Participants in the successful From Australia to Cuba with Love challenge may be interested in this “One Limited Step in the Right Direction” Declaration of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba.

Havana, May 16, 2022.

Today, the government of the United States announced several measures, which are positive but of a very limited scope, regarding Cuba associated to the granting of visas, regular migration, flights to Cuban provinces, remittances and adjustments to the regulations governing transactions with the non-state sector.… Go to Article

With Labor looking like it may form majority government and with the new Prime Minister Albanese going to the QUAD meeting IPAN asks the government to press for Assange’s release. The Independent and Peaceful Australia Network also wants the government to ‘denuclearise’. Here is their press release. Ed 23 May 2022.… Go to Article

I spent thirty-three years and four months in active military service, and during that period I spent most of my time being a high-class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism. – Major General Smedley D. Butler in 1931.… Go to Article

“We travel like other people, but we return to nowhere … we have a country of words” – Mahmoud Darwish

They began by shooting the militants; then they shot the children throwing stones; and when that was not enough, they began shooting the medics (Razan al-Najjar); and finally they are shooting the journos (Shireen Abu Aqleh).… Go to Article

Election ’22

The latest polls show that the LNP vote in south-east Queensland has collapsed. The LNP vote has gone down by more than 11%. The Greens vote, on the other hand, in Brisbane is neck and neck with that of the ALP. Yet we don’t have a Green in the house of representatives from any seats in south-east Queensland or anywhere else in Australia excepting in the seat of Melbourne where Adam Bandt, the leader of the Greens, did manage to capture a safe Labor seat some years ago.… Go to Article

Of course Barnaby is wrong … but so is the Guardian guy. I was in the workforce from 1967 till 2003 (when I was sacked) plus I was made redundant in different industries on a number of occasions … transitioning to another industry was very difficult, basically I spent about 8 of those 36 years either unemployed or working as a casual and going from job to job.… Go to Article

Over 1000 people marched in Redlands today in protest against Walker Corporations Toondah Harbour proposal that will destroy a RAMSAR wetlands refuge and will itself most probably be destroyed or rendered uninhabitable by extreme weather events caused by climate change and sea level rise. This is stupidity on the part of both major political parties who currently support this ‘development’, disfunctional government processes, and demonstrates the greed and political influence of Walker and Co.… Go to Article

The Brisbane Bicycle Film Night 2022 is coming up in Kangaroo Point on 28 May. You can score tickets at this link: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/…/brisbane-bicycle-film…

The main movie for the night is Bicycle Thieves: Pumped Up which looks like a really cool exploration of the experiences of cyclists who are living on the poverty line and grappling with the housing crisis.… Go to Article

Another delaying action by fossil fuel industry to forestall action on climate crisis – Trevor Berrill

International trade agreements open the door to claims that could slow progress on climate change.

On his first day in office, President Joe Biden revoked the permit for the controversial Keystone XL Pipeline, which would have brought exceptionally dirty oil south from Canada across the Plains.… Go to Article

Tosh
the musical

A play in two acts by Bernie Dowling

The following play is copyright as the intellectual property of Bernie Dowling, also identified in the manuscript as B. D. and hence ©B. D.
It may not be performed or copied in part or its entirety without the express and written permission of its author, Bernie Dowling.… Go to Article

This article by Brisbane city counsellor for the Gabba Ward, Jonathan Sri, gives a practical rundown on what is termed ‘fare evasion’ in his case for free public transport. I do not like the term ‘fare evasion’ (to be clear this is not Jonathan Sri’s term it is a term used by Brisbane City Council and Translink).… Go to Article

We post here the speeches made at the May Day celebrations at the Exhibition Grounds (Barrambin) in Brisbane /Meanjin on 2 May 2022. All the speeches were directed toward getting Labor elected on 21 May 2022. Not a single rank and file worker was invited on the platform. The people who spoke were (in order) Ben Jones (welcome), Sally McManus (ACTU Secretary), Annastacia Palaszczuk.… Go to Article

Thanks, Kate. Thanks, everybody for being here. One quick fact, Workers share of productivity. So all of those things that workers created this country, workers share of that; wages share of that; is at an all time low, it’s down to 46%.

It’s as low as it’s been since the 1960s.… Go to Article

Hello Brisbane, Yay! Scott Morrison is gotta go doesn’t he? Did you just say yes? Scott Morrison is gotta go.

You know what? That bloke says it’s not his job to support us getting pay rises. (Shame) It’s pretty interesting, isn’t it? Because there’s a hell of a lot of things that do not seem to be his job.… Go to Article

Gurri Ngindin Narmi … words of welcome to this place, welcome people from all directions. Welcome to Barrambin, the windy place of many waterholes, in the language of the Jaggera people, the traditional name for what we know now as Victoria Park and it surrounds.

My name is Ben Jones … my bloodline is with the Nuigi clan of the Quandamooka people, we formed the Eastern component of the broader Jagera nation.… Go to Article

On 22 October 1977 Senator George Georges led 5,000 people in a march out of King George Square in Brisbane/Meanjin. The march was in opposition to Uranium Mining and Export in Queensland and opposed the Fraser government’s decision for Australia to enter the global nuclear fuel industry.

418 people were arrested.… Go to Article

Australians for War Powers Reform (AWPR) has launched a No War Without Parliament campaign so any decision to take Australia into international armed conflict should be made by our Parliament, not by the PM or the Executive. I read ‘No War without Parliament’. I understand this may be seen as an improvement on the current situation where Australian Prime Ministers from both major parties have authorised wars (Howard/Iraq) or the continuance of wars (Gillard/Afghanistan) but I think the proponents have missed a crucial aspect of why Australia gets involved in wars in the first place.… Go to Article