A-Infos (en) Anarchist Age Weekly Review No. 552

[Phil 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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 > LAST GASP
If it wasn't for the quick action of Green Senator, Bob Brown's staff, the
A.S.I.O. bill before the Senate would have been passed, giving
Australia's secret service agencies the power to arbitrarily detain and
interrogate anybody they believe could help them in their investigation.
The internal Labor Party machinations revolving around Beazley's push
for power, meant resources that were needed to examine proposed
legislation were diverted to help different factional warriors in the Party.

The Labor Parties decision to support the government's A.S.I.O.
amendments without examining the fine detail, allowed the Howard
government to nearly pull off an intricate parliamentary sting that would
have meant the government would have been able to get the most
contentious elements of its security bill through parliament without
anyone noticing until it is too late. The legislation currently before the
Senate gives security agencies the power to ask for indefinite rolling
seven day interrogation periods to detain people who they believe may
assist them in their investigations.

The passage of this legislation will strip what few common law rights
Australians enjoy to freely protest without the threat of arbitrary arrest,
detention and interrogation. The laws will give the State's security
agencies the power to detain and interrogate anyone irrespective of
whether they are a suspect or not. If they don't co-operate they could be
jailed for up to five years, although they are not suspected of having
committed any offence. The last minute delay in the passage of this
legislation gives caucus the opportunity to reassess legislation they
unanimously supported two weeks ago.

The government has played the opposition for a bunch of fools, using the
space given to them by the Labor leadership dispute, they attempted to
put one over a bitterly divided Labor Party. It's time the Labor Party
stopped following the government's agenda and stood on its own two
feet. The Labor Party has nothing to fear but fear itself. An increasing
number of Australians want the Labor opposition to act like an opposition
Party. The A.S.I.O. bill gives the Labor Party the opportunity to show that
they stand for something. People across the country who are concerned
about the ramifications of this bill should make one last ditch effort to get
caucus to change its mind. Labor needs to understand that if they
continue to support this legislation Moses 40 years in the wilderness will
be nothing compared to the time the Labor Party will spend in the political
wilderness.

HARRADINE'S LAST HURRAH!!

The vote of the conservative Catholic Senator from Tasmania is all that
stands between the total domination of Australia's media by a handful of
players and the status quo. Those people who believe that the current
media ownership laws have limited the scope of debate in the Australian
community, may soon find out that these were the halcyon days.

If the proposed cross media ownership laws which allow one player to
own both a newspaper and a television station in the same capital city,
are passed in the Senate, the already limited debate that occurs in the
corporate dominated media and the government gelded ABC, will be
reduced to a one way conversation. Media outlets make their reputation
by reflecting the diversity of opinions that exist in the community. Those
media outlets that reduce debate to a one way dialogue between
themselves and the community, run the very real risk of losing what little
credibility they now enjoy.

The domination enjoyed by the corporate and State media has recently
been challenged by the internet and to some degree by alternative news
sources. Monopolies that attempt to censor community debate, soon find
that the monopoly they enjoy is no protection against irrelevance. The
Pravada syndrome is becoming an all to familiar feature of the Australian
media. To allow legislation to pass through the Senate which gives legal
sanctions to plans to further limit the range of opinions that are reflected
in the Australian media, is a crime against the Australian people.

Limiting debate to what is considered to be an acceptable level of debate
is the first step towards the creation of a totalitarian society. Monopolies
do not increase the options people face. Media monopolies tend to
reinforce one point of view at the expense of a wide range of views.
Limiting debate to what is deemed to be acceptable behaviour is the
logical outcome of allowing one owner to control more than one means of
communication in one capital city. It's ironical that as the race to
monopolise the Australian media gains momentum, that the only person
who stands between the total domination of media outlets by two or three
players is the conservative Catholic Senator from Tasmania ­ Brian
Harradine.

ROUND TWO

By the time you read this story, the fate of Emma Corro, Robert
Inder-Smith, Nicolette Burrows and Gary Meyerhoff, will have been
decided by Darwin's Magistrate's Court. In an attempt to defuse protest
activity in the Northern Territory, the Clare Martin Labor government
passed legislation through the Northern Territory Assembly in late 2001
to stop activists using occupations as a political tool.

