The National Day of Action against Youth Incarceration on October 11 was marked by a protest rally and march, which also blocked a CBD intersection.
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The second MP to speak in the House of Representatives debate on Australian military intervention in Afghanistan 鈥 a debate held nine years after the intervention began 鈥 was the newly elected independent Member for Denison (Tasmania) Andrew Wilkie.
On October 19, Sydney Stop The War Coalition activist Marlene Obeid was dragged out of the parliamentary public gallery as Australia's Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced that Australian troops would be "engaged in Afghanistan at least for the rest of this decade".
On October 19, at exactly 3.30pm, the Lib-Lab politicians suddenly went from smirk to sombre as the Afghanistan 鈥渄ebate鈥 finally started 鈥 nine years too late.
Factory workers from the Venezuelan chemical and lubricant company Veneco held a demonstration on the evening of October 10 in Carabobo state to show their support for the company鈥檚 nationalisation.
President Hugo Chavez announced the nationalisation that afternoon.
Jose Martinez, the general secretary of the Venoco workers鈥 union, said: 鈥淲e are endorsing this takeover that will bring us many benefits.
鈥淚t will bring a change from the capitalist mode to the socialist mode and we are going to strengthen our company.鈥
The Australian-led Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI), involving involves police and soldiers, is set to continue its occupation of the Pacific island for at least 鈥渇ive to six years鈥, despite a change of government in the Solomon Islands.
Danny Philip was elected prime minister of the Solomon Islands by parliamentary vote on August 25, the Solomon Star said, after the August 4 general elections in which 25 out of 50 seats changed hands.
Western Australian Liberal Premier Colin Barnett has said many of the 200 remote Aboriginal communities in WA will be shut down.
ABC Online reported on October 14 that Barnett said: "There's no doubt that under policies really initiated by the Federal Government, small, isolated Aboriginal communities were promoted.
"The reality is that there's no employment prospects in those areas, or very limited."
Barnett鈥檚 comments were in relation to the small community of Oombulgurri, where there are 50 residents and 14 public servants.
On October 3, US authorities warned US citizens travelling in Western Europe that there was an increased threat from Islamist terrorism. The same day, British authorities cautioned their citizens travelling in France or Germany. France, for its part, issued a warning for French nationals visiting Britain.
The nature of the supposed terrorist threat was unspecified. The media breathlessly speculated about planned 鈥淢umbai-style鈥 attacks.
Union and community opposition has firmed against Labor Premier Anna Bligh鈥檚 bid to privatise Queensland Rail National (QR), as the government prepares to launch shares in the rail freight corporation on November 22.
QR National, a 140-year-old public asset, will be sold off at an estimated $2.50-$3 a share, raising up to $7.3 billion, ABC鈥檚 Lateline said on October 11.
No legally-binding agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions will be made at this year鈥檚 big United Nations climate conference in Cancun, Mexico from November 29 to December 10. And that鈥檚 just the way the rich nations want it.
Few world leaders are even expected to turn up to the Cancun talks. For months, key players have tried to dampen down public hopes that the summit will mark a shift away from business as usual.
The British Guardian columnist George Monbiot wrote on September 20 that it was time for climate action campaigners to accept the UN process was dead.
Despite carefully-crafted appearances to the contrary, projects like the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) are no solution to the problems that confront the colonised 鈥渄eveloping鈥 world.
Endemic corruption, environmentally unsustainable development and spiralling income inequality are inseparable from the process of capitalist global expansion, which EITI and other corporate-funded front organisations only serve to legitimise.
The political situation in France is dominated by the struggle against the proposed reform of the pension system to raise the age of retirement, among other things. This reform is at the heart of French President Nicolas Sarkozy鈥檚 austerity policy.
Although presented as a demographic necessity, it is increasingly opposed by the public.
The struggle has been growing since the start of the mobilisations in May and the first day of action in June. Since the beginning of September, three days of strikes and demonstrations have brought out about 3 million people on each occasion.
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