More than 200 people, including newly arrived asylum seekers, will receive an Aboriginal passport. The passports will be issued by Robbie Thorpe of the Treaty Republic and Ray Jackson, President of the Indigenous Social Justice Association.
News
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The campaign for marriage equality in Australia has been waged for almost a decade. That federal parliament, despite repeated polls showing support for equal marriage rights regardless of sexuality, has failed to legislate for marriage equality has caused widespread anger. A sign of the growing momentum for marriage equality came with the announcement at the Tasmanian state Labor conference on August 4 that the Labor-led Tasmanian government would aim to pass legislation this year to legalise same-sex marriage in the state, should federal parliament fail to do so. -
Queensland鈥檚 Liberal National Party government axed 2000 state transport jobs and more than 300 QBuild jobs on July 31, in another day of mass sackings in the state. Premier Campbell Newman boasted that 4400 full-time positions have been cut out of the 6000 jobs lost so far. Up to 20,000 public servants are in the firing line. The latest cuts amount to 1 in 5 transport workers, with Labor transport spokesperson Jackie Trad warning such cuts would 鈥渂ring the public transport network in Brisbane and in every region to its knees鈥. -
This winter, I experienced the hospitality of Jarrod McKenna, Teresa Lee and their son Tyson. They鈥檙e a family of peace activists, who ruggedly live out communal economics and radical permaculture in Peace Tree Community in Perth. They opened their home to me so that I could take a week out to write in peace.
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Student activists at La Trobe University have begun a campaign against a proposal to slash funding to the Humanities and Social Sciences faculty. About 150 students and staff protested at the university鈥檚 Bundoora campus in Melbourne鈥檚 northern suburbs on July 31. Students marched to the administration building where security guards wrestled with a protester and locked the students out. Undeterred, students marched to the office of Humanities and Social Science dean Tim Murray where they were also locked out but occupied the corridor outside the office.
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The University of Sydney Student Representative Council (SRC) has condemned university management鈥檚 plans to 鈥渄ismantle鈥 the Koori Centre, which has supported Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students at the university since 1989. The Koori Centre also coordinates the teaching of Indigenous Studies. The university says the Koori Centre鈥檚 functions will be incorporated into a broader 鈥淐entre for Cultural Competencies鈥. Management has assured staff no jobs will be lost in the process, but many students and staff feel that have been inadequately consulted about the changes.
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Workers on Bovis Lend Lease building sites across the country have won site allowances and improved pay and conditions. Union and community action forced the company to complete negotiations on a new enterprise bargaining agreement (EBA) with unions on July 31. Strikes and protest action across 22 Lend Lease sites were launched on July 25, after the company failed to reach agreement with unions on conditions including restored site allowances, improved job security, improved pay and conditions for subcontractors, and union right of entry. -
More than 100 students, teachers and union activists heard speakers slam private-sector training at a August 2 protest against TAFE cuts at RMIT鈥檚 city campus.
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released the statement below on July 27. * * * It can be easy to despair when you are campaigning so hard on an issue for so long. Sometimes you can feel like the government just isn鈥檛 listening to you and that all your efforts are a bit pointless 鈥 but not today. We have been campaigning for over a year against the proposal by company HRL to in Victoria. -
Students, teachers and union activists protested against the Victorian governments' cuts to TAFE at Melbourne's RMIT campus on August 2. The rally was jointly organised by the National Tertiary Education Union Victorian Division and the Australian Education Union (AEU).
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On July 25, Tamil refugee Dayan Anthony (formerly known as "Mr X" in Australia in an attempt to protect his identity from Sri Lankan authorities), was deported from Melbourne.
