In December 1984, the Sri Lankan Army (SLA) expelled Tamil farmers from three villages in the Ma'nalaa'ru region in the northeast of the island of Sri Lanka and seized 1500 acres of land.
The land has been occupied by the SLA ever since. The displaced farmers told two Tamil National Alliance members of the Sri Lankan parliament who recently visited the area that the army still bans them from returning. They are not even allowed to look at their land.
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Lisette Talate died the other day. I remember a wiry, fiercely intelligent woman who masked her grief with a determination that was a presence. She was the embodiment of people鈥檚 resistance to the war on democracy.
I first glimpsed her in a 1950s Colonial Office film about the Chagos Islanders, a tiny creole nation living midway between Africa and Asia in the Indian Ocean. The camera panned across thriving villages, a church, a school, a hospital, set in a phenomenon of natural beauty and peace.
Lisette remembers the producer saying to her and her teenage friends: 鈥淜eep smiling girls.鈥
Historically, racism has given rise to the belief that different human populations possess different capacities, some superior and some inferior, based on aspects such as cultural traits and genetic makeup.
At its crudest, racist views often hold that genetic makeup can imply specific traits and
characteristics, and has been used as a tool to separate people in our society.
This kind of view became widespread across the world, justifying crimes such as the mass enslavement of Africans, the genocide committed by the Nazis, and the 鈥渨hite Australia鈥 policy, initiated in 1901.
Cathy has been a shopping centre cleaner in a busy Westfield in South Australia for more than 10 years. She takes great pride in her job, and she loves interacting with tenants and helping customers. To her, a clean shopping centre with happy customers is indicative of a good day鈥檚 work.
But Cathy only makes $16.57 an hour. In fact, her hourly wage has only gone up by $3 an hour in the 10 years she's been working. Cathy鈥檚 husband is disabled and can鈥檛 work. So, for less than $600 a week, Cathy and her husband try to survive.
Deadly repression in Indonesia has refocussed attention on the role of Australian mining companies in human rights abuses in the country.
People of the Paniai region in Indonesian-occupied West Papua have lived in terror since November. The Australian government-trained 鈥渁nti-terrorist鈥 unit Detachment 88 (D88) and Brimob paramilitary force launched an offensive in the area that month to eliminate fighters from the Free Papua Movement (OPM).
The small town of Kerry, located on the Scenic Rim in Queensland's Beaudesert, is a prime food-producing area one hour from Brisbane. The land is now the site of a coal seam gas (CSG) exploration well.
The day after the January 26 protests by Aboriginal people and supporters gave the media the sensationalist images of Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Liberal leader Tony Abbott fleeing under police protection, the Herald Sun's Mark Knight captured the image with a truly .
Wind farms might appear controversial in the media, but they enjoy an overwhelming 83% support in affected communities, say several recent reports.
The only noise worth worrying about is that from the small minority who vocally oppose them. Unfortunately, that noise is drowning out other voices in the public arena.
鈥淧oker machine playing is a repetitive and insidious form of gambling which has many undesirable features. It requires no thought, no skill or social contact. The odds are never about winning 鈥 the machines 鈥 are addictive to many people. Historically poker machines have been banned 鈥 in the public interest, they should stay banned.鈥
This quote is not from independent MP Andrew Wilkie, or 鈥淣o Pokies鈥 Nick Xenophon.
It is from the 1974 Royal Commission into Gambling, Western Australia.
Very soon, 麻豆传媒 Weekly turns 21. That鈥檚 not a bad achievement for a radical left news source in a fairly conservative, stable country like Australia.
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Throughout that time, GLW鈥檚 style, tone, look and the emphasis of its coverage have changed many times. If it is to stay a useful tool in the fight for social justice and human dignity then it will surely need to change some more in the future too. This applies most of all to GLW鈥檚 online presence.
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The real story of the powerful march celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy was ignored by the mainstream media in favour of misleading and charged accounts of a confrontation of Australia's racist opposition leader Tony Abbott and PM Julia Gillard by protesters later in the day.聽
Newcastle activist and satirical singer-songwriter Nicholas Barrington Wood died last December at home after a short illness. He faced death with the same courage with which he lived his life, true to himself to the end.
His life was a journey that began in Manchester, England. It was his journey though: not to any destination, but to understand life.
He spent years in Arabic, African and Asian countries, teaching and learning languages, playing and composing music, falling in love and having children.
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