SBS WORLD NEWS Australia 6 30 pm & new time of 10 30 pm

Factbox: Pokies around the world [*** Very Interesting!]


ABC National Breakfast Radio with Fran Kelly, Monday to Friday 6am to 9am + AM Current Affairs

We need More then Talk!

Road to Tantura, A film in progress by Hala Gabriel

The Growing Influence of the Ultra-Orthodox in Israel.

Archive Call for UN BID 2011
________

US support for Israel is futile

Australia's PM Gillard rejected
a plea from Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd for Australia to abstain in a vote on Palestine joining a key United Nations body, instead siding with Israel and the US to oppose the proposal.

________

Coal seam gas and you
Search Tool to explore the full extent of coal seam gas mining in Australia and it impact on the Great Artesian Basin.

We do need to face up to this issue.Cash paradise: the state vs tax havens - Tax havens are heightening inequality and poverty, corroding democracy, distorting markets, undermining financial regulation and limiting economic growth. Either way, sovereign governments—including Australia.

Interesting:
"New Wave of Refugees Raises Aussie Anger". || Irrawaddy News 







Imagine a World without Free Knowledge?

Aljazeera News  | SBS World NewsRadio Australia + Asia Pacific
| ABC News Radio
 
ABC AM  | The World Today  | ABC PM  ABC.net.au | un.org/news  | UNCHR Daily || IPSNews | Irrawaddy News 


UNHCR urges more support for statelessness treaty

 Find  Interactive Map       World Food Program is trying to Fight Hunger Worldwide.

Some 250,000 children in East Africa  need our help. New Food Aid Apeal . The situation in East Africa is acute and a quarter of a million people face starvation this year. Millions of people, many of them farmers who lost all their livestock during the drought, remain dependent on the assistance of aid agencies like Save the Children. Ongoing conflict, rising food prices and severe drought have left parents unable to provide their children with the most basic needs of food and water.


CITIZENSHIP?

Your citizenship values as a human being are more important to me then the size of your wallet or rank or formal education. If education is power then we need to understand how dangerous  the  education  can be when manipulation means de-humanisation marks are trumped as best, stamped as enlightened  scholarship.



Seriously outrageous:
Federal MP Anthony Albanese's plagiarism no matter who wrote it, copied it or delivered it is symbolic of why we have lost deep faith in this line-up of the Federal ALP. Broken promises and a mix of superficial words,  lies and over-loaded spin serves sour cream covering stale cake.  We are a long way now from the rejuvenation  we  as a nation  prayed for, invested  in and experienced in  2007/8.  Where are the Democrats when we need them. Federal ALP has become a machine, automatic and manipulative making it so difficult for those honest brokers, including citizens to standout for their integrity in this country. While I know many of the personalities may be good people in their informal life, as a machine the party has lost credit on the intangible elements that give us strength as a nation. Proves how best can be less when the human factors are replaced with the de-humanised pollution filling the process of our nations day to day fabric.
Albanese's plagiarism, the run on broken promises together with the de-humanisation of our institutional administrative cultures is unacceptable. The Lucky Country lacks self-awareness from its leaders where it counts - from either of the major parties. Increasingly it appears we create once again a narrow window for ourselves when it comes to having the intellectual capacity to deal what is inclusively required as a whole world leading society. I am sure the 'innovative' Hollywood script writer who wrote the piece Albanese's crew plagiarised has had the last laugh here. "Just" shows it is better as a leader to give your own hand, to take the time to write your own speeches and drop the fancy-prank staged ego-making that is over-loading Australian politics today. Tit-for-Tat does not run a country. It is weak, as weak as Abbortts own eee-ore scripts.
This is critically interesting. Julia Gillard's take on words when it comes to Australian History back in 2007.

Warren Mundine is hardly a representative of the Indigenous Community at large. His views are controversially driven and many see him as a whiteman with whiteman views when it comes to safeguarding the core rights of Indigenous people.

The problem here is that the media already knows that.

Why he is used as a spokesperson in criticism of the Indigenous people at the Tent Embassy begs analysis.  It is only days ago that he ran head on into troubles as he argued with the expert panel on the constitutional recognition.



Australia Day marks the arrival of the first British colonists in 1788. Many Aborigines call it Invasion Day. While there is a significant crowd that has turned up from all round Australia at the Tent Embassy in Canberra this year, there is a poor show of Canberra residents themselves.


Scapegoats. That's the word I was looking for, except this fight ought to be between government departments not wedged at the protesters.

