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| Poem: The memory sinkhole or the danger of history |
| 09.03.05 (8:23 pm) [edit] |
This poem appeared in the Green Left Weekly, Current Issue # 640.
The battle for freedom over tyranny
Is the battle of remembering over forgetting
- Milan Kundera
And yet there is another battle, but I'll save it for the end
As they write their lopsided histories of fiction
'cause they get paid to show only one side
where the others just don't count
this has been happening from the beginning of time
And even the adopted father of history comitted this
crime
So, where are the worker's histories, Herodotus?
I don't see them in your mmany anointed volumes
concerning rich minorities and your obsessive hatred of
the Persians,
Their struggles are just not mentioned and I want to know about them
Then and now
And I want to know why Lenin laughed at Churchill's
history of the Revolution
Written from so many miles away and before his time
And did that war end in 1918 or 1919 with the invasion of
the white armies?
And I want to know about James Connolly and read his
essay on landlordism
And I want to know what he said to his daughter working
in that textile mill
Before what came during 1916
And I want to know what Orwell meant when he said that
what he was witnessing in Spain in 1936 was not just a
Civil War but the birth of a revolution, and why that was then put down?
And I want to know about the Australian servicemen who revolted at Syndey Central
And why I can't tell the difference between the
concentration camps in Europe during the 1940's and the
last for the immigrants today
And what the Wobblies did in 'Frisco at the turn of last
century to stop longer hours on the docks. And what they
tried to do at Hoover Dam with workers dying everyday.
And I want to know why the CIA murders of trade unionists are mentioned in Colombia
Whilst being written off as "work accidents" in this country
And I want to know more about the Northwoods document and what they really did to the Maine? And why they are afraid of little Cuba.
And that other September 11 in Chile
And soon they'll be telling you their birthdate
And what literature you should be valuing
And why Shakespeare is looking so good when nobody
seems to understand a fucking line
And praising Alexander The Great's imperialism and not his mistake
And Genghis Khan's
And Caisus Caesar's
And Dubya's and not his mistake
And that function of patriotism that expires when the
servicemen return
With stories of their own and who are suddenly forgotten
and left off the streets
Then and now
And soon they'll be telling you what you're interested in
And where you should be putting what little they pay you
And calling you troublemaker when you start speaking -the
truth
And saying you don't have the understanding of putting
pen to paper
Just so you don't start writing your own histories
Or make your own films
Or forge your own guns in a desperate bid for freedom.
Brad Evans
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| A Socialist Party In Perth |
| 09.03.05 (8:05 pm) [edit] |
Yesterday I opted out of the fundrasing bash the Green Left Weekly supporters put on Saturday night. But I understand from talking to my mate Barry things went very well. Over 120 people paid between $17 and $30 to attend, so lots of money was made for the paper. A speaker from the Maritime Union Of Australia pledged his union's support for Australia's largest alternative media.
Alongside the other speakers were the Brigandistas, Emma Clancy and a couple of other members who travelled to Venezuela and Cuba to report on what they saw there. Their reports showed the depth of support Socialist ideas have in South America at the moment.
Then there was dancing to Latin music and also Indian food, and the whole place was decked with banners and streamers of left-wing orientation.
Apparently over 10 people attended the event from the Hills Brach of Socialist Alliance, where I am. The report I had suggested they really enjoyed their time.
Terrible stories emerging from New Orleans. It is believed up to 40 Australians remain unaccounted for. One woman was not told of the hurricane when she got off at the airport in New Orleans. I think with George Bush as your president, there would be very little pressure on authorities to address civil defence. I have heard that some Marines were shot at the Superdrome, at least one fatally, also there were only 200 Marines there providing "security" for 25,000 people. And what I find the most remarkable, they were'nt allowed to leave the Superdrome while everything from Child Rape to Suicide was carried out by gangs of people. That is unacceptable, and the people there who survived those sorts of traumatic sights deserve a good compensation in the civil courts for the government's stunning inefficiency.
