A-Infos (en) Anarchist Age Weekly Review No. 428 27th November-3rd December, 2000

["Philip McCrory" <philmcc@melbpc.org.au>]

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      A - I N F O S  N E W S  S E R V I C E
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ANARCHISM ­ ADVANCING IN DIVERSITY STRIKING IN UNISON ­ YAMAGUCHI KENJI

THE BEST LEGAL DEFENCE MONEY CAN BUY
The trial against building developers Bruno and Reno Grollo was aborted one
month into an expected six month trial.  The Commonwealth government
unexpectedly dropped their case on Tuesday.  The Grolloıs claimed that the
trial cost them 10 years of their lives and over ten million dollars in
legal fees.  The Commonwealth dropped its case because witnesses changed
their stories during the trial.
It seems that some witnesses were given two choices, either they could act
as witnesses against the Grollos or face charges themselves.  Whatıs
happened is not as unusual as it seems.  In order to gain convictions itıs
not unusual for potential witnesses to be given the choice of co-operating
or facing charges.  In this case because the Grollos had the money and time
to conduct on effective defence the case fell apart.
The outcome is different in cases where people donıt have the financial
resources to mount a defence and hire attorneys.  Justice in this country is
only available to those who have the resources to use the system.  The
shrinking legal aid bucket coupled with the prevailing attitude that if
youıve been charged you must be guilty has seen the prison population double
over the past decade.  Fear of personal bankruptcy, intimidation and a lack
of resources means that most prosecutions donıt have the fairy tale endings
the Grollo cases have had.
The contempt that an increasing number of Australians feel for the political
system is now extending to the judicial system.  The Grollo outcome
reinforces peopleıs opinions that only the rich have legal rights in
Australia.


NOTE DUFFING

Pity poor, old Kim Beazley, the Prime Ministership almost in his grasp and
you guessed it, a poor baton change from Beattie, the Queensland Premier and
hey presto, the Liberal National Party does a OBushı and sneaks over the
line.  When Beattie called on the Queensland Criminal Justice Commission to
investigate stories of electoral fraud within the Labor Party, he forgot the
politicianıs mantra - never call an independent investigation when youıre in
office unless you know what the findings are going to be.
While the Labor Party squirms as the extent of political fraud within the
Queensland branch is outlined, the Liberal National Party has been able to
hide its own electoral indiscretions.  The last myth that we live in a
democratic society where every vote is of equal value has been destroyed
once and for all.  The Prime Minister, John OChuckieı Howard rows about the
Labor partyıs discomfort at his own peril.  The major political parties in
Australia have always controlled the flow of information about what goes on
behind the closed doors of the organisations they belong to.  Beattieıs
invitation to the CSC to have a peek behind the doors has given Australians
the opportunity to find out how these groups work.
It seems it takes a litany of lies to win and retain parliamentary office.
The Labor Party runs the very real risk of telling all and winning nothing.
This investigation could strike a body blow to the Australian political
system.  The cynicism that is such a feature of Australian political life
could boil over into direct action.  Itıs possible that those people who
will benefit from this inquiry will be people like us extra-parliamentary
activists.  The campaigns that we have waged in the past that have
encouraged people to vote informal or boycott elections because
parliamentary democracy is just two minutes of illusory power, may strike a
sympathetic cord with a population thatıs sick of being treated with
contempt by the corporate sector and a political system which reflects the
will of the corporate sector and the political parties, not the people.


