Campaigners for Scottish independence have received another boost as a branch of the public sector trade union Unison sided 鈥減ositively with the Yes side鈥 in a debate on Scotland's September 18 referendum on whether to remain part of Britain.
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Before Hugo Chavez became president of Venezuela in 1999, the barrios of Caracas, built provisionally on the hills surrounding the capital, did not even appear on the city map.
Officially they did not exist, so neither the city nor the state maintained their infrastructure. The poor inhabitants of these neighbourhoods obtained water and electricity by tapping pipes and cables themselves. They lacked access to services such as garbage collection, health care and education.
During the six years of economic crisis in Europe, its elites have not just attacked the living standards of workers, unemployed and poor. They鈥檝e also been engaged in a three-and-a-half year scrap among themselves.
Their fight is over a financial transactions tax (FTT), first mooted by the European Commission (EC) in October 2010 for all 28 members states of the European Union. It was finally agreed to in January last year by 11 Eurozone members 鈥 Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia and Slovakia (the 鈥淓U11鈥).
Aims
The project is called 鈥淭he Different Europe with Alexis Tsipras鈥. It name is written on a red background. Predictions indicate it could surpass, maybe easily, the 4% electoral threshold needed to win seats in the coming European elections.
In 2009, this threshold prevented both left lists, the Communist Refoundation Party (PRC) and the Left Ecology Freedom (SEL), both of which received only a little more than 3%, from winning seats.
This new project, however, is not a mere electoral coalition set up to clear this hurdle. In its foundation and structure it is something very different.
A four-day sit-in by brick kiln workers in Lahore in late April ended after successful negotiations held with the labour minister over their demand of implementation of a minimum rate of 740 rupee (about $8.1) per thousand bricks. Workers from all over the Punjab took part in this sit-in.
After daily threats by government and police, the labour minster finally agreed to negotiate with leaders of the workers. Brick kiln workers are among the most exploited in Pakistan. There is widespread use of child labour and debt bondage 鈥 both against the law in Pakistan.
Last year we had the hottest week, hottest day, month and year on record broken in Australia.
Worryingly, the fossil fuel companies already have 2795 gigatonnes of fossil fuels in reserves they planning on burning.
That is five times more than the planet can handle if we want to stay below two degrees of warming their business plans, the planet tanks. We need to rewrite this script and go down a different path.
About 2000 people rallied in Tasmania鈥檚 Upper Florentine Valley on April 27 to defend World Heritage listed forests.
The rally was organised by the Bob Brown Foundation to oppose the proposed removal of the Upper Florentine from the World Heritage Area by the federal government.
Organisers say the proposal will exclude some of the world鈥檚 most intact temperate forests and some of the tallest hardwood forests on Earth and would allow them to be opened up to environmentally destructive practices such as logging.
One of the custodial deaths that launched the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody will be remembered this year with a national day of action, rallies and marches.
Eddie Murray died while in police custody in 1981 and his family and supporters are demanding a new inquiry into his death. They claim missing clothes and a coroner's report, which proved he suffered a broken sternum while in custody, were proof that he was murdered.
The Wilderness Society released this statement on April 19.
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BP, the company responsible for the disastrous Gulf of Mexico oil spill in 2010, plan to start deep sea drilling for oil and gas in waters in the Great Australian Bight off South Australia as early as 2015.
The Wilderness Society Campaigner Kathryn Warhurst said: 鈥淏P wants to drill in waters off South Australia that are far rougher, and far more remote than the Gulf of Mexico. That disaster was in 1.5 kilometres of water, here BP could be drilling in waters far deeper.
A national gathering of Aboriginal people is planned to coincide with the G20 in Brisbane later this year. The overall purpose of this gathering will be to reignite the push for self-determination and decolonisation.
Leaders of the world鈥檚 most powerful nations, from [US president] Barack Obama to [Russian president] Vladimir Putin, will converge on the Queensland state capital in November. The summit will take place from November 15-16 at the Convention and Exhibition Centre in South Bank.
Boots Riley is lead singer of US-based hip-hop group The Coup and a radical activist, heavily involved in Occupy Oakland and other struggles. He was a featured speaker at the Marxism 2014 conference in Melbourne over April 17-20 where聽麻豆传媒 Weekly's Gemma Weedall spoke to him.
Call it reckless, short-sighted or just 鈥減lane stupid鈥, but the federal government鈥檚 decision to press ahead with a second Sydney airport at Badgerys Creek defies logic.
Along with the noise pollution it will inflict on western Sydney, the airport will spawn a huge amount of extra carbon pollution 鈥 something we cannot afford in an age of dangerous climate change.
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