Yesterday's study by the Environmental Protection Agency in the US proving beyond doubt that coal seam gas fracking has contaminated water resources in Wyoming should be a wake up call for Australians, Greens spokesperson for mining Larissa Waters said today.

"Coal seam gas is gambling with our water, our environment and our land, and we all stand to lose," Senator Waters said.

"While Australia's hydrology is different to America's, we can't assume it won't happen here - in 2009, fracking by the Queensland Gas Company accidentally contaminated the Springbok aquifer in the Western Darling Downs.

"Just this week, the Queensland Water Commissioner admitted that 'our knowledge in this space is evolving' - in other words, we have no idea of the damage CSG will cause to our complex groundwater systems.

"And the national chemicals regulator NICNAS admits it's still not clear what chemicals are being used in fracking here, and hasn't assessed the danger these toxic chemicals pose to public health.

"This report is an urgent wake up call for all parties to adopt the recommendations of the recent Senate inquiry report, and back the Greens' call for a moratorium on CSG until the science is in."

Gloucester residents who are continuing a blockade of AGL's coal seam gas operatons have rejected the manipulative negotiating tactics of AGL over an independent groundwater study.

AGL announced that planned exploration drilling will be suspended until the results of a major groundwater study are published. AGL agreed to enter into negotiations with the Barrington-Gloucester-Stroud Preservation Alliance about the study but in a media release issued on Thursday, AGL unilaterally declared the terms of that groundwater study.

"This is indicative of the manipulative public engagement that has created so much distrust in the community," said Alliance spokesperson, Graeme Healy.

"The community is insistent that a fully independent groundwater study be undertaken. We have agreed to good faith negotiations over the terms of an independent water study and we reject the bully boy negotiation tactic of AGL of announcing the outcome before negotiations begin."

"The blockade is being maintained. Vehicles have been moved off the road as a consession to local landholders but we have a strong contingent ready to blockade any attempt by AGL to resume exploration drilling."

"We are deeply concerned about possible environmental harm resulting from erosion of partially completed roadworks at the drilling site on the Avon River floodplain. We have agreed to allow AGL to undertake minimal remediation to prevent this from happening before the site is mothballed. This work will be allowed to proceed unimpeded under the observation of an Alliance representative.

www.bgsp-alliance.asn.au

A Mad Deal In Durban

Let’s revisit that cold war phrase: mutually assured destruction. Fifty years ago, MAD meant that in the event of conflict the USA and USSR could and would ensure the total annihilation of the other, thus ensuring what Wikipedia rather tamely describes as “a tense but stable global peace”. Having lived through those years, the tension was notable, and in some cases inspirational.

The madness on display in Durban is of another kind, and of a different character. The destruction on offer will be (we can only hope) slower, but it is likely to be just as total — and is certainly being mutually assured. The governments of the world, by kicking the can down the road aways, have just ensured that the task of reducing emissions will be harder than it need be, and that the ultimate damage will be greater than it might have been. [Guardian]

Durban represents progress of a kind, as Climate Action Tracker’s analysis acknowledges:

As the climate talks in Durban concluded tonight with a groundbreaking establishment of the Durban Platform to negotiate a new global agreement by 2015, scientists stated that the world continues on a pathway of over 3°C warming with likely extremely severe impacts, the Climate Action Tracker said today.

The agreement in Durban to establish a new body to negotiate a global agreement (Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action) by 2015 represents a major step forward. The Climate Action Tracker scientists stated, however, that the agreement will not immediately affect the emissions outlook for 2020 and has postponed decisions on further emission reductions. They warned that catching up on this postponed action will be increasingly costly.

What is mind-boggling is that so many leaders, so many highly-skilled diplomats and negotiators, can accept the evidence being offered by our understanding of climate system, and yet so comprehensively fail to act.

History and human nature, combined with the dysfunctional nature of international relations have conspired to give us what looks like it might be the worst of all worlds: one where lip service is paid to taking action, but where the big players are excused responsibility, and any efforts made are weak and meaningless. Plus c’est la même chose.

And so as not to beg the obvious question: I am left agreeing with Joe Romm. It will take a series of undeniable climate disasters, sufficient to provide the equivalent of a wartime motivation for action, before our politicians feel empowered to take the necessary action — before the world will act appropriately. One can only hope that the damage is not costly in terms of human welfare and wellbeing, and that they happen before nature rips the reins from our hands and the Anthropocene comes to an end.

Michael Chertoff Mic Checked [VIDEO]

Former Secretary of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff, gets Mic Checked in San Francisco.

CSG Company Polluting Creek – Interview With Carmel Flint (FOE)

A coal seam gas operation in northern NSW has been found to be polluting the local creek system.

Water samples taken downstream from Santos’s drilling in Narribri show levels of ammonia are 52 times higher than samples taken upstream.

The gas company says it treats the water according to NSW requirements, and is confident there will be no negative effects on the environment.

The conservation groups who discovered the incident are calling for immediate action.

2SER’s Sam Buckingham-Jones spoke with Carmel Flint, from the Friends of the Earth Organisation.

Listen to interview here: PodOmatic | Podcast – 2SER’s Razors Edge – Coal Seam Gas Company polluting creek.

No-one was celebrating when it became apparent that the dense hour of argument and counter argument in the vaulted courtroom number 4 in London had resulted in a further stay of extradition for WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Julian Assange.

The arguments turned on obscure but important skirmishes over the controversial use of European Arrest Warrants (EAWs) to transfer people from one country to another.

To get the technicalities out of the way, leave has been given for Mr Assange’s legal team to apply to the Supreme Court to have an argument heard that a politically appointed prosecutor in Sweden doesn’t qualify as a ‘Judicial Authority’ under mutual assistance agreements between Sweden and the UK.

The court would normally take up to six weeks – well into February 2012 – to decide if it wants to hear the argument, but someone behind the scenes appears to be in a serious hurry and it’s likely a decision will be made on December 19th, one day after the deadline for Mr Assange’s legal team to present their arguments. Depending on the outcome, Mr Assange may well shortly thereafter find himself in Gothenberg prison awaiting questioning and possible prosecution.

In the mean time, he will continue to live in legal limbo at Ellingham Hall in Norfolk with an electronic ankle manacle and a curfew for company. Not quite a cause for celebration, but it was nonetheless a valuable opportunity to take part in the post-hearing debrief where the tight knit team of lawyers, campaigners, hackers and troublemakers downloaded a year of suspense and misadventure for the benefit of travellers from afar.

Assange in person is focused and measured, warm and remarkably good humoured for someone who has deliberately aroused murderous fury amongst some of the most powerful people on the planet. The antidote to pervasive hostile surveillance appears to be cheerful self-surveillance – every conversation is recorded and documented to within an inch of its life – in addition to the occasional all-out transparency assault on the watchers themselves, for which the WikiLeaks founder now has a well deserved reputation.

Stockholm in winter is about as far from summer in Fremantle as you can get. It is a long way to chase another Australian citizen from courtrooms in London to Sweden, but it is worth it to gain a better understanding of what his conditions and entitlements will be if the extradition goes ahead. I trust that proceedings in Sweden will be conducted with fairness and rigour – if there are charges, let them be finally laid and the evidence heard.

The reason for my visit is that I have no such trust in how the rule of law will be applied in the United States in the current political climate, and I hold grave fears for Mr Assange’s safety if he is transferred there. In an election year in which senior Republican figures have pre-emptively declared him a terrorist, we need to look no further than the medieval treatment of Private Bradley Manning to understand the risks now faced by Julian Assange.

It is easy to dismiss calls for his casual murder as voices from the fringe, but remember – the United States has now completely normalised extrajudicial killing of foreign citizens by remote-piloted drones and highly trained kill teams. The post-911 legal environment in the US long ago passed the point of corrosive paranoia with regards anything relating to terrorism, and has drifted into a realm quite unhinged from the constitutional protections of which America was justifiably proud.

The regular process of extradition from Sweden to the US comes with important safeguards, the most important being that Sweden would never consent to an extradition for politically motivated charges, and the UK Home Secretary would also have to give its consent, a process safeguarded by judicial appeal.

But here we come to a grey area. What will the Swedish Government do if the US seeks the ‘temporary surrender’ of Mr Assange while in custody in Sweden? This is a little-known and poorly understood clause buried within the EU-US Extradition and Mutual Legal Assistance agreements signed into Swedish law in February 2010. It appears to allow a ‘fast track’ extradition, more akin to extraordinary rendition, in which Mr Assange could be taken rapidly out of custody in Sweden and transferred to the US to face prosecution on serious charges relating to espionage or computer crime. This would require the consent of the Swedish Prime Minister. The question is whether this option is on the table.

It is now more than a year since the spectacular releases of US State Department diplomatic cables to the world’s major newspapers, longer yet since the horrific revelations of the Iraq and Afghanistan war logs. There has been time enough to consider the consequences.

The issue at stake here is trust. There is a form of consensus of the governed in open democratic societies, that we understand the need for a certain amount of confidentiality in international diplomacy. This does not mean we deserve to be lied to, tediously and repetitively deceived on matters of life and death.

I discovered things about my country that sit extremely uncomfortably. So did citizens of Sweden, and citizens of the United States. The release of this information was strongly in the public interest – not because states don’t deserve a modicum of discretion in their operations (I believe they do), but because occasional acts of unexpected transparency hold up a mirror of truth.

For those who have told the truth, the release of the cables hold little consequence other than validation. For those who have honourably dissembled, the releases are instructive and clarifying. For those who have just simply lied about war, governance and commerce, they are an indictment. And a very great many people have lied, in our names, and on our payroll.

Open democracies where the truth still holds currency will weather this transparency storm vastly better than regimes that have come unmoored from the rule of law. Twelve months after the cable releases, senior military and political figures in the US have acknowledged that while embarrassing, the releases did no lasting damage. No-one died. We just understand better how power really works, and that is the primary role of a free press.

In the first line of the London High Court’s ruling in November, Mr Assange was rightfully acknowledged as a journalist. On the other side of the world, in Australia’s most prestigious media awards a few weeks later, he was honoured with a Walkley Award for outstanding services to journalism. Without people willing to take such risks to confront power, the democratic protections which those of us in fortunate parts of the world take for granted are sapped and eroded.

The Australian Government has been slow to react to the possibility of the publishing organisation known as WikiLeaks being crushed by a wounded superpower, it still doesn’t appear to understand the threat of Mr Assange’s rendition to the US, and our Prime Minister appears mainly concerned with keeping her head down in the hope this will all go away.

The thing is, it won’t. Time is now very short. If Mr Assange ends up jailed in Sweden, Australia has the ability to repatriate him under the International Transfer of Prisoners (ITP) scheme. Australia must strongly insist that there will be no rendition to the US under the ‘temporary surrender’ mechanism. It’s time our Government pushed back on companies including Visa, Mastercard and Paypal, and demanded to know why they are continuing the crippling financial blockade of WikiLeaks. If indeed the blockade is legal under Australian trade practices law, then that’s a problem the Australian Parliament can remedy.

Remember the campaign against the unwanted and misguided internet filter? No-one directed that campaign – it was won by tens of thousands of people spontaneously deciding that their individual contribution was worth the effort. The messy, unplanned collective result was worth vastly more than the sum of its parts – inventive, well networked, determined and effective.

The stakes here are much higher, because freedom of speech, freedom to publish, freedom to demand transparency of government and privacy of the individual, are the sources from which all our other freedoms flow.

Today, Elders of the remote NT Aboriginal community of Ramingining are shocked and angered by last week’s announcement that the fundamentally destructive measures of the intervention will be extended for another 10 years.

