In the East African nation of Ethiopia, a trial of 30 members of the countries opposition party has been taking place. The trial stems back to the aftermath of the 2005 elections and the allegations of fraud and rigging, which led to protests where nearly 200 people were killed.The accused members of the opposition party, The Coalition of Unity and Democracy, face a range of charges of offences against the state. Sentencing took place earlier this week and 30 of those charged received life sentences. The Wire’s Peter Godfrey spoke with Tilahun Afrassa, who is a member of the Australian-Ethiopian community, and began by asking his thoughts on the recent proceedings…

Tattoos have always been a little bit rebellious; you get them when you want to annoy your mother. But they can also mean a lot more. Tattoos are permanent symbols of expression and, ultimately they are also art. These days tattoos are used almost like identification, they can be religious and spiritual, and are usually an expression of what’s closest to us. But sometimes what someone believes can be a little bit scary, or even offensive for others. Prominent Adelaide tattoo artist, Baby Dave speaks about how he reconciles his ethics and his art while some faith tattoo wearers talk about their expereinces.

With an election looming and votes to be won, the internet has become our politicians newest pedestal. Much criticism has been raised of John Howard video he released on the internet site Youtube,but it is only one example of our politicians battle to win over younger voters. Jacqui Smith surfed the net to find out what happens when politics and the internet collide.

The wire in the build up to this year’s election will be profiling candidates from around the nation. Typically the ones without a mainstream media voice to promote their cause. This week we take a look at an independent candidate in Adelaide who is running for the senate. Dan Hamilton chatted to Stewart Glass who is about to embark on an election campaign and high hopes of representation, Dan asked him what he primarily stands for and why he is bothering.

It's not only the politicians who are exploiting the internet to get attention. Activists are in on the act too. One of the biggest activists operating on the web is Get Up and currently they're running a big campaign called 'Oz in thirty seconds'. Australians have been invited to create a thrity second ad about whats important to them about our nation and by this Friday voting for the winner will have closed. Project coordinator, Sam McLean, talks about what they hope to achieve through the campaign.