SiCKO uses the "S" word...

by Dave Riley

This last week the premier for Michael Moore's video documentary , SiCKO, here in Brisbane was shared with a special screening for Green Left Weekly..and all that they say is true.

It is Moore's best.

I had caught a few interviews with Moore on Democracy Now -- especially a recording of a speech he gave to the Californian Nurses Association.

Catch it here . You can also catch it on the list of items available here on the LeftClick flash player.

We all know that the documentary is about the US private health 'care' system. But what is not being noted is that the documentary is essentially a dialogue about and with socialism. In effect Moore is arguing and debating throughout the film that socialised industry is a much better way of doing business than the capitalist free market.

And in pursuing his argument he gets to the nitty gritty of the core assumptions that underpin the American way of doing business and fostering a crude and false ideological rationale.

So when his rag tag army of chronically ill 9/11 rescue workers visit Cuba -- it plays like a scene from science fiction as the whole social and economic logic is so much at loggerheads with US presumptions. In effect the moral universe is turned on its head and people do in fact come before profit.

'Tis a very powerful movie in the way that his earlier efforts are not, primarily because in this instance there is little of the theatrical satire that he has relied so much on in the past to anchor his scripts.

If The Battle of Algiers is the quintessential movie of the radicalising sixties, SiCKO is its contemporary counterpart I think.

What's interesting to me is that in the space of this 40 years it is the documentary and not so much the feature film that can realize so much political potency.

Consider An Inconvenient Truth as another example of the "genre". And these are films that are pulling massive crowds to watch them -- either in cinema or DVD release. [Fahrenheit 9/11 set a new record for documentary profits, earning more than US$228 million in ticket sales and selling more than 3 million DVDs.^[*]]

So more than any book or publishing venture the sort of advocacy we subscribe to has shifted strongly toward the video camera. The many documentaries -- from John Pilger's to David Bradbury's to the snippets you can watch for free on YouTube -- suggest that there has been a massive assertion of this medium as a political tool.

But, unfortunately, as a dedicated McLuhanist I think we pay a price -- a price that maybe a lot of documentary viewers don't or won't recognize. If the medium is the message then film's like Moore's may get us thinking and outraged and even agitate us a bit. But we still have to 'hit the books' to work through the argumentation in logical detail.

A documentary film may not be a fictionalised movie with a plot and stars and drama and such. It may have content -- but it usually doesn't offer the density of information that's on offer from an audio report or from the printed word.

In our new digital universe media may be transubstantial but its content is going to vary with the form.

The irony is, that there is now so many ways to say the same thing: capitalism sucks!

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Ignorance about Cuban health, from someone who liked Sicko

by Nick Fredman

For what's it worth I just sent the following to the Sydney Morning Herald feedback address, and a shorter version to its letters page. Joaquin Bustelo on the Marxmail list earlier pointed to the Reuters report cited, though it no longer appears available at the Scientific American address he gave.

In an article on Michael Moore's new documentary Sicko, Helen Barlow claims that Moore "spoils" his Guantanamo Bay stunt by "venturing on to Communist Cuba where the Americans receive top-class treatment, which is hardly available to every Cuban" (Metro, August 3, p. 5).

This unsubstantiated claim is profoundly ignorant. Numerous medical authorities including the the World Heath Organisation have recognised that health indicators in Cuba, such as the number of doctors per capita and infant mortality rates, rival much richer countries and beat the US on some scores and that Cuba is a world leader in family medicine, preventative care, bio-technology and the incorporation of traditional knowledge into health care.

The Reuters report cited below repeats common but again unsubstantiated claims about a two-tier system (the only "evidence" there being claims by a single doctor who has defected - hardly an objective and ethical source given he fled an aid assignment in Zimbabwe for a lucrative US career). But more to the point it makes clear that the clinic Moore visited was an ordinary clinic for ordinary citizens.

"At the Havana clinic where Moore's American patients received free check-ups in March for respiratory problems and bone fractures suffered at Ground Zero, Ivonne Torres reads a Buddhist text as she waits for an appointment. 'The attention is pretty good, but it was a million times better six years ago, when we always saw the same doctor,' said Torres, who suffers from tachycardia". Source

Moore's Cuban excursion spoilt nothing, rather it generated further evidence that socialised medicine is vastly superior to the free market. Barlow should do a bit of research before relying on her prejudices or, I suspect, the congenital hostility of the US media towards Cuba reflected in US reviews of Sicko.

