US Schiavo case; refugees
The latest Newspoll has the Howard Government ahead 54-46 on 2 party preferred, equalling the ALP's lowest result since the last Election. Coalition is ahead 47% to 36% on primaries.
A federal judge has refused to order a feeding-tube be replaced to keep Terri Schiavo, a 41-year-old woman who has been in a persistent vegetative state since 1990, alive. Court-appointed doctors have consistently pointed out that there is absolutely no chance for recovery, as her cerebral cortex, the area most vulnerable to hypoxia, has been destroyed. Even though she may make noises or even grasp someone's hand on contact, these are primitive reflexes and are not indicative of any awareness on the patient's past.
Conservative Christian right-to-life groups and Republican politicians have been relentless in attempting to draft legislation aimed at keeping Ms. Schiavo alive. The fact remains that Schiavo herself has mentioned in the past not to keep herself alive if her quality of life was deemed unacceptable and that this kind of politicking amounts quite simply to forcing one's own religious views on another. In a survey carried out today 67% of respondents believed that the aforementioned groups carried out their actions for political gain while only 19% (misguidedly) thought that they moved for Schiavo's benefit.
I belive that it would be an extremely difficult time for Ms. Schiavo's parents. In this kind of situation it would be an overwhelming anguish to accept that your daughter was not going to recover; however, she has been in this state with no improvement for the last fifteen years, and, the resources that have been used to keep a lady in an unrecoverable position alive could well have been used to save the lives of many others (with an acceptable quality of life). Also, Ms. Schiavo's husband, who has long advocated that his wife be allowed to expire painlessly, has been designated as the next of kin and it seems logical and right for someone entrusted by the patient to carry out her wishes rather than have her parents interfere against them.
Back at home, the Howard Government has finally caved in, being forced, in part by its own constituency, to free 100-120 refugees incarcerated in detention centres who are unable to be repatriated to their previous homelands. These are limited to those asylum seekers who have been in detention for over three years. This amounts to a minimal concession after years of lobbying by progressive comrades in the ALP and humanitarian groups, the concession designed to invoke maximum political leverage to portray themselves as an entity of "compassion and humanity" when the real facts are that they will still be deported when the present regime deems it viable for them to be sent home (there is of course no guarantee that it will be really safe for them). Countless autocracies have made a habit of releasing certain prisoners for political reasons and this seems to be no exception.
My own family spent three years wrangling with the Immigration Department following the Tian'anmen Massacre of '89 in residency limbo with profound physical and psychological damage to my parents' health. The reality is that unless these asylum seekers obtain a genuine avenue to permanent residency that their, and their children's, health will continue to be grossly affected. And not to mention even 3 months in a detention centre is an unacceptably long period, let alone 3 years.
I will be away at Mt Hotham for the Easter Weekend and hopefully, away from the news too.
Woo-hoo for Werriwa
In the gastrointestinal department of the Alfred I've certainly seen more than my fair share of pancreatitis.... So on that note I'll begin.
The by-election for Werriwa, the seat the the former Labor leader Mark Latham held, was held on Saturday (yesterday) with the ALP's Chris Hayes notching up a healthy 55.5% of the primary vote - more than two percent higher than at last year's election. Mr Young, the Liberal party member who ran as an independent, only managed a miserable 8%. However the high combined vote of the far right (AAFI, FF, CDP, ON) - in the high teens, is definitely a sobering reminder. Still, one must remember that at the last election this was the party leader's seat and to improve on a party leader's figures is a marvellous achievement. Well done!
Today's Sunday Age reported that the Howard Government might be finally forced to free 120 refugees who have been locked up for over three years! This would be, of course, a purely political ploy as an attempt to neutralise the compassionate arguments of the snivelling latte left. Apparently three of the Liberal's more moderate (relative) MPs have visited Baxter Detention Centre over the last few months and have attempted to make their party aware of the inhumanities that are concealed within. To incarcerate asylum seekers - effectively stateless persons with no place to go to except persecution in their own homeland - in one of the most inhospitable locations in the globe (Woomera has one of the largest temperature ranges in Australia, from -10C in winter to 50C in summer) for more than three years is an abomination of evil at its very core and an absolute disgrace. Later this afternoon Howard mentioned that there would be "no major changes" to asylum policy but the matter was "under review". We shall have to wait and see. No doubt this possible concession would not even be remotely conceivable were it not for the efforts of the ALP's Socialist Left and community refugee advocate organisations. I would like to say a special thank you to Anne Horrigan-Dixon and the Fitzroy Learning Network.
