A-Infos (en) Anarchist Age Weekly Review No. 571 3rd November 9th November 2003

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

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CAN YOU SMELL IT ?!!
There must be an election in the air ­ faced with an increasingly restless
and sceptical public, the Howard government has pulled out its trump card ­
the threat of terrorism.  Australia's security agencies, aided and abetted
by a government that's keen to take elector's minds off the talk of
increasing interest rates, education and health care woes, are using well
placed leaks in the media to frighten the public into believing that tougher
detention laws are needed to wage the war on terrorism on home soil.

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

Willie Bridgette's expulsion from Australia and his implication by senior
unnamed government sources in a plot to either lead or coordinate an
al-Qaida attack on Australian soil, has all the hallmarks of another
'children overboard' saga.  Australians are beginning to take the endless
tales of potential terrorist threats that appear in the Australian media
with a grain of salt.  If there are so many terrorist threats and plots,
where are the arrests?  An increasing number of people no longer believe
what they read, see or hear in the corporate dominated media.  They are
beginning to realise that well placed anonymous leaks are not facts.

Phillip Ruddock's calls for stronger 'anti terrorist laws' are designed to
spook an edgy public into voting for the very people who through their
participation in the Iraq war, have made Australia a potential terrorist
threat.

It seems that Ruddock is unhappy with laws that allow the State to detain
people without charges being laid for up to two weeks.  He's keen for
Australians to give more power to the State to protect them against
potential terrorist threats.  The Attorney General would like the Australian
parliament to pass legislation that would allow Australian security agencies
to detain 'suspects' for up to three years without trial.  It seems that
Ruddock has lost the government's recent found distaste for all things
French and has become enamoured with laws that allow the French to detain
suspects without charge for up to three years.

Ruddock seems to have forgotten his high school history lessons.  History
has shown that the greatest threat to humanity is the State.  The Hitlers,
Stalins and Pol Pots of the world would have not been able to perpetrate
atrocities they carried out, if they had not controlled the State apparatus.
Giving the State unlimited powers lays the groundwork for the creation of
regimes that pose a greater threat to their citizens than any terrorist
threat could ever achieve.  Destroying the freedoms that protect citizens
from unwarranted prosecution by the State, aids and abets the growth of a
terrorist threat, not stymies it.

BELIEVE IT OR NOT
Terrorists one day, illegal immigrants the next, God does exist.  Just when
domestic politics seemed to be gaining ground, John Howard has had his
prayers answered.  Bolstered by the antics of the corporate dominated media
and the government gelded ABC, the Federal government has succeeded in
bringing the glory days of the Tampa.

The feeling seems to be that if we're not going to be overrun by illegal
immigrants, we are going to be blown up by terrorists.  Fear, ignorance,
stupidity have become the order of the day.  Across the backyards of the
nation, people are alarmed, alert and panic stricken.  The only thing that
stands between them and the other, is the State, the government and Prime
Minister.  The idea that the 'man of steel' and a strong State is the only
solution to these perceived threats, is the mantra that everybody is
expected to sing.

Those that deviate from the hymn book and those that refuse to sing the
hymns in the hymn book, are traitors and far worse.  The creation of a
permanent state of fear has become the main objective of the Howard
government.  Lies, half-truths, political manipulation and the arbitrary use
of State power are the tools that are used to create this climate of fears.

Fear of the other, the terrorists, neighbours, people with different
religions, opinions and ways of life, dominate all conversation.  Class,
gender, cultural and social differences are swept away as enemies are
created where none existed.  The very people, who have created this climate
of fear, step forward as our saviours.  They tell us they have knowledge,
power and ability to protect us from the unknown.  This whole sorry state
would be laughable if it wasn't so tragic.  The bully and the liar have
become the hero, while those who stand up to them are the problem.  So much
for life in the land of Oz, in the year of our Lord 2003.

PATHETIC!!
The Senate report on the Federal government's proposed 'fairer' Medicare
package is one of the most pathetic reports released by a Senate select
committee.  It fails to address the problem that an increasing number of
Australians are having major difficulties accessing primary health care in
this country.  The recommendations made by both the Democrat / Labor Party
majority report and the Liberal / National Party minority report, are an
insult to the intelligence of the people of this country.

