Solidarity 221, 19 October 2011

Australian Labor activists demand reform

By Janet Burstall A “Labor Renewal” movement was launched in capital cities across Australia on 8 October, aiming to push democratic reforms through biennial conference of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) in December. The campaign sets five general aims, and more specifically demands implementation of the recommendations of Labor’s official review of its own organisation, published in February 2011. Kevin Rudd’s possible aspirations for a Blair-like comprehensive restructuring of the ALP, and radical marginalisation of the unions, have faded, for now. Probably worried by the decline in ALP...

Syria: the regime erodes

Seven months and more than 3,000 deaths after the people of the southern city of Deraa rose against the Syrian dictatorship, the struggle continues. The amazing bravery of the Syrian people has been fuelled by contempt for the incompetent, stupid, lying regime and a strong desire for freedom. The opposition has now constituted itself into a more coherent front, the Syrian National Council (SNC), which was announced in Turkey on 3 October. The SNC is similar to the Libyan TNC and includes democrats from the Damascus Declaration for Democratic Change and the Local Coordination Committees, as...

Anti-austerity protesters "occupy" London

Around 3,000 protestors gathered in front of St Paul’s Cathedral in London on Saturday 15 October as part of the global “Occupy” day of action against the global attempt by the capitalist class to make ordinary people pay for the financial crisis. For updates: http://twitter.com/#!/OccupyLSX [ More pictures here ]. The original intention had been to occupy Paternoster Square, but that had been blocked off by police. So the crowd, after some to-ing and fro-ing, the crowd went to sit on the steps of the Cathedral to discuss what to do. While the police formed lines over the road, stopping...

From Occupy Wall Street to Occupy America: The Emergence of a Mass Movement

By Dan La Botz A handful of young people started Occupy Wall Street in mid-September, as a protest against the banks and corporations that have grown rich while most Americans have grown poorer. Within weeks they had attracted hundreds and then thousands to marches and demonstration in New York City - one of them leading to the arrest of hundreds on the Brooklyn Bridge. The movement’s chant “We are the 99%” rang out not only in the Wall Street canyon but also across the country.” Now there are scores of Occupy groups across the United States camping out in public places, marching and rallying...

Lap dancing and morality

By Jean Lane, Unison activist in Tower Hamlets (pc) A public meeting was hosted in Tower Hamlets on 11th October by CAPE – the Campaign Against People Exploitation. It was billed as a balanced debate about whether Tower Hamlets council should have a policy of “nil sex establishments” in the Borough. It was nothing of the sort. I went to the meeting having not entirely worked out what I think about lap dancing clubs. Sympathetic to the concerns of local residents about noise and anti-social behaviour in and around their estates, the idea of women having a job for which the sole function is the...

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