THE BEST HEALTH CARE MONEY CAN BUY

Itıs nice to know that Kerry Packer, Australiaıs richest man has the money
to fund a life saving kidney transplant.  Over seven and a half thousand
Australians are waiting for a kidney transplant.  Most will live out the
rest of their lives spending more time undergoing dialysis than living life.
No waiting for our very own Kerry Packer, he was able to line up a donation
of a kidney from his private helicopter pilot.
Not very many (none actually) 75 year olds are able to obtain a kidney
transplant in the public health sector.  Medical resources are so scarce a
75 year old would never be considered for a transplant in the public health
system.  Thatıs where Kerrieıs access to ready cash comes in handy.  Youıve
got the money, weıve got the best health care system money can buy.  Whatıs
interesting about Packerıs transplant is not the transplant itself but how
the debate surrounding this transplant has been handled by political leaders
and the media in this country.
Packerıs Chuckie, John Howard was one of the first cabs off the rank, cap in
hand wishing Packer the best.  The media response in this country has
revolved around the selfless response of one of Packerıs loyal employees.
Little has been heard about how Packer was conveniently able to jump the
transplant queue and find himself with a new kidney.  You and I may say a
few things about what we think of this but what we say is usually ignored.
Nobody in the mass media is willing to pick up the cudgel on behalf of the
public because theyıre concerned about the Packerıs reaction.  As far as the
Australian media is concerned this is a story about love between mates.  How
one man is willing to donate his kidney to save his bossıs life?
The level of public debate in this country is abysmal because the media is
owned by a few corporate players.  Offend one of these corporate players
with an indepth article about whatıs happening to the countryıs health
system and you may find that youıll never be able to work again in the media
in this country.  No wonder the mediaıs response about the ethical
dimensions of Packerıs transplant have been so muted and inane.


TAKE ME AS YOUR LEADER!!

So, George W. Bush has announced he is El Presidenté of the United States of
America.  If there is one lesson that can be drawn from this long drawn out
process, is that at the end of the day, irrespective of who will be
President, there wonıt be blood in the streets.  Some commentators are
saying that the system is working the way it was meant to work.  Forty eight
per cent of registered (not eligible voters) cast a ballot to elect one of
two corporate clowns to office.  The chap whoıs claimed heıs won the race
has called an end to the race before all the votes have been counted.
Those Americans who donıt participate in the electoral farce have had all
their prejudices confirmed.  The American people, both voters and non-voters
alike know that there is very little difference between Gore and Bush.  Both
represent the interests of the corporate sector.  No self-respecting United
States citizen is going to waste their time demonstrating, let alone
striking a blow for their man if he is not elected to office.  The
Presidential race has become a tacky side show.  Congress and the Senate
have become B rate movies that deal with trivial issues.
Very little is at stake with the current stale mate, personal ambition is
what drives Bush and Gore.  Whichever one ends up with the tarnished poison
chalice - the United States Presidency, very little will change for the
majority of Americans.  They know in their heart of hearts that elections
are a game that have very little to do with real issues and real life.
About the only interesting aspects of United States elections are the
citizen initiated referendums that are held in conjunction with the
Presidential elections.
America doesnıt need a president, or a Congress or a Senate.  It has
mechanisms in place which can see direct democratic principles being applied
to a number of important issues.  The best thing about the confusion
surrounding the United States election is that it will act as a catalyst for
increasing levels of voter dissatisfaction in the United States.  Contempt
for the Presidential office, the Congress and the Senate is the legacy that
is consuming the minds of that small band of Americans who still believe in
representative democracy.


EUREKA!!

At 3.30am on Sunday the 3rd of December 1854 elements of the 12th and 40th
Regiment reinforced by sailors from the HMS Electra and Fontome as well as
foot and mounted police stormed the Eureka Stockade at Ballarat.  The miners
who had sworn by their new flag, a white cross on a blue field, elected
their leaders and swore by the Southern Cross "To stand truly by each other
and fight to defend our rights and liberties".  There were less than 150
miners inside the stockade when the troops attacked.  Over thirty were
killed mostly by the police after the clash and 114 were arrested.
On the 8th of December thirteen of the miners were committed for High
Treason.  At the trials held in February/March 1855 all thirteen men were
acquitted by the jury.
The miners original demands included 1- manhood suffrage, 2- abolition of
the property qualifications for members of parliament, 3- payment of
members, 4- short term parliaments, 5- equal electoral districts (five of
the six charist demands) and 6- the abolition of diggers and store keepers
licences.  Although the Eureka Battle was lost, the miners won nearly all
their demands.
Yet, ere the year was over
Freedom rolled in like a flood
They gave us what we asked for
When we asked for it in blood
   A Ballad of Eureka
Sunday the 3rd of December this Sunday marks the 146th anniversary of the
Eureka Stockade at Ballarat.  As the battle of the Eureka Stockade becomes a
sanitised tourist event, itıs important we remember the radical nature of
this revolt.  The Eureka Stockade was waged by men and women who had come to
the gold fields to create a new life for themselves free of domination by
the British Empire.


