A-Infos (en) Anarchist Age Weekly Review No. 576 8th December ­ 14th December 2003

[Phil McCrory <philmcc@melbpc.org.au>]

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IF YOU DON'T LIKE THE MESSAGE, SHOOT THE MESSENGER
The extra-ordinary attack that's being launched against Defend and Extend
MedicareAustralia, in Melbourne's Herald Sun (5&6/12) indicates that our
campaign is hurting the Federal Government's plans to destroy Medicare.
The article included many statements that were factually incorrect.  They
also made a number of allegations that could land both the Herald Sun and
Tony Abbott in court.  Tony Abbott the Federal Health Minister, has badly
miscalculated by airing these allegations outside coward's castle
(parliament). The Herald Sun's editorial team and reporters that put
together these articles could find that their boss, Rupert Murdoch may not
be too happy about helping to finance the retirement plans of many of the
activists mentioned in the article.  Over the next few months it's likely
that the courts and the Australian press council could be dealing with this
matter.


NO GLOBALISATION WITHOUT DIRECT DEMOCRACY ­ ANARCHIST MEDIA INSTITUTE
'WE SWEAR BY THE SOUTHERN CROSS TO STAND TRULY BY EACH OTHER AND FIGHT TO
DEFEND OUR RIGHTS AND LIBERTIES' ­ EUREKA REBELLION OATH 1854
THE ANARCHIST AGE WEEKLY REVIEW WILL NOT BE PUBLISHED FROM THE
15TH DECEMBER 2003 TO THE 11TH JANUARY 2004

Considering how the information for the articles was collected and the
implications this has for civil liberties in this country, we may even see
the matter taken up by a senate select committee.  The Federal Government is
very concerned that Defend and Extend Medicare has been able to put together
a coalition of radicals, conservatives, the political and the apolitical in
the same organisation.  We have been able to apply enough political pressure
on the Australian Democrats and the Independents in Federal Parliament to
temporarily stop them passing Abbott's much vaunted Medicare minus package.

Our analysis of the issues have hurt the Government because they have shown
that their package will kill off Medicare and that their safety net
proposals are totally flawed.  The coalition's ideological agenda has been
exposed for what it is, an extremist proposal that will increase healthcare
costs for the community and the individual while decreasing people's access
to the public health care sector.  This government's health agenda is
totally bankrupt, Abbott is not up to the task, he does not have the
experience or temperament to deal with the complex health portfolio. The job
is beyond him!  He should resign form the portfolio.

Questions need to be raised about the relationship between the Herald Sun
and the Government and the use of intelligence agencies by the Government to
harass activists and criminalise legitimate legal political activity.
Reading these articles it seems that anybody who organises against any
government initiative is a criminal and an undesirable.  The incestuous
relationship between the Federal Government, the Herald Sun and the
country's intelligence agencies has been exposed in the Herald Sun's pages.

The Herald Sun claims they have interviewed an intelligence officer and have
used material provided by Tony Abbott's office and their interviews with the
Government's intelligence arm to write their stories about the Defend and
Extend Medicare.  Who authorised and organised the interview with the
intelligence officers.  Who organised and approved the surveillance of
Defend and Extend Medicare?  It seems that the Herald Sun, a private
corporation is acting on instructions that have been passed on to it by
Abbott's office.  It looks like Abbott's office has organised for
intelligence officers to brief the Herald Sun about files held by this
country's intelligence agencies about individuals in Defend and Extend
Medicare Australia.

Abbott's behaviour makes him unfit to hold the office of Health Minister.
The Federal Government knows its health policies are on the nose and that it
needs to create a diversion in the public mind by targeting Defend and
Extend Medicare ­ Australia.

Membership to Defend and Extend Medicare is extended to anyone who believes
access to healthcare should be a right not a charity or a luxury.  The group
hopes to establish a group in each of Australia's 150 Federal electorates.
We are non-party political have members from all political walks of life and
do not ask people for their political affiliations when they join.

Each Federal electorate based group is autonomous and responsible for
organising its own campaigns.  Each group sends a delegate to a delegates
meeting.  Delegates co-ordinate local, State, regional and Federal actions.
The group does not care which political party maintains and extends
Medicare.  As long as access to universal health care is maintained and
extended to other sectors of the health care delivery system dentistry,
physiotherapy, podiatry, psychological services etc., we're happy.

