ANTI-MACDONALD'S DAY
Worldwide Anti-McDonald's Day, 16 October

To mark the 17th Worldwide Anti-McDonald's Day, activists in London and Newcastle protested outside their local McDonalds. In London protesters marched from the Strand to Whithall, giving out free veggie burgers. Tyneside activists protested outside the Northumberland Street McDonald's, giving away baked potatoes also to mark the United Nations World Food Day.

The Worldwide Anti-McDonald's Day is in protest against McDonald's' record of damage to the environment, promotion of junk food and animal cruelty. Protesters around the world gave out free food and leaflets about what's wrong with McDonald's. Other protests highlighted McDonalds poor worker-relations records and the company's ban on workers organising. Read call to action.

Elsewhere McD's pulled out of attempts to open stores in New Forest and High Wycombe due to much local protest. In Santiago,(Chile), authorities temporarily closed one McDonald's restaurant two weeks ago after a routine inspection found traces of the E. coli bacteria, similar to that found in August at four McDonald's restaurants in Buenos Aires, (Argentina), and in Rio de Janeiro,(Brazil), a homemade bomb suspiciously exploded in front of a McDonalds restaurant.
For more information see the McSpotlight website.


DEAF AWARENESS WEEK 9-16th OCT
No sign of language for the deaf in Cornwall

Deaf activists staged a march in Truro, Cornwall, to protest at the non-recognition of British Sign Language in the Cornish educational system. The pre-arranged march was colourful but hampered by police interference and obstruction - protesters defiantly went ahead with a second march around the city centre. Later some activists blocked the road in a sit down protest and four were arrested (without the presence of an interpreter). They were later released after eight hours in jail.
See report, the World Deaf Federation, links to Deaf issue pages.