Venezuela is again grabbing headlines in the media, amid allegations of lack of democracy and exaggerated accounts of nonetheless very real economic problems.
Much commentary puts the problems facing the country down to the alleged 鈥渇ailed populism鈥 of Venezuela鈥檚 pro-poor Bolivarian Revolution. Last month, the New York Times even compared Donald Trump to Venezuela鈥檚 late socialist president Hugo Chavez in an article titled 鈥淲hat Hugo Chavez can teach us about Donald Trump鈥.
Charges of offensive language against three protesters at a Community Action Against Homophobia protest against NSW Christian Democrat politician Fred Nile in September last year have been dismissed after a year-long court battle.
On October 25, all charges and fines against Cat Rose, Patrick Wright and April Holcombe were dismissed after a judge ruled that chanting 鈥渇uck Fred Nile鈥 and 鈥渇uck off bigots鈥 through a loudspeaker does not constitute offensive behaviour.
The Victorian Sentencing Manual, which acts as a guide to sentencing in all Victorian jurisdictions, now says a sex worker鈥檚 profession should have no impact on the sentencing of sex offenders who target them. The manual previously suggested that sex workers were less vulnerable in cases of sexual assault than other victims due to the nature of their work.
Ultimately, the only way to ensure a secure future for jobs is to replace the whole capitalist system with one in which human need is prioritised above corporate profits.
The NSW government wants to privatise hospitals in Maitland, Wyong, Goulburn, Shellharbour and Bowral. But people are fighting back. Brett Holmes, general secretary of NSW Nurses and Midwives鈥 Association, lays out the arguments.
For the first time in ACT history, the majority of politicians elected to the Legislative Assembly are women. The final results revealed 52% of the ACT's politicians, or 13 out of 25, were women.
The final result of the election for the expanded 25-seat Assembly, held on October 15, was announced by Electoral Commissioner Phil Green on October 26. The make-up of the parliament will be Labor 12 members, the Liberals 11 and the Greens two.
The Huttonham Estate in Preston was one of Victoria鈥檚 first public housing estates when it was built in the 1940s.
Once home to 60 families, the houses were demolished five years ago and the land has been untouched and vacant ever since.
Now the Victorian government has revealed plans to build 68 public housing units and an unknown number of privately-owned dwellings on the land.
Housing groups say the land should be used for its intended purpose of housing low-income residents amid skyrocketing property prices in Melbourne.
In a coordinated effort on United Nations Day on October 24, the Knitting Nannas Against Gas (KNAG) made long-overdue citizens鈥 arrests of some of the biggest climate criminals in the land.
鈥淭he Great NannArrest鈥 involved citizen鈥檚 arrests of MPs, including Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull at his eastern Sydney electorate office.
When they found the PM missing in action at his Edgecliff office, they arrested another Malcolm 鈥 a man wearing a mask.
A defiant action was organised on October 22 to protest the recent murder in custody of Wayne 鈥淔ella鈥 Morrison.
Morrison died at Royal Adelaide Hospital on September 26, three days after a beating by prison guards at Adelaide鈥檚 Yatala Labour Prison .
The NSW Coalition has sold 50.4% of the publicly-owned power distribution network Ausgrid to a consortium of AustralianSuper and IFM Investors. It is spinning it as a "win" for the mums and dads. The reality is otherwise. Without public ownership of energy, we have very little chance of moving swiftly to more sustainable options, as the climate science demands.
The statement below was released by Pakistani socialist group, the Awami Workers Party (AWP) in response to an October 24 terrorist attack that killed dozens of people in Quetta, the capital of the Balochistan province. Balochistan has long been the victim of violent attacks from both state and terrorist forces.
Building the Commune
By George Ciccariello-Maher
Verso Books, 2016
Every commune is different, George Ciccariello-Maher says in Building the Commune, but 鈥渢he coffee is always too sweet, and the process is always difficult, endlessly messy and unpredictable in its inescapable creativity鈥.