A-Infos (en) Anarchist Age Weekly Review No. 572 10th November ­ 16th November 200

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

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LIES, LIES AND MORE LIES
Tony Abbott's assurances that the negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement
that are underway with the United States will not impact on the price that
Australians will pay for pharmaceutical products, flies in the face of reality.
The Pharmaceutical Benefits scheme (PBS) was introduced by the Menzies
Liberal Country government in the 1950's.  Today around 650 medications
are on the scheme.  These medications are subsidized by the taxpayer.
Consumers out of pocket expenses are limited to $23.10 per prescription for
non-concession card holders and $3.70 for concession card holders.  A
safety net is also in place which ensures that both concession and non-concession
holders who have chronic illness and need multiple scripts receive these
medications 'free of charge' once they reach the safety net.  The PBS
purchases approximately 80-90% of all prescriptions medicines available
at pharmacies in Australia, around 160 million prescriptions annually.

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 US Pharmaceutical Industry is one of the Bush administrations major
supporters.  It finds itself in a position where it is able to exercise
monopoly selling power.  It has traditionally used that power to increase
the prices of the medications they produce.  The cost of Australian
prescription drugs are around 150% lower than the cost US consumers pay
for the same medications (Ventolin is 274% more expensive in the US than it
is in Australia).  The differential in the price of medications between
Australia and the US is largely due to the monopoly buyer power that the
PBS is able to exercise on behalf of the Australian people.

Abbott's assurances that Australian consumers will not pay more for their
medications if the government enters into a Free Trade agreement with the
US, is nothing more than a cheap conjuring trick.  The US pharmaceutical
industry is keen to see the end of the PBS.  The Free Trade Agreement is
the perfect vehicle by which the buying power exercised by the scheme can be
destroyed.

Abbott fails to mention that the Howard government plans to tackle the
resultant 150% cost blow out for pharmaceuticals by restricting both the
number of medications on the PBS and the list of medical conditions that
subsidized medications will cover.  The government also plans to promote
less efficacious generic brands at the expense of patient's health
needs.

Initially we can expect the Howard government to call on taxpayers to
shoulder the increase costs, over time these costs will be passed on to
consumers, placing the increase burden of health care costs on that
increasing proportion of Australian's with chronic illnesses.

It won't take long for the much trumpeted $4 billion increase in export
earnings that a Free Trade Agreement with the US is expected to generate
to be eaten up by the increased pharmaceutical costs to the community and
the individual that a free trade agreement with the US will create.

THE PENNY'S FINALLY DROPPED
It seems that the penny has finally dropped for Pauline Hanson and many
of her supporters.  A draining court case, a guilty verdict and eleven
weeks in prison, have opened her eyes to who the real enemy is.  Hanson's
political success was based on the premise that the country was going down the
gurgler as a consequence of the activities of dole bludgers, criminals, blacks
and refugees.  Hanson's supporters believed that if they stopped these groups
draining the public purse, life would improve for everyone else.  Their
beliefs revolved around the idea that the little Aussie battlers place
in the sun had been taken away from them by these groups.

Hanson seems to have finally realised, that her enemies aren't the most
disadvantaged members of the community, her enemies are those who wield
power in our society.  One Nation's political strength lay in its ability to
attract the marginalized and alienated.  Solid citizens who believed that
things weren't quite right but didn't know where to turn to, the God, Queen
and Country brigade that were attracted to One Nation have found out at
their expense that things weren't all they seemed to be.  The dream run
they had in the corporate dominated media, dried up when Hanson formed a
political party and attempted to win sets in State and Federal
parliament.

The cosy little arrangement that existed between the conservatives and
Labor was in danger of being exposed as a sham by One Nation.  Deriding One
Nation's policies, the Howard government took them on as their own,
successfully convincing Australians that the solution to their problems
lay in further marginalizing the dispossessed.  Riding on Pauline Hanson's
dress, Howard had himself bumped into parliament in three consecutive
Federal elections.  Hanson's experiences have driven her to conclusions
that she should have come to, long ago.  Her enemies aren't the poor and
marginalized.  Her enemies are those who wield power in society.  It's
possible that One Nation's policies will begin to reflect her new
experiences.  If they do, it's probable that alliances can and will be
formed between groups that to date have occupied different ends of the
political spectrum.

