The WikiLeaks Files: The World According to the US Empire
Verso, 2015
624 pages, hardback
George Orwell said: 鈥淚n a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.鈥
These are dark times, in which the propaganda of deceit touches all our lives. It is as if political reality has been privatised and illusion legitimised.
The information age is a media age. We have politics by media; censorship by media; war by media; retribution by media; diversion by media 鈥 a surreal assembly line of clich茅s and false assumptions.
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While the whole globe 鈥 from polar regions to the equator 鈥 has experienced record-breaking high temperatures, a small part of the Earth has experienced the opposite. Scientists say both are indications of the dangerous affects of climate change.
In September, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) were the hottest ever recorded in the 135 years since records have been kept.
The New South Wales government is preparing a fire sale of state-owned properties around the Sydney Harbour foreshore, on the pretext of funding an upgrade of the Circular Quay ferry wharves.
Premier Mike Baird announced on September 28 that government-owned hotels and office buildings would be sold to raise $200 million for the renovation project.
South America鈥檚 largest country, Brazil, has been rocked in recent months by a political crisis, partly fuelled by mass protests calling for the removal of centre-left President Dilma Rousseff. The protests come as the country officially moves into recession, with Brazil鈥檚 economy expected to contract by 2% this year. Brazil has been governed by a Workers鈥 Party (PT)-led coalition for over a decade, firstly under Luiz Ignacio 鈥淟ula鈥 da Silva and now Dilma, as she is commonly known.
The 23rd Ernie awards for sexist behaviour were held late last month. The peak body for soccer, Football Federation Australia, took out the Gold Ernie for the gross pay gap between male and female soccer players.
When the Socceroos won the Asian Cup each player was paid $103,148. In contrast, if the Matildas had won the World Cup, they would have been paid $5600 each.
The Socceroos receive a $6000 base payment for every international game, while the Matildas get just $500.
The United States and 11 other Pacific Rim nations, including Australia, reached an agreement on October 5 on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the largest regional trade accord in history.
A group of 20 refugee supporters staged a sit-in at the Department of Immigration and Border Protection on October 7. They were protesting the ongoing rapes and assaults against refugees on Nauru.
The protesters occupied the office for about 90 minutes before police arrived. According to one of the demonstrators, the activists entered the building at about 10.30am and started chanting.
The staff closed the reception area and called security, who filmed the demonstrators and told them to leave. When the activists refused to leave, the police were called.
Last week US religious figure Troy Newman, who campaigns against abortions, was denied entry into Australia on the grounds that he would be a danger to the community. Some are hailing his banning a victory for women's rights. But was it?
Newman is the president of Operation Rescue, a right-wing misogynist organisation in the US dedicated to stopping women having abortions and doctors from performing them.
The abrupt arrival of this year's bush fire season should be taken as another warning of the urgency of tackling the climate change crisis.
The El Nino phenomenon of severe droughts and flooding rains that will make this a more dangerous summer has been a part of longstanding weather patterns on the Australian continent. But that El Nino will double in frequency and severity as global warming increases.
A new terror campaign aimed at young people 鈥 particularly Muslims 鈥 was launched in Sydney鈥檚 western suburbs following the fatal shootings of two people outside Parramatta police station on October 2.
The tragic shooting of police technician Curtis Cheng by 15-year-old Farhad Khalil Mohammad Jabar and his shooting by special forces police have allowed fear-mongering politicians a new round of Muslim bashing. This time it is being led by the so-called 鈥淢r Nice Guy鈥 鈥 New South Wales Premier Mike Baird.
The United Nations Climate Change Conference will take place in Paris between November 30 and December 11. By the time it starts, 2015 is almost certain to have beaten last year as the warmest year ever.
This August has now been confirmed as the hottest August since records began in 1880. Other months this year that broke records were February, March, May, June and July.
A Queensland woman has won a High Court challenge against corporations owning human genes.
Yvonne D鈥橝rcy took her fight against US-based biotech company Myriad Genetics to Australia鈥檚 highest court. The company has a patent over the BRCA1 gene that is linked to an increased risk of hereditary breast and ovarian cancers.
A Queensland woman has won a High Court challenge against corporations owning human genes.
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