Albert Langer is one of Australia's best known political activists and most unorthodox Marxists.

Born into a wealthy Jewish family in Melbourne, Langer was educated at Monash University, where he became a prominent student activist during the Vietnam War years. He was a leader of the Maoist faction at the university and a supporter of the Communist Party of Australia (Marxist-Leninist). (He broke with this party after the death of Mao Zedong.) The word Jew ( Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination of these attributes. ... Melbourne is the state capital and largest city in the Australian state of Victoria, and the second largest city in Australia (after Sydney), with a population of approximately 3. ... Monash University Monash University is Australias largest university with over 55,000 students. ... The Vietnam War or Second Indochina War was a conflict between the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRVN, or North Vietnam), allied with the National Liberation Front (NLF, or Viet Cong) against the Republic of Vietnam (RVN, or South Vietnam), and its allies — notably the United States military in support of... Maoism or Mao Tse-tung Thought (Chinese: 毛泽东思想, pinyin: Máo Zédōng SÄ«xiÇŽng), is a variant of Marxism-Leninism derived from the teachings of Mao Zedong (1893–1976). ... The Communist Party of Australia (Marxist-Leninist) (CPA(ML)) is a minor political party in Australia, which advocates a form of communism based on the writings of Marx, Lenin, Stalin and Mao Zedong. ... â–¶(?) (December 26, 1893 – September 9, 1976; Mao Tse-tung in Wade-Giles) was the chairman of the Politburo of the Communist Party of China from 1943 and the chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China from 1945 until his death. ...

Langer is an active opponent of Zionism, and was associated with a group called Jews Against Zionism and Anti-Semitism (JAZA). This group is no longer active. For other meanings, please see Zionism (disambiguation) Poster promoting a film about Jewish settlement in Palestine, 1930s: Toward a New Life (in Romanian),The Promised Land (in Hungarian) 1844 Discourse on the Restoration of the Jews by Mordecai Noah, page one. ...

In 1996 Langer returned to prominence when he ran a campaign urging Australian voters to number their ballot papers so as not to express a choice for either major party. This was contrary to the intent of Australian electoral law (see Australian electoral system), but Langer argued it was legal, and some lawyers agreed with him. This resulted in him appearing before the High Court of Australia where he deleivered what was probably the most unorthodox and opening adresses that the court had seen, during his adress Langer challanged the validity of the appointment of Chief Justice Brennan and another justice on the bench. 1996 (MCMXCVI) is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... A how-to-vote card from the Australian federal election of 2004, showing voters how to fill in the squares on the ballot paper if they wish to vote for the Liberal Party of Australia. ...

In February 1996 Langer was sentenced to 10 weeks' imprisonment for breaching a court injunction ordering him to stop advocating the casting of an invalid vote, which is an offence under Australian law. In March Federal Court reduced his sentence to three weeks' imprisonment. The government amended the Electoral Act to make the so-called "Langer vote" illegal. He was referred to by the Australian chapter of Amnesty International as a "Prisoner of Conscience." 1996 (MCMXCVI) is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... Amnesty International (commonly known as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization with the stated purpose of promoting all the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international standards. ...

In 2003 Langer surprised many on the left by supporting the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. Langer argued that Saddam Hussein was a fascist and that U.S. was waging a "revolutionary war of liberation" by overthrowing his regime. 2003 (MMIII) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The 2003 Invasion of Iraq began on March 20 comprising United States and United Kingdom forces (98%), and several other nations. ... Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti, (Arabic: صدام حسين عبد المجيد التكريتي), born April 28, 1937 , was President of Iraq from 1979 until his removal and capture after the 2003 invasion of Iraq. ... Fascism (in Italian, fascismo), capitalized, was the authoritarian political movement which ruled Italy from 1922 to 1943 under the leadership of Benito Mussolini. ...

Langer's current political views are summarised at the Last Superpower website, which he maintains with his ex-wife Kerry Langer:

• The war in Iraq: the left has always fought against fascism. We therefore supported the overthrow of the fascist Baath Party in Iraq. The United States currently has no choice but to "drain the swamps" and support the democratization of the Middle East. We are glad about that!
• Palestine: As a consequence of its new drain the swamps policy, the Bush administration has become the first ever US administration to acknowledge the need for a Palestinian state.
• Globalization: globalization is the engine of development in the third world - and development is the answer to world poverty. We wish it was happening faster.
• Green politics: We reject green ideology because it opposes rapid development, fears change and romanticises pre-industrial life. In practice, "sustainable development" sustains only poverty, malnutrion and death.
• Capitalism: On the one hand capitalism is vastly superior to tribalism, feudalism and fascism. The achievements of advanced capitalism really are quite spectatcular. Nevertheless it holds back development and progress because it is based on wage slavery and is therefore incapable of fully unleashing human potential. So from the perspective of the past it is progressive - but from the perspective of the future it is reactionary and deserves to perish!

Proposals for a Palestinian state vary depending on ones views of Palestinian statehood, as well as various definitions of Palestine and Palestinian (see also State of Palestine). ... the changes in societies and the world economy that result from dramatically increased international trade and cultural exchange. ... Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Capitalism The page is about the economic system. ... Roland pledges his fealty to Charlemagne; from a manuscript of a chanson de geste. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

External links

• Last Superpower a website maintained by Langer and his ex-wife Kerry Langer

• Australia: Political Activist Becomes First Prisoner of Conscience for Over 20 Years
• Albert Langer: Australia's First Political Prisoner?
• May Day it's the festival of the distressed
• Couldn't We Live Perfectly Well Without Money?