The Liberal / National Party Senators who recommended that the taxpayer
funded private health care rebate be increased from $2.5billion a year to
$3.5billion a year, to bankroll the private insurance costs of the 43% of
Australians who can afford to take out private insurance, must be joking.
The Labor / Democratic Party Senators who recommended that an 'independent'
inquiry be held into the taxpayer funded private health care rebate have
abrogated their responsibility to the people who elected them.

The Federal government's plans to dismantle Medicare and destroy the
universal nature of the scheme need to be tackled head on.  The current
crisis in the public health sector is directly linked to the Howard
government transferring taxpayers money into the private health care sector.
At the very least the private health care rebate should be means tested.
Why should some of the richest people in this country receive a rebate on
their private health insurance costs, while a significant proportion of the
population is denied access not only to primary health care but to podiatry,
dentistry, physiotherapy and occupational therapy because they don't have
the money to access these services.  Access to health care should be a
right, not a charity, or a luxury.

When governments and opposition parties refuse to acknowledge their
responsibilities to the electorate, citizens have both a right and a
responsibility to take their concerns to the streets and force political
parties to acknowledge and act on their concerns.

Defend and Extend Medicare Australia was formed four months ago to put
pressure on all political parties to fulfil their responsibilities to the
electorate.  We aim to establish a Defend and Extend Medicare group in each
of Australia's 150 Federal electorates.  We are holding our 3rd Defend and
Extend Medicare rally outside the State Library of Victoria at 12.30pm on
Friday the 7th November.  The rally will be addressed by Ms. Sharon Burrow -
President of the A.C.T.U., Mr. Martin Kingham - Victorian Secretary of the
C.F.M.E.U., Dr. Tim Woodruff - President Doctors Reform Society, Charles and
Leanne Price delegates for the McMillan Defend and Extend Medicare group and
Dr. Joseph Toscano - Joint National Convenor of Defend and Extend Medicare
Australia.

We encourage all those Australians who are disgusted by the pathetic Senate
select committee report released on Thursday, to join us to help pressure
government and opposition parties to provide a health care delivery system
that meets the needs of all of us not just a privileged minority.

THE CAT'S OUT OF THE BAG
It hasn't taken Tony Abbott long to let the cat out of the bag.  Howard's
'fairer' Medicare package is about dismantling what's left of Medicare (a
universal health care scheme) and replacing it with a second rate safety net
for concession cardholders.  The Federal government's attacks on Medicare,
is just another phase in the Howard government's attempt to make health care
a personal, not a collective responsibility.

What would be fairer than a system that gives access to health care
resources to everyone irrespective of how much or little they earn or how
sick they are.  One of the most important social innovations that has been
introduced into this country is Medicare.  The Howard government has
attempted to muddy the waters by claiming that they are interested in
preserving Medicare.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  The Howard
government attempted to destroy Medicare by starving it of funds.  The
rebate paid to doctors who bulkbilled, did not even keep up with the
inflation rate.  Increasing practise costs have forced many bulkbilling
doctors to abandon bulkbilling and charge up-front fees.

The current crisis is directly related to the Howard government's health
care policies.  Nothing that Tony Abbott has suggested will resolve the
current crisis.  The problems, an increasing proportion of the population
have in accessing primary health care are real, very real.  An influx of
patients into accident and emergency departments around the country
highlights that the government's policies are making the problem worse.
Irrespective of how many buckets of water Howard's great white hope ­ Tony
Abbott tips over the Medicare inferno, the problem will not go away.  It
won't disappear while the government pursues its ideological agenda to
destroy the last institution left standing in this country that shares the
burden of providing essential services between all of us.

This time the government will not win!!  Even if the Democrats support its
package in the Senate, even if Abbott bypasses the Senate, the Howard
government will fail to destroy the single most important social innovation
in Australia since the introduction of pensions.  It will fail because the
people of this country support the universal nature of the scheme.

GOOD MONEY AFTER BAD
The US Congress and Senate have given the President another AUD$125billion
to pursue his dream in Iraq.  Unfortunately for Bush, things aren't going as
good as the fourth estate likes us to believe.  United States soldiers are
dying on a daily basis, for every one killed ten are wounded.  More
importantly, those weapons of mass destruction don't seem to be anywhere.
Howard's, Blair's and Bush's credibility lay in tatters, not that has
stopped them claiming the unilateral invasion of Iraq was and is a just war.

