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Wednesday, January 26, 2022

On Tuesday, the day preceding Australia Day, the Australian government announced it had purchased the copyright to the Australian Aboriginal Flag for A$20.05 million.

The flag, created by Luritja man Harold Thomas in 1970, represents the connection Aboriginal people have to the land. It was adopted as a national flag in 1995, however copyright remained with Thomas. The flag could not be used without his approval or compensation.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison promised the flag would be treated in a comparable way to the national flag, which can be used by anyone so long as it is displayed in a “respectful and dignified way.”

Morrison promised: “All Australians can now put the Aboriginal Flag on apparel such as sports jerseys and shirts, it can be painted on sports grounds, included on websites, in paintings and other artworks, used digitally and in any other medium without having to ask for permission or pay a fee,”

“We’ve freed the Aboriginal Flag for Australians.”

Indigenous Affairs Minister Ken Wyatt said: “Over the last 50 years we made Harold Thomas’ artwork our own — we marched under the Aboriginal Flag, stood behind it, and flew it high as a point of pride,”

“Now that the Commonwealth holds the copyright, it belongs to everyone, and no-one can take it away.”

The commercial arrangements surrounding the flag were highlighted in 2019 after one of the clothing companies holding a licence for the flag, WAM Clothing, gave notices to the National Rugby League and Australian Football League, alleging jerseys worn at their Indigenous round infringed upon their copyright. At the time, Wyatt urged football fans to show their objections to the claim by clothing themselves in the flag. It is understood several other organisations were given similar notices.

Under the agreed deal, the government paid A$20.05 million to Thomas and licence holders to secure copyright and buy back the rights of licence holders. They have pledged to:

• transfer future royalties from commercial flag sales into a fund to support NAIDOC Week;
• establish a A$100 thousand scholarship in Thomas’ honour for Indigenous students to develop leadership skills;
• accept and display a painting by Thomas celebrating the flag’s 50th anniversary and the transfer of copyright;
• create a web portal for flag history and education.

Bangarang woman Geraldine Atkinson told Nine News she was “absolutely pleased” about the flag passing to the government, saying the news gave Indigenous Australians something to celebrate on Australia Day. Atkinson said: “When I read it, it was the first I’d heard about it, and I punched the air, I was so excited […] We’re not going to be celebrating the day, but we’re going to be celebrating our flag. We’re going to be celebrating that we can fly our flag, and wear it on our shirts.”

While Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe welcomed the news, she was wary about the deal, saying: “I’m concerned that the Commonwealth owns the copyright over our flag and what that means for the unceded sovereignty and the self-determination of our people […] We need to have genuine conversations about what it means for the Commonwealth to own the copyright of our flag and if any other models of community ownership were seriously considered. For the moment, this is a win.”

Labor Party Senator Malarndirri McCarthy said she would be scrutinising the deal during the Senate’s forthcoming budget estimates: “I look forward to scrutinising this deal and examining the details through Senate Estimates next month, in particular the copyright and custodianship of the flag”. McCarthy went on to state, “Scott Morrison and the Indigenous Affairs Minister need to also clarify where the money for this deal is coming from.”

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Eleven of the 25 workers at the Vestas factory in Newport, Isle of Wight, England who have been carrying out a sit-in since Monday July 20 have been sacked with immediate effect.

According to one of the protesters known as “Mike”, the occupiers were given their dismissal notices concealed under slices of their evening meal of pizza. The company said that the protesters have had ample opportunity to air their point of view, and had no choice but to sack eleven of the twenty five workers that they had positively identified; and that given that the fact that the action constituted a “fundamental breach” of trust, that the eleven would not be entitled to redundancy packages. A press release from the company said that Vestas “saw no other choice than to dismiss the 11 employees, who the company has positively identified as the employees currently participating in the occupation of the factory.”

The protesters remained upbeat, vowing to continue their occupation and have called upon the UK government to save the 625 jobs and to nationalise the Danish owned factory. Occupier Ian Terry told the BBC that if the occupiers are forced out, they plan to leave the building “peacefully”.

