Australia

In 1836 King William IV recognised the continued rights to land for Aboriginal people in South Australia's founding document, the Letters Patent. It was the first ever recognition of Aboriginal rights granted in Australia's colonial history. But the promise of legal entitlement to the land was never kept. Now a new documentary is telling the story of the King’s Letters Patent and the struggle to have those land rights recognised.

At http://www.thewire.org.au/storyDetail.aspx?ID=11861 click on “Story audio”

(Story offered to hundreds of community Radio stations)

‘Give Peace a Chance? ’

A noble sentiment; unfortunately war is a vital element of world-economics and profit from armament export sales is essential to economic success.

A successful armaments-producing nation leans heavily on an income-dependency from export. And the armament’s industry produces lots more than Swiss Army Knives.

Former prime minister Bob Hawke is urging Australia to become the world's nuclear waste dump. But he has little hope of succeeding.

Hawke said Australia could end the disadvantage endured by its Indigenous population by opening up traditional lands as dumping sites for nuclear waste from around the world. This would "finally eliminate these disgraceful gaps in well-being and lifetime opportunities”, Hawke said — an echo of his grandiose claim in 1987 that, "By 1990, no Australian child will be living in poverty."

Over 165 Australians of Jewish identity and background have signed an Open Letter (below) calling on their fellow Jews to break their silence on the onslaught on Gaza by Israel. Among the signatories are actress Miriam Margolyes, union leader Kim Sattler and writers Sara Dowse, Antony Loewenstein and Susan Varga.
Vivienne Porzsolt of Jews against the Occupation, which organised the Open Letter, said ‘Silence is consent and as Jews, we must oppose atrocities taken in our name. Our public stand demonstrates that many Jews reject the brutal occupation of the Palestinians by Israel.