Freedom, democracy and economic development have been exposed as platitudes,
sung by governments that are much more interested in sharing the booty of
war than improving the lives of the Iraqi people.  Bunkered down in armoured
columns, they are being picked off by a resistance movement that's described
as 'foreign terrorists'.   A major casualty of this war has become the
language.  We're told that foreign terrorists are the enemy of the Iraqi
people.  Foreign terrorists? ­ What foreign terrorists ­ the US led invaders
of Iraq?  No, no, no you stupid clot, the foreign terrorists aren't the US
led forces, the 'foreign terrorists' are anybody who is involved in conflict
with the 'foreign terrorists'.  Confused?  You're not the only one.

It's one thing scoring an overwhelming military victory, it's another thing
keeping an army of occupation in a country.  Iraqis are currently doing
their sums.  Do they collaborate with the invaders?  Do they ignore them and
go about the daily business of living, or do they resist them?  Whether the
resistance grows or not, will ultimately depend on whether people believe
the US is going to deliver freedom, democracy and economic development.
Nothing that's happened to date gives the Iraqi people the comfort of
knowing that the US led invasion has anything to do with liberation.

Throwing off one authoritarian yoke for another doesn't fill many Iraqis
with hope.  It's important to remember that the AUD$125billion that's being
allocated has been allocated to pay the military bills.  We're not talking
about a 'Marshall' plan to rebuild Afghanistan and Iraq, the talk is all
about a military build up.  No wonder resistance at all levels in Iraq's
society continues to escalate.

ANARCHIST QUESTION AND ANSWER
Q.  WHAT POSES THE GREATEST THREAT TO AN ANARCHIST SOCIETY?
A. Foreign invasion, internal dissension and scarcity are a few of the
challenges that could threaten the existence of an anarchist community.  Of
these three threats, I believe scarcity is the one that poses the greatest
challenge to the continued survival of an anarchist society.
Although a foreign invasion can have devastating short and long term
consequences, it doesn't necessarily destroy people's desire to live in an
egalitarian community.  People who have experienced life in an anarchist
society would continue to work towards the recreation of such a community,
foreign invasion or no foreign invasion.  Internal dissension is an
important characteristic of life in an anarchist society.  Discussion and
arguments about particular issues will be common place.  Problems can and
will be resolved within the direct democratic framework that has been
created to facilitate decision making with an anarchist community.
Scarcity poses the greatest threat to the survival of an anarchist society
because it has the capacity to challenge people's beliefs in the principles
that underline their community.  A society faced with a lack of resources to
meet its people's health needs and that does not have enough food to meet
their needs, could be manipulated into abandoning egalitarian structures and
principles in favour of hierarchical ones.  It would be relatively easy for
hierarchical structures to be superimposed on the community recreating a
society that has rulers and ruled.  This would mean that those who wield
power would survive, while those who don't, won't.
Scarcity puts stresses and strains on the vision that access to resources
should be enjoyed by all, irrespective of their role in the community.
While food and resources are plentiful, cooperation and sharing are not
difficult concepts to embrace.  When essentials become scarce, communities
continue to cooperate and share the burden among everyone or they fracture,
destroying the egalitarian principles that underline their society.  The
damage done by the destruction of these principles is much more profound and
difficult to overcome than the damage caused by invasion or internal
dissension.

