Month: August 2009

Source: The New Statesman

It is ten years since East Timor’s referendum on freedom from Indonesia – but, as the gaps in a new film show, the western cover-up continues

On 30 August it will be a decade since the people of East Timor defied the genocidal occupiers of their country to take part in a United Nations referendum and vote for their freedom and independence. A "scorched earth" campaign by the Indonesian dictatorship followed, adding to a toll of carnage that had begun 24 years earlier when Indonesia invaded tiny East Timor with the secret support of Australia, Britain and the United States. According to a committee of the Australian parliament, "at least 200,000" died under the occupation, a third of the population. read more

Source: Democracy Now!

The imprisoned Native American activist Leonard Peltier has lost a long-awaited bid to receive parole. It was Peltier’s first full parole hearing in fifteen years. His next parole date won’t come until 2024, when he will be seventy-nine years old. Peltier has been jailed for thirty-three years for the alleged killing of two FBI agents in 1975. He’s long maintained his innocence and is widely considered a political prisoner denied a fair trial.

Source: Common Dreams

While Whole Foods CEO John Mackey recently publicly inflamed the health care debate, behind the scenes Whole Foods has been quietly dismantling a key piece of legislation that would make it easier for workers who want to form a union to do so.