Feature

Climate Change activists step up opposition to coal in Hunter Valley from mine to port

A banner drop at a construction site for a new coal loader terminal at the Port of Newcastle in the New South Wales Hunter Valley ended when police instructed the 60 metre crane be lowered to the ground. The Protestors say they were not given warning of this action and alledged it imperiled their lives.

“We are dismayed with the actions of police here today.” said spokesperson Steve Phillips. “We conducted a peaceful protest, with trained and experience climbers, and safety as our priority. NSW Police responded with gross negligence and dereliction of duty, and placed two lives at risk. Our climbers were not even warned before the crane was lowered.”

Related: Climate activists do banner drops in Boggabri and Melbourne against coal rush | Climate Citizen: Climate change causing increase in extreme weather in South Pacific | Not enough water: food production, carbon sequestration and climate change | Arctic sea ice Extent drops to lowest on record and still shrinking

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Sovereign Union of First Nations is inevitable

Left to right: Michael Ghillar Anderson, George Gaymarani Pascoe, Dr. Djiniyini Gondarra

Darwin, 3 September 2012 -- Two prominent East Arnhem Land leaders and sovereignty campaigner, Michael Anderson, have agreed in Darwin that a sovereign union of Aboriginal nations needs to grow from the grass roots.

Dr. Djiniyini Gondarra (OAM) from Galiwin'ku, George Gaymarani Pascoe, from Milingimbi and Anderson, the last survivor of the four founders of the Aboriginal Embassy in Canberra, agreed that its success can only be achieved “if our people want it”.

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Shaking hands with the architects of Sri Lanka's Killing Fields - No one should be deported to Sri Lanka

Gerry Georgatos
Post-CHOGM Perth, a large billboard in Colombo displays Julia Gillard shaking hands with Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa. To the Sinhalese of Colombo the billboard sends a message of validation of President Rajapaksa.

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"None of these men had to die" - Bloodied hands, souls washed in red - Stop the killing in Afghanistan

Gerry Georgatos
"None of these men had to die," said Andrew Wilkie. "To the families and friends of those who have lost loved ones to recent wars, Afghanistan and Iraq, I do extend my heartfelt sympthathies, and I grieve for your loss," Gerry Georgatos

The Tasmanian Independent Member of Parliament Andrew Wilkie is right when he said John Howard, Kevin Rudd and Prime Minister Julia Gillard have "blood on their hands" after the deaths of five Australian soldiers recently, however the bloodied mutilated souls of these three leaders of our nation are not limited in their culpability to the deaths of these five young soldiers, however to every death in Afghanistan and Iraq since colliding Australia into a manufactured war zone, now for more than a decade.
Related Swan Island Peace Convergence 2012

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Mal Brough, 'Interventionist', clashes with The National Indigenous Times

Brough clashes with The National Indigenous - Brough accused of racism

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/media/media-diary/brough-clashes-with-na...

Brough clashes with National Indigenous Times

by: Lara Sinclair
From:The Australian
August 29, 20121:37PM

THE return to federal politics of one-time Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Mal Brough has been interrupted by a clash with the National Indigenous Times and indigenous leaders.

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Something stinks - Ecuador has the right to grant Julian Assange Asylum - Ecuador's humanity verse the UK's inhumanity

Below are three key speeches in the evolving Assange extradition case, Ecuador's Foreign Minister granting Assange asylum, UK's Foreign Minister rejection of this claim and Julian Assange's speech from the balcony of the Ecuadorean Embassy.

The first speech below is translation of the statement from the Ecuadorean Foreign Minister arguing the case for their right to grant Julian Assange asylum. At the end of this statement follows the UK Foreign Minister's statement suprisingly arguing their case against ensuring Julian Assange's safe passage and exposing an intention to apprehend and extradite Julian Assange (and in what goes against the UK's history and respect at all costs in adhering to the right to all forms of asylum despite their most recent statement). The last speech is by Julian Assange from the balcony of the Ecuadorean Embassy on the 19th August 2012.

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Australian rallies to demand Britain allow Assange safe passage to Ecuador

On 16th August 16th the Ecuadorean Government announced it was granting political asylum to Julian Assange, under international law, on the grounds he has well founded fears of persecution for his journalism by the U.S.A., including threats to his life. They also stated Australia had failed to cover protection to Assange. Read full statement here. Meanwhile the British police surrounded the Ecuadorean Embassy in London and threatened to temporarily revoke its diplomatic status and raid it to arrest Assange and extradite him to Sweden. A series of protests were called at UK consulates and the Embassy in Australia to occur on Friday 17th August. These included Sydney -- Melbourne and Canberra and Adelaide

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Will Australian intelligence agencies or special forces troops find themselves operating in Syria?

By Rob Scott 15th August 2012.A report by US journalist Eric S Margolis indicates that the United States is already deeply involved in a secret operation to support the revolt currently underway in Syria. Margolis is a respected journalist whose work has appeared in The New York Times, International Herald Tribune and The Los Angeles Times. Building upon the history of secret operations by US and French forces to help the recent Libyan insurrection, Margolis has been able to construct a picture of emerging high level clandestine US support for the Syrian opposition. This support includes command and control resources, encrypted signals networks and sophisticated weaponry such as Stinger missiles.

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The Aboriginal Visitors Scheme in disarray as two brothers attempt suicide within 12 hours

Gerry Georgatos - nit.com.au
In June, the National Indigenous Times broke the story of two brothers attempting suicide within 12 hours at Geraldton’s Greenough Prison and how the Aboriginal Visitors Scheme had been made defunct in the region by the Department of Corrective Services and how both the suicide attempts and the loss of the AVS had been kept from the news media.

"Aboriginal people are not sent to prison to die, or are they?" said Aboriginal Visitors Scheme (AVS) Officer, Joyce Capewell.

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Royal Commission into the AWU allegations and Gillard's involvement long overdue

Prime Minister cannot continue to leave an example of 'trust me' and 'I was young and naive' while other Australians would have come before the justice system

Julia Gillard claimed that she was young and naive while her then partner, Bruce Wilson, siphoned members' funds from the AWU but instead she was a 36 year old lawyer, and a partner in the burgeoning law firm, Slater and Gordon.

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