The acclaimed Australian artist is painting black squares on a gallery wall with his eyes closed to protest against the values that led us to climate crisis.

Google terminated four employees for what the tech firm said were "repeated violations of our data security policies." At least one of them, Rebecca Rivers, had spoken out publicly against company initiatives including Google's past work with government agencies.

NSW Environment Minister Matt Kean says Australia must stop making climate change a matter of religion and instead make it a matter of science as unprecedented bushfires burn across the state.

Some predators, including red foxes, move into burnt areas after fires pass through. But what about other predators?

This season's bushfires have "rewritten the rule book" as ecologists fear more than 80 per cent of the world heritage-listed Blue Mountains have been lost.

A study suggests Australian bushfires were 30 per cent more likely as a result of climate change but there was no clear climate-change driver for local drought.

Australians have seen a rare rise in inflation, as a series of crises conspired to push up the cost of essential groceries, but economists say consumers should see cheaper prices again now that panic buying has subsided.

FireScope offers complete IT monitoring, from user experiences to applications, servers, storage and network, with the ability to correlate individual events to their larger impact on services and users.

Under Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, deforestation of the Amazon region has risen, and consequently so have the number of fires. Nonresident Senior Fellow Otaviano Canuto addresses the need for sustainable economic development across the Amazon region, how the fires could affect Brazil's future participation in the global economy, and whether public and political support for…

A certain Commander in Chief says that wildfires are being made 'so much worse by the bad environmental laws.' Here's what's really happening.

It has a solar powered smoke alarm, GPS and is standing on guard, ready to phone it in.

'These fires are a situation that humanity cannot tolerate.' – Carlos Durigan, WCS Brazil

When you buy a burger, it could be from a cow raised on Brazilian soy feed. That's a problem.

Here's a glimpse of what life is like during Southeast Asia's worst fires in more than a decade.

I know what I am shopping for this weekend: Fire extinguishers.

BioLite refers to its latest product as a "major tune-up" for outdoor fires, boasting that it burns more efficiently and puts out less smoke, while still offering a great view of the fire.

Researchers are urging policy makers to recognize the critical values of intact, undisturbed native forests.

Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware®

Last week, the SFWA Contracts Committee issued this advisory.

SFWA Contracts Committee Advisory on No-advance Contracts

Recently, SFWA's Contracts Committee was made aware of a situation in which a well-liked publisher canceled the publication of a number of books it had contracted to publish. The publisher said the decision was made because of "unexpected changes" at the company. The Committee has reviewed the contract in use, which lacked a provision for such a cancellation. The Committee believes that canceling a contracted book that satisfies the author’s obligations is at odds with the spirit of the contract. Making this situation worse is the fact that these were no-advance contracts. Because no advance was paid, the publisher could make this decision without financial penalties. The authors' books, were, in effect, put in limbo for many months and the authors received nothing but an apology. Besides depriving the authors of the ability to sell the books elsewhere during this delay and putting off any income from the books into the indefinite future, the authors careers suffer as a result.

Publishers of all sizes may find themselves unable to live up to their contractual commitments for a wide variety of reasons, some of which could not have been reasonably anticipated. Hence, the Contracts Committee urges writers to think carefully about signing a contract that provides no advance, or only a nominal advance, while tying up their work for a lengthy period of time. Critically, payment of an advance gives an indication the publisher actually has the financial resources to meet its obligations. Publishers who do not pay advances or pay only nominal advances should include language in their contracts specifying how they can cancel a book and what happens if they should cancel a book, including a specified amount of compensation to the author.

SFWA Contracts Committee
October 25, 2019

Legal Disclaimer: The contract alert should not be understood to be legal advice. The issues presented by contract law are complex. Authors should consult a competent attorney familiar with the business of publishing as well as contract law before signing any contract.

The publisher in question is Fireside Press.

The cancellations were first reported on October 8 by Jason Sanford in his Genre Grapevine column, and discussed on October 9 in Mike Glyer's File 770. Fireside publisher Pablo Defendini issued a statement on October 8, in which he revealed that the five canceled contracts were for manuscripts that were "unpublished and unannounced", and attributed the cancellations to disruptions caused by editorial departures.

Author Meg Elison, one of the canceled authors, did not find this to be a sufficient explanation...and she was livid.



A few days later, Defendini issued an apology. "I can see now how [the cancellation emails] read as callous, uncaring, and dismissive of the authors’ feelings," he wrote. "I’m very sorry for that....My behavior was not consistent with Fireside’s values, and I deeply regret it."

Beyond the Contracts Committee's general warning about no-advance contracts (and if you're part of the small press world, you know how common these are): multiple simultaneous contract cancellations are not frequent or normal, and can signal trouble beyond whatever the publisher offers as an explanation (if it explains at all). Ditto for a publisher that suddenly starts offering to revert rights on request.

Fireside's situation also highlights the risks of signing with a publisher that's essentially a one-person operation (as Defendini admits in his apology). With the best will in the world, the publisher can be sidelined by a single bad event (personal or professional), leading to glitches, errors, and delays in scheduling, payment, and more. Writer Beware's files are stuffed with such stories.

Troubled publishers do recover, or at least hang on. Month9, which canceled dozens of contracts in 2016, is still publishing, as is Permuted Press, which axed an undisclosed number of titles in 2015 (both publishers cited overstocked lists, though in both cases there were other issues as well). In the short term, though, if a publisher is or has been actively shedding writers, it's best to hold off on submitting until it's clearer what's going on.