Mick Gooda is playing the wrong end of the stick. Surely he has something to say about the mis-fortunate actions from inside the government. Here we go again....
When balance means there is none   "Laurie's been trying to build up Gillard on every issue last few months ... what's going on ?" It is too easy to hammer and blame the citizens. If no one is perfect, what do we say about the real issues here surrounding the government. If one two or three people at the Tent Embassy can be singled out as being the "whole" then why is it that the world ought to accept the leak and whatever else was the actions of one staffer. Don't they all get paid to work as a team? Best we drop the ego-face driven game of politics and put a human touch across this entire fiasco. As Australians we can do better then this. Over the next weeks some of the best and the worst observations will be recorded. The assumptions that fire is put out with more fire is about denial, it doesn't work. The blame game is political while the people making up the majority of attendees at the Tent Embassy are just people who did, for the very most, turn up to celebrate what has been achieved as much as what still needs to be achieved. Surely we can find some common ground in that. For the politicians, it would have been more fitting for them to come to the lawn. Education is basically achieved by role models being inclusive when they are seen to be doing the right thing. Communication and civic engagement surely is part of that process if building bridges is the goal. Lauries description of the word "impeccably" is far off the mark. As I said it is about denial and in context of the "whole" perspective.

HOW WERE THE ABORIGINAL ACTIVISTS TIPPED OFF? Aboriginal activist Barbara Shaw says an unknown woman tipped her off about Tony Abbott's supposed comments and location before Thursday's Canberra protest.
While one respects the quick action from the PM to disclose this debacle no words can express the empty gaps in this statement ''During that discussion, the staff member did not in any way suggest or encourage violence or demonstration.[At the very least... One would hope not!] Responsibility and the example starts from the top. Given we are getting closer to the real story, a more mature explanation would be strategic. Symbolic is that it was the Emergency workers the PM herself was celebrating. It is  that trust and credibility must work both ways and we expect the authorities to be as accountable as our government which includes the ways the truth is told by statements from the PM.The excuse given and underlying sacking does not cut it when we consider the impact these events have had in dividing unity within the public of Australia. For those that work so hard to enhance greater cultural understanding, this event is about as sad as it gets!

Githabul man Mark told Howard Sattler on radio in Perth and says, the event organisers do not want protesters to partake in violence and believe this is hurting their cause.

27th Jan - Not only was a leak from within the government given to protesters at the Tent Embassy in Canberra that incited the events that followed at the Lobby Cafe but my sources tell me that Tony Abbott wasn't exactly invited to the event. From the information that I have gathered this whole distraction was a dirty stitch-up. People being manipulated and porns being played.

We may never know what the protesters were told by the person who leaked  what Abbott had said, given they were not listening to the radio or watching TV  at the site of the Tent Embassy, or how the situation was explained by the source who leaked the information as they were told that Abbott was to appear in Canberra at the Lobby Cafe. The fact that people were given the impression that  Abbott wanted to get rid of the Tent Embassy [it should be bulldozed?] might be a clue. I fail to see how the message could be misinterpreted.Besides this I was told the close advisor was a woman not a man.... I say this just to show how the grapevine works and how destructive it can be when the media from the outside leads a circus rather then its critical eye, using experience and community engagement. For me, I suspected that things yesterday just didn't add-up. That ought to have been the media's call, especially given the vast  horizontal and lateral knowledge it has and displays when winning the Walkey Awards. Put another way, Journalists are not bystanders. Their stories impact the hearts and minds of all Australians else they too are unjustly playing politics.

I do not accept excuses from the media that use volatile language to describe the actions of the protesters. They were rowdy but not violent. Secondly, the disgrace falls with the minders and any media who play on the vulnerability of those who have the very most to lose. The ugliness is with the power brokers who run politics like something out of the mini series 'West Wing'.  The media gets it wrong when it blindly forgets it to has a code of justice to uphold especially on socio-economic issues that need a fair-hearing. Conquer and dividing the Indigenous movement itself is reckless, especially at this critical time. The issue here is the sense of betrayal that is being played out in Canberra as factions within Australian politics manipulating the spirited action  of  young people whose energy they need to engender. How do we expect them to read the mixed  messages they have received from their visit in Canberra. They already feel a sense of alienation , if not confusion regarding the cross-fire, the tension between elders, the mixed messages from all sides of the tarnished political fence. As I said, the people generally at the  lawn have limited access to the media and have only been told of the media coverage and politics that is going on behind the scenes both between power brokers and from those sorting out strategies on site at the Tent location.

I am told there are many people who were not happy about the flag burning today but others who see it as the only  way to send a message about the ways they feel they are being treated.

For most of the people who have attended the event it is about learning, being together and sharing. Given the majority have come from all round the country, including Yarraba, it is callous that they have been labeled. There is more energy on this lawn then under the seats of many Australians.

