The Julia Gillard government has committed Australia to closer war ties with the US, more US bases and billions for US defence contracts at the annual AUSMIN talks in Perth on November 16.
The Gillard government is well aware of the huge public opposition to the US-led wars in Iraq and now Afghanistan. It knows that a majority is critical of Canberraβs unquestioning policy of βall-the-way-with-Obamaβs next warsβ.
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In Australia activists will be organising emergency solidarity events with Gaza in coming days and weeks: Adelaide: Rally & March to end the War on Gaza! Friday 23rd November, 5pm, outside Myer Centre, Rundle Mall. Brisbane: Take Action for Gaza, Friday 23 November, 5pm King George Square Canberra Rally against Israel's attacks on Gaza Sat Nov 24, 12 noon, Israeli embassy, Turrana St, Yarralumla. Contact defendgaza.canberra@gmail.com. Hobart
βIn a war between the civilised man and the savage, support the civilised man.β paid for by the American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI) early in August.
But, letβs face it, in these days of horrific mass slaughter, it can be difficult to determine who is who. So the AFDI ads spell it out: βSupport Israel! Defeat Jihad!β
On November 16, members of the Kurdish community took to Melbourneβs streets in solidarity with Kurdish political prisoners in Turkish jails and in support of the demands of the hunger strike by more than 700 prisoners. There are almost 10,000 Kurdish political prisoners in Turkey. The demonstrators marched to Trades Hall, where Kurdish community members began a three-day solidarity fast.
This statement was released by on November 16. Click
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βCivilians were the overwhelming majority of the more than 1400 people Israel killed in itβs 2009 assault on Gaza. Today, Israel is beginning another assault. A quarter of the Palestinians killed so far are children, including babies,β Sue Bolton, newly elected Socialist Alliance member of the Moreland City Council said.
βThe explosion of the rig was a disaster that resulted from BPβs culture of privileging profit over prudence,β said US federal assistant attorney general Lanny A. Breuer at a recent press conference. He was announcing that the company had agreed to pay $4.5 billion to settle criminal charges from the disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. BP also plead guilty to 11 counts of manslaughter and three other lesser charges.
A global survey of 27 of the most important cities in the world has ranked Sydney as fourth-worst for public transport. Sydneysiders also pay more for public transport than anywhere else.
The study was carried out by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
If this was not bad enough, the situation is set to worsen. The November 16 Sydney Morning Herald said .
Reporting on the release of the mid-year budget update in the Canberra Times on October 22, Peter Martin wrote that βTax collections from both wages and the GST are running ahead of projections. Dramatically lower company tax collections account for most of the $21 billion write-down.β
Included in that $21 billion is a revenue downgrade of $4.3 billion dollars over four years in resource rent tax from petroleum and mineral extraction from a projected $13.4 billion.
βYou know how they say Lee Rhiannon is a watermelon,β newly elected Greens councillor Michelle Tormey tells ΒιΆΉΣ³» Weekly, βI could probably relate to being a bit of a watermelon myself.β
βI donβt think capitalism is good and I probably lean more towards socialism. I believe that, at the very least, key public services like water, electricity, health care, dental care, are things that everyone should have access to.
βThatβs what I think and I donβt care if anyone judges me on that.β
At a press conference outside Shifa Hospital on November 14, Gaza's Minister of Health, Dr Mofad Al Makhalalaty, called on the international community to immediately intervene to prevent another catastrophe such as Operation Cast Lead.
The Nature Conservation Council of NSW released the statement below on November 14.
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Revelations about the high levels of methane leakage from the Tara Estate coal seam gasfield in Queensland cast serious doubts on claims the industryβs greenhouse impact is relatively benign, according to the Nature Conservation Council of NSW.
βThe time has come for judgment to begin in the house of the Lord,β said the Apostle Peter to the early Christian Church (1 Peter 4:17). Very different issues were being faced then, but not too different. The church was facing intense public scrutiny and Peter said that the suffering would be a cleansing experience. Those who were guilty (murderers, thieves and criminals, v. 15) would be exposed for what they are, and the innocent (v. 16) would be vindicated.
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