LL:AA: Lani in west papua
Date: Sat, 9 Dec 2000 07:36:42 -0800 (PST) From: Sem Karoba [EMAIL PROTECTED] Dear all supporters of West Papua, Lani Tribe from the highlands is now becoming the TARGET of the Indonesian police and army. We inform that: 1. OPM/TPN is not Lani people, there is no way whatsoever, the Idonesian police and TNI point out Lani as OPM/TPN. 2. The struggle in West Papua is the struggle of all Papuans. Why the Lani become the target? For a simple reason, we do not have enough access to the international community. We are not well educated in modern politics. We are the victims of the INdonesian occupation in West Papua. We are honest, strong in our principles and beliefs and never surrender and no compromise to the Indonesians for the sake of the truth. 3. The massacre and deaths of innocent civilians (recently 3 university students who are Lani in Jayapura) in West Papua are purely the brutal acts from the Indonesian army and police, and government who do not want to resolve West Papua political issue in democratic way. In recent incident, the army attacked two Lani dormitories, Ninmin from Puncak Jaya Regency and Nayak from Baliem Regency and took all students sleeping in their dormitories and one of them was shot on the spot. Three others died in police prison, after heavily beaten. This recent death is the strongest example we can ever give you, how Indonesians treat the Lani people since they occupied West Papua. We declare that: 1. Lani people will not step any step back with any reason, until all Lani people are completely wiped out from their land, West Papua. We are all ready to die for our land. 2. Until January 2001, all Lani people will get out from West Papua to Papua New Guinea. This massive exodus is the last effort we can ever do to escape from massive genocide over a tribe on this planet. 3. We will not going out to Papua New Guiena to escape from the responsiblity, but we are going to fight back, until finally we free West Papua from Indonesian colonialism and occupation. 4. All Papuans are now ready and stand-by to close-down multinationals operating in West Papua, namely Santa Fe in Sorong, Freeport McMoRan in Timika, Conocco in Bintuni, and other timber companies in West Papua AS SOON AS POSSIBLE since this letter is sent out to you all. We demand the multinationals working in West Papua to take steps towards what is going to happen to their operations in West Papua before all things are late. They are guests in West Papua, and they need to know what is going to happen. THEREFORE, WE URGE THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY: 1. Please mobilise human rights organisations such as Amnesty International, Peace Brigade International, UNHCR, and others to come and monitor human rights violations and humanitarian crises in West Papua. 2. We urge the International Community to plan actions to resolve West Papua political issues democratically, peacefully and comprehensively. The international community should not repeat its past mistake by allowing further killings of innocent civilians until it is late to act then try to blame each other. All supporters of West Papua, could you please wide-spread this call? West Papua is now in emergency situation. We always warn before things happen, and we do not want to be late as it usually happens. Yours in solidarity, SK -- 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 Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:URL: Israel's Democratic Independent Media Center.
A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C E http://www.ainfos.ca/ Dear Friends, The Independent Media Center (imc) affiliated site for the Israel region. http://www.indymedia.org.il The IMC-Israel is a democratic website where anybody can publish news/views, pictures, audio and video without being censored. Since the 8th of October we have got about 6,500 and more hits per day. We will be start web-casting radio on the web shortly. IMC-Israel is based on teamwork. We have set up affinity groups that deal with different aspects of the Independent Media Center. You can join our printed-paper editorial group ?CAN? or our video, audio or our website technical group. Say good-bye to single-issue social groups. Activism has changed, join the new social revolution. Come visit our site. Save us paper and post this email to friends. IMC group The A-Infos News Service News about and of interest to anarchists COMMANDS: [EMAIL PROTECTED] REPLIES: [EMAIL PROTECTED] HELP: [EMAIL PROTECTED] WWW: http://www.ainfos.ca INFO: http://www.ainfos.ca/org To receive a-infos in one language only mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] the message unsubscribe a-infos subscribe a-infos-X where X = en, ca, de, fr, etc. (i.e. the language code) -- 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 Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:URL: A fantastic refugee rights webpage
From: tassy [EMAIL PROTECTED] Hi friends, I send you this e-mail to tell you of a fun and informative website on the issue of so-called "illegal immigrants". It's at: http://web.one.net.au/~refugee/ Visit and you will not be disappointed, it really is superbly done as well as aesthetically pleasing (ie.beautiful). It gives you information on international law and Australia's treaty obligations, liberal humanitarian alternatives to the policy of detention (bearing in mind there is no such thing as "illegals" in socialist law), the psychological impact of being held like a prisoner and given second-class status, and the brutality of Australasian Correctional Management (ACM) who control the prisons in which refugees await determination of their legal status. It also provides details on how to get more involved through a politically-active organisation, the Refugee Action Collective. Cheers, Matthew Davis -- 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 Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:ART: defence against trespass charges
HOW TO CHALLENGE A TRESPASS CHARGE AND (MAYBE EVEN) GET OFF based on the experiences of the Jabiluka Arrestee Information and Legal Support service (JAILS). DISCLAIMER: This was not written by a lawyer! It shouldn't be taken as legal advice and will not be applicable to every situation. If you are arrested, however you want to plead, you should speak to a real lawyer first. These tips are for people intending to challenge their charge on the facts of the arrest and the details of the charge. They are sneaky but entirely legitimate tricks that worked for (some of) the Jabiluka defendants, and may work for you. Even if they do not relate exactly to your situation, try thinking along these lines and looking for holes in the prosecution's case you can use to your advantage (this is how lawyers work). But remember that this is not the only way to deal with a criminal charge. Some people may regard such a defence as morally bankrupt because it pretty much ignores the motivation behind your action. Others may not want to get off but simply to present a political argument to the court. (In that case there are actual defences within the various Criminal Codes such as "authorisation" or "sudden and extraordinary emergency" which can be used to advance a political or moral argument. None of the Jabiluka defendants who used such arguments got off, but they got a lot out of the experience.) Many people just want to plead guilty and get it over with. Others go for total non-co-operation with the system and disappear. These are all totally legitimate options. THE GOLDEN RULE: Don't assume that just because you have been charged, you will be convicted! Remember that you are innocent until PROVEN guilty. It IS possible to defend yourself AND get off. Many Jabiluka defendants did so. Although they were charged under the Northern Territory Trespass Act , every state has similar versions of the two most common charges used at Jabiluka, "trespass after direction to leave" and "trespass on enclosed lands/premises". Although the protesters at Jabiluka were charged for trespassing on a mine site, many of these same points have to be proven by the prosecution regardless