ANARCHIST QUESTION AND ANSWER

Q. Is anarchism direct democracy?
A. No.  Direct democracy is a mechanism by which anarchist principles can be
implemented in a community, it is not anarchism.  The word anarchism is
derived from the Greek Oanarchosı - without rulers.  An anarchist community
is a community that does not have rulers, it rules itself.  A direct
democratic society can be both inclusive and exclusive.  Ancient Athenian
society could be described as direct democratic for "free men".  Women and
slaves were not allowed to take part in the decision making process.
Direct democratic communities may decide to impose certain conditions on
minorities that puts them in a subservient position.  Anarchists talk about
direct democracy within the context of egalitarian principles of
association.  A majority within an anarchist community that uses direct
democratic principles to make decisions is not able to overturn these
egalitarian principles of association without overturning the foundations of
the society they have created.  Itıs important for anarchist activists to
realise that direct democracy is not anarchism.  Societies that use direct
democracy principles could for the sake of argument, reintroduce capital
punishment, impose restrictions on minorities or ban movement across
frontiers.
Thatıs why the extreme right has jumped on the Citizen Initiated Referendum
and direct democratic bandwagon.  They believe that if people were allowed
to make the laws they would reimpose conservative values on the community.
Anarchism is a philosophy, direct democracy is a mechanism of making
decisions.  Applying direct democratic principles within an egalitarian
framework provides a mechanism by which decisions can be make within an
anarchist community.
Anarchists need to be clear of the differences.  If theyıre not, they run
the very real risk of running with populist movements that limit individual
freedom and exclude people from the decision making process.  Thatıs why the
20th century State has been able to maintain such a central role in radical
thought.  Radical activists during the 20th century believe that a State
constitution which guaranteed people some basic human rights was a necessary
catalyst for radical social change.  The history of the 20th century was a
history of radical failure because the central kernel of their argument that
the State protected individual human rights was wrong.  Call for direct
democracy but call for it within an egalitarian framework - an anarchist
framework.

ACTION BOX - CITIZEN TO CITIZEN COMMUNICATION

How many conversations apart from perfunctory comments with shopkeepers and
workmates have you had in the past week?  When you think about it,
Australians live in a conversational-less society.  The mass media,
especially television, set the agenda about what is desirable and possible
within our community.  The Internet has not turned out to be that great
egalitarian communicator weıve been led to believe.  Citizen to citizen
conversation seems to be a lost art.
How many times have you kept your opinion to yourself because youıre
concerned about what other people will think?  More than you care to
remember.  Mass communication has decreased not increased peopleıs options.
This has occurred because the infrastructure necessary to communicate
effectively is controlled either by the State or corporate entities.  A
conversational-less society allows those who control the mass media to set
the political, social and cultural agenda.  Turning off the television or
radio and retreating into yourself is not the answer, it only increases
their power.  One simple effective way of breaking this powerful monopoly is
"citizen to citizen communication" - a good, old-fashioned yak with
neighbours, families, friends about issues and about solutions to various
problems.
Although itıs much harder work than turning on the television set and going
to sleep on the sofa, the dividends are immediate and far reaching.  Even if
people disagree with you and many will, you will gain a reputation for
independent thought and thinking.  You may find that in times of crisis
people will ask for your opinion and will seek you out to find out what you
think about particular situations.
Even more importantly youıll regain control of your own thought processes
and be able to cut through the consumer profit driven garbage that passes as
informed comment in our society.  What ever you do donıt fall for that old
adage that you should never discuss politics and religion in public.
Printing, television, radio and the Internet can never replace face to face
citizen to citizen communication.  Spend a little bit of time everyday
discussing issues with the people around you as well as complete strangers.
Subvert the numbing effects of a society that has attempted to relegate
conversation to the dustbin of history - have a good yak!!