Four members of the Northern Territory Network Against Prohibition
group, an organisation that is fighting to highlight the Clare Labor
government's draconian drug laws, face the prospect of spending the next
seven years in jail if they are found guilty of the charge of business
invasion, an offence which is directly aimed at stopping activists using
occupations as a political tool. No other Australian State or territory
government has introduced such draconian legislation to deal with
peaceful protests.

Emma, Nicolette, Gary and Robert were charged with business invasion
and trespass as a result of a peaceful thirty minute occupation of the
Chief Minister, Clare Martin's electoral office on the 1st of August 2002,
the day that the Northern Territory drug house laws came into force. The
only other time that the offence of business invasion has been used, was
late last year when a number of network Against Prohibition activists
occupied the Northern Territory Chief Health Officers office to show their
concerns about the effects of the new drug house laws. One activist was
acquitted of all charges, the others were found guilty of trespassing. The
trespassing charges are being appealed.

In a hearing that's set down to last three days, the four accused will be
facing about 12 prosecution witnesses, eleven of whom are police. The
Network Against Prohibition activists will be defending the stand they
took in court.

It's important that radical activists across the country keep a close eye
on what's happening in the Northern Territory.

If the accused are found guilty of the charge of business invasion and are
sentenced to long terms in prison, for what up to now has been
considered to be legitimate political action, it won't be long before other
States toy with the idea of passing similar legislation to deal with
protestors who use direct action to highlight an issue.

For further information or to arrange an interview, contact Gary on 0415
162 525 or Nicolette on 0418 985 701. Have a look at NAP's website
http://www.napnt.org email napnt@bigpond.net.au, write to them at
N.A.P., 19 Gilbert Street, Ludmilla 0820, Northern Territory, Australian or
telephone them on +61 (0) 889 420 570.

EACH WAY BET

The Immigration Minister's decision to appeal the Family Court
judgement, that the holding of children indefinitely in detention camps is
illegal, has been accompanied by a statement that he will allow State
authorities to remove children from the camps, if they believe their
incarceration is detrimental to their welfare. Irrespective of the High
Court's eventual decision a chink has been opened in the Howard
government's asylum seeker policies.

Asylum seekers who have tried to reach Australia have been treated as
people who have no rights. The placement of asylum seekers on Manus
Island in New Guinea and Nauru in the middle of the pacific, was a policy
that was implemented to remove them out of the jurisdiction of
Australia's legal system. Those refugees on Nauru and Manus Islands
are living in a legal no mans land. They have as many rights as the United
State's detainees at camp X in Cuba. Phillip Ruddock is becoming
concerned about the disquiet among an increasing number of Australian's
about the indefinite detention of children by the Australian government in
detention camps.

Even if the family court's decision is rejected by the high court on a point
of law, the damage to the Howard government's current policy has
already been done. Ruddock has offered to let State authorities look after
refugee children because the final control about who is or isn't released
rests with him, not an independent legal body. If the Family court is found
to have the constitutional power to treat all children in Australia equally,
the Howard government's detention policy will be in tatters. The offer to
let State authorities intervene is a decision that has been made by the
Minister to deflect criticism of the government's policies both in legal and
human rights circles.

The government's track record on this policy is abysmal and they know it.
All human beings whether they are here legally, or illegally, have innate
human rights. To deny their rights to a human being because they are
considered to be illegal, is to deny that human beings are human and
should be treated with respect. No one is illegal, no one should be denied
basic human rights, especially if they are fleeing persecution and have
entered the country illegally to escape their tormentors.

INTIMIDATION

In 1993 the Belgian government passed legislation that allowed it to try
war crime suspects, irrespective of where the war crime occurred. The
legislation has been successfully used to prosecute Rwandans implicated
in the 1994 genocide.

The Belgian laws have also been used to attempt to prosecute the Israeli
Prime Minster, Ariel Sharon for alleged war crimes and have just been
used to launch legal action against Tony Blair and George Bush Junior, for
the invasion of Iraq (pity John Howard wasn't included).

Faced with the prospect of seeing some of its more notable citizens
facing war crimes charges, the United State's administration has thrown
its weight around threatening to make Belgium an economic basket case
if it didn't overturn its war crimes legislation. It also threatened to remove
NATO's headquarters from Brussels and even talked about placing a
trade embargo on Belgium. Faced with a direct threat to its economy, the
Belgian government has passed amendments to its global war crimes
legislation that will limit the reach of the Belgian courts to war crimes
that are directly linked to Belgium.

