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25,000 Ducks Gassed to Death in Australia for Fear of Avian Virus Outbreak

EU Times — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:29:00 +0000

A government biosecurity officer at Golden Duck Farms in Victoria after birds tested positive for avian influenza.

A national disease emergency plan has been activated to prevent an outbreak of deadly bird flu in Australia after the discovery of infected birds at two free-range duck farms north of Melbourne.

All 25,000 ducks on two Golden Duck Farms properties at Gisborne and Mickleham were being gassed to death last night and today using carbon dioxide, in a pre-emptive effort to protect the $2.4 billion national poultry industry.

Victoria’s chief veterinary officer Andrew Cameron said the discovery of the low pathogenic avian influenza virus on the duck farms posed little current risk to humans.

But he said the outbreak held the potential to become “a significant human health issue” because of the tendency of the virus, which can be passed between birds and humans, to mutate into highly virulent sub-strains.

“That is why we had to take this step to destroy all the ducks now because if it (the virus) got into chickens, it could soup up very rapidly and become highly pathogenic,” Dr Cameron said.

“And that is not just a threat to the poultry industry, which we want to be able to continue to say is avian influenza-free, but to humans because (a mutation) could cause disease in people.”

Government biosecurity officers in full protective clothing were at work on both farms last night, carrying chemical drums to the duck sheds where the birds were to be destroyed.

It is the first confirmed outbreak of the infectious avian influenza virus in Australia since 1997, and the first in a commercial duck flock.

It is not yet known how the virus infected the Victorian farm ducks, but wild ducks are considered a possible source.

The duck farm virus is of the H5 subtype. But Australia’s Chief Veterinary Officer, Mark Schipp, stressed it was not the high pathogenic H5N1 strain that has killed millions of poultry and 350 people worldwide since 2003, when its transmission from birds to humans first became evident.

In Australia, there have been no cases of H5N1 avian influenza found in either birds or humans.

An emergency meeting of the national Consultative Committee on Emergency Animal Diseases last Friday approved a mass cull of all ducks on the two Golden Duck farms as the only option, after the positive disease tests for the virus were confirmed.

The Mickleham and Gisborne farms have been placed in strict quarantine isolation, forbidding movement of all birds, vehicles and people in and out of the properties unless under strict government supervision.

Dr Cameron said that according to the nationally agreed emergency animal disease response strategy for low and high pathogenic avian influenza outbreaks, all ducks were being destroyed, their bodies disposed of on-site, and the two farms disinfected and decontaminated.

All chickens or ducks on properties within the restricted zone on Melbourne’s semi-rural fringe are being urgently tested for avian influenza, including a commercial chicken-meat farm across the road from the New Gisborne duck farm. Test results so far have been negative, but Dr Cameron said it would be premature to declare the outbreak contained or the virus eradicated. He said it was heartbreaking for the duck farmer involved, since the ducks do not show any symptoms of the avian influenza virus.

“But the flock destruction has to be done, it is the nationally agreed approach for the good of the entire national poultry industry.”

Duck farmer Henning Skallebaek, who could not be contacted yesterday, will be compensated by the federal government and the poultry industry for the loss of his 25,000 ducks.

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Megaupload.com Shutdown, its Founder Arrested

EU Times — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:29:50 +0000

Federal prosecutors in Virginia have shut down one of the world’s largest file-sharing sites, Megaupload.com, and charged its founder and others with violating piracy laws.

The indictment accuses the company of costing copyright holders more than $500 million in lost revenue from pirated films and other content. The indictment was unsealed Thursday, one day after websites shut down in protest of two congressional proposals intended to thwart the online piracy of copyrighted movies and TV programs.

Megaupload.com has claimed it is diligent in responding to complaints about pirated material.

The indictment says that at one point, Megaupload was the 13th most popular website in the world. sfgate.com

The Electronic Frontier Foundation, which defends free speech and digital rights online, said in a statement that, “This kind of application of international criminal procedures to Internet policy issues sets a terrifying precedent. If the United States can seize a Dutch citizen in New Zealand over a copyright claim, what is next?”

Highlights

In what the federal authorities on Thursday called one of the largest criminal copyright cases ever brought, the Justice Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation seized the Web site Megaupload and charged seven people connected with it of running an international enterprise based on Internet piracy.

Four of the seven people, including the site’s founder, Kim Dotcom (born Kim Schmitz), have been arrested in New Zealand, the authorities said; the three others remain at large. Each of the seven people – who the indictment said were members of a criminal group it called “Mega Conspiracy” – is charged with five counts of copyright infringement and conspiracy. The seven each face a maximum of 55 years in prison.

