This was a speech given to the rally for Palestine in Melbourne on July 26.
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Over the past few weeks we have seen two major horrific events. Firstly Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 shot down over the Ukraine and 298 innocent people were killed.
This horrific event has been thoroughly condemned by many world leaders. Many of the Western world leaders have called for retribution against the Russian separatists and for retribution against Russia.
Many Western leaders want embargoes against Russia some from the US Senate and Congress even want war with Russia.
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The Pentagon announced its approval on July 30 for unlocking a huge stockpile of ammunitions for use by the Israeli Defense Forces. It came as the IDF continued to pummel civilians inside the Gaza Strip, as the death toll neared 1400 people 鈥 a majority of whom are civilians, including almost 300 children.
The campaign to save the homes of public housing tenants at the historic inner city suburb of Millers Point is growing.
The NSW Coalition government is pressing ahead with its plan to sell nearly 300 public housing residences, in the face of determined opposition from the community and supporters.
The government has successfully pressured some residents to relocate to other public housing areas, but many of the Millers Point tenants are holding firm and refusing to move.
鈥淭his is not a war. It is genocide,鈥 reads a popular slogan on homemade signs at protests against Israel鈥檚 current attack on the Gaza Strip.聽
The body count is enough to illustrate the one-sidedness of the violence. For the first nine days of their assault, Israeli forces pounded the besieged territory from the land, sea and air, but did not send forces in. About 250 people were killed in these nine days. Only one was Israeli.
The Tony Abbott government's "asset recycling" bill 鈥 in effect an incentive for the privatisation of public property by state governments 鈥 has been stalled in the Senate.
Amendments moved by the Greens and the ALP were declared unacceptable by the government so parliament went into the winter recess before the bill was voted on.
Amid asylum seeker polices that grow crueller and more surreal by the day, plans to turn the unemployed into virtual slaves and Christopher Pyne let loose on education, there is, without a doubt, one big question in Australian politics in 2014.
And that is: What drugs is Clive Palmer on?
And where can we get some? 鈥楥oz that bloke is clearly off his chops. You never know what the hell he鈥檒l pull next, which makes me worry about what will happen when he finally comes down. Some poor aide is going to have to explain what he got up to.
The Students for Women Only Services Group held a vigil in Sydney on July 24 to protest against the recent decision to defund specialist women鈥檚 and children鈥檚 refuge centres in NSW.
The vigil was attended by about 300 people. Speakers included Asian Australian Alliance convener Daphne Lowe Kelley, United Muslim Women Association CEO Maha Abdo, NSW Greens MLC Mehreen Faruqi and Labor MLC Sophie Cotsis.
Joko Widodo, or 鈥淛okowi鈥澛燼s he is popularly known, was confirmed by Indonesia鈥檚 electoral commission on July 22 as the winner of the presidential elections.
Jokowi defeated, sacked Suharto-era general Prabowo Subianto, by 57% to 43% of the nearly 130 million direct votes cast on July 9. Prabowo has sought to challenge the result.
However, supporters of Jokowi, whose campaign aroused enthusiasm among ordinary people hoping for change from elite-dominated politics, are intent聽on defending what they see as a chance for significantly more democratic reform.
Immigration minister Scott Morrison has spun many lies in his role as 鈥渂order protector鈥. They have come hard and fast as the government tries to deal with the 157 Tamil refugees kept at sea aboard a Customs ship for weeks.
Below are the four biggest lies that have underpinned this case and the Coalition's entire anti-refugee policy.
WHY THE BOAT WAS BROUGHT TO THE MAINLAND
Morrison said on July 26 the 157 people would be brought to Curtin detention centre in remote north-west Western Australia so identity checks could be carried out by Indian officials.
About 200 people attended a forum at the Wesley Centre in Geelong on July 30 to hear speakers from the community and the Labor Party discuss the federal government鈥檚 asylum seeker policy.
Speakers included federal member for Corio and opposition spokesperson on immigration Richard Marles, alongside representatives from the Combined Refugee Action Group (CRAG) and Labor For Refugees.
Representatives from Irish republican party Sinn Fein are touring Australia from August 30 to September 7, speaking at public meetings in Perth, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
The Greens have faced criticism for their position on Israel鈥檚 war on Palestine.
At a Palestine rally in Melbourne on July 26, Victorian Greens Senator Janet Rice was booed for calling for an arms embargo on both Israel and Palestine. At a Palestine rally in Brisbane on the same day, Greens candidate Jake Schoermer had a shoe thrown at him for condemning violence on both sides, .
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