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A Palestinian solidarity conference held in Sydney over May 14-15 brought together more than 200 people to discuss the campaign in Australia in solidarity with the Palestinian struggle for freedom.

Bolivian President Evo Morales proposed enshrining the Rights of Mother Earth in international law to the United Nations General Assembly on April 23. The proposal follows the Law on the Rights of Mother Earth that was enacted in Bolivia in January. The 鈥渟hort鈥 law enacted is a set of principles. A more detailed version is expected later this year. The law commits the government to steadily integrate renewable energy sources in order to achieve national energy independence.
Joaquin Perez Becerra under arrest.

The Socialist Alliance calls on the Colombian government to immediately release independent media activist Joaquin Perez Becerra, who is now facing charges of 鈥渢errorism鈥.

鈥淔actories making sought-after Apple iPads and iPhones in China are forcing staff to sign pledges not to commit suicide, an investigation has revealed. 鈥淎t least 14 workers at Foxconn factories in China have killed themselves in the last 16 months as a result of horrendous working conditions. 鈥淢any more are believed to have either survived attempts or been stopped before trying at the Apple supplier's plants in Chengdu or Shenzen. 鈥淎ppalling conditions: An investigation by two NGOs has found new workers at Foxconn factories in China are made to sign a 鈥榥o suicide鈥 pledge ...
For many Australians, Fairfax Media is a benign alternative to Rupert Murdoch鈥檚 right-wing media empire. Well-meaning people buy Fairfax newspapers such as the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age because they believe they present a fairer picture of the news. But just how fair is Fairfax?
Osama Bin Laden, the mastermind behind the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States that killed about 3000 people, will not be mourned by many people around the world. But his killers used Bin Laden鈥檚 crimes to justify wars on Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq that have killed many thousands more. These wars are continuing. The May 3 US Socialist Worker article abridged below says bin Laden鈥檚 death should not be used to justify further killings in the name of the 鈥渨ar on terror鈥. * * *
The Roman Catholic Church has sacked the bishop of Toowoomba after 18 years of service for his belief that women can be priests. In his 2006 Advent pastoral letter to priests in his diocese, Bishop William Morris questioned the practice of sourcing Catholic priests from Africa, and suggested the shortage of Catholic priests in Australia would be better addressed by considering admitting married men and women to the priesthood. Morris met with Pope Benedict in 2009 about his views. He is now taking 鈥渆arly retirement鈥 at age 67. The usual retirement age for bishops is 75.
Coalition leader Tony Abbott wrote to PM Julia Gillard in March calling for a bipartisan approach to Aboriginal issues and a in the Northern Territory. He flew to Alice Springs in late April to further these calls. June will mark four years since former PM John Howard launched the Northern Territory Emergency Response 鈥 or NT intervention.
A march during the Rock the Gate festival

After 12 hours on the road, travelling 800 kilometres from Newcastle through Gunnedah, Narrabri, Moree and Goondiwindi, just after sundown, our big blue bus pulled into Tara showground for four days of workshops and direct action as part of the Rock the Gate festival against coal seam gas mining.

The Iran Solidarity Network (ISN) and Australia-Asia Worker Links held a meeting on May 7 to commemorate Iranian Kurdish activist Farzad Kamangar, who was executed last year. ISN member Afshin Nikouseresht told the meeting that Kamangar was a teacher, poet, author, human rights activist and unionist. He had campaigned around environmental issues, women's rights and poverty as well as union rights. He was arrested in 2006 and executed in 2010, accused of being a member of an armed Kurdish group 鈥 an allegation he denied.
Our goal, as socialists, is to raise women (and for that matter, all of humanity) to a level where they are regarded as true human beings. By that I mean, people whose ideas, opinions and desires are worthy of consideration, rather than machines which exist to provide sexual pleasure, offspring, and free/cheap labour in the form of caregiving/housework. Young women face much pressure in our society, in the form of media and pornography, which tell them how they must behave, look and relate to men.

Every once in a while a book comes along that changes a mass audience's view of the world. Naomi Klein鈥檚 2000 book No Logo, which deconstructed consumer culture, was one. Treasure Islands, a revealing expose of tax havens written by financial journalist Nicholas Shaxson, is equally groundbreaking.