Paul  Sheehan is an example of a  a jounalist who needs to get a life.His energy might have been better spent on the sources of the background story. This is a disgraceful  punch reflecting himself more then the  person he is aiming at. It is so unnecessary.

______

This how I recorded the event. I was not at the cafe, but on site at the Tent Embassy and interviewed many after they came back from the cafe..... most in shock. "The Tent Embassy Debacle from A Protester’s POV"

Phew! Thank Gads for Cricky.com: Where to go for the worst commentary on Julia and Tony’s big day in Canberra.

The inconvenient  Truth.
One Thanks the Worlds Media outside Australia for being able to decipher the  truth  from the  exaggerated  documentation of the  Australia Day story  in Canberra yesterday.  It is the balance at the core of  this story that matters. What sparked the  events and then  what fueled the panic outcome.  If you didn't know better you would almost believe Abbotts script and the event was staged. That is before you realise the chanting and waving of flags outside the venue appears to include a few [three of four young people it appears using the glass window as a drum.... with no intention evident that meant harm].

One wishes that the Australian media itself had as much maturity. Find this video, it is the only one so far that I have seen that comes near what ought to be seen as reporting with some balance. On talkback this morning a few people, having coffee who were inside the glass enclosed restaurant , and not part of the PM's function said they never at any moment felt their safety was put at risk and nor did they feel the need to move. What local  journalists fail to understand is that they are watched and read by the Australian public which includes individuals distrustful who belong to minority groups. Their exclusive coverage breaks down the trust of the media within the community and means those that they ought to be speaking to wont speak to them because of the way they treat these critical important stories. From what I have seen concerning Australia's unfair, bias media coverage is that  it reflects the depth of dispossession  felt  by  many among the Indigenous  sectors and it also alienates  many people who have deep empathy  for struggles the Indigenous  people have as a whole. As a new resident, the more I see how Canberra works, the more alarmed or disenfranchised I sense I am becoming from what I had once hoped was a bush capital reflecting what is  true blue across Australia. Instead I find a gang of middle class  players either in the power of government or media waging a cultural impasse on many levels  through mainstream at ordinary Australians. Except for the story listed above, there is not so far a balanced report discussing the "innocence"surrounding the lead-up to the unplanned, spontaneous  protest. What I do see is the judgments and over-arching goodie goodie colonialists gatekeeping the story in a way that protects power against a predominant young  bunch of citizens who felt the opposition leader was steamrolling their cause. When Ms Gillard advocated for a knowledge nation I supported her in the hope that her call meant we would become a more tolerant, understanding and equitable society from the farm gate to the bush capital. Instead what we find is the "clone[ism] has become as detrimentally contemptible as anyone we might tag as redneck. I am deeply sorry this day has happened. Unless we get some mature and balanced commentary about what truthfully occurred in Canberra on Australia Day 2012 I fear the "anger" of the PM and her minders  will be waged against the said "anger" [or grievance] of those who value the Indigenous Embassy Tent. Lost is the opportunity to create greater understanding because of the clumsy over reactive sentiments vented . Lost is a voice in Australia and especially in Canberra that can see through the hubris and willing to state an alternative more balanced view.Telling is that the media present at the Tent Emabssy was community radio from Melbourne and not Canberra's own 2xx, which surprisingly doesn't even have a newsroom! What's the point I ask?


Davos: a sanatorium for those in denial of capitalism's ills...

It is hard to listen but is George Soros right?
Davos Elite Must Put Some Substance in Their High-Altitude: As German Chancellor Angela Merkel said, "world leaders have yet to act on the lessons of a financial crisis that began in 2008 and has yet to really end". The challenges facing the U.S. and Europe stem from the same phenomenon: The financial elite, investors and taxpayers alike have become too dependent on government to protect them from the consequences of their actions.... This is a discussion that needs to be at the core on DAVOS meeting "After four years of stop-start recovery, rising unemployment, austerity, sovereign debt crises and growing social unrest, you don't need an eight-digit salary to work that out. " We need a "a sort of third-way globalisation to "reduce the costs and ills [of the system] including the wide income disparities that have been generated over the last decade or so".... [In my view the failure of DOHA is a mirror at the core of the problem and smacks of the gap between nations, their terms of trade and failure to address the critical issues impacting world populations, caused by unfair capitialism, unjust terms of power and a failing humanity in world markets. Cameron' can say all he likes about 'breaking with the orthodox position', but in many ways the issue of fair-play starts with the monetary system in the UK. Cleaning up this system must begin with a political will and that takes honest brokers.]



40th Anniversary of Tent Embassy Day in Canberra.
26th - 28th January 2011 - All Welcome!