The attack in the Herald Sun strengthens our resolve to continue and extend
the campaign.  The Government is hurting, the opposition, Independents, the
Democrats and the Greens are being forced by the level of the current debate
to re-assess their health care policies.  Access to health care is an issue
that effect's all Australians, it's every bodies business.  The extremists
in the Federal Government must not be allowed to hijack this debate and use
it to drive their ideological agenda.

We encourage people across the country to form Defend and Extend Medicare
groups in each Federal electorate.  We encourage you to participate in the
debate.  We encourage you to organise your own meetings, rallies and marches
to keep this topic fresh in the public's mind.  We encourage you to attend
the next Defend and Extend Medicare rally at midday on Saturday the 13th
December outside the State Library of Victoria (Corner Swanston and Latrobe
Streets, Melbourne).  If you're not willing to organise and fight to ensure
access to health care, is a right, not a charity, or a luxury you will find
that Australians will soon be saddled by a two tier American style health
care system where the rich will have access to the best health care money
can buy while the rest will have to make do with second best.

Together we can overcome any attack.  The Howard government has run out of
ideas, its health care policies are bankrupt, it continually lies to
Australians.  Abbott is not up to the demands of the health care portfolio,
his appointment by Howard has done incalculable damage to the health care
delivery system in this country.  He must resign today.

POST SCRIPT
The Herald Sun claims that it allowed the activists attacked in the articles
on the 5th and 6th of December the opportunity to respond to these attacks
in an article published on the 8th of December.

This is a lie, the material that was used about the Joint National
Convenors, Dr. Joseph Toscano and Mr. Brendon Bride was obtained from
interviews that were conducted four weeks ago.  Defend and Extend Medicare ­
Australia has never been given the opportunity to respond to the articles
that were published on the 5th and 6th of December.

ABBOTT DOWN FOR THE COUNT
The Federal Government is so concerned about the influence that Defend and
Extend Medicare ­ Australia is having on the health care debate, its
launched an investigation into its membership and office holders.  After
spending hundreds of thousands of dollars investigating the group and
setting the country's intelligence agencies on the group, it has come up
with virtually nothing.  Abbott's office passed on files on group members
and supporters to the Herald Sun.  It also organized for the Herald Sun to
have direct access to intelligence officers who conducted the investigation
and continue to monitor the group's activity.

What has occurred has extraordinary implications for civil liberties in this
country.  The Howard government is directly using the conservative media in
this country to criminalize legitimate legal protest activity.  It is now a
crime in Australia to advocate access to universal health care.  The Herald
Sun's actions are unethical, immoral and possibly illegal.  Abbott's
decision to release dossiers on Australian citizens and give the Herald Sun
access to intelligence officers is also possibly illegal.  The ramifications
this has for anybody involved in legitimate political protest are enormous.

Considering the amount of time, money and effort Abbott's office spent and
continues to spend monitoring the group, the amount of information they have
gleaned is pathetic.  Of the 14 Federal electorate based groups that have
been currently established, they have found that the delegate for Isaac
Stephen Reghenzani is an anarchist.  Two members of the Melbourne group,
Stephen Jolly and Jason Halkaidis are members of the Socialist Party and one
of the three joint national convenors, Dr. Joseph Toscano is Spokesperson
for the Anarchist Media Institute.

They found no evidence of any illegal or violent behaviour by the group.
Considering the Herald Sun's 'shock horror' reaction to Dr. Joseph Toscano's
participation in the group, it's ironic that he has had over 30 letters
published in the Herald Sun letters page over the past 3 to 4 years, as
spokesperson for the Anarchist Media Institute ­ so much for their mock
'shock horror'.

The Defend and Extend Medicare ­ Australia federal electorate based groups
are full of hundreds of community activists, the political and the
apolitical as well as radicals and conservatives.  This is a genuine broad
coalition of people who are concerned about the Howard government's attempts
to murder Medicare.  Abbott and Howard have good reason to fear Defend and
Extend Medicare ­ Australia, that's why they are attempting to destroy the
organisation.  We call on all Australians who are concerned about the fate
of Medicare to establish and join Federal electorate based Defend and Extend
Medicare groups around the country.

Join us at our 4th rally to protest about the Howard government's attempts
to kill off this country's universal health care system.  Join us for a
picnic/rally at midday on Saturday the 13th of December outside the State
Library of Victoria at the corner of Swanston and LaTrobe St, Melbourne.