If that happens, that cosy little arrangement that exists between the
Liberals and Labor, the corporate sector, the bureaucracy and the corporate
owned media, may find itself facing an opponent that could weaken its
grip on power.

BYE, BYE ABC
People believed it would never happen, sell off the ABC, impossible.
Impossible?  The ABC like the Commonwealth Bank, Telstra and Qantas does
not and has never belonged to the people.  It never was our ABC and it never
will be our ABC while the government of the day has the power to sell
it.
Any government with a majority in both houses of Parliament can sell the
ABC
tomorrow and you can do nothing about it.  The Liberal / National Party
has seriously considered selling off the ABC.  At last week's Victorian
State
Liberal Council meeting, one of the topics that was put up for debate
was
whether the government should sell off the ABC.  Although the vote was
lost
at the conference, a significant number of Liberal / Nationals want to
sell
the ABC.

Public property is not public property or State property, it is
government
property.  The fate of the Commonwealth Bank, Telstra and Qantas is a
lesson
about what happens to public property in this country.  Liberal,
National,
Labor, Democrat, doesn't matter; when it comes to flogging off the
public
property, they're all involved.  The only way the ABC can be protected
from
the government of the day is by including the ownership of the ABC in
the
Australian Constitution.  Its ownership can only be transferred from the
government of the day to the people through a referendum that asks
people to
incorporate the ownership of the ABC in the Constitution.

In Australia the only proposals that can be put to the people in a
referendum, are proposals that have been passed through both houses of
Parliament.  Political parties need to be pressured to include the
policy to
ask the Australian people in a referendum in their political programs.
Only
then will it be possible to put the question of the ownership of the ABC
to
the Australian people in a referendum.

For far too long, people have let governments do whatever they like
without
raising objections to their political agendas.  For far too long,
community
organizations that have sprung up to protect the ABC, have limited their
actions to petitions and appearances at committees, hoping that the
politicians will do the right thing by them.  It is time the ante was
raised
in the struggle to both protect and expand the ABC.  Generating debate
about
the inclusion of the ownership of the ABC in the Australian
Constitution, is
one way to expand the options that people are willing to consider in the
struggle to maintain an independent broadcaster.

REMEMBRANCE DAY
The Victorian media had a field day on the 11th November because the
Trade
Union movement had the audacity to call a rally on Remembrance Day to
highlight the Howard government's industrial, education and health
policies.
'Un-Australian, sacrilegious and traitors' were a few of the terms that
were
used to describe those who attended the march.  Frothing at the mouth,
the
corporate owned media and the government gelded ABC, carried on about
the
holiness of the day and how the day acknowledged the sacrifices made by
those soldiers who died in war.  The words freedom, liberty and protect
our
way of life, were thrown in for good measure.

Two women were arrested near the Shrine of Remembrance because they had
the
audacity to put forward an anti war message at the Remembrance Day
celebrations.  These two women encapsulated the essence of Remembrance
Day.
Armistice Day marks the end of World War One ­ the 11th November 1918.
The
day was created to remember all the people who were killed in World War
One,
today it includes the casualties in World War Two and all later
conflicts.
We remember all the dead on the day, not just Australian soldiers who
died
as a result of war.

It is a day for sadness, reflection and anger.  Yes, anger that so many
people have been killed in war.  Today over 90% of all casualties of war
are
civilians, most of these are women and children.  The war dead include
combatants as well as non combatants, they include the enemy, those who
died
from 'friendly' fire, as well as those who fought under the banner of
freedom and democracy, phrases that mean little in the heat of battle.
To
pick and choose whom we remember is an insult to all those others who
have
died.