ACTION BOX
CONTACT POINT
It doesn't matter how daring, intelligent, brilliant and audacious you are,
if you don't have a mechanism by which people can contact you, your efforts
can be a waste of time.  Anarchists should not just be involved in
activities that create the conditions for change, they should also try to
create groups within the communities they live and work in.
Creating anarchist organisations is a critical component of the struggle to
create an egalitarian community.  Having a point where people can contact
you should be a fundamental concern of anyone involved in that struggle.
What contact point is created depends on the type of society you live in.
You're not going to leave a publicly accessible contact point if you live in
a society where anarchists have been driven underground and the movement
banned.
If you live in a community where anarchists are able to work openly, a
number of options are open to you including:- a 24 hour answering service, a
telephone number and answering machine, a shop front, an email address, a
mobile telephone number, a fax number or an old fashioned post office box.
All these options cost money, but they are well worth the expense.  Unless
you live alone and have very few concerns regarding your physical safety,
it's unwise to leave a private phone number or address as a contact point.
The problem isn't the police or more importantly Australia's secret service
agencies, the problem is people with problems accessing your home.  It's
always wise to keep your home address and phone number to yourself.
Post office boxes are relatively cheap and secure.  If you use a post office
box it's important to clear it and answer your mail.  A 24 hour answering
service is a much more expensive option that's suitable for a larger
established organisation.  Fax numbers and email address are very useful.
Email is immediate and it can be linked with sympathetic websites.
Interestingly, the most useful tool is the mobile phone.  You're accessible
most of the time. You can have direct immediate contact with people
interested in your ideas.  If you're involved in media campaigns, it gives
the media direct access to you and if you buy a prepaid phone, your expenses
are relatively minor.  A virtual office is much more efficient and cheaper
than a shop front.  Why spend most of your time trying to raise money for
the rent and pay off the building for the landlord, when you can create a
virtual contact point for the fraction of the cost and use your precious
time to create the conditions to build the organisations necessary to form
an anarchist community.

AUSTRALIAN RADICAL HISTORY
THE EUREKA SERIES
'POLICE RIOT'
The Victorian Police did not cover themselves with glory during the Eureka
attack.  The soldiers fought with some discipline but the detested police
ran riot.  The German blacksmith John Hafele, who had made the pikes the
pikemen used against the charging soldiers, attacked Lieutenant Richards of
the 40th Regiment with one of his own pikes, as the officer's horse cleared
the barricades.  John Hafele missed and Richards took the top off the
blacksmith's skull with his sabre.
Twenty minutes after the fight began, the miners surrendered.  After the
miners gave in, the killings began.  Police parties roamed in and out of the
stockade exacting revenge, killing prisoners, mutilating bodies, burning
down tents and threatening women and children.  The police did not suffer
any fatalities as they left the bulk of the fighting to the soldiers.  The
police totally lost their heads after the miners surrendered killing anyone
who they knew was a rebel.  Of the 30 or so miners who were killed, half
were shot or bayoneted dead, after they had surrendered.
Fifteen mounted police bayoneted the blacksmith's dead body, another party
of mounted police hunted down miners who had not taken part in the battle
and shot and bayoneted them.  One man, Harry Powell, made a statement a few
hours before he died.  Although he had not taken part in the fighting and
was visiting a friend outside the stockade, he was hit with a sword and shot
several times by a party of around 30 mounted police who were attacking
people indiscriminately.
A Royal Commission set up to examine the Eureka massacre, found that
offensive and tyrannical force had been used against the diggers and it
censured the police for their behaviour.  An inquest called into the death
of Harry Powel not only found Arthur Akerhurst Clerk of the Peace Ballarat
guilty of murder, the jury also stated;
'We view with extreme horror the action of the police in firing at, and
cutting down, unarmed people of both sexes at a distance from the scene of
the disturbance in 1854.'
Next time the Victoria Police celebrate their glorious history, its
important they be reminded of the direct role they played in the Eureka
massacres.
Source of article:  'Massacre At Eureka ­ The Untold Story' by Bob O'Brien
1992, Revised Edition 1998, ISBN 0909874190.  The book is available from the
Eureka Centre Eureka St, Ballarat.  It sold for around $25.00.
DON'T FORGET TO JOIN US AT THE 149TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE EUREKA REBELLION AT
THE SITE OF THE EUREKA REBELLION FROM 4AM TO 4PM ON WEDNESDAY THE 3RD
DECEMBER AND RECLAIM THE RADICAL SPIRIT OF THE EUREKA.  SEE YOU AT THE
CORNER OF STAWELL AND EUREKA ST, BALLARAT AT 4AM.

BOOK REVIEW

'THE AGE OF CONSENT ­ A Manifesto For A New World Order', by George Monbiot,
Flamingo Press 2003, ISBN 000 717124 2.

