Dick Smith鈥檚 Population Crisis: The Dangers of Unsustainable Growth for Australia
Allen & Unwin, Sydney
2011, 228 pages
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Those who say today鈥檚 big social and ecological problems stem from there being too many people on the planet face a special difficulty.
As the Australian ecologist Alan Roberts once said, populationist authors need 鈥渢o persuade their readers that the main thing wrong with the world was the existence of those readers themselves鈥.
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Another Arab dictator is gone.
But the nature of the fall of Muammar Gaddafi raises questions about the nature of the new regime that will emerge, and to what extent it will truly reflect the interests of Libya's people.
On August 21, forces of the National Transitional Council (NTC) entered Tripoli and claimed victory against the forces that remained loyal to Gaddafi.
A week later, loyalist forces continued to hold out in the dictator's home town, Sirte, and in pockets around Tripoli. But Gaddafi's 42-year reign is over.
The new government of Papua New Guinea, led by prime minister Peter O'Neill, has announced plans to revert ownership of minerals and resources to traditional landowners.
Mining minister Byron Chan said in a speech on August 11 the government would seek to give traditional owners legal ownership of resources under the land and sea.
Currently, the PNG government owns anything more than six feet under the surface.
Chan also promised an urgent review of mining and environmental laws, especially those involving deep sea mining.
With some exceptions, the powerful international media has ignored a recent Cuban parliamentary bill that would deepen democracy on the island.
The reason is obvious: the news is not convenient.
The initiative is made within socialist institutions, not in terms of the 鈥渢ransition鈥 that is highly anticipated and promoted by certain hegemonic interests in this world.
The idea is to give the green light to an experiment in the new provinces of Mayabeque and Artemisa.
If it bears fruit, it would be extended to the whole country through constitutional reform.
There were amazing scenes in Chile on August 21 when 1 million people marched in Santiago chanting: 鈥淭he people united will never be defeated!鈥
These were awe-inspiring scenes of mass mobilisation.
The acute trigger is the privatisation of the education system. The underlying trigger is relentless and ever widening social and financial inequality.
If the people know about neoliberal policies, it is the Chileans.
Furious emerging farmers in the Kareeberg municipality in South Africa鈥檚 Northern Cape Province have decided to stop paying rent for the municipal-owned land they are farming.
These farmers have been robbed, prevented access to and ownership of land by colonial conquest, segregation and apartheid.
Now, South Africa鈥檚 protection of capitalist property and its neoliberal state policies are keeping them landless.
Private Matthew Lambert became the 29th Australian solider to die in the war in Afghanistan on August 22. Most Australians disagree with the war, but the two big parties remain unswerving in their support of the US-NATO led occupation.
Malalai Joya, a former Afghan MP and outspoken anti-war activist, is visiting Australia for a third time on the eve of the 10-year anniversary of the invasion of Afghanistan.
The Sydney Stop the War Coalition, the Melbourne Writers Festival and the Support Association for the Women of Afghanistan - Australia are the hosts of Joya鈥檚 Australian tour.
Australia Post is trying to implement a new form of delivery called separate bundle delivery (SBD). SBD will force posties to sort part of their mail outside while straddling their motor or push bikes, hindering safety.
Currently, mail is sorted into delivery sequence inside the delivery centres and then delivered. SBD will move an hour of the inside work outside, exposing posties to traffic, extreme weather conditions and increased fatigue.
鈥淏oycott Apartheid Israel! Boycott Max Brenner!鈥 were the main themes of a rally and march in Brisbane on August 27, which focused on the Max Brenner chocolate shop at South Bank.
Despite steady rain, more than 50 protesters demonstrated to support a boycott of the Max Brenner chain, as part of the Australian and international boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign initiated by representatives of the Palestinian people.
Former Guantanamo Bay concentration camp detainee David Hicks says if he wins the Queensland Premier's Literary Award he will donate the proceeds to torture victims. 鈥淚f I win this award, every cent will go to victims of torture,鈥 Hicks told Network Ten TV on August 24.
鈥淚 have never been a supporter of terrorism,鈥 Hicks said. 鈥淚 had no choice but to sign a piece of paper to get out of Guantanamo Bay,鈥 the August 25 Courier-Mail reported.
Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) members in several government departments are continuing to campaign against the federal government's policy of limiting pay rises to 3% a year, which is less than the rate of inflation.
CPSU members in the defence department walked off the job for one hour on August 25 to attend protest meetings over stalled pay negotiations. Civilian staff at more than 70 defence bases and offices throughout the country took part.
A convoy of 30 trucks and cars loaded with drilling equipment and workers from energy company Woodside set out from Broome in northern Western Australia at 2.30am on August 26.
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