Well I guess until later, you comments are welcome.
With Affection,
Matthew
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| Memories Of The Week That Was |
| 09.02.05 (2:56 pm) [edit] |
Hello again, this post is just about how the week went politically for me. I was able to sell Green Left Weeklies in Perth city at the Train Station overpass to Myer shopping centre. It went well. Three sales in forty-five minutes. I met a couple of new activist friends, popped into the Swan Valley Nyungar Community offices, did a stall at the University Of Western Australia with our petiton for withdrawing Australian troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, and of course I attended the meeting on the Gaza Withdrawal.
The meeting on Gaza invited a mixed audience demographically, and there was an excellent review of the depiction of Palestinians in the "West Australian" newspaper and the capitalist mass media market in general. In comparison with Marines who are "ambushed by insurgents" we can see the Iraqis said to have died "in a crossfire" every night on the news. There were many more examples of the racism of the mass media. They don't report on the impact of the pass laws on working class people in Palestine, having to give up on plans for a higher education or not being about to seek sick grandmothers and friends outside the checkpoints gives terrorist sects a justification for their individual acts of terrorism.
The Socialist Alternative meeting went down very well. The discussion centred around how captialism prefers the nuclear family to provide childcare and education free of charge, and how nationalists often seek to "divert" the media from reporting on issues of racism, sexism and homophobia. I used the example of Charles Perkins, the well-known aboriginal rights activist, who in his dying days finally repudiated his statements in 1988 about Asian immigration, as an example of how people can be pulled into racist debates. I pointed out Charles Perkins expressed his greatest sorrow on an SBS television documentary for his mistake in believing in a cut in Asian immigration for aboriginal nationalist reasons. He was very remorseful about it. And that shows the alientation from our species being that Marx talks about in his earlier philosophical works.
And I spoke about the Swan Valley Nyungah Community holding a rally on the 21st of August that drew 200 people to launch the legal campaign against the privatisation of the sacred coastline, so that future generations will enjoy it for themselves as public lands. The state labor government and private transnational developers plan to build at various points in the Cockburn Sound/Coogee Beach area, a marina for millionaries to dock their boats, land infill from the sandhills to the Indian ocean stretching over 140 meters, an expensive desalination plant fuelled by an oil-powered power station. Not surprisingly over 20 different environmental organisations all over WA have sent in their solidarity to Iva Hayward-Jackson the Nyungah community activist and spokesperson for the protestors.
Everything went well also at the stall I attended on Wednesday. People were generally very supportive of our stall. Many signatures were collected and 9 copies of the "Socialist Alternative" magazine were sold inside 2 hours so I would that a great success. 4 new names were added to our contact list.
And tonight of course I party to the sounds of Latin American bands and savour some Indian cruisine as part of the fundraising bash the Green Left Weekly supporters are having here in Perth. I will be going along to dance - (it's ages since I danced, and nothing like the rumba or tango in my life) - so I hope to have a great night out. More comment on that later on. Of course the Brigadistas (a group of Socialists who travelled across South America) will be giving their report on Venezeula and Cuba. That too should be very interesting.
Well friends I guess that it's for now. I have found some good original poetry sites, and I will eventually have some poetry up for you. Thanks for your patience,
With Affection,
Matthew Davis
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| Ruling Class Divisions On Fuel Price Increases |
| 08.31.05 (1:12 am) [edit] |
From the Australian Broadcasting Corporation comes a story of differences of opinion amongst the world's corporeal elite on the question of the likely impact of oil prices. I have no doubt given recent labor market statistics and recent job losses that the impact is being felt, and will be felt for many years to come.
