Perth Indymedia

Ray Grenfell and Karun Cowper talk to Melbourne activist and funny man Sean Bedlam about his Fringe comedy gig "Death to America"..... "It is 2017. The United States of America has lost its mind. The world looks on as the American Dream becomes a nightmare. Should we let these idiots take us down with them? Obviously the answer is no, but you’ll be surprised to learn the solution includes nuking New Zealand. Come, let comedian-philosopher Sean Bedlam take you on a joke journey (or ‘jokeney’) to a beautiful land beyond the end of the world (obviously not New Zealand because we nuked it. Sorry about that, New Zealanders are really cool. We should stop making jokes about them). Because dreams can come true."

Karun Cowper speaks with urbanist, activist and "Audacities" initiator Sharon Ede on "cosmo-localisation" in the New Economy in Australia and beyond.

Karun Cowper speaks with Nick Everettt, co-convenor of Friends of Palestine WA on Donald Trump "recognising" Jerusalem as Israel's capital, in reversal of decades of US policy and drawing international condemnation.

Karun Cowper speaks with Johnny Windus, national advocacy coordinator of the Australian Unemployed Workers Union which is starting to get moving in Perth.

Lee Carter is a 30-year-old socialist who recently defeated Jackson Miller - the powerful Republican Whip in Virginia's House of Delegates, the state legislature of Virginia. Lee was born into a military family in North Carolina and spent five years in the Marines before moving Virginia, where a workplace accident and subsequent unjust treatment fired his passion for workers' rights and building a better society. Lee's campaign platform was unashamedly left-wing: promoting universal healthcare, free education, collective bargaining, criminal justice reform, and womens' rights. The Republicans' use of 1950s red-baiting scare tactics against Lee fell flat. More and more Americans are rejecting the establishment politics of both major parties and exploring the ideas of workers' power, organised labour, and social democracy. Giovanni Torre and Alex Whisson interviewed him for Indymedia this week.

Recently the Australian government announced they will provide millions in funding for a cutting edge project in the City of Fremantle featuring the use of blockchain-powered distributed energy and water systems. Karun Cowper speaks with Marc Griffiths blockchain developer with Power Ledger on this innovative project and on how blockchain technology can transform our society

Karun Cowper speaks with Brisbane peace activist Robin Taubenfeld about the #PineGapPeacePilgrims currently on trial for breaking the silence around Pine Gap's role in US drone attacks & nuclear warfare.

Karun Cowper speaks with anti-nuclear campaigner from the Conservation Council of WA KA.

Kurdish journalist and detained refugee Behrouz Boochani on conditions inside the besieged Manus Island detention centre.

This weekend just gone, the Dumbartung Aboriginal Corportation, with the support of the CFMEU, presented a panel discussion and photo exhibition "Kerosene Tins and Love Hearts" on the past policies and legislation of the 1905 Native Welfare Act primarily focused on the Stolen Generations and the ingrained trauma associated with the after effects of these policies. The photographic exhibition was a project that came about when Robert and Selina from Dumbartung took students from Clontarf Aboriginal College on a tour of the missions through the south west, documenting the old sites with photographs and telling them the stories of kids who were taken from their parents under the 1905 Native Welfare Act.

Luke Stobart is an author, academic and activist, who was in Catalonia on the day of the independence referendum, involved amongst other things in a dramatic demonstration to defend a polling station from the Spanish national police. He is currently working on a book for Verso Press, on the multiple crises facing the Spanish state, covering the rise of the Indignados movement, Podemos, and the Catalan independence struggle. He spoke to Alex Whisson yesterday from the UK. Alex began by asking Luke to give his firsthand account of his experiences on the day of the referendum.

Belinda spoke with Dezeray from Mutual Aid Disaster Relief in Florida, where they have been organising and delivering aid in response to Hurricane Irma. She discusses their model of grassroots anarchist organising, the opportunism of the State in times of crisis, and inequality in access to care. She concludes with analysis of what it means to work from a place of solidarity rather than charity. Check out https://mutualaiddisasterrelief.org for more info. Photo credit Mutual Aid Disaster Relief

Karun Cowper speaks to Katie, co-founder of Rainbow Revolt, a project to share positive support for queer & LGBTIQA folks through creative direct action painting the country rainbow in support of equal rights.

Karun Cowper speaks to Dr Michelle Maloney of the New Economy Network Australian about the upcoming ‘Building a New Economy for Australia’ which is being held from 1-3 September 2017 in Brisbane. Building on the inaugural 2016 conference held in Sydney, the 2017 gathering invites people to come together to share stories of success, address challenges and join the broader movement so we can continue working together to build a ‘new’ economic system.

Lenny van den Haak and Rosanne Scott on the Activate Tree Planting festival - "ACTIVATE the Wheatbelt invites you to join us in York for the weekend of July 28th-30th to help us plant 26000 seedlings. This enjoyable weekend will consist of tree planting, live music, DJs, dancing, community and education. This is a drug free and family friendly event open to all age’s, where everyone is welcome to come and help out planting trees. " https://www.facebook.com/events/216683732072748/

On Friday, the Supreme Court in Perth issued a shameful verdict on the killing of indigenous boy Elijah Doughty, who was run down by a utility vehicle in August last year in Kalgoorlie while riding a small motorcycle. Despite evidence that the driver had intended to at least injure the boy, and social media posts in the community urging vigilante violence against Aboriginal people, the jury refused to convict the man of manslaughter, instead returning a verdict of dangerous driving occasioning death - essentially a traffic infringement. Despite being in mourning, the local Aboriginal community has been galvanised into supporting the family, with a vigil being held on Friday evening and a rally on Sunday to stand in solidarity with the Kalgoorlie community. We're now going to play a speech from yesterday's rally, by community leader Dennis Simmons, who organised a cultural dancing group to take part in the event.

Karun Cowper speaks with Cam Walker from Friends of the Earth Melbourne on the battle to maintain Deductible Gift Recipient status for environmental groups as the Turnbull government renews their attack.

Karun Cowper chats with Katie Stubley, co-director of the Social Impact Festival - a platform for cutting-edge knowledge and ideas, celebrating initiatives creating positive change, and generating insights that address complex social problems. Running from July 18-28. https://socialimpactfestival.org/

Indymedia's Raymond Grenfell was in Hamburg for the G20 Summit, covering the events for Indymedia. There were impressive demonstrations and riots throughout the summit including a Block G20 action that managed to delay delegations arriving and disrupt events, including stopping Melania Trump attending a G20 leader's spouse event. Saturday saw an estimated two hundred thousand people take to the streets for the Solidarity Without Borders demonstration. Raymond spoke to a number of people taking part in the demonstrations as well as organizers such as Jana Schneider from Block G20 who we hear from first in this piece from the streets of G20.

Indymedia's Ray Grenfell speaks to Timon Simons on the social strike that shut down Hamburg's port.