Issue 1387

News

A crowd outside the Federal Court听stood in solidarity with Gomeroi people who are appealing a Native Title Tribunal decision to reject native title, allowing Santos听to frack in the Pilliga Forest. David Killingly reports.

The Australian Conservation Foundation welcomes听the听decision听to listen to Traditional Owners and withdraw from a plan to establish a radioactive waste facility on South Australia鈥檚 Eyre Peninsula. Dave Sweeney reports.

Labor has decided (with Coalition support) to ensure that MPs and Senators have no real say over how Australia goes to war.听Mark Robinson reports.

Neil Para, a Tamil refugee living in Ballarat, has begun a 1000 kilometre walk to Gadi/Sydney. He intends to finish at Anthony Albanese鈥檚 office in Marrickville. Chris Slee reports.

Speakers criticised the AUKUS pact and the proposed nuclear powered submarines at a bigger than usual Hiroshima Day protest. Paul Petit reports.

Marching on Hiroshima Day in Meanjin/Brisbane

鈥淣o subs, no war, no US bases on our shore鈥 rang through the streets听as protesters commemorated the 78th anniversary of the US' nuclear assault on the city of Hiroshima and three days later Nagasaki. Alex Bainbridge reports.

Anti-war, climate and housing activists are among those who will be protesting outside Labor鈥檚 national conference.听Others will be doing it inside. Alex Bainbridge reports.

Iv谩n Barreto L贸pez from the Cuban Institute for Friendship Among the Peoples (ICAP) spoke to Alex Bainbridge听about ending the US-imposed blockade of Cuba which he said has impacted 鈥渆very Cuban鈥.

An interfaith听gathering with the women of Manipur called on governments to investigate Hindu extremist organisations in Australia which have been accused of fuelling hate crimes in India. Peter Boyle reports.

A public forum on the housing crisis was told that while non-market solutions are ignored by governments the housing crisis will intensify. Jordan AK听reports.

The Hiroshima Day rally,听organised by the No AUKUS Coalition Victoria, heard a听variety of speakers condemn the AUKUS nuclear听deal. Jordan AK reports.

Another protest called on Labor to scrap the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal and to sign the 2017 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Peter Boyle and Pip Hinman听report.

The Victorian government is planning on听changes to harsh bail laws听but it appears that they are not going to be implemented immediately. Chris Slee reports.

A giant letter demanding Anthony Albanese push harder to have Julian Assange released from Belmarsh Prison was read out, outside the Prime Minister's electorate office. Stephen Langford reports.

Marianniz D铆az and Ivan Ernesto Barreto building solidarity with Cuba

Two young Cubans, currently touring Australia with the Australia-Cuba Friendship Society, are speaking at a public meeting on Cuba鈥檚 challenges and latest achievements. Allen Jennings reports.

CFMEU housing plan, Women鈥檚 World Cup & Russian anti-war socialist arrested

91自拍论坛 journalists Isaac Nellist and Chloe DS go through the latest news from across the continent and around the world.

More than 150 peace activists, trade unionists and concerned citizens attended an IPAN forum about the dangers of AUKUS,听which integrates Australia more closely into the US war machine. Stanley Blair reports

The Korean community group Sydney Candlelight Action joined a global peace action calling for an official听end the Korean War, 70 years after the 1953 armistice. Peter Boyle reports.

The Sydney Climate Coalition organised a well-attended full-day conference to discuss how to build a strong enough climate movement to force Labor to act. Jim McIlroy reports.

Gumbaynggirr Custodians have been forced off their land by Forestry Corporation NSW and the NSW fire brigade, but they have not given up the fight to听protect听the Newry State Forest. Kerry Smith reports.

Stop Talisman Sabre, stop AUKUS

Peace activists from Australia joined guests from the Pacific at a speak-out against the Talisman Sabre war training, writes Alex Bainbridge.

Analysis

We can鈥檛 possibly mobilise the human and material resources needed to confront the climate crisis 鈥 the real threat to our security 鈥 while听gearing up for a new Cold War, let alone a hot war, argues Sam Wainwright.

To challenge its听drive to war and to force the government to invest in its people, students need to organise, argues听Harrison Brennan.

Labor claims its amendments to strengthen the welfare safety net听are 鈥渟tructural鈥 and 鈥渃alibrated鈥. But the changes are not enough to lift people out of poverty. Leo Earle reports.

Long-term activist Menang woman Megan Krakouer first opposed the Voice, but has now decided to support it. She spoke to听Sam Wainwright about why.

The Anthony Albanese government looks likely to prevent delegates voting on the merits of the AUKUS alliance and to recognise Palestine as a state. Why is it so scared of dissent, asks Stuart Rees.

Labor ministers听happily agreed to allow the United States to deepen and tighten militarisation of听Australia at the AUSMIN 2023 talks. Bevan Ramsden reports.

A new housing and homelessness data portal shows the number of people who are homeless has almost doubled over 2021 to 2022.听Rachel Evans and听Karyn Brown report.

The AUSMIN 2023 talks between the US Secretaries of State and Defense and their Australian counterparts听confirmed the increasing and unaccountable militarisation of Australia鈥檚 north.听Binoy Kampmark reports.

The听International Atomic Energy Agency's听in-principle agreement to Australia's AUKUS nuclear听submarines sets听a risky precedent for 'nuclear听sharing'. Pip Hinman reports.