Coming just a day after civil protests in the United States over proposed antipiracy bills, the arrests were greeted almost immediately with digital Molotov cocktails. The hacker collective that calls itself Anonymous attacked the Web sites of the Justice Department and several major entertainment companies and trade groups in retaliation for Megaupload’s seizure. The Justice Department’s site and several others remained inaccessible for much of Thursday afternoon. nytimes.com

As part of the crackdown, more than 20 search warrants were executed in the United States and in eight other countries. About $50 million in assets were also seized, as well as a number of servers and 18 domain names that formed Megaupload’s network of file-sharing sites. mediabistro.com

On Wednesday, Google and Wikipedia joined dozens of sites in political theatrics by blacking out some content and explaining their arguments against the laws. nytimes.com

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Cargo Ship Sinks in New Zealand’s Worst Environmental Disaster

EU Times — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 22:51:20 +0000

The grounded cargo ship Rena slips off the reef after its hull split into two, caused by heavy swells, in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand.

One half of a cargo ship that ran aground on a New Zealand reef three months ago has started sinking into the ocean.

The stern section of a stricken cargo ship is slipping off a New Zealand reef where it has been stuck for three months and is sinking, authorities said, complicating salvage efforts in one of the nation’s worst environmental disasters.

The rear section of the 47,230-tonne Liberian-flagged Rena, had moved to the edge of the reef, about 22km (12 miles) off Tauranga on the east coast of New Zealand, where it has been wedged since early October, and is almost totally under water.

“The foremost part of the stern was still sticking up out of the water, with the rest – including the bridge – submerged,” Maritime NZ said in a statement on Tuesday.

A tug has a line attached to the stern to stop it drifting into shipping lanes. The water around the sinking section is up to 30 metres deep, which experts have said previously would make salvage operations more difficult.

The bow section of the 236-metre (775-foot) ship is still upright and wedged on the reef.

The Rena finally broke in two on Sunday after being pounded by waves of up to 6 metres (20 feet), spewing more oil and more than a hundred containers into the sea.

Maritime authorities and salvage crews had removed most of the thick, toxic fuel oil and nearly 400 containers from the ship, which ran aground in calm conditions on 5 October. But fuel and cargo have continued to leak in rough seas, causing New Zealand’s worst environmental disaster in decades.

A large amount of cargo – timber, plastic, and bags of milk powder – has washed up on beaches as far as 60km from the ship, and more than 20 containers have washed up on a nearby island.

Some have been tagged with transponders and the New Zealand navy is scanning the area with sonar to ensure nearby commercial operations at the Port of Tauranga, the country’s biggest export port, are not interrupted.

Thousands of birds were killed by the earlier spill and it has taken months to clean up the shore in an area popular with holiday makers and surfers .

The Rena’s captain and navigation officer, both Philippine nationals, have been charged with operating a vessel in a dangerous manner, and releasing toxic substances, which carries a maximum fine of NZ$300,000 (£152,000), or two years in prison.

They also face charges of attempting to pervert justice by allegedly altering documents after the grounding.

They are due to appear in court again next month.

The vessel is owned by Daina Shipping, a unit of Greece’s Costamare Inc. and was under charter to Mediterranean Shipping.

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Outbreak of rare deadly disease in Australia

EU Times — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 12:59:33 +0000

It is called Murray Valley encephalitis, it is very rare, it can infect humans, it is deadly and it has been found among chickens in Australia’s New South Wales State, in the first appearance since the 1970s. The population in the areas infected in this State and the State of Victoria is being warned to protect itself.

Murray Valley encephalitis is more commonly found in north-western Australia but has been seen before in the south-east after rainfall. It is a mosquito-borne disease and has been found in birds which were placed in high-risk areas – part of Australia’s early warning system. High-risk areas for humans are wetlands and areas near rivers. The insect in question is the common banded mosquito, Culux annulirostris.

The symptoms of the disease are similar to meningitis and include a temperature and severe headache, stiffness of the neck, confusion and sleepiness, photophobia, nausea and vomiting. Symptoms last for a few days usually and the patient makes a full recovery. Only one per cent of those infected feel the symptoms, and a small percentage of these die. There is no specific treatment – patients with severe symptoms are treated in hospital, sometimes in Intensive Care Units.

Local sources point towards the outbreak among flocks of chickens in the southern and western regions of the Australian State of New South Wales. The “sentinel” chicken flocks had been strategically placed as part of an early warning system within easy reach of the NSW border town of Moama and the town of Echuca in the State of Victoria.