Music - Song and Circles. Find Agenda, podcasts and who is attending.


         
YAHOO!
Australian of the Year 2012 is Geoffrey Rush

What a gift.
Someone who understands the Arts,  Australian people, much of Australia's history and much of what we need to do together as a whole Nation.

As his first request, Australian of the Year Geoffrey Rush urges local writers to tell the stories of asylum seekers who try to make the perilous journey to Australia by boat. [What a gift]. Geoffrey Rush is challenging TV writers to make a mini-series about the human side of asylum seekers. "I want to see the stories of why are these people wanting to come here at great peril to their lives, with such extraordinary bravery. And we're not finding that human scale in the story. And I think it's good if we did that because I think people would discuss the arguments with less overly emotive responses to primal knee-jerk reactions. "

Mr Rush also marvelled at the rise of local modern arts scene while paying tribute to the heritage laid down by Indigenous Australians."We live on an island that boasts the oldest nation on earth saying, "There is an inspiration right there, where performance rituals are at the heart of its being - our Dreaming.".

Rush also noted that as Australians, we " know that hard-wired into every Australian from every background we love acting the goat, taking the mickey, cracking a joke, spinning a yarn." We are the plucky country,  he said."We told that at any given moment we are no further than a few metres away from spider - this statistic is now also true for the arts."

Australia's 2012  Senior of the Year is Indigenous elder Laurie Baymarrwangga from the island of Murrungga, north-east of Arnhem Land, Northern Territory for protecting her culture and country.

Laurie Baymarrwangga who is 95-years old,is a Galiwin’ku woman, a custodian of Milingimbi, one of the Crocodile Islands. She is recognised  for her commitment to preserving the Crocodile Islands and teaching younger generations about their culture, knowledge language and heritage. On hearing of the award, Laurie thanked those who supported her vision of indigenous management of sea country, saying: ‘We continue to pass on the stories of our land and sea country for the good of new generations."




This is why it is hard to totally trust or feel ease with China. "China opens fire on Tibet protesters". This is no way for a sophisticated or [civilised] world leader to behave. It is shameful.
Chinese New Year 2012 is set to be among the biggest celebrations throughout the whole-wide world.

 “Xin Nian Kuai Le” . Happy New Year in Chinese [pronounced sin-nien-kway-leh]

The Year of the Water Dragon, [every sixty years], promises even larger extravaganzas than usual. Known for his boldness and short temper, the dragon has long been a representation of the Chinese Emperors. The Water Dragon, by contrast, exudes calm and empathy.

In Sydney the two-week celebration starts on January 20 in Belmore Park, with a Twilight Parade on January 29 and ending with dragon boat races on February 5.  .Word has it that in between there will be Bruce Lee tributes, cooking classes, free galleries, magicians, karaoke, and massive morning tai chi classes on the beach.



Anna Bligh knows her Queensland State and knows the stakes are always high when it comes to calling the time of a Queensland State Election.

While her opposition has gained strength with their new leader now being former Brisbane Mayor, Mr Campbell Newman... it is merely another test for this Queensland Premier who has grown strong with magnitude  over past years. This political contest is the first real contest Queensland has had in decades. The articulation of policies hopefully will out weigh the expected spin, as these parties thrash out for the first time what is important for infrastructure, for local community and business building the future, with Climate Change. Premier Anna Bligh has made some mighty calls for Queensland over recent years and proves she knows exactly what she is doing when it comes to dealing a hand for the benefit of Queenlanders. Go Anna Go.
Mr Campbell Newman compliments you as a strong  opposition Leader even though many of us still don't understand how he got there. That's Queensland for you.
_____________________________________________________



ALARMING: Arms Shippment from Russia arrives in Syria.

Foreign journalists are banned, making verification of details difficult in Syria on both/all sides of the political spectrum.
Aljazeera News

Jeremy Bowen BBC News, Damascus

'PLAYING GAMES' on international scale in support of personalities rather then leadership blocks the road to prevent more bloodshed in Syria.

UN Chief says to to Syria's Assad: "Stop Killing Your Own People".
He said  The path of repression is a dead end,  the winds of change will not cease to blow. The flame ignited in Tunisia will not be dimmed.”

Syrian General Mostafa Ahmad al-Sheikh
is said to have defeated. In a statement, he said he had deserted because he was sickened by the ruthlessness of Assad's regime and all the killings taking place. As talks deepen behind the scenes about the situation in Syria, the Gulf state of Qatar has said Arab countries should send troops into Syria to stop government forces killing civilians there. Qatar was the first Arab country to join the Nato-led operation in Libya, which led to the downfall of Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi.

