GLW issue number 894

in

Malalai Joya: Australia is making Afghanistan worse

Malalai Joya is a writer, activist and former parliamentarian in the national assembly of Afghanistan. Prior to speaking at two Overland events at the 2011 Melbourne Writers’ Festival, she discussed occupation and resistance in Afghanistan today. * * *

Poverty and inequality in Bolivia -- some stats

Bolivia Information Office In July, in response to a polemical document issued by a number of critics of the Morales government, Bolivian vice-president Alvaro Garcia Linera published a lengthy response. In it -- among other things -- he drew attention to the government’s social achievements. Below is some of the official data on which Garcia Linera based his case. Poverty Using data from the UDAPE (a government think tank), gleaned from the household surveys conducted by the INE, we can see that:

Australian News

WikiLeaks: US told about Australia's Afghanistan troop plans before the public

In 2007, Australian government officials repeatedly told the US embassy in Canberra of its plans to increase Australian troop commitments in Afghanistan. But they asked the US government to keep quiet about it, as the plans had not yet been made public. Other Australian officials briefed the embassy on Australia’s likely troop deployments even before the federal cabinet had approved it. The revelations are contained in three embassy cables — classified secret — that were released by WikiLeaks on August 29. Related coverage:

Emotional refugee rights protest marks Tampa scandal

Marking the 10th anniversary of the Tampa scandal, when the former John Howard government refused to allow the MV Tampa to dock in Australia after it had rescued asylum seekers at sea, close to 100 refugee rights activists converged on the Perth detention centre outside the domestic airport on August 27. The rally, which was organised by the Refugee Rights Action Network, called for the end of mandatory detention and for the rejection of the federal government's plans to export asylum seekers as part of the so-called Malaysian Solution.
Further Australian News

International News

United States: Indigenous peoples join pipeline protests

National environmental justice and indigenous rights organisation the Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN) that took part in the largest act of civil disobedience in decades at the White House in Washington DC from August 20 to September 3. The purpose of these actions was to send a direct message to President Barack Obama to deny approval of the 2739 kilometre Keystone XL pipeline.

United States: New York prisoners left to face Irene

“We are not evacuating Rikers Island,” New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a news conference on August 26. Bloomberg announced a host of extreme measures being taken by New York City in preparation for the arrival of Hurricane Irene. These included shutting down the public transit system and the unprecedented mandatory evacuation of about 250,000 people from low-lying areas. But in response to a reporter’s question, the mayor stated in no uncertain terms (and with more than a hint of annoyance) that one group of New Yorkers on vulnerable ground would be staying put.
Further International News

Letters

Letters to the editor

Dismissive letter on depression not helpful Mark Harris’ well-balanced and thoroughly materialist short analysis of depression “Capitalism is just depressing” (GLW #888) did not warrant Dr David Faber’s dismissive comment (GLW #892): “If you want to be Marxist, demonstrate a little historical materialism please.”