The last time a serious outbreak of the virus appeared was in the 1970s, when there were around 70 cases reported. Since then there have been very sporadic cases among humans. Mainly a virus that attacks birds, humans can also be infected if a mosquito carrying it bites, and can infect other humans from the blood of a person infected. 99% of victims do not feel any symptoms at all – one per cent can feel poorly and a small percentage of these can die. Last Summer one person in NSW was infected without symptoms, the other had very mild symptoms and recovered.

The conditions in which Murray Valley encephalitis, or MVE, appears are also propitious for other fatal diseases carried by mosquitoes such as Barmah Forest virus or Ross River fever. In times of global warming, such unheard-of viruses could become endemic in heavily populated areas of countries where such diseases have not yet been seen.

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Australian Banks Given One Week To Prepare For European Meltdown

EU Times — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 11:33:14 +0000

Whereas previously we had heard extensive horror stories about banks being told to prepare for the end of the world in case the European summit (the latest and greatest one from last Friday which was supposed to find a cure for cancer among other things) failed, and even went so far as to read about preparations for trading in the drachma on a when issued basis, once the summit passed (and it was clear that media posturing would do nothing to fix what has already been a failure and it would be best to remove the threats of “reality” from the public’s attention) all such “end of the world” speculation promptly disappeared – after all why remind people that things are now worse than ever. Until today. According to the Australian Finance Review (link – subscription required), banks down under “have been given 1 week by regulators to stress test how they would handle a spike in joblessness, plunge in home prices spurred by EU debt crisis.” Aka a European “Meltdown.” And since we don’t have immediate access to the article, we leave it to Bloomberg First Word to describe for us what the article says:

* Australian Prudential Regulation Authority envision worst-case scenario of 12% unemployment, 30% drop in house prices, 40% fall in commercial property values, AFR says
* Banks will assume that write-offs, other mitigation measures are unavailable; later stress tests might allow for such steps, AFR says
* Australia’s banks have A$87.2b of exposure to Europe, or 2.7% of assets, with A$74.6b of it mostly tied to bank borrowers in France, Germany, Netherlands, AFR says, citing RBA statistics

Why is this notable? Because unlike before, when media reports were really a propaganda ploy to get European politicians to collaborate (what has now proven to be an impossible task), and nothing but a rhetorical device, this time around, the warning is for real. And, more importantly, we have a sense of urgency, courtesy of the 1 week deadline: the question then is is it really that bad, and does Europe truly have a little over a week for global banks to prepare for the inevitable fall out?

Lastly, how long until our own prudent leaders decide it may be time to push the Stress Test scheduled for next year forward, just in case the “unthinkable” does happen, and US banks end up getting stampeded even as the rest of the world is already prepared for a worst case scenario?

We are confident Tim Geithner will get right back to us asap on all of these open items.

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Australian Police criticised after tent dress torn off Occupy protester

EU Times — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 22:43:30 +0000

Police have been criticised after tearing a tent being worn as a dress by an Occupy Melbourne protester.

The Ethical Standards Department is investigating a physical assault complaint over an incident in which police stripped an Occupy Melbourne protester down to her underwear.

The incident happened in the Flagstaff Gardens this morning when police moved in to remove tents being worn by a couple of protesters.

Disturbing video of the exchange has been posted on YouTube. See above: Strong language warning

Victoria Police released a statement this evening revealing the Ethical Standards Department was investigating the incident after receiving a complaint.

”The Ethical Standards Department has subsequently received a physical assault complaint in relation to this incident and is investigating. As this investigation is ongoing we will not be commenting further.”

The footage appears to show a council worker being handed a knife by police to cut the tent from the woman – identified as Sarah, 20, who begins to struggle.

“This is not consensual,’’ she says as police work to tear the tent off her body. “Don’t take my clothes off.’’

After a minor scuffle police are filmed walking away with the tent, leaving the distressed woman semi-naked and cowering on the grass.

Police said they advised protesters that if they chose not to wear clothes under the tents, they would be given reasonable time to dress before the structures were seized.

”Three of the four protesters co-operated and evacuated their tents. The fourth, a female, refused to comply with direction,” police said.

According to Occupy Melbourne spokesperson Tal Slome, “Sarah” was just out of high school and was “extremely distressed” by the incident.

Ms Slome said Sarah had been wearing the tent as a costume and said police stripped her knowing she was wearing nothing but underwear underneath.