Russian Arms Ship Arrives in Syria: A Russian ship loaded with 60 tons of ammunition and arms has landed in Syria , Thursday.
The Russian ship, The St. Vincent and Grenadines-flagged ship, called the Chariot is technically violating an EU embargo on arms shipments to Syria. It is  owned by St. Petersburg-based Westberg Ltd. Russia is a major arms supplier to Syria and, has emerged as one of the main stumbling blocks to Western efforts to curb President Bashar al-Assad's crackdown against the uprising.

The distraction in world politics on what to do about the 5,000 civilians and more killed daily in Syria, has to do with Russia's support for Iran, against sanctions concerning Irans Nuclear program. Syria and Iran are closely linked. Russia's mixed messages being fired at the West confuse most who try to follow these events... given they have been criss-crossing in the headlines for years now in waves of hot and cold. In the background is Israel and the US. Turkey, sits on the Syrian boarder, appears to be showing the greatest leadership - with absolute concern for the life of the people in Syria and in their  address where Arab and Middle East politics is concerned. Meanwhile Iran and Cuba agree [this week] on 'peaceful use of nuclear energy'.

The Assad family has dominated Syria for more than four decades.

Humanitarian Disaster:
Life of people resulting in an average of 30-40 deaths a day in Syria as government snippers continue to shoot at civilians. No account is possible to calculate the hundreds injured. Hundreds flee as hospitals are presently seen as death traps for those injured. After only two weeks, Clinton Calls for End to Arab League Monitoring Mission in Syria.

Observer quits Syrian mission in disgust saying he had witnessed "scenes of horror"
Mr Malek also criticised the leader of the Arab League mission, Sudanese General Mohammed al-Dabi, "The head of the mission wanted to steer a middle course in order not to anger the (Syrian) authorities or any other side," said Mr Malek. The US has noted that " 400 additional people have been killed, an average of 40 a day, a rate much higher than was the case before their deployment".



RearVision: The Arab world- Find Transcript. An invaluable documentary with a historical reflection on the Middle East. It shows us how deep the gap is between ideals and reality when one recognises how the political players on all sides got to where they are today and why it is so hard to create a workable or trustful relationship with 'anyone'. While we respect and acknowledge the power of the Arab Spring, it is difficult to hope for a solution when so many lives are being lost in these countries daily.... Betrayal of humanity leaves it's political-social and economic mark wherever the ill-shadow follows. This particular documentary is among the best I have heard in the way it expresses the past in context of the Arab World. The commentators are so concise and articulate. So much to tell. Well Done RearVision!


Latest: vessel discharged unethical Sahara cargo in Australia


Isn't this illegal? Australia accepting unethical cargo from Western Sahara?


"It is sad to know that somewhere in Tasmania, recipients of this resource are unwittingly colluding in this denial of the rights of the Sahrawi people to decide their own future and benefit from their own resources", local school teacher Peter D. Jones wrote in a letter in the Hobart newspaper The Mercury yesterday.

"Morocco continues its illegal occupation, mainly because of access to the phosphate supply", he wrote.

The importing firm, Impact Fertilizers, admits purchasing the rock from the territory. The UN has stated that such activity is in violation of international law if the people of Western Sahara have not been consulted. They have not.






Adaption in Greater Mekong region


The Bright Red Line of Faith. Restoring wetlands in the Rice Bowl of Vietnam



End the Tyranny
Africa
Support Human Rights Watch's efforts to end tyranny. Find latest video "Tyranny Has a Witness"  here. Other ways to give here....

Global Witness quits blood diamond scheme citing the scheme's failure to break the link between diamond sales and violence.

Doctors without Borders (or Medecins Sans Frontieres, MSF),  NGO turns 40, continues  fighting AIDS in Zimbabwe and says, "More than 5,000 people in Zimbabwe will go without treatment if no additional funding goes through."

Africa Investigates. African journalists risk their lives in order to reveal the truth about corruption and abuse across the continent.

Interview: David Kilcullen. This is the kind of  soldier I respect. A humanitarian, an example to us all when it comes to understanding the local need for community engagement. Why people matter no matter where we go. Why Aid and the act of the military must find common ground in their cause each... to save the world.  Counter insurgency expert David Kilcullen is one of the world's leading advisor's on political insurgency movements. His expertise has taken him from the Australian Army to the corridors of Washington. Nothing I can say can express how I appreciated this interview Julia Baird. Makes everything else seem almost irrelevant when you hear someone instinctively with a similar world view. Also find article, "Winning Hearts and Minds? Examining the Relationship between Aid and Security in Afghanistan" Paul Fishstein and Andrew Wilder .