Refugee Action Collectives have launched an听open letter asking the Minister for Home Affairs Clare O'Neil to help refugees stranded in Indonesia.听

Ten million workers are struggling but Australia鈥檚 national net wealth, if redistributed, could end the crushing poverty which directly accounts for at least 10% of the suicide toll. Gerry Georgatos reports.

Australian universities graphic

Suzanne James asksif Australia can really find its way back to Whitlam-style free education policy when so many are ensnared in a hunger-games economy, driven by the greed of the privileged, privately-educated few?听

The Australian Council of Trade Unions has welcomed听Labor鈥檚 plan to give听casual听workers听the option of permanent work rights. Others say听more needs to be done to resolve the 鈥渃asual problem鈥. Jim McIlroy reports.

One of the concerns of First Nations activists in the progressive No camp is that the听Voice听will not be truly representative. They have reason for concern, argues Peter Boyle.

The recent AUSMIN talks showed up just how fast听Australia is being a client state of the United States, argues听Binoy Kampmark.

This video by Alex Bainbridge听is from the "AUKUS: What does it mean for Australia and the Asia Pacific?" panel at the Calling for a Peaceful Pacific conference organised by the Independent and Peace Australia Network.

Socialist Alliance adds it听voice听to the growing international chorus demanding the immediate release of Russian socialist Boris Kagarlitsky and the dropping of the trumped-up charge of 鈥渏ustifying terrorism鈥.听

Workers need a fairer, democratically accountable, transparent and responsive alternative to the Reserve Bank of Australia, argues Graham Matthews.

The Robodebt letters were deliberately designed without a phone number for people听to call, the intention being that they quietly听pay up online. Peter Martin reports on the sinister science behind such decisions.

World

atomic bomb

The new blockbuster film Oppenheimer has raised complex questions on the nature of the society that permitted such bombs to be developed and used and the stockpiling of nuclear arsenals that can destroy the world many times over, writes Prabir Purkayastha.

Left Bloc

Left Bloc leader Jorge Costa discusses Portugal鈥檚 politics under the Socialist Party (PS) government and the party鈥檚 changing relation to it, with 91自拍论坛鈥檚 Dick Nichols.

Monaeka Flores and Shinako Oyakawa

Visiting Pacific peace activists Monaeka Flores (from Guahan/Guam) and Shinako Oyakawa (from Okinawa) warn that the United States military expansion in the Pacific has the dystopian objective of 鈥渨inning鈥 a nuclear war at the expense of the people on whose land these military bases are sited, reports Peter Boyle.

Algeria mine

Algeria is being seriously affected by climate change, yet authorities have agreed to a dangerous new mine, a joint venture with South Australian based miner Terramin, reports Susan Price.

Bangladesh garment factory

John Smith is the author of Imperialism in the Twenty-First Century: Globalization, Super-Exploitation, and Capitalism鈥檚 Final Crisis. He spoke with 91自拍论坛鈥檚 Federico Fuentes about the realities of 21st century imperialism. This is the first of a two-part interview.

Niger

The recent coup in Niger follows similar coups in Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea, each led by military officers angered by the presence of French and United States troops and by the permanent economic crises inflicted on their countries, report Vijay Prashad and Kambale Musavuli.

ILWU

Canadian dockworkers in British Columbia voted on August 3鈥4 to accept a new tentative agreement with employers, reports Jeff Shantz.

Free Boris Kagarlitsky

Russian anti-war socialist Boris Kagarlitsky鈥檚 arrest is just the latest in an ongoing and escalating war against domestic dissent, writes Federico Fuentes.

Saroj Dutta commemoration

Members of the All India Students Association and the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) 鈥 Liberation gathered in central Kolkata on August 5 to mark 52 years since one of the party's founders,听Saroj Dutta, was murdered, report Isaac Nellist, Jacob Andrewartha and Chloe DS.

PDKI

Marcel Cartier recently spent time with leading figures of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI), on a visit to Iraqi Kurdistan.

ILWU

Rank-and-file members of the International听Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada (ILWU) in British Columbia have voted down an employment agreement foisted on them by a government mediator, reports Jeff Shantz.

Child labour in US

A 16-year-old boy died in a Wisconsin sawmill while states loosen 80-year-old child labour laws, aiming to bring in super exploitable child labour, especially in non-unionised industries, reports Malik Miah.

Guahan (Guam) peace activist Monaeka Flores explains why she fights United States militarism and the expanding bases on her Pacific island nation and around the world.

The expansion of United States military bases in Okinawa, other islands in Japan, Guahan/Guam听and Australia is a deadly threat to peace and to indigenous communities, warns Okinawa peace activist Shinako Oyakawa.

Culture

China in one village book review

Chris Slee reviews Liang Hong's 2021 book, China in one Village, which examines the alienation from village life that accompanies China's reliance on rural migrant labour.

Barbie doll

The brilliance of Barbie is its confrontation of patriarchy and power, writes Christine Hepsie.

Ukraine Resists

Jonathan Strauss introduces a new collection published by Resistance Books in Australia, featuring the voices of Ukrainian leftists, Russian left anti-war activists and members of the international left who defend Ukraine鈥檚 right of national self-determination.

MC Izzy Brown

In an interview with 91自拍论坛 Radio, musician, activist and filmmaker Izzy Brown said there is 鈥減ower in people and when those people are dancing the cops don't know what to do鈥, writes Ruth Heymann.

Protest albums from July 2023

Mat Ward looks back at July's political news and the best new music that related to it.