And she claimed there were eight police officers involved including a female officer, who had for some reason targeted Sarah among two other “tent wearers”, cutting the tent off with a knife.

Ms Slome described the incident as a “completely unnecessary form of brutality. Who decides what constitutes clothing in our society?”

Occupy Melbourne earlier released a statement this morning condemning police for their behaviour.

“This morning at 8:45am a peaceful Occupy Melbourne Protester was violently stripped of her protest costume and discarded on the ground in her bra and panties,” the statement reads.

“The individual in question was part of the Occupy Melbourne protest and was dressed in a protest costume made from a converted tent. The significance of the costume was to highlight restrictions placed on protesters staging a 24/7 protest in Flagstaff Gardens.

“The protester was surrounded by at least four Melbourne City Council officers and eight Victorian police officers.

“Her movement was restricted by the formation of officers surrounding her and she was subsequently restrained as officers proceeded with aggressively removing her costume.

“At each stage she declared that she did not consent or feel comfortable with the actions of the council and police officers, stating that this was a sexual assault.’’

“Her requests and declarations were ignored as officers continued to rip and jostle her costume and person. A knife was requested and used by MCC Officers as the Protest Costume was cut from her body.

“The remaining severed costume was violently torn from her body while the protester herself was discarded, semi-naked and crying on the ground as Vic police and MCC officers walked away with the costume.”

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China reacts to Australian move to sell uranium to India

EU Times — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 11:03:03 +0000

A day after Australia’s ruling Labor reversed its policy of not selling uranium to India, China on Monday gave a guarded response to the move, saying all countries are entitled to peaceful use of nuclear energy.

“China always believes countries are entitled to peaceful use of nuclear energy and at the same time they should fulfill the international obligations of nuclear non-proliferation,” foreign ministry Spokesman Hong Lei told a media briefing here.

His remarks came when his reaction was sought on Australia’s ruling Labor party’s reversal of its longstanding policy of not selling uranium to India on the ground that it had not signed the Nuclear non-Proliferation Treaty.

Delegates at the Australian Labor Party’s (ALP’s) national conference in Sydney on Sunday favored Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s decision to open up uranium sale to India despite the country being a non-signatory to the NPT.

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Australia deprives Tobacco Giants of their Brands

EU Times — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 21:42:28 +0000

Australia is introducing a single design model for cigarette packs of all the brands sold in the country. The respective law has been adopted by the country’s parliament, and after approval by the Governor-General it may come into force. Tobacco corporations have already sent their representatives to courts, and a number of countries are observing the attempt to null the cigarette brands.

Australia is delivering the final blow to cigarette smoking. Only 17% of the adult population is smokers, and if the youth will not be involved in smoking, and the flow of migrants will be monitored, this habit will soon become a rarity on the continent.

Despite the apparent well-being, the Australian authorities are uncompromising in their attitude towards tobacco workers and are quite successful in their anti-tobacco campaign. According to the adopted law, all packaging will be of dark-olive color, the brand names must be written in the same font and placed in a clearly defined place. Horrible pictures and warnings will occupy 75% of the front of the packaging and 90% of the back.

Incidentally, similar requirements regarding packaging design were discussed in other Commonwealth countries (New Zealand, Canada and Britain), but those countries have not yet decided to take this step. The Australian experience can be crucial.

“We know that for tobacco companies packaging is one of the last powerful marketing tools, helping to attract new smokers to consuming their deadly products. In the future, a pack of cigarettes will only serve as a vivid reminder of the devastating consequences of smoking to health,” Health Minister of Australia Nicola Rokson explained the logic of the initiators of the Law to BBC.

After the adoption of the law by the Senate tobacco company Philip Morris informed the public that a court would require Australia to repeal the law on the introduction of a standard design for all brands of cigarette packs. A lawsuit was filed by the Asian subsidiary of Philip Morris. Tobacco companies still have time as the law will come into force in December of 2012.

According to the company representative Enna Edwards, the company appealed to the court because the government failed to explain the need to unify cigarette packs to counter the spread of smoking. Philip Morris Asia speaks about possible claims of several billion dollars.

“The new packaging robs Philip Morris, denying us the ability to differentiate our products from the brands of competitors, thereby significantly reducing the cost of Australian investment of Philip Morris”, said the representative of the tobacco giant. Thus, he acknowledged that the goods from various manufacturers, that is, cigarettes, do not differ in their characteristics.

However, tobacco companies do not always suffer defeat. In the U.S., this Mecca of tobacco control, the court of District of Columbia allowed U.S. tobacco companies not to use frightening images on packages.