Socialists have traditionally spoken about the unproductive nature of a privately owned market economy, and the "boom-bust" nature of unplanned anarchic production. There's always bound to be recessions as such, and it'll be the working class people - pensioners, students, casual workers, sub-contractors and junior public servants - who will bear most of the price. And with my memories of the early 80's and 90's recession, the fact that social service provision is only a fraction as much as it once was, makes it all the more disgusting to think of the future impact of another oil triggered recession on people's life-time income levels.
Anyway "here is the news":
Forbes delegates mull over rising oil prices
World business leaders attending the Forbes Global CEO Conference in Sydney have focused much of their discussions on the sharp rise in the cost of fuel.
Professor Joseph Stiglitz, from Colombia University, says oil prices have soared more than 60 per cent in the past year.
"Obviously the high oil prices dampen the economy, they represent a cost that was in some sense not fully anticipated," he said.
"No one expected prices at this level."
Steve Forbes believes the current record prices are unsustainable.
But Professor Stiglitz says prices are likely to remain high for the next two to three years, leading to inflationary pressures.
"You add to that an interest rate increase and that obviously is not good for the global economy," he said.
Professor Stiglitz says Hurricane Katrina, which has cut production of oil in the Gulf of Mexico, is a reminder of the vulnerability of the global energy system.
"One event can lead to this huge change in price and there will be other events of this kind, so what we've done is we have system where we don't have sufficient resilience," he said.
But the Professor says the situation is not as bad as the 1970s world oil shock.
The Forbes meeting is going ahead without much disruption from protesters, although there have been further anti-globalisation protests in Sydney.
A group of around 200 protesters marched on an ANZ building in the city centre.
Police arrested eight protesters amid some scuffling.
They have been charged with a number of offences, including resisting arrest and ignoring the directions of police.
Mounted police also surrounded the group, but later allowed them to march down George Street to Customs House.
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| Cheaper US Fuel For Poor Americans |
| 08.31.05 (12:55 am) [edit] |
Hello. This article caught my attention when it was posted on the Green Left Weekly discussion group. Hugo Chavez describes his revolution in Venezeula as "Bolivarian" - bringing memories of Louis Bolivar, the man born in Venezeula who fought for South American unity in the face of Spanish and other imperialism. It seems this great 19th century principle now applies to the cost of living of the working class inside the United States border.
YFTR,
Matthew
Chavez offers fuel at 40% discount to poor US citizens
by Hugh O'Shaughnessy in Caracas
VENEZUELA: The Venezuelan government of President Hugo Chavez is to
offer fuel at a discount of up to 40 per cent to millions of US citizens
of modest means.
In a series of moves outlined on Sunday evening which are bound to cause
intense irritation in Washington, he also announced he would sue the
millionaire preacher and politician Rev Marion "Pat" Robertson in the US
courts for "incitement to terrorism" over the latter's call last week
for his assassination.
Speaking in Caracas at a gathering of the Organisation of American
States, the Washington-based body which traditionally reflects US
interests in the Western Hemisphere and which currently excludes Cuba,
he called for a continent-wide referendum on the island's exclusion.
In the presence of Jose Miguel Insulza, its Chilean secretary general,
he went on to hint that the Latin American and Caribbean members of the
OAS should take themselves off to a new body which better reflected
their interests.
Not content with that, the Venezuelan leader, who returned last week
from a visit to Cuba, announced his country would co-operate with
President Fidel Castro on a scheme to offer eye treatment, principally
cataract operations, at no cost for needy citizens of any country in the
Western Hemisphere
The plan, "Operation Miracle", already operating between Venezuela and
Cuba, includes return flights for the patient and one accompanying
person. The target is to save the sight of 600,000 people a year for 10
years.
Speaking on Sunday on his weekly television programme Alo, Presidente,
the Venezuelan leader lambasted "commercialised medicine" and said he
and Gen Castro had reserved space in the scheme for 150,000 needy US
citizens a year.
He urged those anywhere in North, Central and South America and the
Caribbean, who felt they could qualify for the free service, to register
at Venezuelan embassies and consulates for a health check to determine
their needs and arrange necessary treatment.
