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A commentator for the mainstream Barcelona daily La Vanguardia reported on May 9 on a conversation he overheard in a lift between two 鈥渆xecutives of a certain age鈥. They were talking about an opinion poll giving the radical, movement-based ticket Barcelona Together the lead in the March 24 election for Barcelona City Council. Executive A: 鈥淗ave you seen that [incumbent Barcelona mayor Xavier] Trias is losing?鈥 Executive B: 鈥淵es, [lead candidate for Barcelona Together Ada] Colau is winning.鈥
Two months after鈥 鈥19-year-old Black teenager Tony Robinson was fatally shot by Madison police officer Matt Kenny,鈥 鈥琖isconsin prosecutors announced on May鈥 鈥12鈥 鈥瑃hat Kenny would not face criminal charges over the shooting.鈥 Hundreds of people took to the streets in Madison in the immediate aftermath,鈥 on May鈥 鈥14,鈥 鈥瑆ith more protests鈥 鈥琾lanned.
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Particularly when it comes to responsible reporting of Aboriginal poverty. Last week, Four Corners pointed its lens into a few Aboriginal communities in Western Australia and produced a beautiful piece of promotion for the WA government and its plans for a catastrophic assault on Aboriginal homelands.
People who regularly visit refugees and asylum seekers detained in the Melbourne Immigration Transit Accommodation in Broadmeadows have reported that the rules for visiting have recently become much more restrictive. Visitors must now give 24 hours notice. They must give the names of the specific detainees they wish to talk to, and are not allowed to talk to any others. This makes it hard for them to make contact with new arrivals in the detention centre. Requests to visit are often refused on the pretext that the visiting room will be full, whereas in fact the room is often half empty.
The Anti-Poverty Network South Australia released this statement on May 11. *** This year marks the 21st anniversary of the last time Newstart Allowance was raised in real terms. Since the 1994 federal budget, when Newstart was raised by a mere $2.95, the level of the payment has stagnated, falling increasingly behind the rest of community, and creating widespread poverty for unemployed people.