Judge Richard Leon ruled that the requirements are an attempt to place official mini-billboards and represent an anti-smoking campaign, rather than an attempt to inform. The illustrations evoke emotion, which, in conjunction with the text, provoke a consumer.

Lobbyists of tobacco companies almost always operate at a high level, demonstrating the sophistication of the Jesuits to promote products. The “anti-fire” initiative of the European Union conducted on the World Day of Quitting Smoking may even increase the number of cigarettes smoked by the Europeans. In Europe only self-extinguishing cigarettes are allowed for sale. They will extinguish if the smokers do not inhale.

Since smokers will have to inhale more, tobacco use will increase. However, according to official data lung cancer kills more people than cigarette fires. Self-extinguishing cigarettes are expensive in production, and their price will increase by 10-20 cents.

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Strange Brinicle Beneath the sea in Antarctica, destroys everything in its path

EU Times — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 20:23:24 +0000

The icicle of death: The brinicle can be seen extending towards the seabed. Slowly it grows bigger over time as more water freezes around it

An underwater ‘icicle of death’ which sinks to the seabed destroying everything it comes into contact with has been caught on camera for the first time.

The sinking brine is so cold that it causes the seawater to freeze around it.

BBC film crews recorded the brinicle for the first time ever as it sunk to the bottom of the sea in Antarctica.

When it hits the seabed, a web of ice spreads killing sea urchins and starfish.

The remarkable underwater footage was filmed for Frozen Planet on BBC One using timelapse technology.

The ‘icicle of death’ grew so rapidly towards the seabed that teams could see it advancing before their eyes. Brine falls to the surface as it is a lot more dense than seawater.

When the seawater freezes as it comes into contact with the brinicle it is a lot more spongelike than normal ice.

They are usually found in the Antarctic when saline water is introduced to the ocean.

Remarkable broadcast moment: The ice begins to expand outwards. The brine is a lot more dense than seawater so sinks to the bottom. It is also a lot colder - causing the freezing

Touchdown: The brinicle reaches the ocean floor. Starfish can be seen. Often the brinicles break up before they become so large

The remarkable footage was filmed underwater in temperatures of -2C by BBC cameramen Hugh Miller and Doug Anderson at Little Razorback Island, near Antarctica’s Ross Archipelago.

Mr Miller said the sinking brine grew rapidly before their eyes.

Killer: The ice floods outwards across the ocean surface rapidly, destroying everything in its wake

Destruction: The starfish are frozen by the ice as it expands outwards

‘It was a bit of a race against time because no-one really knew how fast they formed,’ he told BBC Nature.

‘The one we’d seen a week before was getting longer in front of our eyes… the whole thing only took five, six hours.

‘I do remember it being a struggle. All the kit is very heavy because it has to sit on the sea bed and not move for long periods of time.’

Although the existence of brinicles has been known since the 1960s, it is the first time it has been caught on camera.

Frozen Planet was screened at 9pm on Wednesday November 23 on BBC One and is available on iPlayer.

Broadcasting feat: Although the existence of brinicles has long been known it is the first time they have ever been caught on camera

Seabed spread: When the seawater freezes as it comes into contact with the brinicle it is a lot more spongelike than normal ice

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Closer US-Australia defence ties irk China

EU Times — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 22:58:55 +0000

Obama meets with Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and announces a permanent military presence in Australia beginning next summer.

Communist Party paper attacks Obama’s plan to deploy up to 2,500 troops and boost air force co-operation with Canberra.

China has reacted angrily to remarks by Barack Obama signalling a significant shift in US policy vis-a-vis Asia.

The US president has pledged not to let his country’s budget crisis compromise its strategic vision and military presence in the Asia-Pacific region.

His commitment came a day after the US said it would deploy up to 2,500 troops to northern Australia and strengthen air force co-operation, causing a strong reaction from China, whose rapid rise is reorienting Asia’s strategic balance.

In a message aimed both at a region he sees as vital to the US economic future and politicians at home, Obama told the Australian parliament in Canberra on Thursday the Asia-Pacific was too vital to fall prey to US penny-pinching.

“As the United States puts our fiscal house in order, we are reducing our spending,” Obama said, cautioning that reductions in funding for the US military machine were inevitable after years of huge spending in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“Here is what this region must know. As we end today’s wars, I have directed my national security team to make our presence and missions in the Asia-Pacific a top priority.

“As a result, reductions in US defence spending will not – I repeat, will not – come at the expense of the Asia-Pacific.”

