU directives that respond to those concerns. In the US, by contrast, similar concerns have had no discernible effect on members of Congress. There is no federal legislation at all on the welfare of farm animals – and very little state legislation, either.": Peter Singer

Dr Hayes spent the 'coup week' of December 4 - 8, 2006, producing special daily editions of his Pacific News Wrap - 'Mo oe mai i le Pasifika (For you, from the Pacific)' - for the subscriber-only alert and digest service, The Daily Briefing. Webdiary publishes those daily Fiji Coup/Crisis Special Editions with kind permission from Dr Hayes and The Daily Briefing, as a unique account of the first week of the year's major story from the Pacific.

"What will G-8 summit meetings be like when American President Hillary Clinton and French President Ségolène Royal join German Chancellor Angela Merkel in a formidable triangle of women’s power?": Ralf Dahrendorf

"When the Soviet Union collapsed, many predicted the end of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Yet a few weeks ago, NATO held its summit meeting in the Latvian capital of Riga, formerly part of the USSR.": Joseph S Nye

"When is the United States going to wake up to what is happening in Latin America? The growing influence of Venezuela’s leftist president, Hugo Chávez, is casting a dark shadow over the region.": Kenneth Rogoff

"China is dangerously near a crisis point. The country’s enormous environmental debt will have to be paid, one way or another. China must exercise the foresight needed to begin paying this debt now, when it is manageable, rather than allowing it to accumulate and, ultimately, threaten to bankrupt us all.": Pan Yue, China State Environmental Protection Administration

" I decided an 'allegorical' approach might be a better one to take with regard to some of the 'hot-button' issues that come up repeatedly on Webdiary. I would like to try an experiment, with the consent and cooperation of the editors and other Webdiarists.": Will Howard

"With Congress lost to the Democrats and exit polls showing six in ten voters opposed to the Iraq war, Bush finally fired Donald Rumsfeld, his disastrous secretary of defense. But while Americans gave the Bush low marks on the war in Iraq, polls show that they still support him on the struggle against terrorism. Unfortunately, America is not winning the "war on terrorism." An official National Intelligence Estimate confirmed that more jihadist terrorists are being recruited than the US is killing.": Joseph S Nye

"Taiwan’s Public Prosecutor has indicted the wife of President Chen Shui-bien for embezzling public funds. Chen, as a sitting president, cannot be indicated even though the prosecutor says that he has evidence to prove his guilt. But Chen’s legacy was already in tatters.": Sin-ming Shaw

Democrats have passed the 218 seats for firm (not just projected) control of the House. In the Senate, Allen has now conceded Virginia, so Democrats control both houses. See Tony Phillips' discussion of what this means below ... (Even though he didn't predict Rummy falling on his sword).

"The emerging result is not something to get overly excited about, since it does not of itself end the war in Iraq, change US policy on climate change, or even reverse the growing inequality of the country. However, it does raise a number of possibilities and scenarios for both the US and John Howard’s all the way with George W foreign policy.": Tony Phillips

"It has not always been comfortable for those in government, and there is still a tug-of-war over sensitive documents. But, in the former communist bloc, the benefits brought by transparency have been undeniable. At the same time, Romania’s experience demonstrates that official secrecy remains a threat to the core values of democratic governance, and that only constant vigilance, in both established and young democracies, can prevent its encroachment.": Monica Macovei

"Hu, Wen, and the rest of the top leadership have turned themselves into superb firefighters with an uncanny ability to, in Party parlance, 'nip the seeds of opposition before they sprout.' Apart from sharpening the 'tools of the proletarian dictatorship' by strengthening the Peoples Liberation Army and the People’s Armed Police, they have created a labyrinthine 'advance warning' system to monitor threats ranging from peasant riots, urban unrest, and bird flu to the influx of Western ideas through the Internet." Willy Wo-lap Lam

"Fortunately, there are signs that both China and Japan are seeking to back away from the impasse of recent years. While Abe has maintained his position on Yasukuni, his summit with Chinese President Hu Jintao was a promising step forward. Some Chinese analysts, for their part, recognize the danger in stimulating too much nationalism toward Japan. The US should quietly try to nudge these steps forward. The US-Japan alliance remains crucial to stability in East Asia, but it takes three sides to make a triangle. " Joseph S Nye

"Japan’s new prime minister, Shinzo Abe, has wasted little time in making his mark, particularly in foreign policy. His official visits to China and South Korea – two key countries with which relations suffered under the administration of Junichiro Koizumi – came within a week of his taking office and at a moment of crisis, with North Korea setting off an underground nuclear blast. That Prime Minister Abe and Chinese President Hu Jintao agreed that a North Korean nuclear test "cannot be tolerated" suggests that this new activism may help to stabilize Asian security.": Hideaki Kaneda

"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

"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

"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

"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

"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

"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

"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

"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