Vestas management were dealt a setback today in ending the occupation as Newport County Court ruled that the papers accusing the occupiers of aggravate trespass and requiring they surrender the office they occupy by July 29 were improperly served. The case has been adjourned until Tuesday August 4. In court, Judge Graham White said he was “distinctly uncomfortable” with what he perceived as Vestas’ effort to “get around the rules” in retaking the factory from the occupiers.

Legal representation for the Vestas workers had been offered by Bob Crow, secretary of the RMT trade union. Crow has pledged the “full solidarity” of the RMT and seven other unions with the workers occupying the plant.

Vestas management has also been providing the occupiers with hot meals in an apparent response to Crow’s announcement, made on July 24, that the RMT was planning on airlifting food into the factory by helicopter. Crow is meeting today with Ed Miliband, the Environment Minister.

Earlier in the week, Miliband pledged £6 million in funding to an expansion of Vestas’ Isle of Wight research and development centre, which currently employs 110 workers and could, said the Minister, be expanded to employ 40 more.

Rallies continued throughout the week in support of the Vestas occupiers. Since the occupation began, the Vestas workers have received declarations of support and solidarity from a wide swathe of the British left, including but not limited to: political parties Green Party, Respect, the Socialist Party, the Socialist Workers Party, the Alliance for Workers Liberty, and the Communist Party of Britain; the TUCG group, which brings together the BFAWU, FBU, NAPO, NUJ, PCS, POA, RMT, and URTU; and environmental groups Greenpeace, the Campaign against Climate Change, Climate Camp, and Workers’ Climate Action, who claims credit for initiating the campaign to occupy the factory. Attendees of the Big Green Gathering, a large annual environmentalist rally which was due to take place starting today but was suddenly canceled on Sunday, are being encouraged to go to the Isle of Wight and take part in support rallies for Vestas instead.

Speaking to Wikinews about the “red–green” coalition supporting the occupation, a spokesman for the Alliance for Workers’ Liberty said: “We think this struggle is important on at least three grounds — it is central to the struggle for jobs, it is central to the struggle for the environment, and it is central to the struggle for rebuilding the labour movement.”

Photographs shared with Wikinews by the occupiers show the occupiers, mostly young men, talking, carrying out everyday tasks, and keeping in touch with the outside world via mobile phones. The use of mobile telephones in the Vestas occupation has given the press remarkable access to the occupiers and provided an effective platform for relaying their demands and feelings to the media. In contrast, Vestas’s designated media contact for the United Kingdom is on vacation. Attempts to reach Vestas Newport factory manager Patrick Weir, whom a Vestas representative at the company’s Danish headquarters stated was handling press inquiries regarding the occupation, received no reply.

Vestas plans to close the factory on July 31, citing the difficulties of obtaining planning permission for wind farms in the United Kingdom. All blades manufactured at Vestas’ Newport plant are sent to the United States. 1900 employees of the company in Northern Europe face job losses, 625 of them in Vestas’s plants in the south of England.

Friday, November 9, 2007

Damir Voschion, 46, has reportedly killed five members of his family in Pula, Croatia on Thursday night around 7:00 p.m. CET (UTC+1). They were all killed by gunshots to the head. The victims include Damir’s two-month-old nephew, his seven-year-old niece, his brother, sister-in-law and then his father. The massacre took place in the family’s home.

Damir turned himself in to police after about an hour and confessed to them “I killed them all”. The bodies of the family have been transported to the morgue at the Pula General Hospital.

The motive for the massacre is not yet known, but there are theories that it might involve a property dispute between Damir and his brother. Neighbors say that Damir was a violent man and that at one time killed his brother’s dog with his bare hands.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Michael Jackson’s This Is It, a documentary film based on world-famous singer Michael Jackson rehearsing for his last tour before his untimely death, will be premiered in at least 15 cinemas in cities all over the world simultaneously.