Now that the Belgian war crime laws have been amended, the United
State's military cannot be prosecuted for war crimes, either in the newly
established International Court of Justice, or the Belgian Courts. The
United States has consistently refused to sign any treaties or agreements
that could see its soldiers tried for suspected war crimes. It's logical that
a country that has no hesitation in destabilising a country by supporting
terrorist groups, launching military invasions, or bankrupting it, if it's
perceived to be a threat to United State's interests would not want its
people tried for suspected war crimes. If they were subject to the
International Court of Justice, it's possible that there would be so many
Americans facing prosecution there wouldn't be any room for anyone
else.

ANARCHIST QUESTION AND ANSWER

Q. WOULD AN ANARCHIST SOCIETY BE IN A BETTER
POSITION TO TACKLE THE ESCALATING ENVIRONMENTAL
PROBLEM THE WORLD FACES?

A. Environmental problems are caused by many more factors than an
escalating population fighting for limited resources. The key to combating
the current environmental problems facing the world are interlinked with
the type of economic systems that have been adopted by different
societies. The triumph of global corporate capitalism as the world's
dominant economic ideology is to a large degree the major cause of
today's environmental crisis.

Capitalism, a method of production that places the exploitation of
resources in the hands of smaller and smaller groups of people (whose
prime responsibility is to generate profits for their major shareholders) is
the single most important contributor to the current environmental crisis.
Placing the responsibility for a community's well being in the hands of the
corporate sector is tantamount to putting Dracula in charge of the blood
bank. Green capitalism, the idea that capitalist forms of production can be
used to tackle environmental problems is an absurdity.

Capitalist forms of production generate profits irrespective of the human,
social and environmental problems they cause. Using capitalist
productive processes to manage limited resources drives up the price of
that resource and maximises corporate profits for those companies that
control those resources. It does not solve the environmental problems
caused by capitalism and it limits access to scarce resources to those
who are able to afford to buy them.

Anarchism is a social and political philosophy that rejects State and
private ownership of resources and places their ownership in the hands of
the community. As the satisfaction of human needs, not the generation of
profits for profit's sake, is one of anarchism's main philosophical planks,
environmental and social concerns are taken into consideration when
decisions are made about how resources are used and made. As
everybody living in an anarchist community has access to the common
wealth irrespective of the work they perform, anarchist communities
would be able to cease forms of production that are environmentally
harmful because individual livelihoods would not be effected by the
closure of environmentally dangerous industries and forms of production.
An anarchist society has both the underlying philosophy and the
economic structures that would allow it to tackle environmental problems
that cannot be successfully tackled in both the capitalist and communist
world.

ACTION BOX - CHANGING TACK

One of the main reasons anarchists and anarchism continues to be a
marginal political and social philosophy is many anarchists reluctance or
inability to differentiate between strategy and principle. The problem of
equating strategy with principle is a problem that has dogged the
anarchist movement for decades. Schisms constantly develop within the
movement that although painted as theoretical, are essentially strategic.

Elevating strategy to the same level as principle, diminishes the ways we
can tackle particular issues and limits our ability to influence and create
grass roots movements that incorporate anarchist principles in their
structures. Strategy is a means to an end, what may seem logical and
appropriate to one era may be totally inappropriate in another era. The
problem is not of changing strategies but one of finding and following
strategies that do not compromise our goal. The Maoist analogy that saw
the Chinese Communist Party embrace capitalism "That it doesn't matter
whether the cat is black or white, all that's important is whether it can
catch mice" is right if the cat you put your money on is the one that will
catch mice. In the Chinese Communist Party's case the "cat" they
choose has not delivered the goods.

Anarchists need to explore different ways of approaching common
problems. As long as we are able to incorporate our principles into those
strategic initiatives, we will move a step closer to achieving our goals.
Even strategies that contain anarchist principles need to be reviewed.
What was suitable some time ago, although theoretically appropriate,
may not be relevant today. A strategy may be effective in a specific
cultural setting may not be right in another. The 'horses for courses'
analogy is as appropriate for horse races as political and community
activity.

Strategies need to be tailored to suit current conditions, not conditions
you think are appropriate or conditions that existed in the past. We need
to work in the here and now, evaluating the situations we find ourselves
in, learning from our common history and implementing strategic changes
that are relevant in the societies we live and work in.

