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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.
Australian born WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Julian Assange, who began publishing thousands of leaked US diplomatic cables last year, received the Sydney Peace Foundation鈥檚 Gold Medal at a special ceremony at the Frontline Club in London on May 10. The award, which differs from the foundation鈥檚 annual Sydney Peace Prize, is for "exceptional courage in pursuit of human rights" and has only been awarded on three previous occasions: to the Dalai Lama in 1998, Nelson Mandela in 2000 and Japanese lay Buddhist leader Daisaku Ikeda in 2009.

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.

The Feminist Futures Conference is being organised for May 28-29 by the newly formed Melbourne Feminist Collective (MFC): a group of mainly young activists who were inspired by a similar conference they attended in Sydney last year. James Muldoon from the MFC told 麻豆传媒 Weekly: 鈥淲e are a non-aligned loose knit group of feminists who are keen to build on the movement鈥檚 past successes by focusing on shared goals and strategies for the future. 鈥淲e are seeking to move beyond the old divisions by focusing on what unites us
An audience of more than 600 people at a forum debate in Sydney on May 10 voted by a margin of 69% to 23%, that, "All drugs should be legalised." The forum was sponsored by Intelligence2, a project of the St James Ethics Centre. It heard arguments for and against the proposal and questions and comments from the audience. Dr Alex Wodak, president of the Australian Drug Law Reform Foundation, and a founder of Australia's first needle exchange, argued: "As a starting point, we must recognise that the 鈥榳ar on drugs鈥 has failed. Legalisation is the only answer.
Sydney protest in support of the Syrian uprising

Laura鈥檚* mother was in Dara鈥檃 in southern Syria when the military attacked youths who had graffitied anti-government slogans in mid March.

The mining and banking companies creaming billions in super profits from the mining boom 鈥 the biggest mining boom in Australia鈥檚 history 鈥 have done very well from the that was delivered by the Gillard Labor government on May 10. The big mining companies will continue to pay the lowest ever share in tax and royalties while they make their biggest ever profits.
In the past few decades, Christian and Muslim theologies have been misinterpreted and used tactically against Middle Eastern dictatorships with no success. For instance, former US president George W Bush justified the 鈥渨ar on terror鈥 as a fight against an 鈥渁xis of evil鈥 and called for a new Crusade to liberate the people of the Middle East. This use of Christian theological concepts to justify the war in the Middle East requires a lot of spin.
Tara blockade

Campaign groups Western Downs Alliance and Six Degrees combined with a number of other activists and organisations to bring us the Rock the Gates Festival at Tara showgrounds from April 29 to May 4

Newcastle climate, forest and anti-war activist Pete Gray passed away on April 30 after a battle with cancer that lasted more than two years. Pete was a week and a half short of his 31st birthday. Pete was a founding and active member of the nationally and internationally renowned activist group , whose bold direct-action approach to climate activism has earned the acclaim of many supporters.
Coal blockaders

A group of 30 people held up construction of a second loader arm at Newcastle's third coal loader site on Kooragang Island on May 10, stopping a crane crew for about 90 minutes.

On April 20, 2010, BP鈥檚 Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded, triggering a months-long disaster that would end only after at least 4.9 million barrels of oil, and at least 1.9 million gallons of toxic chemical dispersants, had been injected into the Gulf of Mexico. One year on, the environmental destruction, while huge, is still only in the beginning stages. Experts warn that it will take decades to see the full consequences.