The president arrived in Bali on Thursday night for an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Indonesia after travelling from Australia.

Chinese reaction

In his speech in Canberra, Obama surveyed US policy towards Asia, which has evolved in three years and three trips to the region that he has taken as president.

Al Jazeera’s Melissa Chan, reported from Beijing, said that the Chinese had reacted strongly to Obama’s visit.

“For the Chinese, the reaction is the sense that they’re being encircled,” she said, noting the existing US-Japan military relationship.

The People’s Daily, the Chinese newspaper that is the organ of the ruling Communist Party, was clear in its opposition to reinforced US-Australia security ties, she said.

“Australia surely cannot play China for a fool. It is impossible for China to remain detached no matter what Australia does to undermine its security,” the paper said.

Michael Raska, a defence analyst at the National University of Singapore, told Al Jazeera that China’s assertiveness is a reaction to the broader US strategy of re-engagement in the Asia-Pacific region.

“I’m not surprised that Beijing would be increasingly assertive. For over a decade, Beijing has been using its economic leverage to gain political advantage in the region,” he said.

The US is moving to strengthen ties with traditional allies, such as Australia, Japan and South Korea, as well as building powerhouses with emerging powers such India and Indonesia, in what is clearly a bid to preserve its ability to continue to be an actor in the region, Raska said.

“The bottom line is, in every major security issue in the Asia-Pacific region, China has a major imprint, and its military capabilities are increasingly upsetting US freedom in the region.”

During the speech, Obama addressed the sensitive issue of ties with China, pressed for more reform in Myanmar and said North Korea would pay a heavy price for the proliferation of nuclear or other materials to states or individuals.

“The US will continue our effort to build a co-operative relationship with China,” Obama said on a tour which has exposed divisions between Washington and Beijing.

“All of our nations have a profound interest in the rise of a peaceful and prosperous China – and that is why the US welcomes it.

“We will do this, even as we continue to speak candidly with Beijing about the importance of upholding international norms and respecting the universal human rights of the Chinese people.”

Crucial moment

Before his address to parliament, Obama laid a wreath at the Australian War Memorial

Next stop on Obama’s visit after Canberra was Darwin, where the US troops are to be deployed.

The city on Australia’s northern coast was the cradle of the Australian-US military alliance forged during World War II.

A Japanese raid on Darwin in 1942 killed at least 243 people, including some US soldiers.

He visited the memorial of the USS Peary, which honours the 89 men killed when the warship was bombed by the Japanese.

“We looked out at those beautiful blue waters where so many Australians and Americans rest where they fell together,” Obama said.

“The days after Darwin were tough, some thought Australia might fall, but we dusted ourselves off, we picked ourselves up, we rebuilt, and thanks to the extraordinary generation of troops, we went on to victory.”

Americans and Australians have fought together in every major US war since World War I, including in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Obama’s comments on funding represent a crucial moment in US policy towards a region beset by territorial disputes, containing trade routes vital to US prosperity, and which is transfixed by the rise of China.

He gave his commitment on the latest leg of a Pacific tour which is meant to underscore that the US will remain a crucial player in Asia-Pacific security.

“We will preserve our unique ability to project power and deter threats to peace,” Obama said.

“And we will constantly strengthen our capabilities to meet the needs of the 21st century. Our enduring interests in the region demand our enduring presence in this region.”

For his part, Obama believes that the Pacific Rim, worth trillions in dollars in trade to the US, is vital to the economic future of the US, and will produce jobs and prosperity for decades to come.

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Gillard backs vote on gay marriage

EU Times — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 09:40:02 +0000

Australian PM Julia Gillard said she favours a parliamentary vote on same-sex marriage, despite opposition

Australian prime minister Julia Gillard said she favours allowing a parliamentary vote on same-sex marriage – although she personally opposes changing the law.

In an opinion piece published in the Sydney Morning Herald and other Australian newspapers, Ms Gillard said politicians “should be free to vote in parliament according to their own values and beliefs”.

However, Ms Gillard quickly came under attack from same-sex marriage advocates, who claim the prime minister is endorsing a vote she knows is destined to fail in order to keep the status quo.

Currently, three Australian states recognise civil unions, which entitle same-sex couples to the same federal benefits as married couples.

Recent polls indicate a majority of Australians favour allowing same-sex marriage.

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US to build Military Base in Australia to ward off growing China threat

EU Times — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 22:35:35 +0000

New arrivals: Between 500 and 1,000 U.S. Marines are to be stationed permanently in Darwin

Australia is set to become home to hundreds of U.S. Marines – as America moves its servicemen to a military base on the northern tip of the country.