'Our task is not to overthrow globalisation but to capture it, and use it as
a vehicle for humanity's first global democratic revolution' ­ George
Monbiot
Noble sentiments indeed, but what's it all about Charlie!!  George Monbiot's
aims are clearly laid out at the beginning of this 274 page epistle.  For a
man who prides himself on his ability to reason and think, his intellectual
rejection of anarchism in the book, has all the hallmarks of a man fighting
hastily assembled straw men that have been put up, to be torn down.
'At first sight, anarchism appears more compatible with the ideas of a
global justice movement.  It is the political idea I find most attractive,
and to which, almost instinctively ­ however much I have now come to reject
it intellectually ­ I keep returning' ­ George Monbiot.
If only George had done his homework a little more assiduously, the reader
wouldn't have to wade through arguments that have been put up, to be torn
down.  Monbiot asks many more questions than he answers, he tears apart more
ideas and institutions than you can poke a stick at, but comes up with few
convincing alternatives.
Look, don't get me wrong, the book makes a significant contribution to the
globalisation debate, but the solutions he offers to harness the beast will,
I feel, lead activists up a cul de sac.
'A democratically elected world parliament, a democratised United Nations
General Assembly, an International clearing union which automatically
discharge trader deficits and prevents the accumulation of debt; a Fair
Trade organisation which restrains the rich while emancipating the poor'
will not dislodge the hands of those who currently control the globalisation
agenda.  The solution doesn't lay in forming world governments, it lays in
people taking back control of their resources and creating new structures
that gives them the power to make the decisions that effects them.
'The Age Of Consent' is a welcome addition to the literature on
globalisation.  George Monbiot raises questions that anarchists have to
date, not been very good at answering.  If we want to keep at the forefront
of the struggle against a corporate dominated world, we need to answer
Monbiot's doubts about anarchism and put forward viable alternatives.
Thanks to John from Valencia Creek, Victoria for sending me 'The Age Of
Consent' to review.
APOLOGIES: - With a dose of humility to Charles from Korumburra, Victoria
for sending me 'A Majority Of One' (Issue No.569) to review.  For some
reason I thanked Michael from Kooweerup, Victoria for sending me the book to
review ­ I must have being having a senior moment.

PERSONAL OBSERVATION
I'm surprised at the number of times I've been asked whether what I write in
the 'Personal Observation' column is true.  'You must make it up ­ real
people don't behave like that'.  Well, I'm afraid they do.  Most of us go
through life blissfully unaware of what's happening next door, let alone
half way round the world.  On Saturday, I was wandering around looking for
an ottoman, no I wasn't looking for a descendant of the empire rules by
Othman, or a Turk of the Ottoman period, I was looking for a box with a
padded top - an ottoman.
It's surprising how easy it is to jump to the wrong conclusions.  It seems
that footrests (ottomans) are currently out of fashion.  In desperation, I
wandered through David Jones looking for an expensive footrest.  Nothing,
lampshades, beds, cushions, settees, but no ottomans.  Turning a corner, I
thought my eyes were playing tricks on me.  The great thing about shopping
at David Jones is that no one ever goes there, you could shoot a cannon in
the store and not hit anybody.
The first thing I noticed were his glasses, they were neatly placed on the
bedside table next to his head.  At first I thought he must be dead, but as
I got closer, I noticed his chest rising and falling.  He wore a shirt and
dark pants, his coat was neatly folded laying on the floor next to his black
shoes.  He was fully stretched out, fast asleep on one of those magic
posturepedic mattresses that cost the earth.  He was doing what I have
always dreamt of doing but have never had the courage to do, go to sleep on
a mattress on display in a department store.  I watched him for 2 to 3
minutes, apart from his chest gently moving the rest of his body remained
still.  He was real flesh and blood, not a work in progress carefully
constructed by a post modern conceptual artist whose imagination had taken
physical form.
Good luck to him fast asleep on a display mattress in David Jones.  Maybe
that's his job, if it is, I think I'll apply for it.