The film is due to premiere on October 27 and October 28. The world cities may be in different time zones with different dates but they will all be premiering the film at exactly the same time. One such premiere location is Los Angeles, in the US state of California, which will have the film starting at 1800 PT. Another simultaneity is the Odeon Leicester Square cinema in London, England, which will start at 0100 GMT on October 27.

Other locations holding concurrent premieres are the South African city of Johannesburg, New York City in New York, German capital Berlin, Russian capital city Moscow, Japanese capital Tokyo, Australian city Sydney, French capital Paris, South Korean city Seoul, and Rio de Janeiro, a large city in Brazil.

Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009 aged 50, after suffering from a cardiac arrest. The movie will feature some of the rehearsal footage made in the weeks before his death. In total, there will be at least 25 cinemas premiering the film, but not all of them will be released simultaneously. Sony Pictures, the film production company, have yet to announce the other cities involved. Tickets for the film will be available to purchase from Sunday, September 27. The film is directed by Kenny Ortega, who previously directed all the High School Musical films. He also directed some significant Michael Jackson events, such as his This Is It concert and Jackson’s memorial service.

Jeff Blake, chairman of worldwide marketing and distribution for Sony Pictures, said: “Michael Jackson has an army of fans everywhere around the world… we are giving the audiences an incredible opportunity to join together in celebration of Michael Jackson’s incredible career.”

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Friday, August 10, 2007

Eight Hungarian migrant workers sacked from a Domino’s Pizza franchise in Derby, England are said to have taken home virtually no pay for months because of illegal deductions.

The claim is refuted by the company who said in a statement “We have begun a thorough investigation during which we have scrutinised the franchisee’s employment practices. This took place with his full co-operation. The franchisee concerned is confident that he possesses the evidence required to refute these allegations. To the extent that we have been informed of all allegations and have reviewed all available evidence, we also believe this to be the case.”

The sacked workers are being supported in their claim by the workers union Unite. The union say the “there appeared to be a deliberate strategy of keeping the workers in debt to the company through a series of crippling deductions. The deductions included payments to cover the contract purchase of a car from their employer, insurance for the vehicle provided through their employer, and exorbitant rent for substandard accommodation, again provided through their employer. In addition, some workers had to pay fees of up to £180 for an “introduction” to the company. One worker earned just £5 in four months because of the constant and hefty deductions out of his wage packet. When the workers protested they were sacked.”

Saturday, October 4, 2008

The U.S. Senate passed a revised bailout bill designed to help the struggling U.S. financial economy, which has measures nearly identical to the bill rejected by the U.S. House of Representatives on Monday.

“Senate Democrats and Republicans believe it is essential that we work quickly on this important legislation to restore confidence to our financial system and strengthen the economy,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

The new revisions include raising the FDIC insurance cap to $250,000, a move designed to please progressives. However, the $110 billion in tax breaks, earmarks and what has been called pork barrel spending is not offset by any increases in revenues and has added opposition to the bill from some Representatives in the House.

Earmarks added into the bailout bill included $192 million in tax rebates for the Virgin Islands rum industry, $148 million in tax cuts for the wool industry, $100 million tax cuts to the auto racing industry, and $48 million in Hollywood tax incentives.

Vice President of Taxpayers for Common Sense, Steve Ellis, offered his explanation for the pork and earmarks added in. “People who support some of these provisions will forget about the $700 billion and concerns they may have on that, and say, ‘If you give me a few million in tax breaks for my constituents, I’ll go along'”.

The tactic seems to have worked, however, managing to flip enough votes to pass the bill.

“The inclusion of parity, tax extenders and the FDIC increases has caused me to reconsider my position,” said Representative Jim Ramstad (R Minnesota), who voted against the previous bill on Monday. “All three additions have greatly improved the bill.”

But Representative Marcy Kaptur (D Ohio) was not changing her no vote. “I will not support this legislation because it’s the wrong medicine,” she said.

The Senate took H.R.1424, a bill originating in the House concerning “equity in the provision of mental health and substance-related disorder benefits under group health plans, to prohibit discrimination on the basis of genetic information with respect to health insurance and employment,” and extended it with the bailout provisions.

