Australia

Meine FreundInnin, I’m pleased to share with you my latest piece on the new WiFi-free Weekend policy at Actual Café in Oakland. This was one of the last pieces that I did before leaving the Bay Area. It has just aired on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation — the first time I’ve been on the radio down under! Or, you can just listen here: [audio:http://cyrusfarivar.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/fte_20100415_0840.mp3]

BBC: The Australian government has announced it will issue its first formal apology to Aboriginal people when parliament resumes next month. Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin said the apology would be the first item of business when the new legislature convened on 13 February. It is aimed at the “Stolen Generations” – Aboriginal children taken from their parents to be raised by white families. The Age: Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin said the apology would be made on behalf of…

One of the best things about the fact that Kevin Rudd was elected as Australia’s new Prime Minister is the scrapping of the “Pacific Solution” — an ominously-named plan that processed refugees seeking to come to Australia on offshore sites, including Nauru. The Age: Under the policy, which was introduced following the Tampa crisis in the lead-up to the 2001 federal election, asylum seekers intercepted before they reach the Australian mainland are processed at camps on Nauru and Manus Island,…