PROUD?
The Victorian State government has decided to put its money where its mouth
is and bankroll next year's Australia Day extravaganza.  Keen to foster a
sense of nationalism and pride in all things Australian, it will pay for a
helicopter to fly around Melbourne pulling the largest flag in the world,
over 2 kilometres long, behind it.  Hopefully the flag will be made in
Australia not China.

This plan must take the cake as the most brainless gesture that has ever
been planned to celebrate invasion day.  Yes, I'm afraid Australia Day isn't
that feel good celebration it's made out to be.  Celebrating Australia Day
on the 26th of January is one sure way of alienating Australia's indigenous
population.  Flying the largest flag in the world and marching down Swanston
Street can't hide the fact that not all Australians see the beginning of the
colonisation of the Australian continent by the British Empire as something
worth celebrating.  Trying to resurrect the day by having a raft of
spectacular events does not resolve the problem that non-indigenous
Australians have created for themselves.  Australia Day celebrations should
unite not pit Australian against Australian.  Celebrations on the 26th of
January can never unify the country.

Thought should be given to stopping the 26th of January as Australia Day and
replacing it with a day that most Australians could identify with.  Mabo Day
the day 3rd of June, marks the day in 1992 when the High Court of Australia
decided that indigenous Australians had rights to land in law.  The 3rd of
June 1992 marks the beginning of the reconciliation process between
indigenous and non-indigenous Australians.  Instead of wasting taxpayer's
money on such a ridiculous proposal, that money could be used to fund
conferences and community debates to find a day that both the indigenous and
non-indigenous community could call their own.

Although a little less spectacular than seeing a piece of cloth being
dragged across the heavens, it may have much more of a long term beneficial
effect on the health of the Australian community than the pre-planned
scripted Kodak moments that are being planned for the 26th of January.

The main problem with this proposed scenario is that commercial sponsors
will not be interested in bankrolling such an important event.  The largest
flag in the world, well that's another matter.  I'm sure they'll be fighting
amongst themselves to have their logo attached to the Australian flag.
Let's as a people move beyond puerile Kodak moments and attempt to overcome
the hurt and the pain caused by the colonisation process by kick-starting
the reconciliation process that the Howard government has successfully
stalled.

ANARCHIST QUESTION AND ANSWER
Q.   ANARCHISTS DON'T VOTE!!
A. What a load of garbage.  Anarchists vote and vote and vote and vote.
Anarchists problems don't lay with the act of indicating their opinion
through a ballot, their problems lay with how the voting process is used.
Anarchists want to make decisions about how they live and what types of
communities they live in, they don't want rulers or representatives to make
those decisions for them.
Their concerns about voting do not revolve about the process, but revolve
about what they are voting for.  Representative democracy is democracy in
name only.  Every 3 to 4 years people are forced by law in Australia to cast
a ballot to elect a representative to local, State or the Federal level of
government.  Participation in the electoral process is limited to giving an
individual an open cheque to make decisions for you for the next 3 to 4
years.  Anarchists are not willing to give anybody a blank cheque to make
decisions on their behalf.  They want to make the decisions themselves.
That's why they have consistently rejected voting in parliamentary
elections.
Voting is a useful method by which to gauge opinions within a group.  What
role voting has in the decision making process is different in different
situations.  Anarchists attempt to make decisions via a consensus process.
If consensus is not possible and a decision must be made, resources
allocated to carry out a particular decision will be distributed according
to the number of people who hold a particular viewpoint.  Both minority and
majority viewpoints are catered for within the anarchist decision making
process.  Voting gives a clear indication of how many people hold a
particular opinion.
The criticism that should be levelled at anarchists is not that they reject
voting, the problem with anarchists is that they resort to the ballot far
too often.

