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CHINA: Behind the protest figures

BY EVA CHENG Hundreds of workers in Beijing and Shanxi province staged protests in August, seeking job security and payment of unpaid wages, while 10,000 miners in Jilin province blocked a major train line in July. The Beijing workers alleged

Carr's tough laws won't protect women

BY DANI BARLEY SYDNEY — Calling for an end to an alleged "significant disparity between public opinion and judicial sentencing conduct", NSW Premier Bob Carr has put forward new legislation that would enforce a maximum life sentence for gang

'Allow Tampa refugees to settle here'

WOLLONGONG — The Socialist Alliance candidate for the federal seat of Cunningham, Dr Margaret Perrott, praised the young people who joined the high school walkout against the federal government's treatment of refugees on September 5. "These

Staff force TAFE to negotiate

BY CHRISTOPHER PERKINS WOLLONGONG — Illawarra Institute of TAFE management have agreed to negotiate with TAFE library staff representatives on September 10 in an effort to halt an escalating industrial dispute over job and budget cuts. The

NEPAL: US policy threatens abortion law reform

On average, almost six women die each day from unsafe abortions in Nepal and those that are lucky enough to survive back-alley procedures then risk life imprisonment. Under current laws, abortion is prohibited even in cases of rape, incest or when

Anti-sweatshop activists shame Sussan

BY MARGARITA WINDISCH MELBOURNE — A lively protest of about 30 anti-sweatshop activists targeted the headquarters of women's clothing retailer Sussan on September 5, parking a huge mobile billboard outside the building featuring a woman throwing

Protest and you'll cop it

BY SEAN HEALY Steel fences which barricade off city blocks, police baton charges, the use of tear gas and even live ammunition against protesters may be the most obvious signs of the authorities' attempts to repress, or at least contain, the rising

Tax workers to fight job cuts

BY CHRIS SLEE MELBOURNE — Community and Public Sector Union members in tax offices around Australia have voted to endorse a campaign against planned job cuts. In the last budget the federal government cut Australian Taxation Office funding by

Networker: Read quickly

Read quickly "This message will self-destruct after reading". Sounds like something from Mission Impossible? Think again. This is the latest technology, and it is called a "time-out e-book". e-Books are the latest thing. Traditionally you bought

Treatment of refugees 'heartless'

BY BILL MASON BRISBANE — Leading indigenous rights activist and Queensland Senate candidate for the Socialist Alliance, Sam Watson, on August 29 condemned the Australian government's refusal to allow refugees aboard the Norwegian cargo ship MS

Stop Howard's war on refugees

BY SARAH STEPHEN Determined to remake himself as a strong, decisive leader, Prime Minister John Howard declared in parliament on August 29, "That boat will never land in our waters — never!" Decked out in full combat gear, complete with automatic

EAST TIMOR: Thousands rally for socialism

BY JANA DK DILI — In its first major mobilisation since the beginning of East Timor's election campaign, on August 25 some 5000 Timorese Socialist Party members and supporters gathered at Dili's Independence Field for one of the most energetic,