of whether the 'trespass' is in a forest coupe, on a road, or in a squatted or corporate building. Some of these are basic rules of evidence and are relevant to any criminal charge. Although it is a criminal offence, trespass seems to be regarded by the police (and the courts) as a simple insignificant charge- one which is easily laid and supposedly easy to prove. However, all criminal charges have to be proven beyond reasonable doubt. It's not up to you to prove that you weren't trespassing. It's up to the prosecution to prove that you WERE. This is called putting the prosecution to proof (and this goes for all criminal charges). Many Jabiluka defendants were improperly charged. The sheer bulk of people arrested in mass actions meant that the police often laid charges sloppily, wrongfully, and without sufficient evidence to make them stand up in court. They probably expected everyone to plead guilty out of convenience or intimidation by the court process. Your case will be heard in the Magistrates Court, or the Court of Summary Jurisdictions, which deals with quite minor matters. The magistrates are generally not used to people presenting lengthy arguments or tricky defences, and we found that the prosecutors in the Northern Territory assigned to the Jabiluka trials were the least experienced and often under-prepared. All this means that if you challenge your charge, you have the element of surprise on your side. However, bear in mind that defending yourself WILL take time, a lot of preparation and possibly money. It also means that you will have to return to the jurisdiction in which you were charged and will have to be prepared to potentially pay court costs if you lose. THE CHARGE: - Check every single point of your charge for possible loopholes. Try and think like an anally-retentive lawyer. Get hold of all the prosecution's evidence against you (you are entitled to this as a defendant). Find out which witnesses they are planning on calling and get copies of their statements. Make sure you have a copy of the police precis (the police story of events). You are being challenged on the events described in your precis, not what YOU say happened. This is very important. If your precis is completely contradictory to the actual events, the prosecution may not have a case against you. It may be worth informing them of this before it goes to trial just in case they decide it is in their interests not to prosecute you. - The law is incredibly pedantic. This can be good. Check the way your charge is written, particularly WHO is charging you. Even the most minor police slip-up can be fatal to their case. A group of Jabiluka defendants got off because their charges referred to the occupier of the
LL:DDV: POLITICS FORUM : EVALUATING S11
In case there is anyone on this list who would like to go along. The panel seems to be male dominated, but I'm sure promises to be an interesting event. Politics Forum: 'Evaluating s11', Wednesday 4 October 2000, 1pm- 6pm, Lecture Theatre R4 (Rotunda), Monash University Clayton Campus All Welcome; No Charge The Politics Department of the School of Political and Social Inquiry invites you to an afternoon forum entitled 'Evaluating s11' on Wednesday 4 October 2000 in lecture theatre R4 (Rotunda), Clayton Campus. Its aim is to provide a scholarly discussion and a political context related to the events of September 11-13 outside the Crown Casino and their aftermath. Speakers include s11 organisers David Glanz and Cam Walker; David Baker (Criminal Justice and Criminology) and Brian Costar (Head, School of Public Policy and Social Work) Nick Economou, Paul James, Pete Lentini, Paul Muldoon, Steve Slaughter, Paul Strangio, Kerry Wardlaw (all Politics) and Dennis Woodward (Head, Politics). Papers address globalisation issues, police activities, the Bracks Government's response, comparative analyses of protest politics, media coverage of s11 and s11-13 from the organisers' point of view. Forum Timetable 1.00-1.05 Pete Lentini, 'Introductory Remarks and Welcome' Panel 1. s11: An Overview from the Coordinators 1.05-1.20 David Glanz 1.20-1.35 Cam Walker 1.35-2.00 Questions and Answers 2.00-2.15 Break Panel 2. The State, Globalisation and Their Critics 2.15-2.30 David Baker, 'Policing the Barricades' 2.30-2.45 Brian Costar, 'The Bracks Government's Response: "Local Blairism"?' 2.45-3.00 Dennis Woodward, 'Globalising Financial Markets' 3.00-3.15 Paul Muldoon, 'Globalisation and Democracy' 3.15-3.30 Steve Slaughter, 'Protesting Economic Globalisation' 3.30-4.00 Questions and Answers 4.00-4.15 Break Panel 3. Protest and the Media 4.15-4.30 Paul James, 'Changing Protest in a New Global Context' 4.30-4.45 Nick Economou, 'Comparing s11 and Environmental Protest' 4.45-5.00 Kerry Wardlaw, 'Civil Disobedience' 5.00-5.15 Paul Strangio, 'Comparing s11 and the Vietnam Moratorium' 5.15-5.30 Pete Lentini, 's11, the Media and Moral Panics' 5.30-6.00 Questions and Answers For further details contact Dr Pete Lentini, School of Political and Social Inquiry, Monash University, 3800; (phone) 9905-2402 or [EMAIL PROTECTED]. Andrew MARKUS Vice-President (Academic) NTEU - Monash --- End of forwarded message --- -- 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 Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink LL.VJ
LL:QUERY: Vain request
Hi all, did any one happen to see 6 people dressed up in funny clothes with colourful hair and painted faces calling themselves the Clowns Against Capitalism at S11? I was one of them and we have been wondering where all the photos are that everyone took of us. There was a brilliant one standing with linked arms in front of a row of mounted police. If anyone out there has any photos that they are willing to pass on to us (we'll cover costs of reprints etc) we would sure appreciate it. This is just a vain attempt at self-glorification but we reckon we looked damn good and would like a memento of the occasion. We were also involved in holding up Napthine's car and got some derogatory comments from a journo at the HUN for our efforts. Apart from that we managed to avoid most of the police attacks although got closer than we expected to one barrage involving horses - but we drove the bastards back! The rest of the day was spent bringing smiles to people's faces and generally having a good time pointing out that the real clowns were those inside the casino. Any help appreciated. Reply to my personal email if you can help us out. Yours in solidarity, Clown 3. -- 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 Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:INFO: Graffiti at S11
Keep up the good work people! Where there are blank walls there is space for a message! GRAFFITO --political satire/cultural activism - http://www.ozemail.com.au/~dhell/graffito.htm FORWARDED MESSAGE through diyweb S11 Graffiti Graffiti has always been a mode of expression for ideas outside of the mainstream. In Melbourne September 11 - 13, 2000 outside the World Economic Forum meeting in the Crown Casino, huge numbers used chalk and paint to tell the world why they were there, and what was going on. As one piece said, "I can't afford to buy off the media, so I buy paint" I changed the capitalisation so as to make for easier reading, but haven't changed spelling. Their greed will kill you Equate anarchy with justice Graffiti is a wonderful tool: buy your can today (=$3) Liberty or death It's becos we don't want to be bored WEF - crime wave in progress Wealthy Elite Fuckers your affluence is killing us There'd be enough for the needs of all, but for the greed of a few Do a cop a favour, beat yourself up Proudly unaustralian No money, anywhere, anytime In order to move on from Jurassic social policy, some social dinosaurs have to become extinct Don't feed the animals (on the wall around the casino, which large numbers of police stood behind the whole 3 days) I think, therefore I'm unaustralian Another Liberal Party Pigs behind bars, a grand concept Go well, Go Shell, Go to Hell! Never mind what's been selling, its what you're buying First world wealth = third world death perma-culture not consumer culture Che lives Stop gambling with