Democracy

People who love to scream about stern discipline are having a fantastic time in post-riot Britain. My favourite was a man on a Radio 5 phone-in, who ended his rant by yelling: “I TELL you how little discipline there is. My son gets homework and he’s allowed to do it ON HIS COMPUTER. “We need to GET BACK to PENCIL and PAPER!” And you felt that if you suggested “What about pen and paper?”, he’d shriek “NO! NOT PEN, YOU BLOODY LIBERAL. PENCIL! They have to SHARPEN pencils, it teaches them DISCIPLINE!”

On a warm spring day, strolling in south London, I heard demanding voices behind me. A police van disgorged a posse of six or more, who waved me aside.

Living in north London, I often travel via the interchange in Tottenham. Walking between stations I found myself on Ferry Lane Bridge on the evening of August 14, the spot where Mark Duggan was shot by police on August 4.

Up to 400 people gathered in Queens Park here on August 13, as part of a national day of action for equal marriage rights. The rally and march that followed were called for the seventh anniversary of the former Howard government's 2004 ban on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and intersex (LGBTI) people's legal right to marry.

The family of Mark Duggan, shot dead by police in Tottenham on August 4 have called for a second postmortem to be carried out into the cause of his death. Mark Duggan was shot dead by armed police in Ferry Lane, Tottenham Hale, on the evening of August 4 after the minicab in which he was travelling was stopped in a pre-planned operation. The first postmortem suggested he had been shot twice, once in the arm and once in the chest.

Botswana has become the latest country to follow the Western powers in recognising the Benghazi-based Transitional National Council (TNC), set up by rebel forces opposed to Muammar Gaddafi's dictatorship, as the legitimate government of Libya, Mmegi said on August 12. Meanwhile, the August 12 British Telegraph reported that Gaddafi’s regime in Tripoli was threatened by splits.

US President Barack Obama's war on whistleblowers has suffered several setbacks. Two high-profile prosecutions against whistleblowers failed and the mistreatment of alleged WikiLeaks source, military analyst Bradley Manning, has been confirmed. The cases show a pattern of vindictive harassment against anyone involved in leaking information the US government deems “secret”. These cases are part of a broader attack on the public's right to know what governments do behind closed doors.

Dear Mr & Mrs Cameron, Why did you never take the time to teach your child basic morality?

About 200 people have arrived on boats to claim refugee protection in Australia since the Australian and Malaysian governments signed a deal to “swap” refugees on July 25.

“Mob rule”. “Wanton destruction”. “Mindless thuggery”. “Sheer criminality”. Media, politicians and police always say the same thing about urban riots. Riots can spin out of control and engulf ordinary people. But that does not alter the fact that they are rooted in social oppression.

Kevin Bracken, the Victorian secretary of the Maritime Union of Australia, made this statement below in a personal capacity in response to the arrest of four Palestine solidarity activists on August 9. * * * The heavy handed approach taken at the direction of the Victorian government to protesters condemning the Israeli oppression of the Palestinian people should be of concern to the community. The rolling out of arcane legislation to stifle any criticism of the state of Israel is an attack on our right to free speech.

The Geelong and Region Trades and Labour Council released the statement below on August 10.