麻豆传媒 Weekly鈥檚 Timothy Lawson spoke to Jim Richardson, a member of Sydney Solidarity for Bradley Manning, about the group鈥檚 campaign work.
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Can you tell me about the Sydney Solidarity for Bradley Manning group?
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A big ad campaign 鈥 鈥 began this month to support the federal government鈥檚 proposed carbon tax. The campaign has been organised by a coalition of peak environment and social justice organisations including GetUp!, the Australian Conservation Foundation and the Australian Council of Trade Unions.
One of the people featured in the advertisements is actor Cate Blanchett. Her presence attracted the ire of conservative politicians and commentators as soon as the commercials aired.
Alice Springs is a town unlike any other and to an outsider its racial tensions are noticeable. Walking through the shopping centre one sees security guards tell Aboriginal people to move on when they are window shopping.
Poverty and homelessness are visible 鈥 and visibly black.
It has always been a town that has struggled with dealing with this visible poverty 鈥 and the less visible disadvantage of the communities in the town camps.
It has been back in the spotlight with a rise in social problems caused by an influx of Aboriginal people from other places.
About 200 people gathered on the steps of Victorian parliament house on June 3 for a 鈥淪wear In鈥 to protest against new laws that give police the power to fine people for swearing.
Colleen Hartland, Greens member of the legislative council, spoke of the civil liberties implications while protesters chanted potty-mouth slogans in a show of defiance to police.
The protest was organised through Facebook and was called on May 31. By June 3, the event invitation had been circulated to more than 10,000 people. This demonstrates just how unpopular the laws are.
More than 60 people rallied outside parliament house on June 2 in support of rights for homeless people. This was the largest of three protests organised since the issue was raised in state parliament in April in relation to the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).
Toowoomba鈥檚 Catholic community expressed shock at the sacking of Bishop William Morris after a five-year Vatican investigation. But Father Peter Kennedy, of South Brisbane church St Mary鈥檚 in Exile, wasn鈥檛 surprised.
Sacked from the church in 2009 for 鈥渦northodox practices鈥, Father Kennedy continues to front his congregation at the Trades and Labour Council building courtesy of the Queensland Council of Unions.
He, along with many others in the St Mary鈥檚 community, is responsible for Micah Projects, now one of Australia鈥檚 most respected homelessness projects.
Aboriginal community leader Sam Watson called a rally outside state parliament on June 1 to demand a new Royal Commission into Aboriginal deaths in custody.
The rally also condemned the Queensland Police Union (QPU), who have demanded the Queensland government pay the legal costs incurred by Senior Sergeant Chris Hurley during his defence case about the 2004 death in custody of Palm Island man Mulrunji Domadgee.
Watson told the rally: 鈥淲e as taxpayers should not be paying for the legal costs of Hurley and the QPU.
A Darwin-based asylum seeker support group today called on the Minister for Immigration, Chris Bowen, to honour his promise to remove children from detention by the end of June. In excess of 100 children remain in immigration detention in Darwin.
Darwin Asylum Seeker Support and Advocacy Network (DASSAN) spokesperson Kevin Kadirgamar described the situation as "very concerning".
"The fact that in excess of 100 children remain in detention in Darwin only weeks out from the Minister's deadline suggests that the government is not serious about its undertaking," he said on June 1.
We chose Professor Noam Chomsky for the 2011 Sydney Peace Prize for inspiring the convictions of millions about ways to achieve those universal human rights, which bolster peace with justice.
For more than 50 years he has been a world champion of freedom of speech, of the value of transparency in government and the need to challenge secrecy and censorship.
In his study of the political economy of human rights, he exposed state crimes, induced by US foreign policy, across South America, the Middle East and South East Asia.
On June 1, formal Israeli festivities were held around the country to commemorate 鈥淛erusalem Day鈥. One of the main events of the 鈥淛erusalem Day" celebrations is the 鈥淒ance of Flags鈥. Tens of thousands of people, waving Israeli flags, march through Palestinian parts of the city. This year, the marchers chanted slogans such as 鈥渂utcher the Arabs鈥, 鈥渂urn their villages鈥, and 鈥渄eath to the leftists鈥. The marchers also surrounded a mosque, frantically chanting 鈥淢uhammad is dead鈥 and 鈥淭hey are only Arabs, they are only fleas鈥.
Two men were taken to hospital and a third treated at the scene after being injured during a confrontation with police at a refugee rights protest at the Maribyrnong detention centre on May 29.
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