lives Fight war, not wars Do they look like thugs or what (on the wall) Don't buy papers, take Action Make Crown a prison, the criminals are already inside Globalise Resistance Victorian police protect criminals Want violence? Try mining! Such little boys, such big toys... We live in a society, not an economy We are all lost in our own forest, but gazing at the same sky Such big batons - do they have a penis complex? Welcome to Howard's relaxed and comfortable Australia Revolution - right here, right now Blame the USA! I always do We make it, they take it Wealthy Elite Few Big Mac - not so big anymore Lesbian solidarity Children of the earth Unite and Take Over! Money is a social construct Ronald McDonald felches pigs Fuck the pink dollar, sexuality is not 4 sale See you in Sydney Exist and Resist The war 4 our streets begins with you Crown is a maggot colony Down with a world where the guarantee you won't die of starvation has been purchased with the guarantee that you will die of BOREDOM This is Kulin land responsible protester was 'ere 2000 Economise this, you WEF scum Sabotage will set us free, throw a rock in the machine No future without revolution Bread not batons Clowns against capitalism are go! Weed not greed Money is not my God Money makes the world go square Demand the impossible! Break the Bank Defund the Fund Dump the Debt Power to the People S11 Bad spellers of the world untie Kites + balloons stop WEF choppers Nike we are not your slaves Human dignity is more important than greed Cancel the 'debt' Free trade = slave trade We're still here John Howard = lowlife coward Peter Reith = bloody thief Peter Costello well he just plain sux Where's constable care? There's only constable corrupt We are winning Capitalism sux The faces of capitalist oppression have no names (after all police removed name badges) Shoot cops not smack John Howard is unaustralian No, he's very Australian Australia is genocide Chemical drugs not chemical weapons Work hard, make your boss rich The true revolutionary is guided by feelings of great love Che Problem: Capitalism Solution: Revolution Work together By any means necessary Worried Egocentric Fuckwits The whole world's watching... mainstream media Kill your television Share the wealth Don't hate the media, become the media Sure you can say whatever we want you to say Who elected corporate rule? Patent Greed! Rupert Murdoch - what a wanker Clown Cassino These are not the droids you're looking for Corporate world = hell on earth Think for yourself, but only because WE told you to Gamble your world away Can you trust a private commercial media? USA's over Cops: Rebel against your overpaid bosses! Don't get rid of graffiti, get rid of the Filth 3rd world poverty c/o WEF You are under 24 hour surveillance You better believe it The more you consume the less you live Open your eyes Open your mouth Close your hand .. make a fist You can't eat money Eat the rich! No war between nations, No peace between classes Fuck Earth It makes $ence Meat is murder Meat is shithouse Go to work! - on Howard's head Break banks, not people Spank the banks Cops with fake smiles make me feel icky Nike just fuck off The strong only! The money machine does not dream Property of S11
LL:ART: LARGEST-EVER OZONE HOLE OBSERVED OVER ANTARCTICA
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] David E. Steitz Headquarters, Washington, DC September 7, 2000 (Phone: 202/358-1730) Lynn Chandler Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD (Phone: 301/614-5562) RELEASE: 00-137 LARGEST-EVER OZONE HOLE OBSERVED OVER ANTARCTICA A NASA spectrometer has detected an Antarctic ozone "hole" (what scientists call an "ozone depletion area") that is three times larger than the entire land mass of the United States - the largest such area ever observed. The "hole" expanded to a record size of approximately 11 million square miles (28.3 million square kilometers) on Sept. 3, 2000. The previous record was approximately 10.5 million square miles (27.2 million square km) on Sept. 19, 1998. The ozone hole's size currently has stabilized, but the low levels in its interior continue to fall. The lowest readings in the ozone hole are typically observed in late September or early October each year. "These observations reinforce concerns about the frailty of Earth's ozone layer. Although production of ozone-destroying gases has been curtailed under international agreements, concentrations of the gases in the stratosphere are only now reaching their peak. Due to their long persistence in the atmosphere, it will be many decades before the ozone hole is no longer an annual occurrence," said Dr. Michael J. Kurylo, manager of the Upper Atmosphere Research Program, NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC. Ozone molecules, made up of three atoms of oxygen, comprise a thin layer of the atmosphere that absorbs harmful ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. Most atmospheric ozone is found between approximately six miles (9.5 km) and 18 miles (29 km) above the Earth's surface. Scientists continuing to investigate this enormous hole are somewhat surprised by its size. The reasons behind the dimensions involve both early-spring conditions, and an extremely intense Antarctic vortex. The Antarctic vortex is an upper-altitude stratospheric air current that sweeps around the Antarctic continent, confining the Antarctic ozone hole. "Variations in the size of the ozone hole and of ozone depletion accompanying it from one year to the next are not unexpected," said Dr. Jack Kaye, Office of Earth Sciences Research Director, NASA Headquarters. "At this point we can only wait to see how the ozone hole will evolve in the coming few months and see how the year's hole compares in all respects to those of previous years." "Discoveries like these demonstrate the value of our long-term commitment to providing key observations to the scientific community," said Dr. Ghassem Asrar, Associate Administrator for NASA's Office of Earth Sciences at Headquarters. "We will soon launch QuickTOMS and Aura, two spacecraft that will continue to gather these important data." The measurements released today were obtained using the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) instrument aboard NASA's Earth Probe (TOMS-EP) satellite. NASA instruments have been measuring Antarctic ozone levels since the early 1970s. Since the discovery of the ozone "hole" in 1985, TOMS has been a key instrument for monitoring ozone levels over the Earth. TOMS ozone data and pictures are available on the Internet at: http://jwocky.gsfc.nasa.gov/TOMSmain.html TOMS-EP and other ozone-measurement programs are important parts of a global environmental effort of NASA's Earth Science enterprise, a long-term research program designed to study Earth's land, oceans, atmosphere, ice and life as a total integrated system. -end- * * * -- 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 Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:INFO: State repression begins for S11
this was in the government gazette Please forward it to appropriate bods. It has to suck that they should do this. It means they can book anyone (say) in a canoe or on a surfboard during this time. Might be handy if anyone has a commercial vessel. Marine Act 1988 SECTION 15 NOTICE The Marine Board, on the recommendation of Acting Commander Ewen Cunningham, a member of the Victoria Police, hereby gives notice under subsection 15(2) of the Marine Act 1988 that for the period from midnight on Friday 8 September 2000 to midnight Wednesday 13 September 2000 the operation of non-commercial vessels on the waters of the Yarra River between Princes Bridge and Charles Grimes Bridge is prohibited. Dated 29 August 2000 JOHN LORD Chief Executive Marine Board of Victoria -- 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 Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:ART: Community Legal Services Concerned about Media Obession