Mr Chavez made the offer in the presence of the Rev Jesse Jackson, the
black US pastor and politician, who is visiting Caracas on the
anniversary of Martin Luther King's famous "I have a dream" speech in
Washington in 1963.
The speech cost King his life.
Venezuela's largesse is rooted in the enormous windfall profits that the
country, the world's fifth largest oil producer, is reaping from the
current high price of crude. Venezuela's cash reserves, fed from oil
receipts, said Mr Chavez, now contained a record $31 billion.
Part of the existing cash mountain is being used to promote development
among Venezuela's neighbours. Furthermore, Venezuelan oil reserves are
about to be recalculated and, say Venezuelan experts, this should show
the country's new total will exceed those of Saudi Arabia, currently
seen as the world's largest.
Mr Jackson warmly welcomed the move to provide fuel for the poor in his
country, as he condemned the call by Mr Robertson, the
ultra-conservative television preacher and erstwhile contender for the
US presidency, for Mr Chavez's neutralisation.
Mr Chavez, whose popularity is undimmed with the electorate here, has
irked the US government with his nationalist attitudes, his public
support for Cuba and his penchant for rousing public statements in
favour of "21st century socialism".
Supplies of cheap Venezuelan fuel could, Mr Chavez said, be distributed
with the assistance of Citgo, a company with refineries and more than
10,000 petrol stations in the US which is owned by PDVSA, the Venezuelan
state oil company.
Potential beneficiaries of the cut-price fuel could be identified by the
charities with which Mr Jackson is connected.
In his speech to the OAS delegates - which was nothing if not ambitious
- the president went on to announce a continent-wide programme to
abolish illiteracy on the lines of that carried out in Cuba and the
Venezuelan one which, he said, had taught all Venezuelans to read and
write in less than two years.
Mr Chavez will have done his standing with the poor of the region no
harm as he pushed for the OAS to adopt a "Social Charter for the
Americas", laying down new rights for 222 million of the continent's
citizens - nearly half Latin America's total population - who live in
chronic poverty. These include the right to health, employment and
leisure. "Democratic politics are not enough. We have to guarantee our
peoples the right to eat," he declared.
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| A Couple Of Jokes |
| 08.30.05 (4:41 am) [edit] |
Jesus and Satan have an argument as to who is the better programmer. This goes on for a few hours until they agree to hold a contest with God as the judge.
They set themselves before their computers and begin. They type furiously for several lines of code streaming up the screen. Seconds before the end of the competition, a bolt of lightning strikes, taking out the electricity.
Moments later, the power is restored, and God announces that the contest is over. He asks Satan to show what he had come up with. Satan is visibly upset, and cries, "I have nothing! I lost it all when the power went out."
"Very well, then." said God, "Let us see it Jesus fared any better."
Jesus entered a command, and the screen came to life in vivid display, the voices of an angelic choir poured forth from the speakers.
Satan was astonished and stuttered, "But how? I lost everything, yet Jesus' program is intact! How did he do it?"
God chuckled and replied, "Jesus saves."
Christian Spirit
A Baptist preacher went to visit a member of the community and invited him to come to church Sunday morning.
It seems that this man was a producer of fine peach brandy, and told the preacher that he would attend his church IF the pastor would drink some of his brandy and admit doing so in front of his congregation. The preacher agreed and drank up.
Sunday morning the man visited the church. The preacher recognized the man from the pulpit and said: "I see Mr. Johnson is here with us this morning. I want to thank him publicly for his hospitality this week and especially for the peaches he gave me and the spirit in which they were given."
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| Local Land Rights And "Oil For Food" documentary |
| 08.30.05 (3:52 am) [edit] |
Tonight I am going to find some jokes for this blog and tell you a little about the documentary from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation I just watched on the SBS television network detailing the web of lies and corruption in the administration of the UN "Oil for Food" program.