ACTION BOX
CONFIDENCE
Confidence is everything in political and social struggle.  Confidence in
our ideas, confidence in our ability, confidence in people and confidence in
our capacity to eventually create that new world in our hearts.  Confidence
stems from our ability to successfully complete tasks we have undertaken.
Change, especially radical social change, comes from the day to day struggle
that we're all involved in.
The key to building our confidence rests on our ability to initiate and
carry out campaigns that are rooted in people's everyday experiences.
Irrespective of what tactics the corporate State uses to discredit you, it's
important to remember that at the end of the day the strength of your ideas
is something they can never take away from you.  'Burnout' is the single
most important condition that can sap your confidence levels.  Personal
problem, family responsibilities, work difficulties and a dangerous
political and social climate can destroy the confidence that you have so
painstakingly built up over years of activity.
It's important that you only start what you feel you can finish
successfully.  There is no point in being involved in a myriad of projects
that continually fail.  Recurrent failure eats at your confidence and energy
levels and most importantly of all destroys what little credibility you have
in the communities you live and work in.
Start on small projects and eventually become involved in bigger projects.
Make contacts with the people around you.  Concentrate on bread and butter
issues, attempt to introduce anarchist principles of organisation in the
community groups you're involved in.  Nothing succeeds like success.  As
your confidence grows, you can move on to bigger projects and form links
with groups that are involved in the struggle to create a libertarian
community.

AUSTRALIAN RADICAL HISTORY
'THE EUREKA SERIES'
THE OLD BALLARAT CEMETERY
On Sunday the 5th December while waiting to attend the official Eureka lunch
at the Old Colonists Club in Ballarat as guests of the organiser of the
Eureka Down Walk Greame Dunstan, Ellen and I decided to visit the old
Ballarat cemetery to pay our respects to those who had died in the Eureka
stockade.  Not everybody who died on the 3rd December 1854 is buried at
Ballarat cemetery.  Some died of their wounds later and were buried in
different locations.  Others were buried secretly.
The cemetery has an information room at the entrance.  Interestingly one
pictorial representation has a heading that appeared in one of the local
newspapers a day or two after the rebellion labelling the stockaders as
'ANARCHISTS AND RUFFIANS'.  Walking down from the entrance past the rotunda,
you soon come across the miners plot approximately 7 metres by 8 metres.  A
simple column rises from the centre of the burial plot bearing the names and
country of origin of the 22 miners who were thrown into a common grave on
the same day they were killed by the State.  A group of miners marching
three abreast and carrying 3 coffins walked past the redcoats and Joes
(police) and buried another 3 miners in the same common grave the day after
the killings.
Many of the 22 miners were born in Ireland, a few came from Prussia and the
emerging German States, 2 hailed from Canada.  Teddy Thonen, a German Jew
had the dubious distinction of being the first miner murdered in the
assault.  William Quinlan the only native Australian was born in Goulburn
New South Wales.  I wonder if a monument has been erected in Goulburn in his
honour?  The column bearing the names was erected on the 22nd March 1856.
It clearly states that the men who are buried in this common pit were killed
as a result of 'resisting the unconstitutional proceedings of the Victorian
Government'.  The gravesite has a forlorn neglected appearance it's
surrounded by an iron picket fence that was erected some time later.
The soldiers burial ground, a more roomy affair, can be found about 50
metres away.  A tree grows next to a substantial marble monument that was
built, we are told in 1879, at the request of the citizens of Ballarat.  The
burial ground about 17 metres by 14 metres is breached by a  break in the
fence.  The word DUTY in capital letters is inscribed on 3 sides of the
monument.  The names of the 6 soldiers who died, some resting in what seem
to be above ground concrete coffins are listed on the front of the monument.
The inscription states that the soldiers died in a battle against people who
believed the Government had acted unconstitutionally.  A further inscription
below the first implies that the miners had died for nothing, as the demands
they fought for, were granted constitutionally by the Victorian Government
not long after the revolt.
Even in death 149 years later, two versions of the same event lay less than
50 metres apart.  The cemetery had an air of desolation about it.  Although
it was less than 48 hours after the 149th anniversary of the Eureka battle,
not one bunch of flowers graced the last resting place of both the miners
and soldiers, to mark the 149th anniversary of the Eureka rebellion.