Macquarie Bank bosses' pay cut after profit cut warning

by Peter Boyle

Michael Sainsbury and Katherine Jimenez
The Australian, May 21, 2008
THE party appears to be over for one of Australia's most successful global companies - at least for now.Macquarie Group has warned it won't repeat its $1.8billion profit next year, as its executives got their first ever pay cut…

The poor things! Retiring CEO of the “Millionaires Factory”, Allan Moss received a measley $26.7 million in the 12 months ending March 31, compared with $33.5million the previous year. Nicholas Moore, Moss’ successor, had his pay cut $32.9 million to $24.8 million. Moore's new No2, Michael Carapiet, saw his pay cut from $22.9 million to $19.1 million.

“Moore is 19% down on his previous year's salary and Moss is 26% down on his previous year's salary”, noted Stuart Washington noted the May 20 Sydney Morning Herald.

“Nevertheless, the payout figures in the annual report means Moore earned almost 80 times the $336,000 salary earned by the Prime Minister and is 453 times the average NSW worker's salary of $59,000.

“It also equates to Mr Moore earning $3053 an hour, awake or asleep, all year.”

That’s the “hard life” on their side of the tracks. Meanwhile, a Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute survey of 400 households that recently purchased homes in the “mortgage belts” of Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne found was that almost 50% were relying on either overtime or a second job of the main income earner to meet mortgage repayments.

The National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling (NATSEM) estimates that 1.1 million households (220,000 more than in 2004) are in housing stress, i.e. they are spending a third or more of their gross income on rent or the mortgage.

Home repossession orders in NSW rose increased by 67% over two years to 5,454 in 2007 and repossession orders in Victoria tripled in the four years to June 2007. However, according to Roger Mendelson, chief executive officer of Prushka Fast Debt Recovery, a debt collection agency, total mortgage defaults may be four times higher than the repossession orders.

“Debtland” the March 31 episode of ABC TV’s Four Corners program reported:

“As many as 300,000 Australian households may be at risk of losing their homes. It mightn’t take much—another rate rise or two, a family illness or maybe just the car breaking down—to send people under.”

Things are also getting tougher for the third or more of Australian households that are renting. Rents are rising faster than wages, NSW Housing Minister Matt Brown was forced to concede, it was reported in the May 8, 2008 Sydney Morning Herald.

“The Consumer Price Index (CPI) last year was 3.9%, whereas the median rent for a two-bedroom unit in Sydney has gone up by some 12.5%. These numbers confirm that families are doing it tough.”

If you don’t feel sorry for the bankers who have taken a little cut in their obscene pay, federal opposition leader Brendan Nelson does. He told a Sydney luncheon for bankers in April that while it was tough for families to lose their homes when they couldn't pay the mortgage, it was also hard on the people evicting them.

This system stinks but you can movement to change the system with a one-off or regular donation to the Green Left Weekly fighting fund at: Greenleft, Commonwealth Bank, BSB 062-006, Account No. 901992. Alternatively, ring in your donation by credit card on the toll-free line at 1800 634 206 (within Australia only), send us a cheque or money order to PO Box 515, Broadway NSW 2007, or donate online through Secure Pay at .

Since the last issue of Green Left Weekly our supporters raised $5,318 for our Fighting Fund (special thanks to all who helped in the extremely successful Melbourne Comedy Debate). The total amount raised this year is now $85,398 - 34% of our $250,000 annual target. We are behind where we should be this time of the year. We need to raise $18,800 by the end of May to get back on track.

Activists condemn massive Taser roll-out

Community activists in the Illawarra have condemned the NSW budget allocation of $10 milllion for more Taser stun-guns. They've renewed calls for a ban on the weapon after the death of a Queensland man last Friday who was shot 28 times with a Taser by police.

Chris Williams, Socialist Alliance convener in Wollongong, said: 'The government has been warned many times about the lethal potential of Tasers. This latest death in Queensland proves yet again the danger involved. The Rees government should reverse this allocation immediately and declare a ban on the use of Tasers.

'In addition to being dangerous, Tasers will be used disproportionately on the already marginalised. Last year's review of Tasers by NSW Ombudsman, Bruce Barbour, found that the weapon has most commonly been used against people with mental health issues. What a disgrace given the inadequate funding for mental health in this country', said Williams.


Jess Moore, Resistance organiser in Wollongong, said: 'Given the proven danger of Tasers, this $10 million roll-out is just outrageous! The Rees government has consistently under-resourced our schools, hospitals and public transport system, and yet it is spending a huge sum of money on this dangerous and controversial weapon.

