Billionaire mining giants slash jobs
Despite making profits of $20 billion combined in the past year, mining giants BHP Billiton and Xstrata announced on September 10
BHP Billiton, which announced an , will scrap 300 jobs when it closes its 33-year-old Gregory mine in Queensland next month.
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After melting past the previous record minimum in late August, Arctic sea ice cap has continued its rapid decline.
By September 5, the US National Snow and Ice Data Centre (NSIDC) said the ice cap had fallen below 4 million square kilometres 鈥 鈥渁 45% reduction in the area of the Arctic covered by sea ice鈥 since the 1980s and 鈥90s.
This year鈥檚 melt 鈥渄idn鈥檛 just touch the record, it really drove right through it鈥, the NSIDC鈥檚 Ted Scambos told US National Public Radio on September 12.
鈥淥ne of the things you learn as an anthropologist, you don鈥檛 come in and change the culture,鈥 Dartmouth College president Jim Yong Kim told wealthy alumni when contemplating the institution鈥檚 notorious hazing practices, prior to US President Barack Obama鈥檚 request in February that he move to the World Bank.
Kim鈥檚 Harvard doctorate and medical degree, his founding of the heroic NGO Partners in Health and his directorship of the World Health Organization鈥檚 AIDS division make him the best-educated, most humane World Bank president yet.
For the Financial Post, the recent actions of the Bolivian government in nationalising a Canadian mine confirmed the country鈥檚 status as an 鈥渙utlaw nation鈥, according to an August 3 article.
But for less biased observers, the reality was a little different. Responding to pressure from local indigenous communities the Bolivian government confirmed on August 2 that it would expropriate the operations of a Canadian-owned mining project.
Indoor and outdoor sex work is currently decriminalised in New South Wales. This may soon change with the . The licensing scheme will take brothel regulation out of the hands of local councils and will give police powers to regulate brothels.
The results September 8 NSW local government elections have not been finalised yet, but results showed a 7% swing to the Liberals across the state. Many more Liberal councillors will take office than were elected in 2008.
The ALP suffered a statewide 6% swing against it and the Greens vote dropped 1%.
The Liberals picked up the most positions in former ALP strongholds in Sydney's west.
Compulsory income management must be opposed: this was the consensus from a lively August 29 community meeting hosted by the Socialist Alliance in Playford, northern Adelaide, where income management is being 鈥渢rialled鈥 for some welfare recipients.
This meeting included activists, locals, and representatives from community and welfare groups. People placed on income management have 50% to 70% of their payments put on a 鈥淏asics Card鈥, which can be used can be used to buy government-approved 鈥渆ssential鈥 items.
Forty Tamil asylum seekers were flown to Nauru overnight on September 13, marking the beginning of Labor鈥檚 鈥淧acific solution鈥 and a return to offshore processing. The group on Christmas Island were reported to have been under guard of federal police and did not resist. An earlier High Court decision on September 7 rejected the right of asylum seekers to appeal against pending deportations. The court ruling also makes possible further forced returns of refugees to danger.
Pointing to swings of 10-20% in parts of western Sydney to Liberal candidates standing in the September 8 local council elections, media commentators are claiming traditional working class areas have deserted Labor and rejected the Greens, instead choosing to shift rightwards.
The Sydney Morning Herald headlined its September 10 edition:
is the University of South Australia's (UniSA) 鈥渄emocratic organisation run by students鈥. But new changes to UniLife鈥檚 rules mean student members are no longer entitled to know what their representatives do.
This is the result of sweeping amendments to the UniLife constitution passed by student referendum on September 3. UniLife said the changes were designed to allow it to 鈥渙perate in compliance with relevant Commonwealth legislation鈥.
The article below first appeared at The Conversation on September 11.
The Indigenous Social Justice Association released the statement below on September 14.
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Several sovereign Aboriginal nations are considering giving Julian Assange refuge and sanctuary in their nations.
It was argued that as Julian is an Australian citizen he should be allowed to seek sanctuary in one of the sovereign Aboriginal nations in the lands known as Australia.
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