  BOOK REVIEW
'DUDE, WHERE'S MY COUNTRY?'
by Michael MOORE, Allen Lane,
ISBN 07139 97001
'Dude, Where's My Country?' continues the Mike Moore tradition of telling
the truth about the Bush administration.  Mike Moore is both a rebel and a
great believer in the American dream.  His analysis of the society he grew
up and lives in is both scintillating and humorous.  His strength lays in
his ability to tell the truth about his country.
The problem as Mike Moore has found out is that the truth does not matter
because America as well as the rest of western society is based on a number
of myths and strongly held assumptions that make the truth irrelevant.
'Dude, Where's My Country?' catalogues the more outrageous aspects of the
Bush administration and the land of apple pie and mum.  Moore is able to
show how the Bush administration is a creature of the Murdoch Empire.  The
symbiotic relationship between Murdoch and Bush provides the Bush
administration with the media coverage they need to continue their program
of disinformation.
Michael Moore is deep at heart an American country boy.  He wants the US to
work, he believes its institutions could create paradise on earth if they
were run by the right people.  If you're looking for an incisive
anti-capitalist analysis of America, don't bother picking up 'Dude, Where's
My Country?'.  I suggest you keep reading Noam Chomsky.  On the other hand,
if you like facts and figures sugared with a little bit of humour, pick up
'Dude, Where's My Country?'.  If you're looking for answers outside the
electoral process don't bother reading the book.  Chapter 11 ­ 'Bush Removal
and Other Spring Cleaning Chores' examines the best way that Bush can be
defeated at the next presidential election in 2004.
The statements made in 'Dude, Where's My Country?' are outlined in a 28page
'Notes and Sources' list.  Considering the book is only 251pages long, over
10% of the book is full of references and resources.
If you're interested in getting hold of a copy, I suggest you try your local
bookshop.  I don't expect that 'Dude, Where's My Country?' will do as well
as 'Stupid White Men' because characters like Mike Moore tend to become part
of the Great American Dream and are reabsorbed back into American society.
If you want to know more about Mike Moore, visit his website at
www.MichaelMoore.com

PERSONAL OBSERVATION
They're back, hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands, millions of them,
monopolise every decibel of sound.  Cicadas are often heard but seldom seen.
Empty casings litter the ground alerting us to their presence.  I hadn't
seen one for years that is until this morning.  Opening the garage door, I
noticed a green ball gently rocking to and fro.  On closer inspection, I
immediately realised that this was the real McCoy not just some discarded
exoskeleton.
The bright green body encased in transparent fairy wings looked out of place
on the grey pavement.  I tried to move it onto the lawn, it screeched and
struggled until I let it go.  It hugged the concrete as if there was no
tomorrow.  I ignored it, it had moved away from the car tyres as far as I
was concerned it was safe.  It lay there savouring the coolness of the
concrete pavement on a warm summer morning.  I drove off returning 30
minutes later carefully manoeuvring the car to spare the cicada's life.
As I bent over to remove the papers from the backseat, I felt a faint
flutter.  A nanosecond later I heard a familiar screech.  A short sharp
burst of pain was replaced by silence.  A nanosecond later the screeching
started again.  A bird had taken advantage of the moment and had snatched
the cicada off the concrete pavement.  Its beautiful green colour on the
greying concrete, a 'eat me' beacon for a range of flying life forms.
An Indian Mina bird had seized the moment, snatched its prey and had flown
off.  The cicada kept screaming for its life.  The screeching eventually
receded, the bird disappearing from sight.  Every creature has its
evolutionary defence mechanisms.  Out of its environment death strikes with
monotonous regularity.  There are no moral or ethical considerations in
nature, just consequences.  The cicada for reasons best known to itself,
decided to ignore its 'genetic destiny', death intervened, its fat juicy
carcass continuing the circle of life.

