On May 2, at the Barrick Gold shareholder meeting in Toronto, Protest Barrick 聴 which includes aboriginal communities from Australia, the US, Latin America and Asia 聴 served the company an eviction notice. The previous day, writer and film-maker Naomi Klein opened a film night in Toronto, at which films from Chile, Nevada, the US and Australia were screened. Shareholders at the meeting were given leaflets by representatives of Australia聮s Wiradjuri people and Nevada聮s Western Shoshone explaining the cyanide contamination of their land and depletion of water supplies as a result of Barrick聮s operations. Some protesters used proxy ballots to argue their case inside the meeting. Lake Cowal, the sacred heartland of the Wiradjuri, is being desecrated by Barrick聮s cyanide leaching gold mine. Access to the lake for traditional ceremonies has been restricted because of the mine. Wiradjuri traditional owner Neville 聯Chappy聰 Williams, who announced the serving of the eviction notice to the meeting, was later approached by some shareholders who said they were now considering selling their shares.
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On May 29, an unpredictable drama will begin. Attorney-General Philip Ruddock will try to overcome a series of embarrassing blunders by the entire Australian chain of command at the joint Australia-US Pine Gap spy base in the Northern Territory, and four activists will face trial in Alice Springs for entering a prohibited site.
The following letter was sent by 91自拍论坛 Weekly on May 16 to the editor of the Australia/Israel Review, the journal of the Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council.
In 2001, more than 30 workers over 50 years of age were suddenly given 24-hour termination notices by their employer, Guppy Plastic Industries Sdn Bhd. The workers were then told they could return later when they would be offered contract jobs. The chairperson of the workers聮 union described the move as a dirty tactic to make the women contract workers, to further maximise the company聮s profits at the expense of the workers. The 50-year retirement age for women workers is below the normal standard and is different to the company聮s retirement policy for male workers. On May 15, nine of the sacked workers took the case to the industrial court, seeking back pay, compensation for loss of income and redundancy payments.
On May 7, New Matilda published an article by Antony Loewenstein, titled , in which he reports on his impressions of Cuba. Loewenstein describes Cuba as a 鈥減olice state鈥 with 鈥渘o freedom of speech鈥. He takes issue with Australian academic, Tim Anderson whom, he wrote, 鈥渙ught to know better鈥 for arguing that Cuba has more democracy than the US, (see ). Below is Anderson鈥檚 reply to Loewenstein鈥檚 article.
If watching the ABC TV鈥檚 drama Bastard Boys is the only information that you have about the Maritime Union of Australia lockout of 1998, then you would probably conclude that the dispute was won by the brilliant tactical skills of Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) secretary Greg Combet and former Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) national secretary John Coombes, and the legal talents of union lawyers.
Thousands of Palestinians joined rallies on May 15 throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territories to mark the 59th anniversary of al Nakba (聯The Catastrophe聰) 聴 the establishment of the State of Israel and the consequent expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes 聴 as renewed fighting took place between Fatah and Hamas.
A report released on May 14 by the Federation of Community Legal Centres of Victoria, accused police of using excessive and unwarranted force against protesters and bystanders during the November 17-19 G20 summit in Melbourne of international finance ministers.
On May 2, protesters at Chullora blockaded trucks transporting cyanide to Barrick goldmine at Lake Cowal in central western NSW. Protest organiser Graeme Dunstan said the action was a success, with no cyanide-laden trucks getting past on the day.
As of 2004, foreign capital controlled 76.6% of Chinese industry, a study produced by academics from Beijing聮s Communication University has found. The findings of the report, which was released in March, are consistent with a November 2006 report by the Development Research Centre of the State Council, China聮s cabinet.
On May 7, New Matilda published an article by Antony Loewenstein, titled 鈥淐uba: Paradise Left鈥 in which he reports on his impressions of Cuba. Loewenstein describes Cuba as a 鈥減olice state鈥 with 鈥渘o freedom of speech鈥. (See < http://newmatilda.com/home/articledetail.asp?ArticleID=2229&CaA href="mailto:tegoryID=">.) He takes issue with Australian left academic, Tim Anderson whom, he said, 鈥渙ught to know better鈥 for arguing that Cuba has more democracy than the US, (see ), where the media is dominated by a handful of corporations. Below is Anderson鈥檚 reply to Lowenstein鈥檚 article.
Representatives of the Australia Cuba Friendship Society, the Australia-Venezuela Solidarity Network and the FMLN Australia, along with members of the Greens, the Socialist Alliance and the ALP, gathered at the US embassy at lunchtime on May 15 to present a statement criticising the release by the US government of convicted terrorist and mass murderer Luis Posada Carriles and demanding his extradition from the US to Venezuela (see article on page 14). The protest, part of a global day of action in solidarity with Posada鈥檚 victims, was addressed by Luisa Espino from the ACFS, ACT Greens MLA Deb Foskey and AVSN national coordinator Lara Pullin.
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