STOP PRESS
'NEW YORK PRINCESSES'
The Hilton sisters have hit Melbourne town for the Spring Racing Carnival,
guests of Channel 7.  Rich, very rich, self-centred 'princesses' of New York
are amongst us.  'So what?'  I can hear you shout!!  There are more
important things in the world than the antics of those two brats.  Well, I'm
afraid you're wrong, very, very wrong.
Melbourne's media outlets have fallen over themselves in the rush to get a
piece of the 'celebrity' action.  The Hilton sisters claim to fame is that
they're heirs to a fortune.  They're celebrities like the British Royal
family because the right sperm fertilised the right ovary, nothing more
nothing less.  Just in case you think this is just a case of sour grapes,
think again.  I don't really care how much money they're going to inherent
or what they do with it.  What concerns me is that we live in a society that
makes average people like the British Royal family into celebrities, not
because of what they have done, but because of who they are.
What's even more disturbing is how the corporate dominated media reports
this non-news as news.  Editorial teams give the oxygen of publicity to
celebrities, while ignoring real issues, not that you would expect anything
more from the fourth estate.  The corporatisation of Australia's media
outlets has created an incestuous relationship between the main media
players.  We live in a society where the idea of free speech is trumpeted
but not practised.  The concentration of media ownership in so few hands has
blurred the boundaries between entertainment, capital and news.
News is presented in a way that manufactures a consensus that suits the
ideological and economic concerns of those who own the means by which
information is disseminated.  The blanket coverage given to the antics of
celebrities is a direct result of the vertical integration of media
ownership, that's why more and more people are ignoring the blandishments of
a media that seems to be consumed by its own self-importance.  People are
beginning to look for alternative sources of information to help them
analyse reality because they understand the gulf between infotainment and
reality cannot be bridged by the corporate dominated media.

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


ANARCHIST PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED THIS WEEK
ARIVISTA ANARCHIA No293, VOL. 23 No.7, OCT 2003, Editrice A, C.P.17120,
20170 Milano, ITALY, Tel:022896627, Fax:0228001271, Email:arivista@tin.it
www.anarca-bolo.ch/a-rivista
CNT A.I.T. No.294 OCT 2003, Organo dela Conf. Nacional del Trabajo, Pza
Tirso de Molina 5-2, 28012 Madrid, SPAIN, Tel:913690898, Fax:914200856,
redaccion@periodicocnt.org www.periodicocnt.org
L'HOMME LIBRE, No.177 OCT/NOV '03, Recherche d'une psychologie libertatrice,
Marcel Renoulet, B.p. 205-42005, Saint-Etienne, Cedex 1, FRANCE
LE LIBERTAIRE No.239 SEPTT/OCT '03, Revue de synthese anarchiste, Boite
Postale 745, 76060  Leitavre Cedex FRANCE Tel:(0148414594),
www.le-libertaire.org,libertaire@normandnet.fr
UMANITA NOVA Vol 83 No.31 EL 5TH OCT 2003, Settimanale Anarchico, C.50
Palermo 46, 10152, Torino ITALY. tel/fax (011) 857850 Mobile 338-6594361
email:fat@inrete.it

OTHER PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED THIS WEEK

THE STRATEGY Vol.12 No.140 OCT 2003, 334 Commercial Rd, Yarram 3971 Victoria
AUSTRALIA Tel:03 51826002, Email:strategy@net.tech.co.com.au
EDITORS NOTE: We follow a policy of listing all publications we receive, we
continue listing 'The Strategy' a God, Queen & Country conservative ray with
the occasional interesting article.