H.R.1424 was introduced on March 9, 2007, by Rep. Patrick Kennedy (RI-1) and had the support of First Lady Rosalind Carter. It is noted on the Congressional Website that “On 10/1/2008, the Senate passed H.R.1424 as the vehicle for the economic rescue legislation. In the EAS version of the bill (Engrossed Amendment as Agreed to by the Senate), Division A (pp.1-110) is referred to as the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008; Division B (pp. 110-255) is referred to as the Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008; and Division C (pp. 255-441) is referred to as the Tax Extenders and Alternative Minimum Tax Relief Act of 2008.” It was not treated as an appropriations bill in the House.

There were two votes in the Senate. The first was to amend H.R.1424, which required 3/5 to be accepted, which it was. The second was a vote on the bill. Passage of the Bill required only a 1/2 majority. It was passed with 74 yeas and 25 nays. Senator Kennedy did not vote.

Saturday, April 9, 2005

The Toronto Transit Commission is expected to strike Monday. The TTC workers union, the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113, rejected a deal offered by TTC management. They last went on strike in 1999. The average daily ridership exceeds 1.3 million passengers.

The city of Toronto has prepared to help deal with the forecasted traffic congestion by opening up free parking for car-pools at 14 city-owned community centres, banning parking on some city streets, and opening up some bus-only lanes to car-pools.

The initial deal, which was rejected, offered a 2% wage increase over five years. With a huge turnout the union-members voted against accepting the offer with a 99% majority according to a press release by the union. The union rejected the latest offer Friday reported to be a three-year contract with raises of 2.75 percent in the first year, three percent in the second and 3.25 percent in the third.

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Images of Pakistan International Airlines sacrificing a goat went viral on Monday as the beleaguered state-run airline resumed ATR flights. All ten ATRs in its fleet were grounded last week in the aftermath of a crash near Havelian earlier this month.

PIA ground staff ritually slaughtered the black goat beside an ATR-42, the same type of aircraft lost in the disaster. The move is thought to ward off bad luck in Pakistan. The ATR-42 was the company’s first ATR back in service following the crash. PIA said on December 15 they had chartered a Lockheed C-130 Hercules from the air force to resume cancelled services.

PIA Flight 661, an ATR-42 just under ten years old, crashed into mountainous terrain in the Abbottabad region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa two weeks ago. The crash killed all 47 on board and left burning wreckage strewn for several kilometres.

PIA still operate five ATR-42s and five ATR-72s. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) announced inspections on December 11. The airline expected disruption to flights to smaller airports. Flight 661 was heading to Islamabad, having taken off from Chitral on a domestic flight. The plane reported engine trouble and lost control before the crash.

PIA sacrificed the goat at Islamabad’s Benazir Bhutto International Airport, ahead of a successful test flight to Multan. PIA stated ground staff acted on their own volition and were not influenced by managers.

Another PIA ATR experienced troubles ahead of takeoff on December 11 and aborted the flight. The airline denied local media claims an engine caught fire. Pakistani media has claimed Flight 661 was operating with some known technical faults. The Aviation Herald reports receiving information to the contrary, and the airline also denies this.

The CAA has left decisions on returning aircraft to service at the discretion of PIA and ATR. A CAA letter to PIA expressed concern over engine failures at the airline, and accused PIA of “shortcomings in maintenance [and] quality assurance.”

The latest crash is the tenth time a PIA aircraft has been written off since 2000. Only one other such accident was fatal, the loss of PIA Flight 688 in 2006. Flight 668, a Fokker F-27, crashed on takeoff. The disaster killed 45. That accident also involved an engine failure and a loss of control.

The ATR-42 can carry up to 48 passengers. It is a twin-engine turboprop capable of using unpaved runways. PIA said the C-130 would be used for flights to Gilgit. With one ATR-42 declared airworthy as of December 15 PIA also said flights to Chitral could be expected to resume soon. A flight on December 15 using the C-130 was postponed by one day.

