Independent journalist Austin Mackell sent the statement below to be read out at an October 6 rally in Sydney to support Julian Assange and WikiLeaks.
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The Australia-Venezuela Solidarity Network released the statement below on October 8.
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Members of the Australian solidarity brigade in Venezuela released the statement below on October 8.
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“We, members of the Australian solidarity brigade to Venezuela, congratulate socialist President Hugo Chavez on his re-election on October 7”, said Coral Wynter, an organiser of the Australia-Venezuela Solidarity Network (AVSN) 2012 brigade. “We have seen Venezuela's unique participatory democracy system in action, and it works.”
About 200 people rallied in Sydney on October 6 at a protest organised by the Support Assange and WikiLeaks Coalition and the Stop the War Coalition Sydney. Speakers are the rally included Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon, independent journalist Antony Loewenstein, Sydney branch secretary of the Maritime Union of Australia Paul McAleer, The Justice Campaign's Aloysia Brooks and Stop the War Coalition's Christine Keavney. Rally-goers also heard statements of support from independent journalist Austin Mackell, lawyer and human rights activist Kellie Tranter and the Afghan Peace Volunteers.
Venezuela's socialist President Hugo Chavez has won the October 7 Venezuelan elections with over 54.44% of the vote against 45% of the vote for right-wing opposition candidate Henrique Capriles. The National Electoral Council's Tibisay Lucena announced more than 80% of the 19,119,809 registered voters in Venezuela participated in the election.
Dr. Oliver Villar is a Lecturer in Politics at Charles Sturt University. His new book is "Cocaine, Death Squads, and the War on Terror: US Imperialism and Class Struggle in Colombia", published by Monthly Review Press. Villar gave the speech below at the Fidel in the 21st Century conference in Sydney, in August 2012.
On the eve of the October 7, Venezuelan presidential election, Green Left TV's Peter Boyle spoke to Tamara Pearson (below), an Australian socialist who has been living in Venezuela since 2007. She writes for Venezuela Analysis and for Green Left Weekly. Pearson lives in Merida but was in Caracas for the final stage of the election campaign and to help lead the 2012 Australia-Venezuela Solidarity Network brigade whose members are also there to witness this election campaign.
Arthur Murray died the other day. I turned to Google Australia for tributes, and there was a 1991 obituary of an American ballroom instructor of the same name. There was nothing in the Australian media. The Australian newspaper published a large, rictal image of its proprietor, Rupert Murdoch, handing out awards to his employees. Arthur would have understood the silence.
Arthur Murray died the other day. I turned to Google Australia for tributes, and there was a 1991 obituary of an American ballroom instructor of the same name. There was nothing in the Australian media.
The Australian newspaper published a large, rictal image of its proprietor, Rupert Murdoch, handing out awards to his employees. Arthur would have understood the silence.
This public statement was released on October 3 and was initiated by the signatories below. To add your name to the statement visit here.
The recent strike and mass mobilisations of teachers and their supporters in Chicago were significant for those who opposed them.
The Democrat Barack Obama and the Republican Mitt Romney aligned themselves against this fight to defend public schools.
In contrast, Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein expressed solidarity with the movement and was invited to speak at a rally.
“Major U.S. business groups are stepping up pressure on President Barack Obama's administration to suspend longtime trade benefits for Ecuador, citing the Andean country's mistreatment of Chevron Corp as proof of a deteriorating investment climate”, Reuters said September 26.
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