DEBT ELIMINATION APPEAL - Our debt stands at $1529.25
Our debt stands at $1529.25.  Five weeks to go if we don't clear our debt by
the 7th December 2003, we will suspend publication until the debt is
cleared.  We cannot continue to produce the publication without extra
financial assistance.  If you are able to help, re subscribe $50 for
50issues or send money orders and cheques made out to LIBERTARIAN WORKERS to
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Whether we continue to publish depends on whether we can clear our debt.
The debt has fallen from $2000 to $1500, hopefully by the beginning of
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ALL THE NEWS THAT FITS
A senior US military official has implied he believes Moslems worship Satan.
Earlier this year, Lt-Gen. William Boykin told a religious group Islamic
fundamentalists hate the US b/c we're a Christian nation...& the enemy is a
guy named Satan". In another speech, Gen. Boykin said a Moslem warlord in
Somalia was captured b/c "I knew my God was bigger than his. I knew that my
God was a real god & his was an idol". Ironically, General Boykin is in
charge of efforts to capture Saddam Hussein & Osama bin Laden. General
Richard Myers, head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters "at first
blush, it doesn't look like any rules were broken". Defence Secretary Donald
Rumsfeld declined to condemn Gen. Boykin & wouldn't say whether he would
take any action or review his comments. (Source: The Age)
The US govt has been accused of murdering independent journalists during the
war in Iraq. On April 8 the US military launched 2 separate attacks on the
Arabic media networks al-Jazeera & Abu Dhabi TV. Both networks had notified
the US military of their exact location so as to avoid the risk of
'collateral damage'. US sources claimed their forces had fired in
self-defence after being attacked, a claim contradicted by eyewitnesses. On
the same day, the US bombed the Palestine Hotel, which had become a base for
journalists. The Pentagon again claimed their forces had been fired on
first. David Chater, a British journalist who survived the bombing, said
there was no gunfire from the hotel. Other journalists reported seeing the
tank carefully select its target & take some minutes to aim before firing.
Of 17 journalists killed in the brief war, only 2 were 'embedded' - a phrase
referring to journalists who were allowed to follow the US military closely
& who generally gave an uncritically pro-US view on the war. Aidan White
from the Int'l Federation of Journalists said "it's impossible not to detect
a sinister pattern of targeting". When these claims were aired by ABC
reporter Linda Mottram on the 'AM' program, they attracted one of many
complaints of bias against the ABC by Liberal Senator Richard Alston. The
resulting enquiry described Ms Mottram's comments as showing serious bias.
(Source: Herald Sun)
Melbourne's local council funds are being spent on personalised number
plates, limousine hire, gifts, valet parking, Grand Final tickets, alcohol &
clothing among other 'expenses'. Mayors, councillors, chief executives &
directors of local councils are commonly given credit cards that are paid
for out of council funds. The Greater Dandenong Council set the Melb record
for credit card expenses, charging $160,000 on 11 cards over the past 2
years. 4 senior members of Casey Council spent a total of $157,000. Expenses
charged on credit cards are in addition to other reimbursements, which can
be up to $110,000 per year for City of Melbourne councillors & up to $57,000
per year for councillors in other areas. Banyule City Council spent $550 on
costume hire for a staff revue & $795 on boarding kennel fees. The people
given the cards are far from underpaid. Council execs are given packages of
up to $250,000 per year, plus bonuses. This didn't stop the former mayor of
Greater Dandenong using council funds to pay for a $7.05 McDonalds meal.
Councils spent $150,000 on meals & $6910 on alcohol. Maribyrnong Council
includes Footscray, known for its many cheap restaurants. However of the 71
meals that the council's chief exec & mayors charged to the council credit
card, only 27 were in the council's boundaries. Maribyrnong ratepayers paid
for meals in more up-market areas such as Pt Melb & the city. The total
amount charged in 20 councils in Melb over 2 years was $1,038,067. This
doesn't include any money from Maroondah Council, which refuse to issue any
figures. (Source: Herald Sun)
A cop who assaulted a prisoner in a police van has been found guilty, but
has had no conviction recorded against him. A magistrate found the injury to
the prisoner was caused by 'a deliberate application of force' by police
officer Scott Russell. However magistrate Ward said working in Tennant Creek
could be stressful & frustrating for police & that Russell had a strong
commitment to the community. He paid a fine of $1000 & had no conviction
recorded. (Source: ABC News)
Ordinary members of the public will be barred from the 'public gallery' when
US President George Bush gives a speech to Parliament. All seats have been
assigned to politicians' invited guests. In other news related to Mr Bush's
visit, the leaders of the Labor Party have made efforts to ensure that
there's not even a token protest by Labor MPs against Mr Bush. Opposition
Leader Simon Crean's office said he believed Mr Bush should be applauded
after his speech & that MPs should stand as he leaves the chamber.
Opposition frontbencher Lindsay Tanner said "as far as I'm concerned, if
it's appropriate for the entry & exit of the President to be acknowledged by
members standing I don't have problem with doing that". (Source: Indymedia)
An US cocaine user has been convicted of murder & sentenced to 12 years
jail, because her baby was stillborn. The US Supreme Court has refused to
hear an appeal by 22year old Regina McKnight. It is not certain that the
stillbirth was caused by Ms McKnight's cocaine use. (Source: The Age)
A 45year-old detainee has been badly beaten at Maribyrnong Detention Centre
by Australasian Correctional Management guards. Rachel Judd, a close friend
of the detainee, spoke to him on Saturday morning. "He told me he had been
taken into isolation & then beaten by ACM guards. They stripped him & threw
him onto the bed a number of times. He said he felt as if his arm & wrist
had been broken. He was already vulnerable b/c he has a back injury & relies
on crutches to walk". Refugee advocates say after he was taken into
isolation he was denied any telephone contact with his lawyers. Repeated
attempts to contact him failed. "I was continually reassured by ACM
management that he was all right & it was only this morning that I found out
what had happened" Ms Judd said. Fleur Taylor from the Refugee Action
Collective said "this man has a history of being targeted by ACM & DIMIA
[the Dept of Immigration & Multicultural & Indigenous Affairs] & these
tactics are an attempt to intimidate him & his supporters". (Source:
Indymedia)
QUOTES OF THE MOMENT:  "rotting, but still alive". (Source: Lab report on
animals used in experiments by the Huntingdon Life Sciences company)
"Our enormously productive economy...demands that we make consumption a way
of life, that we convert the buying & use of goods into rituals, that we
seek our spiritual satisfactions in consumption...we need things consumed,
burned up, worn out, replaced & discarded at an ever-growing rate". (Source:
marketing consultant Victor Leblow, 1955)
"In November 1994, Christopher Bryant, a Birmingham solicitor suffering from
overwork, took a rope & hanged himself...after his death, the firm of
solicitors [that he had worked for] sent a bill to his mother, charging her
for their time in going to tell her that Christopher was dead". (Source:
'Pip Pip', by Jay Griffiths)