and Police Overreaction Date: Wed, 06 Sep 2000 03:37:00 GMT Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] X-Loop: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Precedence: bulk Author: Susan Price Source: Green Left Weekly (http://www.greenleft.org.au/globalaction/s11/daily/000905_01_cops.shtml) Keywords: Environmental, Police Brutality, Melbourne, Australia Community legal activists and protest organisers are becoming increasingly concerned that the media obsession with the potential for violence at the S11 protests against the World Economic Forum could become a pretext for police over-reaction. On September 5, 2000, Pauline Spencer, a community lawyer with the Fitzroy Legal Centre and a member of the "arrest watch" roster for the S11 protests, spoke to Green Left Weekly about her concerns. "I can sum it up in three words", said Spencer, "Richmond Secondary College". Her words are not uttered lightly. Spencer was lead plaintiff in the civil action resulting from the infamous police baton charge against a peaceful picket line at the college site on December 13, 1993. The picket line had been established with the support of the Victorian Trades Hall Council to prevent construction of an elite girls' school on the site, which had been closed by the Kennett government a year earlier. "Having looked at the Richmond case in detail", said Spencer, "the talking up of the potential for violence does tend to hype up police officers on the ground". The result, according to Spencer, is that "when little things happen, any action by police becomes an over-reaction". The arrest watch roster, which brings together community lawyers from around Melbourne, has been established in conjunction with the S11 Alliance. According to Spencer, it will be "keeping a watchful eye" on police to ensure that they attempt to negotiate as a first point of resolving situations which arise at the protests. "We want to implore police to learn from their mistakes at Richmond", Spencer emphasised. "Batons are a potentially deadly force if used inappropriately, and their use should be a last resort. Force Command should counsel their members to remain calm and to exhaust all possible avenues." If unreasonable force is used by police, according to Spencer, "we will be taking civil action." The possibility of mass arrests occurring at the demonstration also has Spencer concerned. "The prison system is already overstretched, and police shouldn't pursue arrests for offences relating to the democratic right to protest." The S11 Alliance has repeatedly stated that its protest will be non-violent. A declaration signed by representatives of the S11 Alliance, Friends of the Earth, the National Union of Students and Victorian Trades Hall Council, which appeared in the Herald Sun on August 30, invited those who were concerned about the WEF to "express their dissent in a peaceful and constructive manner". -- 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 Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:PR: Peace walk media release
Subject: Peace walk Media Release Hi all - the following is a media release for immediate distribution. The Peacewalk has received an amazing reception in dubbo and many people are really supporting the need for real peace, healing and reconciliation. Please distribute among your networks, and please consider coming and joining the walk, especially for the walk from Canberra and Sydney as it is going to be huge!!! cheers, Peachy (A walker for Peace!) MEDIA RELEASE 4th August 2000 Walking the Land for Our Ancient Right - Day 56 With 2000 kilometres now having been walked in less than 8 weeks, the "Walking the Land - for our Ancient Rights" peace walk has now arrived in Dubbo, and is well on schedule for arriving in Sydney in time for the Olympic Games. Over 100 Dubbo community members, including Wiradjuri Nation Elders and families, warmly welcomed the peace walkers as they arrived in Dubbo yesterday, and signals yet another testament to the growing commitment that the Australian population is showing towards reaching reconciliation. The representatives from the Wiradjuri nation led the walkers to the Talbraga Mission, where the peace fire, that has come from the shores of Lake Eyre was joined with the peace fire that has been burning at the mission for over three weeks. It joins the growing number of sacred fires for peace across Australia. "These old fires are coming together, letting the country know as well as the people. It is not only healing the hearts and minds of the people, but it is warming the old country up too , because the whole country is hurting, just like we hurt for different things, and the old country hurts, the old mother hurts and we have to look after her, that is one of the big jobs that we have got," said Kevin Buzzacott, Elder from the Arabunna nation, who is leading the peace walk. The walk has taken it's message of peace and healing through the communities of Wilcannia, Bourke, Brewarrina, Walgett and Morree. Not since the Freedom Rides led by Charlie Perkins in 1965, which travelled much the same route as the peace walk, has there been such a colourful and vocal display of support for the rights of the Indigenous peoples in Western NSW. "First off I would like to thank you for the privilege of walking with you across our land, the Kamillaroi nation, from Walgett to Morree and I am going to walk on further with you all, " an Elder from the Kamillaroi nation said after the peace walk into Morree last week. There will be a Peace Walk into Dubbo this Saturday, 5th August, meeting at 10am at the Gordon Community centre on Brennan St, West Dubbo.The group will walk to Victoria Park, where they will be welcomed by the Lord Mayor, Jerry Peacock, followed by music and information sharing. From there all community members are invited to the camp at the Talbraga mission for a Family Afternoon and BBQ and evening entertainment, starting at 3pm. The peace walk will then aim to reach Bathurst by August 11, and will arrive in Canberra at the tent embassy on 21st August. There the group will be joined by the Native Indian Sacred Runners and many other groups of people for the historic walk to Sydney. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Phone 0417838906, or 08 83404401 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:PR: Play - Man Friday
I highly recommend you go and see a play called Man Friday. It's a small production - only 2 actors (Adam McConvell and Phil Roberts who do a superb job) and a very minimal set, but it's excellent. Written by Adrian Mitchell in the 60's in Britain, it was in response to the rising tide of racism and Nationalism experienced in his country at that time. It is the classic Robinson Crusoe story told from the native "Man Friday" perspective. This production is directed by Victor Bizzotto. Proceeds have been going to the Fitzroy Stars Gym and the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service, but attendances have been down, with several shows cancelled due to lack of interest. The play is still on every night this week, including Saturday, at the Storeroom Theatre upstairs at the Park View Hotel, cnr St Georges Rd and Scotchmer St, Nth Fitzroy (enter from the rear of the pub at the drive-through bottle shop). All shows are at 8.30pm. Tickets are a mere $15 waged/$10 unwaged. Bookings can be made by calling 9481 8496. I urge you all to go and see this wonderful play about racism, religion, love and life. It's truly amazing what can be conveyed using a few props, music, lighting and 2 people. Not to be missed. *** NTEU - your union, join today *** (03) 9903 9528 Monash university, Dept. Pharmaceutics, Victorian College of Pharmacy 381 Royal Pde, Parkville, Vic 3052, Australia -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:DDV: Alliance for Supervised Injecting Facilities
SAFE HOUSES SAVE LIVES SAFE HOUSES SAVE LIVES SAFE Dear Friends The Community Campaign for Heroin Reform has been actively campaigning for Supervised Injecting Facilities since April 1999. We have held many rallies,vigils and public meetings and have thousands of signatures on petitions. At a recent meeting we decided to call for a coalition or alliance to be formed of groups who are for SIF's. This would enable the groups involved to share experience and ideas. Rallies, press conferences, and meetings could also be held together for those interested. Now, more then ever, is the time. We need to act now. Come and help us. WHERE? POLITICS IN THE PUB. The first meeting will be held at: The Comrades Bar on Swanston (near Queensbury St) in the City at 7.30pm on Wednesday the 26th of July. FOR MORE DETAILS EMAIL US AT [EMAIL PROTECTED] LL.VG -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:DDV: Surviving Time Out of Prison forum and campaign fundraiser
