The popular uprising which has swept Egypt over the past two weeks, inspired by the revolt which drove the Tunisian dictator from power in mid-January, is the expression of a people鈥檚 power movement in the Arab world which has been 40 years in the making.
I have been waiting for this for a long time. I lived in Cairo for six months in the first half of 1967, until the so-called Six Day War forced my family to leave Egypt for Britain.
My father was a meteorological scientist working through the United Nations with the Eqyptian agriculture department for a time.
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As momentous events in Egypt demonstrate, much of the world is calling to account an 鈥渙ld order鈥. These are exciting times for the possibilities of real change in the way our societies are run. One of the catalysts of the 鈥減eople power鈥 we see on our TV screens is the extraordinary disclosure of secret information that tells us how wars begin and governments manipulate and deceive in our name.
Four hundred people braved very warm weather to gather at the State Library of Victoria on February 4 to show solidarity with the recent democracy protests in Egypt.
Thousands of West Papuans marched in the capital Jayapura on January 26, AFP said that day.
Marchers rejected the area鈥檚 鈥渟pecial autonomy鈥 status within Indonesia and demanded a referendum on independence from Indonesia.
Protesters chanted: 鈥淚ndonesia the coloniser, Indonesia the oppressor, Indonesia the robber.鈥
The action included students from Cenderawasih University, the Indonesian Christian Students Movement and church members, Tempo Interactive said on January 26.
Sexism getting worse, not better
Jess Moore, in her article 鈥淩aunch culture, sex and sexuality鈥 (GLW#864), addresses some important issues affecting women today.
I don鈥檛 disagree with her main conclusion (replace sexist heterosexual raunch culture with non-sexist and queer raunch culture) but feel it is a little simplistic (although I guess with word limits that鈥檚 hard to avoid).
There has been a new wave of excellent books by feminist writers published in the last couple of years that critique current social trends.
The following was initiated by the Sydney University Climate Action Collective and Yarra Climate Action Now.
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Our top scientists have been telling us for decades that our carbon pollution is creating ever-worsening natural disasters such as floods, droughts and bushfires. Despite this and the record high ocean temperatures which contributed to our recent heavy rain, our state and federal governments have been reluctant to link climate change to the recent floods.
I first met US singer-songwriter Amanda Palmer when she was playing with drummer Brian Viglione in punk cabaret band The Dresden Dolls. Her song writing and performance was brutally honest, going places stylistically and thematically into which very few performers in today鈥檚 music industry venture.
West Papuan refugees in Papua New Guinea have been terrorised and arrested by police, West Papua Media Alerts said on January 28. They were allegedly arrested on behalf of the Indonesian military and local logging interests.
Police and soldiers rounded up 79 refugees living in camps around Vanimo, on PNG鈥檚 north coast near the border with West Papua, in the early hours of January 23.
The soldiers burned down at least 30 refugee houses, destroyed crops and food, and assaulted people, WPMA said. Other refugees have reportedly fled to the jungle.
In her January 26 speech to commemorate Australia Day, Prime Minister Julia Gillard took the opportunity to celebrate what she called the 鈥渂onds of mateship鈥, which had been 鈥渙n such strong display鈥 in the aftermath of the recent devastating floods.
However, this year鈥檚 Australia Day celebrations were also marred by violence. This is not unusual.
Police made 180 Australia Day-related arrests throughout New South Wales on January 26.
About 300 people turned out for a free outdoor film screening of the award-winning US documentary Gasland in Sydney Park on February 5.
The screening was supported by the City of Sydney and Palace Cinemas, and was organised by Sydney Residents Against Coal Seam Gas, a community group established to oppose plans for exploratory gas drilling in the inner-west suburb of St Peters.
Perth man Brendan O鈥機onnell was sentenced to three years jail under WA鈥檚 racial vilification laws on January 31. He was found guilty of six counts of vilification relating to anti-Semitic comments he posted on a YouTube video in 2009.
His jailing, and the length of the sentence, has opened up a certain controversy.
Conservative columnist Paul Murray pointed out in the February 2 West Australian that a person convicted of glassing someone in a pub could expect to receive an 18-month sentence, whereas O鈥機onnell received three years for an 鈥渆ssentially political [speech]鈥.
Thousands of students braved the notoriously brutal Sudanese police and security forces on January 30 in anti-government protests inspired by the Tunisian and Egyptian uprisings, SudaneseTribune.com reported that day.
Rallies took place at three universities and other sites across the capital, as well as in east and west Sudan.
Students called for General Omar al Bashir鈥檚 National Congress Party government to resign and condemned recent austerity measures and ongoing attacks of democratic rights.
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