LL:DDV: International Women's Day
Rally for Peace, Justice and Solidarity Saturday March 8, 1.00pm State Library, Melbourne ALL WELLCOME for more info call Vivian on 9639 8622/0403 924 409 or Nazra 0405 735 902 -- -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Sub: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsub: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:DDV: Footscray Community Rally Against the War
Footscray Community Rally Against the War There will be a community rally in Footscray, this Saturday (February 22) Where: Footscray Mall, Nicholson St When: 11am. Saturday, 22 February. Speakers will include council election candidates from the Greens, ALP and Socialist Alliance and Iraqi feminist and pro-democracy activist Surma Hamid. The rally will include a Return To Sender of the government's Terrorism Packs, reflecteing the view that this taxpayer funded pro-war propaganda is likely to be divisive in a community as culturally and religiously diverse as Footscray. The rally is organised by the Maribyrnong Anti-War Group which meets every Tuesday, 6.30pm at the Footscray Resistance Centre, 48 Leeds St (room 6, upstairs). For more information ring Tony Iltis on 9332 8566 or 9687 0789. -- -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Sub: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsub: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:DDV: Dismantle the War Machine, Not Welfare!
Hi Leftlinkers Radical Women invites you all to our upcoming meeting: Stop Welfare Fraud - No more handouts to the rich! Tuesday, 25 February, 7.00 pm On orders from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Howard=B9s Government is planning the biggest ever assault on welfare. One scheme is to encourage working families and individuals to help themselves by slashing benefits. The other is to hand over more Centrelink operations to private companies. In this latest pick-pocketing of the poor in order to add to the treasures of the rich, women would be robbed the most. Come along to hear Deb Carlon from the Council of Single Mothers and their Children and Alison Thorne, an activist in the Community Public Sector Union, unravel this scam and its consequences. Join us in discussing how welfare workers and recipients resisting together can stop it. A refreshing summertime dinner will be served at 6.30 pm for a $6.50 donation. At Solidarity Salon, 580 Sydney Rd, Brunswick (between Blyth and Stewart Sts). For more information, phone 9386 3230 or email [EMAIL PROTECTED] . -- -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Sub: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsub: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:DDN: CHANGED Venue for GLOBAL JUSTICE SYDNEY Forum
http://sydney.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=26325group=webcast (Thursday, F20) GLOBAL JUSTICE SYDNEY Forum: Struggles against Free Trade by GLOBAL JUSTICE SYDNEY 7:04pm Sun Feb 16 '03 article#26325 [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://GlobalJustice.cat.org.au/ phone: Marina: 0414 788 852 - Vince: 0438 800 244 Struggles against Free Trade - How we can bring the world-wide campaign to Australia - inspiring examples from around the world - discussion of new campaigns planned in Sydney [ GJS LOGO + Forum Flyer .jpg ] On Thursday, 20th February, 6.30pm at Gaelic Club, 64 Devonshire St, Surry Hills (Eastern Entrance of Central station ped tunnel) Speakers include: campaigners and recent returnees from the World Social Forum, Asian Social Forum and European Social Forum (John Hepburn, Kate Walsh, Sean Healy and M...ore;) Come along to share info and ideas for action. Topics to be covered include: - international protest plans for the WTO meeting in Cancun in September, - the Australia/US Free Trade Agreement, campaigns against GATS, - the world-wide campaign against corporate globalisation and war, - and how we can bring this all home to Sydney. Organised by GLOBAL JUSTICE SYDNEY, a new group which is in the process of being formed. It aims to promote and organise grass roots activism around trade and broader global justice issues. All individuals and groups interested in being involved should subscribe to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] or email [EMAIL PROTECTED] . For more information phone Marina on 0414 788 852 or Vince on 0438 800 244 or checkout http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GlobalJusticeSydney/ http://GlobalJustice.cat.org.au/ Also coming up: AN AXIS OF HOPE - a of three public forums As we are confronted with the stark realities of a world defined by profit and war the challenge we face is to inspire hope for an alternate world. This series of three public forums, hosted by the Research