GLW issue 823, published 2010-01-27.

Tamil refugees protests on Christmas Island: 'Why do they treat us like this?'

“We are human beings, why are we ignored?”, a Tamil refugee inside the Christmas Island detention centre told Green Left Weekly on the night of January 28.

Haiti: Somali pirates offer aid

The article below is abridged from Aporea.org. It has been translated by Kiraz Janicke.

Our Common Cause: Tony Abbott, greenie

Since the balance of forces within the Coalition shifted rightwards with the one-vote win by “mad monk” Tony Abbott over Malcolm Turnbull for leader, the media have been wondering whether his line of frenzied warfare against the Rudd Labor government can succeed where the millionaire merchant banker failed.

Australian News

100 days and counting

On January 18, the 250 Tamil asylum seekers in Merak, Indonesia, had spent 100 days on their boat in appalling conditions. This is despite almost half of them being already recognised by the United Nations as refugees.

Christmas Island detainees charged

Eleven men detained in the Christmas Island detention centre have been charged and appeared in court on January 20 over a fight that broke out among 150 asylum seekers on November 21. They were remanded until a later date.

Further Australian News

International News

Ecuador's Correa condemns right-wing coup plot

Left-wing Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa said that a conspiracy to destabilise his country, funded by the right-wing factions in the United States, has been uncovered, a January 4 Juventud Rebelde article said.

Ecuador: Chevron's dirty tactics delay trial over eco-destruction

Since 1993, oil giant Texaco, owned by Chevron since 2001, has been fighting an ongoing legal and publicity battle against an unlikely adversary.

Further International News

Comment and Analysis

Racist attacks on Indian students increase

Bashings of Indian students continue, revealing that despite official statements to the contrary, racism in Australia persists.

"The boss is coming — look busy!'

I read Volume One of Karl Marx's Capital while working on a production line in a food factory.

Further Comment and Analysis

Letters

Write on

Child detention Congratulations to Sue Gilbey for winning the International Bremen Peace Award and working to end Australia's shameful treatment of asylum seekers. (Suffering in the 'lucky country', GLW #822). My country, Scotland, also treats

General

We kid you not

United States: 'Post-racial' reality "According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in November 2009 unemployment for whites was 9.3%, but 15.6% for Blacks … Long-term unemployment … is twice as high for African Americans. "Black

Fighting fund: For the billions, not the billionaires

Bob Lutz, senior General Motors executive, thinks global warming “has nothing to do with CO2” and “everything to do with solar activity”, the January 21 Sydney Morning Herald said.

Resistance!

Why capitalism needs racism

The recent murder of Nitin Garg highlighted continuing violence against Indian students. It has led some to ask “Is Australia a racist country?” and put others on the defensive about Australia’s racist image.

Sexism is not 'all good fun'

A nightclub in Singapore held an event on January 16 encouraging women to have their breast size judged in exchange for alcohol. Material for the event titled Fill my Cups invited women to “step right up to the Boobie Booth and flaunt what you’ve got”.

Cultural Dissent

Avatar: Anti-imperialism in 3D

Avatar is a visually stunning marvel of film technology, as many reviewers will tell you. But what really stands out in James Cameron's newest film is its unabashed critique of corporate greed — and its inspiring tale of solidarity and resistance against occupation.

Every day life in the country the US destroyed

Iraqi Girl: Diary of a Teenage Girl in Iraq Edited by Elizabeth Wrigley-Field, developed by John RossHaymarket Books, Chicago, 2009206 pp, $24.95

Further Cultural Dissent

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