As the autocratic rule of Big Brother Generalissimo Prayut Chan-ocha trundles forward, we are seeing the militarisation of politics, economics and society in Thailand.
All government ministries are controlled by military personnel. Civil servants who were in their posts before the May 23 military coup are being replaced by loyal lapdogs or cronies of the junta.
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When I was in Brazil for those first days of the World Cup, I was 鈥� with many other journalists 鈥� tear gassed by military police. I saw sleek, urban-outfitted tanks in the streets and I felt concussion grenades send subsonic shrapnel crashing into my eardrums.
I didn鈥檛 see the drones flying overhead, but then again, no one without a Hubble telescope is supposed to see the drones.
Dr Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, executive director of the Centre for Policy Alternatives in Sri Lanka, gave a talk on 鈥淭he challenge of moving from post-war to post-conflict in Sri Lanka鈥� at a June 21 meeting held in the Darebin Intercultural Centre in Melbourne. The following is a summary of his talk compiled by Michael Cooke. *** The end of the war [between the Sri Lankan state and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in 2009] does not mean the end of conflict. The guns are silent, but the sources of conflict remain, and are being reproduced.
Sri Lanka has confirmed plans for asylum seekers from its persecuted Tamil ethnic minority to be directly handed over by Australia at sea. Although the Australian government has refused to confirm or deny such plans, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said on July 3 that Sri Lanka was 鈥渁 society at peace鈥� that had made 鈥渕uch progress鈥� on human rights.
That day, the Tamil Refugee Council released a statement explaining the true situation in Sri Lanka that included the ive points below.
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Kavita Krishnan is a socialist activist and a well-known international spokesperson for the movement against sexual violence in India.
Diary of a Foreign Minister
Bob Carr
Newsouth, 2014
502 pages
Too often, Bob Carr鈥檚 diary sounds like an episode of Grumpy Old Ministers.
An 18-month stint as foreign minister in the doomed Rudd-Gillard-Rudd federal Labor government, the globe-trotting Carr gripes about the dead prose of his departmental talking points, the lifeless food and draining jetlag of plane travel, the awfulness of hotels, Canberra (鈥渢he City of the Dead鈥�) and contracting viruses from shaking hands all day on the campaign trail 鈥渨ithout a hand sanitiser in the car 鈥� damn!鈥�
For controversial sporting bans for violating 鈥渃ommon decency鈥�, forget Luis Suarez and his four-month ban from all football-related activities after the Uruguayan striker decided to taste a little Italian. If you want a really outrageous penalty for a sporting star, it is hard to overlook .
鈥淭he Australian government has reached a frightening new low as a human rights鈥� denier and perpetrator,鈥� the Tamil Refugee Council said on July 3.
The council was responding to 鈥渃redible media reports鈥� about immigration minister Scott Morrison's 鈥渁bhorrent act of secretly sending back a boatload of Tamil asylum-seekers to the certainty of a Sri Lankan jail and the probability of rape and torture鈥�.
Conservative Murdoch mouthpiece Janet Albrechtsen and former deputy Liberal Party leader Neil Brown have been appointed as new members of the panel that oversees appointments to the ABC and SBS boards.
The appointments by the Tony Abbott government come after the announcement of serious funding cuts to both public broadcasters in the May federal budget. The cuts were passed in parliament with the support of Labor and the Greens.
Kirstyn Jones is from Davoren Park near Playford in Adelaide's northern suburbs, where there has been an income management trial for two years. She is the first Playford resident forced on to income management to speak publicly.
She was put on income management, despite being financially competent and working part time, solely because she was on Youth Allowance and not living at home.
Sunrays pierced the cold rain to make a sudden halo around the Blackbird as it approached the Collins Landing wharf in Melbourne on June 21, docking across from the Republic of West Papua鈥檚 new state of the art Department of Foreign Affairs, Immigration and Trade office.
People in suits, high heels, dreadlocks and traditional Melanesian headdresses sang, danced and waved West Papua鈥檚 outlawed Morning Star flag as they gathered to greet the boat of West Papuan Foreign Affairs staff arriving to formally open their new office.
Many local residents in Victorian regional city Bendigo were shocked when right-wing groups from outside of Bendigo began mobilising residents against the proposal for the city鈥檚 first mosque.
The mosque is planned to be built on underdeveloped industrial land in East Bendigo. It is to include a prayer centre, a cafe and a sports centre which would be available for the general community to use.
A heated council meeting on June 18 approved the mosque plans by a vote of 7 to 2. However, opponents say they will appeal to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT).
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