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IN THIS ISSUE:
Euahlayi Peoples Republic (NSW) appoint Provisional Executive Council of State The Environment - OUR Environment - the "silent casualty" of warfare History - Perth 1931 Unemployed Worker Treasury Riots
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Sick of the poor choice between the barely concealed rightwing Neo-con media juggernaut on one hand or the unashamedlybiased to their viewpoint micro party socialistpropaganda kicking around on the other side of the fence we
have created RATBAG.
The aim of RATBAG is not to sway your thoughts one way or theother, it is to share some though provoking articles that areout there in circulation in the public domain and also tocreate a bit of space for the publishing original alternativecontent.
We wish to be inclusive of all, so please do feel free toemail us your article about what ever is on your mind!Political content is fine but RATBAG is not the organ of anypolitical grouping. Nor will be publish any hate-basedarticles and the like We suggest you call Howard Sattler.
CONTENTS:
Bio-Hazard: Water bottle chemicalrelase - and also the Enviropolution..
Euahlayi Peoples Republic (NSW)appoint Provisional ExecutiveCouncil of State
The Environment - OUR Environment- the "silent casualty" ofwarfare.
Oi Are you havin a laugh? Our
grandparents fought the facists,not for them!
A Riot right on St Georges TcePerth! 1931 Unemployed WorkersTreasury Riot
Last pageFunnies and randoms..
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Bio-Hazard: Water bottle chemical release - and also the enviro polution...Stop for just a minute - take a look around your desk at work or in the
fridge at home. How many bottles of water do you have? What will
happen to the bottles when you drink them? Will you recycle or will
they become fodder for junk removal? Is the bottled water any "better
for you" than what you are getting from the tap?
Australians spend more than half a billion dollars a year on bottled
water. Australia produced 582.9 million litres of bottled water in 2009-
10. Where does this water actually come from? It is true that some of
the sources or water are natural aquifers located in untainted
environments (In WA, the picturesque country town of Gin Gin is a
source of one brand of water) however several brands just filter ordinary
water supply authority tap water.
The deception occasionally also extends to claiming that the bottled tap
water is natural and organic. For example, Nature's Best Organic
owner Warren Peffer said his bottled water, sold in Franklins for up to$2.50 a bottle, wasn't claiming to be spring water. "It's tap water," he
said, defending the "organic" label. "People have a perception that it
means the water is a better standard or comes from a better source," he
said. "If I don't have it, I lose business."
Amazing, but true - bottled water is one of the most massive pollutants
in the world landfill - and one that is showing no signs of slowing down.
Even more astonishing is that bottled water is often times, due to a
release of chemicals from the plastic when heated (in moving or
storage), WORSE for you than any tap water.
Start thinking about how you are consuming and disposing of your plastic water bottles. Even more than the landfill
issues might be the health ones we're creating each day. Drink to your health? Research has shown that harmful
compounds can leach from plastics into the food and drinks that we consume
During the past five years, public awareness has slowly grown over concerns about compounds in some plastic
bottles and food containers. The compounds on which most concerns have focused are Bisphenol A (known as BPA),
which is used in tough polycarbonate products and epoxy resins that line tin cans, and a group of plastic softeners
called phthalates.
Research has shown that these compounds can leach from plastics into the food and drinks that we consume - more
so if they are heated to high temperatures, raising additional concerns about the kinds of plastics that are used as
containers in microwave ovens. So prevalent is BPA that tests by the U.S. Centers For Disease Control And
Prevention in 2004 found it in 93 per cent of urine samples taken from a group of 2,517 people.
Furthermore, a landmark report on BPA published in 2008 by the U.S. National Toxicology Program concluded that
there were concerns over BPAs effects on the brain, behaviour and prostate gland development in foetuses, infants
and children. It also found that because of the ratio of body weight to exposure, the highest estimated daily intake
of Bisphenol A in the general population occurs in infants and children.
Minuscule amounts can make an impact and many studies have found evidence that they affect the development of
foetuses in the womb. Scientists say that environmental oestrogen can act as an endocrine disrupter, which means
it can affect sexual development, leading to breast, prostate and testicular cancer, reduced levels of fertility, and
undescended testes. In polluted rivers, it has lead to fish and molluscs actually changing sex from male to female.
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Such concerns also extend to phthalates - there are 25 different kinds and several are already banned in childrens
toys in the EU and for certain types of food packaging. One fact that has been proven in tests in several developed
countries is that male fertility rates have fallen by about a half and rates of testicular cancer have soared since the
use of plastics became widespread after World War II. Is this a coincidence, or cause and effect?