AUSTRALIAN RADICAL HISTORY

THE EUREKA SERIES ­ 2003

"We swear by the Southern Cross to stand truly by each other and fight
to defend our rights and liberties" ­ Eureka Oath 1854

'EUREKA REMINISCENCES'

Survivors of the Eureka rebellion met in Ballarat for the Jubilee
celebrations on Saturday 3rd December 1904. Some of the surviving
miners, soldiers and police officers rubbed shoulders 50 years after the
event. The Victorian government provided a free train-pass to Ballarat to
anyone who could prove they were involved in the rebellion. Celebrations
were also held at Broken Hill and as far away as Perth.

Survivors were encouraged to send their accounts to local newspapers.
Many caught up in the spirit of the 50th anniversary celebrations sent
their hand written testimonies to the papers. Michael Tuohy was the only
one of the 13 miners that had been arrested and acquitted of High
Treason to attend the 50th anniversary celebrations. He became a farmer
in the Ballarat region and his story appeared in the Ballarat Courier on the
5th December 1904. Monty Miller Labor activist, anarchist, member of
the I.W.W. and grand old man of the Labor movement also attended the
celebrations. Two stories exist about Monty's participation in the
rebellion. One states that as a 16 year old boy, he was a pike man in the
battle, the other, the more likely story tells of how Monty Miller
evacuated the wounded during and after the battle, hiding them in tents
outside the stockade.

The 50th anniversary celebrations were relatively a sombre affair, many
of the accounts that were published in the local newspapers down played
the significance of the revolt. Survivors who had been wounded in the
assault on the stockade wrote some of the more poignant accounts.
Michael Canny's account that appeared in the Melbourne Argus on 3rd
December 1904, highlights how the wounded fugitives had to look after
themselves.

SOURCE OF ARTICLE: EUREKA REMINISCENCES, Edited by Ballarat
Heritage Services ­ 1998, ISBN 0646352385, Ballarat Heritage Services, P.O.
BOX
2209, BALLARAT MAIL CENTRE 3354, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA. Email:
dotn@netconnect.com.au

ON WEDNESDAY 3RD DECEMBER 2003 - RECLAIM THE
RADICAL SPIRIT OF THE EUREKA REBELLION GROUP WILL BE
CELEBRATING THE 149TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE EUREKA
STOCKADE AT THE EUREKA STOCKADE SITE AT THE CORNER
STAWELL & EUREKA STREET, BALLARAT FROM 4AM TO 4PM.

RECLAIM THE RADICAL SPIRIT OF THE EUREKA REBELLION.
JOIN US AND CELEBRATE:- DIRECT DEMOCRACY, DIRECT
ACTION and SOLIDARITY AND MULTI CULTURALISM. (Bring along
your own drinks, food and seating, dress warmly it can be bitterly cold in
Ballarat at 4.00am)

BOOK REVIEW

"AUSTRALIA THE CONCEALED COLONY"

Institute for Constitutional Education & Research-1999, ISBN 0-9096087-5-X

"Australia the Concealed Colony ­ a report to the United Nations on the
continuance of the application of British law within the territory of the
independent sovereign nation Australia" is not for the faint hearted. This
460 page tome put together over the past 20 years by Frank Coningham,
Geoffrey Skelton and Ian Henke revolves around the argument that the
Australian Constitution and the Australian government is invalid and that
the Australian government "has not been granted the necessary
legitimate power, that is, the necessary authority, by the people".

The Australian Constitution they claim is for all intentional purposes
colonial law ­ "a law of subjugation". Page after page of information is set
out which The Institution for Constitutional Education and Research
claims supports their opinions about the Constitution. The authors
subscribe to the idea that although the volunteers who fought in W.W.I
"won Australia's independence and nationhood" that the country is still a
concealed colony, ruled by the British authorities.

The problem with their argument is that they have nowhere to go but the
courts. Their foray into the legal system has been shrugged off as easily
as the 'Man of La Manchas' legendary attacks on imaginary windmills. It
seems that their legal struggles have pushed them into the financial never
never-land, as considerable costs have been awarded against them.

Their appeals to the International Court of Justice and the UN to rectify
their concerns have been ignored by organisations that are used to
dealing with weightier problems. Expecting the courts to say they are
acting illegally, is like asking the Pope to deny he is God's representative
on Earth. Don't expect miracles, they don't happen. If you're into esoteric
arguments about what the courts can and cannot do and are interested in
seeing what happens when people tilt at constitutional windmills -
"Australia the Concealed Colony" is the book for you. If you have no faith
in the legal system or the constitutional framework that the legal system
is based on, don't waste your time finding out that fighting the State
through the courts is a costly and soul-destroying business.