AUSTRALIAN ANARCHIST HISTORY - "WY VIS"
ADAM CAIRNS MCCAY  1874-1947

OThe Anarchistı, a poem written by A.C. McCay appeared in the Bulletin on
the 7th of December 1895.  Little is known about this man.  Manuscripts of a
number of his poems are in the Mitchell Library.

The Anarchist

We trumpet a note to the hearts of men,
A note to stir them to freedom and life,
A note to sound in the darkest den,
Where sorrow and sickness and sin are strife,
To peal in the poorest of prostrate souls,
And call them back to their own lost right,
To blare and burst where the war drum rolls,
And riot and ring in the rage of fight.

A trumpet message to tell the truth, that its creeds decay and its gods are
dead,
That itıs laws and itıs lying have lost their worth,
That the reign of rapine and wrong is sped,
That a sun blood-red with a cycleıs pain,
Is risen to wither their world away,
That a new light gleams oıer an altered fane,
That a new soul breathes in our quickened clay.

It is time that men should rise from sleep,
It is time for the dead to be vivified,
For human creatures to cease to creep,
In abject fear Oneath the heels of pride,
On their coward hearts has the cold lain long,
While their limbs were lax and their lips were dumb,
But their hearts wake warm to the trumpets song,
And their arms uplifted to vengeance come.

The hueless mist of unchanging woe,
That has folded them round since first they saw,
Is bright with a coming Freedomıs glow,
Is shot with the sheen of the steel they draw,
They are wakening fast to a higher thing
Then service and suffering, sin and sweat,
And the trumpet shall call till itıs deep notes ring
In the dull slave-souls that are wavering yet.

Source of article, page 97 OA Reader of Australian Anarchism 1886-1896.
Edited and with an introduction by Bob James 1979.
BOOK REVIEW

PEASANT RESISTANCE OF BERGAMA AND ANARCHISM, Published 1998 ISTANBUL, TURKEY

This interesting 12 page pamphlet documents what happened when Eurogold, a
Canadian, Australian, German transnational corporation is given permission
to search for and establish gold mines on the West Coast of Turkey.  The
people of Bergama and surrounding villages in Western Turkey are concerned
that cyanide will be used to extract gold.  As the mine is being built the
people begin a series of actions ranging from legal action to demonstrations
and occupations to shut down the mine.
The pamphlet examines what happens to the people during this two year
period.  It analyses what happens when the midwives of State capitalism, the
old left and a number of radical political parties attempt to harness the
peopleıs struggle to further their own political aims.  The writer explores
both the limitations of peaceful protest and the consequences of outside
introduced violence in the Bergama struggle.
This is a difficult pamphlet to read not because of its content and the
ideas expressed in the pamphlet but because of the limitations of the
Turkish English translation.  If readers are willing to slow down and take
the time to read each word, the information gained from this handy little
pamphlet is well worth the effort.  The main points made is that
globalisation is facing resistance in many parts of the world both in the
developing and the Western world.
The means that are being used by people whose lives will be disrupted by the
race for global economic success are similar.  The author makes it clear
that all anti globalisation activists face three enemies:  the State, the
corporate sector and the old left, the midwives of State capitalism.
PEASANT RESISTANCE OF BERGAMA AND ANARCHISM is available from Barricade
Books for the cost of a "gold" coin.  Barricade Books is located at 115
Sydney Rd, Brunswick  3057, Melbourne, Australia.  Drop into the shop or
post your order to PO Box 199, East Brunswick  3057, Melbourne, Australia or
Email your order to infoshop@bedlam-anarki-net.