Breast Cancer UK believes something is clearly wrong. It was at the forefront of a successful campaign to have baby-
feeding bottles containing BPA banned in the EU this year. Now it wants the ban extended.
So, were all drinking in good stuff like Bisphenol A, phthalates and the like and accounting for a 15c bottling cost,
that is a mark-up of more than 180,000 per cent for the privilage.Now for the data on the environmental impact!
Producing and delivering a litre of bottled water can emit hundreds of times more greenhouse gases than a litre of
tap water. Australia recycles only 36% of PET plastic drink bottles. Assuming the 582.9 million litres of bottled water
produced in 2009-10 is in litre bottles, according to these figures, 373 million of those bottles will end up as waste.
Approximately 52.5 million litres of oil was used in 2009-10 to produce the PET used to package bottled water in
Australia, excluding the energy used in transportation and refrigeration. Australias annual use of bottled water
generates more than 60,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions - the same amount that 13,000 cars generate over
the course of a year. Approximately 15,253.79 tonnes of PET3 was used in the packaging of bottled water in 2009-10. The bad news keeps on rolling... The manufacture of every tonne of PET produces around 3 tonnes of carbon
dioxide (CO2)5. In Australia, bottling water has thus created more than 45.7 thousand tonnes of CO2 in 2009-10,
excluding the significant amounts of CO2 produced in the transportation and refrigeration of bottled water.
More energy is used to fill the bottles, move them by truck, train, ship, or air, refrigerate them and recover, recycle
or discard the empty bottles. The Pacific Institute estimates that the total amount of energy embedded in the use of
bottled water can be as high as the equivalent of filling a plastic bottle one quarter full with oil. Therefore, more than
145.7 million litres of oil was used in the production, transportation, refrigeration and recycling/disposing of bottled
water in Australia in 2009-10.
Two Australian jurisdictions haveContainer Deposit Legislationthe
Northern Territory and South
Australia.In South Australia, which has
had Container Deposit Legislation for
many years, the plastic bottle recycling
rate is 74%.
The NT has only recently introduced CDL
however has had to fend off the united
Big Business beverage industrys attempt
to seek to have the NT GovernmentsCDL overturned and canceled via legal
grounds under the Commonwealth
Mutual Recognition Act 1992.
Fortunately, the NT Government won
and the scheme is being rolled out in the
NT.
A 2007 national Newspoll commissioned by Clean Up Australia found that of those polled, 82% support a CDL
scheme of 10c on bottlesyet beverage manufacturers such as Coke etc are unashamedly proud of successfully
blocking the container deposit scheme across the rest of Australia. The united Big Business beverage industrys tactic
is likely to have began to unravel as the he Council of Australian Governments (COAG) has begun steps towardsadopting a plan for a nationwide CDL scheme.
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Euahlayi Peoples Republic appoint their Provisional Executive Council of State
Media Release 29 October 2013 Goodooga, NSW
In our first ever sitting, we workshopped each of the portfolios and it was explained that each Executive Minister of
State now has responsibilities to achieve outcomes for the Peoples of the Euahlayi Nation.
Everyone understands the enormous challenges ahead but has concluded that this is what our ancestors would want
and our current generations need. We are no longer beggars in our country. We will no longer stand for Britishimposed dictatorship.
In asserting our right to govern, we as the Executive Council of State know full well that our first endeavour will be to
show true and inspired leadership. We have been silent for too long and now that we are truly beginning to
understand our rights under International law we will make very deliberate moves that enhances our ability to
govern in our way according to our Law and customs, combined with modernity, which we will adapt to our ways of
governing, including international human rights standards. This governance will be clearly spelt out in our
Constitution when it is presented to the Euahlayi populace for discussion. When we are satisfied, it will be out to a
referendum for the Euahlayi Peoples to vote on.
As for our relationship with the Commonwealth of Australia and its States, Territories and Great Britain, we adopt the
view that they are Foreign States who illegally invaded our Lands and Territories when they came here on their boats.
Our position is that any engagement with them in the near future will be done solely through Treaty, which we will
register with the United Nations for the world to see.
We have informed the United Nations Secretary General of our actions as we do anticipate rejection of our assertion
and right to self-determination, but as the Executive Council of State concluded, this is our liberation struggle and we
must accept the challenge.
This is our future and it is recognised in international law that we have a right to an identified nationality and
citizenship; we have a right to speak our language; we have the right to benefit from the natural occurring resources,
including all waters on, in and under our lands which will provide for the economic sustainability for our Peoples; we
have the right to control our airspace and we have a right to our spirituality, religion and ancient culture.
.