Remembrance Day, unlike ANZAC Day is free of nationalist fervour and war
talk.  It is a day to remember the utter futility of war and the price
that
ordinary people pay when their leaders decide to settle their
differences on
the battlefield.  To turn Remembrance Day into a mini ANZAC Day is an
insult
to the memory of those tens of millions who have died as a result of
war.

WRONG ON ALL COUNTS
I hate to keep going back to Iraq but it's important the current
propaganda
haze is blown away.  I know that the Saddam Hussein regime was a
dictatorship that oppressed a significant proportion of the Iraqi people
and
as an anarchist I have no time for religious fundamentalists of any
kind.
So why do I keep writing about the invasion of Iraq?  I believe it's
important that the lies, half truths and extra terrestrial analysis
about
the war in Iraq are challenged head on.

A few facts, Iraq has the second largest reserves of oil in the world,
the
Saudi Arabian feudal monarchy is on its last legs, it has the greatest
reserves of oil in the world.  The unilateral invasion of Iraq was
justified
on two accounts, Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction at his
disposal and his regime supported international terrorism.  No weapons
of
mass destruction have been found in Iraq.  Mass graves have been found
in
Iraq confirming Saddam Hussein was a tyrant, Hussein's terrorism aided
and
abetted by US foreign policy has been directed at both the northern
Kurds
and the Southern Shiite majority.  Saddam Hussein was a local tyrant who
used force and terror to maintain his rule.

The consequences of the invasion are obvious to anyone who cares to look
beyond the propaganda pumped out by the government's of Australia,
Britain
and the US.  Propaganda?  Yes propaganda, nominal democratic societies,
not
just tyrants use propaganda as part of their day to day activities.
Security in Iraq has got worse, not better since the invasion.  The
goodwill
that was initially generated between the coalition of the willing and
the
Kurds and Shiites has almost evaporated.  The threat of terrorism has
increased, not decreased, not just in Iraq, but the rest of the world.
The
lies and half truths that were used to justify the invasion has resulted
in
increasing numbers of young men joining Muslim fundamentalist groups
around
the world at the very moment when the Muslim fundamentalist movement was
running out of puff.

The war in Iraq has reached its Fort Apache phase, foreign troops are
bunkered down in secure compounds venturing out in armoured convoys
among
the Iraqi's.  'Democracy and freedom' seem to have taken a back seat to
the
economic concerns of the invading forces.  I'm afraid the reasons for
the
invasion were as pedestrian as most readers of the Anarchist Age Weekly
Review believed ­ oil, oil, oil!!

ANARCHIST QUESTION AND ANSWER
Q.  Why does decentralisation play such an important role in an
anarchist
society?
A. The centralisation of power is the single most important issue facing
an
anarchist community.  Anarchists want to abolish the State because power
is
centralised within the State apparatus.  They understand the limitations
of
human nature and are not willing to have their destiny controlled by
individuals or small groups capturing State power and using that power
to
impose their will on them.
They want to abolish the State and replace it with a federation of
community
and workplace councils.  In such a community, the focus of power shifts
from
one centralised focus to a number of different areas.  Each community
and
workplace council is both autonomous and part of a federal system.  It
would
be extremely difficult for a small group to seize power in each and
every
one of the community and workplace councils.  Decentralisation protects
an
anarchist community from internal attempts to seize power because power
is
shared, not concentrated in one central structure.
The major problem facing a federation of community and workplace
councils is
the problem of external invasion.  Centralised societies would consider
such
a community as easy pickings' and could launch an invasion picking off
one
section of the federation after the next.  Decentralisation does not
necessarily mean weakness.  A decentralised isolated community is an
easy
target.  A decentralised federation of communities is another matter
especially if that federation has agreed to mobilise its resources and
come
to the defence of any part of the federation that comes under attack.
Even
if a centralised society succeeds in invading a federation, it would
have a
great deal of difficulty maintaining its authority, as resistance would
be
organised by each community and workplace council.  It's much easier
dealing
with a single centralised command structure than it is to deal with
multiple
sources of resistance.
Decentralisation makes it very difficult for both internal and external
forces to capture and hold power.  A decentralised community's survival
depends on participation.  The greater the level of participation in the
day
to day life of the community, the greater the strength of the each
individual council within the federation and the greater the strength of
the
federation as a whole.

