One Planet ... because countries and corporations share their information, allocate their resources, and plot their responses on a global scale. So should we.

Update: On July 3, 103 anti-nuclear activists were arrested at the proposed Jabiluka uranium mine in Northern Australia (for details on the mine, see One Planet, ETS! #2-45, July 29). Another 100 or so were arrested on July 14, after the beginning of construction and blasting had endangered the lives of some of the blockaders locked down to adjacent equipment.

Up to 500 people have been camped out, at the invitation of the aboriginal Mirrar people, at the mine site in Kakadu National Park as part of an ongoing blockade to prevent mine construction. Overall, reports Earth First! Journal (PO Box 1415, Eugene OR 97440), 370 have been arrested during the campaign. While public opposition to the mine is widespread, official reaction in the sparsely populated Northern Territories has not been so generous. The activists face extensive charges, and local government minister Mike Reed is quoted in the current Peace News (an excellent international anti-militarist newsletter based in London: 5 Caledonian Road, London N1 9DY, Britain) as follows: "They're a mob of interstate ferals by and large." The same, of course, could be said of mining company executives. (Activists are asking for international support in writing and faxing Australian officials, particularly Sen. Robert Hill, Minister for the Environment, Parliament House, Canberra, Australia. For more info, contact the Jabiluka Campaign at blockadee@jabiluka.net; www:green.net.au/gundjehmi/.) --Geov Parrish

In addition to the highly-organized shut-down of rail lines in eastern Siberia, Russian miners have set up an encampment outside the Russian White House to demand back pay that's been due them for months or, in some cases, years. Slogans emblazoned on their banners read: "We Won't Go Until Boris Goes!" In addition, the new, more militant labor unions are forming "Salvation Committees" to help workers who need food, medicines, and other supplies. The strength and organization of these new committees are being compared to the "spontaneous emergence of soviets in 1905 and 1917," to quote Katrina vanden Heuvel of the Nation.

The miners are widely supported by the Russian populace who've had to deal with outrageous inflation, cuts in social spending, and massive lay-offs as Pres. Boris Yeltsin and his supporters accept loans from the IMF and World Bank. A recent poll has shown that only 4% of Russians would vote for Yeltsin if he were to run for office today, and 51% want him to resign before his term ends in 2000, while 72% want a new government to implement a complete change in economic policy.

Russian students are also feeling the pinch, after a big reduction in their student stipends: in April, demonstrations erupted on campuses in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Voronezh, and Ekaterinburg. Later that month 350 student delegates in Moscow formed the Russian Students Movement with representatives from 27 regions. They're gearing up to protest further IMF-mandated cuts in education spending this fall, when the universities re-open for classes.--Maria Tomchick

While Indonesia has receded from U.S. headlines after the abrupt resignation (and comfortable retirement) of 32-year U.S.-backed dictator Suharto, the political upheaval there continues. On June 12, hundreds of East Timorese demonstrators occupied the forecourt of the Indonesian Foreign Ministry in Jakarta. 27 protesters were eventually hospitalized when arriving military troops used excessive zeal in "containing" the situation--with truncheons, rifle butts, and bayonets. In Dili, capital of East Timor, daily demonstrations have continued through the summer, despite the killing of several protesters by trigger-happy soldiers. East Timorese activists have been pressing the Indonesian government for months to follow through on President Habibie's early promises of releases for political prisoners and brighter prospects for a referendum on Timorese independence.--G.P.

Hamburg will become the first city in Germany to charge higher landing fees for airplanes with high pollution emissions. A motion of the local Green Party got a majority vote in the state parliament there. A thought for the Port of Seattle? KCIA? Boeing?--G.P.