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MIA raises her middle finder during a performance at last year's Superbowl

鈥淚t鈥檚 a massive display of powerful corporation dick-shaking,鈥 British-born Tamil singer MIA said in response to being sued by the National Football League in the United States over her performance at last year's Superbowl performance. 鈥淭hey want me on my knees and say sorry so they can slap me on my wrist.鈥

First Nations people have blockaded motorways on October 17 in Rexton, New Brunswick in Canada's west in protest against the violation of their traditional homelands by colonist mining companies seeking to commence fracking for shale gas. Protsters from the Elsipogtog First Nation were joined by other local residents to stop shale gas exploration over fears it would lead to environmentally damaging fracking processes.
Thousands of high school students have confronted authorities in Paris after several asylum seekers were deported by the French government. Protests broke out on October 17 with students building barricades in the streets and occupied their schools, as well as engaging in clashes with riot police. The students were opposing the deportation of several of their peers who had been stolen away by the racist French government.
Sam Wainwright.

Socialist Alliance WA co-convenor Sam Wainwright was re-elected to the Fremantle council on October 19. In the other wards, progressive councillors defeated conservative opponents, and Mayor Brad Pettitt was also returned.

A half-day strike by NSW public servants planned for October 22 has been called off after the Barry O鈥橣arrell government agreed to meet with the NSW Public Service Association (PSA) to discuss the union鈥檚 concerns about the high number of redundancies being implemented across the public service. The PSA central council voted on October 14 to put industrial action on hold pending talks with the NSW government about the axing of 15,000 public sector jobs over four years and concerns about the new Government Sector Employment Act.
Protesters gathered outside the immigration department CBD offices on October 18 to call on the Australian government to allow seven West Papuan asylum seekers to seek protection in Australia. The seven West Papuans arrived in Australia鈥檚 Torres Strait on September 24. They fled West Papua, fearing reprisal for involvement with a Freedom Flotilla from Australia.
Blue Mountains Mayor Mark Greenhill told ABC News Breakfast on October 18: 鈥淭he climatic conditions that fuelled that fire yesterday were just unprecedented ... an unprecedented disaster.鈥 More than 100 fires broke out across New South Wales on October 17. By October 19, they had destroyed at least 193 homes in the Blue Mountains alone and caused at least one confirmed death.
The Victorian treasurer has recently announced a budget surplus, but Melbourne taxi drivers have been forced to protest outside of parliament this week due to the Coalition's austerity-driven taxi reforms. The Denis Napthine government wants to deregulate taxi licensing and claims that taxi standards have been compromised due to a lack of "competition" in the industry. Taxi drivers and stakeholders know this is a lie.
The federal resources minister Ian Macfarlane announced early in his term that one of his first priorities was to expand the coal seam gas (CSG) industry in NSW. This will put him on a collision course with a powerful rural and city alliance 鈥 including activists like mother-of-four Melinda Wilson from western Sydney. Wilson helped form No CSG Blacktown and CSG Free Western Sydney. She is organising a in Sydney on October 22.
A new free trade deal to be signed this year could allow foreign corporations to sue the Australian government for introducing environmental regulations on coal seam gas (CSG). Australia has joined 11 other countries 鈥 the United States, Malaysia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam 鈥 in negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP). Unlike most trade deals, other countries can sign on in the future.
Mainstream media outlets gave substantial coverage to the UN鈥檚 new report on the climate change crisis late last month, which said the Earth鈥檚 climate is warming faster than at any point in the past 65 million years and that human activity is the cause. Disappointingly, though not unsurprisingly, the news reports .
On Thursday October 17, New South Wales suffered the worst outbreak of bushfires in decades. Although it is not yet summer, the day was another one of high temperatures and hot, dry gusty winds. Fires raged out of control destroying hundreds of homes and killing one 63-year-old man trying to defend his home. Sydney city and surrounding suburbs, as well as Newcastle and Wollongong, were covered by towering smoke plumes and ash, even though the nearest bushfires were tens of kilometres away to the north, west and south. It was apocalyptic.