John Pilger: The mass removal of Indigenous children from their parents continues unabated – where is the outrage?
The Ahistorical Truth only tells us:
History provides the direction we need to go
Month: September 2015
As history teaches us, tyranny condoned against some will finally become a tyranny visited on us all. Tony Abbott cannot distance himself from this
By Vanessa Kairies Watching the Abbott publicity machine in action this week has been sickening. Visiting cows in his freshly pressed suit was just the beginning. Clueless! Off he jetted to his annual ‘community visit”. “While I’m here” he thought, “I’ll visit Eddie Mabo’s grave site on Murray Island”. It was abhorrent. Eddie Koiki Mabo…
Source: Jet-setting, funding-cutting Tony – » The Australian Independent Media Network
The Immigration Minister plays down reports Cambodia does not want to settle more refugees as part of its transfer deal with Australia.
Jobs, growth and…what was the other one….oh yeah, community safety. Has anyone got anything? The government’s backpedalling explanation of Friday’s Border Farce debacle raises more questions than it answers. The press release was sent to Immigration Minister Peter Dutton’s office but nobody bothered to read the document. Last year it was revealed in Senate estimates…
Source: Introducing finger number 3, community safety – » The Australian Independent Media Network
Source: Is “White Skin Privilege” the Key to Understanding Racism?
We are up against a powerful class of people that we do not stand a chance against if we allow “the narcissism of small differences” (Freud) to continue dividing us. In our own interests, to protect ourselves from further suffering, we must recognize people who are basically in the same boat as we are, but who have endured even greater exploitation and injustice. Given this latter fact, people of color can also offer the most experienced leadership in fighting back against our corporate rulers. It will not be easy, but we need to work towards forging a multi-racial working class unity that can confront the power of big business. It’s an uphill fight but I believe we have to begin by being clear about what is and what is not going to be a workable strategy against racism.
Source: The Myth of the Middle Class: Have Most Americans Always Been Poor?
If most Americans have always been poor in the sense that counts, how shall we describe the condition of working people in the age of “secular stagnation”? Repressed for sure: persistent and hopeless austerity will generate social dislocation on a disturbing scale – rising crime and suicide rates, domestic violence and psychological depression. I think of these as expressions of unorganized resistance. Oppressive conditions are naturally resisted in one form or another. The form taken depends on the existence and scope of savvy agents of political resistance. In any case, the State is preparing for what it fears will be significant outbursts of mass recalcitrance. The infrastructure of a police state is in place. State repression apparently must be practiced, rehearsed in preparation for full fledged assault. The experimental “subjects” have thus far been largely black people. But that’s just the dress rehearsal. Only an organized, active Left with a mass base can avert what’s in the wings. So far, it doesn’t look good. So far.
Like a cat struggling to avoid a bath, Tony Abbott has been scrabbling for purchase; desperately latching on to anything within reach in the hope of escaping his dire situation.
Source: Desperate Abbott struggles to maintain control – The Drum (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Melbourne’s train and tram inspectors will be checking to make sure those trying to enter the country have a valid travel pass this week, while their counterparts in the Australian Border Force patrol for visas at Flinders Street Station.
It’s all part of a innovative job swap scheme introduced to give officers the chance to branch out from their normal routine.
Arnold Walsh, a Pubic Transport Victoria inspector from Melbourne’s west would usually spend Monday mornings checking Myki and concession cards at the southern exit of Flinders Street Station. But today he’s 200km North of Darwin on a 60-foot patrol vessel. “It’s a new experience, that’s for sure. We’ve booked a lot of people for not having a valid ticket for today’s train travel, so it’s certainly been worthwhile,” he said.
Walsh says there are some similarities between the two beats. “We’ve heard all the usual range of excuses. ‘The ticket machine wasn’t working’. ‘I didn’t have any change on me’. ‘I’m fleeing a war zone’. But as we always say, you’ve got to touch on and touch off for every journey. No excuses”.
Back at Flinders Street, Border Force officer Kevin Hume is also keeping busy. “Thirty people stopped, thirty people without a visa,” he says, juggling an automatic weapon in one hand, and a ticket validator machine in the other.
The job swap – a joint initiative between the Australian Border Force and Public Transport Victoria – is designed to increase job satisfaction and broaden the experience of officers. Border Force officer Kevin Hume says it’s also a chance to share learnings. “I really like the set up of the ticket barriers at Flinders Street Station. That’s something I could see us roll out in the Timor”.
olddogthoughts 