'Research by Amnesty International shows that Tasers have been used by police officers against children, the mentally ill and the physically disabled. They have been used against people who are restrained. This money should be spent on services to assist the mentally and physically disabled, not on potentially lethal weapon that has been proven to be used on them.


'There is no independent research showing that Tasers are safe but there is a lot of hard evidence that they kill. How many people will have to die before Tasers are banned? They must be stopped from being used!' Moore concluded.


For more information contact Chris Williams on 0425 329 963 or Jess Moore on 0416 232 349

Or visit http://www.socialist-alliance.org/illawarra/

Background Queensland:
Queensland's Police Minister is rejecting claims he covered up details about the use of stun gun, in an incident in which a man later died. He's revealed that he, the Police Service and the police union knew on Monday that the Taser had been used 28 times.

Queensland's Police Minister is rejecting claims he covered up details about the use of stun gun, in an incident in which a man later died. He's revealed that he, the Police Service and the police union knew on Monday that the Taser had been used 28 times.

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Original audio source (20090618-PM3-taser-scandal.mp3)

Francis Moore Lappe on International Food Crisis

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization -- 50 million people were added to the millions of the hungry last year due to soaring food prices. The World Bank estimates that more than 100 million people worldwide may yet be pushed into poverty as a result of the food crisis. Some 30 countries have sharply curbed food exports to ensure that their citizens have enough food to eat. We talk today with Francis Moore Lappe -- author of Getting a Grip: Clarity, Creativity and Courage in a World Gone Mad. Lappe also wrote a recent New York Times article examining the international food crisis. Leaders at the G8 summit are focusing on remedies like increased food reserves, easing exports and increased production. How do those goals address – or ignore – the real underpinnings of the crisis.

read more

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Original audio source

Michael Moore on "Sicko"

From Democracy Now! June 18, 2007[Audio]: An Hour with Michael Moore on "Sicko" his Trip to Cuba with 9/11 Rescue Workers, the Removal of Private Healthcare Companies & Clinton's Ties to Insurance Companies: "They're into Her Pocket and She's Into Their Pocket And I Don't Expect Much From Her" Mp3

Original audio source

Video Journalism: if it moves, shoot it!

by Dave Riley

I've been running a campaign to foster more image making onto the web. After years of attending many and various political events it nowadays annoys me that these occasions are not recorded in photographs. Here and elsewhere we try to showcase events by deploying whatever we can muster in way of photographs and video.

if you check out the Slideshow label you can access a a wide range of slideshows put together from aggregated photographs on Picasa or Flickr.We can now create a slideshow from any grouping of uploaded digital photographs so long as they are indeed grouped by folder or tag.

Trick:You harness the feed.

So if you want to ensure we can showcase your image snapping place your snaps in a folder on Picasa or with a clear specific tag on Flickr. LeftClick can do the rest.

Unfortunately you can go to a rally or demonstration and as the head of the march advances down the main street you are falling over photographers as the crowd proceeds. But so rarely do these, in the main, amateur photographers, think to put their skills to general political use. Today's small digital cameras are almost cheap and will slip into your pocket when you get into active mode.

It's easy to take a snap.

Video

But then there's also video and on the Left that's a new tool that few have embraced (unfortunately). LeftClick has been showcasing/sharing a lot of video material and now, as you see below this post, runs its own Internet TV Channel -- Channel LeftClick.

That's Vodpod for you -- a very useful way to snaffle videos from all over the web with one click programing.

But with my various multimedia ventures I've found that recoding audio at a rally or demonstration isn't the best way to represent the event. These occasions are always -- if they're working -- rather 'hot' and audio can often be rather 'cold'.

But video! Video bears up the verve and passion nicely and in very few minutes of recorded visual time can carry the meaning and substance very well indeed.

So if you were to step up from making single shot photographs next time you demonstrate (of course with the aim to showcase them later in a web slideshow) a video camera could be very handy indeed.

So there I was shooting as is my want and thinking I'd like to maybe one day go video. when I was making up an internet Video/TV section for the The Activist Toolkit I discovered that really if I was only interested in video for web screening I already had the tools with my Olympus FE-270 digital camera.

I was thinking ,"Gee,I'll have to get myself a costly DV Cam Corder as well." Not so. While I knew that many digital cameras will take short movies, my cheap Olympus has -- as my daughter informed her ignorant father -- a built in microphone. (She sells this stuff you see.)

And sure enough on one side of the camera (which can fit in the mitt of my hand) is a small built in microphone.