“We don’t want another decade of discrimination here in Ramingining. The government is extending and strengthening laws designed to assimilate Aboriginal people. We will not sit back and watch these attacks on our lives, our future, our culture and our law,” said Mathew Dhulumburrk, a 67 year old Gupapuyngu man.

“After 5 years, it feels like the water level has climbed up to our neck. Another ten years will bring it way over our heads. The government is drowning us slowly and wonders why twice as many of our young people are attempting suicide. There is no valid reason to discriminate against Yolngu in this way.”

The people of Ramingining are unhappy with the consultation process and expect better from a government that is supposed to work with them. They know that community empowerment is vital for tackling issues in the community, but the intervention leaves their hands tied.

“In the days of self-determination, senior elders of every community were asked what we wanted to do, they would ask for our ideas. Now they just come and tell us “This is it! Non-negotiable.” Only community empowerment allows us to participate effectively, but our community councils have been destroyed,” said Dhulumburrk.

Many people are feeling stigmatized by this blanket policy that brands all Aboriginal people as alcoholics, irresponsible parents and child molesters.

“The government is telling the world that we can’t look after our kids. This is lies! The government only looks at school attendance instead of looking at what and how our children are being taught. We need our bilingual education, we need more Yolngu teachers and we need elders involved in developing curriculum. We know what our kids need, but the Government is ignoring us and punishing us if we don’t do what they say.”

“In homelands in particular, and also in our larger remote communities, Yolngu are happy and safe. The Intervention is pushing Yolngu into urban towns where they are on foreign country. CDEP wages have been cut for thousands of our people and no new jobs have been created. We watch contractors come in from outside earning top dollar, while the government tells us we must work for the dole! We could be doing a lot of that work and earning that money. This hopeless situation drives people to alcohol”.

“The intervention has brought hatred. We know now for certain that the true enemy of our people is the Government and the philosophy behind this new assimilation policy. They have declared war on us, but we will fight for self-determination.”

“What happened to democracy in Australia? We don’t want to have to fight against government. We want to engage with government, we want to take control of our lives and we want to build our future, but these policies leave us penned like animals with nowhere to go.”

After several pointed questions on the financial crash and Wall Street's heavy hand in Washington, the Goldman Sachs recruiter asked who in the audience was interested in a career on Wall Street, and who was there "to play gotcha."Occupy Princeton responded with a resounding mic check:

Goldman, your actions violate our motto. In 2001, you helped mask Greek Debt. From 2007-2008, your imposed commodity market contributed to the global food crisis with a quarter-million people starving. In 2008, you paid a mere $14 million dollars in global tax, while making a $2 billion profit. Your lending practices helped crash our economy. Our bailout dollars went to your executives' bonuses. In light of these actions, we protest the campus culture that whitewashes the crooked dealings of Wall Street as a prestigious career path. We are here today as a voice for the 99% shut out by a system that punishes them just for being born without privilege.

Dear Fellow Princeton Students, we are here to ask you for a moment of reflection. Deciding on a future career path is difficult. It deserves serious introspection. When you came to Princeton as a wide eyed freshman, you probably didn't dream of working at Goldman Sachs. What happened? We are all privileged to have made it to Princeton. However, our talents will be wasted if we send all our best and brightest to Wall Street. Some of you joke that you're going over to the dark side. To the Gold Man Sacks. Those nicknames exist for a reason. You've heard that investment banking is an exciting, fast-paced career. That is what smart people like you do. You've been told that this is what success looks like. We are here to challenge those beliefs. What you've been listening to is a carefully crafted recruitment pitch. You can do better for yourselves and you can do better for our society. Princeton is a university "In the Nation's Service, and in the Service of All Nations." We invite you to join us at our next General Assembly.

(www.occupyprinceton.net)

Ilargi: Earlier today, in a fancy location in Brussels, - no, you're right, they probably had it €500 a plate catered, can't take the risk of venturing out into the real world where the people live they're supposed to represent-, one bullet-proof limo after another arrived to deliver the honorable hoity-toity from 27 EU countries and their servants for an informal gala dinner during which they could, in hard-fought peace, discuss the maximum extent to which austerity measures can be taken in various member countries without provoking outright civil war.

Security costs? Just a few million bucks; what are you insinuating?

We do this every week. And I'm thinking: the limo's may be bullet proof, but they're certainly not fool proof.

It links up perfectly with something the Polish Prime Minister said to his MPs this week: "You're either at the table or you're on the menu."

Only, he meant his country's government should have a say in what goes on (not just France and Germany). He did not mean the people of Poland themselves should be at the table. They are, like all other European people who were not delivered by bullet-proof limo to attend the dinner, very much on the menu. It's the 1% vs the 99%.

"European leaders Merkel and Sarkozy have reached "complete agreement" (mostly) on a new treaty that would restrict the budgeting and size of future deficits for eurozone nations. ", or so I read somewhere this week. Sounds great guys! Problem is, though, that the problem is not future deficits, it's present ones. What do you have for those?

Thing is, they have nothing. The EFSF stability fund was supposed to be leveraged up to €2 trillion or more. Not happening. The ECB was supposed to buy trillions in useless and worthless sovereign periphery bonds. Not happening. Geez, wonder why. Incestuously adding the EFSF to its own daughter (just temporarily..), the ESM; actually proposed. But not going to happen.

The busiest people today and tomorrow in Brussels at the EU meeting are the spin doctors. It’s about form, not content. Not what you say, but how you say it. They have nothing. The interests of the countries involved are by now so far apart, it's somewhat insane that Merkel and Sarkozy even try to maintain that "we're all in this together" stance. ...

MARK COLVIN: Researchers in Britain have thrown doubt on the benefits of breast cancer screening. They argue the harm caused by false positives and overtreatment outweighs the benefit in the first 10 years after screening. And they're calling for more research on the extent of unnecessary treatment and its impact on quality of life. Ashley Hall reports.

ASHLEY HALL: Deciding exactly how to measure the success of a breast cancer screening program is problematic. The World Health Organization says the only thing that counts is mortality; how many lives are saved. But two researchers from the University of Southampton in England argue that's not a broad enough approach. After all, it fails to account for the psychological distress caused by a false diagnosis or the effect of unnecessary treatment. And they say, when you take both into account, the harms of screening largely offset the benefits in the first 10 years.

IAN OLVER: We should certainly be paying attention to this study. But I think you've got to realise that what's happening here is that people are modelling the likely impact of breast screening, and modelling includes a number of assumptions that may or may not be accurate.

ASHLEY HALL: Professor Ian Olver is the chief executive of Cancer Council Australia.

IAN OLVER: They've certainly modelled for the worst-case scenario. It is incredibly difficult to know what percentage of breast cancers may not have gone on to take a life if they'd been left alone or hadn't been discovered.

ASHLEY HALL: The researchers were testing the assumptions used in an earlier study, known as the Forrest Report, which led to the introduction of breast cancer screening in the UK. It suggested that screening would reduce the death rate from breast cancer by almost one third with few harms and at low cost. But when the researchers factored in false positives and unnecessary surgery, the benefits of screening were reduced by about half.

IAN OLVER: In Australia they've always put a figure of somewhere between 30 and 35 per cent reduction in mortality due to the screening program. And they've attributed the balance between screening and treatment about half-half. And I think they're reasonable assumptions about the Australian figures.

ASHLEY HALL: The BreastScreen program in New South Wales provides a free screening service for women over 40. Professor Sanchia Aranda is the director of cancer services and information with the Cancer Institute New South Wales, which runs the BreastScreen service.

SANCHIA ARANDA: The goal of all cancer diagnosis, and breast cancer in particular, is that you try and find localised cancer, because when you do that it gives you the best chance of long-term survival.

ASHLEY HALL: Well these researchers are raising questions about whether that is perhaps overzealous, if you like, that early stage problems are picked up and possibly treated too early, where they may not have developed into a bigger problem. Is that an issue that you recognise?

SANCHIA ARANDA: It's certainly a problem that's been recognised since the beginning of screening, because the mammographic screening process is relatively undifferentiated, if you like.

ASHLEY HALL: Professor Aranda says the quality of screening is constantly being improved. She says to that end, all of Australia's imaging equipment has recently been upgraded to digital. Operators undergo regular training to improve their ability to identify lesions that could be problematic. And there are several other hurdles to jump before a woman is treated for breast cancer. But she says there's no way to tell how many women are given false diagnoses.

SANCHIA ARANDA: You'd have to a randomised control trial where women were randomised to receive no treatment for the lesion that was found versus some treatment. And then compare the outcomes. And I'm not sure about…

ASHLEY HALL: There'd be ethical issues around that?

SANCHIA ARANDA: Yes. Any women in your life that would like to actually not have the treatment on the basis of a research study to find out whether it would be harmful or not?

ASHLEY HALL: Professor Aranda says the development of personalised treatment programs have diminished the likelihood that patients will get unnecessary treatment.

SANCHIA ARANDA: We've almost completely stopped doing mastectomy for the treatment of breast cancer. So we've refined the treatment techniques as a result of this. So many women only have a lumpectomy or a partial mastectomy. More recently we've started doing sentinel node biopsies that define whether or not women need more extensive treatment such as chemotherapy. So it's kind of very difficult to say whether even the results of this study would be the same if you repeated them in 20 years because the treatment is advancing all of the time.

MARK COLVIN: Dr Sanchia Aranda, director of Cancer Services and Information for the Cancer Institute of New South Wales, ending Ashley Hall's report.

A Queensland public servant is facing forgery and fraud charges after allegedly trying to claim more than $90,000 from the Premier's Disaster Relief Fund.

The fund was set up by Premier Anna Bligh earlier this year to assist people severely affected by last January's floods and Cyclone Yasi.

The 44-year-old man from Chelmer is due to appear in Brisbane's Magistrates Court on Monday, police say.

Ms Bligh has issued a statement saying the public servant, employed by the Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation (DEEDI), is on leave.

"I am advised these charges stem from allegedly fraudulent applications this year under the Premier's Disaster Relief Appeal for amounts totalling more than $90,000 and relating to claims for damages and repairs to property," Ms Bligh said.

"Thousands of people, as well as organisations and businesses, generously donated this money in the belief it would go directly to assist those who had lost everything.

"That's why we put rigorous checks and balances in place to ensure these generous donations went to those who needed it most."

Police say they conducted a three-month investigation before charging the man with 15 counts of fraud and forgery.

The investigation was conducted by police, DEEDI, the Department of Local Government and Planning and the Department of Public Works.

The Premier's Disaster Relief Fund raised more than $272 million before it closed in early September.

Police are appealing for public assistance to help locate a 36-year-old man wanted for questioning over alleged fraud related activity.

The man (pictured) is part of a police investigation into fraudulent activity relating to a large sum of money [$16 million] belonging to Queensland Health.

He is described as Pacific Islander in appearance, approximately 180cms tall with short black hair and has a solid build.

He has a large tattoo of angel wings on his back. Police believe he may be in the south-east Queensland area and urge anyone who may know his whereabouts to contact them.

Anyone with information which could assist police with their investigations should contact Crime Stoppers anonymously via 1800 333 000 or crimestoppers.com.au 24hrs a day.

One doctor will have to repay more than $100,000 when Queensland Health starts recouping around $80 million in overpayments from next January.

The government has announced it will lift a moratorium, imposed in July, on the return of overpayments resulting from the botched rollout of a new payroll system.

More than 60,000 workers owe more than $80 million to the government, Queensland Health deputy director general John Cairns says.