Australian Labor Students are having a tour of Parliament House at 6.30pm on Wednesday evening. All interested are encouraged to attend.
On Voluntary Student Unionism
The Minister for Education, Brendan Nelson, has introduced a bill that would see the end of compulsory amenities fees for students studying at tertiary institutions in Dorothy Land. He insists this would give students more choice and that they would no longer be compelled to pay money towards things that they might deem irrelevant. Furthermore, struggling studnets will have more cash in their pockets.
More money? What offal! The Howard Government has increased HECS fees 25% last year, nearly across the board, and the amenities fees that a student might save are a miniscule amount compared to these fee increases. This is in addition to a massive slug introduced back in 1997 when differentiated HECS came into being. I have calculated that, on a current starting salary of $55K (an optimistic estimate) and 10% pa increase in wages (including inflation), I will be 38 by the time I am free from HECS debt. Until then, I must either leave the country or have to bear the load of a huge chunk of my meagre pay taken out as repayments, making it even more difficult to afford a house or start a family.
The end of universal student unionism would probably see the great majority of students refuse to pay an amenities fee since they are likely so disengaged by the political process that they don't care. The consequences would be a total meltdown in student services, sporting facilities, and more importantly, the voice of a student body. The existence of a student union democratically elected by a university's constituents have been at the crux of tertiary education for many decades. Universities, as towers of learning, should naturally be a source from which ideas and policies, indeed on government of the country, will flow. Clearly, not every idea put forth by every university student will make an impact or be relevant but starving universities of a voice would be a fundamental shift in the political and philosophical landscapes.
Universities have been, around the world, long a source of progressive activism. The May Fourth Movement in Beijing University in 1919 is seen by many as the starting point upon which a move toward a more equitable China was based and the beginnings of many political lives of many noted beings in the Communist Party. (Note: The Communist Party, was, until 1949, opposed to the ultra-conservative Nationalists of Chiang Kai-shek who presided over one of the most corrupt, inhumane quasi-fascist regimes in existence.) Voluntary student unionism is therefore not about choice but quite simply and overtly an attempt by conservative and reactionary forces (the Howard Government) to blatantly undermine and crush a large cross-section of the progressive voice. The move has been condemned by the Vice-Chancellors, by sporting organisations and most vehemently by the National University of Students. When VSU comes into effect next year, universities will be shorn of much of their fabric and culture and the services they provide to their diverse population. Academia in the land of Oz will become altogether a more muted, sterile, lifless and barren world. We must campaign to our utmost against this brazen, ideologically-driven massacre proposed by the reactionary forces and relentlessly inform the public of the consequences. And when the red sun finally shines on the great plains of the nation we must be leaders in rebuilding the Phoenix of Intellectualism from her ashes.
The Age Nielsen Poll and a telephone poll by Morgan this week have shown that Labor are now in front on two-party preferred terms 52-48: a remarkable turnaround in the last two weeks. To me this signifies that the public are not as apathetic as some might think and have reacted angrily to the worst economic figures the present regime has delivered in years. The public have also not reacted favourably on sending more troops in Iraq: even Berlusconi in Italy seems to have announced their withdrawal (in fear of their impending election, perhaps?). There will be a protest on Friday outside the State Library (Swanston Street) against new deployment to Iraq. I'll be there and so will many of my fellows from the forces of Good!
Solidarity Forever: Unionized Soy!
As most people know, the Howard Government is embarking on a grand agenda of industrial relations reform, which basically translates to slaughtering unions in a crackdown of Thatcher-like proportions. What is most disturbing is the removal of the Industrial Relations Commission's powers to set minimum wages for trades and the creation of a national minimum wage at the regime's whim, which could mean a life-shattering wage cut for the 1.6 million Australian workers on the minimum wage of $12.30 an hour.