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This right of self-government is the core of the right of self-determination and are entrenched within the United
Nations Conventions and other General Assembly resolutions. We do not rely on the ambitions that are set down in
the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
It is our considered view that any policy decisions made by the Prime Minister for Indigenous Affairs and his
personally chosen Indigenous cohorts, will not be accepted as having any effects on and within the Euahlayi Nation
State.Our Declaration of Independence triggers the Act of State Doctrine and, as was determined in the High Court
Mabo Judgement (No. 2) the contest of sovereignty is not justiciable in the Australian municipal courts.
Having looked at the international laws, we understand the complex nature of the Australian and British assertion of
Territorial Sovereignty over our Lands, water and natural resources, but the fact that we have a clear and plain
boundary between the Euahlayi and other Aboriginal Nation States means ambiguity is of no concern.
The Australian and British claims to sovereignty are of a brittle skeletal framework. It is in the interest of the leaders
of the modern Australian State to now come to the table and negotiate, so that they can end confusion before they
lose sight of the real issues confronting them. Sitting silent, thinking that by ignoring what is happening beneath their
noses is but a pie in the sky dream, will be their failings.
All persons, be they Aboriginal, Non-Aboriginal, will be catered for in the new Euahlayi Peoples Republic. Changes willoccur, but future community consultations on the new State amongst the population and business houses will settle
any fears that peoples may have and answer their questions.
We must impress that one of the core tenets of our culture is to look after people and families.
At the Provisional Executive Council of State meeting of the Euahlayi Peoples Republic on Saturday the 26 October
various Ministerial Portfolios were allocated:Ghillar Michael Anderson was elected Head of State, Phillip Hall was
allocated Secretary of State, Angela Huston was allocated Treasury, Jason Dreise was allocated Environment and
Cultural Heritage, Peter Brockhurst was allocated Economic Development, Mining and Trade, Edgar Draper was
allocated Sport and Recreation, Dr. Mayrah Dreise was allocated Education, Language and Culture, Pam Touma was
allocated Tourism, Events and Gaming, Justice and Foreign Affairs is the responsibility of the Head of State, Eric
Fernando Jnr was allocated Health and Wellbeing, Stephen Forrester was allocated Post-Colonial Reconstruction,
Public Works and Infrastructure.
Contact: Ghillar Michael Anderson - 0427 292 [email protected] www.euahlayipeoplesrepublic.mobi Youtube link:http://youtu.be/g14AoLnpX1E
mailto:[email protected]://www.euahlayipeoplesrepublic.mobi/http://youtu.be/g14AoLnpX1Ehttp://youtu.be/g14AoLnpX1Ehttp://youtu.be/g14AoLnpX1Ehttp://youtu.be/g14AoLnpX1Ehttp://www.euahlayipeoplesrepublic.mobi/mailto:[email protected] -
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The Environment - OUR Environment - the "silent casualty" of warfare.On 5th November 2001 the UN General Assembly passed a resolution
declaring the from that year onward 6thNovember would be designated as
The International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in
War and Armed Conflict.
Traditionally in times of warfare and conflict, success had been gauged by
the number of dead and injured, together with the level of destruction to
cities and livelihoods. The UN felt that the time had come to consider
environmental issues that had previously gone unpublicised, but were still
significant victims of war.
These include water supplies that had been polluted, crops that had been
burnt or otherwise destroyed, forests that had been cut down, soils
poisoned and animals killed, all in the name of gaining military advantage.
A significant fact that was discovered by the UN Environment Programme(UNEP) was that since the end of World War II, 40% of all internal conflicts
have been linked to the exploitation of natural resources. These range
from high value resources such as timber, gold, diamonds and oil, to scarce
resources such as fertile land and water.
Conflicts involving natural resources have also been found to be twice as likely to recur in the future.
This is of particular concern to the UN and great importance is attached to ensuring that action on the environment
is an important part of conflict prevention, and building strategies to ensure an enduring peace. There is little hope
of any durable peace in a region if there has been destruction of the natural resources that sustain its ecosystems
and the livelihoods of its people.
Politicians will usually be very quick to justify going to war, but the fact remains that whatever its justification, war
will always result in untold misery and unspeakable horror for combatants and civilians alike. War can destroy in
minutes what has often taken generations to achieve and beyond the human suffering war can also be devastatingto the environment.
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A classic example was the Vietnam War. The Vietcong soldiers were skilled at moving around undetected by using
paths in the dense jungle. As a result they were able to conduct a guerrilla war against the US forces and remain
totally undetected.