Gas industry must get rid of cowboys, Flannery warns

Four Corners -  'Great Barrier Grief'

Queenslands natural gas (LNG) industry is growing at a very fast rate.  Reporter Marian Wilkinson examines why the Federal Government did not tell the World Heritage Committee in advance about the planned port expansion, given the potential to impact on the World Heritage Area. "To service the huge liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers and expand its coal loading capacity, Gladstone Ports Corporation is now undertaking the biggest dredging operation ever attempted inshore from the Great Barrier Reef. Part of the spoil dredged up will be taken out to sea to a dump site within one kilometre of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park."

Reef authority downplays Gladstone's marine animal and diseased fish death
Building Friendly Neighborhood in Canberra is a real life issue in Canberra.

Canberra's housing affordability crisis is causing a ''human crisis'' that is ''snowballing'' among the city's poor, according to community groups.


Jerilderie Garden Project  - Celebrations on the first tomatoe in the garden.
"Casualties in the War on People Smuggling". We need to draw the line on Human Rights here. It is not correct that we as an intelligent "developed" nation continue to target the wrong people in the present focus of Australia's unfair immigration 'war on asylum seekers' framework which burdens the wrong people at a costly price to Australia and hits on villages dragging out their resources into this dysfunctional  crime net. Either we stand on Millennium Goals or we don't?

Controversial as it is.... there is still more to consider on Australia's Immigration policy. Find a interesting discussion with John Menadue former Head of Immigration during 1980's under Fraser Government whose view explains why 'The Plight of Refugees is not a Political Opportunity' on National Breakfast Friday. Interesting and directive. He credits Malaysia for it efforts on Refugee's compared to Australia's de-humanising treatment of these desperate people & explains why the Governments focus on 'People Smugglers' misses the mark when it comes to the bigger picture.*****

Smash all you want; it won't deter the people smugglers.  Khalid Koser argues "Prime Minister doesn't appear fully to understand the model, and thus her Government's efforts to "smash" it are unlikely to be effective."

Julia Baird's interview with Former Commonwealth ombudsman Allan Asher. It is so very good to hear him speak. Also catch ABC Q & A on Iview


Classic  FM  Radio

The Sahrawi Peoples in the Western Sahara are being sold out

El Problema
-
[Assalamualaikum]

Phosphorus - How much is there for the future?

A Rio+20 Policy Brief 2012 - Interconnected risks and solutions for a planet under pressure || 3rd Sustainable Phosphorus Summit to be held in Sydney, February 2012

Climate Justice: enforcing climate change law


The Real News

EngageMedia Asia

ISRIA

Lateline Business. Interview with Marc Faber.

"How Global Investors Make Money Out of Hunger"

If only.... "In the final episode of Meltdown, we hear about the sheikh who says the crash never happened; a Wall Street king charged with fraud; a congresswoman who wants to jail the bankers; and the world leaders who want a re-think of capitalism."


http://bbc.in/listen_whys



Georgatos.com - Indigenous WA

OnLine National Opinion

Maria Altmann's view Online National Opinion

Join Me

Maria Altmann
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Jedamann

@TheMiacat

@Jedamann

TheMiacat on


What's Happening in the North West of Australia?

Native Title Amendment (Reform) Bill 2011
View Submissions received by the Committee

Join "Yindjibarndi Struggle"


In the National Interest: Meeting the participation challenge


ABC PM
Radio Australia + Asia Pacific - Asia Business


7 30 Report




Bush Telegraph

Australia All Over

A Ned Kelly Documentary_________

Alternative Radio
Australia

UK
Independent

Deutsche Welle

Euro News

Diasporasaharaui - Western Sahara News

Reporters Sans Frontières


“.... 5 percent of people receive one-third of total global income, as much as the poorest 80 percent”. While a few poor countries are catching up with the rich world, the differences between the richest and poorest individuals around the globe are huge and likely growing…
_______

The biggest threat to Western values" Multiculturalism does not pose a significant danger to Western values - but neoliberalism does.


Transformation. A  time when the mind and spirit is awake




The very Least we can do is learn about this issue. Sea Level Change and Small Island States

No issue is more pressing for Small Island States then Sea Level Rise and the recognition that their entire populations may in the not so distant future have to relocate to mainland nations as "environmental refugees" [a crude term], because of what their Islands face. SBS takes us to life on Kiribati. From Copenhagen to now. Where is the International concern. Who is failing their promises to these Small Island States?

Are we naval Grazers or are we prepared to deal with the world as it presents us all with the challenges ahead?



We have the information but what do we do about it?



