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On March 21, US President Barack Obama will depart on a short tour of the Asia-Pacific region. His main destinations will be Indonesia and Australia, but the trip will include a brief stopover in Guam.
Two Afghan and nine Tamil asylum seekers faced Christmas Island magistrates court on March 11. They pleaded not guilt to all charges related to a so-called riot in the Christmas Island detention centre last November.

Freedom to hate … injustice Regarding Steve Gumerundji Hodder's article, "Freedom to hate is not free speech" (GLW828). I believe we do have the freedom to hate injustice, tyranny, cruelty and racism, and to say so. I think, too, that the

“Earth Hour” will be held around the world on March 27. The event is organised by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and involves participants switching off their lights for the hour as a symbolic declaration of support for environmental action.
Hundreds of anti-AIDS campaigners on March 1 urged Ugandan lawmakers to reject a proposed anti-gay law calling for tough penalties against homosexuality, including the death penalty, AFP said that day.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono visited Australia over March 9-11. Unsurprisingly, the issue of asylum seekers was the leading concern for the federal Labor government, the corporate media and refugee advocates alike.
On February 25, the Senate rejected the Greens’ amendment to the marriage act that would have seen discrimination on the basis of gender and sexuality removed from the legislation.
Protests were held in London, Toronto, Auckland, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth on March 10 to mark the 150th day that about 250 Tamil asylum seekers have been stuck on a boat at Merak, Indonesia, waiting for resettlement in Australia.
Bridget Chappell, an Australian solidarity worker in the Palestinian territory of the West Bank, was arrested by occupying Israeli forces on February 7 and threatened with deportation for simply engaging in peaceful protests alongside Palestinians.
On May 28, 2008, an elected constituent assembly declared Nepal’s centuries-old semi-feudal monarchy finished. As Nepalese people celebrated in the streets, the Himalayan country was declared a republic.
On March 7, Iraqi national elections were held. The results are not expected to be known for months. With “only” 43 people killed in related violence, the Western media hailed them as a step forward in developing a “democratic” Iraq. Eric Ruder looks at the background to US plans to create a stable client state in the oil-rich nation. The article below is abridged from US Socialist Worker.
Slow Death By Rubber Duck: How the Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Life Affects Our Health
By Rick Smith & Bruce Lourie
University of Queensland Press, 2009
323 pages, $34.95 (pb)