Green Left Weekly

Aboriginal rights

Racism biggest threat to health and safety

Through all the media hype over the so-called riot his comments supposedly caused, it could be easy to forget the many reasons Aboriginal people have to protest, 40 years on. Government inaction and destructive government policy leading to ongoing injustices has been sorely missing from mainstream commentary.

Environment

Margaret River community defeats coal mine

The WA state government finally rejected Vasse Coal’s proposal for a coal mine in Margaret River on February 7. The mine would have been built 15 kilometres from the town centre, directly beneath the river.

Hunger strike

Khader Adnan -- starving for freedom in an Israeli jail

By the time you read these words, Palestinian prisoner Khader Adnan could be dead. His body is already well past the stage where his vital organs may cease to function at any moment. But Adnan, never charged or tried by Israel, is dying to live -- as hundreds of Palestinian prisoners join him in hunger striking.

Austerity

Greece: A brutal experiment on people's lives

Amid ongoing street protests and building occupations, the Greek cabinet approved a new savage austerity deal on February 10. Six cabinet members resigned in protest. Greek parliament was scheduled to vote on the deal on the evening of February 12. Below, Afrodity Giannakis writes from Thessaloniki on the impact of the austerity on Greek society..

This week's Socialist Alliance 'Our Common Cause' column

Syria needs solidarity, not Western intervention

Socialist Alliance supports, and expresses its full solidarity with, the Syrian people’s democratic uprising against the tyrant Bashar al-Assad. We also condemn the interference by Western imperialist powers and the threats of military intervention.

THIS WEEK'S COLUMN BY RESISTANCE!, SOCIALIST YOUTH ORGANISATION

Resistance activist to run for Qld seat: 'We must stop CSG'

Liam Flenady is a Resistance member and Socialist Alliance candidate for the March 24 state election. He spoke with Green Left Weekly’s Patrick Harrison about his campaign priorities and issues facing young people today.

Australian News

Your government is watching you, CSG activists

The government has admitted that it is using both the Australian Federal Police and a private intelligence consultancy to monitor coal seam gas (CSG) protesters, say the Greens.

Sam Watson: From the Black Panther Party to the Aboriginal Tent Embassy

About 40 people crowded into the Brisbane Activist Centre on February 7 for a Green Left Weekly public forum titled “The truth about the Aboriginal Tent Embassy”, presented by prominent Murri leader and Socialist Alliance Aboriginal affairs spokesperson Sam Watson.

Further Australian News

International News

United States: Occupy finds new hopes and challenges

The Occupy movement in the US may have disappeared from media headlines. But it has not disappeared from the streets of many US cities. However, dropping attendances and ongoing police repression have caused problems for the movement.

Argentina: Oil behind British militarist threats over Malvinas

“We support the right of self-determination of the habitants of the Falkland Islands [Malvinas]; what the Argentines having been saying recently is, in my opinion, much more similar to colonialism, because these people want to continue being British and the Argentines what them to do something different.” Such was the cynicism with which British Prime Minister David Cameron responded to a question in parliament on January 18 over the islands off Argentina's coast that are occupied by Britain.

Further International News

Comment and Analysis

Deported Afghan refugees have nowhere to go

The Australian government is pushing to deport the first Afghan asylum seeker since it signed a deal with the Afghanistan government to allow Afghan asylum seekers to be returned against their will. But a revealed that a flagship $8 million resettlement project for deported asylum seekers had fallen into chaotic disrepair.

Carlo's corner: Labor’s power squabble an empty show

Now that both Kim Kardashian and Katy Perry's marriages are over, and things seem quiet on the Brangelina front, the corporate media has been reduced to feverish speculation over another B-Grade celebrity circus: who will lead the seemingly doomed Labor government?

Further Comment and Analysis

Letters

Letters to the Editor

Media coverage distracts from the real crime What is all the she-said-he-said fuss about Unions ACT secretary Kim Sattler and the Aboriginal Tent Embassy protest on January 26? 1) The meaning of Abbott's comments was that it was time for the Tent Embassy to close. 2) As ABC Media Watch pointed out on February 6, both AAP and Radio 2UE had been broadcasting all morning that Abbott had said the embassy "had to go" or "shut down".

Resistance!

Resistance activist to run for Qld seat: 'We must stop CSG'

Liam Flenady is a Resistance member and Socialist Alliance candidate for the March 24 state election. He spoke with Green Left Weekly’s Patrick Harrison about his campaign priorities and issues facing young people today. *** Why are you running in the election? What does it mean to be a youth candidate? I want people to see that there is an alternative to [Premier Anna] Bligh and [opposition leader Campbell] Newman.

Cultural Dissent

Former Asian Dub Foundation frontman: From pop star, to activist and back again

Pride Of The Underdog Deeder Zaman Modulor, 2011 www.deederzaman.com When Deeder Zaman was at the height of his fame as the vocalist for British dance rock group Asian Dub Foundation (ADF), he hung up his mike to become a full-time activist.

Mining fuels dirty money boom, book shows

Dirty Money: The True Cost of Australia’s Mineral Boom By Matthew Benns William Heinemann, 2011, 296 pages, $34.95 (pb)

Further Cultural Dissent

Fighting Fund

Capitalism’s obscenities are unacceptable

By now we all know that the rich get richer under capitalism. But many are astounded at the incredible pace this takes place. Last week it was reported that Australian billionaire James Packer celebrated a 560% increase in his casino investment in Macau. Great reward for making totally unproductive, indeed socially and morally destructive, investments.

We kid you not

Murdoch likes compliant politics “Only met PMs when asked ... and NEVER asked for anything”. Rupert Murdoch on Twitter, reassuring us that Australia’s political leaders are so compliant, he hasn’t had to resort to hacking. ― February 5 Rinehart's bid to nuke Oz “It’s a pity it didn’t happen”. Gina Rinehart lamenting that her plan to use nuclear explosions in open cut mining never radiated. — Australian Story, May 1997 Banker greed “An opportunity for the customer to get ahead by paying more than they need to.”

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Rinehart grabs for media control

Aboriginal rights

Racism biggest threat to health and safety

Environment

Margaret River community defeats coal mine

Hunger strike

Khader Adnan -- starving for freedom in an Israeli jail

Austerity

Greece: A brutal experiment on people's lives

Syria needs solidarity, not Western intervention

Resistance activist to run for Qld seat: 'We must stop CSG'

Australian News

Your government is watching you, CSG activists

Sam Watson: From the Black Panther Party to the Aboriginal Tent Embassy

International News

United States: Occupy finds new hopes and challenges

Argentina: Oil behind British militarist threats over Malvinas

Comment and Analysis

Deported Afghan refugees have nowhere to go

Carlo's corner: Labor’s power squabble an empty show

Letters

Letters to the Editor

Resistance!

Resistance activist to run for Qld seat: 'We must stop CSG'

Cultural Dissent

Former Asian Dub Foundation frontman: From pop star, to activist and back again

Mining fuels dirty money boom, book shows

Fighting Fund

Capitalism’s obscenities are unacceptable

We kid you not

We kid you not

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Capitalism’s obscenities are unacceptable

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