We Are All Boat People
By Staff, We Are All Boat People
Refugees seeking asylum in Australia, referred to by some as 'boat people,' have been the subject of controversy both in the Australian government and the popular press. A progressive group in Sydney proclaiming 'we are all boat people' offers an activist's banquet of facts, downloadable posters, street stencils, and suggestions for countering what they describe as 'not so much a refugee problem as a crisis of xenophobia, a terrible and contagious national sickness.' The group's most memorable poster depicts an eighteenth-century sailing ship with the words 'boat people' below it; a giant-sized version of this image was projected onto the side of the Sydney Opera House and other Australian landmarks. -- Harry Sheff
http://www.boat-people.org/

The Uprising in Athens: Iraq Soccer Team Give Bush the Boot
By Dave Zirin, Counterpunch
Iraq's soccer squad is perhaps the surprise of the entire Olympics, advancing to this weekend's quarterfinals despite the war and occupation that has gripped their country for the last 17 months. Yet amidst cheers and triumph, they were infuriated to learn that Bush's brain, Karl Rove, had launched a commercial that began with an image of the Afghani and Iraqi flags with a voice over saying, 'At this Olympics there will be two more free nations -- and two fewer terrorist regimes.' But players, such as mid-fielder and team leader Salih Sadir, have reacted angrily, telling journalists that they 'don't want Mr. Bush to use us for his presidential campaign.' -- Elizabeth Dwoskin
http://www.counterpunch.org/zirin08212004.html

Dialogues for Peace: Youth at the Barcelona Forum
By Avishay Artsy, Alternet
It's not every day that delegates to a peace conference rise from their tents every morning to make it to conference rooms by 10:00 AM. But last week, that is just what 8,000 young people from 50 countries did, as they gathered for the third annual World Youth Festival to debate everything from gender equality to nationalist movements to sustainable development to peace-keeping. To assist youth from poorer countries, the registration fee ranged according to where the delegate's country of origin fell on the United Nations 2003 World Development Index. -- Elizabeth Dwoskin
http://www.alternet.org/wiretap/19560/