ACTION BOX
POLITICAL PRISONERS
Yes they do exist and yes some of them find themselves in prison for
extremely long times, for what in the scheme of things are relatively
minor
offences.  Two activists that have come to our attention that you may
want
to correspond with are CIARON O'REILLY and JEFF 'free' LUERS.
CIARON O'REILLY
Ciaron O'REILLY is an anarchist Christian pacifist who lives in
Brisbane.
He has been involved in the Ploughshare movement for most of his adult
life.
Ciaron spent 13 months in prison in the US for disarming a B-52 bomber
before the first Gulf war in 1992.  He has also been involved in a
number of
actions over the past two decades in Australia that have attempted to
disarm
the Australian military.
On the 4th February 2003, Ciaron, Deidre Clancy, Nuin Dunlop, Karen
Fallon
and Damien Moran disarmed a US Navy warplane at Shannon Airport in
County
Clare, Ireland.  Since the 1st January 2003, over 1,200 military flights
that have carried over 92,000 US troops to war in Iraq have passed
through
this airport.  They face 10 year jail for the non-violent disarmament of
this plane and will appear in court in November (they are currently out
on
bail).
Ciaron O'REILLY has asked Australian supporters to raise his case with
the
Irish Ambassador in Australia.
Ambassador Declan KELLY, EMBASSY OF IRELAND
20 Arkana St, Yarraluma, ACT 2600
Tel: (02) 6273 3022, Fax:(02) 6273 3741
Email: irishemb@cyberone.com.au
Contact can be made with the Ploughshare movement in Ireland via email
pitstopploughshares@hotmail.com www.ploughshares.org
JEFF 'free' LUERS
Jeff 'free' Luers is an activist who was involved in the Eugene (US)
anti
authoritarian movement.  He had been active since 1996 in the animal
rights,
gender equality, anti fascism and eco-defence struggles in the US.
'In an act of resistance to draw awareness to the global environmental
crisis ­ global warming, air, soil and water pollution ­ on June 16
2000, I
ignited a fire that would forever change my life.  I torched 3 SUV's
(editor
­ large American 4wheel drives), I took extra care and specific fuels to
ensure no one would be injured'.
He was taken into custody by 3 undercover agents who had been following
him
and was charged with Criminal Mischief One' which carries a 1-year jail
sentence.  By the time he got to court, the charges for the offence of
burning the vehicles had multiplied to 10 felon counts, including 3
counts
of Arson One'.  Jeff 'free' Luers refused to strike a deal with the
prosecution.  He was sentenced to 22 years and 8 months jail with no
possibility of parole for his actions.
Irrespective of what the readers personal opinions are about his
actions,
it's obvious that the sentence is manifestly harsh.  It's obvious he has
been given a 22-year sentence because of the political motives behind
the
incident.
Readers can write to Jeff Luers at:
JEFFREY LUERS #1379771
OSP, 2605 State Street, SALEM or 97310 USA
You can contact his defence team at:
Free's Defence Network, P.O. BOX 50263, EUGENE, or 97405 USA.
www.freefreenow.org
Contact via Australia can be made by contacting:
ANARCHIST BLACK CROSS, PO Box 300, East Brunswick 3057, MELB, AUSTRALIA.
Email:abcmelb@yahoo.com.au

