Critical Times

This morning, forest activists from Still Wild Still Threatened continued their tree top protest in the Styx Valley. Right now, activists are perched high in the giant Eucalyptus regnans of the Styx to raise awareness and to protest against the continued destruction of these unique old growth forests.

“We are speaking out against the systematic eradication of some of our most significant carbon sinks at the hands of local climate criminals Forestry Tasmania and Gunns Ltd.

A packed 5-hour meeting at Woodville Town Hall last night called on the government to go back to the drawing board on the Cheltenham Race Course re-zoning.

Experts in town planning, water management, open space and recreation joined with local residents to condemn the short-sighted government plans to replace precious open space with housing.

Every one of the 50 people who spoke at the meeting last night criticised aspects of the government plan.

Ty Pedersen, Adelaide

Although 80% of current revenue from BHP Billiton’s Olympic Dam mine in South Australia comes from minerals other than uranium, recent drilling has shown that the site is home to the largest ore body of uranium in the world.

An expansion due to take place this year would expand the mine to a 3km wide and 1.5km deep hole in the ground.

The Australian government has declared that it is going to wage war against inflation as their number 1 economic objective at the present time. The rate of inflation reached 3.6 percent in the most recent figures announced by the authorities and this is outside the “comfort zone” of the Reserve Bank.

The instability of worldwide stock markets continued into a second week with big swings both up and down in main capital cities. While most comments put the blame on the bursting of the housing bubble and the slow down in the economy of the United States there are more fundamental reasons. They are not going to go away even if there is some temporary stabilisation.

Did you see where the NBC TV network in the US ran a poll asking viewers to name their best and worst quotes of 2007? The viewers’ favourite as best quote of the year was the extraordinarily crass advertising slogan for Glock handguns: “You’re never alone with a Glock!”

However, while a Glock may be the weapon of choice for people who want to blow someone away — police and bad guys alike — the other increasingly popular weapon in the USA is the electric shock gun from weapons manufacturer Tazer.

In a country that not only practices and condones torture but has made it a key element of government policy, a weapon that delivers a 20,000 volt shock to the person on the receiving end is viewed with official equanimity. Australian police have now been issued with these horrific devices.

Floods, cyclones and drought are just the latest in a series of extreme weather conditions that has hit Australia over the past few months. The impact, especially of drought, is huge. Rivers are drying up, bush fires are damaging farmland and crops are failing; the whole fragile ecosystem is under threat.

Source: Mike-Serve The People Blogspot

(Above: ruling class aesthetics. A carefully composed shot of exploration ore samples in front of Mt Gee. For real aesthetics, go to http://unknownsa.

Start: 7 Feb 2008 – 6:15pm

Filmed 9 years ago in the run-up to the Sydney Olympics, John Pilger and Alan Lowery look at what’s behind the curtain of hype and glamour. Australia’s Aborigines are still exculded, impoverished and mistreated – while their part in the brilliant history of Australia’s sports successes goes virtually unrecognized. The passing of time only makes this film more poignant.

Start: 7 Feb 2008 – 6:15pm

Filmed 9 years ago in the run-up to the Sydney Olympics, John Pilger and Alan Lowery look at what’s behind the curtain of hype and glamour. Australia’s Aborigines are still exculded, impoverished and mistreated – while their part in the brilliant history of Australia’s sports successes goes virtually unrecognized. The passing of time only makes this film more poignant.

February 17 to February 21, 2008

This international congress brings together organisations and people interested in sustainable energy and its role in urban environments.

The Congress is a part of the International Solar Cities Initiative, which aims to support UN energy and climate policies by stimulating the interest of cities in committing to ambitious emission reduction goals; help cities systematically integrate renewable energy and energy efficient technologies and industries into environmental, economic and city planning; and provide scientific support for the validation and design of effective measures and policies for Solar Cities.

The Congress will be held at the Adelaide Convention Centre, Feb 17-21, 2008.

The Greens today cautiously welcomed the announcement by the Minister
for Agriculture, Tony Burke of his intention to revamp drought relief
payments.

“The review is certainly long overdue, but we need to ensure that any
farm support payments are part of a wider approach that helps us move
from band-aid responses to exceptional circumstances to a system of
sustainable agriculture which is more climate proof,” said Senator
Rachel Siewert, Greens spokesperson on agriculture today.

“We need to be helping farmers to adapt to a drying and changing climate – they cannot be expected to do it alone,” she said.

Troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan
Don’t attack Iran
End the siege of Gaza

Five years after the invasion of Iraq the world has become much more dangerous and volatile. Latest estimates suggest as many as one million have died violent deaths as a result of the occupation of Iraq. The country’s infrastructure and civil society are in shreds.

: Mankind is pumping 7 billion tonnes of carbon a year into the earth’s atmosphere. By 2030 the ability of the planet to absorb carbon will have fallen from 4 billion tons a year to 2.7 billion tonnes but population is expected to expand from 6 billion to 8.

The 23rd Congress of the Democratic Socialist Perspective, a Marxist tendency in the Socialist Alliance in Australia, reaffirmed its commitment to broader left regroupment.

The Congress noted that a new political terrain was opening up with the election of the Rudd Labor government on the back of a mass campaign of opposition to the anti-worker “Work Choices” laws introduced by the former Howard Liberal-National government.

A perspectives resolution supported by 80% of delegates affirmed:

“The sweeping defeat of the Howard government and the election of Rudd Labor in November 2007 brought in another government that is anti-union and conservative.

The inner harbour area of Port Adelaide is being redeveloped. The South Australian government through its agency the Land Management Corporation is remediating contaminated land on the banks of the Port Estuary, and then transferring the land to the Newport Quays consortium.

Two sections of the western bank of the river are in various stages of redevelopment, and a third is proceeding through the development approval process.

In his latest article for the New Statesman, John Pilger describes how the invasion of Afghanistan, which was widely supported in the West as a ‘good war’ and justifiable response to 9/11, was actually planned months before 9/11 and is the latest instalment of ‘a great game’.

“To me, I confess, [countries] are pieces on a chessboard upon which is being played out a game for dominion of the world.”
Lord Curzon, viceroy of India, speaking about Afghanistan, 1898

I had suggested to Marina that we meet in the safety of the Intercontinental Hotel, where foreigners stay in Kabul, but she said no.

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Following ITV’s showing of ‘The War on Democracy’ last August, more than 10,000 viewers contacted this website to ask about DVD distribution of the film. ‘The War on Democracy’ is to be released on DVD in Britain, the US and Australia in January and February. Distribution throughout the US has been agreed with Bullfrog Films, which has carried many of Pilger’s collected films.

We live in an era of media concentration, vast efforts on many fronts (political, economic, military, ideological) to insulate state and private power from critical discussion or even popular awareness, and to reduce citizens to isolated atomized creatures restricted to satisfying personal ‘created wants.’ This massive and coordinated campaign has been partially successful, but only in a limited way.

The range and scope and dedication of popular activism has also increased, all over the world, reaching a level of international solidarity and mutual support that has never been seen before.

US war veterans encourage troops to refuse to fight
Iraq Veterans Against The War (IVAW) recently voted to launch a campaign to encourage US troops to refuse to fight. Garrett Rappenhagen, himself a former US Army sniper who served in Iraq for a year, said that the organization had decided ‘to make support of war-resisters a major part of what we do. There’s a misconception that they’re cowards… most have seen the war first hand and have come to the conclusion that it’s morally wrong.