How many women have to die before something is done? At least 93 women have died shortly after leaving prison in the past 12 years. Women leave prison with a garbage bag of belongings and little else. Some are lucky and have families that are willing to support them, but for many the stigma of having a family member who has been to prison is too much to bear and the woman is often left unsupported. 60% of women reoffend and end up back in prison. Prison does not work. International research has shown that increasing the number of people in prison does not reduce crime nor does it make the community feel safer. Between 1996 and 1998 there was a 17.2% increase in the size of the Victorian prison population. 188 women were in prison in Victoria as of 3/2/2000. Approximately half of them are in prison for property related offences and 11% for drug related offences. 40% are under 29 years of age. 77% were unemployed prior to entering prison and over 70% are mothers. Nearly 80% of women in prison are survivors of sexual assault, incest and/or domestic violence. If women had access to livable incomes, affordable housing and a range of support and community services, including detox and drug rehabilitation, they may not be forced to commit so-called "criminal offences" in order to survive. Prison is a system that brutalises, represses and controls women. Surviving once released from prison is often as hard as being inside. The surviving time outside prison campaign has been working towards a week of action to raise awareness about the issues surrounding women in prison, and the effects that privatisation of the prison system is having on prison life. As part of the week of action there is a one day forum organised in Melbourne. WHEN: Friday August 4, 2000 WHERE: North Melbourne Town Hall (Errol St, tram no. 57 from Elizabeth St) TIME: 10am - 1.30pm with an informal gathering afterwards This is your chance to hear the real stories, the real issues and the real solutions from women who have experienced the system themselves. Come along and show your support for these courageous women and become involved in the campaign to STOP the deaths of women when they emerge from the penal system. Regular campaign meetings are every second Thursday at the Darebin Community Legal Centre in High St Northcote, near Westgarth St. Next meeting is Thurs August 3, 6.30pm. Also, come along and support the campaign by attending a fundraising session of Judas Kiss (MA) at the Westgarth cinema, 89 High St, Northcote. Friday July 28, 7pm. Tickets are $12 full/$10 conc. Tickets can be purchased at the door. Phone Cherry 9481 1547 or Catherine 9489 6276 for more information. Hope to see you at one or both of these events. LL.VH -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:URL: eWatch CyberSleuth
eWatch CyberSleuth http://www.ewatch.com/pop_sleuth.html Wednesday, July 12, 2000 It is unfortunate that companies are being targeted by entities whose motives are fraudulent, deceptive or criminal. eWatch CyberSleuth will attempt to identify the entity or entities behind the screen name(s) which have targeted your organization. eWatch CyberSleuth includes a 30-day subscription to the eWatch All Coverage Bundle (except WebWatch) with the screen name(s) as the sole criteria. eWatch CyberSleuth requires 7 to 10 days to complete from the date of submission and costs $4,995 per screen name. 48-hour turn around is available for an additional $1,995 per screen name. Results will vary and cannot be guaranteed. Customers will receive a dossier detailing all information gathered about the subject during the inquiry. Click here to order. COUNTERACTING ONLINE ANTI-CORPORATE ACTIVISM While the Internet is in fact a new medium, based on our five years of experience in helping companies monitor the Internet, most of the old rules with respect to how we respond and react still apply. The biggest differences are that our actions are more public, the audience is larger and we're running in real-time. There are six major motivations for online activism. The same response methodology cannot be used for all of them. It is critical to understand the motivation or motivations behind online attacks in order to employ the correct response mechanisms. The six motivations include: Legitimate complaint. Behavior influencing (Environmental group targeting an oil company, etc.) Stock manipulation. Revenge. Mis- or dis-information. Fraud and extortion. Troubleshooting dubious postings need to happen on four fronts (what we call these the four C's): Classification Containment Communication Counteraction CLASSIFICATION Before troubleshooting, decide if action is warranted. Let's face it, there is a lot of awful content on the Internet about even the best companies. To take action on every occurrence is impractical. What are the key triggers that your company will use to prioritize and classify online threats? In our experience, other companies have used these standards, among others, for online threat assessment: Threats against the safety of employees. Threats against property (physical and intellectual). Decreasing sales. Lowering stock price. Affecting litigation. Affecting negotiations (labor, acquisitions, etc.). CONTAINMENT If the attack is prioritized for action, then containment is the next step. Containment is a two part endeavor focusing on (1.) Neutralizing the information appearing online, and; (2.) Identifying the perpetrators behind the postings, rogue website, hack, etc. Neutralizing information posted online, if appropriate, is the removal of the offending messages from where ever they appear in cyberspace. This may mean something as simple as removing a posting from a web message board on Yahoo! to the shuttering of a terrorist web site. The objective is to not only stop the spread of incorrect information, but ensure that what has already spread is also eliminated. Victims of verifiable libel and trademark infringement have a much easier time neutralizing Internet content in our experience. Non-libelous content but nonetheless incorrect or offensive content is less likely to be removed by 3rd party search engines, ISPs, etc. Identifying the perpetrators behind the action requires the kind of special expertise that we've assembled for out eWatch CyberSleuth product. Internet attackers attempt to cover their tracks by erasing identifying personal information from their postings, using anonymous remailers to strip off network information, posting under assumed names, etc. Identifying these perpetrators is done using a variety of methods such as following leads found in postings and web sites, working ISPs, involving law enforcement, conducting virtual stings, among other tactics. COMMUNICATION Depending on the scope of the event, it may become necessary to communicate to our key audiences about an incident that is occurring online. Our key audiences may include our employees, vendors, customers, prospects, regulators, beat journalists, financial analysts and investors (retail and institutional). The purpose of communicating with our key audiences is to signal that we are on top of the situation and have, or are working, to resolve it. When our key audiences are communicating in real-time, so must we. In certain situations, the lack of a response will be viewed as incompetence or worse, that there is in fact something to hide. As in other media, perception is reality. On the Internet, there are many communication tools at our disposal. We can post back to the message boards where the original postings appeared to give our side of the story, provide clarification or debunk it. We can email directly those we think were affected by the incident. We can use our own web site -- or set up a
