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We shake our heads self-righteously, certain that if we'd been there, liberation would have come earlier -- all the while failing to see that the present is no different. Quite a lot has changed in 60 years, but the ways in which information about crimes against humanity can simultaneously be known and not known hasn't changed at all. Nor have other interests and other priorities ceased to distract people from the feelings of shame and guilt they would certainly feel, if only they focused on them.

All the While Failing to see that the Present is No Different
Nearly 60 years ago last week, Auschwitz was liberated. On Jan. 27, 1945, four Russian soldiers rode into the camp. They seemed wonderfully concrete and real, remembered Primo Levi, one of the prisoners, perched on their enormous horses, between the gray of the snow and the gray of the sky. But they did not smile, nor did they greet the starving men and women. Levi thought he knew why: They felt the shame that a just man experiences at another man's crime, the feeling of guilt that such a crime should exist.
· The Shame [ via Google]

Sydney Politics at a price
Big companies are still giving big donations to political parties. So do we need to worry about what they get for their money?
· I just think the public interest is not served by such large donations

Congratulations, Mr Carr, on sacking the city councils. That's the democratic process sorted. What's next?
Peter Spencer
In sacking the South Sydney Council, the NSW Government has shown its disregard for community involvement, democratic process, and the truth...
Dan Galazowski, President, ALP South Sydney Local Government Committee, Chippendale, SMH Letter February 6.
· We'll destroy you, sacked mayor told
· It's a power grab
· Merger mystery ends with blood on the carpet

Had our fill
The Australian Hotels Association says it's "irresponsible" to sell alcohol at a petrol station. Its president, John Thorpe, says people will "fill up the car and then themselves" ("Petrol stations in push to sell liquor", Herald, February 5).
Perhaps Mr Thorpe is nailed to the desk because the last time I went to a drive-through bottle shop they put a slab on my backseat. I didn't even have to get out of the car. I'm no fan of soulless convenience stores or expensive petrol stations, but I am sick of the AHA's hypocrisy.
Timothy Latham, Clovelly, SMH Letter February 6
· Parliamentary Bowlers received free beer from Carlton United Breweries

An interview with Costa these days goes something like this:
So CityRail is a shambles, Minister?
Worse than a shambles. I'd say a disaster.
A disaster!
Well, worse than a disaster. A catastrophe. Heads must roll.
So people are entitled to be angry, Minister.
Furious, I would say.
· No Minister