http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/national/no-paycheck-for-volunteer-firefighter/2009/02/21

No paycheck for volunteer firefighter February 21, 2009 - 8:48AM

A Victorian aged care home did not pay a volunteer firefighter who battled the Black Saturday bushfires, a union claims. The Health Services Union (HSU) says the frontline firefighter was called to put in containment lines around fires in Gippsland as part of a Country Fire Authority strike team.

The collapse of global financial markets in late 2008 has given Mining companies in Australia a welcome gift for 2009. The rejection of the anti-worker ‘Work Choices’ legislation by the Rudd government in 2008 had kick started feelings of optimism and solidarity amongst mine workers in the conspicuously un-unionised mines of Western Australia.

Almost 7,000 companies facing collapse: Dun and Bradstreet Tue Feb 17, 2009

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/17/2493891.htm

A survey has found almost 7,000 Australian companies are close to collapsing this year. The survey's author, Dun and Bradstreet, says that is 12 per cent higher than last year. It says firms in the finance, insurance and real estate sector are the most at risk. Dun and Bradstreet's chief executive, Christine Christian, says the risk of insolvency has surged because businesses are not paying enough attention to their cashflow levels. "Many companies have been relying on cheap funding from banks and they have taken their eye off the basic fundamentals of business," he said. "That is what's emerging from the latest research, many businesses are just not managing cash-flow sufficiently."

"Those left homeless by the bushfires are able to access emergency accommodation through Office of Housing staff at the relief centres in their area, or by calling the accommodation line on 1800 006 468. 600 units of public housing across Victoria will be made available for those made homeless by the bushfires....UP to 2,000 bushfire victims are to be accommodated on Australian Defence Force (ADF) bases Up to 1,200 beds in communal accommodation would be made available at the army base at Puckapunyal, near Seymour, close to the fire-affected areas. 150 beds would be made available at Maygar Barracks, near Broadmeadows in Melbourne. The RAAF base at East Sale, in Gippsland, will provide accommodation for up to 500 people, including 150 places with disabled access. Another 200 could be accommodated at the navy base, HMAS Cerberus, on the Mornington Peninsula. Another RAAF base at Point Cook, southwest of Melbourne, will be able to provide accommodation for 150 people. until better accommodation can be found.

http://www.theage.com.au/national/emergency-accommodation-hotline-for-bushfire-homeless-20090210-82x9.html

"Nothing got did" " the road to the White House, paved with lies"

lyrics from City That Care Forgot (New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina) Dr. John and the Lower 911

Revolt continues in French Caribbean Feb 16 2009

The leader of the general strike crippling Guadeloupe has accused the French government of preparing to kill protestors to bring an end to the stoppage on the French Caribbean island. "Today, given the number of gendarmes who have arrived in Guadeloupe armed to the teeth, the French state has chosen its natural path: to kill Gaudeloupeans as usual," Elie Domota said on Saturday. Domota is the leader of the Collective against Exploitation (LKP), which groups most of Guadeloupe's unions and political parties and which launched the general strike there on January 20th over low wages and the high cost of living. http://libcom.org/news/revolt-continues-french-caribbean-16022009

"DOLE BLUDGERS" Back in the 1980s the Unemployed Workers Union (before it imploded due to competing leninist sects boring from within & squabbling bored away everyone else ) used to hold open air meetings at abandoned/empty sites like servos/petrol stations. Since then they fence them in much more securely, coincidentally ?

"SIT-DOWN MONEY" One building used by UWU in Northcote used for claimants advice sessions etc was evicted by the Tactical Response Group who came through roof and upstairs windows for show and practice for their political Masters. Irony was the building was then turned into a social security office. More ironic still that office was closed as Howard Inc centralised Centre-link offices. The 'service" (of hassling the jobless) was sub contracted out & sites sold off to mates. The "Opposition Leadership" now First Family of Oz Battlers Mrs Rudd aka Terse Reign set up a privatised job agency and made mega bucks in the Family/National Interest.

Greed is (not) good' A basic way to end the recession: a universal Basic Income for every person on the entire planet. Economics - John Tomlinson - posted 10/2/2009

http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=8524

" The figure of 20m unemployed migrants does not include those who have stayed in cities to look for work after being made redundant and is substantially higher than the figure of 12m that Wen Jiabao, premier, gave in an interview on Sunday." - the Financial Times Feb 2nd 2009 http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/19c25aea-f0f5-11dd-8790-0000779fd2ac.html?nclick_check=1

'Qiongren' - the poor people By Brian Hennessy - posted Wednesday, 11 February 2009 http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=8438&page=0

100+ rally in support of 7-Eleven workers in Geelong By UNITE member, Kirk Leonard http://www.unite.org.au/2009/02/16/100-rally-in-support-of-7-eleven-workers/

On Friday February 13 more than 100 people attended a rally outside the 7-Eleven store in the heart of Geelong. The protest called for 7-Eleven to start paying its workers the legal minimum wage and for all unpaid wages to be paid back to them. The rally was also demanding that one of the workers, who was sacked for making a complaint, be reinstated.

This particular 7-Eleven store on Moorabool Street is particularly dodgy. The operator makes any new employees work for up to 2 months in what he calls an “unpaid trial”. When he realised that some of the workers were thinking of reporting his illegal behavior to the Workplace Ombudsman, he threatened them with violence.

Ukraine: Meeting of workers of occupied factory in Kherson - anarchist report Friday, February 13 2009

Russian original: news.zaraz.org Original, machine translation fixed by English speaker: mollymew.blogspot.com (also some more amended machine translations available there) Molly's translation corrected by Russian speaker: avtonom.org T

hroughout the night before the rally we did banners and a variety of posters and an action plan for the next rally. In the morning at 10 o'clock we met comrades from Kiev and immediately headed for the seized plant, which is approximately 5 minutes walk from the station. By the morning we made some 15 posters with the slogans - «The workers and students together», «Kherson Today and tomorrow the whole Ukraine», «One solution - the resistance», «To workers: plant, wages, worker control», «Revolution NOW» etc., and one big banner - «Do not give up, keep up the strike». ----

It has been one hell of a couple of weeks. Our condolences to all who have suffered from the fires. With the devastating heat seemingly past, it seems time to rebuild and regrow for us all. There's nothing that says new life like a seedling. Well maybe an actual golden phoenix would be better. But a carrot is plenty cool too... Welcome to a permablitz newsletter, our first for 2009. With lots of amazing stuff in it. Like Permablitz: The Movie!, the Dawning Era of the Chook, a food swap at the Sustainable Living Festival, a call out for your experiences with the heat, wisdom from a handlebar moustache, plus of course upcoming blitzes, courses and much much more.

www.permablitz.net