People celebrate VE Day across Britain, following Germany's surrender in 1945.

Apple, the world's largest taxpayer, has released a statement seeking to debunk claims in media about its tax payments around the world, following coverage in recent days about it seeking tax mitigation arrangements in Jersey due to international tax changes in Ireland affecting its existing tax arrangements.

Soon after its launch in 2016, it has attracted huge support helped by its state-of-the-art group fitness sessions and celebrity endorsements.

Join our campaign for clear pension charges - FT Money has been exploring the impossibility of comparing the costs of drawdown plans. The FT is calling on the pensions and advise industry to be transparent about charges to help people to shop around. In this week's show, FT Money Show presenter Claer Barrett interviews o the FT's pensions expert about our campaign. Next up, the spread of the coronavirus has given world stock markets a nasty turn - FT Moneys' new investment reporter, Madison Darbyshire, talks about how investors are reacting. And finally, to cheer listeners up a bit - James Max, our Rich People's Problems columnist is here to discuss a burning issue - the government's proposed ban on coal fires. 

 

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A new exchange traded commodity holds several advantages

Neymar posted an Instagram video of his celebrations after his sister's boyfriend, Gabigol, fired Flamengo to their first Copa Libertadores since 1981 with a 2-1 win over River Plate.

Former Big Brother winner Tim Dormer has spoken out against climate change, amid Australia's ongoing bushfire crisis. 

Cody Simpson has shared an emotional statement from across the pond, as devastating bushfires continue to burn across Australia.

Nick Kyrgios has pledged $200 for every ace he hits this season to victims of the ongoing Australia bushfires.

MIKE DICKSON IN SYDNEY: The forthcoming Australian Open may see an unprecedented amount of matches indoors to combat poor air quality if the country's bushfires persist this month.

Valencia president Anil Murthy has taken aim directly at Barcelona following the Catalan side's derisory deadline day bid to sign star striker Rodrigo.

Lorraine Toussaint, 59, who plays Yvonne 'Vee' Parker in the hit prison drama, sold the six-acre plot in Malibu (pictured) for $600,000.

A round of 65 helped American Brandt Snedeker take a three-shot lead into the weekend at the Safeway Open while Phil Mickelson was back among the birdies after a disastrous Ryder Cup.

Ed Sheeran, Pink, Elton John and Bruce Springsteen are tipped to perform at a Sound Relief concert in aid of Australian bushfire victims.

Sen. McCain 'did meet with ISIS, and had his picture taken, and didn't know it was happening at the time,' Sen. Paul claimed, setting off angry denials and a D.C.-wide press scrum to call him a liar.

Rory McIlroy carded a six-under-par 65 in the opening round of The Northern Trust as Tiger Woods struggled to a 75 in the first FedEx Cup play-off event.

FRASER MACKIE AT TYNECASTLE PARK: The spectacular, unexpected and alarming disintegration of the domestic ambitions of Rangers is complete.

She portrayed Cassie Turner on Home and Away before moving to Los Angeles over a decade ago.

Heartbroken Home and Away star Sharni Vinson has revealed her family's New South Wales farm is 'severely under threat' from raging bushfires.

Djokovic, the reigning champion and world No 1, has eased through to his sixth SW19 showpiece and victory over eight-time winner Federer would give him his 16th grand-slam title.

Justin Gatlin sent a message to Usain Bolt on Friday - both with his legs and his mouth. Gatlin lived up to the pre-season hype by winning the 100m in a world-leading 9.74 seconds in Doha.

Usain Bolt blew away any fears about his fitness and fired a major warning to Justin Gatlin as he blasted to his fastest 100 metres of the year on his return to the Olympic Stadium on Friday night.

American sprinting legend Justin Gatlin fired longtime coach Dennis Mitchell after the reigning 100m world champion was implicated in a doping scandal. Gatlin steadfastly denies doping.

Will it be third-time lucky, or does bad luck strike in threes? Jose Mourinho is close to signing Colombia striker Radamel Falcao but there is the possibility he will follow in Fernando Torres' footsteps.

The suburbs most directly at risk of fire are near the bushland areas around the city such as Hornsby in the north, Penrith in the west and Camden and Sutherland in the south.

Sydney went ahead with its multi-million dollar New Year firework display at midnight on Tuesday, despite calls for it to be cancelled as much of Australia is devastated by wildfires.

Towns are running out of fuel and water, shops are selling out of basic supplies and more fatalities are expected as fires raging across southern Australia are set to get worse by Saturday.

Authorities are preparing for conditions to worsen again by Saturday in NSW and Victoria, where thousands of properties have already been razed and at least 18 people have lost their lives.

Satellite images taken on Saturday showed wildfires burning around East Gippsland and Kosciuszko National Park.

Australia's worst bushfires in living memory aren't just leaving a trail of devastation in New South Wales and Victoria. They are also threatening to push the economy into a recession.

AMP Capital chief economist Shane Oliver has said the bushfires engulfing Australia could wipe off up to 1 per cent of the nation's GDP growth this year - a staggering $13billion.

Frank Lampard insists Billy Gilmour will keep his feet on the ground despite the teen midfielder's star turn against Liverpool, where the Scotland youngster Gilmour produced a first-class performance.