Critical Times

Source: mike-servethepeople

In the March 1996 Federal election, National Party candidate Larry Anthony made Australian history as the first member of a three-generational Federal parliamentary family.

Larry’s dad Doug had been a leader of the Nationals, and hence deputy Prime Minister in a federal coalition, and Doug’s dad Lawrence had also had a run as a federal pollie.

John Howard looked after young Larry with a minor portfolio, that of Children and Youth Affairs.

Kim Bullimore

Greenleft Weekly journalist and activist who spent 8 months in 2007 volunteering in the West Bank

Followed by

screening of the award winning documentary

Bili’n My Love

FILMED AND DIRECTED BY SHAI CARMELI-POLLAKThe director, Shai Carmeli-Pollak accompanies the village’s struggle for over a year, focusing on two central figures: Mohamed, a member of the village’s local committee against the barrier, and Wagee, farmer and father of ten, who is losing the majority of his land to the barrier and to the settlement.

Date Wednesday, 12th March 2008

Time 7:00 for 7:30pm

Venue Mercury Cinema, 13 Morphett Street, Adelaide

Entry Free

Enquires secretary@friendsofpalestine.org.

by Rick Kuhn
From the Monthly Review

Just as the slump in the US economy threatens to trigger a global recession, Australian authorities have pronounced inflation ‘public enemy number one’ and are trying to slow growth. They tell workers to ‘exercise wage restraint’.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Industrial Relations Minister Julia Gillard and Treasurer Wayne Swan sing the same tune: workers should accept lower wages to bring down inflation.

Source: Green Left Website

Doug Lorimer
22 February 2008

The federal Labor government has sought to play down the call made by its chief climate change policy adviser for it to go well beyond its target of a 60% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. In an interim report released on February 21, Professor Ross Garnaut said that by 2050 global carbon dioxide emissions would need to be reduced to 90% of 2000 levels if catastrophic climate change is to be avoided.

An economics professor based at the Australian National University, Garnaut was commissioned last April by the Labor state and territory governments to prepare a report on the impact of climate change on the Australian economy and a review of climate change policy.

Christin Gleeson

The Battle of Vinegar Hill is the name given to the clash between convicts and soldiers on Monday March 5 1804 following on from the Castle Hill uprising the night before. It was the first battle between Europeans on Australian soil.

Convicts, mainly Irish, who were working on the government farm at Toongabbie joined with convicts and settlers in the district.

Greens MLC Mark Parnell has slammed the decision of the Rann Labor Government to strip workers’ entitlements, and will fully support the SA Unions campaign fighting against changes to the Workcover scheme.

“Labor has well and truly lost touch with working people. If they were in opposition right now they would be howling down these changes.

PATRICK Bonello has a million supporters in his campaign to stop whaling.

Mr Bonello’s online anti-whaling petition reached seven figures on Saturday, exactly two years after it was started up the Whales Revenge website in 2006.

After collecting signatures from all over the world, the millionth came from a man in Warrnambool, in western Victoria, where whale watching is a major aspect of the town’s tourism industry.

By Martin Redfern
Rothera Research Station, Antarctica

I
UK scientists working in Antarctica have found some of the clearest evidence yet of instabilities in the ice of part of West Antarctica.

If the trend continues, they say, it could lead to a significant rise in global sea level.

The new evidence comes from a group of glaciers covering an area the size of Texas, in a remote and seldom visited part of West Antarctica.

SA Unions Secretary Janet Giles says she can not fight for the rights of injured workers while she remains on the WorkCover Board and is resigning, effective immediately.

“I’m resigning from the Board because it’s my job to defend workers – and I cannot do this with the restrictions placed on board members.”

“I also will not be gagged from scrutinising the motives of the business lobby, which seeks to cut their levy rates at injured workers’ expense.

Friends of the Earth photographic exhibition “Inhabited” opened to a packed gallery (and more waiting outside!) on Wednesday 20 February. The premiere exhibition kicking off Higher Ground’s Visual Arts program at their new location on Light Square, the exhibition was opened with a welcome from Kaurna elder Auntie Josie Agius.

“Inhabited features large-format photographic portraits and audio recordings of Indigenous and non-Indigenous leaders and community members impacted by the nuclear industry, including Arabunna elder Kevin Buzzacott, Maralinga veteran Avon Hudson and Yankunytjatjara man Yami Lester among others.

In the 1960s, when I first went to Latin America, I travelled up the cone of the continent from Chile across the Altiplano to Peru, mostly in rickety buses and single-carriage trains. It was an experience my memory stored for life, especially the spectacle of the movement of people.

They moved through the dust of a snow-capped wilderness, along roads that were ribbons of red mud, and they lived in shanties that defied gravity.

Rick Kuhn

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Industrial Relations Minister Julia Gillard and Treasurer Wayne Swan sing the same tune: workers should accept lower wages to bring down inflation. Lower inflation, they argue, will mean lower interest rates, so everyone will benefit. To share the burden, they will be slashing the budget so hard that there would be “screams and squeals”.

On Sunday, 3 February, a conference of three socialist groups, Socialist Action Group, International Socialist Organisation, and Solidarity voted to merge their organisations into a united group to be called Solidarity.

The merger represents a significant step forward in re-unifying the key groups of the International Socialist Tendency in Australia and the emergence of a new national group committed to building the left and the social movements in Australia.

The merger brings together the members of three groups that have played an important role in the fight against the Howard government – in the fight against the cuts to Higher Education and the introduction of Voluntary Student Unionism, against One Nation, on the side of militant unionism in the MUA dispute, the fight for refugee rights, against scapegoating Muslims and against the so-called war on terror in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Reports of the floating rubbish dump first emerged back in 1997 when an American sailor discovered it.

He then established a marine research foundation to raise awareness of the pollution. Now there are a number of scientists who have become alarmed at the situation.

20/02/2008 by Mark Parnell

Greens MLC Mark Parnell has called on the Rann Government to lead by example and immediately buy River Murray water entitlements to ensure emergency flows reach the Coorong.

“This is a national and international crisis and it’s happening in our backyard, and on our watch. SA’s Kakadu is dying before our eyes.

From: Comment & Analysis, Green Left Weekly issue #740 20 February 2008.

Peter Robson
16 February 2008

“As prime minister of Australia, I am sorry. On behalf of the government of Australia, I am sorry.

Source: mike-servethepeople.blogspot

Attacks on workers compensation entitlements are part and parcel of the profit-driven system of capitalism.

There is no right for working people under capitalism that has not been fought for during long and arduous campaigns.

here we go…

THE AMERICAN FIAT ECONOMY = INFLATION
WHICH = WEIMAR REPUBLIC (1923) AGAIN.

By P Howes

At last the true state of the moribund world capitalist system is being exposed. Even as I write the spin-doctors and erudite apes, (yapping dogs) fall over themselves to assuage growing public disquiet about the crumbling economy.

The sacked crew of the Triton Customs boat that has been docked in Darwin for a week has been reinstated to their jobs.

The seafarers have now ended their week-long occupation of the ship.

Only three days ago, managers from the Triton’s owner Gardline were accusing the seafarers of trespass.