SBS Dateline
has done a series on E-WASTE. devastating story on illegal trading of old computers and TVs from countries like Australia being found dumped in impoverished Ghana. During part-2  Dateline calls the government to account.

E-Waste, toxic chemicals in the waste are slowly poisoning the children... who work with no masks, gloves, shoes for virtually no real pay. Find this Podcast and related links,  do what you can to shout against this immorality.

Eva Cox. Revisit Boyer Lectures 1995"In a civil society, we need to recognise the supreme importance of social connections which include plenty of robust goodwill to sustain difference and debate. This possibility exists within Australia today, but we risk squandering it in our search for illusory economic development. I want to question some too common assumptions, challenge many beliefs seen as truths, and recast some old ideas which have fallen out of fashion. I want to persuade those in high places to recognise that we are social beings."

"....  Without our social bases we cannot be fully human. Social capital is as vital as language for human society. We become vulnerable to social bankruptcy when our social connections fail. If most of our experiences enhance our sense of trust and mutuality, allowing us to feel valued and to value others, then social capital increases."

Listen up Canberra "how such structures can either enhance or deplete social capital by incorporating certain types of civic cultures and norm"

"The issues of maldistributed power are exacerbated by market forces increasing inequality. The idea that market providers can be regulated to comply with ethical standards ignores the difficulties that governments have in regulating the powerful."

Give me breath Eva Cox where she states rightly; "There is no question in my mind that the intellectual belongs on the same side with the weak and unrepresented" and clapp here "Destroying the present in pursuit of an uncertain future is not the way to go." [note her pointed discussion on questioning what we mean by progress].Me too Eva [no one loves a perpetual critic]. "I am trying to learn when to stop and how to move on. So raising the issue of debate and dissent is a somewhat personal exploration as well as a political intervention".

Do you believe in Civic society?"The term 'civil offers alternate paradigms to counter the current public policy assumptions about competition and privatisation which are unravelling the social fabric."As she says.... "We create the ways of acting which become the truly civil society!"




Australia's mining industry investment soared to a record $232 billion [34%] in the year to October, according to new researc. Accoroding to the ABC "Most of the capital is in the oil and gas, iron ore and coal industries. Western Australia accounts for about 64 per cent of expenditure on advanced projects with final investment decisions announced for the Wheatstone and Prelude LNG projects in the last six months. There are now a record 102 minerals and energy projects that have reached a final investment decision. There are more than 300 other projects still in the pipeline and those are expected to be worth more than $224 billion. The bureau says the projects are set to drive significant growth in resources exports in the medium to long term.".


Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation Aboriginal group takes FMG fight to Canberra. The YAC has levelled several claims of misconduct against FMG, including recently that the miner coerced an archaeologist to alter a heritage report concerning one of the hub's tenements. Michael Woodley says the Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke has agreed to look into their concerns.

Miners and State 'fail' eco audit:
In a report, Mr Murphy said the Department of State Development was not ensuring miners maximised local content and Indigenous Affairs had failed to enforce compliance with heritage conditions.

By passing First Australians Health , Housing & Employmentand right to life-style and culture
As I wrote my Submission for Constitutional Reform, Native Title Reform, it was this issue that was on my mind. Spiralling suicide rates within several Indigenous communities across Australia. The only prevention possible is through "civic wellbeing" strategies. The ongoing and unacceptable bar we have set in Australia in areas of human rights daily through politics and discriminative practices through administrations, and the mining industry will continue until we strengthen the law. Suicide is a reponse to having no hope left. This story is so critical I don't put it on Facebook for the pain it might cause for those dealing with the phenomena everyday.

Kimberley land council split - Listen to why "Traditional Owners say NO". Why they believe the way government is doing business in the Kimberley not fair. Fran Kelly speaks with Mitch Torres Actor, writer, film maker and traditional owner and Jabirr Jabirr woman from the Kimberley.
Chronically ill patients living in tents
Indigenous trainees left to sleep rough
Broome divided over gas proposal

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Mining industry overrated: report






 Bush Telegraph

Bush Telgreaph on the Kimberley. "Dinosaur footprints, pristine beaches, spectacular waterfalls, coral reefs, ancient rock art -
it's a time capsule of Australia's evolutionary history." Interview with Professor Carmen Lawrence, chair of the National Heritage Council & Author / Journalist Victoria Laurie.

And, Marine sanctuaries proposed across the Top End

The struggle of Indigenous people in the Pilbara and Kimberley is distressing. Apart for the lack of Health, Housing and Employment it is what is occuring in their battle with Mining Companies. Iron and Dust, video with current podcast and resources pointing to the issues at the heart of the story.