AUSTRALIAN RADICAL HISTORY
'THE EUREKA SERIES'
Justice REDMOND BARRY
Redmond Barry's life is intertwined with the history of Victoria.  A
statue
was erected in his honour in the forecourt of the State Library of
Victoria
in 1983 to mark the centenary of his death.  Barry's claim to fame lays
in
the fact that he sentenced Ned Kelly to death in 1880.  He died soon
after
Ned Kelly was hung at the Old Melbourne goal.  Redmond Barry was one of
the
judges that tried the 13 Eureka prisoners that were charged with High
Treason.  He was the judge at the trial of Timothy Hayes, arguably after
Raffaello Carboni one of the most senior members of the rebellion, who
appeared in the Supreme Court.  Barry was livid when the jury returned a
not guilty' verdict and reminded them that God would judge them in the
next
life.  Interestingly, Ned Kelly made a similar remark to Redmond Barry
when
Barry sentenced him to death.  Justice Redmond Barry died unexpectedly a
few
weeks later.
AT MIDDAY ON WEDNESDAY 26TH NOVEMBER 2003, - The Anarchist Media
Institute
will be setting up a memorial to honour the 13 Eureka prisoners who were
acquitted of High Treason.  We will be meeting outside the State Library
of
Victoria, (cnr Swanston & LaTrobe St, Melb) at the same spot Redmond
Barry's
statue has been erected, to honour the 13 men acquitted of High Treason
in
the Supreme Court of Victoria in 1855.
James Beattie, Macfie Campbell,        Jan Vennik,
Thomas Dignam,   Timothy Hayes,        John Joseph,
John Manning,      William Malloy,        John Phelan,
Henry Reed,         Jacob Sorenson,      Michael Tuohy,
Raffaello Carboni
We encourage our supporters to join us and Reclaim the Radical Spirit of
the
Eureka rebellion.  It's time that these men and what they stood and
fought
for were publicly recognised by the citizens of Melbourne.  For far too
long, the true history of Victoria has been ignored by those who wield
power.
JOIN AT MIDDAY ON WEDNESDAY 26TH NOVEMBER, OUTSIDE THE STATE LIBRARY OF
VICTORIA
(Next to Redmond Barry's statue) & RECLAIM THE RADICAL SPIRIT OF THE
EUREKA
REBELLION.

  BOOK REVIEW
'THE GOD OF SMALL THINGS'
- Arundhati ROY.
Flamingo 1997, ISBN 000 655068 1
'Masterpiece, Winner of the Booker Prize, A gripping tale of love and
loss'
and the accolades go on and on and on, I've never seen a book with so
many
ringing endorsements.  'The International No. 1 Best-seller' scrams out
the
back cover.  My expectations have been lifted so high I expect to be
disappointed.  No book, no set of ideas could be so extraordinary.  I
read
all 334-pages waiting for the cerebral equivalent of the room to move.
Arundhati Roy succeeds in outlining the prejudices, shortcomings, idiocy
and
limitations of both the oppressed and the oppressors.  The story of one
family encapsulates the story of India.  Whether it does or not, I'm not
sure, what I do know is she knows how to breath life into characters.
The
mundane tragedy of living is woven into the story of dying.  Betrayal is
portrayed as salvation.  Her characters dance on a stage that she has
cleverly crafted, realities become dreams, nothing matters but the
individual.  Biology overrides class.  Loyalty and religion are cast off
in
the search to fulfil that biological destiny.
The God Of Small Things' drags life back into the mud it evolved from.
The
veneer of civilisation is stripped from Roy's characters, self interest
and
self preservation guide their thoughts and actions.  It's difficult to
know
whether Roy's development at her characters mirrors the life of the
people
around her.  Baba, Ammy, Estha, Rahel, Sophie Mol, Margaret, Mammachi
and
Chacko are people in their own right as well as caricatures of real
people.
The touchable and the untouchable meet, cross the boundaries set by
society
and pay the price.
An interesting book? - Possibly.  A great book? - I doubt it.  A great
first
novel? - Yes!!  A masterpiece, what is a masterpiece?  Great writing, a
few
unforgettable sentences here and there.  Literary gymnastics? ­ Yes.
You
could do far worse than reading this little gem.  You can consume it and
forget it or you can read it and be enthralled by the banality of
existence,
the stupidity of culture, the State, religion and the overriding power
of
human emotions.  You could do far worse than read The God Of Small
Things'.
Try you local library or a second hand bookshop, maybe it's been
reprinted.
Thanks to Michael from TORQUAY, VICTORIA for sending me the book to
review,
forcing me to read fiction, masquerading as historical reality.

