Reclaim the Streets
SYDNEY — Around 1000 protesters blocked off Enmore Road at the Reclaim the Streets rally and street party in Newtown on November 1. The protest drew attention to the lack of public space for pedestrians and the inadequacy of the public transport system, and demanded that the NSW state government and city planners look at options other than the construction of more roads.
Barricades and detour signs were erected, and for an afternoon Enmore Road was transformed into a vision of what public spaces free of cars could be like. A stage was set up for DJs, and people gathered around to dance while the less energetic relaxed on armchairs and sofas.
Organisers are planning the next Reclaim the Streets party for December.
US embassy picketed
CANBERRA — A demonstration was held outside the US embassy on November 7 to protest against the death sentence recently handed down to Green Left Weekly columnist Brandon Astor Jones. The protest is part of an ongoing campaign organised by the Brandon Astor Jones Defence Committee.
Demonstrators attempted to deliver letters calling for clemency addressed to the US president, Judge Nix (the presiding judge) and the governor of Georgia, but embassy staff refused to accept them. Speakers described the humanitarian work Jones has carried out during his 18 years in incarceration.
'Queer' politics debated
ADELAIDE — Two Hundred people crowded into the Lion Arts Centre on November 2 to debate the politics of sexual identity. Organised as part of Feast, the gay and lesbian cultural festival, the speakers included Michael McCulloch, Will Sergeant, Jennifer Rice and Marg McHugh. All speakers argued that gay and lesbian identity are central to asserting gay and lesbian people's visibility in the general community and fighting homophobia.
Debate raged around the identity label of "queer". Rice, identifying as a lesbian feminist, criticised the dominance of male sexuality in queer politics and culture. She argued that the label of queer, far from being inclusive, alienated many, including women.
McCulloch said queer was once a politically radical and activist identity but is now apolitical and academic. He argued that the "queer dollar" had now joined the "pink dollar" in becoming part of the capitalist market and institutions of oppression.