The first workers to be contacted about repayments will be those who owe the most - 206 workers with a total debt of $5.3 million. The biggest outstanding debt is $105,266 owed by a doctor.

"It's around 60,000 odd staff who have overpayments and they range from very significant amounts to very small amounts," Mr Cairns told reporters on Friday.

"Once we've got through the first 200, who owe $5 million, we will work through the rest of the staff."

Workers would have two years to repay the money under agreed repayment schedules, the government said.

Health Minister Geoff Wilson again apologised for the payroll bungle, resulting from a switch to a new payroll system without a full trial in March last year.

"The first obligation of any employer is to pay their workers the right wages and the second is to pay the wages and allowances on time," Mr Wilson said.

"Queensland Health in relation to the payroll has failed to do that.

"The job of Queensland Health is to rebuild the confidence of staff as an employer and in the payroll system."

It's not known how long it will take for all claims, underpayments and overpayments, to be finally settled. Queensland Health will also start recovering overpayments from employees who leave Queensland Health.

The health workers' union, Together, says Friday's announcement was ill-timed. Assistant secretary Julie Bignell said the union had been in discussions with Queensland Health but was surprised by the moratorium being lifted before Christmas.

"Whilst we all agree that overpayments must be repaid, making an announcement without any detail, two weeks before Christmas, is not the best way to go about it," Ms Bignell said.

"The general discussions about lifting the payroll moratorium did not include any mention of this pre-Christmas timing and if they did we would never have agreed to it."

Tiga Bayles speaks to 76 year old twins – Paul and Arthur Ah Wang – who are seeking justice for their stolen wages. In their teens the twins worked on a pearling lugger off the north Queensland coast and like many Aboriginal and Strait Islander workers, their wages were subject to government control. For his years of work and labour, Paul received $3000 from the Beattie government’s $55.4 million dollar reparations package. Despite working alongside his brother, Arthur received no compensation because he did not have sufficient documentary evidence for his application.

Have You Ever Witnessed "Anti-Social Behaviour" On Gold Coast Buses?

See the excellent bus shelters we have on the Gold Coast?

A police operation in response to recent incidents on Gold Coast buses will be launched early next week.

Operation Caritas will see uniform and plain clothes police travelling on Gold Coast buses to crack down on anti-social behaviour.

The operation will continue until such time as the problem is addressed. The operation will be jointly conducted by Gold Coast and Coomera police and will see plain clothes officers being supported by uniform police who will trail the bus in a marked or unmarked vehicle.

Largely intelligence based the operation will target the most likely times where anti-social behaviour may occur. However, police will also be deployed on buses during other times.

Acting Assistant Commissioner Hollands said today, “Bus drivers, operators of public transport and the travelling public have a right to feel safe at all times when riding on public transport. The nature of the operation is such that potential trouble makers should be aware that the passenger sitting next to them may well be a police officer in plain clothes.”

The operation will also be supported by the Gold Coast City Council Police Helicopter which will provide aerial support with the helicopters $M1.2 Forward Looking Infrared which can identify potential trouble makers at bus stops without them even being aware of the helicopters presence and a Nightsun that can light up an area the size of football field from 1,000 feet.

Assistant Commissioner Hollands also advised that, “If you are a passenger and see someone being assaulted on the bus to ring the police urgently on 000”.

Non-urgent incidents should be reported to Policelink on 131444 or alternatively in person at the local police station or police beat.

Traffic Incident, Clayfield: Queensland Police Media [9/12/11]

A 64-year-old Strathpine man is in a critical condition following an incident in Clayfield early this morning.

The man was struck by a car which crashed through the front entrance of a Junction Road newsagency around 5.30am.

He was transported to the Royal Brisbane Hospital suffering serious leg injuries. There was significant damage caused to the shop structure.

The 65-year-old male driver was not injured. The Forensic Crash Unit is investigating.

Occupy Wall Street Occupies Law and Order Occupy Wall Street Set

We Are A Movement, Not A TV Plot

Reality folded in on itself last night when Occupy Wall Street occupied the set of a Law and Order: SVU episode, built to look like Occupy Wall Street's old encampment in Zuccotti Park.

Law and Order had set up in lower Manhattan's Foley Park for an Occupy Wall Street-themed episode, and it really did look a lot like the old Zuccotti, complete with akitchen and the People's Library.

But about 100 occupiers descended on the set, chanting and writing slogans in sharpie on everything. When cops arrived, the protesters shouted things like "These cops' costumes look so realistic!" and "We're all just extras!" according to Gothamist.

Police rescinded the show's permit (LNO hadn't been permitted to build a set) and told everyone to go home. No arrests were made, according to the Times but three media studies doctoral theses were born that night.

Emily Young is the artist who sculptured the 5 Angels that look upon St Paul's Cathedral's front grounds which are currently the camping grounds for the OccupyLSX (London Stock Exchange) movement.

In this piece,shot and edited by Inka Stafrace, Emily speaks from the heart about her sculptures and why she is so proud that they overlook the St Paul's Occupy Site. [24/11/11]

Occupy Protesters Talk Reform With Banking Boss

Demonstrators who have camped outside St Paul's Cathedral since October met the head of the Financial Services Authority last night to discuss proposed changes to the way the banking system is regulated.

Their private meeting with Hector Sants provided an opportunity for the protesters, who are angry at inequalities between the financial sector and poorer sections of society, to put their ideas to one of the most powerful men in the industry.

According to one of the 10 demonstrators present at the hour-long discussion, Mr Sants admitted that the FSA has "had a light touch with regulation in the past and that should change".

Emma Fordham said: "There were areas where we agreed, but it was clear that we want to go further with a lot of things than the FSA does. We agreed that having banks that are 'too big to fail' which are then bailed out by normal people is wrong and Mr Sants said he wanted to avoid that in future."

The meeting is the first between high-ranking representatives of the financial industry and members of the Occupy London movement and represents a coup for the protesters, who face eviction from two of the three sites they have set up in the City.

"This is a significant step for us. It shows that, if you feel strongly about something and take action over it, even a normal person like me can sit down with someone who actually has some influence and have an open discussion. We are not coming away from the meeting and thinking 'Woo-hoo', but it is a step forward," said Ms Fordham.

The discussions, organised by the St Paul's Institute, were said to be respectful, with Mr Sants fielding questions on what regulatory changes the FSA is planning and when they might be introduced. The demonstrators called for a "future system that is democratic, just, open, accountable and transparent" and discussed the need for regulators to be "genuinely independent of the industries they regulate". Ken Costa, a former vice chairman of the bank UBS, and the Bishop of London Richard Chartres were also present. The FSA said the meeting recognised "the importance of the financial services industry engaging more with the general public".

A spokesman said: "The meeting will be the first in a programme of events organised by the Church, called London Connect, designed to open up a dialogue between the City and public."

Ahead of the discussions, James Hargreaves, an Occupy London supporter, said: "It is great that Hector Sants has shown willingness to engage with Occupy London, as well as Ken Costa and the Bishop of London, at this precarious time for the financial system.

"Since decisions taken by the FSA on regulatory change affect the global financial markets, it is essential to get real feedback and suggestions from the public."

Campaigners have been camped in the courtyard of St Paul's since 15 October. The group also occupies Finsbury Square in the City, as well as an abandoned UBS-owned office block in Hackney, which it has dubbed the "Bank of Ideas".

Camp offers visitors a crisis tour of London

London is already known for its open top buses, Thames riverboat cruises and Jack the Ripper walks – but there's now a new tour guide in town. How about an enlightening – if somewhat partisan – tour of the capital's financial district by Occupy London?

The protesters' first sightseeing tour this week took in the former London headquarters of Lehman Brothers, which collapsed in 2008, as well as those of credit rating agency Moody's and the banks CitiGroup and Barclays. KPMG's Canary Wharf HQ was also on the itinerary, as were those of HSBC and Bank of America, all of whom the group blame for causing the financial crisis.

Liam Taylor, the tour guide, told guests: "You are now standing in Tower Hamlets, the local authority with the second highest rate of severe child poverty in the country, and highest level of youth unemployment in London."

Further tours are planned for the New Year, taking in some of Mayfair's hedge funds. The group also plans concerts outside St Paul's after the success of an impromptu gig by Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke, Massive Attack's 3D and UNKLE's Tim Goldworthy on Tuesday night.

Laws To Be Changed On CSG:

Australian Party Media Release [9/12/11]

Australian Party leader Bob Katter was astonished yesterday upon hearing of the outcome of the court case involving Drew Hutton who was found guilty of obstructing a Coal Seam Gas company without reasonable excuse.

Mr Katter, along with State leader Aidan McLindon, Party President Rowell Walton and a number of candidates, attended the hearing in Dalby this week to show support for Mr Hutton as well as the thousands of land owners whose property rights are under threat by the CSG industry.

Having heard much of the argument by both sides, Mr Katter was shocked to hear Mr Hutton was found guilty and fined.

“It would be improper for myself to comment upon a judgement in the courts but I will not be making any secret or apologies to say in public that I would urge Mr Hutton’s Counsel to appeal.

“This case raises most serious issues and I will be having discussions with Aidan McLindon and with Party President Rowell Walton with a view to stating there will be changes to the law to protect land holders against what I can only describe as the arrogant aggression of the foreign owned CSG companies.

“They seem the think that they can do anything that they like, that they own the government and the parliamentary opposition and I don’t doubt that they do,” Mr Katter said.

President of the Party, Rowell Walton who hails from the area most affected by CSG and who was also at the court case, supported Mr Katter by saying the law should be and would be changed under Katter’s Australian Party.

“Clearly things are all upside down here and need to change. If you own the land, you should be able to decide what happens to it. It just seems so simple,” Mr Walton said.

Moving Right Along: What Powers Do Police Have To ‘Move-On’ Protesters?

When police removed a young woman’s “tent dress” this week at the Occupy Melbourne encampment, it was yet another controversial interaction between protesters and authorities.

As shown in the Occupy movement, the increasing regulation of public spaces through intensive policing is a global phenomenon. Governments across Australia are introducing increasingly strident laws to police public spaces.

However, the evidence shows that these powers do not reduce crimes, they are exercised in a discriminatory way against young people, racial minorities and people experiencing homelessness, and they breach the norms and standards of international human rights laws.

Legal confusion

Occupy Melbourne demonstrators were first evicted by police from City Square in October. Afterwards, there were conflicting explanations about the legal basis for protesters’ removal. It seemed that government, police and the local council were all citing different laws.

The Police Minister’s office suggested police were using the move-on powers contained in section 6 of the Summary Offences Act. But these powers were created in 2009 to help police deal with alcohol-fuelled violence; they specifically prevent police from moving on people “demonstrating or protesting”.

Vulnerable targets

Move-on powers allow police to control both the users and the usage of public space. Similar laws have been introduced in most Australian jurisdictions, with troubling implications.

Legal expert, Ben Saul notes that “particularly if you are a young person, indigenous, homeless, or a sex worker, police scrutiny and state surveillance of the public use of public streets has become acute”. Empirical research is limited and not very recent, but it does point to discriminatory use of move-on powers.

People experiencing homelessness – like Bruce Rowe, who was brutally arrested by Queensland police in 2006 – occupy public spaces out of necessity but are disproportionately and adversely affected by move-on powers.

A Brisbane survey of 132 people experiencing homelessness found a total of 76.5% of respondents had been told to move on one or more times in the last six months. Nearly 78% of respondents who received a move-on direction said their behaviour was innocuous and unlikely to meet the threshold requirements for a lawfully issued move-on direction.