A Powerful Interview: Why we need to see Native Title Reform. "FMG Dispute Continues" between Yindjibarndi in Pilbara, on rtrfm » morning magazine. Also a good point made on "veto rights" for "all" when it comes to Wild Rivers in Cape York.
Find audio [This on the day "FMG wins native title dispute over Solomon"] Friday 12th August 2011

Audio 2: FMG Dispute Continues... with YAC's Barrister
FMG goes for 'whole of country" approach which takes 50% of "Yindjibarndiland and locks it in so next generations are stuck with it for decades to come. It is the strategy of FMG tactics and how Native Title is being manuipulatedthat must be understood.

The mining boom is possibly the only thing standing between Australia and a recession right now.

I fully support some of the wealth of views expressed
by those interviewed on Bush Telegraph Wednesday, especially the story that points to the way Australia in its approach to the "Mining Boom" is not thinking about the future needs of the Nation... by neglecting ... or '  Thieving from next generations'. It is the reason I support a tougher scrutiny taxation of Multi National Mining Companies. Find podcast.

What IF .... asks Paul Cleary author of 'Too Much Luck: the Mining Boom and Australia's Future'



Irrawaddy News 

Suu Kyi welcomes US engagement with Myanmar

US Secretary of State Hillary invited Myanmar-Burma  to join the Lower Mekong Initiative, an American-sponsored regional association devoted to water issues, which already includes Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand.

Reform in Burma
"Elections in Burma twelve months ago were widely seen as a sham but a series of unexpected government decisions since then offers some modest hope for a country suffering the effects of fifty years of repressive military rule."


Aung San Suu Kyi offers a first-hand account of the fight against tyranny in a country that's been run by a military dictatorship for nearly 50 years. She explains the nature of the struggle and its importance, not only to her country, but to the world as a whole.


Late Night Live with Phillip Adams

Late Night Live with Phillip Adams

Late Night Live regulars in their discussion on international and local events and issues of 2011. ****

Paul Keating gives us more of the Aussie 'true blue' on Late Night Live.  |||
Classic FM Presenter Margaret Throsby - interviews Paul Keating.

Radio at it's best.
Discussion on "Europe in crisis" on Latenight Live. I did not agree with either of the guests but I was deeply stimulated by the views of both. There was 'earnest' and heat in this debate as if the topic mattered in a way that sits outside what we have heard recently on all the drone of the EU condition. Oliver Hartwich & Philomena Murray go head to head.


Indigenous Discussion - Constitutional Recognition for Indigenous Australian
 On the eve of all submission to government closing in reference to Referendum to be held on indigenous recognition in the Constitution, a move to address  Indigenous Australians are officially recognised in the constitution.


Rethink Refugees. Interview with John Menadue Board Director of the Centre for Policy Development, Secretary of the Department of Immigration in the Fraser Government, former diplomat.

How-to guide for making a Constitution with Anthony Regan Constitutional lawyer and fellow at the State, Society and Governance in Melanesia Program at the Collage of Asia and Pacific, Australia National University.Find the Webpage Interpeace

Exceptional story with an overall exceptional perspective. "Wilful Blindness".











Bookshow interviews -  Ramona Koval with author Ian Mcewan - "SOLAR". Failure at Copenhagen climate talks prompted Ian  Mcewan to write this novel.

Right Two Books a must read.
Sand, by Michael Welland. Imagine, Sand used to make computers, windows, toothpaste, cosmetics... Sand has played a dramatic role in human history, commerce, and begs our imagination. Audio interview with Michael Welland. Dirt pdf - Ch  1 Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations, by David R. Montgomery. The root of our existence, dirt supports our feet, our farms, our cities. Today, slow but a recent rise of organic and no-till farming gives hope for a new agricultural revolution that might help avoid the fate of previous civilizations. Water Dreamers: The Remarkable History of Our Dry. By Michael Cathcart ||| Book Review by


Embedded in our need to tackle changing climate are issues surrounding food security, shrinking resources and environmental degradation. All are issues linked by one inescapable fact. "Geography on the Edge."

The increasing amount of dissolved carbon dioxide oceans
is driving fish crazy. CO2 threatens fish's very survival in oceans.  Some 2.3 billion tonnes of human CO2 emissions dissolve into the oceans every year, home to fish and other species, altering their chemical environment. Researchers say, "We've now established it isn't simply the acidification of the oceans that is causing disruption - as is the case with shellfish and plankton with chalky skeletons - but the actual dissolved CO2 itself is damaging the fish's nervous systems."



Beautiful Photos. Sometimes the  only way to reflect a deep felt prayer.

'Love is misunderstood to be an emotion; actually, it is a state of awareness, a way of being in the world, a way of seeing oneself and others.'