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Former Greens leader Bob Brown explains why he supports Green Left Weekly as the alternative to the Murdoch press.

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The mainstream media force their elitist ideas on audiences from the boardroom down. But Green Left is people-powered media, shaped by its audience.

As the multi-award-winning journalist - and strong Green Left supporter - John Pilger puts it: “Truth comes from the ground up, almost never from the top down.”

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Michael Arnold was born in country Victoria. He became politically active in Perth when he was 15. This was when he joined the socialist youth organisation Resistance and the Democratic Socialist Party.

When he was in his twenties, Arnold became active in the Harm Reduction Movement. He set up Rave Safe in Melbourne in the 1990s and produced a magazine called Flying Frequencies for the Harm Reduction Movement.

Arnold was also active in community radio, producing a program for Harm Reduction on 3CR Community Radio, and being a DJ on PBS.

Green Left Weekly issue #864 will be our final issue for 2010 as we take a break in production of the hard copy of GLW over the holiday period. The next hard copy edition of GLW will be dated January 26. However, we aim to continue updating this site with news and analysis where possible and necessary over this period. We thank all our readers for your support and wish you the best for holiday season.

BP abolishes safety ombudsman

“BP is disbanding the external safety ombudsman it set up after a fatal explosion at a company refinery in Texas in 2005 despite a growing number of concerns raised by the oil company’s employees.

“More than half the issues raised since the office was established in 2006 relate to BP’s operations in Alaska.

“BP said it would not extend the office’s tenure beyond June.

“The move comes less than a fortnight after the company announced it was setting up a new internal safety function, led by its head of safety and operations, Mark Bly.

Report: unions key to wellbeing

A new report has found that trade unions improve the general well-being for union and non-union citizens in several industrialised countries, an October 7 InTheseTimes.com article said.

The findings, which appear in the September issue of Social Indicators Research, “highlight a link between union density and life satisfaction based on data from fourteen developed nations”, the article said.

Australia role in Israel’s demolition?

GLW is taking a break. Our next printed edition will be dated September 1 (and published online on the evening of August 29).

However, the Green Left website will be updated after August 21 with news and analysis of the federal election outcome.

Visit Green Left and please consider taking out an e-subscription so we can continue to bring you an independent voice.

The article “Aboriginal embassy to appeal decision” (GLW #848) included the sentence: “The developer [Stockland] refused to consult the Aboriginal community about the development [at Sandon Point near Wollongong Illawarra], although it was a requirement in the preparation of the Sandon Point Environmental Assessment Report.”

Over-fishing threatens caviar

“Lovers of fine food face a shortage of Beluga caviar that may last more than a decade. Eurasian states are discussing a ban on catching sturgeon in the Caspian Sea.

“Over-fishing has reduced the population of the fish that produces the delicacy by 90 per cent.

“It has pushed the price up nearly sevenfold to $14,340 per kilogram, or $1434 for enough to make a sandwich.

“The Caspian Sea is home to four-fifths of the sturgeon bearing the most sought after varieties of caviar ...