The book can be obtained by writing to I.C.E.R., P.O. BOX 9112, SEAFORD
Mail
Delivery Centre, SEAFORD, 3198, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA. Thanks to
FRANK
for lending me his copy to review.

PERSONAL OBSERVATION

Memories, photographs, two-dimensional images of three-dimensional
lives - A moment snapped frozen in time to be ignored and glorified at the
same time. Cultural icons, wide ties, purple flairs, stiff necked collars,
side burns, moustaches, beards, flowing dresses, two tone prints and high
heeled shoes. Teeth shine through parted lips, forced smiles duel with
reality. Rows of houses, display rows of pictures of the dearly and not so
dearly departed. Lost dreams fixed in time by the soul bandits. Instant
families for those with no families, genetic markers in each succeeding
generation are proudly displayed in rows of black and white and colour
photographs. The camera doesn't lie except when soft tones eradicate
character lines etched in human flesh by decades of exposure to the
elements. Taut skin acres of flesh proudly displayed around the
ubiquitous backyard barbie. Game, set, match played out in the race to
find out if there's life before death or maybe after death or maybe both,
who knows, who really cares.

Ancestors grace every corner of the guest room, the pretty room where
people sip cups of tea and talk about nothing and everything. Deals done,
marriages torn apart, wedding photographs cut in half, the bride smiling
the groom missing. Half truths, half lives and nothing more hold our
memories of father, mother, brothers, sisters, friends, absent grand
parents and people with nothing to say and nothing to do.

Shame, joy, everything and nothing, photographs stuffed in draws, packed
away in forgotten albums. Children growing up, parents ageing and dying.
Happy snaps drowning reality in a sea of mediocrity. Mobile telephones
taking pictures of underwear and what lies underneath Scottish kilts.
Public pools, pictures downloaded on the internet for all who care to see.
Does it really matter, digital cameras taking digital pictures to be
downloaded who knows where.

Fantasies intermingle with reality, a composite Barbie picture of life on
the planet miraculously appears everywhere and nowhere. The
information age has left us behind, the banality of everyday existence
clogs every communication line with dribs and drabs of information from
the filthy rich. Everything survives, nothing changes, keep the taxman
happy, pay your taxes and be happy.

STOP PRESS

SURPISE SURPRISE!!

Saddam Hussein here, Saddam Hussein there, Saddam Hussein
everywhere. Don't be fooled by the propaganda coming out of Iraq that
it's only Saddam Hussein loyalists who are targeting United States
service personnel in Iraq. Although resistance is sporadic, it's slowing
growing. It's beginning to dawn on an increasing number Iraqis who were
glad to see the back of the Saddam Hussein regime, that the US are in
Iraq to stay. Resistance to the occupation is beginning to take many
forms.

Parallel organisations to the military occupation forces are being
established in Iraq. Although the US may currently have the military
upper hand, it's about to lose the peace. People are beginning to ask
themselves why the US military forces are still in Iraq. The US
administration's failure to appoint an interim government has highlighted
that although regime change was on the agenda, the US never had any
intention of appointing an interim Iraqi government. The space that has
been provided by the military invasion has allowed both Muslim
fundamentalists and secular rebels to organise resistance against the US
occupation in Iraq.

Unless the US administration quickly pours in both capital and troops, it's
likely they will be drawn into a Vietnam style quagmire. Bush has few
allies in Iraq, the Iraqi people want to develop their own institutions and
systems of government. They do not want to be ruled from the USA and
Britain. Unfortunately for the people of Iraq, what the US wants and what
the Iraqi people want, are two different things. A military presence in an
occupied nation, even an overwhelming one, has little chance of surviving
unless political and economic structures are developed which initially
give people autonomy and eventually independence. Colonial powers soon
find that it is much easier to defeat an army than subdue a people. The
US, British and Australian military (yes, don't forget Australia's role)
presence in Iraq, is becoming the focus for the establishment of alliances
between many of the groups that were opposed to the Saddam Hussein
regime.