This ain't a great sound source. But what more do you want from a raucous rally or something of that ilk? So for starters I crudely shot the video above. Granted it is crude. But sound and picture quality is passable..for the web.

The Olympus formats in .avi which is a handy file format if I ever get around to editing up a magnum opus blockbuster type doco to rival John Pilger's or Mike Moore's efforts.

Miro

While in video mode over the recent period I have been using the Miro internet television application.

Miro is very easy to get and I'm impressed with its capacity to search the video cyberspace and pull in titles that may be of interest.

You can always go to the video source through Miro and downloading is a one click process. But the best feature is the video quality which leaves YouTube and GoogleVideo way way behind in the shade and grain. And that's the key element I think. We've been so YouTubed that its hard to sort the chaff from the grain when you sift through video on the web. Just because YouTube is there it doesn't follow that all you want is on YouTube.

The video universe is becoming more complex and diverse and I think Miro offers the keen explorer of Internet TV a very useful tool which, compared to Google, isn't corporate.

And Miro -- more so than any other platform I've used -- opens you up to the wonders of Bit Torrent. My son is a Bit Torrent junkie and that means he downloads a lot of very large files -- such as video files -- without bearing all the bandwidth cost of the download. You just have to be patient. Bit Torrent is a world unto itself.

Anyway....The main thing is that maybe you'll be seeing some home grown TV here at LeftClick in the near future.

Hardly cutting edge videograph -- but....

Shoot what moves. Then get the free Movie Maker software (it'smuch easier to edit video than audio I tell you!) and voila!

Emergency Honduras sign-on campaign

Emergency campaign for sign-ons to open letter to Australian government

The situation in Honduras following the military coup on June 28 remains desperate. The people continue their protest actions demanding Zelaya’s reinstatement and the convening of a constituent assembly, but to date, at least 17 people have been murdered and more than 4000 are now political prisoners.

Our solidarity is still needed and through Green Left Weekly an emergency campaign has been launched to collect signatures this week on an open letter to minister for foreign affairs Stephen Smith, calling on the Australian government to actively support the Honduran people’s demands.

The open letter (text below)has already been signed by a range of academics and activists (download copy here ). Please help by circulating it more widely and seeking signatures among other activists/academics/organisations.

Comradely,

Lisa Macdonald

An open letter to the Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs

To: Stephen Smith
Minister for Foreign Affairs
PO Box 6022, Parliament House, Canberra, ACT 2600

Tel: 02-6277 7500 Fax: 02-6273 4112 Email: Stephen.Smith.MP@aph.gov.au
Cc: Electorate office
953A Beaufort St, Inglewood WA 6932
Tel: 08-9272 3411 Fax: 08-9272 3477
October 2009

Dear Minister Smith,

The people and nation of Honduras urgently need the support of governments around the world.

A dictatorship has been in power since June 28, when the elected government of President Manuel Zelaya Rosales was overthrown in a military coup. The illegal regime is not officially recognised by any government or international institution. The Organisation of American States, the European Union and the International Monetary Fund have all taken action to isolate the regime. The United Nations has refused assistance to elections scheduled for November 29 on the grounds that a poll organise by the dictatorship has no legitimacy.

The Honduran people have rejected the coup regime. Polling company COIMER & OP, legally authorised by the Honduran Supreme Electoral Tribunal to survey the population in the lead up to the November 29 poll, found in August that only 17% of Hondurans support the coup. A majority support Zelaya’s reinstatement.

Three months after the coup, the people continue their peaceful protests demanding Zelaya’s reinstatement and the convening of a constituent assembly. The coup regime has responded with terror and repression. Reliable sources estimate that at least 4000 people have been detained and 17 killed during the three months of protests. Media outlets and journalists critical of the coup regime have been harassed or silenced, including an occupation by the military of a radio and TV station. A number of political prisoners have started an indefinite hunger strike against their illegal detention.


The demand of the Honduran people is simple: the legitimate government elected by the people should be restored. It is a fundamental human right of all peoples to determine their own government and political future, and we call on the Australian government to urgently:


• Join government’s across the world by clearly denouncing the coup and demanding Zelaya be immediately restored as President;
• Cut all diplomatic, political, cultural or economic ties that the Australian government may have with Honduras until Zelaya is reinstated;
• Join the Organisation of American States in refusing to recognise the outcome of any elections organised by the illegal coup regime;
• Demand the immediate release of all political prisoners;
• Pressure the United States administration to act on its verbal criticisms of the coup and cut all ties with the coup regime, and end its ongoing training of the Honduran military.