But first yesterday afternoon I went into the office of the Swan Valley Nyugah Community - the main local aboriginal community of the city of Perth where I live, and I discovered that the land rights rally held on Sunday the 21 August actually saw 200 people gather from a wide variety of organisations opposed to the private sale of WA coastline to a multinational corporation to develop an environmentally damaging Desalination Plant. The aboriginal people are lodging a Section 10 permanent protection order under the Federal Act protecting sacred sites. They are still awaiting a response from the Federal Minister, but plan further rallies which I am my friends in both Socialist Alternative and the Socialist Alliance will help build through leafleting, media releases, and other propoganda work.
The Canadian documentary disclosed the Saddam Hussein was given the privilige of being able to choose the suppliers of food and medicine and the customers for the Iraqi oil. He used this power to bribe - and the journalist was given a bribery list which shows a huge amount of kickbacks (commissions) for diplomats, politicians, businessmen, and even the Vatican and Russian Orthodox churces. Even Vladmir Zhironosky the Russian nationalist recieved a bribe of over 79 million barrels of oil for his
anti-sanctions crusading.
During the time of the "oil for food" program, there were many disclosures of these corrupt kick-backs, which were overlooked by both the US and the UN. The company charged with regulating the system of sanctions - a Swiss company headed by a Mr Benan Sevan - was already under criminal investigation for fraud and concealing unauthorised payments from it's sharedholders. Koffi Annan's son was employed by this company. Annan orginally claimed he had retired but it was later disclosed that his son continued to receive corrupt payments - as did Benan Sevan - well after he retired in 1998.
Koffi Annan strongly supported the "Oil For Food" program a long time before it was introduced, and had personally visited Saddam before becoming the Secretary-General of the UN.
For those unaware of the history, Saddam was the subject of blanket UN sanctions after the first Gulf War but successfully stalled for years until it became apparent that working-class people were the only Iraqis suffering from the sanctions. From this came former UN secretary general Boutros Boutros Ghali's idea of "smart sanctions" applied only at the Iraqi ruling class but allowing lifesaving food and medicine through to the Iraqi masses, who had urgent health care and starvation needs.
At the moment the US Justice Department and the Congress are both investigating criminal payments made by the middle-men in the management of the "oil for food" program. It is believed most kick-backs went to Syrian, Jordanian, Russian and French business, media and political interests.
Food for thought. I must admit my thinking would be very similar to Boutros Boutros Ghali's at the time the sanctions were introduced. But now many former supporters of the program, like myself, can see how it was abused and if anything support the blanket sanctions or at least a much better regulated system than was the "oil for food" fiasco. Some admire Koffi Annan for - albeit belatedly - instigating the Volker inquiry which investigated some of the corrupt deals. But many are also calling for him to be sacked, or put in prison, mainly for doing nothing for many years after it became clear the program was being abused to a massive degree.
Now enough of the serious stuff - I'm going scouring the net however long it takes for a couple of seriously funny jokes for the readers of my blog. A gift for my new-found friends. If I can get some good original poetry I'll share that for you as well.
With Affection,
Matthew
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| Refugee Rights Protest |
| 08.28.05 (3:05 am) [edit] |
Today's protest was a worthwhile effort that in spite of the rainy conditions saw about 50 people turn out to welcome the Refugee Rights Action Network and other speakers, who spoke for some length about the conditions inside the detention centres and the need to end the policy of mandatory detention and the unequal laws affecting those seeking asylum or refugee status in our country.
I dressed in my dark blue trousers and black jacket as a mock Immigration officer, a guise made more convincing by Louise Platt the state Labor party politician lending me a whistle and a pair of immigration officer badges.
The central stall, beside the Amnesty International stall, had a petition and contact information for RRAN. Mock queues were created leading to the table itself. Louise and I must have handed out many dozens of leaflets, and probably about 20 new contacts were made.
