Despite pre-election poll predictions, the centre-left Workers Party (PT) presidential candidate failed to win outright in the first round of Brazil鈥檚 October 3 presidential elections.
PT candidate Dilma Rousseff, who won 46.7% of the vote, is seeking to succeed President Ignacio 鈥淟ula鈥 da Silva. Lula was the first PT president and was elected in 2002. He still enjoys a record-high 80% popularity rating.
Dilma, a former guerrilla and Lula鈥檚 cabinet chief, will face off on October 31 against right-wing Brazilian Social Democratic Party candidate, Jose Serra who scored 33%.
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The marvellous part about a transport strike, such as the one on the London Underground on October 4, is the reports on the news afterwards.
This is where we鈥檙e told: 鈥淥ne plucky commuter beat the strike by breaking into the Imperial War Museum and stealing a Spitfire, which he used to ferry grateful passengers who鈥檇 been left stranded by the union in a swamp with little hope of ever seeing their children again.
Three hundred people attended a launch of author and activist Tariq Ali's new book, From Bush to Obama 鈥 Change We Can Believe In? on October 6.
Ali said Obama鈥檚 election campaign had raised people's hopes and mobilised US youth, but people were now disillusioned and angry. He said Obama was a 鈥渕aster of bullshit鈥. Obama鈥檚 rhetoric sounded different, but fundamentally continued the policies of the Bush regime.
The Greens and the Australian Labor Party signed an agreement on September 1 to form a minority government on certain conditions, one of which was support for amendments to the constitution to recognise Aboriginal people. The government has agreed to hold a referendum on the issue.
The proposal has sparked debate among Aboriginal activists about its usefulness for the Aboriginal rights struggle.
One hundred activists protested on the steps of the Victorian parliament on October 6 to demand the Victorian desalination plant at Wonthaggi be scrapped.
Stephen Cannon of Watershed Victoria, which organised the protest, said the Brumby government had provided no reliable costing of the project.
Cannon said users could be paying six times the cost of ordinary water if the project went ahead. The project would line the pockets of corporations for generations at the expense of the people of Melbourne.
The October 3-14 Commonwealth Games being held in Delhi have proven a disaster for India鈥檚 poor 鈥 economically and socially. Even before the games opened, 47 workers had died working on sites linked to the games, MSNBC.com said on September 23.
The September 23 Financial Times said working conditions were so bad that the People鈥檚 Union for Democratic Rights and other labour rights鈥 activists 鈥渇iled a lawsuit in Delhi high court this year, claiming that workers on games sites faced unsafe conditions and rampant violation of a wide range of labour laws and standards.
In September, I spent two weeks on a solidarity brigade in Venezuela. The brigade participants were able to witness the September 26 National Assembly elections and get a first hand view of the revolutionary changes taking place across the country.
The brigade was organised by the Australian Venezuelan Solidarity Network (AVSN), and included political activists and enthusiasts from Ausstralia, New Zealand, Bulgaria, Britan, Canada and the United States.
I would thoroughly suggest this experience to anyone interested in the Venezuelan revolution.
There is something rotten in the state of Victoria. The legacy of secrecy in government reached a high point under Jeff Kennett鈥檚 Coalition state government in the 1990s. It continued under the Bracks Labor government and the current John Brumby Labor government. The main reason for this was widespread privatisation and the policy of funding infrastructure projects through public-private partnerships (PPPs) 鈥 a policy begun by the Kennett government and continued by Labor.
What is most interesting about Newcastle鈥檚 annual This Is Not Art (TiNA) festival, is that what started 12 years ago as a community festival of independent, emerging art and culture, is still a community festival of independent, emerging art and culture.
In an era when it鈥檚 not uncommon for even the most intimate art show to be sponsored by a massive alcohol company, the non-commercial nature of TiNA is remarkable.
Australia is being hit by a relentless, daily gauntlet of live music and art festivals, but TiNA retains a truly artist-run schedule of events.
October 15 is Wear It Purple Day. Please make and wear a purple armband to show support for queer teens at risk of suicide.
For young Australians, suicide is the second most common cause of death after traffic accidents. There is evidence that 30% of lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender teens in Australia attempt suicide. This is a shocking statistic and a disgraceful state of affairs.
The Live Red Art Awards and Festival is taking place on October 17 at the Addison Road Community Centre in Marrickville, Sydney. The day will feature an exhibition and live performances.
Submissions for the multi-disciplinary competition, which was open to anyone, closed on October 1. As well as the winner announced by the judges, there will be a 鈥減eople鈥檚 choice鈥 award. For more information on Live Red Arts, visit . Below is a run-down on some of the artists whose work will be on display at the festival.
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To meet our $300,000 麻豆传媒 Weekly fighting fund target this year, we need less than half of what Commonwealth Bank CEO Ralph Norris gets paid in just week.
GLW supporters have raised $165,406 so far this year. To make the target, we need to raise a further $134,594. Every fundraising dinner, harbour cruise, jumble sale or fundraising barbeque will count in the dash to the finish. Week after week, we will ask our supporters for donations.
It will be a struggle to raise $134,594.
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