PERSONAL OBSERVATION
Flash, flash, flash, colour, action, colour, action, lucky I'm not an
epileptic.  The intermittent exposure to so many bright flashes of light
could trigger an epileptic fit.  Aspendale to St.Kilda on a Sunday
morning
is awash with cyclists tight lycra enveloping their bodies, aerodynamic
helmets on their heads, pedalling their 25 gear bikes along Beach Road.
Men
and women dressed in the latest cycling apparel, every inch of their
body's
covered in brand names trip the light fantastic.  Couples, groups,
individuals, heads down, their feet going round and round put their
bodies
through the Melbourne ritual of hurtling down Beach Road, the bay on one
side, houses on the other.
The less adventurous, normally family groups and the elderly dressed in
non
descript cycling gear, pedal along a cement bicycle lane that is neatly
divided into a lane for those heading north and one for those heading
south.
The great majority shun the bicycle lanes, preferring to feel the tarmac
beneath their wheels.  After a while, they all look the same, same
helmets,
same lycra outfits, same bicycles handlebars curved forwards, same
colours,
same brand names, same ubiquitous water bottle clamped onto their
bicycles.
Occasionally one dismounts, stretches the legs, does one or two body
stretches, takes a swig from their water bottle and moves on, the brand
names merging into a blur of colour.  It's all very innocuous, very
prim,
very proper, a Sunday ritual punctuated by café latte stops.  The group
of
friends meet at the same time, at the same café, for the same café
lattes.
Amongst the well dressed throngs on the road this Sunday, one man stood
apart.  He was pedalling an old Malvern Star bone cruncher made in the
50's,
no fancy handlebars or fancy gears, just your average bone shaker.  No
lycra
testicle supports for this lad, just an old set of dirty jeans, an old
black
t-shirt that had seen better days and a $10 foam crash helmet, the type
that
sits on the top of your head.  No water bottle, no backpack, no brand
names
or bright colours, a bloke going about his everyday business on an old
bike
on Sunday morning.  They flashed past him with monotonous regularity.
He
didn't care.  He was going somewhere.  They were just riding a bike for
the
sake of riding a bike.  He pedalled on an island of sanity in a sea of
colour.

STOP PRESS
ANOTHER BLOOD CURE!!
I can't stand it, every time I open a newspaper or listen to the radio
or
television news, guineas to gooseberries there will be an in depth'
story
about another cure.  Diabetes this week, cancer next week, AIDS the week
after, it doesn't stop, arthritis, gout, depression, paraplegia, you
name
the disease or disability and you'll find a cure for it in the popular
press.  What's going on!?  This week's no exception, it seems diabetes
is
the name of the game this week.
Hope for a miracle is not the underlying theme, it's a little more
mundane
and boring than you'd expect.  It's all about money or more importantly,
a
lack of money.  In an age when scientific research is driven by the urge
to
make a quid, exposure is the name of the game.  Don't worry about the
facts,
publicity any publicity (as long as they spell your name right) is what
the
game's all about.  If the dollars aren't coming in to fund a particular
project, a few well placed stories in the media will do the trick.
Although
cures are few and far between, patents, especially medical patents, are
as
thick as the black forest, look up at patents that apply to diabetes and
you'll see why everyone's keen to push the cure barrow.
You need to read between the lines to find out that the research they
are
discussing has nothing to do with a cure.  Interesting, research
material is
appearing in the media long before it's published in a scientific
journal.
Material that has not been reviewed is presented as gospel truth.
Information that has nothing to do with a cure is presented as a
possible
cure.  Cures are normally discussed about diseases that affect millions
of
people.  There is very little point in finding a cure' for a
non-profitable
disease is there?  Researchers today find that their projects are not
funded
if they don't take the Baron Bic approach to scientific research. (The
ball
point pen made by Baron Bic and his descendants ­ billionaires.) A cure
for
diabetes will definitely make the researcher a millionaire and the
pharmaceutical giant that markets the cure, billionaires.
No wonder so many scientists are forced to play the cure game, hoping
against hope that some nice pharmaceutical company will see the
potential in
their work and bankroll their cure'.  Hold onto your hats, I've just
heard
somebody is flogging a cure for life!!

