Issue 19 – 19 November to 25 November 2020

November 26, 2020March 26, 2021 editor

The government is using the pandemic to lock in low wages and insecure work
Greg Jericho | The Guardian
There exists a very real danger that when our economy does eventually recover, it will be much worse for workers

A New Generation of Australian War Criminals
Bobuq Sayed | Meanjin
Most don’t bat an eyelid at the new normalisation of relations with the Taliban and their sinister return to global prominence. Just recently, 22 promising scholars were slain during a shooting at Kabul University, where my own father studied some 40 years ago. Within hours, the news cycle had shifted elsewhere. Until the Brereton report was released.

Fracking on Trial in the Northern Territory
Lauren Mellor | Arena
On 19 October 2020 an unusual case was brought before the Darwin Local Court in which two defendants were jointly charged with criminal damage of a front lawn. The ‘damage’ in question consisted of three shallow holes, drilled using a bobcat that was driven by a young Aboriginal custodian, co-defendant Conrad Rory, during a protest over the NT government’s recent decision to lift a moratorium on shale-gas fracking across the region.

The latest employment figures were a pleasant surprise, but we have a long way to go
Greg Jericho | The Guardian
The latest labour force figures were that weird occurrence of the unemployment rising being met with applause. And yet while the jobs growth in October was much better than expected, nothing in the figures suggest the recovery is close to completed

In Germany, Trade Unions Are Waking Up To the Climate Crisis
Hans-Juergen Urban | Jacobin
Rooted in Germany’s metalworks industries, IG Metall is one of the world’s strongest trade unions. But the need for climate action is forcing it to take a more critical approach to the industries where its members work — and fight for a green transition that creates new kinds of high-paid, fulfilling jobs.

Super war has nothing to do with policy, and everything to do with power
Bernard Keane and Glenn Dyer | Crikey
Don’t be fooled for a minute into thinking what is building into the biggest attack on superannuation for decades by the government has anything to do with policy. It’s about donations.

Puerto Rico Is Moving Left
Jorge M. Farinacci-Fernós | Jacobin
Puerto Ricans dealt a severe blow to their neoliberal, two-party system in the general election this month, with progressive forces making a major breakthrough. For the first time in the island’s history, the Left has become a relevant player in the electoral arena.

Why the Big Money is worried about civic unrest
Michael Pascoe | The New Daily
The “danger” is the pent-up frustration of 130 million Americans who can’t access $400 in an emergency but who are watching rich Americans get fabulously richer, thanks to central bank policies of ultra-cheap money boosting asset prices.

Community and unions unite to save Willow Grove
Zebedee Parkes | Green Left Weekly
The Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union has placed a green ban on the site, and protesters pledged their support to stop Willow Grove from being moved or destroyed — including taking part in civil disobedience actions.

Inside the fight to control the climate agenda in the next parliament
Margot Saville | Crikey
A climate-focussed political action group which backed winning candidates in the last federal election is planning to expand its operations. If Climate 200 can repeat its 2019 success it could influence the outcome of the next election.

Towards an anti-capitalist synthesis: what can ecosocialists learn from ecoanarchists?
Hans Baer | Green Left Weekly
Ecosocialists and ecoanarchists share an anti-capitalist stance, both viewing capitalism as the root of numerous social and environmental problems.

The conniptions about Harry Styles in a dress are the desperate cry of losers in a culture war
Van Badham | The Guardian
The Trump project they championed now lies in smoky ruins, overrun by an extraordinary coalition of liberals, leftists and those who’ve just had enough

Why Australia’s high commissioner sat down with India’s far right
Kishor Napier-Raman | Crikey

Australian female artists are paid 30% less than men, new study reveals
Kelly Burke | Guardian

I travelled to visit the Narrabri gas protesters. Here’s what I found
Mat Ward | Green Left Weekly

Australian-made component found in downed Azerbaijani military drone
Peter Boyle | Green Left Weekly

Federal police raid CFMEU offices
Jim McIlroy | Green Left Weekly

The tragedy of Poland’s ‘self-limiting revolution’
Duncan Hart | Red Flag

The Victorian lockdown saved countless lives. The Liberals would have let thousands die
Mick Armstrong | Red Flag

Where the fight against Covid-19 will be won or lost | Adam Triggs
Adam Triggs | Inside Story

Toxic masculinity: How ‘these things happen in Australia’
Jennifer Wilson | Independent Australia

1.5 million Aussies out of work and the immigration solution
Tarric Brooker | Independent Australia

Ministerial war crimes
Paul Malone | Pearls and Irritations

Refugees Detained in Melbourne’s Mantra Hotel Speak Out: “Our Lockdown Is Indefinite”
Mostafa Azimitabar & Ramsiyar Sabanayagam | Jacobin