As a historically "compassionate and caring" nation essentially committed to the "fair go" we are fortunate to have a (reasonably) liveable minimum wage. In the US, there has been no improvement on the $5.15 minimum wage since the Bush Administration came into power. Myriad full-time workers who were already physically unable to make ends meet for themselves and their families continue to have their meagre pay nibbled into by the ever-gnawing rodents of Inflation. In Aotearoa, the National government of the 90's under Ruth Richardson's "Ruthanasia" propagated similar IR-reforms that are even now only slowly being undone by the Clark Labour Government.
Far from getting people off unemployment benefits and opening up the job market, a substandard minimum wage will reduce the incentive for the most economically vulnerable to take up work, considering the massive marginal tax rates that are coupled to Australia's welfare system. The only way to solve that problem would be to have concomitant cuts in welfare and unemployment benefits to force people onto work, and that would result in massive social instability and a huge rise in the crime rate, possibly followed by a reaction of more lenient gun laws and increased police powers and loss of civil liberties. Perhaps this is palatable to some of the audience out there but personally I find it somewhat repugnant.
I am a very privileged person, as a first-generation migrant, to have been able, with the help of my family, friends and my own tenacity, to give myself the opportunity and hope for a well-respected and reasonably financially stable career. However for many years my parents and I lived on award wages with my mother being the sole breadwinner. Despite being trained as a doctor overseas, she held a full-time low income job (as a scientist), often working many hours in unpaid overtime. I was able to witness first-hand the emotional and physical impact of raising a young family on a low income.
At the same time, I find myself in a peculiar position of being forced by my company (which employs scientists for its software creation) to work as a sub-contractor where the employer can effectively get around the 20 person "unfair dismissal laws" by employing half the company as subcontractors or sole traders. I feel amazed and appalled.
Therefore, I have decided that it's appropriate and fitting for me to join a union for the first time in my life. I have spoken to the secretary of the Medical Scientists Association of Victoria, a division of the HSU and am taking steps to apply for their membership. Although Howard may be able this once to pass his regressive agenda, all unionists need to publicise this issue in the community and make the masses understand the consequences for their livelihood. For the Tories thrive on apathy and ignorance of the people and collectively must we penetrate the dura mater of the electorate and inform them of the sordid truth!
Solidarity forever - for the Union makes us strong!
Welcome to No-Life lifestyle
I have been very busy over the last few weeks and haven't posted. Reason is very simple. I have started my first proper rotation in clinical medical school. My first rotation is in surgery, which, apart from being my least favourite discipline (despite it still being very interesting) means that I have to start at 7am on most days with the ward rounds. As I do not have my own car, I have to leave my flat at 6am or earlier. I thought going to sleep earlier would solve the problem, but I've ended up waking up three or four times a night and in the morning I feel er... terrible. Maybe I have to go on Valium...... This new pattern has also meant that I have to spend one day of the weekend studying and the other one working - meaning I have a no-life lifestyle. How ironic, when I wasn't studying I thought my life was too empty, and now when I can have a life I haven't got time for one.
Last week the United States Supreme Court came up with a decision that the death penalty was unconstitutional if the crime was committed as a minor. This brings the US into line with many other countries, separating it at long last from a group of countries not noted for their impressive human rights records. The particular case pertains to Christopher Simmons, of Missouri, who threw a woman off a bridge at age 17 and has been on death row ever since.
I have no hesitation in agreeing that this was a most heinous crime worthy of the sternest punishment. However, it has long been in evidence that the death penalty is not an effective deterrent against crime and has not been shown to make society a safer place. The perpetrator in this case has become a model prisoner and devoted much of his life to counselling other troubled youngsters in the hope of preventing similar tragedies.
Although I believe that all capital punishment is inherently evil because it feeds on revenge and ultimately, selfishness(Didn't the Bible tell us to render to no-one evil for evil?), the fact that it has been used on juveniles in the United States in the twenty-first century is an absolute disgrace. In today's society people are taking longer than in the past to grow into psychologically mature young men and women. The person involved in this particular case was profoundly abused as a child. In light of these mitigating factors, many people who have committed serious crimes still have hope of redemption, and as harbingers of good we should be responsible for giving them that chance. These people still face life in prison without parole, and that is more than punishment enough.
I have no doubt that this landmark decision would not have come to pass without the efforts of all the activists who campaign continously for the abolition of all capital punishment. It is satisfying and relieving to see that, even in such a conservative institution, people can make the right choice - sometimes.