Concerns about police “chasing” homeless people from one place to the next were raised throughout this research. Some respondents stated that it was often the same officers that followed homeless people throughout the day to “chase them away”. I often heard stories like this when I worked as a lawyer with Victoria’s Homeless Persons’ Legal Clinic.

Unequal treatment

Indigenous Australians appear most likely to be moved on compared to other community members. A detailed 1995 study found that Indigenous young people were over-represented at every level of the justice system except police cautions.

This certainly appears to be the case with move-on orders. Chan and Cunneen note that police use “move-on” powers against Aboriginal people at a massively disproportionate rate.

The New South Wales Ombudsman expressed concern with the large numbers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people given direction to move on. This brings otherwise law-abiding individuals into contact with the criminal justice system in areas where relationships between the police and Aboriginal communities have been very poor.

Young not welcome

But it’s not only Indigenous young people who are over-policed by these move-on powers. The struggle over territory between police and young people is not a new phenomenon.

A 1992 study found that 80% of young people aged 15 to 18 had been stopped by the police, and that 83% of them had been stopped on the street. In addition, 53% of the police officers who participated in the research thought that young people were causing problems in malls.

The disparity between young people being moved on by police, and the rate of their involvement in crime compared to their representation in the population, is disturbing. The disparity suggests police are not using the powers as an effective tool and are exercising the power in a discriminatory fashion.

This does not reduce the incidence of crime and it may lead to even more unsatisfactory outcomes. Police and young people may come into conflict or young people may be pushed into more serious offending behaviours.

There is no evidence, in Australia or internationally, that suggests move-on powers reduce crime rates.

Breaching human rights?

Human rights lawyers have suggested that the October eviction of Occupy protestors may breach Victoria’s Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act.

Researchers have previously questioned the human rights implications of move-on powers and other regulation of public space. The exercise of these police powers engages Charter rights including freedoms of movement, association and expression, among others.

Infringement of these rights, particularly given the disproportionate impact on vulnerable groups discussed above, may amount to an unreasonable limitation of the rights. This question is currently before the Courts, following action brought by an Occupy Melbourne protester.

As the Occupy movement challenges some of the existing power structures, let’s hope that this draconian legal development of police move-on powers is one of the first casualties.

When will Barack Obama learn how to talk thoughtfully about women, women’s health and women’s rights?

Apparently, not today.

On Wednesday, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius unexpectedly overruled the Food and Drug Administration’s recommendation that emergency contraception be sold on drugstore shelves and made available without a prescription to women under the age of 17. The move came as a surprise blow to healthcare and women’s rights activists, the kinds of people regularly counted as supporters of the Obama administration.

Today, Obama doubled down on his disregard for the concerns of these groups, claiming that while Sebelius made her decision without his counsel, he agreed with it. Obama pooh-poohed the findings of the FDA, which had concluded that Plan B pills posed no medical hazard and supported Sebelius’ official argument, citing a lack of confidence that “a 10-year-old or 11-year-old going to a drugstore would be able to, alongside bubble gum or batteries, be able to buy a medication that potentially if not used properly can have an adverse effect.” The logic expressed today by the president, and yesterday by Sebelius, is ludicrous: Medicines like Tylenol – which have been proven to have adverse effects in high doses – are available by the truckload on drugstore shelves, at prices far cheaper than the $30 to $50 it would cost a preteen to purchase just one dose of Plan B, let alone go wild with it.

But part of what was most disturbing about Obama’s statement was his reliance on language that reveals his paternalistic approach to women and their health.

“As the father of two daughters,” Obama told reporters, “I think it is important for us to make sure that we apply some common sense to various rules when it comes to over-the-counter medicine.”

First of all, the president was not talking about “various rules.” He was supporting a very specific rule, one that prevents young women from easily obtaining a drug that can help them control their reproductive lives, at an age when their economic, educational, familial and professional futures are perhaps most at risk of being derailed by an unplanned pregnancy. “As the father of two daughters,” Obama might want to reconsider his position on preventing young women from being able to exercise this form of responsibility over their own bodies and lives.

But as an American, I think it is important for my president not to turn to paternalistic claptrap and enfeebling references to the imagined ineptitude and irresponsibility of his daughters – and young women around the country – to justify a curtailment of access to medically safe contraceptives. The notion that in aggressively conscribing women’s abilities to protect themselves against unplanned pregnancy Obama is just laying down some Olde Fashioned Dad Sense diminishes an issue of gender equality, sexual health and medical access. Recasting this debate as an episode of “Father Knows Best” reaffirms hoary attitudes about young women and sex that had their repressive heyday in the era whence that program sprang.

A question of who should be allowed access to a safe form of contraception is at its root a question of how badly we want to, or believe that we can, police young women’s sexuality. When Obama is talking about his daughters, we know he’s not really basing his opinion on an anxiety that they might suffer the adverse effects of drinking a whole jug of Pepto-Bismol or swallowing 50 Advil, things that any 11-year-old who walks into a CVS with a wad of cash could theoretically do. When he says that he wants to “apply common sense” to questions of young women’s access to emergency contraception, he is telegraphing his discomfort with the idea of young women’s sexual agency, or more simply, with the idea of them having sex lives at all. This discomfort might be comprehensible from an emotional, parental point of view. But these are not familial discussions; this is a public-health policy debate, and at a time when “16 and Pregnant” airs on MTV, the fact that a daddy feels funny about his little girls becoming grown-ups has no place in a discussion of healthcare options for America’s young women. It is also nearly impossible to imagine a similar use of language or logic to justify a ban of condom sales.

Moreover, Obama’s invocation of his role as a father is an insult to the commitments and priorities of those on the other side of this issue. Are we to believe that those who support the increased availability of emergency contraception do not have daughters? That if they do, they care less about those daughters than Barack Obama does about his? And that if they do not, they cannot possibly know better than a father of daughters what is best for young women? Why should we be asked to believe that Obama’s paternity imbues him with more moral authority on the subject of women’s health and reproductive lives than the investments of doctors, researchers and advocates who – regardless of their parental status – have dedicated their lives to working on behalf of increased reproductive health options. This line of argument is no better than the Mama Grizzly argument developed by Sarah Palin during 2010's midterm elections, in which she asserted that her band of super-conservative mothers were qualified for office because “moms just know when there’s something wrong.”

Barack Obama has long had a tin ear for language that has anything to do with women and even more specifically with women’s rights. While on the campaign trail for president in 2008, he waved off a female reporter who asked a question about the future of the auto industry, referring to her diminutively as “sweetie.” The same year, attempting to play both sides on the issue of reproductive freedom, he gave an interview with a religious magazine in which he asserted his support for states’ restrictions on late-term abortions as long as there was an exception for the health of the mother, but added that he didn’t “think that ‘mental distress’ qualifies as the health of the mother.” Attempting to recover from that line and reassert his pro-choice bona fides, Obama later clarified that of course he believed in a medical exemption for “serious clinical mental health diseases,” just not when seeking a late-term abortion is “a matter of feeling blue,” perpetuating a wildly irresponsible vision of the rare and difficult late-term abortion as a moody impulse-buy.

Today also isn’t the first time he’s used references to members of his family to make a larger offensive point about women. Back in 2009, when charges that his officially female-friendly administration included some boys’ club tendencies hit the front of the New York Times, Obama dismissed the claims as “bunk.” Reporter Mark Leibovich noted at the time that the president “often points out that he is surrounded by strong females at home,” an argument that not only mimics an old saw about how being henpecked by women is equivalent to respecting them, but reflects a dynamic as old as patriarchal power itself and sidesteps the question of how strong females are treated at work. In 2010, while appearing on “The View,” Obama made a creaky Take-My-Wife-Please joke about how he wanted to appear on “a show that Michelle actually watched” as opposed to the news shows she usually flips past. The joke being that his missus, the one he met when she mentored him at a high-powered law firm, just doesn’t have a head for news delivered by anyone other than Elisabeth Hasselbeck.

It should no longer come as a surprise that the president of the United States is, on perhaps an unconscious level, an old-school patriarch. What’s startling is the degree to which Obama seems not to have learned from any of his past gaffes, how no one seems to have told him – or told him in a way that he’s absorbed – that the best way to address a question of women’s health and rights is probably not by making it about his role as a father.

This might be an especially valuable chat to have with the president as he moves into 2012 and toward an election in which he is going to be relying on the support of people he has just managed to anger, offend and speak down to — women. The least he could do is learn to address them with respect.

Prepare now ahead of heavy rainfall: EMQ Media Release [5/12/11]

With heavy rainfall and possible flash flooding predicted to hit parts of central Queensland today, emergency services are asking residents to prepare around their homes and avoid driving through flooded causeways.

The Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting that 24 hour rainfall totals in excess of 100mm and localised flash flooding are possible for areas including Blackall, Charleville, Cunnamulla, Quilpie, Thargomindah and Windorah.

Emergency Management Queensland (EMQ) Executive Director Warren Bridson said taking just a few simple steps now could make a major difference if flash flooding develops.

“Recent storm activity and heavy rainfall across parts of Queensland has resulted in roof damage to properties. Most of this damage could have been avoided if people simply unblocked their gutters before the storm and rain came through,” he said.

“Clearing around all drainage points in your yard and moving loose items to a covered, secure area could prevent damage to your property during this anticipated weather event.”

Queensland Fire and Rescue Service (QFRS) Deputy Commissioner Iain Mackenzie said it was possible the rainfall could lead to localised flooding on some roads.

“In most cases, swift water rescue is completely preventable and residents across the affected areas should familiarise themselves with low lying areas likely to become submerged after periods of heavy rainfall,” Mr Mackenzie said.

“Other hazards include storm water drains, causeways and run-off areas which may appear safe during the dry season but can change dramatically into fast flowing, potential death traps.”

Mr Mackenzie said the key message this storm and cyclone season was “If it’s flooded forget it.” “Under no circumstances should people drive, walk, swim or ride through floodwaters.

By entering floodwaters, they are not only putting their lives at risk but the lives of their rescuers,” he said.

“If conditions are unfavourable, take the time to check road closure information prior to getting in the car.

“While flash flooding can occur quickly and catch drivers unaware there is no excuse for those who deliberately drive past a road closed sign into flood water.

“If you become caught in rising floodwater, turn around and seek an alternative route. If this is not possible move to higher ground and wait it out. Sometimes this may be inconvenient or cause you to miss an appointment or meeting but it is better to arrive late, than not arrive at all.”

While SES volunteers always help whenever and wherever they were needed, Mr Bridson said everyone should play their part by preparing themselves and their property to avoid the need for assistance in the first place.

“In times of emergency, SES volunteers will be inundated with requests for assistance and will prioritise the most urgent tasks,” Mr Bridson said.

“SES members are unpaid volunteers who leave their own homes and workplaces to help other people during disasters and they can’t possibly be everywhere at once.

“If you are fit and healthy, then it is your responsibility to prepare yourself and your family for severe weather events.”

Queenslanders looking to brush up on their disaster preparations should visit www.qld.gov.au/GetReady.

One of the 292 people arrested the night of the Occupy L.A. raid has taken to his personal blog to recount the night's events, providing a face to the large pool of arrestees and painting a less than lauding picture of the LAPD. Patrick Meighan begins his post by summing himself up in one sentence. "My name is Patrick Meighan, and I’m a husband, a father, a writer on the Fox animated sitcom 'Family Guy,' and a member of the Unitarian Universalist Community Church of Santa Monica." Sounds like he has something he needs to get off his chest, doesn't it? Well, he does, and he unleashes in "My Occupy LA Arrest."

He details his 1am arrest on Wednesday, November 30 as being encircled by the LAPD with their "weapons drawn" while engaging in peaceful protest.

