Category: Overseas

Overseas

Labor secures stunning re-election victory in Australian state of Victoria as voters ‘reject fear’

From The Guardian: The Labor Party will return to majority government in the Australian state of Victoria, with as many as 16 more seats following the election result that shocked even the winners.

The right-wing Coalition lost half of its seats and calls were being made for senior conservative party figures to resign.

Andrews told party faithful at Labor party headquarters in Mulgrave that Labor was “the most progressive government in the nation” and that voters had “in record numbers rejected the low road of fear and division. And for that, I am very, very proud.”

The federal Greens leader, Richard Di Natale, said Victorians had “comprehensively” rejected the tough-on-crime messaging of the Coalition, which he said had the potential to “divide the Australian community” and “attack” multiculturalism. “I thought the Victorian community said very loudly and clearly: ‘We reject a campaign based on fear and division’,” Di Natale added. “I want to congratulate Daniel Andrews and the Labor party.”

[Read full article on Guardian website…]

US Midterms 2018: Record number of women elected as Democrats seize House

From The Independent: America’s political landscape has undergone a transformation, after a new crop of politicians – more diverse, more female and more progressive – helped Democrats seize control of the House of Representatives and place Donald Trump under unprecedented scrutiny.

[Read article on Independent website…]

Trump speech to UN draws mocking laughter

From The Guardian: In one of the more remarkable moments in the history of the annual United Nations General Assembly, the chamber of world leaders broke out in spontaneous laughter at Donald Trump’s claim that “in less than two years, my administration has accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country”.

Clearly taken aback, Trump said: “I didn’t expect that reaction, but that’s OK.”

The UN General Assembly Laughed at President Trump Over His Boasts

The UN General Assembly literally laughed at President Trump for bragging about his administration

Posted by NowThis Politics on Tuesday, September 25, 2018

Eight lessons from Barcelona en Comú on how to Take Back Control

From OpenDemocracy: “We’re living in extraordinary times that demand brave and creative solutions. If we’re able to imagine a different city, we’ll have the power to transform it.” – Ada Colau, Mayor of Barcelona.

On 24 May 2015, the citizen platform Barcelona en Comú was elected as the minority government of the city of Barcelona. Along with a number of other cities across Spain, this election was the result of a wave of progressive municipal politics across the country, offering an alternative to neoliberalism and corruption.

With Ada Colau – a housing rights activist – catapulted into the position of Mayor, and with a wave of citizens with no previous experience of formal politics finding themselves in charge of their city, BComú is an experiment in progressive change that we can’t afford to ignore.

[Read full article on OpenDemocracy…]

New Zealand: Conservative government loses election to Labour-Green coalition

From The Guardian: In New Zealand the conservative National Party has lost power following their general election, to a coalition led by the New Zealand Labour Party and backed by the Greens.

New Zealand Labour has pledged to wipe out child poverty, make university free, decriminalise abortion, and make all rivers swimmable within ten years. Read more

Bernie Sanders ‘delighted’ by Jeremy Corbyn’s results in election vote

From The Guardian: Bernie Sanders has congratulated Jeremy Corbyn on Labour’s performance in the general election. The Vermont senator – who narrowly failed to win his bid for the Democratic nomination against Hillary Clinton in the 2016 race for the White House – said he had watched the UK results coming in on Thursday and was very pleased about the party’s showing.

“I am delighted to see Labour do so well,” the Vermont senator said in a Facebook post, linking to a Guardian news story. He went on: “All over the world, people are rising up against austerity and massive levels of income and wealth inequality. People in the UK, the US and elsewhere want governments that represent all the people, not just the 1%. I congratulate Jeremy Corbyn for running a very effective campaign.”

Sanders voiced his support for Corbyn this month, drawing parallels between anti-establishment anger at both ends of the political spectrum in Britain and the US, and applauding the Labour leader’s efforts to reshape the party.

Read more

How social media helps #BlackLivesMatter fight the power

By Bijan Stephen on Wired: If you’re a civil rights activist in 2015 and you need to get some news out, your first move is to choose a platform. If you want to post a video of a protest or a violent arrest, you put it up on Vine, Instagram, or Periscope. If you want to avoid trolls or snooping authorities and you need to coordinate some kind of action, you might chat privately with other activists on GroupMe. If you want to rapidly mobilize a bunch of people you know and you don’t want the whole world clued in, you use SMS or WhatsApp. If you want to mobilize a ton of people you might not know and you do want the whole world to talk about it: Twitter.

[Read full article on Wired…]