Signatories:
(Positions for identification purposes only): Stuart Munckton, Emma Murphy, co-editors, Green Left Weekly; Latin American Social Forum (Sydney); Australia-Venezuela Solidarity Network; Bea Bleile, Margarita Windisch, Dick Nichols, national conveners, Socialist Alliance; Peace and Justice for Colombia – Australia; Tim Gooden, secretary, Geelong Trades & Labour Council; Dr Tom Griffiths, School of Education, University of Newcastle; Patrick Harrison, Social Justice officer, Wollongong Undergraduate Students Association; Dr Tom Griffiths, School of Education, University of Newcastle; Warwick Fry, radio broadcaster; Marlene Obeid, community worker and anti-war campaigner, Sydney; Dr Tim Anderson, Political Economy, Sydney University; Dr John Minns, Director, Australian National Centre for Latin American Studies, Australian National University; Zane Alcorn, Environment Collective convener-elect, Newcastle University; Susan Price, NTEU branch president, University of NSW; Jess Moore, national coordinator, Resistance youth organisation; Tim Niven, Cammeray NSW; Ash Pemberton, Wollongong, NSW; Anthony & Linda McKenzie.

Rudd’s policy is racist — refugees are not illegal--- and more from the latest GLW...

Rudd’s policy is racist — refugees are not illegal

The Australian government is getting desperate and showing its true colours. Not long after Prime Minister Kevin Rudd personally intervened to turn away a boat of 260 Tamil refugees in international waters, a second boat — also carrying refugees from Sri Lanka — sent out a distress signal off the coast of Sumatra.

Poverty, domestic violence: Women bearing brunt of economic crisis

A domestic violence shelter in Alice Springs told ABC radio’s AM on May 1 that between January 1 and mid-April this year, it provided accommodation for 157 children and 149 women. However, due to lack of funding, it turned away a further 158 women and 100 children seeking support.

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Climate change: nuclear no answer

The big nuclear push is on. The nuclear industry is trying to re-brand yellowcake as “green”.

Nuclear debate: For climate, nuclear a neccessity (Barry Brook)

Let’s start by establishing some common ground between myself and anti-nuclear campaigners like Jim Green. Green and I both understand the seriousness of the climate crisis and the imperative for a rapid transformation of our energy system to technologies that emit no carbon when generating power.

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Nuclear debate: A dangerous option that wont solve climate change (Jim Green)

There are three main problems with the nuclear “solution” to climate change — it is a blunt instrument, a dangerous one, and it is unnecessary.

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The Flame Arabic-language supplement, October 2009

With the help of Socialist Alliance members in the growing Sudanese community in Australia, Green Left Weekly is proud to publish a regular Arabic language supplement. The Flame covers news from the Arabic-speaking world as well as news and issues from within Australia. The October edition can be read at Links, international journal of socialist renewal.

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Defend Ark Tribe! Defend building workers!

The Building and Construction Industry Improvement Amendment (Transition to Fair Work) Bill 2009 is scheduled for Senate debate on October 26. The bill would change the Building and Construction Industry Improvement Act 2005 (BCII Act). This would affect the building and construction industry’s watchdog, the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC).

Honduras: ‘No here is giving up’ as talks declared dead

The mass resistance of the poor majority to the coup regime that overthrew elected President Manuel Zelaya on June 28 continues after nearly 120 days. Talks between the coup regime and Zelaya to resolve the crisis, which is costing the Honduran economy millions of dollars, were finally declared dead by Zelaya on October 23.

Open letter to Foreign Minister Stephen Smith on Honduras — please add your name

Please ciruclate and add your name to this letter by emailing weekly.greenleft@gmail.com

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Afghanistan: For Uncle Sam, good help is hard to find

Almost eight years after choosing Hamid Karzai to head the Afghan government, Uncle Sam would like to give him a pink slip.

Britain: Tamils march against concentration camps

The article below is abridges from an October 18 Tamilnet.org report.

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Copenhagen: illusions on the edge of a precipice

Can we expect decent climate policy when most of the decision-making elite are ignorant of the real scientific imperatives, or believe they can negotiate with the laws of physics and chemistry? The answer is bleak, judging by the lead-up talks to the climate summit in Copenhagen in December.

John Pilger: Britain’s postal srtike is the war at home

The struggle of striking British postal workers against privatisation plans is as vital for democracy as any national event in recent years. The campaign against them is part of a historic shift from the last vestiges of political democracy in Britain to a corporate world of insecurity and war.