STOP PRESS
IT'S ON FOR YOUNG AND OLD
The Victorian Trades Hall Council has passed a resolution condemning
Abbott's office for using Australia's intelligence agencies to monitor
Defend and Extend Medicare.  Robert McClelland the Labor Party's new
Homeland Affairs spokesman will be asking the Inspector General of
Intelligence and Security to investigate whether Federal police and
intelligence reports were used and continue to be used by Abbott's office to
monitor the Defend and Extend Medicare group.
Abbott's office has admitted they have compiled dossiers on Defend and
Extend Medicare office holders and supporters, but deny they have used
Federal police and intelligence agency reports in these dossiers.
This flies in the face of the material that was printed in Melbourne's
Herald Sun on the 5th December 2003.  In the article by Keith Moor and
Charles Miranda the reporters state.
'The Herald Sun has also discovered intelligence officers have been
monitoring DEMG and attended some of its rallies'
'A senior intelligence official recently briefed the Herald Sun about the
activities of DEMG.  He said intelligence officers had been aware of serious
recruiting by DEMG for several months and were closely monitoring its
activities'.
Then a direct quote from the unnamed senior intelligence officer.
'Several of the organisers are well known to us as serial activists with
connections to anarchist groups and socialist organisations' an intelligence
source said.
'Staff from former Health Minister Kay Patterson are believed to have
initiated and carried out the probe on DEMG'.
'Current Health Minister Tony Abbott was recently briefed on the findings of
the investigation'.
Senior intelligence officers do not brief newspapers without Federal
government approval.  The Health Minister's office and Tony Abbott are both
trying to distance themselves from the Friday 5th December article. The
damage eventually done to Nixon by 'Watergate' was not due to the break in,
but due to the subsequent cover up.  The political damage that will
eventually be done to Abbott and the Health Ministry will occur as they
attempt to cover up the fact that they not only gave the orders to the
intelligence agencies and the Federal police to monitor Defend and Extend
Medicare, but they gave senior intelligence officials permission to brief
the Herald Sun about these investigations.  A dossier compiled from freely
available material is one thing, intelligence gathering initiated by the
Health Minister and then passed on to the Herald Sun is another.
Normally this material falls off the back of a truck and is secretly passed
on to the corporate press.  This time the Herald Sun has made the mistake of
bragging about how they obtained the material, mistakenly believing the new
raft of security laws and the climate that has been created as a result of
these laws would allow them to publicly crow about their incestuous
relationships with the Government, the Federal police and this country's
security agencies.  This time they have badly miscalculated and they will be
paying the political price for their actions.

Joseph TOSCANO / Libertarian Workers
For A Self-Managed Society.