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


ANARCHIST PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED THIS WEEK
FREEDOM 11th OCTOBER 2003, Anarchist Fortnightly, 84b Whitechapel High
St,
London E17QX, ENGLAND Email:FreedomCopy@aol.com Tel/Fax; 020 7247 9249
SOCIAL ANARCHISM, No.34 2003, A Journal of Theory & Practice, 2743
Maryland Ave, Baltimore MD, 21218 USA, www.socialanarchism.org
edirtors@socialanarchism.org
UMANITA NOVA Vol 83 No.33 EURO 19TH OCT 2003, 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 $1299.50
For the first time since we started the debt elimination appeal, we are
becoming more confident that we can get rid of it.  Ou current debt is
$1299.50.  We encourage you to resubscribe, buy a subscription for a
friend
or local library, sent us a donation or amaze your friends and purchase
a
T-Shirt and magnets. If you're sending $20 or less, send 50cent stamps.
If
you're sending more, make out money orders and cheques to LIBERTARIAN
WORKERS to P.O. BOX 20 PARKVILLE 3052, MELBOURNE AUSTRALIA.  Lets see if
we
can cure this cancer by mid December.
Debt 12-11-2003            $1299.505

ALL THE NEWS THAT FITS
The US govt & that of its ally Israel are among the greatest threats to
world peace, according to a new survey. Conducted by the EU found that
Israel's govt was seen as the greatest threat to world peace of any
country
in the world. 59% of people surveyed believed its govt was a threat to
world
peace. The US govt was ranked similarly to that of Iran & North Korea
all
scored 53%. (Source: SBS website)
Far from achieving equality, women's status in relation to men is
actually
going backwards, according to a new book. Anne Summers writes in her
book
'The End of Equality' the proportion of Aussie women in full time work
hasn't increased in the past 30 years while more women work part time
than
ever before. Dr Summers writes often these women would prefer full time
jobs, but can't take them b/c of the lack of childcare & other support
for
working mothers. She writes there's a childcare crisis in Aust, with an
estimated shortfall of up to a million places. As a result, most women
don't
earn enough money to support themselves - & women are earning less
relative
to men than they did a decade ago. Dr Summers also writes women's
dependence
on welfare is increasing. In 2001, 13500 women reported sexual assaults
to
police. Using standard formulas for under-reporting, the actual number
could
be as high as 90500, or roughly 250 a day. Dr Summers says the govt has
abolished or starved of funding al the agencies that once monitored
women's
progress or agitated on women's issues. There's not been an enquiry into
any
aspect of women's equality for the past 10 years & the last govt survey
on
women's safety was in 1991. Dr Summers also says govt & business have a
deliberate policy of trying to coerce women into becoming full time
mothers.
She says this isn't so merely social conservatism but is based on
economic
reasons. The Aust birthrate is falling, leading to a slowing or halting
of
population growth. The free market economic system is generally believed
to
need to 'grow or die'. (Source: The Age)
Employers are abusing govt traineeship programs often treating them as
nothing more than a source of cheap labour. An audit by the Vict govt
has
found that up to 2000 employers who've received federal & state
incentives
to provide computer software training have failed to comply with
guidelines
set up to administer the program. 1 company was found not to comply,
Broadscope had received $18 million of public money. Leigh Hubbard from
Trades Hall Council said many trainee programs were essentially used as
labor subsidies. Some call centres employed more than 500 'trainees' &
only
a handful of permanent staff. Some companies used 'trainees' over the
Xmas
holidays instead of casuals. As well as the govt subsidy, trainees had
even
less rights than casual workers with no right to claim unfair dismissal
& no
requirement for companies to pay WorkCover levies for them. 49 year old
Derek Brownley said he was hired without being told he was a trainee. He
said he essentially learned nothing during his 'traineeship'. His
supervisor
"knew I was going to be sacked b/c my traineeship was up" which he was.
He
didn't receive a certificate despite completing his traineeship.
(Source:
The Age)
US govt contracts in Iraq are being awarded to companies who donate
heavily
to the Republican Party or who've military or political leaders on their
boards, according to a new report. The Centre for Public Integrity
report
said most of the 70 firms & individuals awarded govt contracts in Iraq
of up
to $US8billion (AUD$11.3billion), donated more to President Bush's
campaign
than to any other candidate in the past decade. 60% of the firms with
contracts had employees or board members who worked in previous admins,
for
members of Congress, or at senior levels of the military. One of the
biggest
contracts in Iraq went to Halliburton, an oil company once run by VP
Dick
Cheney. Engineering firm Bechtel, which has received more than $1billion
in
US govt contracts in Iraq, has former Secretary of State George Schultz
as a
member of its board. Charles Lewis from the centre said "there's a
stench of
political favouritism & cronyism surrounding the contracting process".
(Source: The Age)
The housing crisis is in the worst state for more than a decade,
according
to a welfare worker. Chris Middendorp from Hanover Welfare Services said
"in
12 years, I haven't seen a worse situation". This year 30,000 adults &
18,000 accompanying children sought assistance from services for the
homeless in Victoria alone. There are close to 35,000 people on the
public
housing waiting list. Less than 1 family in 3 who seek crisis
accommodation
can be helped. (Source: The Age)
The US govt is pressing the Aussie govt to restrict cheap alternatives
to
brand name medicines. US law allows drug companies to engage in lengthy
lawsuits with rival companies once the patent on a drug expires,
effectively
stopping them from developing cheaper 'generic' alternatives. US trade
negotiators are seeking similar laws for Australia. Generic medicines
have
saved Aussies about $2billion since 1994. (Source: Herald Sun)