Initiative on International Activism and the Sydney Social Forum will centre around three themes - Human Rights, the Environment and Peace - and help create an 'axis of hope' for another, better world. Each from 6.00-8.30pm at the Great Hall, UTS Tower, Broadway. Entry by donation, Disabled Access. HUMAN RIGHTS - Monday, 10 March Nurdin Abdul Rahman, Olga Havnen, Carmen Lawrence Supported by AidWatch + Indonesia Solidarity ENVIRONMENT - Thursday, 20 March Jacqui Katona, Anuradha Mittal, Helena Norberg-Hodge Supported by Greenpeace (Australia-Pacific) + Mineral Policy Institute PEACE - Monday, 24 March William Blum, Karen Flick, Maree O'Halloran, Tom Uren Supported by Labor Council of NSW + Walk Against War Coalition CONTACTs: Research Initiative on International Activism http://www.international.activism.uts.edu.au/ (click on 'new') Sydney Social Forum http://www.SydneySocialForum.org/ James 9514 2714, Vince 0438 800 244 STALL SPACE AVAILABLE If your union, community or activist group would like to have an information stall at any of the 'Axis' meetings, let us know. Send an email with your details to [EMAIL PROTECTED] . SPEAKER DETAILS William Blum: anti-war journalist from the USA with ZNet; author of Rogue State, a mini-encyclopaedia of US intervention around the world, Killing Hope and West-Bloc Dissident. Karen Flick: a community activist who has campaigned against Black Deaths in Custody, and is currently engaged in establishing training and development programs with Aboriginal communities. Olga Havnen: of Western Arrernte descent, from Tennant Creek, has a longstanding involvement in international human rights and Indigenous rights issues, including the National Indigenous Working Group, the Central Land Council, the Fred Hollows Foundation. Jacqui Katona: member of the Djok Aboriginal clan, former executive officer of the Gundjehmi Aboriginal Corporation which campaigned against the proposed Jabiluka uranium mine. Dr Carmen Lawrence: ALP MP, federal Member for Fremantle, former Shadow Minister and prominent critic of the Government's policy of mandatory detention for refugees. Anuradha Mittal: with 'Food First', campaigning for global food security. Originally from India, Anuradha is heavily involved in the global movement against Genetically-Engineered food. Helena Norberg-Hodge: from Sweden, heads the International Society for Ecology and Culture, is co-founder of the International Forum on Globalisation and the Global Eco-village Network. Maree O'Halloran: President of the NSW Teachers Federation, with a teaching career spanning city and country schools; in 2002 the Federation unanimously opposed the War on Iraq, calling for an end to sanctions on non-military assistance. Nurdin Abdul Rahman: twice imprisoned Human Rights advocate and academic from Aceh, Indonesia, with the Aceh-based organisation, 'Rehabilitation Action for Torture Victims'. Tom Uren: former federal ALP Member for Reid; Minister in the Whitlam and Hawke Governments; an active member of the left wing of
LL:ART: All the News That Fits
This week's stories: Invasion of Iraq to Reward American Oil Companies...Call Centres Get Worse...Insane Prisoner Can Be Forcibly Medicated then Executed...Gap Between Rich and Poor Not Wide Enough Say Employers...NSW Education Department Just Knew It Was Going To Fail, Didn't Bother Turning Up To Test...Quotes of the Week. The Iraqi dissidents chosen by the United States government to head a new regime in Iraq say they will cancel all oil contracts given to companies from countries who don't help in the invasion of Iraq. US oil companies would be expected to win most of the contracts. Many of these companies are linked to senior officials in the Bush regime, including President Bush himself. (The Nation (US), October 7). Conditions in the Australian call centre industry are bad and getting worse. A Primus Telecommunications employee has been fired for taking a non-business-related phone call, and claims that 50 staff have left AAPT in recent months with stress-related illnesses. The chief executive of research group callcentres.net, Martin Conboy, said the call centre industry's workforce was growing at about 10 per cent a year - but transaction volumes were increasing by more than 30 per cent per year. Although some of this increase is handled by increased automation, Mr Conway said that all those people are working harder. Mr Conboy said that, while mundane tasks had been taken away from agents, they were now expected to offer a higher grade of customer service, which put more pressure on staff. Australia's call centre industry consists of approximately 3850 call centres and 22,000 staff. (Australian Financial Review, February 7). An American court has ruled that an insane prisoner