The US military forces countered this by using a mixture of two herbicides known as Agent Orange, which was
sprayed on the forest from a height of 150 feet above the treetops. This had the effect of killing all the vegetation
that had provided cover for the enemy, as well as all their food crops. It was also highly dangerous to anyone who
came in contact with it and in 1971 its use was stopped, but by then it had been in use for ten years and irreparabledamage had been done.
It is estimated that the Vietnam War was eventually responsible for the destruction of 4.9 million hectares of forest,
or about 19,000 square miles, an area nearly two-thirds the size of Scotland.
It has also been estimated that during the 19 years
and 5 months of the war around 16 million tons of
munitions were used, creating more than 30
million craters. These craters blew away the topsoil
and disturbed the drainage patterns as they filled
with water. This water became stagnant and full ofdisease-bearing organisms.
Irreparable damage was done to wildlife, not only
by destruction of habitat but also as a result of
weaponry. Weapons aimed at the enemy not only
killed people, but large numbers of animals also.
Putting aside humanitarian considerations, the war
was an ecological disaster for the entire region.
Many species of animals and vegetation have been
greatly reduced and in some cases have becomeextinct.
Following the ending of the war the Vietnamese government has been making enormous efforts to replace the lost
forest and to restore the shattered country. These efforts have met with great success, but what a tragedy that they
have been necessary in the first place.
The International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict was established
to highlight the environmental consequences of war and to stress the importance of neither exploiting nor
heedlessly damaging ecosystems, simply in the name of pursuing military objectives.
The environment has been described the "silent casualty" of warfare.
Since time began, men have been developing evermore sophisticated and efficient ways of killing each other.
Although international treaties have banned some of the more dreadful methods, never has much consideration
been given to maltreatment of the environment during wartime, or to the consequences of its systematic
extermination.
Today's generation have responsibility for this safeguarding; if this is neglected, the next generation may find that
much of the environment as we now know it will have gone for ever.
Republished fromhttp://www.earthtimes.org/Michael Evans 06 Nov 2012
http://www.earthtimes.org/politics/preventing-exploitation-environment-war-armed-conflict/2239/
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Are you havin a laugh mate? Our grandparents fought the facists, not for themWhilst the Skinhead culture has virtually gone the way of the dodo in Australia, Unfortunately there still are a
number of deranged individuals scattered about who would love to see gangs of nazi skinheads insulting old ladies at
the bus stop, kicking over bins and of course racialy and physically abusing non whites.
Along with (addmittedly increasingly more multicultural) Bikies (THATS BIKERS MAAAN) loving the Blues Music
created in the aftermath of slavery in the US and A, the case is that the skinhead culture is actually a black culture.Well, more correctly, it is a subculture that was born in the UK from reggae-minded children of Caribrean immigrants
interacting with the Mod styled European brits.
Despite this multiracial / bi-racial start to the subculture, the skinhead subculture was of course largely co-opted by
racist nazi hoodlum types - the movie This Is Britaincaptures this period of transitional period well. As a result of this
co-option, these days for the average pleb the word skinhead definately conjures up images of the very nasty
Hando and his mates in the movie Romper Stomper.
Faceed with this situation, did all two tone anti-racist skinheads just grow out their hair, hop on down to Marks And
Sepencer and get a pair of loose fitting jeans and wish the nazis all the best?No. Many anti-racist skinheads stayed
on to take on the nazi skins via informal and socialist grouping based groups such as the RedSkins (Red = Socialist).
Along with thr RedSkins and many anti-racist skins being drawn to e.g. the UK Socialist Party, SHARP (Skinheads
Against Racial Prejudice) was started in New York City in 1987 by Marcus Pacheco & Stevan M as a way to show that
the skinhead subculture is not based on racism and political
extremism.
In 1989, Roddy Moreno of the Welsh Oi! band The Oppressed
visited New York City and met a few SHARP members. On his
return to the United Kingdom, he designed a new SHARP logo
based on the Trojan Reggae labels design and started
promoting SHARP ideals to British anti-racist mindedskinheads.
SHARP then spread throughout Europe and in other
continents. In the UK and other European countries, the SHARP
attitude was more based on the individual than on organized
groups. In the 2000s, SHARP is thought to have become more
of an individual designation than an official organization. And
from the loins of the SHARP movement, and again in New York
City, sprung RASH - Red and Anarchist Skinheads.
RASH includes redskins and anarchist skinheads. It was officially launched on January 1, 1993 by members of theMayday Crew, a left-wing skinhead and punk group based in the New York City area. The Mayday Crew was formed
due to in-fighting between members of New York City's Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice (SHARP) chapter, over the
murder of a homosexual man by anti-racist, yet right-wing, skinheads.