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
Has been awarded to the Liberals, Nationals, Labor and Democrats for
their
failure to put up health care policies that would lead to a redirection
of
the $2.5billion of taxpayers money that is currently used to bankroll
the
health insurance costs of the 43% of Australians who can afford to buy
private health insurance, to the public health sector and Medicare. -
Institutions that cater for the health care needs of 100% of Australians

RECLAIM THE RADICAL SPIRIT OF THE EUREKA REBELLION
JOIN US AT BALLARAT AT THE EUREKA STOCKADE SITE
CNR STAWELL & EUREKA STREET, BALLARAT
>From 4AM TO 4PM
ON WEDNESDAY 3RD DECEMBER 2003
CELEBRATE THE 149TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE EUREKA REBELLION
RECLAIM YOUR HISTORY
Celebrate the important elements of the Eureka rebellion
  DIRECT DEMOCRACY
  DIRECT ACTION
  SOLIDARITY
'We swear by the Southern Cross to stand truly by each other & fight to
defend our rights and liberties'
PROGRAM
  4.00AM ­ 6.00AM ­ Gathering at Eureka Park to mark the 149th
anniversary
of the battle on the site and at the time it occurred
  6.00am ­ 10.00am ­ Breakfast Eureka Hall (Bring own food & drinks)
  10.00am ­ 11.00am ­ Radio broadcast across Australia involving the
participants at the site on the National Community Radio Satellite
  11.30am ­ 1.00pm ­ March from Eureka Park to Bakery Hill to re-affirm
the
Eureka Oath.  March back to Eureka Park
  1.00pm ­ 4.00pm ­ Lunch & conversation (bring own food & drinks)
Reclaim your history, use that history to change the future.
JOIN US AT EUREKA PARK / EUREKA HALL.
(CNR STAWELL & EUREKA STREET, BALLARAT)
>From 4AM TO 4PM
ON WEDNESDAY 3RD DECEMBER 2003

188 MEMBERS ­ 362 TO GO
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.

  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 CENTUR


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