I was once told by a patronising Englishman that the trouble with Australia is that it has too much geography and not enough history ... clearly the observation is not really relevant to Tasmania ... it has a remarkably rich tradition of historical literature. - Henry Reynolds in his Introduction to Grease and Ochre by … Continue reading The Protectors

Weather 5 -20 April, Meanjin (Brisbane) Your weather man is reporting – Mon 12th is looking likely to be wet again. Planning 7 days in advance is often difficult with weather particularly at this time of year when the atmosphere is hotter, wetter and more unstable.   The weather pattern is often cyclical with the passage of … Continue reading Meanjin Weather forecast for 5 – 20 April

https://youtu.be/oifzE0Wnv-s Foco Nuevo: the sounds of our town NO FOCO NUEVO IN APRIL BUT... Hello and thanks to all of you who have been coming to Foco Nuevo house concerts. Since relocating Foco Nuevo to our backyard in November last year we've had great feedback from both audiences and performers, so while the situation for … Continue reading All that I’ve Seen

The broadcast - Report on International Women’s Day on Paradigm Shift (4ZZZ Fridays at noon) - has been widely misunderstood. Station management claims there have been many complaints about the program and so broadcast an apology soon after Paradigm Shift show went to air on 12 March 2021. Station managerment (news, incoming, outgoing managers) assert that … Continue reading The Opinion Police on International Women’s Day

Review of Grease and Ochre by Patsy Cameron Author Patsy Cameron is a direct descendant of Mannerlargenna whom Henry Reynolds calls that “great and tragic” Tasmanian. Mannerlargenna led the resistance to the dispossession of their country by the colonists. He died of grief and, I suspect, shame from allowing himself to be exiled from his … Continue reading Grease and Ochre

by Raymond Evans

There is no mention in this article (below) by journo Tony Moore (Fairfax) of the political police involved in the fire-bombing of the Whiskey a Go Go nightclub (1973). Senator George Georges was arrested at the 30th October 1978 anti-uranium and democratic rights demonstration along with federal MP Tom Uren. Georges arresting officer was Detective … Continue reading Political police involved in Whiskey massacre

Ravi's Story: After the Fire By Jill Horton “We are being treated much worse than criminals, even though we haven't committed any crime” Ravi grew up as a Sikh in a village in the Punjab state of India. His father had a senior post in the army. In the Punjab where he grew up, Sikhs … Continue reading Ravi’s search for freedom

“Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't after you.” ― Joseph Heller, Catch-22 (misattributed to Kurt Cobain) I remember a friend, Tony X. going for the Australian public service clerk's exam in the 1970s. Tony was a very a dedicated anarchist. Along with Charlie, Tony printed many of the Left's pamphlets and posters down … Continue reading Anarchism and ‘the left hand of darkness’

"In Gaza, beneath the dark evening sky, somewhere between the smoky smell of gunshots and the crying children, my mother gave birth to me. It was underneath the light of the moon that I would exit her womb head first, toward the flames of war. If I had then the cognitive awareness of what war … Continue reading Gaza – born in war, alive under siege

I mark in every face I meetMarks of weakness, marks of woe– William Blake in ‘London‘ On 23 March 2021, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told a group of Conservative Party backbenchers: ‘The reason we have the vaccine success is because of capitalism, because of greed, my friends.’ Johnson was articulating the dogma that the … Continue reading Can Covid be cured under capitalism?

The 20 year war in Afghanistan has led to horrific deaths of civilians, and loss of normal living and has cost the lives of many of the invading forces in a war which was nothing to do with defending Australia. - Annette Brownlie, Just Peace, Brisbane (on fb). I recall Green's Scott Ludlum trying to … Continue reading Greens hold army to account over war crimes

Sadly Left organisation is at an all-time low in Brisbane. The annual Peace Rally on Palm Sunday, one of the cornerstone events of the radical calendar, was very disappointing. Despite strong speakers and determined organisers less than 200 people turned up to the Palm Sunday Rally at Reddacliffe Place in the CBD. In the 90’s … Continue reading Palm Sunday is for Refugees

Free West Papua demonstration in KGSq Brisbane 2015 West Papua is often described as “remote”, a handy word conveying two meanings: a pristine place for an exotic holiday and too far away for most people to give a damn. The Jakarta Post gives as its first reason for visiting this wonderland, “Dive with Friendly Whale Sharks”. Number … Continue reading West Papua: Rape The Women To Rape The Land

Our first speaker for this year, as we have already said, is likely to attract quite a large audience.  It will be Marian Wilkinson, addressing the issues raised in her recent book The Carbon Club – a devastating critique of the political actors  (fossil fuel industry agents, politicians, governments and others ) denying the scientific evidence of … Continue reading The Carbon Club

13 MAR 2021 – 31 MAR 2021 | GOMA | CINEMA A One of the most remarkable figures of Soviet cinema, Aleksei German (1938-2013) is a filmmaker of singular daring and invention. Over a career that spanned six decades, he constructed vivid and meticulously detailed films in which the exactitude of history and the haziness … Continue reading Aleksei German: History Through a Keyhole

For over a year, hundreds of refugees brought to Australia for medical care have been detained in the Kangaroo Point hotel and other places throughout Australia. Before being brought to Australia they were detained on Nauru and PNG for over six years. Many of them have mental health problems and this ongoing detention is only … Continue reading Palm Sunday ’21 – rally for peace

Time that is intolerant Of the brave and innocent, And indifferent in a week To a beautiful physique, Worships language and forgives Everyone by whom it lives; Pardons cowardice, conceit, Lays its honours at their feet. — W H Auden I have received a number of ultimatums from 4ZZZ management to self-censor podcasts made since … Continue reading Agitate, Educate, Organise

Brisbane Writers Festival returns home to State Library of Queenslandfrom 7-9 May with an incredible program of writers, thinkers, dreamers and artists.  Major highlights Benjamin Law has curated five thought-provoking events around the theme of 'survival': Changing How We Think to Survive, Stories from the Frontline of Survival, Remixing the World to Save Ourselves, What Our Migrant Families Survived and The World’s Biggest … Continue reading Brisbane Writers Festival returns home this May

Webinar Two: Defence & Foreign PolicyMarch 25 - 6 pm AEDT IPAN invites you to join us for the second in a series of webinars on the US-Australian alliance - on defence & foreign policy.The Australian public has been kept out of the debate on Australia's foreign policy and alliances, particularly concerning the United States. As … Continue reading The People’s Inquiry: Australia-US Alliance Webinar Series

This message is from Wangan and Jagalingou Traditional Owner Coedie, son of Adrian Burragubba. Waddamuli, ngadyu narri Coedie, ngadyu yabu Adrian Burragubba, ngaya wadda wirdi, ngaya Wanggan Yagalinggu mundu. Hello, my name is Coedie (Coodz Mac). My father is Adrian Burragubba, I speak Wirdi and I am from Wangan and Jagalingou. Ngali dabu wurba-gu banna … Continue reading Tour de Carmichael

ScoMo’s assertion that ‘there was no slavery in Australia’ (2 June 2020, 2GB radio) is plainly wrong. In the 19th and 20th centuries, abduction, coercion, violence, extreme exploitation and wage theft were constant features of the labour relations imposed on Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and South Sea Islander people in Queensland. Why do politicians and … Continue reading Slavery in Queensland