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The November 27 decision by the Victorian Premier John Brumby’s Labor government to lift a moratorium on commercially-grown genetically-modified canola has drawn sharp criticism from scientific researchers and environmental activists. Labor MPs declared that the decision had been made secretly, and should have been open to debate.

When I switched on the TV on the day after the federal election, this message hit me: the election is over, now we can get on with Christmas shopping!

Workers at the Foster’s brewery at Yatala, south of Brisbane, have stepped up their campaign for a union agreement, following a victory over the latest attempt by the company’s management to impose a non-union agreement on the work force at the plant. Scott Wilson, Electrical Trades Union (ETU) organiser for the site, told Green Left Weekly that the Yatala workers had voted by 154 to 120 to reject management’s third offer of a non-union agreement, which provides wages and conditions significantly below those of workers at other breweries in southern states.

On November 20, two unidentified thugs use butchers’ cleavers to brutally attack Huang Qingnan, an organiser of the Dagongzhe Centre in the south China foreign capital haven of Shenzhen, leaving him seriously injured. The assault came on the heels of the October 11 and November 14 attempts to ransack the workers’ centre by an unidentified gang, leaving behind extensive property damage.

The First Zionist Bunny — In a country where women have long been soldiers and prime ministers, is being a Playboy Channel hostess the ultimate post-feminist success? SBS, Friday, December 14, 10pm. India’s Ladyboys — Follows a group of Hirjas, those who were born hermaphrodites and those who were born men and have since been castrated, who are still considered outsiders in their own country. ABC, Monday, December 17, 12:10am. Cutting Edge: Spying on the Home Front — In a permanent war against a hidden enemy, how far has the government gone in hunting terrorists by watching us? SBS, Monday, December 17, 1.30pm. Energy War — Describes the geopolitical consequences of the dependency on fossil fuels. SBS, Tuesday, December 18, 8.30pm. Crude Impact — Examines the future implications of “peak oil”, the point in time when the amount of petroleum available worldwide begins a steady, inexorable decline. SBS, Tuesday, December 18, 10pm. Summer of Love — San Francisco’s hippy movement was born out of youth who’d grown up with post-WWII affluence but were now dealing with Vietnam, racism, and the threat of nuclear annihilation. SBS, Wednesday December 19, 8.30pm,. Waste Equals Food — In the early ’90s, the US “green” architect William McDonough and German “green” chemist Michael Braungart teamed up to realise the Waste = Food principle in human-made products. SBS, Thursday, December 20, 1.30pm. Days that Changed the World: The Storming of the Bastille — Looks at the infamous date, July 14, 1789: The French revolution which began in Paris with the storming of the Bastille. SBS, Friday, December 21, 2.30pm. Dirty War — Against a geo-political backdrop of war, terrorism, and shifting global alliances, this is the struggle between a group of poisoned Filipino peasants and allegedly one of the largest, and certainly most powerful, polluters on the planet — the US military. SBS, Saturday, December 22, 12.50am. The Butterfly Effect — Terri Janke is a Sydney-based Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property lawyer, whose firm is the only one in the country dealing with the issue of ICIP rights for Indigenous people. ABC, Sunday December 23, 1.30pm.