LL:ART: Where to for the movement against global corporatism
A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C E http://www.ainfos.ca/ THE VISION THING by NAOMI KLEIN "This conference is not like other conferences." That's what all the speakers at "Re-Imagining Politics and Society" were told before we arrived at New York's Riverside Church. When we addressed the delegates (there were about 1,000, over three days in May), we were to try to solve a very specific problem: the lack of "unity of vision and strategy" guiding the movement against global corporatism. This was a very serious problem, we were advised. The young activists who went to Seattle to shut down the World Trade Organization and to Washington, DC, to protest the World Bank and the IMF had been getting hammered in the press as tree-wearing, lamb-costumed, drumbeating bubble brains. Our mission, according to the conference organizers at the Foundation for Ethics and Meaning, was to whip that chaos on the streets into some kind of structured, media-friendly shape. This wasn't just another talk shop. We were going to "give birth to a unified movement for holistic social, economic and political change." As I slipped in and out of lecture rooms, soaking up vision galore from Arianna Huffington, Michael Lerner, David Korten and Cornel West, I was struck by the futility of this entire well-meaning exercise. Even if we did manage to come up with a ten-point plan--brilliant in its clarity, elegant in its coherence, unified in its outlook--to whom, exactly, would we hand down these commandments? The anticorporate protest movement that came to world attention on the streets of Seattle last November is not united by a political party or a national network with a head office, annual elections and subordinate cells and locals. It is shaped by the ideas of individual organizers and intellectuals, but doesn't defer to any of them as leaders. In this amorphous context, the ideas and plans being hatched at the Riverside Church weren't irrelevant exactly, they just weren't important in the way they clearly hoped to be. Rather than changing the world, they were destined to be swept up and tossed around in the tidal wave of information--web diaries, NGO manifestoes, academic papers, homemade videos, cris de coeur--that the global anticorporate network produces and consumes each and every day. * * * This is the flip side of the persistent criticism that the kids on the street lack clear leadership--they lack clear followers too. To those searching for replicas of the sixties, this absence makes the anticorporate movement appear infuriatingly impassive: Evidently, these people are so disorganized they can't even get it together to respond to perfectly well-organized efforts to organize them. These are MTV-weaned activists, you can practically hear the old guard saying: scattered, nonlinear, no focus. It's easy to be persuaded by these critiques. If there is one thing on which the left and right agree, it is the value of a clear, well-structured ideological argument. But maybe it's not quite so simple. Maybe the protests in Seattle and Washington look unfocused because they were not demonstrations of one movement at all but rather convergences of many smaller ones, each with its sights trained on a specific multinational corporation (like Nike), a particular industry (like agribusiness) or a new trade initiative (like the Free Trade Area of the Americas). These smaller, targeted movements are clearly part of a common cause: They share a belief that the disparate problems with which they are wrestling all derive from global deregulation, an agenda that is concentrating power and wealth into fewer and fewer hands. Of course, there are disagreements--about the role of the nation-state, about whether capitalism is redeemable, about the speed with which change should occur. But within most of these miniature movements, there is an emerging consensus that building community-based decision-making power--whether through unions, neighborhoods, farms, villages, anarchist collectives or aboriginal self-government--is essential to countering the might of multinational corporations. Despite this common ground, these campaigns have not coalesced into a single movement. Rather, they are intricately and tightly linked to one another, much as "hotlinks" connect their websites on the Internet. This analogy is more than coincidental and is in fact key to understanding the changing nature of political organizing. Although many have observed that the recent mass protests would have been impossible without the Internet, what has been overlooked is how the communication technology that facilitates these campaigns is shaping the movement in its own image. Thanks to the Net, mobilizations are able to unfold with sparse bureaucracy and minimal hierarchy; forced consensus and labored manifestoes are fading into the background,
LL:DDV: Forum: World without money
(FREE) Public Forum Friday 15th September, 6-9pm, Swanston Hall, Melbourne Town Hall. After the world economic summit- do we need an economy? "couldn't we live perfectly well without money?" Email Andy Blunden [EMAIL PROTECTED] for further details. Swanston Hall, Melbourne Town Hall 6pm to 9pm Friday 15th September Admission is free. Light refreshments from 5:30pm. There will be no long speeches - the speakers will propose that we can all live perfectly well without money or an economy, and in fact life would boom, and you are invited to challenge the speakers to prove it, or if you are not so sceptical, to discuss how we could get to such a world. http://home.mira.net/~andy/seminars/no_money.htm LL.VI -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:DDV: Fundraiser for the Community Campaign for Heroin Reform
The community campaign for heroin reform is still battling away to ensure that the implementation of supervised injecting rooms goes ahead in Melbourne. The aims of the campaign go beyond this however, advocating the need for more rehabilitation places, education and harm reduction strategies. To help in the ongoing fight for heroin users to be recognised as members of our community instead of criminals the campaign needs funds. To help raise some desperately needed cash, a film night has been organised. Angela's Ashes Tues June 13, Westgarth cinema (High St, Northcote) 6.45pm. Tickets are $13/$10 and include light refreshments after the movie. If anyone is interested in coming along and showing support for this long-running campaign, please contact Denise on 9489 8103 to arrange to pick up a ticket at the door. The campaign still meets weekly in the student lounge of RMIT, 6.30pm Wed nights. All most welcome. Monthly rallies are held in front of the Melbourne Town Hall on the first Friday of the month. Stop by and say hello, sign the petitions and send off a letter to the Melb City Council urging them to support the trial of supervised injecting facilities in the CBD. Stop the deaths, support supervised injecting centres. [EMAIL PROTECTED] LL.VF -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:DDV: -- NTEU SEMINAR SERIES --