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Che’s revolutionary example

Steven Sodebergh’s epic films, Che Part I & II, give a detailed portrayal of the experience of Argentinean-born socialist revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara in the Cuban revolutionary war and his failed Bolivia campaign that ended in his execution on October 9, 1967.

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Sexism and queerphobia’s social basis

There are social expectations on everyone, men and women, to act in particular ways based on our sex. This is bad for everyone because it’s stifling, but it’s worse for women and queers.

• Email to a friend • Related • •

Socialist councillor: community activist, socialist, unionist

The Socialist Alliance’s Sam Wainwright was elected to the Fremantle Council on October 17. He was elected with 438 votes (33.44%) and will represent the Hilton ward.

• Email to a friend • Related • •

Reinstating the RDA is hypocrisy

Indigenous affairs minister Jenny Macklin announced in May that the federal Labor government would reinstate the Racial Discrimination Act by the end of October. But she has also said key policies of the Northern Territory Emergency Response (NTER) would remain — discriminatory policies that required the suspension of the RDA to be passed.

A slow coup in Venezuela

United States measures for resisting progressive changes in Latin America have included funding for right-wing opposition groups, military deployment throughout the region, and the reactivating of the US Navy Fourth Fleet for monitoring the continent.

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Basque Country: Repression fails to silence independence movement

A massive protest was held on October 17 in Donostia/San Sebastian in the Basque Country to protest against the Spanish government’s new wave of arrests against the Basque pro-independence and labour movement.

Latin America: ALBA summit prioritises planet and poor

The seventh summit of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA), a nine-nation anti-imperialist trading bloc established in 2004 by Cuba and Venezuela, was held in Cochabamba, Bolivia over October 16-17.

Tertiary union adopts strong climate change policy

The National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) national council meeting over October 9-11 adopted key resolutions around climate change amid significant and vigorous debate.

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Venezuela: A steady stream of lies

US-Venezuelan lawyer Eva Golinger points out in her books exposing US intervention into Venezuela that the constant stream of lies about Venezuela and its popular President Hugo Chavez are best seen as the leading edge of an integrated strategy of destabilisation and “regime change” for the socialist-oriented, oil-rich nation.

350.org climate actions sweeps world

More than 175 different climate change actions took place across Australia on October 24. The protests were part of the 350.org international day of climate action.

Armidale forum supports Latin American revolutions

“A revolution is sweeping Latin America, and Venezuela is at the centre of the process that is radically changing the social order there”, Jim McIlroy told a forum on October 22.

Clive Hamilton to stand for the Greens

The Australian Greens announced on October 23 that high profile economist and environmentalist Clive Hamilton would stand for the party in the upcoming by-election for the federal seat of Higgins in Victoria.

Copenhagen: mass protests planned

Tens of thousands of people are expected to take part in climate action protests in the Danish capital of Copenhagen during the United Nations-sponsored climate talks in December.

Cut minimum wage, says think tank

The Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) — a right-wing economic think tank — released its What’s Next for Welfare-to-Work? report on October 15. As part of a strategy to push more people off welfare, the report called for a fall in the minimum wage and a tightening of eligibility rules for the Disability Support Pension (DSP).

Far North ALP opposes privatisations

A motion calling for a halt to the Queensland ALP government’s plans to privatise public rail, port, road and forestry assets was passed with support of 70% of delegates at the ALP’s Far Northern regional conference on October 18.

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Fare hikes hurt commuters and climate

Hot on the heels of its hugely unpopular privatisation plans, the Queensland government has waded into more trouble. It announced plans to ramp up the cost of public transport in a five-year plan starting January 2010.

Geelong Trades Hall: ‘Howes right on refugees’

The following statement is by Geelong Trades Hall Council secretary Tim Gooden.

Hundreds pay tribute to union legend

About 200 people attended a tribute dinner on October 17 to unionist and living legend Fred Moore.

Indonesia: Presidential inauguration marked by protests

Thousands of people from various sectors of society protested to mark the inauguration of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as president and Boediono as vice-president near the national parliament on October 20. Yudhoyono was elected to his second five-year term.

Sorry is just a start

On February 13, 2008 the Australian government will apologise to the survivors of the 'Stolen Generations' - Indigenous Australians who were forciby removed from their families under racist government policy. But a protest against the racist federal intervention against Aboriginal communities in the Borthern Territory on the eve of this apology underlines the fact that this is only a long overdue start to making amends for systematic racism.