If only the news were better for my sporting teams. Australia is facing defeat in the cricket, and the Fremantle Dockers dream of making the finals this year ended with a valiant effort against Port Adelaide at AAMI stadium in Adelaide. We went down by a few goals, but for 3/4rs of the game we were very good. After the refugee protest, I met some of my friends in the Socialist Alternative - Jess,
Louis, and Jacinta. We spoke about the looming recession, the emptiness of the "middle ground" position in politics, over coffee. We are a happy lot. I spoke also about the
constitution sham in Iraq, how little that means to ordinary working class Iraqis and how the US has lost the war.
And so until my blog tomorrow I guess I must end this here.
With Affection,
Matthew
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| Socialist Alliance Column In Darlington Review |
| 08.27.05 (1:40 am) [edit] |
Hello,
This article will be published in the local paper the Darlington Review, a paper which has allowed the Perth Hills Branch of the Socialist Alliance to publish a regular column. It concerns Tampa Day, the annual day of protest around Australia agains the government's policy of mandatory detention of asylum seekers and refugees. I think it will work well on my blog as a brief summary of the protest i'm going to report on tomorrow night.
With Affection,
Matthew
Article begins from here:
Local refugee rights supporters can be justly pleased that our MHR, Judi Moylan, took note of the campaign and played a role in forcing the federal government to bow to the pressure of public opinion about the mistreatment of refugees in Australia. The broad-based movement has won some significant victories in recent months.
The remaining 43 children and their families were released on July 29 (but are now caught in “community detention”). The refugee prison on Christmas Island emptied on the same day and its victims were given Temporary Protection Visas.
Peter Qasim, the longest serving prisoner, was released on July 17. After 6 years and 10 months mind-bending detention, the government has graciously encumbered him with a “return-pending” visa. By mid-August 70 of the 150 refugees who had been detained for over 2 years were out of the prisons.
But now dozens of asylum seekers who have been given a return-pending visa are living in uncertainty, not knowing when they will be returned to the country they fled from.
To move beyond window-dressing the government needs to resolve several outstanding injustices. There are 6 Villawood refugees who have been imprisoned for over 5 years. The scandal of the treatment of Vivian Solon, who was wrongfully deported to the Philippines, has yet to be addressed. There are more than 8,000 refugees on “E”-type bridging visas who are not allowed to work and so are forced to live on charity and there are still 32 asylum seekers on Nauru (that prison alone costs $1 million per person per year).
And more fundamentally, the unjust mandatory detention laws remain in place.
A government that deliberately sets out to torment refugees can hardly demand of Islamic schools that they “teach Australian values”. All schools should guard against the values that this government practices.
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| Is A Recession Looming? |
| 08.25.05 (8:21 pm) [edit] |
Qantas recently laid off staff due to rising world oil prices. In NSW, another period of negative economic growth when the September 9 figures come out will put them into a recession. And now I find this item on today's Australian Broadcasting Corporation news site. This is just a snippet - the main news can be found on: http://www.abc.net.au/news/ne...
The next recession will come after 10 years of cutbacks in social services and education. Here in Australia the Hawke government repeatedly denied Australia was in recession until the growth figures came out. Doubtless there will be a "hide and seek" game with the Canberra bureacrats soon enough. I think though it has taken a fair while to hit, in NSW at least, given that a recession is due roughly every 11.5 years. I was surprised the Asian Economic Crisis didn't hit Australia in the late 90's. Of course, successive Labor and Liberal Party governments have been basking in "economic growth" - which is measured in corporate trading and profit - instead of doing something about the enormous growth in low-paying service sector jobs, mostly casual, or the impact of the GST on beer, books, CD's. That's why each recession that hits us in the next decade or two will impact harder than the last one. That should make people realise how little power the executive suited politicians in Canberra have over our lives, compared to corporations.
