Posts Tagged ‘protest’

Episode 63: Take Action Against Occupation!

Posted: July 28, 2014 in Uncategorized
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Listen to this episode and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes. You can also listen to this episode on Stitcher, Cyber Ears or download it on Media Fire (38MB). 

On this episode we are once again joined by Naama Blatman-Thomas (a PhD candidate from Israel who has done field work with Palestinian groups in Karmiel) and Mark Thomas (an American activist who has lived in both Israel and Palestine, including spending years in Palestinian refugee camps). They discuss how you can take action against the Occupation of Palestine, focused on the Boycotts, Divestments and Sanctions (BDS) campaign – which includes boycotting companies benefiting from the Occupation. You can find out more information about the BDS campaign at Pacbi.org. They also discuss the one state and two state solutions to the conflict, growing fascism in Israel, and Israeli’s and Palestinian’s working together for human rights. You can hear the first part of this interview on our last episode: Episode 62: Exaggerated Threats and the Bombing of Civilians – Israel/Palestine 101.

Before we get into the interview, we give some updates. We discuss the end of the 12 hour truce and mention that the Palestinian death toll has gone over 1000 – 75% of those killed were civilians, according to the United Nations. So far there have been 45 Israeli deaths – 42 soldiers, 2 Israeli civilians and one Thai agricultural worker. We also discuss the protests around the world against Israeli human rights abuses – including in France, Perth and about 10 000 people protesting in the West Bank. The West Bank protest was in reaction to the bombing of a United Nations shelter, which was strongly condemned by the UN. We also condemn Anti-Semitic attacks in Britain.

We mention that the US (kind of) condemns Israel’s bombing of civilians and also gives $47 million in humanitarian aid for Palestinians, while continuing to donate $3 billion to Israel’s military and being the only country to vote ‘no’ on a UN resolution against killing civilians in Gaza. For further information on Israel/Palestine, Naama and Mark recommend: electronicintifada.net, adalah.org, 972mag.com, benwhite.org.uk, jonathan-cook.net, annainthemiddleeast.com, aljazeera.com, imemc.org, and maannews.net/eng/.

Also mentioned on the episode is vegan cats and shout outs to Mad Cowgirls Vegan Grocery and Friends of the Earth Café. You can hear activists from Friends of the Earth on our 5th episode on the carbon tax, which has recently been abolished. We discuss the data on the results of the carbon tax, green capitalism and free public transport as a more effective solution to environmental (and social) problems.

This episode is brought to you by “Sir Saves the Day”. Thanks a lot to Liam for becoming a member of our show – you can become a member and sponsor an episode too!

Clips:

Rap News ‘Israel vs Palestine RAP NEWS 24’ – featuring Dam, BBC Global News – 14 July,  Part 1 of our interview with Naama Blatman-Thomas and Mark Thomas, Part 2 of our interview with Naama Blatman-Thomas and Mark Thomas, Rap News ‘Israel vs Palestine RAP NEWS 24’, Remi Kanazi ‘This Divestment Bill Hurts My Feelings’.

You can listen to a short (6 minute) version of this episode, where Naama and Mark discuss the BDS campaign, here: Boycott Israel’s Apartheid! You can subscribe to these short versions of our episodes through Omny.

Episode 56: Prog Podcast vs the Grubbiest Budget Ever

Posted: May 28, 2014 in Uncategorized
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Image from Australian Political Memes.*

Listen to this episode and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes. You can also listen to this episode on Stitcher, Cyber Ears or download it on MediaFire (24MB).

On this one we take on the budget – introduced by the grubs in government. We start off by discussing “grubgate” – where Liberal party politician Christopher Pyne apparently called Labor leader Bill Shorten a “grub”. We discuss the “nitty gritty” of the budget, covering a number of different aspects. A starting point is that this is not really an austerity budget significantly reducing government spending, but rather there are some cuts and some increases. Economist Richard Denniss has pointed out that military spending has gone up, for example. We explain that this is a “class war” budget that will increase the already vast wealth inequality in Australia. Greater inequality results in poor health outcomes and other negative results across the board. Cuts have been made to essential services despite the fact that the “budget emergency” does not exist.

One way the poorest and most vulnerable people will be affected is the new $7 co-payment for doctor visits. Treasurer Joe Hockey has dismissed this as costing ‘less than two middies’ but we argue this is a significant move towards a US model of healthcare. It has already led to less people visiting doctors in Australia and will lead to less preventative healthcare. Stevie has written a powerful article on how these policies would affect people close to her. There have also been changes to education such as the deregulation of uni fees, meaning they can charge students as much as they like – which only the UWA Vice-Chancellor is happy about. Meanwhile, it has been revealed that Tony Abbotts’ daughter received a $60 000 scholarship from one of Abbott’s political donors. On welfare, the budget proposes that people under 30 should wait 6 months to receive payments. Another unpopular part of the budget is raising the retirement age to 70 – which is opposed by 70% of Australians. This unpopularity was also shown in the Q and A episode where Joe Hockey was roasted on the budget by a crowd made up of many Liberal party voters.

There is widespread opposition to the budget in parliament as well – a number of political parties have pledged to block many of the budget proposals. Despite this, a double dissolution election is unlikely. Even if it did go ahead, Labor has followed a neoliberal agenda just like the Liberal party, showing the importance of social movements in opposing the budget. On this topic, we play an interview with March in May organiser Alex Bainbridge. He is interviewed by Caroline Smith on the Indymedia show. We also discuss an article on the potential for technology to be used to exploit animals (following on from our discussion on the role of virtual technology in bringing about positive social change) and we encourage people to check out The Angry Hippie’s Podcast.

