Protestors from Billionaires for Wealthcare interrupt a meeting of insurance lobbyists America’s Health Insurance Plans, which is doing its darndest to stop health care reform — in song!
Protest
Video of the Day: Public Option Annie: an impromptu insurance industry musical
How Forestry Tasmania lost the plot
Forestry Tasmania’s treatment of protesters in the Upper Florentine has failed to stand up in court, reports Andrew Darby. But after a generation of fighting, the bitter battles over trees in Tasmania continues to grow — even if the forests don’t.
Video of the Day: Lily Allen, Jet Li and Kofi Annan sing ‘Beds are Burning’
A diverse group of musicians and celebrities have lent their voices to a cover of Midnight Oil’s classic ‘Beds are Burning’ in a musical petition calling for “climate justice” at Copenhagen.
The fake New York Post
Last year, political pranksters The Yes Men put out a fake edition of the New York Times. Now they’ve given the Post the same treatment in honour of the current UN meeting with the headline: “We’re Screwed”
Xinjiang riots: a Crikey wrap
Tensions boiled over in China’s Xinjiang autonomous region on Sunday night. We look at what the world’s media is saying about the country’s bloodiest conflict since Tiananmen.
China riots: the toll climbs
Riots broke out in Xinjiang after police tried to break up a demonstration by members of the Uighur Muslim minority. The death-toll, now at 129, has risen much higher than expected. Reuters has a good Factbox on the situation.
Indian student protests: perception vs. reality
The weekend’s demonstration by Indian students in Melbourne may have at last awakened the wider community to the violent problem — but it has risks too, says John Birmingham.
Ethnic groups in Myanmar getting heated
A new constitution in Myanmar is not enough to calm ethnic tensions. The Kachin tribesmen, who live near the Chinese border, are beginning to prepare themselves for battle, reports Thomas Fuller.
Arrests as Tasmania’s old growth forest heads to the chainsaw
22 protesters were arrested in Tasmania’s Upper Florentine Valley. Andrew Dodd was there.
Scientists speak out: coal-fired power stations are responsible for global warming
Professor David Karoly and six other leading climate scientists have written a letter to the owners of every coal-fired power station in Australia.
Krystian Zimerman won’t play the US again
Polish pianist Krystian Zimerman created a furor at the Walt Disney Concert Hall when he announced he would not perform in America again because of the nation’s military policies overseas.
Indian prisoners hunger strike over IPL
Prisoners in Kolkata’s Alipore Central Jail have gone on a hunger strike in protest against not being allowed to watch the IPL.
Letter from...: Richmond, Virginia, USA
The elitist media and those in Congress and the White House who have been suggesting the rallies were orchestrated and faux-populist events ginned up by partisans and special interest groups are dead wrong, writes Karyn McDermott.
America’s hippie news station
The TEA party protests turn Fox News into long-haired fascism decriers.
A long history of teabagging
The Tea Party Movement was started and is backed by major conservative think tanks, despite all the talk of grassroots organisation.
Crikey wrap: Chaos in Bangkok
The eruption of violence during the Thailand protests has sparked debate on issues such as economy, terrorism, tourism and possible outcomes and solutions.
G20 washup: questions over the death of Ian Tomlinson
Footage released overnight casts a sickening new slant on the death of a bystander at last week’s G20 protests in London, writes Andrew Crook.
Letter from...: Berlin
On a typically sodden Berlin afternoon in late March, Ben Gook witnessed a protest in Germany’s capital.
Letter from … Bangkok
While people still went about their daily business this week, the colour of their shirts betrayed a deeper concern among the population of Bangkok, writes Gabriella Haynes.
APEC protest groups: your guide to their non-violence
The Supreme Court decided yesterday to grant an injunction against the march route proposed by the Stop Bush Coalition, a route that would have taken the protest straight to police lines. So who will be there, and what is the likelihood they will throw heavy things at people in uniforms?
Queensland’s local problems threaten to go federal
By far the biggest political stoush in Queensland this year has been local government reform. The policy has created angst all over the state, from the rural West to Brisbane’s northerly neighbour Redcliffe, writes Mark Bahnisch.
MacBank’s millionaires can’t ignore shareholder revolt
Macquarie Bank has gone to extraordinary lengths to defend its long-standing pay policies but in the cold light of day after yesterday’s shareholder revolt, things are going to have to change, argues Stephen Mayne.
