So now we place practicalities aside and talk about sentiments:

Let not the Left hijack our feelings, converting them to one-dimensional economics: we care about refugees and migrants because it could have been us. We care because just as them it could have been us to not be born in the "right place".

We care because instinctively we know that people should be able to go wherver they want on the face of this earth, just as birds do, that the lands were there long before there were countries, states and borders.

On a slightly more practical level, we also care because we experience how difficult it is to invite our friends and relatives from certain countries to see us in Australia - even for just a visit, to overcome the wall of suspicion and convince the government that economics do not play a roll in our case.

Yes, there are, sadly, compromizing practical considerations as well, there are terrorists and other criminals who wish to spoil things in our country if they can and there are also those who wish to make a living at our expense. It is out of our selfish human interests that we block others from arriving, keeping the space only for ourselves: this is an acceptable weakness - but should not be idealized: the ideal is that every human can walk across this planet of ours whenever and wherever they choose to.

I don't want to argue over whether China embaced capitalism, there is just one thing I want to say, international business is good for China and the world.

I do business with company all over the world. I pay the workers well and they afford themselves. The companies do business with us benifit a lot by ordering from us. Why should people always argue? We all love peace. We don't want war. We need each other as we developing. Perhapse men think too many things and they loss their hair easily. So my toupees sell well all around the world. If people just live peacefully, I don't need to manufacture any toupee. My website http://lyrical-toupee.com should be changed into http://lyricals.com, and I will be very happy!

Tiziana says that some on the Left are concerned about poverty. What exactly is poverty? If a person was settling down for the evening in Mongo, Chad and they didn't have a plasma TV screen hooked up to the Foxtel Gold Package is he or she poor? Do these people crave what we have?

Sage.. another notable comment :)

Yes.. "poverty"... my wifes family live in Malaysia, (Sarawak Interior)and her late dad would be lucky to rub $10 together in a month. He was a very caring and generous man, who gave much more than he received in all his struggling life. Many people are 'rich' in kind. Buffaloes, cows, pigs.. a decent size Buffalo will bring you $1500 our money.

I don't consider him or the others in the village 'poor', they don't have much money, true, but boy oh boy.. they are so rich in family, culture, faith, and mutual care.

Part of the problem of Western definitions of "Poverty" are just that.. they are 'Western'. It always makes me just about choke when I hear of the 'unemployment problem' among Indigenous people here, as THOUGH.. they will only ever be truly human if they have a 'western' type job.

The UN is a basket case. It is just as prone to vested interest and manipulation as any human orgnization. I tend to have sympathy for the idea of imposed democracy, no matter what the left might feel.

I think Boaz and ilk illustrate the huge shame that Aboriginal tribes did'nt have the means to apply the same thinking to the white boys who showed up uninvited in the 1700s. Keep up the cutting edge thinking about winners being grinners as it is very illuminating and obviously gives some of you 'caring folk' great satisfaction. Must give the families of the Iraqi and Afghani civilian dead pause for thought as well.

The present Govt is through bad policy, ignoring one way to assist
global poverty. It is flawed thinking that everyone wants to live
in Australia. Many in SE Asia for instance, prefer their own cultures, family ties and all other things that matter in their
culture. But they would like to earn our kind of money, for they
could earn in a month, what they earn there in a year.

The meat industry in WA for instance, is being totally stifled,
by lack of labour. Export orders are being rejected, sheep are
being trucked thousands of km East, all because of lack of workers
here.

It would be a clear win-win solution to allow contract workers from
SE Asia to work here, on a fly in fly out basis. They would earn
our kind of money and then return home to their communities to spend it. All that extra economic activity in their communities, would
have to be good for their economies and for them. Our export industries would benefit too and even the sheep would benefit from not being trucked thousands of km. Why the Govt is so blind on this
one, frankly has me beat.