One of the most frightful ironies of climate change is that it will wreak the most havoc on the people who have done the least to cause it. Pacific Island nations are in the climate frontlines β affected by rising oceans, coastal erosion and extreme weather.
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Thousands marched in Staten Island, New York City, on August 23 to protest against the police murder of an unarmed Black man, Eric Garner, in July.
The action was led by Reverend Al Sharpton, who has been outspoken against police brutality since the killing.
The marchers were inspired by the mass protests in Ferguson, Missouri, against the murder of unarmed Black teenager Michael Brown by police. They took up the chant of the Ferguson protesters β βHands Up! Donβt Shoot!β
A new environmental battleground is shaping up in Western Australia over the controversial issue of fracking. A small victory was won on August 20 when councillors from the Shire of Coorow, a group of small towns 250 kilometres north of Perth, voted unanimously to suspend all fracking activity in the area pending a full environmental assessment and public inquiry.
Forty per cent of Australians do not believe that democracy is the best form of government, the Lowy Institute it conducted earlier this year.
The main reasons given were that what now passes for democracy is serving vested interests rather than the interests of people, and that there is no real difference between the two big political parties.
This is a perfectly logical reaction to the convergence of the major parties around the economic doctrine of neoliberalism.
Finance minister Mathias Cormann has threatened the opposition parties that if they continue to block key budget measures β such as the demolition of universal health care and welfare, the deregulation of university fees, and the hike in the interest rate on student HECS debts β then the government would be forced to look at raising taxes.
As the deadly disease Ebola spreads throughout West Africa, some in the West have been engaging in fear-mongering and racism. Others are seeing this deadly outbreak as a golden chance to profit off desperation.
But the high death toll is caused by the intersection of Ebola and poverty.
Ebola is a hemorrhagic fever with symptoms that include headache, vomiting and diarrhoea, as well as the signature symptoms of internal and external bleeding. It is caused by a virus that is spread through contact with fluids such as saliva, urine, blood and semen.
The charmed run before the courts enjoyed by John Gay, former chairperson of Tasmanian timber company Gunns, may soon be over.
Gunns became insolvent in 2012, owing investors more than $1 billion. The company had been in serious financial trouble since February 2010, when a directorβs report detailing its falling revenue was made public.
Two months before the report was released, Gay used his inside knowledge of the companyβs financial position to sell Gunns shares worth more than $3 million. He avoided what was thought at the time to be a loss of $800,000.
After four venues cancelled bookings under pressure from protesters, the World Congress of Families announced a fifth venue for its conference in Victoria β the headquarters of notorious anti-Muslim hate group Catch the Fire Ministries.
A coalition of groups opposing the WCF called a media conference on August 28 to explain why they were determined to stop the right-wing fundamentalist Christian conference from going ahead in Melbourne on August 30.
Around 50 protesters held a picket outside the opening of the World Congress of Families on August 30, which finally found a venue in the bunker-like premises of the Catch the Fire Ministries in outer suburban Hallam.
This sect gained notoriety for declaring the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires were a punishment from God due to the decriminalisation of abortion in Victoria.
READ MORE: Why we disrupted the World Congress of Families
Australian-based organisation Stop Lynas released on August 28 criticising Australian rare earths company Lynas for operating without a social licence in Malaysia. The paper has been submitted to Lynas for response.
Immigration minister Scott Morrison has allegations by Labor Senator Sue Lines that the federal government was using the βwar on terrorβ to distract voters from its cruel and deeply unpopular budget.
And fair enough, it was a ridiculous comment when you consider the huge number of terrorist attacks Australia has been subjected to in recent times.
Residents of the Millers Point public housing community and supporters protested outside the private auctions of the first two houses sold in the NSW Coalition government's planned sale of nearly 300 government-owned homes in the suburb.
The auctions were held at real estate agentsβ offices in Edgecliff on August 21 and Woollahra on August 26.
The first house was sold for $1.9 million, and the second for $2.6 million.
Protesters draped banners condemning the sales on walls and fences nearby the offices, as security guards and police guarded potential buyers going inside.
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