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Bahraini democracy activist Zainab Abdulnabi, representing the Bahraini Australian Youth Movement, delivered an impassioned speech at the end of the Sydney May Day march on May 6, 2012

The statement below was released by Ray Jackson, president of the Indigenous Social Justice Association on May 15. Jackson tried to visit Tamil refugees in Villawood detention centre, who have been given adverse security checks by ASIO and cannot be released from detention. Jackson planned to present two men with Original Nation Passports, issued by elder Robbie Thorpe of the Treaty Republic, to let them know the local Aboriginal community welcomed them to Australia.
The NSW Teachers Federation (NSWTF) has called on its members to stop work for two hours on May 18. The union says it has made the decision because “the future of public education in NSW is at stake”. The federation said: “The purpose of the [stop work] meetings will be to hear detailed reports on the very serious impact that Local Schools, Local Decisions and other state government policies will have on working conditions, student learning opportunities and the resourcing of our schools.”

A group of protesters stage a "die-in" action on day one at the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration (APPEA) conference held at the Adelaide Convention Centre on May 14.

The Wilderness Society released the statement below on May 15. * * * Rallies will be held around the country tomorrow (Wednesday, May 16) to protest the outrageous use of police resources to crush community opposition to the proposed James Price Point gas industrial complex in Western Australia’s Kimberley.
Supporters of the Aboriginal Sovereign Embassy in Brisbane’s Musgrave Park released the statement below on May 14. * * * Brisbane City Council has turned its back on negotiations with the Brisbane Sovereign Embassy over its right to exist in Musgrave Park, South Brisbane. This afternoon at around 4pm, Luke Bell from Brisbane City Council told the Embassy by phone that negotiations were off and that Council would be forcibly removing the Embassy in the near future.
Towards a Socialist Australia was adopted as a draft by the 8th National Conference of the Socialist Alliance, held in Sydney, over January 20-22, 2012. Socialist Alliance also voted to consult with members, supporters and allies in the social movements over the coming months to improve this draft and deepen our collective understanding of the current political climate and the nature of the economic and environmental crises.
Melbourne, May 12. Photos by Ali Bakhtiavandi
Melbourne, May 12. Photos by Ali Bakhtiavandi
Eighty four protesters were arrested at a May Day protest in Dili. The 84 were placed in a detention centre. More than 100 protesters had marched to the Hotel Timor, a four star hotel in Dili, on May 1 to demand a pay rise and to stop sackings of local staff. Four staff of the hotel had recently been dismissed after being accused of stealing. The demonstrators chose May 1, the International Workers' Day, to express their concerns and demand their rights.
Celebrity Inc. ― How Famous People Make Money By Jo Piazza Open Road, 2011 231 pages Celebrity is just like printing your own money, says Jo Piazza in Celebrity Inc. Two rich, spoilt, talentless celebrity brats ― Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian ― are experts at the fame game. Kickstarted by family wealth, and propelled to fame through a steamy sex tape and reality TV, Hilton “earns” around US$10 million a year. The Kardashian family franchise raked in $65 million last year.