‘Those masters plan wars in tall towers
But do they think of the children and the flowers?
They conscript women to kill
But care not a damn
Young people’s blood
Flows out of their bodies
Now buried in the sand
Back in Afghanistan’
— Last Train to Mirabad
by Ian Curr
Slideshow/Report/Update – Ecuadorian Embassy London *Short Report Briz Gig for Julian Assange
New blog post here with an update on Julian Assange’s situation and ongoing solidarity outside the Ecuadorian Embassy: http://wp.me/p1rtyw-GT.
Two weeks of photos (from IT Friends of BM) here
http://tinyurl.com/bmflbrm
*Short report Briz Gig for Julian Assange
From under the house and backyard of Turnstyles, West End Brisbane came Irish trad/classical/punk/indigenous/cabaret/Latino/local folk sounds, speeches and film that were definitely more kick ass than kiss ass. Approx 100 folks past through, many who had made their initial acquaintance in the back of Brisbane police vans and cells under the rule of Premier Joh Bjelke Petersen in the late 70’s and early ’80’s. Maggie B had cooked up a storm and the no budget/no resourced event unfolded rather than unravelled under the highly Irish whiskey medicated/ heavy cold laden MC Ciaron O’Reilly.
Ciaron is back in his home town for a visit, fresh from accompanying Queenslander Julian Assange through running the gauntlet of the British legal system. Julian is now ensconced in the Ecuadoran Embassy in Knightstbridge, London. As keynote speaker Gary MacLennan stated its obvious why Julian didn’t seek sanctuary in the march larger Australian High Commission. He would have been delivered immediately by the Gillard/ Carr government to a U.S Gulag or one of the man black sites run by the Obama administration
Stay tuned for soon to be youtube hit!!!!!
“From Joh to Julian, That was Then, This is Now. Free Speech Use it or Lose it!” Music “The Joes” do “Rum Corps”…
Flashback Anti-war movement 1966
During a nation-wide anti-conscription campaign by the National Union of Australian University Students (NUAUS), about 40 University of Queensland students planned to march in support of this initiative on 5th October, 1966.
The demonstrators attempted to march the 8 kilometers from the university campus along the footpath (sidewalk) to Brisbane’s city centre.
Police prevented the protestors from marching forcing their return to campus.
The students subsequently decided to drive to the city by car in order to continue their anti-conscription protest in central Brisbane.
The demonstration was broken up by police and 27 people were arrested (a majority of the demonstrators).
The following year, several of those arrested went to jail rather than pay their fines.
Film courtesy of Bruce Dickson
(Variant Title: Anti-National Service Rally, 1966)
Ciaron O’Reilly
Blog http://ciaron.wordpress.com/
“The poor tell us who we are,
The prophets tell us who we could be,
So we hide the poor,
And kill the prophets.”
Phil Berrigan