Meighan says he watched as officers sliced open tents, dismantling them, "removing" tent occupiers and destroying and "scattering" tents' contents. Why does he mention this seemingly disorderly eviction method? Because the mainstream press reported the mess as "'30 tons of garbage' that was 'abandoned' by Occupy LA," writes Meighan.

Meighan goes on to describe how police handled protesters who refused to unlink their arms to facilitate arrests.

An LAPD officer would forcibly extend the protestor’s legs, grab his left foot, twist it all the way around and then stomp his boot on the insole, pinning the protestor’s left foot to the pavement, twisted backwards. Then the LAPD officer would grab the protestor’s right foot and twist it all the way the other direction until the non-violent protestor, in incredible agony, would shriek in pain and unlink from his neighbor.

Horrified, Meighan unlinked his arms voluntarily and told officers he would go peacefully. You would assume that meant he was swiftly handcuffed and escorted to a bus, but his story is much more violent. Meighan says, "I had my arms wrenched behind my back, and an officer hyperextended my wrists into my inner arms." When he reacted in pain, Meighan was thrown "face-first to the pavement" by the arresting officer. His face bled, his hands turned blue from too-tight cuffs and he is now suffering nerve damage in his right thumb and palm.

Meighan's account does not sound like "one of the finest moments in the history of the Los Angeles Police Department," as Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said in his statement, released on the Wednesday of the raid. This sounds like arrestees who are issuing formal complaints against the LAPD may actually have cases.

After a paddywagon ride to a parking garage in Parker Center, Meighan writes that arrestees were forced to kneel on the pavement of the garage for seven hours while handcuffed. Some people passed out. One man vomited. "The LAPD officers watched and did nothing," Meighan writes.

The jail situation after the raid was reported on heavily by the press, revealing that the few arrestees who actually could scrounge up the $5,000 bail amount were detained nonetheless for up to two days.

I’m lucky and I could afford it, except the LAPD spent all day refusing to actually *accept* the bail they set. If you were an accused murderer or a rapist in LAPD custody that day, you could bail yourself right out and be back on the street, no problem. But if you were a nonviolent Occupy LA protestor with bail money in hand, you were held long into the following morning, with absolutely no access to a lawyer.

Despite being "crammed into an into an eight-man jail cell along with sixteen other Occupy LA protesters," sleeping next to a toilet and spending 25 hours in jail, Meighan is not angry that he was arrested. "I chose to get arrested," he admits. But he is mad that voracious thieves like Charles Prince - former Citigroup CEO - "are not only spared the zipcuffs but showered with rewards."

Read Meighan's account here for more details on his 25 hours of activism hell and his thoughts on Prince.

Australia's Vanishing Art

Authoritarian types want us to live in a colourless world. They feel entitled to bombard us with their bullshit all day long and that we ought to have no right of reply or means to express how we feel.

Unfortunately for them, they can't control all of us all of the time!

Christy Moore paid an unannounced visit to Occupy Dame Street to share some of his musical talents late last evening. He sent greetings to Occupy Camps all over Ireland in the process.

Human Rights Day 2011

This year, millions of people decided the time had come to claim their rights. They took to the streets and demanded change. Many found their voices using the internet and instant messaging to inform, inspire and mobilize supporters to seek their basic human rights. Social media helped activists organize peaceful protest movements in cities across the globe - from Tunis to Madrid, from Cairo to New York - at times in the face of violent repression.

Human rights belong equally to each of us and bind us together as a global community with the same ideals and values. As a global community we all share a day in common: Human Rights Day on 10 December, when we remember the creation 63 years ago of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

On Human Rights Day 2011, we pay tribute to all human rights defenders and ask you to get involved in the global human rights movement.

The High Commissioner for Human Rights will host a global conversation on human rights through social media on Friday, 9 December at 9:30 a.m. New York time.

See a sampling of the questions we've received so far on our Storify page.

Don't forget to tune in live to see if your question is answered!

We want you to be part of it – join the conversation, send a question, watch it live.

Help us celebrate human rights!

This year everybody has an opportunity to support human rights by joining our celebration. Invite your family and friends to participate in our social media campaign. Become a human rights campaigner; learn more about your rights and spread the word www.celebratehumanrights.org

Show Me What Democracy Looks Like

Wednesday Night's Occupy Brisbane GA, with Christmas tree and the lights of King George Square in the background.

The Sunlight Foundation has quickly put a video together reflecting on the occupation of K Street today with a strong message. Occupiers and allies from across the country converged on Washington, DC to take over the seat of power: K Street. The K St area is home to America’s most powerful lobbying firms (http://snlg.ht/dcinfluencemap), whose power is measured by cash and access. In the wake of Citizens United v. the FEC that power, access, and, in fact, cash has grown exponentially.

V for Vendetta’s Alan Moore, David Lloyd Join Occupy Comics

Nearly 30 years after publishing V for Vendetta, writer Alan Moore and artist David Lloyd are throwing their support behind the global Occupy movement that’s drawn inspiration from their comic’s anti-totalitarian philosophy and iconography.

Moore will contribute a long-form prose piece, possibly with illustrations, to the Occupy Comics project. His writing work will explore the Occupy movement’s principles, corporate control of the comics industry and the superhero paradigm itself.

Lloyd signed onto the growing Occupy Comics project last week, as did Madman’s Mike Allred and American Splendor’s Dean Haspiel. Occupy Comics will eventually sell single-issue comic books and a hardcover compilation, but an innovative arrangement with Kickstarter means that funds raised through pledges of support can be channeled directly to Occupy Wall Street’s populist ranks now.

“It’s fair to say that Alan Moore and David Lloyd are unofficial godfathers of the current protest movement,” said Halo-8 founder and Occupy Comics organizer Matt Pizzolo in an e-mail to Wired.com.

“It’s really amazing to see two creatives whose work was inspiring to street protesters join a creative project that is inspired by the street protesters. It’s a pretty virtuous cycle.”

Tireless activist Moore has long lamented our disturbing creep toward totalitarianism, exploring the topic in V for Vendetta — which unleashed the ubiquitous, grinning Guy Fawkes mask that’s been worn by members of Anonymous and the Occupy movement — as well as in Watchmen and most recently The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Century: 1969, which darkly closed out the surreal yet optimistic ’60s to make way for a dispirited, destructive ’70s and beyond.

Moore knows more than many how much the Occupy movement means to those who watched as last century’s activist spirit was siphoned away by mindless consumption and militarism.

“My actual feelings about the ’60s are that, yes, of course we had limitations,” Moore told Wired.com in an extensive July interview ahead of LXG: 1969’s Comic-Con International premiere.

“We talked a lot of shit, and we didn’t have the muscle to back it up. For the most part, we had good intentions. However, we were not able to implement those intentions. And when the state started to take us seriously and initiated countermeasures, the majority of us folded like bitches. Not all of us, but a good number. We weren’t up for the struggle that had sounded so great in our manifestos.”

Predictably, that struggle has cropped up again in the wake of last century’s overlooked political and economic inequities, as well the still-new century’s uniquely dystopian nightmares. (Infinite detention for Americans? WTF, Congress?) Moore has rarely missed the chance to lend his name to righteous causes, as his recent support for the late, great Harvey Pekar’s memorial, as well as an excellent takedown of Frank Miller’s Occupy paranoia, illustrate quite nicely.

Moore’s support for Occupy Comics is another worthy piece of the 99 percent’s overdue payback.

“Moore elevated the discussion beyond Miller’s crude vilification to critical topics like governing systems, the madness of derivatives markets, and how currency is used to control populations,” Pizzolo said.

“The juxtaposition of the two points of view is fascinating, because it’s so obvious that Moore and Miller are operating on different intellectual planes.

“Moore has largely vacated the comics business, but his works continue to resonate and wire the thinking of generations,” Pizzolo added.

“Miller on the other hand has retroactively destroyed more childhoods than George Lucas. Many are reassessing what Miller was telling us when we were kids, because he, Moore and more had as much influence on us when we were formulating our worldviews as our teachers, political leaders and probably anyone outside of our parents. Comics are such a personal medium, so it’s easy to overlook how much they can affect young minds just starting to piece together a global perspective.”

Scott Thill covers pop, culture, tech, politics, econ, the environment and more for Wired, AlterNet, Filter, Huffington Post and others. You can sample his collected spiels at his site, Morphizm.
Follow @morphizm on Twitter.

 

Press Release: Occupy Brisbane Correction of Media Reports (Musgrave Park Clean Up):

Reported yesterday in the media (MX, Wednesday 7 2011) are claims by the Deputy Mayor of Brisbane City Council Adrian Schrinner, that Occupy Brisbane left Musgrave Park in a “rancid mess”.

Deputy Mayor Adrian Schrinner goes on to say “Let’s be clear – the only reason why council is having to clean up Musgrave Park is because Occupy Brisbane made a big mess and left it to ratepayers to deal with, just like they did in Post Office Square”.

Schrinner also said “council officers …had to spend their day cleaning up the rancid mess Occupy Brisbane left”.

These claims are categorically untrue. At approximately 11.30am on Tuesday the 6th of December, an Occupy Brisbane clean up crew arrived at Musgrave Park to continue the clean up that had been underway since Monday morning.

Onsite were council workers conducting a cleanup while tents remained erect and personal property still obviously present. The council had pre-emptively assumed that Occupy Brisbane had vacated the site when in fact we were still in the process of cleaning.

As the following Facebook Status demonstrates, posted on Monday 5 December at 9.35pm, Occupy Brisbane had set a timetable for the site to be fully vacated and tidy by Wednesday the 7th:

“We are aiming to have cleanup finalized by Wednesday. Liaise with Max or Robert.”

Upon the arrival of the Occupy Brisbane clean up crew, negotiations were conducted with the council crew to allow us to continue our clean up, including the retrieval of personal property, without council interference.

The council crew offered to remove rubbish that we had ourselves collated the previous day. We accepted their offer, but were prepared to remove it ourselves and had informed the council crew of this fact.

In hindsight we should have refused this offer, so that the removal of the rubbish could not be construed as council cleaning up Occupy Brisbane’s “rancid mess”.

The council crew informed us that we had until the next morning to remove all other property and any remaining rubbish from the site. We complied with this order, which was within our own stated schedule anyway, to the letter.

As a further note, the claims relating to Post Office Square are also demonstrably incorrect. There was no mess left at Post Office Square. All camp items were retrieved and rubbish disposed of by Occupy Brisbane supporters.

ABC Journalists reported that the Post Office Square site was left clean and tidy. This was also shown through photographic evidence collected on the day.

The claims of a returfing bill of $30,000 for Post Office square seem far fetched: All that council appear to have done is to sow grass seeds and distribute a layer of soil to assist regrowth. There has been no returfing of Post Office Square.

Occupy Brisbane offered this same service to Council for free, to be provided by professional landscapers who were prepared to donate their time and materials, but the offer was refused by Council.

A Brisbane City Council candidate says two 30-metre tall hoop pines have been cut down to make way for an inner-city road tunnel.

The pine trees near the Inner-City Bypass at Victoria Park at Herston are believed to be about 100-years-old.

The Labor candidate for Central Ward, Paul Crowther, says residents are outraged.

"We were given about 10 minutes' warning this morning and the council has simply just made a decision that they're going to go and make way for drains," he said.

"Again no consultation from this council and they don't seem to care about our environment by removing these trees."

 

... The truth is turning slowly
I feel it in my bones
Rising on a beautiful day ...

'Keeper Of The Stones', John Williamson

 

The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) today released an analysis of the socioeconomic studies underpinning the draft Murray-Darling Basin Plan which reveals that a healthy river system will have little impact on jobs.

