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No Gas protest held at the front of santcuary resort where woodside were holding their impact forum meeting. Disgruntled community members showed their dire conscern and rightly so over dangerous emissions that will be a direct result of the proposed gas precint if the compulsary acquisition of James prices Point goes through.

Egyptians celebrating

Two articles are posted below on the historic toppling of United States-backed dictator Hosni Mubarak in Egypt 鈥 and on the continuing struggle of the Egyptian people for economic, social and political change.

According to multiple reports tens of thousands of workers across Egypt have gone on strike and joined the anti-Mubarak protests.

The deepest cuts to Britain鈥檚 public spending since World War II were announced in October. At the same time, it was revealed that some of the nation鈥檚 biggest corporations and richest people were using legal loopholes to avoid paying tax. The treasurer in the Conservative Party-Liberal Democrat coalition government, Conservative MP George Osborne, announced that 拢81 billion would be slashed from public spending including 拢7 billion in welfare cuts.

This went up on IS singer Macy Gray's on January 17: "I'm booked for 2 shows in Tel Aviv. I'm getting a lot of letters from activists urging/begging me to boycott by NOT performing in protest of Apartheid against the Palestinians. What the Israeli government is doing to the Palestinians is disgusting, but I wanna go. I gotta lotta fans there I don't want to cancel on and I don't know how my NOT going changes anything. What do you think? Stay or go?"

Several hundred people from the Egyptian community in Sydney and supporters staged a protest against the Mubarak dictatorship and in support of the people power revolution in Egypt.

Protesters.

鈥淲e will not be silenced,鈥 shouts an Egyptian protester in one of the many videos posted on YouTube of the uprising against the Hosni Mubarak dictatorship that began on January 25.

Wunmi

鈥淧eople say to me, 鈥榊ou鈥檙e still talking about politics?鈥 and I say, 鈥楥鈥檓on, life is politics鈥欌, Afro-fusion singer-songwriter Wunmi told 91自拍论坛 Weekly while she was in Sydney as part of the Big Day Out (BDO) music festival.

Members of environmental group Katoomba Climate Action Now (CAN) gathered on December 21 outside their local branch of the ANZ Bank to demonstrate, leaflet and chat with customers, staff and passers-by about coal. Recent research by Greenpeace has shown the bank is one of the most substantial and consistent investors in coalmining and coal-fired power stations in Australia. Environmental scientists regard coal as the dirtiest of power generation fuels because of its prolific carbon waste output.
The federal senate has agreed to an inquiry into the practice of forcible adoption in Australia between the 1940s and 鈥80s, supporting a motion by Greens Senator Rachel Siewert on November 15. 鈥淭oday鈥檚 vote starts to recognise the suffering that so many people have endured as a result of forced adoption policies,鈥 Siewert said. 鈥淭here is no doubt that many women were treated very badly as a result of these policies. Young and vulnerable mothers were pressured into adoptions, and often had to surrender their newborn children without being allowed to see them.
Heavy-handed policing in Sydney over the past few months may indicate a heightened, anti-protester attitude of NSW police. States and territories across Australia have either a 鈥減ermit鈥 or 鈥渘otice鈥 procedure for holding protests. NSW law has the 鈥渘otice鈥 procedure, which is very favourable for those organising protests. The completion of a simple form, given to the police with seven days鈥 notice, protects activists from arrest for offences like obstructing traffic. This favourable legal situation no doubt frustrates police, who are using more aggressive means to curb protests.
Seven climate activists who temporarily shut down coal loaders at Newcastle harbour in a September protest will wait another month to find out if they owe Port Waratah Coal Services (PWCS) $525,000 in 鈥渃ompensation鈥. The activists appeared in Newcastle Local Court for two days of hearings on January 31 and February 3. They were convicted of 鈥渞emaining on enclosed lands鈥. Each was fined $300, plus $79 in court costs.