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Marriage Equality: This is personal

On August 25, for the first time in my life, I helped to organise a marriage equality rally.

It was a fantastic day: we had more than 400 people for the speeches and many more who joined the march through Fremantle and the rainbow chalk art session along the way. Walking through streets filled with supportive messages was so special. It was wonderful to be a part of and hugely encouraging to me and to everyone who supports the Yes campaign.

Two things gave me the drive to overcome my lack of confidence and make this rally happen.

APS cuts more than 3600 jobs over last year

The Australian Public Service (APS) cut more than 3600 jobs in the past year, on the sector says. Many of the jobs lost appear to be from the APS contract workforce.

The APS employed some 15,000 temporary staff in June, or 9.8% of employees. A year earlier it had some 18,000 non-ongoing staff, which was about 11.55% of the workforce.

Germany: Far-right surge sparks protests, poses serious challenge

The picture that emerges from the German elections, held on September 24, is cause for concern on multiple fronts 鈥 especially in the surge to the neo-Nazi Alternative for Germany (AfD).

Alongside Chancellor Angela Merkel winning a fourth term and the clear defeat of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), the shadow of a resurgent neo-Nazism casts a serious threat not only for Germany itself, but all of Europe.

Travelling through the heart of Afro-Venezuela

Having spent our first few days in Caracas, we travelled to Higurote, the capital of Brion municipality, in Miranda state, which is part of the coastal region known as Barlovento 鈥 a centre of African culture in Venezuela.聽

NFL players protest racism, killer cop goes free

One year ago, Colin Kaepernick, then-quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers National Football League team, refused to stand for the US national anthem, famously kneeling instead. He was alone in his protest.

Over the weekend of September 23-24, tens of millions of football fans watched on TV as 200 mostly Black players knelt or raised their fists while the national anthem was sung. The rest of their teams stood in solidarity with their right to protest, arm-in-arm. In some cases, entire teams stayed in the locker room while the anthem played.

Five new books for ecosocialists

Ian Angus takes a look at five new books of interest to ecosocialists, looking at urban climate change,聽past mass extinctions,聽tropical rainforests, religious anti-science, and the end of Arctic ice. Angus is the editor of Climate and Capitalism, where this list first appeared, and author of the new book A Redder Shade of Green.

Anything will burn, even a business model

As if it were wrapped in flammable polyethelene (PE) cladding, Uber鈥檚 seemingly unstoppable plan for world domination caught fire in London last month; and the blaze might be as hard to extinguish as the inferno that engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in the same city in June.

The deadly fire at Grenfell, and Uber鈥檚 repeated failings 鈥 in terms of vehicle safety, sexual assault, regulatory avoidance and driver exploitation 鈥 are both the direct result of under-regulation and multi-layered regulatory and policy failure.

Parramatta elects union activist as its first Greens councillor

Phil Bradley, the first Greens councillor elected to Parramatta Council, knows the next period will be a testing time.

Esso Longford strikers鈥 new mascot

Esso Longford workers have revealed the latest mascot in the fight for jobs at the company鈥檚 Gippsland gas plant. With Scabby the Rat banned by a Federal Court order, Greedy the Pig has stepped in to continue the struggle.

The workers have been on strike since June over a new enterprise agreement agreed to by three contractors in Western Australia, which then applied nationally. The workers were told to accept 15-30% wage cuts on two-week fly-in, fly-out rosters or lose their jobs.

Tsarist crimes airbrushed as Lenin gets 鈥榮how trial鈥 treatment

At Tsarskoe Selo, the Romanov monarchy鈥檚 palatial rural retreat where the former 鈥淭sar of all Russia鈥, Nicholas II, was detained after being forced to abdicate by the February 1917 revolution, the once all-powerful autocrat found much to get annoyed about.

In particular, Nicholas disliked the military bands that serenaded him with rousing renditions of the anthem of liberation,聽The Marseillaise, and, with black humour, Chopin鈥檚聽Funeral March.

Queensland government breaks Reef promise

During the 2015 Queensland election campaign, the then-Labor opposition promised to prohibit trans-shipping operations within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, as part of its commitment to protect the Reef.

Stop Adani National Day of Action: October 7

Thousands of activists will converge on a range of sites around the country on October 7 to send a message to politicians to say No to Adani No to funding Adani from taxpayer鈥檚 money.

In local community events from Port Douglas to Hobart, people will gather on beaches and parks to spell out these messages in the form of human signs.聽