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In brief: BRITAIN — Thousands protest Iraq war

Around 75,000 anti-war protesters flooded London's streets on October 17, in a protest called to coincide with the European Social Forum meeting in that city. The protesters carried signs emblazoned "Troops out!" and "Blair must go!". The media has

Barry Jones: Election like choosing between McDonald's and KFC

Peter Boyle In the wake of the October federal election, former Australian Labor Party president and current senior vice-president of the ALP Barry Jones has condemned the rightward trajectory of his party. "Australia now has two mainstream

Retired metalworkers debate support for jailed unionist

Andrew Martin, Brisbane On October 19, the Retired Metalworkers Association of Queensland (RMAQ) debated a motion condemning the expulsion of Craig Johnston from the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU). Although the strongly worded

ZIMBABWE: On trial for our country

Steve Marks, Harare The posters had started appearing at the usual places a few days before. In bold red and black they read, "Morgan Tsvangirai: on trial for our country .. High Court 10 am Friday October 15". By the morning of the judgment the

Greens: taking on the 'forces of darkness'

91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ Weekly's Graham Matthews spoke to Victorian Greens Senate candidate David Risstrom about his views on the federal election and the Greens' results. The Greens polled very well nationally, increasing your vote to 7.5%. Was the party happy

SOUTH KOREA: Indefinite general strike planned

Eva Cheng Ignoring months of workers' resistance, the cabinet of President Noh Moo-Hyun's government finalised a bill on October 19 that will seriously restrict public sector workers' rights to organise and bargain collectively. In response, the

Johnson Tiles: Profits first

Sue Bolton, Melbourne Press reports on October 20 announced that the notorious Johnson Tiles factory in Melbourne's outer-eastern suburb of Bayswater will close in December and move offshore. One-hundred workers will lose their jobs when the

In brief: NEW ZEALAND — Fighting oppression brings gangs together

In a defiant show of Black unity, members of the rival Black Power and Mongrel Mob gangs walked side by side in a hikoi (march) on October 16, called to protest a government bill that will remove Maori rights over the seabed and foreshore. According

'We did not vote for Howard's agenda'

Sarah Stephen On November 16, Lorna Bennie, Lyn Rafferty and Judy Gaskin will be among half a dozen people from the Blue Mountains Refugee Support Group hopping onto a minibus to go to Canberra to protest against the Howard government's refugee

Release Craig Johnston to build anti-Howard campaign!

Tim Gooden It's absolutely critical that there is a serious campaign to free former Victorian secretary of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union Craig Johnston from jail. This is not just because Craig is a nice bloke who's done a lot of good

In brief: TAHITI — Largest protest march ever

On October 16, at least 15,000 Tahitians participated in the largest protest march ever staged in French Polynesia, marching through the streets of Papeete, the capital, to demand the dissolution of the territory's parliament and new elections. The

In brief: BRITAIN — Brawl sparked by racist abuse

More than 100 people were involved in a street battle in Nuneaton on October 15, after racist thugs attacked people returning from evening prayers to a bail hostel. A witness told IC Coventry that "five or six lads were out there giving racist abuse