Webdiary - Founded and Inspired by Margo Kingston

Every time the USA elects a new President, it seems that the whole world is voting. Everyone has an opinion and the media is full of headlines on the topic. On November 4, however, the final decision will be made solely by US citizens. And in an election that looks to be a tight race up until the very end, every vote counts. Including my own.

When I found that the Australians are still reading China through Chairman Mao in 21st Century, I was overwhelmed by the frustration of misunderstanding at first.

The name Sarah Palin is one that has resonated in Australia within the last month, for all the wrong reasons. Her personal life has been the focus in The Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian amongst others. I’m very aware of whom Sarah Palin is but if questioned on all of her political views, without thorough research, I’d be a little rusty.

The War on Terror is a battle of ideologies. To win, the West has to fight for the hearts and minds of the people of Pakistan and Afghanistan. It cannot win by bombing villages and killing women and children.

What I am getting at is the impossibility of establishing democratic conditions by fiat or by force. There needs to be a will towards that end from within the history and culture of the country and the people themselves..

Terrorism also does not appear to be a major factor when it comes to who they vote for as president in the upcoming elections. Only 12% of Americans consider it an important factor when casting their vote.

The games impacted other aspects of daily life too. I moved cities around the time that the games started and was interested to see the differences between the effects on the two cities. In my original city, around early July, almost all the street market stalls were suddenly shut down. This was done to ‘create a culture of hygiene’. It was literally as though someone came during the night and moved them all away, out of sight. Even the large and popular night markets were shut down.

Keep the passion burning amongst the young people and others who have been energized by your unexpected, unpredicted, against-all-odds candidacy that has ignited and inspired a nation. Make Caroline Kennedy your VP. (Michael Moore)

If you were kept in the dark, though, I would think you would want to raise holy hell—if not to hold accountable those of your former superiors and colleagues responsible for the carnage of the past five years, then at least to try to wipe the blot off your record.

From the beginning, I wanted to create a reconciliatory atmosphere in Pakistan's politics on a personal and institutional level. I talked about the three-phase transition to democracy in Pakistan. The third phase was achieved last year when I doffed my uniform and held free and fair elections in Pakistan. After the elections, people had hopes from their leaders in the government.

Indeed, Texans wearing KBR baseball caps are arriving by the planeload at Kuwait's airport. Some will support the military directly--KBR employees already handle the meal service, laundry, and garbage pickup for several military camps in Kuwait and will do the same as U.S. units establish bases in Iraq. But after the war most hope to be involved in the multibillion-dollar task of rebuilding Iraq: its roads, electrical grid, water supply, ports, airports, and, most important, oil facilities.

The US has told Russia that the Russian attacks on Georgia will damage US-Russian relations for many years. What does the US think the placing of missiles in Poland was going to do for that relationship?

As Bob Carr, Julie Bishop and Germaine Greer all proceeded to bring their prejudices to bear, backed up with stark and obvious ignorance, my interest turned to horrified fascination. Could decision makers in Australia really be so cocksure and stupid to boot?

It is well known on Wall Street that some of the largest financial institutions have huge undeclared problems with Asset Backed Securities they have valued far above their worth to make their books look better than they are. ... assets where no one is willing to buy but the bank declares their worth based on "fantasy."

 The issue of house demolitions is back in the spotlight now after two separate incidents in July in which Palestinians, both of whom were residents of Jerusalem, rampaged through the city in bulldozers, killing three Israelis and injuring many more. Although the two Palestinians were shot dead at the scene, Israeli officials, including Ehud Barak, the defence minister, are calling for their homes to be destroyed, making their families homeless, to deter others from following in their path.

Without prior official permission, the following activities are prohibited: any kind of publicity, advertising, displays or collection of money; distributing sales promotion samples or merchandise with commercial logos; TV reporting or using professional recording equipment.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez met on July 22 in Moscow with his Russian counterparts President Dimitri Medvédev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. The encounter was arranged to formalize a military and defense alliance between the two countries.

The only way to win the “war on terror” is to be less willing ourselves to use terror to win a political victory. The war on terror will be won when all terrorists – including those financed by democratic governments – are brought to justice in the International Criminal Court.

If modern technology had been used to promote the ideas of liberty, free markets, sound money and trade, it would have ushered in a new golden age – a globalism we could accept. Instead, the wealth and freedom we now enjoy are shrinking and rest upon a fragile philosophic infrastructure. (Ron Paul)

Perhaps the principal conclusion to be drawn from today's policy challenges is that it would have been better to avoid the build-up of credit excesses in the first place. (Bank of International Settlements)

All this will seem small beer in the face of the real “Holocaust” that is already unfolding and the ability of our civilisation to cope with it is dependent on a spirit of cooperation that transcends racialism and nationalism. I know where I’d put my money but wouldn’t be able to spend my winnings.

"My people are at breaking point. World leaders' bold rhetoric must be backed with military force" - Morgan Tsvangirai in the Guardian

Whilst there is now plenty of discussion about the responses that governments should be making to address the predicted consequences of climate change, the focus seems to have been largely on the economic, trade and security issues. The social and human rights implications rarely rate a mention. (The Hon. John von Doussa)

The political landscape [in America] was fascinating last fall, intriguing on the Democratic Party side, on the Republican/GOP (Grand Old Party) side a congregation of rococo grotesques usually not seen outside a Sinclair Lewis novel or a Nick Cave murder ballad.

As someone who saw the race riots of the 1960’s and the assassinations of JFK and Martin Luther King, the prospect of a black U.S. President was indeed a big dream. Let’s hope that Barack Obama, if he is elected, moves the United States back from the brink of disaster

Rich-poor, Left-Right, black-white. You can profile a politician by ideology, colour, class, caste, religion, party or geography. But I’ve long preferred another form of profiling, one that transcends all of the above. It derives from a simple but dazzling insight of the British contrarian Tony Benn. (Phillip Adams)

The real threats to international peace and security are no longer confined to violations of state sovereignty for which the UN collective security system was created. Rather, genocide, massive violations of human rights, terrorism, and weapons of mass destruction (WMD) represent immediate international security threats that are beyond the scope of any one state to solve.

An email update from a worker in the country. The title above was his subject line from the email - you can make up your own mind whether he's right .

These are times that cry out for leadership. But when you look around, you've got to ask: "Where have all the leaders gone?" Where are the curious, creative communicators? Where are the people of character, courage, conviction, competence, and common sense? (Lee Iacocca)

Norman Mailer once wrote: “My long experience with human nature … suggests that it is possible that fascism, not democracy, is the natural state.” Mailer was a novelist, and his business was being provocative. I found his article … to be food for considerable worthwhile thought. After the thinking, I decided he was wrong.