PERSONAL OBSERVATION

"David stole the car radio".
"Did he?"
"I think so".  Pause followed by a thud, footsteps in the distance, birds
sang, the sun shone as it can only shine in Spring bathing everything in a
bright soft light.  "His mother threw him out a few months ago".  "Heıs a
good mate - well actually he was a good mate".  "He broke back into the
house and stole everything he could carry".  "She called the police".
More footsteps, hammering noises.  "Fuck!!"  "I nearly slipped".  "Watch out
for that spot".  Disembodied voices wafted across the tree line.  I moved a
few steps forward and leaned against the car to see where the voices were
coming from.  A few steps and my view of the world changed.  Itıs not my
business, why am I interested in the conversation of one, two, possibly
three roof tilers who are filling in time between roof tiles with personal
titbits.  I can see them as well as hear them.  They canıt see me.
"Dave was a good mate".  "He told the cops that I ransacked his motherıs
house".  The story was coming out of the mouth of a fit, tanned, young God,
his whole world before him, until his mate lagged him in to the coppers.
"Weıd been friends since primary school".  The two other roof tilers
listened out of politeness, more than interest.  It pays to be polite if
youıre on a roof with somebody else.  The younger man listened, grunted and
continued working, the older burdened with his own problems kept working,
ignoring his two young mates.
Experience had taught him to let them talk, it made the day slip away.
"Itıs not been the same".  "Drugs are to blame".  "We had a smoke, sometimes
weıd go to a rave party and pop some pills".  "He then discovered heroin, he
was king for a few months then lost his job, stole from his mum and stole my
car radio".  "We used to be mates, good mates".  Silence except for the
repetitive noises of men laying tiles.  I hung around for a few more
minutes, nothing.  Heıd told his workmate what was on his mind, did he feel
better?  I doubt it.  Maybe by midafternoon after a day of working in the
sun the dull ache in his back and the sweat on his body would focus his mind
on getting the job done and going home.


STOP PRESS
INBUILT OBSOLESCENCE

Inbuilt obsolescence is an integral component of the post modern computer
age.  Whether itıs a cheap toaster or an expensive new motor vehicle, the
story is the same.  Production for productionıs sake is the mantra of the
"civilised" West.  Without inbuilt obsolescence the cyber industrial complex
would grind to a halt, profits would fall and the greenhouse effect would be
a fairytale.  Iım interested in doing a series about inbuilt obsolescence in
the post modern age.  To do this I require information from people who are
involved in the field.
Each production process has its own problems with inbuilt obsolescence.  As
production is centralised and monopolies run the production process, itıs
easier to build products with limited (very limited) lifespans.
Globalisation has economic as well as practical day to day consequences
which are interlinked to inbuilt obsolescence.  One area Iım familiar with
is the video recorder industry.  Six years ago all video recorders had a
"heat sink", a piece of equipment within the video which absorbed heat and
protected delicate components within the video recorder from heat damage.
Over the past six years all the major corporations have removed the heat
sink from the video recorders they manufacture.
The manufacturing process has been streamlined to such an extent that the
video recorder is marketed as a "disposable commodity" which cannot be
repaired.  The video recorder box is now one piece, it does not have any air
vents, heat sinks or is able to be accessed for repairs.  If it breaks down
and break down it will, (within five years) itıs discarded and replaced with
a new video recorder.  Inbuilt obsolescence has become an integral feature
of the video recorder industry.
The video recorder box is a box that retains heat, as the heat rises in the
box the delicate components which make up the board absorb heat and
eventually stop functioning.  If a heat sink and air vents were placed in
the video recorder box, the same video recorder could last for up to twenty
years.  The same problem exists in every other area of mass production.
Components are used which are designed to break down within a particular
time frame.  In built obsolescence within white goods and electrical
appliances is a problem that can be interlinked with capitalismıs need to
produce bigger and bigger profits.  A rational society based of the
satisfaction of human needs not profit for profitıs sake would strive to
produce products that would last for ever.  Capitalist forms of production
encourage and reward the production of products that have a limited life
span.


JOSEPH TOSCANO (Libertarian Workers for a Self-Managed Society).