According to Simon O’Connor, economic adviser at ACF, the analysis – Separating the wheat from the chaff: an assessment of the socioeconomics of the draft Murray-Darling Basin Plan [PDF] – indicates that jobs will, in fact, increase in the short term. In the longer term, small decreases in jobs (around 200 per year) will be offset by the much greater increase in new jobs created (13,000 per year).

“The alarmist comments that the Basin Plan will devastate jobs across the basin are grossly misleading,” he said.

The plan cites 23 socioeconomic reports that consistently conclude with just one message – the impact of reform of the river system will have a small and manageable economic impact on communities of the basin.

“To be clear, no credible evidence has yet been presented that contradicts this conclusion,” he said.

According to the MDBA, “Overall, economic modelling of the impacts of the proposed Basin Plan revealed that at an aggregate level, the Basin-wide economic costs will be small —smaller, proportionally, than the corresponding reductions in water diversions.”

There is however a major gap in the draft plan, Mr O’Connor said.

“We are currently seeing only one side of the balance sheet of water reform on the Murray- Darling – the costs – and simply ignoring the economic benefits to rural and regional communities of a healthy river system,” he said.

The full report can be found here:

http://www.acfonline.org.au/uploads/res/MDB_socio_economic_briefer_December_2011.pdf

MANILA, Philippines – Militant students and police clashed for the second straight day in Manila as anti-riot squads prevented the students from camping out at Mendiola, which is near Malacanang, to hold a local “Occupy” protest, police and students on the scene said.

Senior Police Officer 1 Edgar Agbuya of the Manila Police District Station 4 said several lawmen were injured but could not confirm the claim by Jonalyn Paz of the College Editors’ Guild of the Philippines (CEGP), in a text message to INQUIRER.net, that one of the student protesters was beaten up along Bustillos Street.

“Wala pang bilang ng nasaktan. But I saw this guy being hit by two or three police officers in his head using that thing they have in hand [batuta]. Nasa hospital siya. Police brutality,” said Paz.

Youth group Anakbayan National Chairman Vencer Crisostomo said that close to 100 policemen have been deployed in the area since 7 a.m.

The international “Occupy” protest movement, which began with a camp-out near Wall Street in New York City, largely decries social inequality and the power of big business.

Various activist groups have banded together to hold a similar camp-out on Mendiola from December 6 to International Human Rights Day on December 10, to protest the perceived failure by the Aquino administration to deliver and prioritize basic social services such as education, health, energy, employment.

Massive Attack and Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke have held a secret gig to back Occupy London protestors.

The Unfinished Sympathy group and Yorke performed for around 100 people at an undisclosed location in the capital.

According to the BBC, the gig was staged as a thank you to the people protesting against corporate greed.

The protestors moved into St Paul's Churchyard in the middle of October, before going on to Finsbury Square and an empty bank building in Hackney on November 18th.

Part of a worldwide 'Occupy' movement, the demonstrations began on New York's Wall Street. ...

We Have Put a Woman Named Gayla Back in Her Home

Nearly two hundred people rallied in the park today a block from Gayla's old, and new, home in West Oakland. After Gayla spoke movingly about how the bank deceived her about a loan modification and then kicked her kids out onto the street in their pajamas while she was at work (and no, I don't think she was making this up), we marched over to her just re-#occupied house:

BootsRiley Boots Riley
We have put a woman named Gayla back in her home on Adeline. She was kicked out for owing two months of mortgage. #OWS

Kossack kith joined me there; Allie123 came a bit later and took this amazing picture.

Thus concluded, for these weary feet, today's National Day of Action in Oakland. My tally was two banks rallied in front of, one vacant house reoccupied for the community via action initiated by Just Cause, and Gayla back in her home courtesy of Occupy Oakland and others.

There was no police presence to speak of anywhere today. I have no idea why. Perhaps they are just waiting until 2:00 AM to break down the doors and throw everyone out into the night. No matter. However it goes from here, the spark has been lit.

The banksters have not heard the last from us. ...

Liberty Victoria Condemns Police Action At Occupy Melbourne Protest

Liberty Victoria today condemned police interference with Occupy Melbourne demonstrators in the Flagstaff Gardens this morning, 6 December 2011.

At approximately 8.30 am, several police officers approached a female demonstrator who was wearing a small tent.

This appeared to be the demonstrator’s way of protesting against an instruction by Melbourne City Council that no tents should be permitted in the Gardens.

The police action, which was captured on a cell phone and posted on Youtube, shows a Council officer demanding that the demonstrator remove the tent. She refused, saying that the tent was her clothing.

Upon this refusal five police officers began cutting the tent away from the demonstrator. This action involved the use of considerable force and continued despite the demonstrator’s refusal to consent to the forcible disrobing.

Finally, the tent was removed, leaving the demonstrator in only her underwear
and in full public view.

Liberty President, Professor Spencer Zifcak, said that “if this bodily violation weren’t so serious, it would be ridiculous”.

“It is serious because it is unlawful, it is ridiculous because it is so unnecessary”.

“The police action is in clear violation of the right to freedom of speech and assembly as protected in Victoria’s Charter of Rights and Responsibilities”.

“It is unconstitutional as it is in breach of the Australian Constitution’s protection of the freedom of public and political communication”.

“The use of excessive force by several police to disrobe a person plainly engaged in political protest is also deeply to be regretted, quite apart from being profoundly embarrassing to the person concerned”.

Liberty requests that the Melbourne City Council and the Chief Commissioner of Police launch an immediate inquiry into the matter, the findings of which should be made publicly available.

Judge Lets Occupy New Orleans Return To Makeshift Camp

NEW ORLEANS — A federal judge is allowing Occupy protesters and homeless people to return to the New Orleans park where they had been camped since early October.

U.S. District Judge Jay Zainey’s order Tuesday allows the group, Occupy NOLA, to return for at least seven days.

About 150 officers marched into the encampment across from City Hall before dawn Tuesday. They forced about 150 occupants out and removing tents in a peaceful eviction that sometimes drew loud complaints but did not result in violence.

Their lawyer Bill Quigley said the move was a surprise and that city officials had said they would not evict the occupants until after Tuesday’s court hearing.

Recorded late on Tuesday December 6 via a bad Brit phone connection

I asked Scott first what sort of help he’s been able to provide to Julian in London as he faces possible extradition to a death sentence in the US

runs 7 mins 30 secs.

Please visit wikileaks.org to help defend freedom on twitter you can follow @wikileaks and @wllegal

Australian Greens Senator Scott Ludlam today called on the Australian Government to take on "a much more active role" in ensuring WikiLeaks editor in chief Julian Assange is not extradited to the United States.

Senator Ludlam, speaking from London immediately after the hearing on Mr Assange's possible extradition to Sweden to face questioning not related to the work of WikiLeaks, said the decision of the High Court to grant the Australian citizen leave to appeal to the Supreme Court gave the Government more time to take action.

"We are concerned that Mr Assange, if extradited to Sweden, could subsequently be extradited to the United States to face trumped-up charges arising from the work of the WikiLeaks website.

"Private Bradley Manning, who is accused of leaking information to WikiLeaks and faces trial on December 16th, is being held under conditions I believe constitute inhumane and degrading punishment. For this reason I have grave concerns about the safety of Mr Assange if he is transferred to the United States.

"I will travel to Sweden to meet with Australian consular officials and officials of the Swedish justice system as I remain concerned by the prospect of Mr Assange being forcibly sent to the United States, rather than remaining in Sweden in the event he is extradited."

Senator Ludlam is travelling at his own expense. He attended this morning's hearing and is available for interviews.

On the eve of a landmark United Nations conference on the world’s refugees and stateless people, the General Assembly President today called for a reframing of the debate about international migration to ensure that its benefits are better understood.

“Migration provides a force for good, contributing significantly to human development,” said Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser in an address to the Council of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Geneva, citing the businesses established, the jobs created and the millions in remittances sent home by migrants.

Migration is no longer dominated by moves from developing countries to affluent States, with “new migration poles” emerging in Asia, Africa and South America to meet labour demands in those areas.

Mr. Al-Nasser warned that the discussion about migration “has reached a worrying imbalance. The fear of the ‘other’ has become more acute since the onset of the other world financial and economic crisis. Migrants have increasingly become the targets of racist and intolerant attitudes and practices.”

Mr. Al-Nasser called on countries to strengthen their cooperation to maximize the benefits of international migrants and to minimize its negative consequences.

The Assembly President spoke at the launch of IOM’s annual global migration report, which found that migrants’ voices need to be better heard in the debate about migration, especially during economic downturns when discussions often include negative stereotyping and even xenophobia.

The report stresses that this does not mean the debate on migration should be uncritical. Rather, it should be based on an open discussion that tackles misinformation.

“Accurately informing the wider public about migration may be the single most important policy tool in all societies faced with increasing diversity,” said William Lacy Swing, IOM Director General.

In a separate Newsmaker interview with the UN News Centre, Mr. Swing noted that “there are more people on the move than at any other time in recorded history,” with about 215 million international migrants and 740 million domestic migrants.

“You would think at a time like this that migration would be something that is very welcome, but in point of fact, the cruel irony is that more and more governments are turning inward, borders are being closed, visa regimes are being tightened and there is less and less opportunity for migration to occur on a legal basis, so a lot of people are being pushed into the hands of traffickers,” he said.

Tomorrow, representatives of at least 145 countries are set to gather in Geneva for the start of a two-day conference on refugees and statelessness that is being organized by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The conference, which will be addressed by High Commissioner António Guterres, is being held to mark the 60th anniversary of the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 50th anniversary of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.

Occupy Gets Early Legal Win Over State Patrol

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Occupy protesters have won an early legal battle against the Washington State Patrol.

Attorneys for the demonstrators won a temporary restraining order Tuesday after arguing that authorities cannot issue trespass warnings without due process or the right to appeal. They also believe the notices violate First Amendment rights.

The patrol issued the warnings to some protesters last week, prohibiting them from returning to Capitol Campus property for 30 days. Dozens of demonstrators defied an order to leave the capitol at the end of the Legislature's first day of the special session.

Another hearing on the issue will take place in January. A spokesman for the patrol declined immediate comment.

Jesus Would Occupy: Archbishop of Canterbury

LONDON — Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams says Jesus would have joined protesters from the anti-corporate Occupy movement who have been camped outside London’s St. Paul’s Cathedral for more than seven weeks.

In a British magazine, the leader of the world’s 78 million Anglicans worldwide insisted that Jesus would be “there, sharing the risks, not just taking sides.”

The demonstrators pitched their tents outside the iconic cathedral in mid-October to protest what they see as the unfairness and illegalities of the global financial community.

In his article written for the Christmas edition of the Radio Times magazine, the archbishop said Jesus was “constantly asking awkward questions” in the Bible. In the St. Paul’s encampment, Williams added, Jesus would be “steadily changing the entire atmosphere by the questions that he asked of everybody involved — rich and poor, capitalist and protester and cleric.”

The archbishop said that when Jesus said “give Caesar what belongs to Caesar,” he was asking “what’s the exact point at which involvement in the empire of capitalist economy involves you fatally.”

The magazine article was not Williams’ first involvement in the anti-corporate protest movement. He said last month that the demonstration marked “a widespread and deep exasperation with the financial establishment.”

The City of London Corporation, which owns much of the land around St. Paul’s, has taken legal steps to try to get the protesters moved. But the Occupiers have vowed to remain until the Olympic Games in the British capital next summer, and perhaps beyond.

