Stuart Munckton

Khader Adnan is a 33-year-old Palestinian husband and father. As of February 14, he was 59 days into a hunger strike and perilously close to death. He has been held by Israel since December without any charge or trial under an Israeli "administrative detention" order. Such orders violate international law.

There is an urgent need for international action to save Adnan's life and -- beyond that -- force Israel to abolish administrative detention orders (under which someone who is held is denied access to the evidence being used to justify holding them).

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In a grim piece of political theatre that is becoming more frequent, and more surreal, a sombre PM Julia Gillard on October 30 acknowledged the latest three Australian fatalities in Afghanistan by claiming that Australia was winning a just war there.

The death toll of Australian soldiers in the decade-long war is now 32.

Military deaths in Afghanistan are unusually bipartisan events in Australian politics. Gillard’s claims were unreservedly backed up by the Liberal-National opposition.

Bad as Me
Tom Waits
ANTI- Records
www.tomwaits.com
Listen to the album here

Tom Waits, the 61-year-old veteran musical maverick, released his first album of entirely new music in seven years on October 25.

The 17th studio album by famously rough-voiced California-based singer, who was inducted into the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame by Neil Young this year, continues his obsession with telling tales from the wrong side of the tracks.

Occupy Melbourne and Occupy Sydney have regrouped since the brutal police attack on the two camps in the Melbourne and Sydney CBDs on October 21 and 23.

In both cities, the movement is refusing to be intimidated -- and plans are underway for big rallies and attempts to re-occupy public space.

Occupy Melbourne has organised a rally for Saturday, October 29, 12pm at the State Library. The rally will march to the Treasury Gardens, with the goal of setting up a new occupation there.

LIVE BLOG on Occupy Sydney and Melbourne police attacks, peaceful rallies
Diary of an occupier -- seven days at Occupy Melbourne
Socialist Alliance condemns police violence against camps: 'They cannot arrest the truth'

NSW police moved in at about 5am on October 23 to violently evict Occupy Sydney campers in Martin Place.

The Polynesian island nation of Tuvalu, in the Pacific Ocean, is facing a severe shortage of fresh water.

Australia Network News said on October 10 that a state of emergency had been declared and Tuvalu's disaster co-ordinator Sumeo Silu said there was only about three days of water left. Tuvalu is in the midst of a crippling drought and had no rain for months.

ANN said Australia and New Zealand would deploy a large desalination plant to the island, home to about 10,000 people.

As far as I can figure out, watching the recent reports of stock markets making their bid for this year’s World Yo-Yo Championships, it works like this: if a bunch of rich bastards with too much money think shares will go up, they will go up; if the rich bastards think they will go down, they will go down.

And, among other things, this is how they determine whether we can afford to retire.

The Sydney Morning Herald said on August 7 that stock market plunges had wiped $30 billion from Australian superannuation funds over the past six weeks.

The shift to the right of the Labor Party has increasingly created a sense that there is little difference between the two major parties. Both are willing to implement the neoliberal policies pushed by corporate interests and differ only on the details.

On many issues, the shift to the right does not reflect public opinion. This is the context for the growth of support for the Australian Greens in recent years.

The Greens, with nine senators, now hold the balance of power in the Senate as well as one lower house seat.

Hone Harawira, an elected member of New Zealand parliament for the newly formed Mana Party, caused a stir on July 14 when he refused to swear allegiance to the English queen in order to take his seat.

Instead, Harawiri swore allegiance, in Maori, to Te Tiriti o Waitangi (the 1840 treaty between Maori tribes and Britain that recognised Maori ownership of their lands.)

Stuff.co.nz said that day that parliamentary speaker Lockwood Smith refused to swear Harawira in as an MP on the grounds his affirmation was not legal.

Violent attacks and rioting, orchestrated by terrorist Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), have targeted communities of the Catholic minority in Northern Ireland in recent weeks.

The largely working-class Catholic east Belfast suburb of Short Strand was attacked in riots organised by the UVF on June 20. Petrol bombs and rocks were thrown at homes and residents.

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Sinn Fein leader to speak in Australia