Chairman Azam Saigol quit on December 12 for what he said were personal reasons. He had been drafted in to replace Nasser Jaffer following controversy generated when crews staged strikes to protest planned privatisation. The airline loses around 12-to-15 billion rupees annually, with taxpayers making up the shortfall.

Saigol has been on PIA’s board since 2013. The company said it needed a chair since changing organisational structure under provisions in the Companies Ordinance of 1984. He became chairman in May and is a prominent industrialist nationally, heading up major organisations. Saigol had been working for free, PIA said on December 12 ahead of his resignation.

The government has offered his job to several candidates, all of whom have turned it down.

Another issue for the airline comes in the form of a recently-submitted notice in the Senate. Filed by the People’s Party of Pakistan, it describes an ‘illegal’ sale of a PIA Airbus A-310 to a German firm. Senator Saleem Mandviwalla said the jet had a valid certificate of airworthiness and originally went to Malta to be used in a film.

Mandviwalla said the plane ended up in the hands of a German museum and was sold without the PIA board’s consent. Federal Minister Muhammad Zubair said the aircraft was sold for for 290,000 euros despite being worth millions. Mandviwalla has called for a criminal investigation.

In the continuing Safety Investigation Board’s investigation into Flight 661’s crash, a team of French and Canadian experts from ATR reached Islamabad on December 12 and took forensic samples from the wreck site. The team, assisting the safety board, was also there to plan wreckage removal.

The crash site is remote, with conventional vehicular access ending several kilometres away. Rescuers had to walk the remainder.

PIA state the aircraft was maintained in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions, including engine changes. The airline also say the crashed plane’s engines were inspected, as standard, ahead of its final flight. An airline spokesperson asked journalists to refrain from speculating on the accident’s cause.

Bodies have been identified using DNA analysis, with at least sixteen returned to families. Identification was undertaken by the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS).

The dead included six members of the same family, leaving behind a fourteen-year-old girl. Haseena Gul is entitled to tens of millions of rupees (equivalent to hundreds of thousands of euros) in compensation and numerous people have come forward claiming to be her relatives; she had remained with a friend in Chitral to study while her family travelled to Islamabad.

Gul is currently receiving treatment from PIMS for psychological problems. “They will not let me study in Chitral,” she appealed to the government. “Please have me shifted to Islamabad where I can study and fulfil my parents’ dream.”

Also on board was Junaid Jamshed, a celebrated popstar who abandoned music in favour of preaching after joining Tableeghi Jamaat. Jamshed ran a nationally successful fashion business. His wife joined him on the flight. Other passengers included Osama Warraich, who was a senior civil servant in Chitral, and two infants.

On Monday, Flight 898 to Kuala Lumpur diverted to Karachi. A replacement aircraft reached its destination over four hours late. PIA denied media claims the original plane suffered bursts in its hydraulics, but did not clarify what had happened. Also on Monday Flight 764 from from Jeddah to Faisalabad arrived ten hours late. All 130 passengers had their luggage left behind; PIA said it could take up to two days before they were reunited with their belongings.

Thursday, November 22, 2018

On Monday, online rental firm Airbnb announced its intent to remove housing listings in Israeli West Bank settlements. The decision would likely affect about 200 properties within the coming days.

Airbnb said they made the decision because of the controversy surrounding the settlements, describing them as “at the core of the dispute between Israelis and Palestinians”.

The company stated: “US law permits companies like Airbnb to engage in business in these territories. At the same time, many in the global community have stated that companies should not do business here because they believe companies should not profit on lands where people have been displaced”.

Various human rights activists and Palestinian officials, critics of Airbnb’s West Bank listings for several years, lauded the announcement. Israeli leaders criticized the company and supported bringing legal action against it in US courts.

The Israeli Ministry of Tourism said they would act to limit Airbnb’s activity within the country. The office’s minister Yariv Levin also ordered the creation of a program aimed at boosting West Bank settlement tourism and accommodations.

Under international law, disputed by Israel, Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are illegal. The settlements have been a major obstacle in peace negotiations for the region. About 600 thousand Israeli settlers populate West Bank and East Jerusalem Israeli settlements.