This episode is brought to you by “Man Next Door Michael”. We encourage people to follow Michael on Twitter – @mikkelbot. Thanks a lot to Michael for becoming a member of our show – you can become a member and sponsor an episode too!

Clips:

W.Paulo S ‘What Did Christopher Pyne Call Bill Shorten’, Rap News (featuring Christopher Pyne) ’Australia, Yeah C**t – Australia’s new National Anthem’, Q & A featuring Treasurer Joe Hockey, Q & A with Hockey, Clerks ‘Vilification’, Q & A with Hockey, Austin Powers, Interview with March in May organiser Alex Bainbridge by Caroline Smith on the Indymedia show, Anti-Flag (featuring a special guest vocalist) ‘The Project for the New American Century’.

*Link to the picture for this episode.

You can listen to a short (6 minute) version of this episode here: Prog Podcast vs the Budget. You can subscribe to these short versions of our episodes through Omny.

Episode 51: March Against the Un-Western Australian Victorian Anti-Protest Laws

Posted: March 30, 2014 in Uncategorized
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Image from March in March.

Listen to this episode and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes. You can also listen to this episode on Stitcher, Cyber Ears or download it on MediaFire (27MB).

On this episode we do a recap of the Australia-wide March in March against the Abbott government. We discuss the international coverage of the marches, the lack of Australian media coverage, the positives of bringing a diverse range of issues together, and the next steps for the movement.

We have an interview with Nicola Paris from Counteract about the Summary Offences Act – a new anti-protest bill introduced in Victoria. She discusses activists being removed from parliament as the bill is introduced, how the laws have been introduced in reaction to successful direct action campaigns including the #tunnelpicket actions and anti-coal seam gas mining protests, and the importance of direct action in bringing about change. Nicola is interviewed by Karun Cowper and Alex Whisson from Indymedia and Occupy Perth.

The episode features Katie calling her local Liberal Senator’s office, challenging their use of the term “illegal boats” in relation to asylum seekers. She is informed that the UK is landlocked and the UN just has a sad at everyone. Also covered is the upcoming federal Senate re-election in Western Australia, how now we’ll be accused of being un-Western Australian, as well as un-Australian, Federal Agricultural Minister Barnaby Joyce claims Australia is a classless society, our how-to-vote for the election, Newtown High students question Abbott and join the March in March, Abbott wants knights and dames re-introduced to Australia, and horizontal dancing.

This episode is brought to you by Emily (“I can’t believe we’ve actually got a listener in Perth!”). We encourage people to follow Emily on Twitter. Thanks a lot to Emily for becoming a member of our show – you can become a member and sponsor an episode too!

Clips:

9 News ‘Thousands Gather for March in March Protest’, Wil Wagner ‘Bicycles, Muscles, Ciggarettes’, Aria McCarthy-Lochner ‘Tony Abbott Questioned by Newtown High Students’, Austin Powers, ABC Fact Check ‘Tony Abbott incorrect on asylum seekers breaking Australian law’, Nicola Paris interviewed by Karun Cowper and Alex Whisson from Indymedia, Frank Turner ‘Sons of Liberty’.

You can listen to a short (10 minute) version of this episode, which features Katie’s call to the Liberal party, here: The UK is Landlocked, Liberal Senator’s Office Reveals. You can subscribe to these short versions of our episodes through Omny.

Episode 50: Join Us in Marching Against the ‘Puppets of Corporate Interests’*

Posted: March 11, 2014 in Uncategorized
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The image above is from March in March.

Listen to this episode and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes. You can also listen to this episode on Stitcher, Cyber Ears or download it on MediaFire (31MB).

On this episode we cover the March in March protests, which are expressing a vote of no confidence in the Abbott government. These protests are taking place all around Australia from March the 15th to the 17th. We’re joined by Tim Jones, national co-ordinator of March in March, who discusses why we need these marches, the way they are not tied to a particular political party or other group, how people who weren’t previously politically active are getting involved in the marches, and the importance of getting out from behind computer screens and onto the streets. Tim also recommends that people check out Ted Mack’s Henry Parkes Oration. You can find a March in March near you here. For more critiques of the policies of the Abbott government, you can listen to our 49th episode and our 39th episode.

Before we go to the interview with Tim, we discuss deaths in immigration detention in the UK and Australia, the viral speech from Greens politician Scott Ludlam, “inspiring” stuff from the Courier Mail on the Abbott government, and the Liberal Party continue to lie about asylum seekers being illegal, even though it is them who are breaking the law when it comes to their policies towards asylum seekers. We cover the upcoming federal Senate re-election in Western Australia and Labor not giving their preferences to the Greens, Scott Ludlam speaking out against the TPP agreement, and why we’re voting in this election (see episode 36, part 2 for an in-depth discussion on arguments for and against voting). You can view our Progressive Podcast Australia how to vote for the election here – please let us know if you have any feedback on this (even if you’re not in WA).

This episode is brought to you by Kieran (‘Hello there’). Thanks a lot to Kieran for becoming a member of our show – you can become a member and sponsor an episode too!

Clips:

Scott Ludlam ‘Welcomes Tony Abbott to WA’, Onsind ‘BA77’, Peep Show ‘Series 1, Episode 4’, Austin Powers, The IT Crowd ‘Series 2, Episode 1’, Interview with Tim Jones on the March in March protests, Logic ft. Lowkey & Renee Soul ‘I Wish’.

*This is a quote from Tim Jones, from the interview.

You can listen to a short (9 minute) version of this episode, which features a shortened version of the interview with Tim Jones, here: Join Us in Marching Against the Abbott Government. You can subscribe to these short versions of our episodes through Omny.

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