On September 30, Ecuador descended into chaos as a protest by 麻豆传媒 of the police force and army turned into a potentially bloody coup against left-wing President Rafael Correa.
At about 8am, 麻豆传媒 of the Ecuadorian Armed Forces and the national police went on strike, occupying police stations and barracks in the capital Quito, in Guayaquil and in at least four other cities. They set up road blocks with burning tyres, cutting off access to the capital.
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More than 10 million workers staged a general strike in Spain on September 29 in response to vicious government attacks on their rights and pensions.
The huge mobilisation, organised by the Confederacion Sindical de Comisiones Obreras (CCOO) and Sindicato Union General de Trabajadores (UGT) labour unions, produced a 75% turnout of members, sending a strong message of opposition to the austerity measures.
UGT secretary for organisation and communication Jose Javier Cubillo said that in some sectors of the economy, such as steel and energy, support for the strike was close to 100%.
鈥淎fter the election: What now for refugee rights?鈥 was the theme of a September 29 Refugee Action Collective forum.
Wesley Widlend, from National Labor Students, condemned federal Labor鈥檚 鈥渄isgraceful display鈥 on asylum seeker policy. 鈥淢any members of the Labor Party consider the party policies inhumane鈥, he said. An immediate aim of the refugee rights movement should be 鈥渃ommunity processing of asylum seekers鈥.
The Greens鈥 Elissa Jenkins said it was 鈥渢ime for the Greens to listen to people's ideas鈥 on the goals of the refugee rights movement and for a 鈥渞eal campaign plan鈥.
We have just three months left to raise $135,228 if we are to make our 2010 fighting fund target of $300,000.
This may seem like an impossible task but it isn't. Our supporters have raised $164,772 this year. We know we have the support out there to raise the rest.
Of course, these amounts are just spare change to the corporate fat cats who were partying at the Forbes Global CEO Conference in Sydney last week, but 麻豆传媒 Weekly readers and supporters have had to work hard to raise that amount for the fighting fund.
A University of Newcastle student group, the Fairtrade Club, has had a win: a campus cafe has agreed to serve Fairtrade-certified coffee.
The club formed earlier this year. It campaigns for shops and cafes at the university to sell fair trade products like coffee and chocolate. It also organises awareness-raising events, like 鈥淔airtrade Fortnight鈥.
Efforts to pass laws banning full veils, burqa or chador, in some European countries 鈥 particularly France 鈥 have put the issue firmly on the agenda in many other Western countries.
Wollongong's satirical Billionaires for Coal rallied in Sydney on September 29 in defence of the Forbes CEO conference, which brought together billionaires from across Australia and the globe. The three billionaires faced off against a group of activists dressed as pirates, who were protesting against the system of global inequality epitomised by the conference.
About 6000 Queensland health workers walked off the job from October 1 across the state demanding better wages and conditions.
"The Queensland Public Sector Union [QPSU] said the Government was unfairly targeting its own workers to cut costs to make up for the nurses' payroll debacle鈥, the September 30 Courier-Mail said.
The workers are demanding an increase of 4.5%, 4% and 4% over three years, with allowances and extra leave protected. The government has refused to increase its offer of 2.5% a year over three years.
On September 28, a British Guardian reporter who interviewed me by phone published an article on the September 26 Venezuelan National Assembly elections titled 鈥淥pposition Gains Loosen Chavez鈥檚 Grip on Power.鈥
According to the article, I said the electoral results 鈥渟uggested the government should try to modify its radical discourse and accommodate the opposition, as long as it accepted the government鈥檚 legitimacy鈥.
Amnesty International鈥檚 Demand Dignity and Eora College art exhibition opened at the Boomalli Aboriginal Arts Gallery on September 22 to a crowd of 50 people. The exhibition was based on the theme of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The artworks were produced by talented students from the Eora TAFE College.
The Demand Dignity campaign aims to eradicate poverty by making human rights law. As part of the campaign, Amnesty International has criticised Australia鈥檚 NT intervention policy, which was launched by the Coalition government of John Howard in 2007.
Venezuela鈥檚 September 26 National Assembly elections gave an interesting insight into the state of class struggle in a country sharply polarised by the revolutionary changes led by the government of President Hugo Chavez.
The significance lies in the vote occurring after 11 years of the Chavez-led Bolivarian revolution, which has resulted in big improvements in the living standards of the poor majority.
On October 8, the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA), Queensland branch of the Electrical Trades Union and the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union will sign a 鈥渟ocial compact鈥 with the North Queensland Lands Council (NQLC).
The compact will mark a new stage in collaboration between trade unions and Indigenous organisations, especially in those regions targeted in the mining and resources boom.
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