-- National Tertiary Education Industry Union SEMINAR SERIES -- NTEU Monash branch is running a series of seminars about issues that affect unionists today. Leftlinkers may be interested in some of them. The program kicks off on Monday with: * Prof. Stuart McIntyre, labour historian and Dean of Arts at Melbourne University. "There is Power in a Union - an historical Perspective". Monday 13th March 1 - 2pm in S12 (Science Lecture theatre) Prof. McIntyre will be introduced by Professor Graeme Davison, Head of the School of Historical Studies at Monash - Monday April 3 - "State of the Union Address" - unionism in Victoria and its relationship with the rest of the world. Mr Leigh Hubbard (Victorian Trades Hall Secretary) Monday May 1 - Unions, Land Rights and Rights of Australian Indigenous workers Ms Monica Morgan (Yorta Yorta), Judy McVey (Trade Unionists for Land Rights) Monday May 29 - Women and Unions Ms Ellen Kleimaker (women's officer, Trades Hall) Monday Aug 7 - "Social justice and the new millennium" - the corporate evils - contracts, economic rationalism, enterprise bargaining - what is to be done? Mr Kenneth Davidson (economist and columnist with the Age) Monday Sept 4 - "Is work killing you?" - occupational health and safety and cost cutting: implications for the workforce and Monash work environment Dr Julien Teicher (Bus. Eco, Monash Uni) Monday Sept 18 - Government funding, the three R's (redundancy, rorts and rip-offs?) - the Howard Government's failure in education Senator Natasha Stott-Despoya (to be confirmed) Monday Oct 9 - Leading the way? Where to now? Challenges for higher education workers and the NTEU in the new millennium. Mr Graeme McCulloch (National Secretary, National Tertiary Education Industry Union) All lectures will be from 1-2pm in Science Lecture Theatre 12. Clayton Campus, Monash University. For further information, call the branch office on 9905 4110 or email [EMAIL PROTECTED] LL.VD LL.VE LL.VH LL.VI LL.VJ -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:DDV: Community Campaign for Heroin Reform meeting
The Community Campaign for Heroin Reform invites you to the first meeting of 2000. This meeting will decide on the direction of the campaign for the next period, one during which the issue of safe injecting facilities will be key. Come along and add your support to the growing number of people keen to see the Labor Party uphold their pre-election policy of drug law reform. The campaign is also calling for heroin trials, more rehabilitation places and increased education as ways of reducing the harm caused by drug use in our community. Tuesday Jan 25, 2000 7pm Lesley Clucas Lounge RMIT Enter from Bowen Lane near the city baths/Franklin St end *** NTEU - your union, join today *** Secure jobs and rational workloads mean better universities (03) 9903 9525 Monash university, Dept. Pharmaceutics, Victorian College of Pharmacy 381 Royal Pde, Parkville, Vic 3052, Australia LL.VA -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:DDV: Rally for safe injecting facilities
Steve Bracks has promised safe injecting facilities in 5 locations around Melbourne. People are still dying! Don't let it continue. Victoria needs safe injecting facilities now! RALLY: Saturday 30th October Victoria Market (crn Elizabeth and Victoria Sts) 11am Invited speakers include: Premier Steve Bracks, Steve Watson (major of Yarra), Dick Gross (mayor of Port Philip) and David Stanley (Aust. drug law reform foundation). Hopefully some women too. Safe Houses are for everyone's safety. Community Campaign for Heroin Reform ph. 9380 8749 -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:INFO: Activists occupy Burmese embassay in Bangkok
Title: Burmese Ex-Students Turn Militant Author: Free Burma Coalition Date: 1-OCT-1999 Source: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reference: F R E E B U R M A C O A L I T I O N www.freeburmacoalition.com Contact: Dr. Zarni, Free Burma Coalition, 202-777-6009 Jack Healey, Human Rights Action Center, 202-547-2582 Larry Dohrs, Free Burma Coalition, 206-784-5742 Elements of the fundamentally non-violent Burmese student movement have resorted to arms and taken over the Bangkok (Thailand) embassy of the military junta that rules Burma (also known as Myanmar). This act, apparently by a small number of Burmese ex-university students, reflects the growing frustration of a Burmese populace which has suffered under 37 years of military rule. Corporate support for the Burmese military, in the form of joint ventures by companies such as US-based Unocal, France-based TotalFina, UK-based Premier Oil, and Japan-based Mitsubishi, Marubeni, Mitsui and Suzuki, has helped keep the junta in power despite the overwhelming desire of the Burmese people to rid themselves of the junta. A lack of support from international bodies, and the United Nations in particular, has contributed to despair among pro-democracy Burmese, both within and without the country. Inside Burma, the economy has collapsed, universities are permanently closed, forced labor is rampant, narcotics trafficking is rife, and, according to Amnesty International, more than two thousand pro-democracy activists languish in the country's notorious prisons and labor camps. The junta is also holding two British citizens who peacefully protested the military's human rights abuses. They received prison sentences of seven and seventeen years at hard labor. "Now the UN Security Council must take up the case of Burma's 45 million people and their struggle for freedom," says Dr. Zarni of the Free Burma Coalition. "They overwhelmingly expressed their desire for a democratic government in 1990 elections. The military is negating the expressed will of the people, just as the Indonesian military did in East Timor." The United Nations has made tepid gestures toward resolving the crisis in Burma, but its envoys are normally blocked from entering the country. US Secretary of State Albright has declared that Burma under the junta has become "a threat to stability in the (Southeast Asian) region." "This embassy incident is another example of how Burma's problems are not confined within her national boundaries. It is crucial that the questions of democracy in Burma, and the crimes of the Burmese junta, receive serious attention both in the UN General Assembly and the Security Council, before the situation becomes even more desperate," adds Zarni. The Free Burma Coalition remains committed to non-violent political struggle, and calls for a peaceful resolution to the standoff at the junta embassy in Bangkok. -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:DDV: NORTH Ltd ACTION
FESTIVAL AND BLOCKADE FOR JUSTICE: TUES 31 AUG - WED 1 SEPT The Jabiluka Action Group (JAG) once again proposes to shut down the company behind the Jabiluka mine, North Limited, by holding a blockade of their head office at 476 St Kilda Rd Melbourne this Wednesday. When: 6am - 9.30am Wednesday 1 September Where: North Ltd, 476 St Kilda Rd There is also a FESTIVAL planned for the night before, and we invite all performers, artists, drummers, musicians etc to come along and strut their stuff and contribute to the vibe. So far we have Carl from Checkerboard Lounge and Bom, both of whom premiered anti-Jabiluka songs at the recent Hiroshima Day rally. Other special guests are a possibility come along and check it out. When: 6pm - 10pm Tuesday 31 August Where: outside North Ltd, 476 St Kilda Rd Some people will be camping out or staying around North Ltd overnight until the blockading begins, so if you feel up for an all night vigil, bring blankets, camping gear, warm stuff etc. Wednesday 1 September marks one year since the senior traditional owner of the Mirrar people, Yvonne Margarula, was found guilty by a Northern Territory court. The charge was 'trespass' - Yvonne had been arrested for walking on the Jabiluka mine lease, land which, according to both white law and black law, belongs to the Mirrar people and which is Yvonne's responsibility to protect. The blockade will highlight this injustice, and point to the real trespassers - North Limited, Energy Resources of Australia, and the Federal Government. We need as many people as possible to come to the blockade for it to be a success. The more people that attend - even if only for a short time before work - the more likely it is that we can shut down the building and show North and the government that the campaign to stop Jabiluka is not going away. JAG marshals will be organising people to link arms in front of the police lines to blockade the North offices. If enough people do this, we can shut down North. If you are thinking of coming, but aren't sure whether you want to do this - please still come. There are plenty of things to do for people who aren't prepared to physically blockade, the bottom line is that we need people there. Another useful thing to do, is write a short letter to the papers or phone talkback radio on the day or the day after - remember those of us who oppose Jabiluka are at least 67% of the population, so it's important that the majority viewpoint gets through to the media, who usually want to talk about how terrible the protesters are, rather than how terrible the Jabiluka development is. FINALLY if you have time to help us out, please call the JAG office on 9417 6660, turn up and offer your help, or come along to a stall we're having outside the Museum station entrance in Swanston St from 12pm - 5pm on Tuesday (tomorrow!) Please pass this message on to anyone you think might be interested in coming along. LAND RIGHTS NOT MINING RIGHTS! STOP JABILUKA MINE! LL.VH LL.VI -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:DDV: Heroin Reform rally
