ROADS BLOCKED, WORKERS STRIKE
The Argentine Government announced massive cuts to its public budget at the end of July, in order to be able to continue to pay its foreign debt to the IMF and World Bank. Public workers and pensioners are to lose 13% of their salaries, in a plan proposed by President Fernando De la Rua and approved by the Argentine Senate on Monday. These measures came along with the tightening of the budget for the provinces, the shutting down of public offices and more severe control over tax collection. Thousands of demonstrators have convened in Buenos Aires and throughout the country against these new "Zero Deficit" laws. Fighting broke out with the police as Thirty thousand students, public workers, the unemployed and other people participated in the massive protest in front of the presidential office in Plaza de Mayo (Buenos Aires) on August 8.

MIDDLE EAST TAKES ON WTO
Lebanon are set to host the Arab world's first anti globalization forum, Lebanese Platform. The local anti-globalization group have scheduled a conference for the first week of November, before the World Trade Organization conference in Doha, Qatar kicks off on Nov.9. "The Lebanese government claims it has to embrace globalization and join the WTO," said Platform member Ziad Abdul-Samad. "We are against WTO membership, today, it is being used by a handful of powers and 400 multi-national corporations to control small economies".
Abdul-Samad argued that developing countries need to taylor their economic policies to their own distinct needs and not to WTO requirements.
The activist said protesters against globalization could not be ignored, and anti-WTO sentiment was picking up throughout the world. You bet.
"Even the United States, the mother of globalization, could not turn the anti-globalization tide," said Abdul-Samad. Several Arab countries are expected to boycott the conference because Israel is attending.

ECUADOR TAKES 'EM ON
Weeks of civil disobedience actions, protest marchers and strikes accumulated on the 8th and 9th August in mass blockades in all the major cities in Ecuador. The protests by doctors, teachers, farmers, natives, environmentalists, leftists, trade unionists, students, women's groups, the retired and the poor were largely in response to the governments IMF backed 'structural adjustments'. Money from the IMF has been used to bail out the corrupt banking system, further the privatization of the electrical sector, 'restructuring' of the social security system, the building of new oil pipelines amongst other things. And like all loans from the IMF and World Bank who will be expected to take cuts to pay it back ? - not governments or the rich - yes you've guessed it, the working people and the poor. Looks like in Ecuador they've had enough. More info: www.indymedia.org

COCA KILLERS
Trade union leaders in the United States have said they are suing the soft-drinks company Coca-Cola for allegedly hiring right-wing death squads to terrorise workers at its Colombian bottling plant.
The suit alleges that Coca-Cola and Panamerican Beverages, its principal bottler in Latin America, waged what union leaders describe as a campaign of terror, using paramilitaries to kill, torture and kidnap union leaders in Colombia.
More than 50 union leaders have been killed in Colombia this year, 128 last year and more than 1,500 in the past 10 years, according to the complaint. Trade union Sinaltrainal represents 2,300 food workers in Colombia including 500 employees at plants where Coca-Cola is bottled.
Coca-Cola chief executive Douglas Daft said. "Despite our growth in a tough economic climate, we are still not satisfied that we are reaching our full potential in some key markets, and we are determined to do so".

GENOA
Almost four weeks after over 200,000 critics of corporate globalization descended upon Genoa, Italy to make their views known to the "G8", leaders of eight of the world's most powerful countries, the political fallout from the demonstrations still remains unclear. While activists around the world debate the implications of Genoa on the burgeoning movement's strategy and tactics, those in Genoa are still trying to confirm the safety and health of those still in jail and those missing.
You can follow the discussions of our ever expanding movement on www.indymedia.org