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
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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.
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.
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.
In the ballot to elect the Australian Labor Party leader that concluded on October 9, 74% of the membership voted 鈥 30,426 of the party鈥檚 43,823 members 鈥 apparently energised by the novel prospect of having a say in the leadership.
Although the two aspirants, Bill Shorten and Anthony Albanese, are leaders of the party鈥檚 right and left factions respectively, both avoided controversy by saying next to nothing about policy.
A bill to recognise crime or harm against a foetus was debated a second time in NSW parliament on October 17. About 100 protesters rallied outside before filling the public gallery to witness the debate.
Liberal MP Chris Spence's bill, the Crimes Amendment (Zoe鈥檚 Law) Bill 2013 No. 2, also known as 鈥淶oe's law鈥, aims to amend the NSW Crimes Act.
It would give rights and personhood to foetuses of more than 20 weeks (or weighing more than 400 grams), which has troubling implications for women鈥檚 reproductive control.
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