Police Protest Actions Wrong: Greens Media Release [6/12/11]

Greens MP Adam Bandt has criticised the actions of police and council workers who stripped a young woman participating in a protest today.

"Stripping a woman in public is inappropriate and should not be condoned by Melbourne City Council or Mayor Robert Doyle", Mr Bandt said.

"This was a peaceful protest. Surely police have better things to do with their time and taxpayer dollars."

"The Lord Mayor Robert Doyle has created this confrontation and the authorities have handled it badly from the start."

"We should be closing the gap between rich and poor - that's what these protesters are saying."

A 10-year-old girl is expected to withdraw her complaint about an abduction attempt on Queensland's Gold Coast.

The girl told police a man tried to drag her into a car on Government Road at Labrador last night, but it is understood she has since admitted making the story up.

It is the second hoax abduction report in the city in about a month.

This morning the Melbourne City Council and Victoria Police escalated their action against Occupy Melbourne. As you may be aware, our creative resistance efforts culminated in the creation of the “Tent Monsters”; people wearing tents as clothing.

At first this was very successful and both Melbourne City Council and Victoria Police declined to take action against those people wearing the tents. Last night we built on the success of the Tent Monsters by taking our Tent Monsters on a tour of landmarks around the Melbourne CBD including a brief re-occupation of our first site, City Square.

This morning Melbourne City Council and Victoria Police again attended our occupation with a mind to remove tents from the site. However, instead of acting responsibly they violated our Occupiers by forcibly removing the tents from their bodies. One female occupier was left only in her underwear and bra.

This action is totally unacceptable and should be condemned by every person who believes in the right to protest and the right not to be assaulted and targeted by Government authorities.

We are working on a formal response at the moment but in the mean time I urge you to join us in making our anger at this heard as widely as possible and our support for our fellow Occupiers as loving as possible.

Please share this message with your friends and fellow Occupiers.

Solidarity.

A spontaneous blockade has been imposed on coal seam gas company AGL outside the Hunter Valley town of Gloucester.

Local residents, alarmed at the entry of trucks carrying heavy equipment onto a local property where a coal seam gas rig was expected in the near future, scrambled to blockade the trucks.

Lock the Gate Alliance president Drew Hutton said local community groups opposed to coal seam gas development in the Gloucester Valley were mounting the blockade.

Mr Hutton said locals were angry that AGL had refused to halt its drilling program to allow an independent examination of the seismic and water studies in the region.

AGL is licensed for 110 wells in full production in the Gloucester Valley.

An appeal against the project's approval has been heard in the Land & Environment Court but a decision will not be handed down for several months.

"This community has locked the gate on AGL in the past; now it is blocking the gate," Mr Hutton said.

"The Lock the Gate campaign is moving from non-cooperation to active resistance and, if AGL insists on bringing this drilling equipment onto the Gloucester property, they will be blockaded.

More information will be released as it comes to hand.

First Big Victory To Lock The Gate [5/12/11]

The decision by coal mining company NuCoal to abandon plans to mine on he propery of blind Hunter Valley farmer, Ian Moore, is the first major victory for the Lock the Gate campaign.

Mr Moore had locked his gate on the company Doyles Creeks Mining which was later purchased by NuCoal. The company then took Mr Moore to a government-appointed arbitrator who upheld the company's right to drill on the property.

Mr Moore then appealed to the Land and Environment Court which imposed much tougher restrictions on NuCoal but still upheld their right to enter the property.

Lock the Gate president, Drew Hutton, said the campaign that was fought around Ian Moore's case and the enormous public sympathy for his plight resulted in today's annoncement by the company.

"The people of the hunter Valley and in Australia generally have cried 'enough' with regard to mining on good agricultural land," Mr Hutton said.

"We must stop this madness now.

"There must be a moratorium on all new coal mines and on all coal seam gas development until governments and the Australian people can make considered judgments on whether they want this resources boom to engulf our precious long-term natural resources and our iconic environmental areas all in the name of the short-term dollar.

"Until that happens our campaign will contine. Landowners will lock the gate on resource companies trying to enter their properties and, if they attempt to enter communities where they are not welcome, we will block the gate," Mr Hutton said.

The Hamster Wheel: Pokies Report [VIDEO]

Craig Reucassel discovers an unAustralian place where they don't have pokies to fund school sport and Anzac Day - and it's in Australia!

 

Artist Clark Stoeckley, the owner of a truck with the WikiLeaks logo emblazoned on it, jokes he is the official truck driver for Occupy Wall Street.

“I deliver everything except laundry,” he told the Daily Dot in a phone interview.

Stoeckley describes himself as an “artivist,” a term he said he coined for his blend of satirical art and activism. The WikiLeaks Truck is his mobile art piece, and he’s driven it repeatedly up and down the East Coast, between Washington, DC, and New York City.

Stoeckley has no real connection to WikiLeaks, the international whistle-blowing, nonprofit, controversial organization devoted to releasing previously secret documents.

“I’m definitely not a hacker,” says Stoeckley. He’s clearly a WikiLeaks supporter and he sees himself as tangentially part of the group in that WikiLeaks is a volunteer organization “and I am a volunteer.”

The truck has not been officially sanctioned by the organization (if the organization even does such things). But by the same token, WikiLeaks has not reached to Stoeckley to tell him to stop using the name.

Stoeckley finds that encouraging.

The truck was purely Stoeckley’s idea and he painted his vehicle with the WikiLeaks name because he strongly believes that some sort of WikiLeaks symbol should be prevalent at the OWS movement.

“Arab Spring is a result of WikiLeaks, the rise of Anonymous is a result of WikiLeaks support, and both of those led up to the OWS movement,” Stoeckley said.

The WikiLeaks logo on Stoeckley’s truck, however, has confused those in law enforcement, who have searched his truck multiple times. Stoeckley’s truck was even confiscated—and temporarily lost—by the NYPD. Stoeckley also has spent about 30 hours in jail for refusing to let law enforcement search his truck a third time, an arrest Stoeckley’s lawyer has called unlawful.

In an interview with the site Wikileaks-movie.com, Stoeckley also described his truck as “part-prank,” though given the trouble the truck has caused him, it’s hard to know who is pranking whom here, or if the prank is more trouble than it’s worth.

Besides trouble with the law, the notoriety of the truck’s logo has led people to hurl abuse at Stoeckley.

“I've had people yell at me on occasion about [Wikileaks founder] Julian Assange, and I've had very conservative business men give me the finger,” Stoeckley said.

“That’s usually as far as the debate goes.”

It’s not all bad; Stoeckley recalled the time a cab driver pulled up next to him to praise his efforts, saying

“WikiLeaks is important all over the world, and I support you and the 99%!”

Formally named the “Wikileaks Top Secret Mobile Information Collection Unit,” Stoeckley said “driving it and parking it is my performance.”

The usefulness of the truck hasn’t escaped OWS protesters though, and Stoeckley’s truck is regularly used as a storage space, a transport vehicle for heavy objects like generators, and for shelter.

“I’ve also used it as a medic station for people suffering from hypothermia,” he said.

In the future, Stoeckley hopes to turn it into a television, and “I’ve also wanted to use it as a stage for performances.”

Stoeckley also performs with the Anonymous Theater Art Group, a troupe of actors performing on city sidewalks. Sometimes ATAG portrays soldiers, other times they play Wall Street bankers panhandling for bailouts.

Stoeckley also makes bullet-proof body armor and Guy Fawkes masks, which he sells to keep his truck up and running and in good condition. (Recently, a World Trade Center cement truck backed into his truck, and he had to replace a side door and windows.)

Together with Doctor Adventure, the two have expanded to make other “superhero armor” in an undisclosed studio space. Stoeckley is the painter, while Doctor Adventure, who is also a mechanic, makes body armor and prosthetics.

Stoeckley also claimed he has sidekicks and bodyguards. (We're pretty sure he was joking.) Together, they make up a group called the “Art Superheroes.”

“Any person who has ridden in the truck with me is an art superhero,” Stoeckley told the Daily Dot.

And, added Stoeckley, the Daily Dot, by virtue of publishing this article, is now an art superhero, too.

Letter to editor – Wage crisis secret report - Gold Coast Bulletin p.1

I write in response to today's story titled ‘Wage crisis has us all in struggle town.’ It is no secret that despite our city’s recent success in securing the rights to host the 2018 Commonwealth Games, there are those in our community right now who are doing it tough.

The Global Financial Crisis (GFC), the high Australian dollar, and a string of natural disasters earlier in the year have significantly impacted our two main industries, tourism and construction. With the Gold Coast unemployment rate at 6.7 per cent, which is higher than state and national averages, Council has been looking at every option to generate more employment opportunities for our residents - including efforts to establish a fly in-fly out scheme for local workers to take advantage of the resources boom.

In your article Midwood Report author Bill Morris has called on Council to attract new industries to the city to help diversify our economy. This is already being done. Through our Economic Development and Major Project Directorate, significant work has been undertaken over the past few years to reduce the city’s reliance on tourism and construction and sustain the Gold Coast’s future growth.

In 2009, during the height of the GFC, Council established its Investment Attraction Program aimed at luring new businesses to the Gold Coast. A report to be presented to the Economic Development and Tourism Committee today highlights that since its inception, this program has delivered more than 1400 new full time jobs and $175 million in direct investment in the city.

We are also working to increase capacity across a range of industries, including the education, medical and ICT sectors. Council recently undertook a feasibility study for establishing a link to an existing offshore fibre-optic cable between Sydney and Guam. This link would greatly enhance our attractiveness as a future ICT data hub for international companies and we are currently seeking funding support to progress the initiative.

To keep pace with future growth, the challenge facing the Gold Coast is to create 8,000 new jobs every year for the next 10 years, and while much has been achieved already, there is more to be done. However, with a raft of new developments recently approved, the light rail project, the cultural precinct and of course, the 2018 Commonwealth Games, the stage is set for a local jobs boom.

While this is cold comfort for those struggling to find employment right now, I am confident the city’s current economic malaise will soon pass.

Cr Susie Douglas
Chair of Economic Development and Tourism Committee
Gold Coast City Council

 

Victims of abduction: patterns and case studies [4/9/06]:

Although incidents of abduction/kidnapping are relatively infrequent compared with other types of crime, the recorded rate of kidnapping/abduction in NSW is markedly higher than that in other States.

In 2004, for example (the most recent year for which inter-state comparisons can be made), the recorded rate of kidnapping/abduction in NSW was 6.9 per 100,000 of population, compared with an Australian rate of 3.8 per 100,000 of population.

In order to provide further insight into this offence, the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) studied 238 reports of abduction [1] recorded by the NSW Police between January and June 2004.

The cases studied by BOCSAR suggest that, in cases of abduction, there is a large gap between public perception and fact.

Out of the 238 cases of alleged abduction reviewed by BOCSAR, only 57 per cent involved actual abduction.

Thirty-two per cent of victims experienced an attempted abduction, the experience of four per cent of victims did not concur with the legal definition of abduction, while in seven per cent of cases either no abduction took place or a false report was given to police.

In cases of actual abduction, strangers were the most likely perpetrators but they made up less than half (43%) of all offenders. The three dominant motives for actual abductions were sexual desire (35%), robbery (29%) and retribution (24%).

In cases of robbery involving abduction, victims are often abducted and forced to reveal their bank details so the offender can steal their money. Cases of retribution, on the other hand, often involve past or present intimate partners.

Only three cases of abduction for ransom were recorded. In two of these cases the offenders believed the victims owed them money and threatened to harm the victims and/or their families if the money was not paid by a certain date.