Blaming the current instability on Saddam Hussein loyalists is a
smokescreen the neo-colonialists in Iraq are using to deflect people's
attention from the growing anger in Iraq at the US refusal to establish
interim government

ANARCHIST PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED THIS
WEEK

- FREEDOM Vol.64 No.11,31st MAY 2003, Anarchist Fortnightly, 84b
Whitechapel High St, London E17QX, ENGLAND
Email:FreedomCopy@aol.com

- L'HOMME LIBRE, Fils de la terre, No.176 JULY/SEPT. '03,
Recherche d'une psychologie libertatrice, Marcel Renoulet, B.p.
205-42005, Saint-Etienne, FRANCE

- LE LIBERTAIRE No.237 JUNE 2003, Revue de synthese anarchiste,
Boite Postale 745, 76060 Leitavre Cedex FRANCE Tel:(0148053408,
Fax:0149299859 - LE MONDE LIBERTAIRE No.1324 12TH ­18TH
June'03, 145 Rue Amelot, 75011 Paris, FRANCE, Tel:0148053408,
Fax:0149299859

- PENSAMIENTO NO.42,SPRING2003, Conferedacion General del
Trabajo (CGT), Colle Sagunto 15, 28010, Madrid, SPAIN, Tel:915931628,
Fax:914453132, email:spac.cgt@cgt.es

- ROJO Y NEGRO No.156 June 03, CGT, C/-Compania9, 10 1zda, 31001
Pamploma/Iruna SPAIN, Tel:948224766, Fax:948212399,
email:suscripciones@rojonero.info

- UMANITA NOVA Vol 83 No.19 EL 25th MAY ?03, Settimanale
Anarchico, C.50 Palermo 46, 10152, Torino ITALY. tel/fax (011) 857850
Mobile 338-6594361 email:fat@inrete.it

DEBT ELIMINATION APPEAL - Our debt stands at $1429.50

HERE WE GO AGAIN, ONLY SIX MONTHS INTO 2003 & we find
ourselves struggling to pay our bills & survive. Just in case you're
waiting for a renewal notice ­ we don't send any out, we leave it up to our
subscribers to take on this responsibility & re-subscribe when their
subscription has run out. We need to raise $210.00 per week in order to
cover typing, printing, postage & radio program and ongoing campaign
costs. How much we are able to do depends to a large degree on the level
of our finances. You can help by A) - Subscribing to the AAWR $10.00 =
10 Issues, $50.00 = 50 Issues, B) - joining our Dollar A Day group or C) -
donating money or stamps. Think about buying your local library or a
friend a subscription to the A.A.W.R. If sending less than $20.00 save on
banking costs & send us 50cent stamps. Otherwise make out cheques &
money orders to LIBERTARIAN WORKERS & send to P.O. BOX 20,
PARKVILLE 3052, MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA. Debt 25-06-2003
$1429.50

ALL THE NEWS THAT FITS

THIS WEEK'S STORIES: CNN Rules!...Absolutely Fascist...Telstra
Getting Better And Better, From Some Points of View... I Don't Read
Files, But I Do Read Bank Statements...Thanks
Losers...Not-Wanting-To-Be-A-Mormon Disease Spreads...Quote of the
Week.

A poll has found that a third of people in the United States believe that
weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq. 22 per cent believe
the Iraqi government used them during the war. Before the war, roughly
half of those polled said the Iraq regime was responsible for the bombing
of the World Trade Centre.(SchNews news report, June 20)

Gay activist Nick Toonen has been awarded an Order of Australia, in
recognition of his work in fostering a greater understanding of gay and
lesbian rights. He will be travelling to Australia from New Zealand to
accept the award. His partner will be unable to accompany him because
Australian law discriminates against gay couples. Telstra has shed
11,423 jobs in the 3 years to April 2003. Over the last decade they have
cut close to 50,000. Telstra concedes that it may get rid of a further 3000
jobs in the coming financial year. Telstra spent $100,000 on Christmas
lunches for its customers, $30 million on corporate sponsorship deals in
the last financial year, and $58 million on corporate entertainment since
1998 including $10.7 million in the last financial year. Telstra also made a
$3.6 billion profit last financial year. (Community and Public Sector
Union).

The Immigration Minister, Philip Ruddock, says it is "naive" to expect him
to read visa applicants' complete files before deciding whether to
intervene in their cases. The comments followed an admission by Mr
Ruddock on Tuesday that he had overturned five rejections and granted a
protection visa to a Lebanese man, Bedweny Hbeiche, without reading
his file. Mr Ruddock intervened soon after Mr Hbeiche donated $3000 at
a Liberal Party fundraising dinner. (Sydney Morning Herald, June 19).