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More than 500 people attended a public meeting at the Bulli Masonic Hall in the northern suburbs of Wollongong on July 29 to save the Bulli Hospital Emergency Department (ED). A PA had to be set up outside the packed hall so hundreds of people gathered outside could listen in. Residents are opposed to the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District's (ISLHD) proposal to downgrade the ED to an 鈥渦rgent care centre鈥. -
This month, the Australian Friends of Palestine Association (AFOPA) will mark 100 weeks of protest against the sale of cosmetics containing minerals extracted from the Dead Sea 鈥 in Palestinian territory under Israeli military occupation 鈥 by Seacret. Seacret says on its website: 鈥淲e believe everything we do must embody honesty and reflect purity.鈥 Its products are made with 鈥渢he ancient, and some say mystical, salts and minerals found only in one place on earth, the Dead Sea鈥. -
The released the statement below on July 31. * * * The Darwin Asylum Seeker Support and Advocacy Network (DASSAN) has called for an overhaul of the Department of Immigration鈥檚 character test procedures for refugees following the appearance today of a refugee at the Darwin Magistrates Court on minor property damage charges.
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Ray Jackson, President of the Indigenous Social Justice Association, speaks about on deaths in custody, shackling and tasers. Filmed by Peter Boyle for 91自拍论坛 TV at a protest in Sydney on July 27 to mark the death in custody of Peter Clarke in the Northern Territory.
Analysis
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Features refugee panel with Hadi Hosseini (Hazara refugee and former detainee); Dianne Hiles (Chilout); Jay Fletcher (refugee reported for GLW and RAC activist); Choo Chon Kai (Socialist Party of Malaysia) + activist news on Coles, WikiLeaks, Observer Tree, GasiLeaks, and Lizards revenge anti-uranium action.
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Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal supporters sent Olympic boxer Damien Hooper a message of support and solidarity for his action in wearing an Aboriginal flag T-shirt at the Olympics.
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The Olympics are a sporting and social phenomenon without parallel. The Opening Ceremony of the 2008 Olympics was watched by close to 1 billion people. Viewers for individual events can be remarkable. The website Sporting Intelligence said 184 million people watched a live women鈥檚 volleyball match between China and Cuba at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. A further 450 million people watched part of it. -
Deported Tamil Dayan Anthony's recanted claims of torture at a Sri Lankan press conference, the day after his July 25 deportation, did not assuage the fears of Australian refugee advocates that Tamils face severe danger if returned. -
Ray Jackson, president of the Indigenous Social Justice Association, spoke to 91自拍论坛 TV鈥檚 Peter Boyle at a protest against deaths in custody in Sydney on July 27. He spoke about Tasers, shackling and the death of Aboriginal man Mr Clarke in Alice Springs. Watch the GLTV video of the interview, a transcribed extract of which is below, . *** -
University of California professor Richard Muller publicly reversed his climate scepticism when he released the results of a climate study on July 29. The report showed that climate change was occurring and caused by burning fossil fuels. His organisation, Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature (BEST), concluded that the Earth has warmed 1.5 degrees celsius over the past 250 years. 鈥淚 was not expecting this,鈥 Muller said. 鈥淏ut as a scientist, -
Despite some complications, oil giant this year. This just goes to show how things usually have a way of working out. Here we were worrying peak oil was just about upon us. But thanks to global warming caused by burning oil, the Arctic ice melt opens up more and more oil for the oil giants to burn. -
In the space of a decade, Australia鈥檚 mining sector has come to dominate the country鈥檚 economic life. In June, Reserve Bank governor to 鈥渂e about as large as business investment in the rest of the private economy combined鈥 by mid 2014. -
As semester two begins at the University of Sydney, it鈥檚 worth reflecting on what student activists have learned so far in our campaigns this year. We've learned that our university is being managed in line with the profits-first agenda of the 1% that run the government and the economy. We've learned that under Vice-Chancellor Michael Spence, corporate research partners and 鈥済ood economic management鈥 take priority over students, staff and society. -
The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) could have been a flagship policy that restored dignity to people with disabilities. Instead, ALP timidity and Coalition intransigence have left Australia with a woefully inadequate policy. -
A whopping 22 million passengers went through Sydney Domestic Airport last year 鈥 close to the total population of Australia. Almost 8 million of those were heading to Victoria, and close to 4.5 million to Brisbane. Just over 2 million were off to the Gold Coast, and just under that figure to WA. In the debate over the environmental and human impact of a second airport in NSW and the push to expand Mascot, it is important to weigh these facts. -
If the official government line is to be believed, Australia is only a minor player when it comes to our greenhouse gas emissions. In this view, Australia is powerless to bring about international action to cut emissions. Indeed, any such efforts are only likely to amount to economic self-sabotage. , demolishes these arguments. Far from being an inconsequential emitter, Australia鈥檚 carbon footprint is immense.