HELP US ­ AMAZE YOUR FRIENDS!!
Michael Smith, a long term supporter, has offered to make Anarchist World
This Week T-Shirts and fridge magnets ­ yes fridge magnets ­ which you can
put up next to your 'Be alert ­ Don't be alarmed' government fridge magnet
(only kidding).
Every cent earned will go towards clearing the debt.
FRIDGE MAGNET - $5.00 ­ (Send a book of 50cent stamps)
T-SHIRT ­ $25.00 - Small, Medium, Large or Extra Large
LONG SLEEVE SHIRT - $30.00 ­ Small, Medium, Large or Extra Large
  (both $25 & $30 includes postage in Australia) money order, cheque made out
to
LIBERTARIAN WORKERS, P.O. BOX 20, PARKVILLE 3052, MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA.
Don't forget to include size ­ cost includes postage within Australia.
T-Shirts are made by an Australian company that has signed the FAIR WEAR
agreement. (Workers are paid award wages)
NOTE:  IT WILL TAKE 2 TO 3 WEEKS TO PROCESS YOUR ORDER.

ANARCHIST MEDIA INSTITUTE OBSCENITY OF THE WEEK
So many candidates, so few awards, you decide.  This week's Anarchist Media
Institute Obscenity of the Week has been won byÅ Å .. forÅ Å Å ..

DEFEND & EXTEND MEDICARE AUSTRALIA
HEALTH CARE A RIGHT NOT A CHARITY OR A LUXURY
NEXT RALLY:  12.30PM FRIDAY  -  7TH NOVEMBER 2003
STATE LIBRARY
Cnr Swanston & Latrobe Streets, Melbourne
www.defendandextendmedicare.org
Email: info@defendandextendmedicare.org
  Postal: P.O. Box 5035 Alphington 3078, Victoria Australia.
Tel: 03 9766 8555
Encourage your family, friends and workmates to take part in the next rally,
without your active participation you and your fellow Australians will lose
access to a universal health care delivery system.  Form your own Federal
electorate group, join the campaign today.

STAMP APPEAL  - We spend over $500.00 on postage stamps per month.  If
you're writing to us or have any spare stamps floating about stuff them into
the envelope & send them to us.  JOIN our $5.00 a month group & send us a
book of 10 50 cent stamps every month.


  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.
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.

ANARCHISM ­ ADVANCING IN DIVERSITY STRIKING IN UNISON ­ YAMAGUCHI KENJI
WELCOME TO THE 21ST CENTURY ­ THE ANARCHIST CENTURY


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