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On May 2, following the rally in King George Square to oppose the forced closures of Indigenous Communities in WA, activists spontaneously marched into the Auditorium of City Hall and occupied it. The Aboriginal flag was strung over the podium and we engaged in a peaceful but uncompromising sit颅-in demanding the media's presence to cover our resistance to what is happening in W.A.
May Day in Cuba 2015.

An estimated 1 million people marched on May 1 in Havana, Cuba, to celebrate International Workers麓 Day, said.

Samba Co-written & directed by Olivier Nakache & Eric Toledano In cinemas now Nobody could say that French film makers Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano 鈥 and their actor of choice, Omar Sy 鈥 shy away from heavy subjects. In their 2012 international hit The Intouchables, they dived straight into questions of disability, racism and class. Now in Samba they have tackled the question of illegal migrants struggling to survive without papers in contemporary France.
Anti-WestConnex protesters 鈥榝ine鈥 Roads Australia Anti-WestConnex activists protested at the annual Roads Australia dinner, with attendees being handed a $15 billion penalty notice for the folly they are about to inflict on Sydney. Members of WestConnex Action Group set up a toll booth at the entrance, next to the red carpet. Guests, including the father of WestConnex, Nick Greiner, were made to run the anti-WestConnex gauntlet on their way into Sydney Town Hall.
Rallies have been called in response to the federal government鈥檚 attack on education funding in the upcoming budget, and a big one is planned for Sydney on budget day, May 12. Although Christopher Pyne鈥檚 education policies have been repeatedly defeated in the Senate, he is determined to continue to try to 鈥渇ix鈥 the education system by reducing governmental funding and pushing for fee deregulation. The next chance he will have to do this is with mass education spending cutbacks in the budget.
War planes from the US and its allies bombed the village of Birmehli in northern Syria on the night of April鈥 鈥30.鈥 鈥琔S Central Command spokesperson Major Curtis Kellogg claimed that at least鈥 鈥50鈥 鈥琭ighters from the self-styled Islamic State鈥 (鈥琁S鈥) 鈥琯roup were killed and there was鈥 鈥溾琻o indication that any civilians were killed鈥濃. However,鈥 鈥琱uman rights groups,鈥 鈥琲ncluding the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights鈥 (鈥琒OHR鈥)鈥,鈥 鈥琱ave reported that all the casualties were civilians:鈥 鈥64鈥 鈥琾eople,鈥 鈥琲ncluding鈥 鈥31鈥 鈥琧hildren.鈥
I鈥檝e never been much of a morning person but some mornings it can be a struggle to get out of bed. Crippling depression aside, peeking at what passes for news in the mainstream media to find out what is going on in the world can be enough to send me running for the covers. Just last week there was the announcement that after his latest pay rise, the Macquarie Bank CEO Nicholas Moore 鈥渆arned鈥 $1586 every 12 minutes. That鈥檚 roughly the same amount the average Australian worker takes home in a week.
The Moreland council in Melbourne became the first council in Australia to pass a motion last month condemning plans for forced closures of Aboriginal communities, and to send a letter of solidarity to those communities. The motion was moved by me as a Socialist Alliance councillor on Moreland council. The motion passed unanimously, with even the Liberal party councillor voting for it. On April 28, a second Melbourne council, the Moonee Valley council, passed the same motion. The motion was moved by Jim Cusack, a Labor councillor.
Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative Party won a clear victory in Britain's May 7 general elections. In Scotland, however, the Scottish National Party dramatically rose from six seats to 56 out of 59, in a clear sign of opposition to the brutal austerity backed by the major parties in Westminster.
ADELAIDE Come to the National Sorry Day: Stolen Generations track home on Tuesday May 26 at 10.30am 鈥 2.30pm. Join the Stolen Generations calling for reparations with speakers, music, bbq and drinks. Victoria Square/Tarntanyangga. Ph John Browne 0431 234 561. BRISBANE Join the Rally for the future: Lock the gate on Thursday May 21 at 10am. Speakers鈥 Corner, outside Parliament House, George St. BENDIGO Come to a rally to stop the community closures on Friday May 15 at 4.30pm. Rosalind Park. MELBOURNE
In The Company Of Cowards: Bush, Howard & Injustice at Guantanamo Michael Mori Viking, 2014 292 pages, $29.99 (pb) Murder At Camp Delta: A Staff Sergeant鈥檚 Pursuit Of The Truth About Guantanamo Bay Joseph Hickman Simon & Schuster, 2015 245 pages, $29.99 (pb) Major Michael Mori was a Republican-leaning, US military lawyer who 鈥渆mbraced the values I had been taught in scouts, sports, high school, college, law school and the Marines鈥 鈥 above all the ideal of fair play.
Unions have warned that electricity consumers will be hit by worse services, reduced maintenance and slower emergency response times, after a decision by the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) in late April. The AER decision, which takes effect from July 1, sets revenues that the publicly owned NSW network companies Ausgrid, Endeavour Energy, TransGrid and Essential Energy can charge private power retailers.