World
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Premakumar Gunaratnam, an ethnic Tamil from Sri Lanka, who is an Australian citizen, returned to his home country in September 2011 to help organise the launch of a new left party, the Frontline Socialist Party (FLSP), a major breakaway from the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP, People鈥檚 Liberation Front). He had been a JVP activist for three decades and a member of its underground political bureau since 1994. -
"The situation is pretty grim," Reihana Mohideen told 91自拍论坛 Weekly on August 8 from the frontline of devastating floods that have submerged half of Manila over the last few days. "It's still raining hard and hard to get around." "This is another painful reminder of the global climate change crisis and the pain is being felt most by the poor and most oppressed." -
When Tamil asylum seeker Dayan Anthony was deported back to Sri Lanka by the Australian government last month, his immediate arrest and interrogation did little to allay fears he would not face harassment from authorities. His subsequent government-arranged press conference appeared to be staged for the benefit of the Sri Lankan and Australian governments. -
In a speech marking the one month anniversary of the parliamentary coup that overthrow left-leaning Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo, the ousted leader said on July 22 that a motivating interest for the coup-plotters was a sought-after deal between Paraguay and Montreal-based mining company, Rio Tinto Alcan (RTA). 鈥淭hose who pushed for the coup are those who want to solidify the negotiations with the multinational Rio Tinto Alcan, betraying the energetic sovereignty and interests of our country,鈥 Lugo told supporters. -
Arriving in Caracas, Venezuela鈥檚 capital, the first thing you notice is the extensive swathes of mountainside covered with poorly built, crowded, ad-hoc homes 鈥 known locally as the barrios.
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Thousands of peasant workers took to the streets of Caracas on July 26 to hand over a list of programmatic suggestions to the government and show their support for Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
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Bolivian President Evo Morales applauded on July 10 the agreement struck with indigenous peoples from the mining town of Mallku Khota, in the north of Potosi, to nationalise a Canadian-owned mining company. Morales said the agreement ensures the state can continue recuperating natural resources to benefit the Bolivian people. The head of state met with leaders from the ayllus (indigenous communities) in this region that were demanding the concession granting to the Canadian company South American Silver (SAS) be annulled.
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British Prime Minister David Cameron and Chancellor George Osborne's desperate efforts to put an Olympic shine on Britain's economy are failing to get off the starting blocks. As they postured on the sidelines, the world saw the reality of an economy teetering on the brink of an unprecedented triple-dip recession. Asset management company Schroders chief economist Azad Zangana believes gross domestic product (GDP) will rise by 0.5% this quarter due to the Olympics.
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The July 20 movie theatre massacre in Aurora, Colorado 鈥 in which 12 people were killed and 58 wounded 鈥 is reckoned by some sources to be the 36th mass shooting to have occurred in the US in the past three decades. On top of these crazed rampages, the annual attrition of gun-related deaths accounts for about 30,000 victims across the US. It would be bad enough if the seemingly unchallengeable dogma of the US Constitution's 2nd Amendment鈥檚 鈥渞ight to bear arms鈥 contributed to the deaths of only US citizens. Yet US 鈥済un culture鈥 is a lethal problem for the rest of the world as well. -
Hundreds of armour-clad thugs from a private strikebreaking firm raided the site of a peaceful protest against a management-imposed lockout at the SJM car parts factory in Ansan, South Korea, on July 27. Thirty four workers were injured and many were taken to hospital for treatment of serious injuries. The private strikebreakers were fitted in full riot gear with helmets, shields, sharp iron parts and meter long clubs. They sprayed fire extinguishers to obscure the workers' vision as they went on a club-weilding rampage. -
United States: Cops taser 12-year-old 鈥淎 police officer tased a 12-year-old girl inside a Victoria's Secret [on] Wednesday afternoon at South County Center [in St Louis County, Missouri]. 鈥淧olice say the officer came into the Victoria's Secret looking for the teenager's mom, who had warrants for her arrest. But it was the teen who got tased. 鈥'This one goes in my chest. It was stuck in there so she had to keep on pulling trying to pull it out,' said Dejamon Baker, as she pointed to a small wound on her chest ...
