More than 3 million people in Vietnam are estimated to be still suffering from the devastating health effects of Agent Orange, a herbicide that the US used extensively during the Vietnam War. In 2004, these victims sued nearly 40 US chemical companies for their role in supplying the deadly chemicals, but the case was rejected by a US court. An oral presentation of the appeal by the Vietnamese victims started on June 18 in New York City. US veterans held a vigil in San Francisco on June 19 in support of the appeal. On June 15, on conclusion of a visit to Vietnam, Ricardo Alarcon, the president of Cuba鈥檚 parliament, also expressed his support for the Agent Orange victims鈥� appeal case.
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Socialist Worker (SW-NZ), an organisation of revolutionary socialists in New Zealand, has sparked a new round of debate among socialists internationally over how to understand and relate to the socialist revolution in Venezuela, led by the government of President Hugo Chavez. On May 1 SW-NZ issued a statement arguing the Venezuela鈥檚 revolution is of 鈥渆pochal significance鈥�.
Since the Australian government鈥檚 decision to declare a 鈥渨ar on terror鈥� in the wake of the terrorist attacks on the US cities of New York and Washington on September 11, 2001, federal parliament has enacted no less than 26 pieces of legislation that form so-called anti-terror laws. The justifications for the laws ignore that acts such as murder, hijacking and blowing things up have never been legal. The laws鈥� real purpose is to criminalise political dissent and to create the impression of a 鈥渢errorist threat鈥� to justify military aggression overseas.
Federal education minister Julie Bishop has announced a tender process to trial performance-based pay in schools. Australian Education Union (AEU) federal president Pat Byrne described the scheme as 聯cash-for-grades聰, and called for more federal funding for state education.
On June 20, 30 people attended a public forum to launch a campaign for an August 12 national day of action for same-sex marriage rights. The NDA is being built around three slogans: 聯Repeal the ban on same-sex marriage聰, 聯Give us civil unions聰 and 聯Hands off same-sex adoption聰, and so far, rallies are being planned in Sydney, Melbourne, Lismore and Perth.
Silencing Dissent
Edited by Clive Hamilton & Sarah Maddison
Allen & Unwin, 2007
279 pages, $24.95
Edited by Clive Hamilton & Sarah Maddison
Allen & Unwin, 2007
279 pages, $24.95
Close the Gap
Photo exhibition by Oxfam Australia
Waterfront Place foyer
Eagle Street, Brisbane
Until June 29
Photo exhibition by Oxfam Australia
Waterfront Place foyer
Eagle Street, Brisbane
Until June 29
On June 3, an elderly flower seller in the municipality of Chongqing was critically injured when council rangers violently cleared the area of street hawkers. In response, a thousand-strong riot erupted. Three days later, a similar incident occurred in the Henan provincial capital of Zhengzhou, when a riot of thousands of people forced a backdown from the authorities.
The enormity of China鈥檚 environmental nightmare is well-known. However, its root causes 鈥� especially the part played by First World capital 鈥� is less widely understood. One example is the massive dumping in China of First World 鈥渆-waste鈥� 鈥� electronic and electrical waste.
The Vote Against Discrimination
Kirrit Barreet Aboriginal Art and Cultural Centre, 407 Main Road, Ballarat
Free entry, until August 30
Kirrit Barreet Aboriginal Art and Cultural Centre, 407 Main Road, Ballarat
Free entry, until August 30
As It Happened: Six Days in June (Part 2) 聴 Looks at the 1967 six-day war when Israel occupied the Palestinian territories of Gaza and the West Bank. SBS, Friday, June 29, 8.30pm.
On June 13, explosions destroyed the two 100-year-old minarets of the highly revered Shiite Askariya mosque in the largely Sunni inhabited city of Samarra, 100 kilometres north of Baghdad. 聯The Askariya shrine means a lot to us, the people of Samarra聰, Abu Abdullah, a Sunni who lives next to the shrine, told the June 13 Washington Post, adding: 聯To lose the shrine hurt us a lot, and made us afraid about what will happen next. Someone wants to create sectarian strife by doing this act.聰
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