ANARCHIST PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED THIS WEEK

. SPARKS No.97  Oct-Nov 2000, PO Box 92, Broadway  2007, Sydney, Australia
. WORKERS SOLIDARITY No.6  Nov 2000, (Newsletter of the IWW OMB), PO Box
145, Moreland  3056, Melbourne, Australia, melbourne@iww.org.au,
www.iww.org.au/melbourne
. FREEDOM  Vol61,  No.22, 18th Nov 2000, 74b Whitechapel High St, London
EI7QX, England, www.ecn.org/freedom, Email Freedom Press at freedom@ecn.org
. KSL, Bulletin of the Kate Sharpley Library  No.24 Oct 2000, BM HURRICANE,
London  WCI N3XX, England
. LE MONDE LIBERTAIRE  No.1219, 1220  2nd-15th Nov 2000, 145 Rue Amelot,
75011  Paris, France.  Tel: 01 48053408, Fax: 01 49299859
. R@SLIN AUTHORITY  No.1  Nov 2000, (Donıt Submit to Authority), PO Box
67303, LA. CA 90067, United States.
. UMANITA NOVA  80th year 10th-17th Sept, 12th Nov 2000, C. So Palermo 46,
10152 Torino, Italy.  Tel/Fax (011) 857 850.  Email:  fat@inrete.it
. OTHER PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED THIS WEEK
. DISSINTRE LINK  No.3  Nov 2000, PO Box 145, Moreland 3058, Melbourne,
Australia.  www.iww.org.au
. OPERARI CONTRO  No.94  July 2000, A.L.O., Via Falck 44-20099, Sesto S.
Giovanni (MI), Italy.  http://web.tiscalinet.it/operaicontro


DEBT ELIMINATION APPEAL

Our debt STILL STANDS AT $1000.00 exactly.  It is our aim to reduce this to
ZERO by the end of the year 2000.  In order to do this we need your support.
Currently we are spending too much time trying to eliminate this debt.  You
can help by donating money, taking out a new subscription to the Anarchist
Age Weekly Review ONE dollar per issue.  WE ESPECIALLY ASK all our INTERNET
READERS who are subsidised by subscribers to kick into the kitty.  Remember
without your financial assistance we will be forced to curtail our
activities.  Buy your local library, school, factory, workshop, friends a
SUBSCRIPTION and increase the level of debate about whatıs going on in your
neighbourhood and your world SUBSCRIPTIONS 10 dollars, 10 issues.  50
dollars, 50 issues.  Make out cheques/money orders to LIBERTARIAN WORKERS
and send to PO Box 20, Parkville  Vic  3052, Melbourne, Australia.  If we
can raise a miserable two hundred dollars a week till the end of the year we
can start off with a clean slate in 2001.
DEBT 29.11.2000 - $1000.00

ANARCHIST WORLD THIS WEEK
NOW ON THE INTERNET - FOR ANYBODY ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD TO LISTEN IN TO.
LIKE THE PROGRAM - TELL YOUR FRIENDS AROUND THE PLANET ABOUT OUR INTERNET
ADDRESS - http://www.freespeech.org/anarchistAge
ANARCHIST WORLD THIS WEEK POSTER AVAILABLE FOR THE COST OF A FEW STAMPS -
Want to help us find new listeners for the Anarchist World This Week, then
send us a few stamps to AWTW, PO Box 20, Parkville 3052, Australia & we'll
send you out a colour poster (A3) for your use & a black & white poster you
can photocopy & put up to help us increase the number of people who listen
to the Anarchist World This Week.


ANARCHIST MEDIA INSTITUTE PUBLIC MEETING

TOPIC: ANARCHISM A 21ST CENTURY PHILOSOPHY?
TIME: 7.30PM    DATE: WEDNESDAY 6th DECEMBER 2000
VENUE:    MEETING ROOM (New International Bookshop) Trades Hall, Cnr. Lygon
St & Victoria Parade. Entrance Victoria Parade.

ALL WELCOME ­ Entrance fee ­ gold coin donation

THE ANARRES ANARCHIST BOOKSHOP WILL HAVE A BOOKSTALL ON THE EVENING.


STAMP APPEAL

We normally spend over $400.00 per month on postage stamps.  If you have any
spare stamps floating about or are about to write to us, stuff a few stamps
in the envelope.  Every little bit helps.


NEW ANARCHIST JOURNAL - THEFT
"EXPOSE THE THEFT EXPOSE THE THIEVES"

1st Issue OUT NOW. Deadline for contributions for SECOND ISSUE ­ THEFT OF
LEISURE TIME, End of December 2000.  Enquiries/Contributions ­ email
stolengeneration@hotmail.com
POSTAL: PO Box 12197, Abeckett St, Melbourne 3000.