In a bid to combat China’s increase in global military and financial power, between 500 to 1,000 officers are to form a permanent U.S. military presence at a barracks outside Darwin.

U.S. President Barack Obama is expected to formally reveal the plans – which will further anchor American influence in Asia but have prompted fears the area could become a target for terrorists – during a visit to the city next week.

The U.S. currently only has a limited deployment in its long-standing ally, including the Pine Gap Joint Defence Facility spy station near Alice Springs, which has coordinated air strikes in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The move represents a potentially significant geo-strategic shift, which is said to have been under consideration for some years as Washington looks to boost its Pacific Command.

A new base will not be built in the city, instead the marines will use the existing Robertson Barracks nearby.

It is currently home to 4,500 Australian soldiers and will need to be expanded to cater for the US Marines, reported the Sydney Morning Herald.

In a speech to a national security workshop today, Australian defence minister Stephen Smith said: ‘This would potentially see more ship visits, more visiting aircraft and more training and exercising through northern Australia. It would also include the pre-positioning of United States equipment in Australia.’

U.S. Marines are already based at Okinawa in Japan, and on Guam, a U.S. territory 1,500 miles north of Papua New Guinea, as America’s chief combat force in the Pacific theatre. The new plan would intensify the 60 year military alliance between the two countries.

Analysts said the move was largely a response to the rise of China, which is boosting its military spending and capabilities.

China is also becoming increasingly assertive on the high seas, where it claims sovereignty over essentially all of the South China Sea, a key global trading route.

Professor Geoffrey Garrett, chief executive of the US Studies Centre at the University of Sydney, said the U.S. strategy had two elements. He said: ‘China looms very large for both Australia and the US.

‘The first concerns strengthening America’s alliances and friendships in the region as an insurance policy that China’s until now very peaceful rise changes course.

‘The second is trying to build a regional economic architecture for the Asia-Pacific.

‘That will be based on the market principles of America and Australia that China over time will have powerful incentives to join.

‘Even if this entails domestic reforms it has been unwilling to undertake up until now.’

Asked about the U.S. potentially stationing troops in Australia, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said Beijing had noted the reports.

He said: ‘We hope that bilateral co-operation between relevant countries will be conducive to peace and stability of the Asia-Pacific region.’

But despite the fears, Andrew Shearer, director of studies at the Lowy Institute for International Policy, said the move was ‘not all about China’.

He added: ‘Everyone draws the China connection but it’s as much to do with the rise of India as well. It’s not all about defence, but to be able to conduct disaster relief, counter piracy and keep shipping lanes free.’

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Australia passes pollution tax

EU Times — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 12:51:12 +0000

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard

The Australian senate has endorsed a controversial pollution tax as part of policy adjustments aimed at reducing the country’s carbon emissions.

On Tuesday, the senate passed the Clean Energy Act, which requires Australia’s coal-fired power stations as well as other major emitters to “pay to pollute” from July 1 next year.

The move was the culmination of a “quarter of a century of scientific warnings, 37 parliamentary inquiries and years of bitter debate and division,” AFP quoted Prime Minister Julia Gillard as saying.

“Today Australia has a price on carbon as the law of our land,” she added.

Many have opposed the new plan, saying the tax will drive up the costs of energy production and raise the overall cost of living as Australia is heavily reliant on its coal production and export.

Based on the legislation, a tax of USD 23.80 per ton will be levied on carbon emissions, as Australia gears up to move to yet another larger emission reform scheme in 2015.

The set of reforms will result in reduction of Australia’s carbon emissions by 160 million tons in 2020 — equal to removing 45 million cars off the streets — Gillard said.

Australia is one of the world’s worst per capita polluters, and scientists have warned the country is susceptible of being hit by extreme consequences of climate change resulting from pollution.

Eelier this year, heavy floods and cyclones, triggered by the effects of climate change, devastated vast parts of Australia.

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Police arrest Occupy Melbourne protesters after clearing square

EU Times — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 20:13:55 +0000

A mounted policeman pursues an Occupy Melbourne protester, as hundreds were forecibly evicted from City Square in Melbourne today.

Police are arresting protesters who took part in the Occupy Melbourne demonstration after more than 100 officers moved in to clear city streets.

Riot and mounted police broke up a group of several hundred protesters who blocked the intersection of Swanston and Collins streets after being forcibly removed from City Square.

Lines of police held demonstrators off the streets, and officers then moved into the crowd to arrest protesters.

