Israel
Sorry, Philip Mendes, but Narendra Mohan Kommalapati is quite clear in denouncing the State of Israeli as a racist state, while you muddily mix up the Israeli state and the population that lives under its misrule.
The state is a weapon of class rule — it is the ruler's state. In the case of Israel, this means police, army, courts and government based on the legally enforced dispossession and subjugation of the Palestinian people.
Mendes' misanalysis of the state is open for all to see when he suggests that applying Kommalapati's analysis to Australia would see us "expelling or killing all white immigrant Australians by violence, and creating a new state consisting solely of indigenous Aborigines"!
I admit to a penchant for destroying the Australian capitalist state — seeing an end to the racist police force which terrorises indigenous people; seeing the deadly mandatory sentencing and detention laws smashed; seeing the corporate politicians removed from power. But I hardly think that puts "all white immigrant Australians" in danger!
Mendes' comparison between the Jewish capitalist state of Israel and the Australian capitalist state would only hold true if most of Australia's indigenous inhabitants, like the Palestinians, had been expelled from Australia and were denied the right to return to it.
The dismantling (destruction) of the Zionist state of Israel and its replacement by a democratic secular state in no way means destruction of the Jewish inhabitants of Palestine — it means dismantling all racist laws, courts, army, police, government, and replacing them with a state which treats each citizen equally, regardless of their nationality, race or religion.
That is why progressive people, many Jews included, oppose Israel — not because they want to kill anyone, but on the contrary, because they want to destroy a racist, killer state.
Paul Benedek
Harris Park NSW [Abridged]
Gas pipeline
It must be obvious to any reasonable person that if it is economically viable for Japan to transport gas from Australia to Japan by ship then it is economically viable for Phillips Petroleum and Nabalco to do the same for Darwin and Gove.
So why build an undersea pipeline from the Bayu-Undan field to Darwin?
Such a project could present numerous engineering problems, as well as being at risk from natural catastrophes such as earthquakes, sea floor sediment movement and cyclones.
The reasoning behind the oft-mooted pipeline to Nhulunbuy has always been obvious — to open up more of Arnhem Land for the developers and other environmental destroyers. In the national interest, of course.
But not in the interests of the environment or of its Aboriginal inhabitants, although no resistance can be expected from the Northern Land Council.
Col Friel
Alawa NT
Roads
The native and non-native birds are dying now from diesel and car fumes. Is this the fate that awaits humans too?
As a community we say wider roads do not solve our problems as we will get more cars and semi-trailers, resulting in global warming, climate change, increased greenhouse gases and ozone layer destruction.
At Ovingham we have three roads: Fitzroy Terrace, Jeffcott Road and Park Terrace. Torrens Road is going to be widened by 12 metres, making 24 metres in total continuing down to Chief Street in Brompton. Churchill Road will be widened also to Avenue Road. We are just below the North Adelaide parklands, which have been taken twice (Park Terrace and Fitzroy Terrace) for previous road widening. The state Liberal government intends to take the parklands again for road widening in a few years time.
Churchill Road is going to be a B-double route, which is going to be very bad for our local community; we are going to lose our local amenities.
The parklands should not be taken any more to solve our transport problems.
Sandra Davis From Green Left Weekly, December 12, 2001.
secretary
Churchill Road Action Group
Ovingham SA
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