I began writing this as a reply to a worker infected by the ideological disease that could be called today鈥檚 version of 鈥渢he socialism of fools鈥.
That was the name given by German socialists at the end of the 19th century to the irrational, bigoted and eventually genocidal idea that Jews were to blame for the plight of oppressed and exploited workers.
Today鈥檚 鈥渇ools鈥 in Australia blame asylum-seekers and refugees, especially those of Muslim faith or who come from the Middle East.
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The Greens Mayor of Marrickville Council Fiona Byrne gave the speech below at the Unions NSW May Day toast at the Cypress Community Club in Stanmore on April 28.
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I acknowledge we meet tonight on the traditional land of the Gadigal people of the Eora nation and pay my respects to elders both past and present.
Those who don鈥檛 read the Oz or Tele, or don鈥檛 listen to shock jock radio, I鈥檓 the controversial Greens Mayor of Marrickville.
For many people, gambling merely fulfils a short-term desire to be entertained. Yet for an estimated 2.3% of Australian adults, it has become a compulsion; an uncontrollable addiction which largely affects their personal, social and financial life.
Over the past decade, the gambling industry in Australia has expanded significantly.
Currently, every state and territory within Australia has at least one casino operating within its jurisdiction, offering various gambling options, including poker and gaming machines, to anyone over the legal age of 18.
Middle East Rebellions and Royal Weddings
While I think the world certainly needs good news stories, I am astounded at the focus of media attention on the wedding of one couple in England when there are truly amazing and historic scenes happening in our world that are real good news stories.
From Libya and Tunisia in North Africa to Syria, Yemen and Bahrain in the Middle East earth shattering events are taking place, that are not only powerfully transforming the region politically, but also are having a profound social and cultural impact there and elsewhere.
"Another Australia is Possible" was the main theme of the Socialist Alliance Queensland State Conference, held on Saturday April 16 in the Brisbane Activist Centre.
A feature panel, 鈥淔ighting for Another Australia鈥, included presentations from Murri community leader Sam Watson, Sri Lankan human rights activist Dr Brian Senewiratne, socialist educationalist and writer Gary MacLennan, and Socialist Alliance national executive member Lisa Macdonald.
WikiLeaks released a new slew of secret US military documents on April 24 relating to the US off-shore detention facility Guantanamo Bay. were released by WikiLeaks and its media partners as 779 documents that dealt specifically with detainees.
The documents included classified assessments, interviews and internal memos written by the Pentagon鈥檚 Joint Task Force at Guantanamo marked 鈥渟ecret鈥 and 鈥渘oform鈥 鈥 no information to be shared with representatives of other countries.
"This is the battle for the end of the fossil fuel industry. This is the end game," Lock the Gate Alliance campaigner Drew Hutton told a forum, titled, Australia's Gas Rush: The race to save our farmland and the Great Artesian Basin, on April 14 in Brisbane.
The forum, sponsored by 91自拍论坛 Weekly, also heard from Ewan Saunders, climate campaigner and Socialist Alliance activist.
鈥淲hat changed in Palestine between December and April that made you change your mind?鈥 yelled someone in the crowd, as the April 19 Marrickville Council meeting voted to overturn its previously stated support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against apartheid Israel.
Despite many others asking similar questions, none of the councillors that had voted in favour for the December 14 motion answered this simple question.
"I have recently had the opportunity to witness important developments in the Bolivarian Revolution," Nelson Davila, Venezuelan ambassador to Australia, just returned from a three-week visit to his homeland, told a forum sponsored by the Australia-Venezuela Solidarity Network (AVSN) in Brisbane on April 20.
"There have been big developments in agriculture, mainly aimed at maintaining and improving the ecosystem, through expansion of eco-socialist co-operatives," Davila told the forum.
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