I also heard on the notorious Ch 9 news this morning that the government will be using new "national security laws" to sack thousands of waterside workers as "security risks". The Maritime Union Of Australia denies any such problem. Perhaps we will be hearing more of this later.
Holden cuts 1,400 assembly jobs
Holden is to cut 1,400 jobs at its Elizabeth assembly plant in Adelaide's north.
The jobs will go after the company's board decided to cut production due to slowing local sales and exports.
Holden says the move was influenced by increased competition from imported vehicles and changes to local and export sales forecasts in the coming years, with demand predicted to fall short of expectations.
It has reported that the third shift of 1,000 positions will be wound down at the end of the year, with another 400 jobs to go in the middle of next year.
Employees are being asked to consider voluntary separation packages and were notified late last night.
Prime Minister John Howard says the federal and South Australian governments will offer an assistance package to the workers who will be displaced.
Mr Howard is expected to join South Australian Treasurer Kevin Foley to announce a $10 million joint package.
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| An Introduction To Myself And My Blog |
| 08.25.05 (4:43 pm) [edit] |
G'day everyone, please allow me to introduce myself. I am Matthew and I live in Perth, capital of Western Australia. I don't often get to see the Swan River, it is beautiful and as people more interested in Australian history might know, is indeed home to the Black Swans that gave the river it's name. Before the late 19th century, Perth was known as the "Swan River Colony". It's population remained pretty small before the Minerals Boom in WA came in the 1960's with the discovery of Iron Ore in the state's North. Since then the population has jumped to around 2 million.
You're probably wondering what this blog is about, and what sorts of interests I have. I have several. I usually read more then one book at a time, but spend most of my time doing various political activities for the Socialist Alliance. I also like helping out a party called the Socialist Alternative when I can. They have a stall at the University of Western Australia every Wednesday from 12 on to around 2, and hold regular public meetings. For many years I was an active member of the Socialist Party, sometimes known as the Committee For A Workers International, and although I made a lot of friends that way, I had to give that away because of poor health. But now I've bounced back.
I guess this blog is devoted to those sorts of interests, political and literary, but hopefully there will be some humor, some world news, sports, other stuff that gets my attention. If you check back every few days, you should be able to find something that would give you joy.
I have a couple of events to report on this week, on Sunday there is a rally happening to comemmorate Tampa Day, that's on at the Murray Street Mall. Tampa Day is held all around Australia by refugee rights activists. In 2001, the Howard government won an election largely on the lies they told about the sinking of the Tampa, fasely accusing the women in the refugee boat of throwing their children overboard to generate media attention. This was exposed by a parliamentary inquiry, when naval officers testifed they were gagged from telling the truth. Over the last 15 years, both the ALP and the Liberal Party have attacked refugees, turing the former reception centres into detention centres and returning refugees back to warzones in Iraq, Afghanistan, and several other countries - Iran for example - with shocking human rights records. A large protest movement has built up calling for an end to mandatory detention and the restoration of social rights. Recently the Howard government decided to end the seperation of children from their mothers and took other reforms to speed up the determination process, but the policy of mandatory detention remains. I should add that Australia only takes in just over 10,000 refugees per year, and over 95% of these successfully process their claims for citizenship.
I'll give a brief report back on that protest probably Monday. I'll also be dropping into the Perth office of the Swan Valley Nyungah Community, who are engaged in a land rights dispute with the Gallop state Labor government around the Desalination Plants being built at Coogee. I'll also show you my article I'll send off to various left wing papers on Malaysian politics sometime during the next 10 days or so. On Monday Australia's largest progressive media the Green Left Weekly comes out online, so with a fair amount of luck - for it's a high rejection rate - they might be carrying my article on the continuing campaign to get the US government to clean up it's toxic mess and transfer their land at Vieques back to the islanders themselves.
So lots to talk about in the near future. Your comments are welcome so long as they are constructive, otherwise if obviously offensive to people they will of course be deleted ASAP.
With Affection,
Matthew
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