Social movements across Asia, Latin America, Oceania, and North America celebrated on November 15 the fact that their seven-year strategic campaign had successfully derailed the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a controversial trade deal widely condemned for privileging corporate profits over international public interest.
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Moroccan protesters have taken to the streets in recent days, taking advantage of the global spotlight provided by the November 7-18 United Nations COP22 climate talks in Marrakech. Mouhcine Fikri could have been any one of them.
Fikri was the fishmonger whose awful death in the back of a garbage collection truck was caught on mobile phone footage that subsequently spread across social media to ignite large demonstrations in Morocco.
BHP Billiton executives faced dissident shareholders at the company鈥檚 annual general meeting in Brisbane on November 17 over its responsibility for the Samarco tailings dam disaster in Brazil last year.
The protesters want Australia鈥檚 biggest company to compensate the victims. BHP jointly owns the iron ore mine with Brazilian mining giant, Vale.
The news that the White House and Republican congressional leaders have given up on passing the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is welcome.
That the TPP would be defeated by Congress if brought to a vote signals that the Trojan-horse 鈥渢rade鈥 agreements that expand corporate power are simply no longer politically viable. People power beat the united forces of a US president, the Republican congressional leaders and the entire corporate lobby.
鈥淲e know that elections and individuals alone don鈥檛 create change 鈥 movements do.鈥
This is the maxim that guided the huge United States-wide action that took place on November 15. There were nearly 200 protests against the Dakota Access pipeline, the largest since the US government requested the project be temporarily halted in September.
Each day after the November 8 presidential elections won by Donald Trump, the streets of cities across the United States have pulsed with anger, outrage, fear and solidarity in opposition to Trump, US Socialist Worker .
鈥淭he response was immediate, with spontaneous mobilisations forming as the election results came in,鈥 it said.
鈥淲e will resist and resist until we win!鈥 chants Sebahat Tuncel before her mouth is forcibly shut by half a dozen police officers who drag her along the floor and detain her in early November.
NSW Premier Mike Baird agreed on November 15 to meet with residents campaigning against the controversial $17 billion tollway聽WestConnex. His promise came after they staged a sit-in at NSW Parliament House that day.
At the start of question time, three protesters attempted to drop a banner from the gallery that read 鈥淣o聽WestCONnex聽/ Baird it鈥檚 time to listen鈥.
The trio then chanted 鈥淣o聽WestConnex鈥 and informed MPs that dozens of residents were waiting for Baird to speak to them. They were escorted out by security.
As a close blood relative of former minister for the environment Greg Hunt, I am deeply ashamed that he did not do one simple thing: protect Lawler鈥檚 Well.
There were 11 sites sacred to the Gomeroi people in the part of the Leard State Forest in north-western NSW that is being cleared for Whitehaven Coal鈥檚 controversial Maules Creek Mine. Ten have already been destroyed or irrevocably damaged. The last of these Gomeroi heritage sites is Lawler鈥檚 Well.
Asbestos is a thriving industry and asbestos lobbyists have set their sights on south-east Asia as the next frontier for new trade markets in the Third World. This was outlined at the recent annual South East Asian Ban Asbestos Conference, held in Jakarta in November.
Staff of the federal Department of Human Services (DHS), which covers Centrelink, Medicare and the Child Support Agency, voted to reject a management-proposed enterprise bargaining agreement that would strip away workplace rights and conditions.
This is the third comprehensive 鈥淣o鈥 vote in 14 months in DHS, which is the Commonwealth government鈥檚 largest public service agency.
The NSW Coalition government is in deep trouble after the disastrous by-election in the rural seat of Orange on November 12 in which the Nationals suffered a 34% swing against it.
Nationals state leader and Deputy Premier Troy Grant has been forced to resign, and has been replaced by John Barilaro.
The swing was the highest ever recorded in a NSW by-election, with some booths reporting a swing away from the Nationals of more than 60%. It is now possible the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party (SFFP) candidate, Philip Donato, could win the seat on Labor preferences.
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