In this short video, five Indigenous activists in the Socialist Alliance share their views on the Australian Parliament's February apology for the Stolen Generations. All five attended the protest against the racist intervention against Aboriginal communities in the Northern territory,
held on the eve of the apology.


Lara Pullin, Socialist Alliance member ACT branch:

Intervention has to go. Sorry means nothing without an end to the NT intervention. Other governments around the world are using the Australian intervention as a model of how to attack their Indigenous people. People are not going to accept just “sorry”. They want a sorry that means something, a sorry that includes the “c” word that nobody seems to be able to get out, a sorry that does not divide people. We are not going to be divided like that. It’s long overdue, it needs to be done but the main thing I am concerned about is to make sure that they get compensated though nothing will take away the trauma and pain they’ve gone through.

Natasha Moore, member Socialist Alliance Perth branch:

I think it is a start. By apologizing he’s acknowledging and recognizing the Indigenous people as the first people on this land. I think it will be part of a healing process so other Australians and Aboriginal people can come together and form alliances and partnerships on issues facing communities in the various cities around Australia. I think it is just a stepping stone to getting more Indigenous issues addressed. For the Stolen Generations, I feel for them. It has been a long time coming and governments have not acknowledges them for being stolen from their families and placed in institutions or foster homes. For them it is very important for those words to be said by our government but I also think it is only the start of a much bigger process that needs to happen.

Sam Watson, Socialist Alliance national spokesperson on Indigenous affairs:

We are sending a pretty clear message to Mr Rudd and his government: Don’t say sorry say sovereignty. He can say sorry tomorrow and certainly there will be a huge number of senior people and elders in the chamber to receive his apology but people will also have to note that inside this Parliament of Australia there is not one single Aboriginal person.in the House or the Senate. So, again Aboriginal people are hostage to a political system in which we have no control and in which we have no real representation or capacity to influence or exert any pressure.

Lindi Dietzel, Socialist Alliance Geelong branch member:

I hope it is not hollow and I hope that it gives an answer for a lot of people who have a lot of grief. It is a great place to start but let’s see. We’ll watch this place.

Jakalene X-treme, Socialist Alliance Legislative Council candidate in the 2007 NSW elections:

“It is long overdue, it needs to be done. One of the main things I am concerned with is that they get compensated even though nothing is going to take away the trauma or pain what they’ve gone through.”

Copenhagen: rich countries push dirty deal--- and more from the latest GLW.

Copenhagen: rich countries push dirty deal

Many have touted December’s United Nations’ sponsored climate talks in Copenhagen as a “make or break” chance to halt dangerous climate change. But the richest nations are on a warpath to make sure this “last chance” becomes a “no chance” event.

Tamils flee genocide — refugees should be welcomed!

On October 15, almost 260 Tamil refugees were stranded at an Indonesian port in west Java. They were refusing to disembark from the boat that had carried them from Malaysia and pleaded for the Australian government to hear their case. That evening they declared a hunger strike.

NT intervention: ‘a land grab’

The Ampilawatja walk-off national speaking tour is spreading the word about life under the Northern Territory intervention and the Aboriginal elders who have walked off their community in opposition.

Socialist wins Freo council seat

Socialist Alliance WA co-convenor Sam Wainwright was elected from the Hilton Ward to the Fremantle Council in the October 17 poll.

Open letter to Foreign Minister Stephen Smith on Honduras — please add your name

Please ciruclate and add your name to this letter by emailing weekly.greenleft@gmail.com

Michael Moore slays capitalism

Capitalism: A Love StoryWritten, directed & produced by Michael MooreIn cinemas November 5

Honduras: Talks stall, British unions demand action

An October 16 deadline set by Honduran President Manual Zelaya for the regime that ousted him in a military coup to agree to his reinstatement has passed without a settlement. Zelaya had warned that if his reinstatement was not agreed to by that time, Honduras would become “ungovernable”.

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Hugo Blanco: Indigenous ‘struggle for nature’

“The world needs to understand the importance of the struggle in defence of nature”, Hugo Blanco, legendary Peruvian peasant leader active in the indigenous peoples’ struggle against corporate exploitation in the Amazon, told Green Left Weekly in late September.

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NSW Climate Camp speaks louder than words

The NSW town of Helensburgh, an hour south of Sydney, is now gripped by a discussion about coal and green jobs after the NSW Climate Camp held over October 9-11.

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United States:: Right-wing attack as liberals retreat

The heat is on the administration of US President Barack Obama.