Shortly after the initial call went out for the formation of a network, chapters formed in other countries around the
world, mostly from existing left-wing skinhead crews. Whilst there will not be a Gundagai RASH or a Cloncurry SHARP
as in anti racist skinheads hanging out at the back of the town grocery store there are a number of active SHARP
and RASH in Australia.
Whilst there has been a global shift to the right that has unfortunatelty had a knock on effect of breathing some life
back into the far right (e.g. Golden Dawn in Greece,) the case is that our grandparents generation fought a WorldWar against the ideology of fascism and won. Wannabe Neo nazi skinheads out there need to wake up that they are
actually going against what the grandparents probably physically directly fought against.
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A Riot right on St Georges Tce Perth 1931 Unemployed Workers Treasury RiotAfter 17 years of standing idle and unused, the Perth Treasury Buildingthat big old building behind the Perth Town
Hallis going to be turned into luxury accommodation for the wealthy. Whilst this may seem to be a nice outcome
for this majestic old structure, and no surprise considering the location location location! On St Geo Tce and in the
CBD, it is a building owned by the good folk of Western Australia and there is a lack of accommodation for the
homeless.
Perhaps this should not be surprising in a State where straight after a 10 year long record mining boom the Lieberal
Government - supposedly such bloody great financial managers - is crying poor, sacking public servants by the score
and not building all of the planned levels on the new childrens hospital - which will also be privatized. Thanks guys.
But back to the Riot. Back in 1931 Australia and the world was in the throws of the Great Depression which
originated in the U.S., after the fall in stock prices that began around September 4, 1929. Australia's dependence on
agricultural and industrial exports meant it was one of the hardest-hit countries in the Western world. Falling export
demand and commodity prices placed massive downward pressures on wages. Good ole free market capitalism!
Times were toughUnemployment was over 30%.There were no new jobs on the horizon and also there was no
dole for the unemployed (Something that our dear PM Abbott wants to bring back for the under 30s of today) Evenbefore the Great Depression kicked off in September WA had an open problem - On 9 April 1929, the Daily News
reported that up to 120 unemployed were camped out on the nearly Esplanade , as they had nowhere else to go.
The effect of the wave of the Great Depression hitting WA swelled these numbers.Having to reply on a system of
meager handouts, the unemployed were also subjected to police harassment for vagrancy and were exposed to the
extremes of the weather. They would often return to the Esplanade in wet weather to find it flooded and the West
Australian of the time reported that ninety per cent of the men had no blankets, having sold them to buy food..
Marches of the unemployed became common, almost daily. Crowds sometimes several thousand strong would
assemble at the Esplanade, march to the destination of the daysometimes the Police Station, if one of the
unemployed had been arrested, and other times the Labour Bureau in Pier Street on weekday morningswhere they waited for jobs to be issued. On the 6th of March, the unemployed had had enough and went to go see
the Premier to demand three meals a day, shelter and free dental and medical attention (Fun times pre Medicare).
Although speakers exhorted the crowd to remain calm, about 2000 marched to the Treasury building, and lined the
road. In order to free the traffic, the police pushed them back, and the unemployed, resenting this, commenced to
fight. Several of the demonstrators, including those who had ad- dressed the meeting, were seized and hand- cuffed.
Reinforcements of police arrived quickly, and were received with hoots and jeering.
Pickets were torn from the fence of the Government gardens, and the unemployed attacked the police. Mounted
Police, however, took command, and rode the rioters down, but In the struggle two troopers were torn from their
saddles. Police casualties were mainly confined to cuts and bruises, though one constable had nose broken.
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THE so-called students behind yesterday's riot should be ashamed. Peaceful protest is a cornerstone of democracy
but assaulting police with punches and bombarding them with shoes is selfish, juvenile and criminal. Dozens of
officers also had to be diverted from the critical work of keeping the community safe due to this violent action. This
ragtag bunch of hardcore socialists and rabble rousers with an over-inflated sense of entitlement do not representthe broad student community they protest in the name of. The casting of this motley crew is as predictable as ever -It
would be reasonable to expect some would boast the Occupy Melbourne and G20 riots on their CVs. It is likely some
are not even students, simply professional agitators and nuisances who draw their income from benefits paid for by
the taxes of hard-working Australians. Also perplexing is that the intellectual basis of their protest is flawed. While
the vitriol was directed at the Abbott Government it was the Gillard administration which took the decision to slash
university funding which they were so angry about. All available CCTV footage should be reviewed in order that
anyone breaking the law is prosecuted in the courts and feel the full force of the justice system.
.
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