870

More than 300 people attended an 鈥淓xperience Palestine鈥 event organised by the Federation of Australian Muslim Students and Youth (FAMSY), at Coburg Town Hall on February 19. They were greeted by mock Israeli 鈥渂order guards鈥 and questioned about their identity and right to enter the premises. Once they had passed through the wood and wire 鈥渃heckpoints鈥, visitors listened to guest speakers on Palestine and life under occupation before having a break to wander about the different exhibits.
Anti-government protest in Yemen.

With revolts taking place in 15 countries across the Arab world, those with stakes in maintaining the status quo 鈥 especially the United States 鈥 are getting worried. From Morocco all the way to Iran, people are standing up for their long-denied rights.

Invasions don鈥檛 bring democracy It鈥檚 a pity the 鈥渃oalition of the willing鈥 invaded Iraq and Afghanistan. Maybe if they hadn't, the Iraqi and Afghan people would have been getting rid of Saddam Hussein and the Taliban themselves 鈥 right now. And building their own real organic democracies, step by step.
I went down to Tasmania for the Southern Forests Convergence organised by activists at the Huon Valley Environment Centre (HVEC) over February 19 to 21. These folks are the heart and soul of ancient forest protection in Tassie and, as always, it was a great honour to work with them.
Labor, Liberal and National MPs lined up to pass the Labor government's National Radioactive Waste Management Bill through the House of Representatives on February 23. Greens MP Adams Bandt and independents Andrew Wilke, Rob Oakeshott and Bob Katter did not support the bill. If passed in the senate, the bill will pave the way for the construction of a national nuclear waste dump at Muckaty, north of Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory. The legislation overrides NT legislation designed to ban nuclear waste dumps in the territory.
Campaigning with 麻豆传媒 in Sydney.

Below is the text of a speech by Fremantle councillor and Socialist Alliance member Sam Wainwright to 麻豆传媒 Weekly's 20th anniversary celebrations in Perth on February 12.

Ahlem Belhadj is a Tunisian revolutionary socialist and member of the Ligue de la Gauche Ouvriers (Left Workers鈥 League). It is a part of the January 14 Front, which unites left-wing groups seeking to push Tunisia鈥檚 revolution forward by creating a new government free from members of the former ruling party, and supports policies reversing neoliberalism. Belhadj spoke with 麻豆传媒 Weekly鈥檚 Tony Iltis on February 12 about the Tunisian revolution. * * *
Hidden beneath the spectacular street battles that forced Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak out of office was a trigger that exists in dozens of countries throughout the world 鈥 food. Or, more specifically, the lack of it. Commentators have focused on the corruption of the dictatorship, or the viral effects of the Tunisian uprising or what appears to be akin to an Arab political awakening. But the inability of the Egyptian regime to ensure a steady flow of food staples should also be viewed as a critical factor driving this seemingly spontaneous movement for freedom.
Below is the text of a speech by Pip Hinman, Socialist Alliance candidate for Marrickville in the NSW state elections, to the Newtown Neighbourhood Centre candidates meeting on February 23. *** I鈥檇 like to first acknowledge that we鈥檙e meeting on the land of the Gadigal and Wangal people of the Eora nation, and I pay my respects to their elders past and present. The two most important issues in this state election is to call a halt to the privatisations of our public assets and to immediately start a shift away from using polluting coal or gas for our energy needs.
Asian Dub Foundation, with Chandrasonic, centre

The artwork for A History of Now, the new album from Asian Dub Foundation (ADF), is a set of iPhone apps. But instead of Apple鈥檚 tame applications, the band of British-born Indian genre benders have invented their own parodies.

More than 100,000 protesters packed Pearl Roundabout in Bahrain's capital, Manama, on February 22, demanding an end to the regime of King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa. Protester Muhammad Abdullah told The New York Times: 鈥淭his is the first time in the history of Bahrain that the majority of people, of Bahraini people, got together with one message: this regime must fall.鈥 If the Khalifa family 鈥 which has ruled the tiny island nation for 200 years 鈥 falls, it could have major implications for the region and world politics.
An angry group of about 20 protesters held a snap action for refugee rights on February 18 outside the Perth office of the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC). During the protest, Refugee Rights Action Network (RRAN) members covered the DIAC sign with a new message that proclaimed it 鈥渢he department of child abuse鈥. The protesters called for the Australian government to respect the human rights of refugees and put an end to mandatory detention of asylum seekers' children. Several activists held up signs saying 鈥渟hame鈥.