Target 350: climate protests go global

What do a Jewish congregation in the Alaskan town of Fairbanks, the Browniz coffee shop in the port city of Salalah, Oman and a Shanghai primary school have in common?

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Time for a surge in peace

The eighth anniversary of the war in Afghanistan has come and gone. As Prime Minister Kevin Rudd considers yet another troop surge, for most Australians this milestone represents just another statistic, another number to skip over in the morning papers.

Henry review to cut taxes — for the rich

In May last year, federal Treasurer Wayne Swan announced the formation of the Australia’s Future Tax System Review, to be run by Treasury secretary Ken Henry. When the Henry review reports to government in December, its recommendations are likely to leave the wealthy smiling and the rest of us grinding our teeth.

Afghanistan: ‘a war of fear, death, corruption, and poverty’

High school student Malalai Noori gave the below speech to an October 10 rally against Australia’s involvement in the war in Afghanistan.

United States: Struggle for same-sex rights grows

About 200,000 marched in Washington D.C. on October 11 to demand full equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people, US Socialist Worker said the next day.

Green Left Weekly Fighting Fund: Our internationalism is highly valued around the world

Green Left Weekly is highly valued by its many international readers. Every week, Farooq Tariq and his comrades in the Labour Party Pakistan “eagerly await” the arrival of this particular newspaper from far-off Australia. Pakistan is now a “hot-spot” in the US-led war against Afghanistan.

Abortion, corruption and cops

“When uncertainty in the law exists, it opens the way to police corruption”, Marg Kirkby from the NSW Women’s Abortion Action Campaign told a Pro-Choice Action Collective (PCAC) forum on October 12.

Australia’s racism exposed

Wake up Australia. Do not trivialise the racist attitudes coming from various sectors of our society.

Circumstantial evidence convicts ‘terrorists’

In one of the longest and most expensive criminal trials in Australian history, five Muslim men were convicted in Parramatta Court on October 16 of “conspiring to do an act in preparation for a terrorist act”.

Cuba brigade promises insight, inspiration

The program for the 27th Southern Cross work/study tour to Cuba is packed with visits, meetings and other activities that will give participants a wide-ranging insight into the cultural, political and social conditions in revolutionary Cuba

Ethical elitism on climate change?

I am part of Critical Climate, an Adelaide activist group advocating a “sustained mass civil disobedience” response to the climate emergency.

France: Voters reject postal privatisation

French people have sent a strong message to the government of President Nicolas Sarkozy with 90% of voters in a referendum organised by anti-privatisation campaigners rejecting plans to partially privatise the national postal service, La Poste.

Greece: The right wing falls

The results of the October 4 elections in Greece were a political earthquake that have created a new situation.

Is 350 the right carbon target?

The 350.org campaign has already made an important impact worldwide. The recent spike in official 350.org actions — now well above 2000 — suggests the number of people who support stabilising atmospheric CO₂ at under 350 parts per million (ppm) has grown phenomenally in the past few months.

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Mary Travers: the music will endure

Mary Travers, one-third of the hugely popular and influential 1960s folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary, died on September 16 after treatment for leukaemia. She was 72.

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Mexican gov't moves to smash power union

On October 10, Mexican Federal Police seized the plants of the Central Light and Power Company of Mexico (LyF), which provides electricity to Mexico City and several states in central Mexico.

On the box

Palestine: UN war crimes report centre of new battle

The report of the United Nations’ fact-finding mission to Gaza, led by former South African jurist Richard Goldstone, was released in September. It detailed atrocious human rights abuses by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) during Israel’s December-January war on the Palestinian territory.

Population is not to blame for climate change

An open letter to the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) and Labor MP Kelvin Thomson

Puurto Rico: General strike called against lay-offs

Puerto Rico, a “self-governing” colony of the United States, was rocked by a general strike on October 15. Organisers estimated that between 150,000-200,000 people took part in a massive demonstration in the capital, San Juan,. In the article below, reprinted from www.globalvoiceonline.org, Firuzeh Shokooh Valle provides the background. Shokooh Valle is a Puerto Rican journalist specialised in human rights issues

Queensland locked in abortion stalemate

In early September, most abortions performed in Queensland health facilities came to a halt. The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists had passed on a legal opinion to their members that said doctors were still at risk of prosecution while abortion remained in the criminal code.

Racism begets violence in Alice Springs

Five Alice Springs men have been charged for the July 25 bashing of Aboriginal man Kwementyaye Ryder. The killing is part of a spate of racist violence that has plagued Alice Springs over recent months.

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Response from Balibo consulting historian to John Pilger