Culture

It rarely takes very long into an Olympics for the myth that the games are above politics to be shattered. For the London 2012 games, the myth was smashed well before the games begun. A series of incidents involving Australian athletes have shown that politics are at the heart of the games. Despite winning the Olympic trial earlier this year, athlete John Steffensen was not selected to represent Australia in the individual 400 metres sprint, replaced by 19 year old Steve Solomon.

The Dark Knight Rises Directed by Christopher Nolan Starring Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway In cinemas now The Dark Knight Rises, the last in the trilogy of Batman films by director Christopher Nolan, may well become a favourite for many of those who despise, fear or distrust the working class.

From the red sands of Woomera and Alice Springs to Yeppoon in tropical Queensland, down to the urban cities and towns of the southern states, then back over to the precious West Australian coastline, 3CR’s national programs are currently being played on more than 50 of 150 community radio stations around the nation, with this number aiming to increase over the coming year. Across the station there are nine diverse programs, which are broadcast nationally on the Community Radio Network (CRN).

"Pretty much all of our bands write songs about social, political and personal issues," says Pete Harding, the founder of South Australian hardcore punk label Pee Records.

Waltzing at the Doomsday Ball: The Best of Joe Bageant By Joe Bageant Scribe Publications, 2011 $32.95, 298 pp. Joe Bageant was a feature on many United States left-wing websites, such as Counterpunch, over the years. His writing is witty, outrageous and with a penetratingly cynical view of working-class American life. Bageant, who died last year, came from a depressed, working-class community in Winchester, Virginia, and never lost his love/hate relationship with the people he knew so well there.

Rupert Murdoch: An Investigation Of Political Power By David McKnight Allen & Unwin, 2012 285 pages, $29.95 (pb) An adviser to the former New Labour government of Tony Blair in Britain called right-wing media tycoon Rupert Murdoch the “24th member of cabinet”. The advisor said no big decision inside No. 10 was ever made without “taking into account the likely reaction” of Murdoch.

Congratulations on the launch of Green Left TV in Sydney on July 7. With the filming of the second Green Left Report in front of a live audience, it was a night to remember. Let’s hope that this is the start of something big. Community media needs our support to make it grow.

Reading this former Reuters reporter's analysis of the news industry is like watching an episode of detective series Columbo unfold. Like the seemingly innocent inspector Columbo, Patrick Chalmers at first comes across as disconcertingly naive.

Brisbane-based singer-songwriter Phil Monsour has just released his latest CD, Ghosts of Dier Yassin. As those familiar with the struggles of the Palestinian people may recognise from the title, many songs convey the hopes and spirit of the Palestinian people longing for freedom and security.

Deep Green Resistance: Strategy to Save the Planet Aric McBay, Lierre Keith & Derrick Jensen Seven Stories Press, 2011 In its March-April issue, Canadian Dimension magazine featured a very positive review of Deep Green Resistance. The reviewer said it “made me a better strategist,” and endorsed author Derrick Jenson’s assertion that “this book is about winning.”

Newcastle punks Local Resident Failure are heavier than Clive Palmer, tighter than Gina Rinehart and have just dropped a motherlode of a debut album.

Most mainstream media journalists would kill to get one of their stories on the front page of The New York Times. But when that happened to the newspaper's Balkans correspondent in 2003, he was less than thrilled.