In the six-month period examined, five children under the age of 15 were abducted for sexual reasons. One of them was aged less than 10. A stranger abducted two of the children but the other two were abducted by someone known to them (in one case the relationship was unknown).

[1] This bulletin makes no distinction between the two types of offence.

At the beginning of the second week of the UN climate talks in Durban, Greenpeace activists and supporters along with other NGOs converged on the Global Business Day conference to name and shame The Dirty Dozen [1] carbon intensive industries who are helping stifle progress on agreeing a global deal to combat climate change.

Six Greenpeace climbers who peacefully occupied the World Business Council on Sustainable Development [2] conference were arrested during an attempt to hang a banner demanding “Listen to the People, not the Polluters”.

Life size puppets representing corporations, including Shell, Koch Industries and Eskom, which are pulling the strings of key world leaders, joined the protest. In particular they highlight links to including the US Congress, European Union President Barroso and Canadian Prime Minister Harper.

“Meeting in the shadow of the vital UN talks these dirty dozen companies should be ashamed of their role in undermining global talks to tackle climate change, to save lives, economies and habitats. Putting short-term private profit before public protection is morally repugnant,” said Kumi Naidoo, International Executive Director of Greenpeace International, from the gathering.

“Our political leaders need to close the door on dirty corporations who would celebrate failure in Durban, they must listen to the people and not the polluters. Our children and their children deserve nothing less.”

Despite the urgency of the situation, the overwhelming scientific consensus, as well as the groundswell of support from the public and progressive corporations for real action on climate change, expectations of any meaningful outcome from Durban are at best low.

“Greenpeace is calling on the politicians who hold the fate of our economy and environment in their hands here in Durban to listen to the people instead of polluting corporations like Shell, Eskom and Koch Industries,” said Tzeporah Berman, Co-director of Climate and Energy at Greenpeace International.

“Today we are naming the names of the Dirty Dozen who are holding us back from making progress on protecting the climate.”

The peaceful protest follows the launch of Greenpeace’s global report, ‘Who’s holding us back?’ [3] which details how carbon intensive industry is preventing effective climate legislation.

Speakers at the protest included Bobby Peek from groundWork, Jamie Henn from 350.org, Desmond D'Sa from SDCEA and Greenpeace spokespeople from several countries.

[1] Who are the dirty dozen? Download the report at www.greenpeace.org/dirtydozen

1. Jorma Ollilo, Chairman, Royal Dutch Shell

2. Lorraine Mitchell, CEO, Shell Canada

3. David Collyer, President, Canadian Association of Petroleum

4. Thomas Donohue, President and CEO, US Chamber of Commerce

5. Lakshmi Mittal, Chairman and CEO, ArcelorMittal

6. Jürgen R. Thumann, President, BusinessEurope

7. David and Charles Koch, Koch Industries

8. Marius Kloppers, CEO, BHP Billiton

9. Dr. Kurt Bock, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors, BASF

10. Jean-Guy Carrier, Secretary-General, International Chamber of Commerce

11. Jack N Gerard, President, American Petroleum

12. Brian Dames, CEO, Eskom

[2] World Business Council for Sustainable Development

[3] Who’s holding us back? www.greenpeace.org/whos-holding-us-back

Occupy Sydney plans to occupy outside Downing Centre Local Court tomorrow with sleeping bags and tents Occupy Sydney will be occupying outside Downing Centre Local Court tomorrow morning at 9am, in solidarity with thirteen Occupy Sydney participants who have been arrested for exercising their democratic right to protest.

Participants will be outside the court with camping gear including sleeping bags, tents and sleeping-mats to highlight what they claim to be an over-reaction by police in their crackdown on the ongoing Martin Place occupation.

“The occupation is designed to highlight the absurdity of the charges Occupy Sydney participants are facing, and the fact police are literally grasping at tent poles to find an excuse to shut down our peaceful protest,” said Occupy Sydney activist Marlaina Read.

Solicitors from Marsdens Law Group will defend the charges and fines, which were received mainly in relation to the violent eviction of Occupy Sydney from Martin Place by police on October 23.

To date, there have been 59 arrests arising from police attempts to shut down Occupy Sydney. However, despite suffering frequent harassment and intimidation from the police, and the ongoing legal action being faced, Occupy Sydney remains committed to continuing the occupation at Martin Place.

“Peaceful protest is not a crime. It is our right, and police attacking and arresting us will not silence us. As long as the greed of the 1% is put before the needs of the 99%, as long as profits come before humanity, Occupy Sydney will continue to fight for change,” said Rich Clements, Occupy Sydney participant and arrestee.

Our government is failing to uphold basic human rights: freedom of expression and the presumption of innocence. Occasionally people say: "I support Wikileaks, but I don't like Assange..." I think it's important to understand that we can't just defend the human rights of people we happen to like!

Organizers in Brisbane, Australia have scheduled the following events in support of Julian on December 5 & 6:

On Monday, December 5, Assange’s final extradition appeal and decision date, supporters will stand vigil from 11 am-1:30 pm, outside the Department of Foreign Affairs at 295 Ann St (cnr) Creek St Brisbane City.

If Julian’s appeal is denied, a rally will be held the following day, December 6, from 5:30-7:30 pm, at Brisbane Square (Reddacliff Place) – Top of the Queen St Mall, Cross the Road. Rally organizers have posted the following details online:

“December 5 is the date we expect to hear the outcome of Wikileaks founder and Australian Citizen Julian Assange’s FINAL APPEAL against extradition to Sweden to face politically motivated charges that are not a crime in either the UK or Australia.

“If extradited, Assange has no legal protection against his forward transit to the United States, where many believe he may face the charge of Espionage, which carries the death penalty. More likely, Assange may face disappearance into a military prison. Assange’s future appears dire.

“PM Julia Gillard has put her government’s relationship with the US above the welfare of this courageous Australian journalist, deliberately attempting to prejudice public opinion against Assange. This is unacceptable.

“Wikileaks showed the world what it is to wield the power of truth, exposing the war crimes and other heinous dealings our governments enact in our name. As a result, Assange has become an “enemy” – but we who support truth, justice and democracy know better than this.

“Not so long ago, Australians united to demand the freedom of David Hicks – an Australian tried by the US in a bogus military tribunal, imprisoned for 7 years and tortured – for actions that would not have been a crime under Australian law. The parallels between the role the Australian Government played in the Hicks case and the case of Julian Assange are stark. The role we played must be the same.

“If the worst case scenario eventuates for Assange, Australians must take a stand. We must launch a national campaign that does not end until Assange is free.

“FREE JULIAN ASSANGE!
HANDS OFF WIKILEAKS!
WE DESERVE THE TRUTH!”

Assange supporters in the U.K. are encouraged to attend the London vigil at the High Court on the morning of December 5 (organized by Veterans for Peace).

Dear supporters,

As you are currently reading this email occupiers in McPherson Sq (K St./15th St) are being threatened by the Park Police, Riot Police, and regular DC police. At noon police ordered to take down our structure that got donated by a father-son architect team, and was constructed together last night in the park. The structure will act as a gathering place for our general assemblies during the winter, where the people can exercise pure-unfiltered free speech. The police has taped and fenced of the structure, while around two dozen people are occupying the building and refusing to get of the roof. Police are refusing protesters from giving basic necessities to the occupiers in the building like water, food, and clothes. Hundreds have gathered already in the square and are watching the police arresting people, silencing theirs and yours freedom of speech.

Please show your solidarity to the movement by coming down the McPherson Sq. and defend our and yours freedom of speech that is being threatened in this nation for so long. Police might use aggressive force and tactics, so far they have brought in trucks, tractors, and fences. Police have also been reported wearing gas masks.

Occupy DC is now 64 days old and is the now the oldest non-stop Occupy encampment in the nation. If you can not make it you can watch our Livestream and follow us on Twitter at @OccupyKst and @Occupy_DC.

In solidarity,
Occupy DC

Song, dance and testimonials filled the air today outside the COP17 UN Climate Talks in Durban as 500 women from rural areas around Southern Africa [the Rural Womens Assembly] joined the Occupy COP17 movement. They implored negotiators inside to have the courage to act boldly.

Several protesters have been ejected from the national ALP conference for chanting anti-uranium mining slogans during Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Anthony Albanese's address.

After hearing negotiations had broken down Victorian nurses and midwives voted this afternoon to take their campaign to protect and improve patient safety to the community.

This afternoon's meeting at Festival Hall in West Melbourne endorsed a two-week schedule of more than 30 community rallies outside public hospitals across Melbourne and Victoria .

The first rally will be held outside the Royal Women's Hospital and Royal Melbourne Hospital this Sunday 4 December, between 12noon and 2pm in Grattan Street, Parkville. The rally will be attended by nurses and midwives, their families, patients and supporters.

The rallies will call on Premier Ted Baillieu to save and improve mandated nurse/midwife patient ratios and to stop asking nurses and midwives to trade patient safety for a pay rise.

Hospital Chief Executive Officers and Directors of Nursing/Midwifery will be invited to the rallies outside their hospitals to explain their position on ratios, shift lengths, split shifts, four-hour shifts, skill mix, replacing nurses with health assistants as part of the ratios, and wages.

Local State MPs, who have public hospitals in their electorates, will also be asked to put their position on safe nursing and midwifery levels and mandated minimum nurse/midwife ratios on the public record.

Australian Nursing Federation (Victorian Branch) Secretary Lisa Fitzpatrick said: "The Government negotiators staged a ‘breakdown' in negotiations last night to bait nurses and midwives into taking further industrial action that would pull the last forced arbitration trigger. Legally an arbitrated determination can't include ratios. Industrial action would also trigger Federal Court proceedings against nurses and midwives and the ANF.

"The community has a high stake in these negotiations and it's time to have a public debate about mandated minimum nurse/midwife ratios and what happens to patient safety when you don't have a guaranteed number of nurses or midwives looking after you and when hospital nursing budgets are eroded," Ms Fitzpatrick said.

"It is time the Government explained to the people who voted them in to fix the public hospital system, ramping ambulances and overcrowded emergency departments why ratio flexibility is a bankable productivity saving and what a cheaper nursing and midwifery and health assistant service will mean for patient care," she said.

"Nurses and midwives lifted their action last Saturday because they trusted Premier Baillieu's promise that he wanted a negotiated outcome and he wanted more nurses. After more than 380 hours of negotiations and document preparation it's clear Mr Baillieu doesn't want the dispute resolved unless he can replace nurses with health assistants and replace eight hour shifts with four hour shifts and split shifts," Ms Fitzpatrick said.

Members of the ongoing immigration detention network inquiry have seen and heard more graphic examples of damaged asylum seekers, this time at the Scherger detention centre in far north Queensland.

"This morning we've heard from a psychiatrist who, like other mental health experts before him, confirmed inadequate support services are available for detainees," inquiry deputy chair and Greens' immigration spokesperson, Sen. Sarah Hanson-Young, said today.

"No matter what the Immigration Department says evidence from this psychiatrist, the brave former nurse who spoke to Lateline last night and other insiders show the preventable harm caused by indefinite mandatory detention.

"The inquiry has already heard of the need for time limits on detention and for people to be moved into the community once they have been assessed as being safe to release."

Sen. Hanson-Young also said she hoped Immigration Minister Bowen's proposal to lift the humanitarian intake by expelling people to Malaysia or elsewhere will be defeated at the ALP national conference. [It wasn't. Dwindling democracy ever diminishing down under - Ed]

"Australia can and should be accepting 20-25,000 people under the humanitarian category, but never at the expense of resuming illegal off-shore assessments of asylum seekers," Sen. Hanson-Young said.