Politically manipulated and scorned?  Sick of being a peripheral player
every time a Federal election comes around, then join:- VOTE INFORMAL TODAY,
DIRECT DEMOCRACY TOMORROW, a "political party" that is putting the boot into
the Australian Parliamentary Process.  Send a stamp self-addressed envelope
to

VOTE INFORMAL TODAY DIRECT DEMOCRACY TOMORROW

PO Box 20, Parkville. 3052. Melbourne. Australia Telephone (03) 9828 2856
(24 hour answering service).  We will send information about how to join
this unique 21st century Australian phenomena.  DON'T PUT IT OFF  JOIN THE
PUSH FOR CHANGE NOW.

Written and authorised by Joseph Toscano (National Convenor 205 Nicholson St
Footscray 3012  Melbourne Aust)


ALL THE NEWS THAT FITS

Telstra will shut an average of one call centre a week until it has shut a
total of 250 in a cost-cutting drive.  4000 jobs will be lost.
***
The Auditor-General has found widespread mistreatment by agencies dealing
with intellectually disabled people. He said service providers commonly
failed to report abuse. People's rights were also often ignored in regard to
being restrained by drugs or isolated.
Senior staff at some centres used restraint and isolation without official
approval.  There was also no limit to how long a person could be isolated.
***
Taxpayers paid nearly $3 million for the Kennett government's three year
legal battle to close an Aboriginal specialist school.
Northland Secondary College stayed open after people occupied the grounds
and held classes themselves.  It now has 300 students and is considered a
model school.
***
Australia is among the world's worst countries for discriminating against
indigenous children, a report has found.
The International Save the Children Alliance, who wrote the report, said
that the problem wasn't one of resources, but of the government's failure to
protect people's rights.
***
The lives of 120 elderly nuring home residents were placed at risk as the
government took nine months to investigate serious complaints.The home in
Box Hill failed 43 out of 44 health and safety standards.  The home
neglected residents in pain, failed to provide adequate standards of food
and water, failed to provide dignity or comfort for terminally ill patients,
had no fire evacuation or emergency plans, and was substandard in restraint
of residents, infection control, catering and cleaning.
The nurses' union lodged a formal complaint about the home with the
government on the 29th of November 1999.  But it wasn't investigated until
late August 2000.

James H / Libertarian Workers for a Self-Managed Society.


FRIENDS OF OUR ABC ­

RALLIES OUTSIDE ABC REGIONAL RADIO HEADQUARTERS at 120-130 Southbank
Boulevard, Sout Melbourne at 11.00am Sharp every 2nd Thursday of the month.
Next Rallies: 7th December 11.00am, 21st December 11.00am.  All welcome.
Bring along banners, signs ­ letıs make the 21st a end of year break up
party.


ANARCHIST MEDIA OBSCENITY OF THE WEEK

Has been awarded to the Australian Health System.  A system which allows the
Packerıs of the world to buy the best private health care that money can buy
and which forces over 70% of Australians to be treated by a run down public
health system which through lack of funds delivers a second rate service.

If You Like What You Have Read, Photocopy This Publication and Leave It In
Doctors, Dentists, Vets Waiting Rooms and In Railway Stations, Bus Stops,
Libraries and Restaurants Etc.

The articles in the Anarchist Age Weekly Review express the opinion of
individuals within the Libertarian Workers for a Self-Managed
Society/Anarchist Media Institute. They do not necessarily reflect the
opinions of The Libertarian Workers for a Self-Managed Society/Anarchist
Media Institute.


P U B L I C A T I O N S

   Anarchist Age Weekly Review - 4 pages of Anarchist commentary on Local,
National and International events.

           $50.00 for 50 issues                $10.00 for 10 issues

Make out cheques or money orders to: Libertarian Workers, PO Box 20,
Parkville, 3052 Victoria Aust.



All material in the Anarchist Age Weekly Review can be used by anarchists,
anarchist collectives and non-profit organisations as long as the source of
the material is mentioned in the article.  The Anarchist Age Weekly Review
reserves all rights as far as commercial publications are concerned.

NO GLOBALISATION WITHOUT DIRECT DEMOCRACY ­ ANARCHIST MEDIA INSTITUTE.
WELCOME TO THE 21ST CENTURY ­ THE ANARCHIST CENTURY


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