can be forcibly given anti-psychotic drugs to improve his condition, and then executed once he becomes legally sane. Judges ruled that the drugs were 'generally beneficial to the prisoner'. Eligibility for execution is the only unwanted consequence of the medication, they wrote. (New York Times, February 11 and 12). Unions are seeking an increase of $24.60 per week for low paid Australian workers. Unions say the pay increase last year for Australia's top 100 CEOs was enough to pay the minimum wage increase for 59,000 low-paid workers. The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry is opposing the claim. (Australian Financial Review, February 6). The New South Wales State government scrapped a review of Aboriginal education before the State election. The Minister for Education, John Watkins, said that he stopped a review because he already knew that the State's education policy had failed Aboriginal children. The New South Wales Teachers Federation says that they believe the review was cancelled because of damaging results that would've come out before the State election. (Sydney Morning Herald, February 17). Quotes of the Week: I spent thirty-three years and four months in active military service as a member of this country's most agile military force, the Marine Corps. And during that period, I spent most of my time being a high class muscle-man for Big Business, for Wall Street and the Bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism. I helped make Mexico, especially Tampico, safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefits of Wall Street. (Major-General Smedley D. Butler). Tony Blair is no longer Prime Minister of Britain, he is the foreign minister of the United States. (Nelson Mandela). Global Politics Quiz 1) Which is the only country in the world to have dropped bombs on over twenty different countries since 1945? 2) Which is the only country to have used nuclear weapons? 3) Which country was responsible for a car bomb which killed 80 civilians in Beirut in 1985, in a botched assassination attempt, thereby making it the most lethal terrorist bombing in modern Middle East history? 4) Which country's illegal bombing of Libya in 1986 was described by the UN Legal Committee as a classic case of terrorism? 5) Which country rejected the order of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to terminate its unlawful use of force against Nicaragua in 1986, and then vetoed a UN Security Council resolution calling on all states to observe international law? 6) Which country was accused by a UN-sponsored truth commission of providing direct and indirect support for acts of genocide against the Mayan Indians in Guatemala during the 1980s? 7) Which country unilaterally withdrew from the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty in December 2001? 8) Which country renounced the efforts to negotiate a verification process for the Biological Weapons Convention and brought an international conference on the matter to a halt in July 2001? 9) Which country prevented the United
LL:PR: NSW voters urged to write No war on ballot papers
- NSW Socialist Alliance Media release from Tuesday, 18th February: - NSW voters urged to write No war on March 22 ballot papers The Socialist Alliance today called on all opponents of the United States-led war on Iraq to turn the NSW state election into a referendum on the war by writing No war on their ballot papers on March 22. If the Howard government won't consult the people by holding a nationwide referendum on the war, then the people will organise their own referendum, said Lisa Macdonald, Socialist Alliance's lead candidate for the Legislative Council in the NSW election. We are calling on all political parties, NSW election candidates, trade unions and community organisations who oppose the war to encourage voters - the majority of whom now oppose this war - to have their say on March 22. Last weekend, a million people around Australia - half a million in NSW - rallied and marched to say 'No' to the war on Iraq, but neither PM John Howard nor Premier Bob Carr appear to be listening. In the best of democratic traditions, we will make them listen - both at the ballot box and by continuing to march in the streets, strike at our schools and workplaces, and organise in our neighbourhoods, Macdonald said. NSW electoral law allows voters to write whatever they wish on their ballot paper without affecting the validity of the vote they cast. As well as voting for Socialist Alliance and the Greens, the two consistently anti-war parties contesting the NSW election, writing 'No war' on both upper and lower house ballot papers is the best possible use we can all make of our vote on March 22, Macdonald said. Whoever wins government in the NSW election, they will have been given a clear mandate to take action to stop this unjust war. For further comment, phone Lisa Macdonald on 0413 031 108 or e-mail to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.Socialist-Alliance.org/ -- -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Sub: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsub: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:INFO: Another death due to mandatory detention regime
