Chris is a labour law researcher, specialising in China and the right to strike. He spent 27 years in the SA union movement. Chris now lives in Canberra. More →
U.S. Social Forum 2010 By Chris Spannos Celebrating the first ever U.S. Social Forum (USSF) in Atlanta, Georgia in 2007, National Planning Committee member Rubén Solís avowed, “This won’t end in Atlanta.” He was right. Three years later, the second USSF was held in Detroit, Michigan, June 22-26. In the period between the Forums, the [...]
In search of the truth: ‘Balibo Five’ victims still missing by Shirley Shackleton In his book Butir-Butir Budaya Jawa (Items of Javanese Culture), Gen. Soeharto, stated, “There are five categories of lies which are not punishable”. First, those you tell in a social gathering; second, those you tell your bride on your wedding day; third, [...]
From Left focus three perspectives on the election http://leftfocus.blogspot.com/2010/08/election-reflections-three-perspectives.html
South African Public Sector Strike Highlights Society’s Contradictions Patrick Bond The two major civil service unions on strike against the South African (SA) government vow to intensify pressure in coming days, in a struggle pitting a million members of the middle and lower ranks of society against a confident government leadership fresh from hosting the [...]
Why Wikileaks Must Be Protected By John Pilger Thursday, August 19, 2010 Z Communications On 26 July, Wikileaks released thousands of secret US military files on the war in Afghanistan. Cover-ups, a secret assassination unit and the killing of civilians are documented. In file after file, the brutalities echo the colonial past. From Malaya and [...]
Australia Asia Worker Links Reports on workers and their unions in struggle and campaigns from Bangladesh, Korea, Cambodia, Thailand and Indonesia. http://aawl.org.au/
Workers, unions and stopping Abbott by Tim Gooden ‘For many union leaders afraid of a Coalition victory on August 21, campaigning against Tony Abbott simply means campaigning for Julia Gillard. With a conservative win on the cards unions have escalated their pro-ALP campaigning. The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union — which has filled Labor’s coffers with [...]
Over Fifty Australian Economists Agree Fiscal Stimulus Prevented A Major Recession http://johnquiggin.com/ Nobel Laureate Professor Joseph Stiglitz has stated publicly that the Australian Fiscal Stimulus was a well designed package that saved the Australian economy from a major recession that has hit almost all the other OECD economies. He argued that the Australian package was [...]
Teacher Bonuses Fail to Improve Student Results A research brief published by the public education group, Save Our Schools, says that Labor and Liberal claims that teacher bonuses will improve student achievement is not supported by research evidence. SOS National Convenor, Trevor Cobbold, said that the proposed bonuses will be a huge waste of money [...]
