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The Dark Days of the Ruddites

The government tells those aged between 17 and 25 they've got to be either learning or earning or their social security will be withheld. Young unemployed don't need to be compelled; they need to be provided with opportunities to

Don't flog a dead horse, bury it

As the Australian Labor Party holds its 2009 national conference, there鈥檚 an old union saying that鈥檚 never been more apt: if you don鈥檛 fight, you lose.

Begging and protests outlawed in Alice

The Alice Springs council will fine beggars $130 following new bylaws passed on July 20. The new bylaws also banned camping, lighting fireworks and holding protests without a permit.

Solidarity with wind turbine plant occupation

On July 20, workers at the Vestas wind turbine plant on England鈥檚 Isle of Wight occupied the factory to protest its closure and the loss of 625 green jobs.

RTBU poetry and song competition

Continuing a long tradition, the RTBU Award for Poets and Songwriters is running again in 2009.

Unionist faces jail for not answering ABCC questions 鈥 abolish anti-union secret police!

On August 11, Ark Tribe, a member of the South Australian Branch of the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU), will appear in court charged with refusing to answer questions from the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC).

Protests support democracy in Iran

Around 60 people protested outside parliament house on July 25 in solidarity with recent democracy protests in Iran. They demanded the release of political prisoners, an end to censorship and the rejection of the recent presidential elections as a fraud.

Israel's illegal settlements expanded

An East Jerusalem community has called on US President Barack Obama to pressure Israel to stop its illegal 鈥淛ewish-only鈥 settlement program that will evict them from their homes.

Honduras: The hour of the grass roots

Three weeks after the June 28 military coup that expelled Honduran President Manuel 鈥淢el鈥 Zelaya, the Central American country remains shaken by a profound and dynamic popular upsurge demanding Zelaya鈥檚 return and the restoration of democracy.

West Papua: Indonesian impunity at Freeport mine

The article below is abridged from a July 23 statement by the West Papua Advocacy Team.

Thiess workers fight for jobs

The picket against construction company Thiess in Rhodes, Western Sydney, has continued for more than a month. On July 23, protesters gathered at the picket in support of the four recently sacked workers.

The Afghan war 鈥 unjust and unwinnable

Afghan prisoners of war at the US military-run prison at Bagram, outside Kabul, have refused to wash or leave their cells in protest at their indefinite imprisonment since at least July 1, the Sydney Morning Herald said on July 17.