I have forwarded this with permission from the author. From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Hi All, We'll the renewed faith in humanity was short lived, recently we heard about the ninth person to died in custody. Her name was Fatima and she had a husband and three children. The fact that she died at the hands of our Government's neglect was enough to make us all sick, but now we have learnt that her husband, Ali and their three children are somewhere in the world (no-one knows) on the journey back to war-torn Afghanistan. Ruddock said he would ship her body off with the family, like she is some piece of garbage. Well now we know he was kidding. The family have been rushed out of sight and out of mind. Without any due process to inquiry or compassion for the family Ruddock has forced their return to Afghanistan. People, it's not getting better, nor is it getting even reasonable. The callousness of our Government continues unabated and this barbaric behaviour continues silently in the corridors of the minister's office, the scheming, the plotting still continues to display new lows in human decency. Our journey to Baxter is needed more than ever, while the innocent asylum seekers are neglected and allowed to die without any dignity we must continue. The repugnant policies of our government must be condemned, damn and finally removed. Let's rally support for the refugees in concentration camps, let's condemn Ruddock and the Howard government as the murdering bastards they are. Let's go to Baxter be heard internationally and do all in our power to stop this commercial human trading in death. Matt Hamon -- -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Sub: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsub: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:DDV: Public Forum - White Settlement in Australia
* * * PLEASE CIRCULATE WIDELY * * * WHITE SETTLEMENT IN AUSTRALIA: violent conquest or benign colonisation? KEITH WINDSCHUTTLE debates PAT GRIMSHAW WEDNESDAY 5 MARCH @ 6.30PM New Council Chamber, Trades Hall In his recent book The Fabrication of Aboriginal History, Keith Windschuttle charges academic historians with a series of wilful misrepresentations intended to portray Australia as a society marked by atrocities against Aborigines. In this important debate, Keith Windschuttle and Pat Grimshaw outline competing accounts of white settlement, and explain what's at stake in the dispute. Keith Windschuttle is the author of The Killing of History: How Literary Critics and Social Theorists Are Murdering Our Past (2000), now in its fourth edition, as well as five other books on contemporary social issues. His most recent book, The Fabrication of Aboriginal History, Volume One, Van Diemen's Land 1803-1847, was published by Macleay Press in November 02. He is also a publisher and a frequent contributor to The New Criterion and Quadrant. Pat Grimshaw holds the Max Crawford Chair of History at the University of Melbourne. She is the author of Women's Suffrage in New Zealand (revised edition 1987) and Paths of Duty: American Missionary Women in Nineteenth Century Hawaii (1989), and co-author of Creating a Nation (1994). A co-authored comparative study of the place of indigenous peoples in the political structures of British settler colonies is currently in press with Manchester University Press. The event will be chaired by Associate Professor Joy Damousi, Editor of Australian Historical Studies. ENTRY: $5 FULL / $3 CONCESSION / RMIT LATROBE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS FREE Further information from Gillian on 9925 2910 or Jeff on 9662 3744 www.advocacy.tce.rmit.edu.au or www.nibs.org.au Sponsored by the RMIT Community Advocacy Unit, the New International Bookshop, Australian Historical Studies, the Australian Historical Association and Latrobe University Aboriginal Studies. Gillian Davy Co-ordinator, Community Advocacy Unit School of Social Science and Planning RMIT University GPO Box 2476V Melbourne VIC 3001 http://advocacy.tce.rmit.edu.au Tel: +61 3 9925 2910 Fax: +61 3 9925 1855 -- -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Sub: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsub: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:ART: Editorial: Howard's arrogance knows no limit