ANARCHIST PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED THIS WEEK
A BATALHA Vol.300 No.6 No.201 OCT 2003, R. Marques de Ponte de Lima,
37-2-D, 1100-337, Lisboa, PORTUGAL. Jornalabatalha@hotmail.com
CNT No.293, SEPT 2003, Pza. Tirso De Molina 5-2, 28012 MADRID, SPAIN, Tel:
913690838, Fax:914200856, redaccion@periodcocnt.org
FREEDOM Vol.64 No.22, 22ND NOV 2003, Anarchist Fortnightly, 84b
Whitechapel High St, London E17QX, ENGLAND Email:FreedomCopy@aol.com,
TEL/FAX: 02072479249
ROJO Y NEGRO No.158 SEPT 2003, CGT, C/-Compania9, 10 1zda, 31001
Pamploma/Iruna SPAIN, Tel:948224766, Fax:948212399,
email:suscripciones@rojonero.info
SICILIA LIBERTAIRIA No.222 OCT 2003, Giornale Anarchico per la Liberazione
Sociale L'internazionismo, Via Galileo Galilei 45, 97100 Ragusa, SICILY,
ITALY, email:si_lib@hotmail.com
TIERRA Y LIBERTAD No.181 OCT 2003,, Periodico Anarquista, Apartado 7.056
de Madrid, 28080 SPAIN, Tel:917970424, Fax:915052183,
tierraylibertad@nodo50.org
UMANITA NOVA Vol 83 No.38 EL 23RD NOV 2003, Settimanale Anarchico, C.50
Palermo 46, 10152, Torino ITALY. tel/fax (011) 857850 Mobile 338-6594361
email:fat@inrete.it
THE ANARCHIST AGE WEEKLY REVIEW WILL NOT BE PUBLISHED FROM THE
15TH DECEMBER 2003 TO THE 11TH JANUARY 2004
DEBT ELIMINATION APPEAL Our debt stands at $621.10
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ALL THE NEWS THAT FITS
US Senator Rick Santorum is known for his conservative views on abortion &
homosexuality. Unfortunately for the Senator, 'santorum' is defined as "a
frothy mixture of lubricant & fecal matter resulting from anal sex". (Savage
Love column)
Mentally & physically disabled kids were locked in cages & threatened with
broom handles in a Queensland residential care facility, according to
disability advocates. The Qld govt was said to have been made aware of the
abuse up to 2 years ago, but has only acted this year. Kevin Cocks from Qld
Advocacy said the allegations fit a wider pattern of abuse of the vulnerable
in the state's institutions. "Sadly, once again, vulnerable people are left
exposed to those who have primary interests in making money" he said. Kids
have been removed from the facility. However disabled adults are still in
'care' there. (ABC news website)
The govt intends to enact a new law, that would mean that people could be
jailed for 5 years for disclosing any details of terrorism warrants issued
to ASIO. The law would apply to the media as well as families, friends &
lawyers of the accused & accused people themselves. A person could be
jailed, for eg, for saying that someone had been detained by ASIO. The law
also makes it illegal to report any "operational information".
Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said operational info was info that "flows
from the issuing of a warrant". Media orgs say the definition of
'operational info' effectively could cover any info that ASIO has or had.
Media orgs believe the law would effectively ban any media coverage of ASIO
terrorism investigations in Australia. The govt has been criticised for
allegedly heavy-handed tactics in raiding & arresting people it accuses of
involvement in terrorism. Bruce Wolpe from Fairfax Press called the proposed
law "a gag order on a fundamental criminal process under the terrorism laws,
which is incompatible with the principles of a free society. If the media
can't report on the criminal justice system then we really run the risk of
being in a land of secret trials, secret justice without accountability".
The law is supported by the Labor Party. ( ABC news website)
The Australian govt will join the US 'Star Wars' program, despite the
technology not yet working and the govt's inability to identify any actual
threat which the program would meet. Defence Minister Robert Hill said the
technology could be used to protect potential targets on the Australian
mainland, but was unwilling to identify a specific threat. "I'm not arguing
that there is an immediate threat to Australia in this area," he said. The
program is the latest version of the space & ground-based "Star Wars"
Strategic Defence Initiative proposed by former US president Ronald Reagan.
That system proved unworkable & too expensive. The current program has cost
the US $80 billion so far. Some estimates say the total cost will be in the
trillions of dollars. (Source: Herald Sun)
The former US General who commanded the wars on Iraq & Afghanistan says that
the US could abandon elections & set up a military dictatorship in some
circumstances. Retired General Tommy Franks said in an interview that if the
US were hit with a WMD that inflicted large casualties, the Constitution
would probably be discarded in favor of a form of military govt. (Int'l
Herald Tribune)
A businessman who helped devastate the economy of Geelong & caused 1000's of
people to lose their life savings, has invested in a new business which has
received more than $200,000 of public money. Bill Farrow, former head of
Pyramid, was discharged from bankruptcy & invested in a new television
production company. World Wide Entertainment has been given $215,000 in
export grants over the past 3 years. The company, which is half owned by Mr
Farrow's family, will receive an extra Austrade grant of b/w $30,000 &
$150,000 by the end of the financial year. Mr Farrow and ex Geelong
footballer David Clarke headed the Geelong-based Pyramid Building Society,
which collapsed in 1990 owing depositors $2 billion. Mr Farrow was convicted
& fined $50,000 for breaching corporation lending limits. He responded to
criticism from those who lost money in Pyramid by saying that he "would have
liked to think it was time to move on".
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ANARCHIST MEDIA INSTITUTE OBSCENITY OF THE WEEK
Has been awarded to Murdoch's money making machine in Australia the 'Herald
Sun' for trying to manufacture consent by manufacturing the news

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A DOLLAR A DAY
Increasing financial problems have forced us to review how The Anarchist
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SAVE THE ANARCHIST MEDIA INSTITUTE ~ 'A DOLLAR A DAY' CAMPAIGN
We are looking for THIRTY People, interested in our activities, to pledge to
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EMPTY YOUR POCKETS OF LOOSE CHANGE & SAVE THE ANARCHIST MEDIA INSTITUTE

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BEFORE WE CAN APPLY TO REGISTER AS A FEDERAL POLITICAL PARTY
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.)
Current membership 188.  We need 550 members to apply for registration as a
political party, so that members can stand at the Federal election in 2004
and show Australian's that Parliamentary Democracy is nothing more than two
minutes of illusory power.


ALL THE BEST TO ALL OUR READERS FOR 2004.  HOPEFULLY 2004 WILL BE AS
PRODUCTIVE
AS THIS YEAR WAS.



  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
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The articles in the Anarchist Age Weekly Review reflect the personal
opinions of the authors, they do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the
publishers, the Libertarian Workers for a Self-Managed Society/Anarchist
Media Institute.
All material in the Anarchist Age Weekly Review can be used by anarchists,
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ANARCHISM ­ ADVANCING IN DIVERSITY STRIKING IN UNISON ­ YAMAGUCHI KENJI
WELCOME TO THE 21ST CENTURY ­ THE ANARCHIST CENTURY




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