Industrial Workers of the World

We are approaching the 10th anniversary of the horrendous atrocities of September 11, 2001, which, it is commonly held, changed the world. On May 1st, the presumed mastermind of the crime, Osama bin Laden, was assassinated in Pakistan by a team of elite US commandos, Navy SEALs, after he was captured, unarmed and undefended, in Operation Geronimo.

http://www.alternet.org/story/152308/noam_chomsky_on_the_dangers_of_american_empire_and_why_the_us_continues_to_be_bin_laden's_best_ally

We are approaching the 10th anniversary of the horrendous atrocities of September 11, 2001, which, it is commonly held, changed the world. On May 1st, the presumed mastermind of the crime, Osama bin Laden, was assassinated in Pakistan by a team of elite US commandos, Navy SEALs, after he was captured, unarmed and undefended, in Operation Geronimo.

http://mondediplo.com/openpage/was-there-an-alternative

Unions are claiming victory in their campaign against the state government after an angry crowd of about 30,000 marched on State Parliament today.

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/nsw-teachers-strike-as-police-firefighters-nurses-join-mass-public-sector-rally-20110908-1jyec.html

Arbitration exists as much to put a lid on worker militancy as to protect workers rights anyway, if not infinitely more so. More direct action at the point of production can only be a good thing - it is after all where the true strength of organised labour rests.

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/teachers-to-strike-in-defiance-of-irc-ruling-20110907-1jxcc.html#poll

While memorials were held across the US for the ninth anniversary of 9/11, we remember another 9/11: September 11th, 1973, when Salvador Allende, the democratically elected president of Chile, died in the palace as US-backed Pinochet forces rose to power. We speak with Juan Garcés, a personal adviser to Allende. He was the sole adviser to survive the coup and its aftermath.

http://www.democracynow.org/2010/9/15/another_9_11_anniversary_september_11

A crisis is first and foremost a crisis for workers. But it is a crisis for workers because it is a crisis for capital. That this is the case is not always so obvious. Whenever GDP contracts, the representatives of capital invariably call for ‘shared sacrifice’—that is, sacrifice shared out among working people.

More: http://endnotes.org.uk/articles/16

HOUSTON — The fighting is not yet over in Tripoli, but the scramble to secure access to Libya’s oil wealth has already begun.

Before the rebellion broke out in February, Libya exported 1.3 million barrels of oil a day. While that is less than 2 percent of world supplies, only a few other countries can supply equivalent grades of the sweet crude oil that many refineries around the world depend on. The resumption of Libyan production would help drive down oil prices in Europe, and indirectly, gasoline prices on the East Coast of the United States.

http://www.blueridgenow.com/article/20110822/ZNYT03/108223011/1008/sports?Title=The-Scramble-for-Access-to-Libya-x2019-s-Oil-Wealth-Begins

Basic workers’ rights including holidays, penalty rates and sick leave are at risk thanks to Tony Abbott’s confirmation today of a return to WorkChoices-style individual contracts under the Liberal Party.

http://www.rightsatwork.com.au/Home/Media/Abbott-confirms-that-revival-of-WorkChoices-by-Lib.aspx

Psychopaths use charm and manipulation to achieve success in the workplace, according to a US study.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/sep/01/psychopath-workplace-jobs-study

Liz Jackson reports on the insider who stole a bank’s secrets, then sold them, sparking panic among the world’s super rich.

http://www.theage.com.au/tv/show/four-corners/tax-me-if-you-can-20110829-1jhsk.html