The following Editorial was published in The Guardian, newspaper of the Communist Party of Australia in its issue of Wednesday, February 19th, 2003. Contact address: 65 Campbell Street, Surry Hills. Sydney. 2010 Australia. Phone: (612) 9212 6855 Fax: (612) 9281 5795. CPA Central Committee: [EMAIL PROTECTED] The Guardian: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Webpage: http://www.cpa.org.au Subscription rates on request. ** Editorial - Howard's arrogance knows no limit I will not be moved declared John Howard and Alexander Downer in response to the huge anti-war demonstrations around the world over the weekend. My charge as Prime Minister is to make whatever decisions are in the interest of this country, he said. At the same time he rails about Saddam Hussein being a dictator! Howard's arrogance knows no limit. He will not be moved by the reports of the weapons inspectors, who, after three months in Iraq have found not a skerrick of evidence that Iraq possesses any weapons of mass destruction. Hans Blix stated last week, in connection with the search for biological and chemical weapons, The results to date have been consistent with Iraq's declaration. Howard will not be moved by the opposition to war coming from the governments representing the majority of the people of the world. He will not be moved by the fact that the world's people simply do not believe the succession of lies coming from Tony Blair, Colin Powell, George Bush and himself in an attempt to whip up support for war. Howard and his warmongering mates are lying. It is as simple as that. And more and more people see through their lies. Their war plans have nothing to do with Saddam Hussein's record (Is he the only one with a dirty record?). It has nothing to do with weapons of mass destruction. It has nothing to do with the allegation that Iraq could provide terrorist groups with weapons of mass destruction. Blair has now attempted to push the moral button, alluding to the numbers killed in Iraqi wars. But, we are supposed to believe it is OK if the US, Britain and Australia kill an equal number to achieve their ends. These arguments are merely diversions to cover up the truth. The warmongers never have and never will tell the truth. The US war drive is motivated by the dire need of the US corporations to control the oil resources of the whole of the Middle East and, thereby, control the economic and political life of all other countries. It is about US world hegemony and Howard is totally in support of that. He hopes that Australian corporations will reap some of the benefits from the re-imposition of colonial regimes in the Middle East and elsewhere. There is another unspoken compelling reason. It is that the steady strengthening of the euro is now challenging the domination of the US dollar in world trade, particularly oil. Not only have the main powers of Europe, with the exception of Britain, adopted the euro but more and more countries are converting dollars into euro. One analyst wrote recently that, Saddam sealed his fate when he decided to switch to the euro in late 2000 (and later converted his US $10 billion reserve fund at the UN to euros) - at that point, another manufactured Gulf War became inevitable under Bush II. (Rechnagel, Charles, Iraq: Baghdad Moves to Euro November 1, 2000. http://www.rferl.org/nca/features/2000/11/01112000160846.asp) Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela and other countries are also buying up euros. This helps to explain the line-up that is taking place in the United Nations Security Council. It also helps to explain the single-minded and bloody-minded determination of the US and its very few allies to launch a war against Iraq. The fact that some of the biggest demonstrations over the weekend took place in those countries (Spain, Italy, the US, Britain and Australia) whose governments support the war option, is very significant and heartening. But the determination of Bush, Howard, Blair and a few other governments to go ahead with war raises the necessity to go further now. The demonstrations against the war are extremely significant but it is going to be necessary to rapidly remove those governments or the leaders of those governments that support this diabolical US war before it is too late. As one placard read: If Johnny comes marching home, he will come with blood on his hands. Yes, the blood of tens of thousands of Iraqi men, women and children and perhaps the blood of Australian servicemen. Throw him out! -- -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Sub: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsub: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:ART: Worldwide the people say NO WAR!
