Australia

  • The environmental footprint of war

    The following is an abridged speech given by Judith Le Blanc, a Native American activist and organising coordinator for the US peace group United for Peace and Justice (UPJ). Le Blanc is touring Australia to campaign against the 2009 Talisman Sabre joint US-Australian military war games focusing on a Peace Convergence Weekend on July 10-12, at Rockhampton, central Queensland. She was speaking at a July 7 forum in Brisbane.

  • The monster that ate Michael Jackson

    Michael Jackson died a lonely death on June 25. Since then, there has been a near continuous outpouring of grief by millions of fans around the world.

  • Iranians discuss democracy movement

    Thirty people at a July 6 meeting hosted by the Sydney Stop the War Coalition heard from Sara Poya, an Iranian-Australian anti-war activist and researcher, and Mansour Razaghi, from the Committee in Solidarity with Iranian Workers (Australia). Razaghi is also an organiser with the CFMEU.

  • On the box

    Bush Bands Bash — Every year, Alice Springs comes alive to the sounds of desert reggae, rock and gospel music with this showcase Indigenous event, the Bush Bands Bash. ABC1, Friday July 17, 6pm. Tnorala — An emotive film by Warwick Thornton,

  • NAIDOC rally demands land rights

    Five hundred people rallied and marched on July 10 in Melbourne to celebrate NAIDOC week. The theme of NAIDOC 2009 was Honouring Our Elders, Nurturing Our Youth.

  • WIN's win means job losses

    Public broadcaster ABC has entered into a controversial joint venture with Australia’s largest regional commercial television network, WIN TV, to run the ABC’s master control centre to send out television and radio signals. WIN TV’s transmission spans the largest geographical area in the world, reaching more than 5.2 million viewers across Australia.

  • Write On: Letters to the editor

    Mr Ward and police brutality Last year's death of Aboriginal elder Mr Ward in the back of a prison van is the tip of a larger problem, which those who say "it must never happen again" actually avoid looking at. The problem is exposed by a

  • Sri Lanka: 'The wrecking of a country'

    The modern history of Sri Lanka represents “the wrecking of a country: from the ‘pearl of the Indian Ocean’, to ‘the killing fields of South Asia’”, Dr Brian Senewiratne told a meeting of the Brisbane city Amnesty International group on July 8.

  • Protesters demand Rudd isolate apartheid Israel

    Activists from the Brisbane-based group Justice for Palestine picketed the office of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on July 9. The action marked the five-year anniversary of the International Court of Justice decision declaring Israel's apartheid wall “contrary to international law”.

  • Tamil Eelam will be free

    The Tamil Freedom Struggle in Sri LankaBy Chris Slee, Dr Brian Senewiratne & Vickramabahu KarunarathneResistance Books, 2009 38 pages, $5 (pb)Available from