Police clearly targeted some protesters in the crowd, arresting about half a dozen people.

Some were handcuffed, others frog-marched, to two large police vans brought to the scene.

The large group of protesters has now moved further down Swanston Street to the Bourke Street Mall.

Earlier, police forcibly removed about 100 protesters from City Square after they defied an order to leave by 9am .

Most of the Occupy Melbourne protesters resisted police, and several officers dragged them out of the protest area set up last Saturday.

Some protesters screamed and cried as they were removed.

A small number walked from the site peacefully.

Police had dismantled the campsite some hours earlier, destroying tents and putting belongings into a van.

The tents had been pitched since Saturday as part of the world-wide movement that began as Occupy Wall Street in New York.

The protesters were given an eviction notice and told to leave by 9am.

There have also been scuffles outside the square in Swanston Street where protesters were sitting on the road and blocking trams.

A huge police presence, including mounted officers, are removing the protesters from the road to allow trams to pass.

Meanwhile, the city square looks like a tip as police remove everything from books to food, boxes, pens and rubbish.

Occupy Melbourne spokesman Jacob Grech said protesters had remained peaceful and described the police as disorganised.

”At one moment they’re holding the line and refusing to let people in, and all of a sudden they are running in and arresting people (trying to get in),” Mr Grech said.

He said the demonstrators were prepared to remain in the city square indefinitely.

”We’re telling them (protesters) that it’s their right to protest and stay put,” he said.

”We’re letting them know that if they are arrested they will have legal representation and support.”

Several hundred people have gathered outside the city square watching the spectacle unfold.

Greens MP and federal member for Melbourne, Adam Bandt, criticised the City of Melbourne for calling in the riot police on a peaceful protest.

”(Victorian Premier) Ted Baillieu and (Lord Mayor) Robert Doyle have made a huge blunder by sending in the police, turning a week-long non-violent protest into a site of confrontation” he said.

The authorities should have negotiated with the protesters before resorting to heavy-handed.

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Anti-ageing wonder pill drug will enable us to live to 150

EU Times — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 22:48:14 +0000

Very old age: Dustin Hoffman plays 121-year-old Jack Crabb in Little Big Man

Drugs that can slow the ageing process are likely to be available this decade, raising the prospect of people living to 150 or longer.

‘Wonder’ pills that help the body repair itself are in the early stages of development and will help us live well into our second century – while stem cell therapies will boost our quality of life.

Professor Peter Smith, Dean of Medicine at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, said a girl born today in Australia could already expect to live to 100.

And rather than suffering a long drawn out decline, he claimed we could live a healthy and active life until just before we die.

Prof Smith told the annual Medicine Dean’s Lecture, on the possibility of happy and healthy ageing, that there will be a dramatic leap forward in life expectancy.

He said: ‘I think there is real hope we can extend human life by some decades further.

‘But the aim is not just to eke out extra existence but to facilitate a longer healthy life.

‘We just don’t want to live longer, we want to live longer well. And these drugs will help with regeneration processes in the body so people will live well, much longer.’

Harvard geneticist Professor David Sinclair told the Dean’s lecture: ‘We are seeing the beginning of technology that could one day allow us to reach 150.’

Lecture: Professor Peter Smith and Oxford neuroscientist Baroness Susan Greenfield at the University of New South Wales

Prof Sinclair is researching resveratrol – an anti-ageing compound in red wine.

A new compound is being trialled which is 1000 times more powerful than resveratrol – and is showing signs of being effective.

He said: ‘Our bodies have an extraordinary ability to repair themselves and resveratrol is seemingly able to tap into those healing mechanisms.’

He said that plant-derived compounds like resveratrol had activated enzymes in mice that trigger the DNA repair process.

‘Those enzymes exist in human bodies too, so the possibility of drugs that slow the ageing process is very likely within our lifetime,’ he said.

Oxford University neuroscientist Baroness Susan Greenfield told the Sydney lecture that people would be able to start second careers when they reach 65.

An older workforce would focus on knowledge-based jobs rather than physical ones, she suggested.

However, Baroness Greenfield, who leads a multi-disciplinary team at Oxford investigating neurodegenerative conditions, added that we had to tackle dementia.

She said: ‘We are in an era of unprecedented life expectancy, and science research needs to ensure we live happy and healthy lives, otherwise the social and economic implications could potentially be catastrophic.’

Longer life: Professor Peter Smith, Dean of Medicine at New South Wales University, pictured, said children born today could already expect to live to 100

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