The following articles were published in The Guardian, newspaper of the Communist Party of Australia in its issue of Wednesday, February 19th, 2003. Contact address: 65 Campbell Street, Surry Hills. Sydney. 2010 Australia. Phone: (612) 9212 6855 Fax: (612) 9281 5795. CPA Central Committee: [EMAIL PROTECTED] The Guardian: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Webpage: http://www.cpa.org.au Subscription rates on request. ** Worldwide the people say NO WAR Why is it wrong to kill innocent people if you are Saddam Hussein and right to kill innocent people if you are Bush, Blair, Howard or Murdoch, asked John Pilger addressing the huge rally in Sydney last weekend. This weekend more than 30 million people all over the world are doing what you are doing. They are your comrades - two million in London, five million across the [European] continent, 42 cities in the United States are protesting. Never has there been such a massive opposition to a war before it began. Never has there been such a worldwide resistance to the terrorism of state power. Let me assure you finally - our movement is too big to be defeated. This is not to say that the Bush gang can be stopped immediately but the power of public opinion, the moral power and the political power, your power, is far greater than perhaps even many of you realise. Howard fears public opinion, Blair fears public opinion, and Bush fears public opinion. They fear the best of Australia, they fear the best of Britain and they fear the best of America. That's why their propaganda is so virulent and their apologists are so shrill. They prefer the old lie that people are apathetic . So let us reassure Bush, Blair and their hangers-on that they have every reason to be afraid. For they and not the Iraqi people are the enemy and we are the majority! John Pilger said to rousing applause and cheers. Close to a million people rallied and marched in Australia last weekend sending a clear message to the two major parties that a majority do not want war. Their voices were echoed around the globe, as John Pilger told the Sydney rally. The actions were remarkable for the breadth of participation. Many were taking part in a political action for the first time. Families, individuals; all ages, all backgrounds. The trade unions, environmental groups, the churches, peace organisations, ethnic community groups, Indigenous Australians, doctors, teachers, students, pensioners, feminists, gays and lesbians and many others found unprecedented unity. Members of left and green political parties marched alongside members of more conservative political parties, including some from Howard's own Liberal Party. The huge groundswell of support for the demand for 'No War on Iraq' and 'No Australian involvement' will not go away, said Hannah Middleton from the Walk Against the War Coalition in Sydney. We will go on demanding peace - in many different ways - until Prime Minister Howard listens and brings the troops home, Hannah Middleton said. SYDNEY: No one can remember anything like it in Sydney. Up to half a million people crammed into Hyde Park North and overflowed into the surrounding streets. The head of the march had circled six city blocks and returned to Hyde Park before the majority had even started. So large was the crowd that organisers were diverting the marchers as they returned to the Domain. The public transport system failed dismally, with thousands crammed into trains or left to walk five or 10 kilometres to the city. They were still arriving an hour or more after the start. It was an overwhelming experience, everyone so patiently understanding the difficulties - they were for the very best of reasons. Speakers included big names such as documentary maker John Pilger, actor John Howard, radio personality and North Shore mother Wendy Harmer and jazz musician Jackson Brown. Ray Richmond from the Wayside Chapel, Grenan Dadoun from the Muslim Women's Council, Randa Khadan from the Australian Arabic Communities Council, Greens Senator Bob Brown, ALP MP Laurie Brereton, Democrats Senator Lyn Allison and Peter Baume from Liberals Against the War were amongst the other speakers. BRISBANE: The Roma Street forum was packed to capacity and the people kept coming. One hundred and fifty thousand at least. There has never been a protest rally as large. The rally was opened with a speaker against the development of a US military base in Western Australia. Jim Soorley, Brisbane's Lord Mayor said that this was the largest march ever. The speaker's list was altered to accommodate ALP Opposition leader Simon Crean. He was given a mixed reception, except when he finally declared opposition to war. The people were there to oppose war, to oppose genocide and the mass infanticide proposed by Bush and Howard. Many individuals and groups made their own banners and placards. The most powerful feeling was that the majority wants peace