On Saturday 28 August 1999 at 1.00PM at St. Paul's Cathedral (corner of Flinders Swanston Sts City, the Community Campaign for Heroin Reform (CCHR) will hold a mass rally and then march on Parliament to hold an extended vigil there to mourn the preventable and senseless deaths of over 190 Victorians to heroin this year. At the moment, heroin is one of the main issues on the Australian political agenda. So come to the rally / vigil on Saturday 28 August and lend your voice to those already demanding the trial of safe injecting facilities in Victoria. LL.VI -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:DDV: HIROSHIMA DAY, other stuff
= HIROSHIMA DAY = Hello all. Some more news about the JAG Melbourne Hiroshima Day Rally this Friday the 6th of August at 5.30 pm on the steps of the Victorian State Library. This Rally seems like it will be the biggest JAG rally ever. Highlights will include: *** High Profile Speakers - Harry Van Moorst (influential member of the successful campaign against the Werribee Toxic Dump) - Anette Xiberas (Prominant Indigenous Rights campaigner) - Kevin Buzzacott (representative of the Arrabunna people of S.Aust. on whose land the Roxby Downs uranium mine is operating) - Mary Delahunty (former ABC news presenter and current ALP politician) *** Entertainment - Imagery projection exhibition - Theme floats and costumes during the march - Debut of a new single "Stop Jabiluka Mine" featuring an all star combo of Melbourne musicians - Large choir - 5-7 minute aural simulation of the Hiroshima bomb exploding to be conducted in Swanston Walk at the time of the original explosion - 8.15am on the day. The piece is to be simulcast on Triple R (102.7 FM) and PBS (106.7 FM) radio. = other stuff = I found this weblink and I think it would be great if we could flood it with anti-nuke responses. It is a simple one page site surveying attitudes to uranium as a fuel source and nuke weapons as a 'defense' option. http://members.tripod.com/~pssa/index.html xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo Oh yes and I am still asking for volunteers to help out with the new JAG Melbourne website. Thanks to those who have offered their services, however I would appreciate as much help as possible. In case anyone misinterpreted my earlier notice on this matter, I am looking for anyone with _one or more_ of the skills listed below, not all of them. The revamp will be divided into several managable tasks that would be feasible for individuals to take on. Skills required - www graphic design - JavaScript, Java, Perl, DHTML and XML programming - Audio / Video streaming - Photography - Website promotion - Acrobat PDF publishing - Virtual Reality QTVR, VRML xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo JAG Melbourne has started to explore in detail the various effects of uranium mining on workers at the mines. Despite what you may have heard, the Jabiluka mine will only provide 110 'permanent' jobs. Even ERA admits this. These employees can only work a maximum of 3 years before it is considered they have been exposed to too much radiation. These jobs are hardly permanent. Radiation causes sterility, brith defects and cancer. Recent evidence suggests that the 3 year period that ERA endorses may actually be 50% more time allowed than in identical situations, under different legislation, overseas. We need people to help research the health issues of mining uranium. Immediately following this research we would like to start asking several unions to get involved on the grounds of worker safety. If anyone on this email list is involved in the health field, can you please reply to me and let me know if you are willing to help out. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo === Paul. Jabiluka Action Group - Melbourne. Information Technology (IT) Department http://vic.jag.org.au/ Subscribe to our email list via [EMAIL PROTECTED] LL.VH -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:INFO: Russian workers Take Over Factory in Yasnogorsk
From: DAMN [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: DAMN: 03-MAR-1999: Russian workers Take Over Factory in Yasnogorsk Source: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reference: www.marxist.com YASNOGORSK, Russia - A Workers' Collective Committee has taken over a machine-building plant in Yasnogorsk, a town of 20,000 people near Moscow. The 4,200 workers are battling the Communist Party local authority and the (Yeltsinite) privatization program for the plant. The Yasnogorsk workers say, "This is our revolution" and are appealing for international solidarity. In 1990, the factory was turned into a joint stock company in which the workers held a majority of shares. Last September the workers and shareholders of the plant dismissed the Administration at a general meeting. When the "owners" of the plant refused to recognize the results, the workers seized control. A workers' committee (the Workers' Collective Soviet) was set up and now oversees administration, production, selling, all the finances, distribution of wages and the town as a whole. However, all the factory bank accounts have been blocked by the authorities and the company has since been declared bankrupt by the courts. The questions now are: who will run the factory in the future and who will buy it later? The workers realize that if it is sold, they will lose the last shares they still possess and the previous administration will buy them. For this reason the workers are demanding the plant be made state-owned or else have the shares distributed among the workers. The workers and the town see this as a temporary solution and understand they are fighting against the trend towards private property and capitalism. Last December 10,000 people (led by the workers) from Yasnogorsk marched to block the railway line into Moscow to support demands for the release from prison of the worker-elected directors of the factory and to stop the privatization move. It was only the mobilization of special police forces by the regional administration which prevented the workers from paralyzing one of the main railways in Russia. The two directors, L. Roschenia and V. Dronov, were jailed in October but set free as a result of this general strike by the workers and the threat of railway blockades. On February 22, special police forces were sent in to prevent workers from organizing a standard general meeting. The new court-appointed plant director has issued an order prohibiting all kinds of activity by the worker's committee and trade-union, demanding the end of the strike and threatening to fire all those who disobey. At a joint meeting, the workers decided that they would not return to work until everyone had been paid. The workers have been without pay for 10 months. The misery in Yasnogorsk is tremendous and the population is starving. Last Monday, two workers fainted during meetings in the plant and were hospitalized. Every day one or more workers are attended to by doctors. One worker says, "We have nothing except for the potatoes we grow." The machine-building plant has always been the centre of life for the people of Yasnogorsk and the only way to make a living for thousands of workers. The plant is functioning today and its products are being sold and bartered despite the crisis - this is how the whole town survives. The workers' committee has received financial assistance from trade-unions and other organizations. Money is distributed amongst the poorest and to those who don't even have potatoes any more. -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
