Webdiary - Founded and Inspired by Margo Kingston

For a cops and robbers tabloid, the Herald Sun has been way off the pace in terms of the underworld connections to Opes Prime. The Age has been leading since day one and today’s front page story is perhaps the most significant contribution yet. (Stephen Mayne)

This is the Crossroads of Australia at the head of the Spencer Gulf, intersection of national highways and railways, of water and gas pipelines, fibre optic cables, botany from north, east and west, and 30 or so different Aboriginal cultures, the focus of the songlines. It might be one of the most redneck towns on the continent; but it’s also one of the prettiest, set in space and light where the Flinders Ranges touch  the sea. And there’s clearly a demand for traditional high culture.

As computers become more powerful and more and more information is gathered about individuals it will be very easy to track people simply by their buying habits. We will not need to know their names, just a profile will be enough to identify them. Human being are extremely predictable.

Demonstrations are a legitimate form of public dissatisfaction by those who feel their impotence to influence government action or non action – in the present instance e.g. a boycott of the torch relay in view of the situation in Tibet.

Australia is rapidly increasing its population through immigration, yet there is little debate as to what is a sustainable population would be. It is high time we decided just what is the optimum population level for Australia.

I don't know what they were, couldn't see any stingers, but they were in my hair and all over me and four feet above me.

I joined the Liberal Party in 1978, and was a member until the mid 1980s. Then, for many reasons, I didn’t renew. Indeed, I switched my vote back to the ALP, and kept voting for them in the House, while voting Democrat in the Senate, until 1996, when I voted for John Howard.

Families are struggling to care for their older parents or grandparents. We need to act now before we are completely overwhelmed by the baby boomers who are just reaching the age where they will require more care. We must not forget our elderly...

This is the first Democratic Audit Update from the Audit’s new home at the Institute for Social Research, Swinburne University of Technology.

In ethics it is too often argued that humans are intrinsically evil and so the only firm foundation for morality is a higher force such as God. In international relations it is too often argued that humans are so in love with their religious, national, tribal and other secondary identities that there can never be a trans-human system of political justice. Both these positions involve denying respect for our human potential and deferring it; to a nominally higher force in the case of religion and ethics, and to a secondary identity in the case of international politics.

It is to be expected that a new government coming into office will take time to settle in, read the files and gradually get used to the idea of being in power. In doing that the Rudd Government is no different to the Howard government, which took the best part of 18 months to settle into the harness. However the Howard government was not bequeathed the administrative mess of a politicised public service and the moral and ethical conundrum that now constitutes Rudd's inheritance.

"When I was originally approached to speak to this audience, I was asked to give a Reserve Bank perspective on the economy. That was a fairly general brief. Given the current state of affairs, it makes sense to fulfil it by talking specifically about inflation and monetary policy." (Glenn Stevens)

To achieve success governments need a guiding philosophy; not a zealous ideology which is insensitive to political compromise, but a directional touchstone which provides overall consistency through the years. In other words, ultimately they must be ruled by values and ideas and not only by an instinct for political survival – necessary though that is. (John W. Howard)

It is a mistake to overrate the intellectual capacity of the media as being capable of bias. Bias demands the rigour of imposed values. The sobering lesson when we look at much of today’s news coverage is the lack of intellect and values. In the place of bias, we find only the banal.

The growing realisation of how exposed the financial system is – and from transactions that should never have taken place – is reinforcing the mounting credit crunch, which, in turn, is spooking stock markets. This raises many questions, including – how safe is our superannuation?;

The latest update from the Democratic Audit program at ANU on how our democracy is working.

We need strong government – based on the strength of the people. Democracy basically means strong people, because only a strong people can be self-governing – facing up to the costs that the demands of the present and the future will entail.

This year one of my Christmas gifts was What Are You Optimistic About? It had me considering my own answer to the question, and thinking about what answers might be given by members of the Webdiary community.

Government, irrespective of its political persuasion, does not have a monopoly on policy wisdom. To thrive and prosper in the future we need to draw on the range of talents, ideas and energy from across the Australian community. (Kevin Rudd)

For the pain, suffering and hurt of these Stolen Generations, their descendants and for their families left behind, we say sorry. To the mothers and fathers, the brothers and sisters, for the breaking up of families and communities, we say sorry. And for the indignity and degradation thus inflicted on a proud people and a proud culture, we say sorry. (Kevin Rudd)

In 2005 the Australian government dramatically expanded the security powers of many state agencies as part of the “war on terror”. The new sedition laws, control orders, and secret pre-emptive detention all seem major threats to civil liberties, dissent, and (dare I say it?) democracy in this country.

Once upon a time, the Jade Emperor of the Heaven decided to invite the Animals for a party. The first to arrive was, you guess it, the ambitious and resourceful Rat ...  Another video essay from PF Journey.

The genius of Athenian democracy lay in the fact that the people were able to join in all the discussions and decisions. However, the size of populations in modern societies has caused a reliance on government by representatives - and our political system is now contaminated by political parties. We must recreate the dream of democracy — the rule of a participating, responsible people.

Not much has been written, in fact nothing at all, about the geopolitical significance of that controversial New Year cricket match at the SCG. Yes, geopolitical. It was about the emergence of India as the next economic super power and manifesting itself as a cricket super power as well. This is the elephant in the room that everyone is still not seeing.

Why is it that in Greece and other European countries, being on the Left or supportive of the Left is not met with ridicule, disdain or horror? Why is it that PASOK leader George Papandreou can say at the end of his election speech: ‘I ask all Greeks of democratic persuasion to vote against the Right’? And why didn’t every newspaper in the country attack him or laugh at him for saying it? (Jeana Vithoulkas)

There is a gulf in Australian society between Muslim and non-Muslim, fuelled by fear and ignorance but, more significantly, by arrogance, says Aly, a lecturer in politics at Monash University.

Well, as I reported earlier, the Yorick papers are more engrossing all the time. These are the replies to his despatch of October 1807. Rum stuff.

The latest update from the Democratic Audit program at the ANU - and about to move to Swinburne - on how our democracy is working.

Where will the data from the Labor government's plan to record the weight of every Australian child when it turns four be held, who will have access to it and how will it be integrated with other data that has been collected, such as immunisations? At the root of all questions about health informatics is the ability to assign data with supreme and incorruptible accuracy to the correct individual.

Webdiarist PF Journey surpasses himself...