Productivity has risen so greatly in the last 10 years in Australia that "it
would have funded an extra month's leave for workers", according to
Barbara Pocock, from the Centre for Labour Research at Adelaide
University. Instead, most employees surveyed reported that work was
having an "increased - largely negative" impact on their personal lives.
(Sydney Morning Herald, January 31 and March 10, quoted in Shorter
Work Week News report, May/June edition).

An American anarchist has been held in a 'boot camp' run by the Mormon
church since he was 16, diagnosed with a pyschological disorder that
seems to be little more than disagreeing with his parents. Alex Asch had
been prescribed sedatives, sent to psychiatrists and put in special
programs, all against his will, because of an ongoing conflict with his
parents based around his political beliefs. In August 2002 they had him
taken by force to a Mormon-run 'juvenile rehabilitation program', where he
will be held until his 18th birthday. Alex has been diagnosed with
"Oppositional Defiance Disorder", whose 'symptoms' include arguing with
adults and refusing to comply with adults' requests.
(www.wiretapmag.org via Ainfos news report, June 19).

Quote of the Week:

"Every ten years or so, the United States needs to pick up some small
crappy little country and throw it against the wall, just to show the world
we mean business." Michael Ledden, holder of the 'Freedom Chair' at the
American Enterprise Institute.

anarchist news service write to James, PO Box 503, Newtown NSW 2042 or
email
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If you like All the News That Fits, forward it on to people or lists who
might be interested in it, or post it on your local Indymedia
http://www.indymedia.org. Some other Australian anarchist contacts:
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available by mail order. 20 songs for $10 within Australia, $15 in New
Zealand, $10 in the USA, $10 in Canada, 5 pounds in Britain, or 10 euros
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distroes, email us and ask. Address for orders is PO Box 1191, Richmond
North VIC 3121 (Australia). Please make cheques or money orders out to
J. Hutchings. http://www.loveandrage.rocks.it
http://www.angry.at/thegovernment - anarchist website with fliers for
download, contacts etc. http://www.angry.at/racists -
Anarchist/anti-racist music site with free mp3s, Real Audio, Real Video,
internet radio, band interviews etc. Also includes the text of 'Escape', an
anarchist novel - http://www.geocities.com/skipnewborn/novel.doc
http://www.dolearmy.org - information for unemployed people.
http://www.activate.8m.com - anarchist magazine aimed at teenagers. All
the News That Fits appears in the Anarchist Age Weekly Review
(http://www.vicnet.net.au/~anarch - PO Box 20 Parkville VIC 3052) and
The Ham (http://www.theham.cat.org.au).

Media outlets mentioned in All the News That Fits are sources - items
are not direct quotes from news media. Background information may have
been gathered from sources in addition to media outlets cited. Where no
source is cited, the information has been gathered from direct sources.

ANARCHIST MEDIA INSTITUTE OBSCENITY OF
THE WEEK

Has been awarded to ? - So many recipients, so few awards ­ you decide

DEFEND & EXTEND MEDICARE / DEAKIN /
VICTORIA - PUBLIC MEETING ALL SAINTS CHURCH
HALL

Cnr. Springvale & Springfield Road, NUNAWADING (Melways Ref:48
F8,) MELBOURNE THURSDAY 3RD JULY - 7.30PM Speakers: Ms.
Marilyn BEAUMONT ­ Executive Director Women's Health Victoria Dr.
Tim WOODRUFF ­ National President Doctor's Reform Society Dr. Joe
TOSCANO ­ Joint Spokesperson Defend & Extend Medicare Australia
ALL WELCOME ­ Further information call George HALL (03) 9877 4623

PROTEST AGAINST THE A.L.P.'S BACKDOWN ON
THE ASIO LEGISLATION OUTSIDE SIMON CREANS,
THE FEDERAL LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION'S
ELECTORAL OFFICE

11.00am Friday 4th July 2003, 401 Clayton Road, Clayton Melbourne
(Melways Ref 79 C/3) (Near Corner of Clayton Road and Centre Road).
Protest organised by PEOPLE AGAINST REPRESSIVE
LEGISLATION, BRING ALONG BANNERS AND PLACARDS. THE
MORE THE MERRIER!!

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 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.


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