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US Republican presidential nominee with his claims in Jerusalem that the vast (20:1) disparity in income between Israelis and Palestinians can be explained by a superior Jewish Israeli culture and 鈥渢he hand of providence鈥 鈥 rather than by the systematic depradations of Israeli occupation on the economy of Palestinians. -
On July evenings, most people in Toronto are just trying to find ways to escape the heat and humidity. On July 30, more 150 people filled the room for a meeting on Contested Futures: Tar Sands and Environmental Justice. Many had to sit on tables or stand to hear from two indigenous leaders of environmental justice actions in Ontario and two delegates to the People鈥檚 Summit Rio +20. The meeting was initiated by the Greater Toronto Workers Assembly (International Solidarity Committee) and Toronto Bolivia Solidarity; a further 20 groups endorsed and helped build the event.
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Security forces killed 12 anti-government protesters 鈥 mostly teenagers 鈥 and injured more than 80 on July 31 in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur. The protests, which began the previous day, were launched by hundreds of primary and secondary school students in opposition to price rises for basic goods. Numbers swelled as more and more people took to the streets to join the students, calling for the downfall of the regime.
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Police shot and killed a 25-year-old Latino man, Manuel Diaz, in Anaheim, California, in his front yard on July 21 Diaz was not armed. Within hours of the murder, hundreds of angry residents took to the streets in protest. The cops attacked the demonstrators with clubs, pepper spray and bean bag bullets. One protester was grabbed by a cop (who had his hand on his gun) for carrying a protest sign as he was walking toward the demonstration. He was charged with 鈥渏aywalking.鈥
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Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Montreal on August 1. The protests came the day after the call for an election in the Quebec province by the Liberal Party government of Quebec Premier Jean Charest. Quebec has been rocked this year by a large student strike against a proposed tuition fee hike and huge street demonstrations. In response, the Liberal government introduced the draconian Law 78, which severely restricts the right to protest. -
Olympic organisers and their corporate sponsor Visa were still keeping mum on August 1 after yet another ironic twist to their 鈥渃ashless Olympics鈥. Hungry spectators at Wembley to see Team GB women's victory over Brazil took to social networks on the night of July 31 to complain of a second breakdown in three days of payment systems at food counters 鈥減roud to only accept Visa鈥 under the company's exclusive sponsorship deal.
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British Olympics chiefs are reported by the media to be 鈥渇urious鈥 after Welsh and Scottish players with the 鈥淭eam Great Britain鈥 soccer squads did not sing 鈥淕od Save the Queen鈥 in official ceremonies before kick-off. Welsh players Craig Bellamy, Joe Allen, Neil Taylor and team captain Ryan Giggs all remained tight-lipped during the anthem ahead of the July 28 match with United Arab Emirates. -
In a victory for free speech, the Counter Olympics Network held a demonstration of 500 people on July 28 against the corporate takeover and militarisation of the Olympic Games. Under pressure from local campaigners, Tower Hamlets Council was forced to lift its ban on the arranged speakers for the demonstration. Speakers included MP John McDonnell, Ruth Tanner from War on Want, and Stop the Olympic Missiles campaigner and vice-chair of Stop the War Coalition, Chris Nineham.
Culture
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Dedicated to 鈥渢he workers and peasants of Colombia鈥, Cocaine, Death Squads and the War on Terror is a serious and rigorous study of Colombian society.
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The left lost United States' writer Alexander Cockburn, one of its most powerful essayists and diarists, on July 21. He was an ironist who, unlike Christopher Hitchens, did not tend to confuse irony with supercilious chauvinism and leaden sarcasm (see The Long Short War for examples of these traits).
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As a child, David Cromwell got an invaluable insight into the way the corporate media skews the news. Scattered around his family's Scottish home were "mainstream" newspapers like the Daily Record and Glasgow Herald.
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When you are in a hole, you stop digging. Even if this were not a cliche by now, it would still be common sense. Does this mean, then, that Russian President Vladimir Putin and the hierarchy of the Russian Orthodox Church lack basic reasoning skills? The certainly seems to prove so.