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The Great Pretender

Oh yes! I'm the Great Pretender!Pretending I'm for human rights.My badge, you see, is from Amnesty,But my heart says, "Australia is for the whites!" Oh yes! I'm the Great Pretender!I claim to protect girls and boys,But look that's not my style: I

Musicians to perform for refugee rights

BY LISA MACDONALD SYDNEY — Bands and performers from a range of music styles have joined forces with refugee-rights activists to organise a Rock for Refugees benefit concert next month. The all-ages, seven-hour concert on October 27 will

Labor sells out on war

Labor sells out on war The “me-too” approach that Prime Minister John Howard and his cabinet have taken to the US war drive against Iraq has given the ALP some leeway to appear to be an opposition on this issue. It isn't. Both the

INDONESIA: Beginning of end for Megawati?

BY MAX LANE JAKARTA — Indonesian police used tear gas and water cannons to attempt to subdue a large demonstration outside the parliament of the Jakarta special province on September 11. Tens of thousands of protesters gathered to

OPM denies responsibility for Freeport attack

BY KATHY FAIRFAX SYDNEY — Rex Rumakiek, a long-standing OPM (Organisasi Papua Merdeka) representative in Australia, denied that the West Papua independence group was involved in the August 31 attack on the giant US-owned Freeport gold and

Activists to challenge for UWA guild positions

BY EMMA CLANCY PERTH — "We want to see more events such as the 200-strong student general meeting held on September 3, which debated issues such as refugees, the looming war on Iraq and Palestine", Fred Fuentes told Green Left Weekly. Fuentes,

Meeting supports 'Cuba Five'

BY LYNDA HANSEN BRISBANE — Thirty people attended a public meeting on September 12 to mark the fourth year since five Cubans were arrested in Miami and convicted in June 2001 for espionage. They had been involved in monitoring right-wing

Residents stop mobile phone tower

BY JULIE ALBERDI& JILL WESTAWAY MELBOURNE — On September 8, residents of Heidelberg Heights won their campaign against the erection of a mobile phone tower on their local church. They had been advised in mid-August by the Rosanna Baptist

Bush ultimatum brings war closer

BY NORM DIXON US President George Bush delivered his much-anticipated ultimatum to the United Nations on September 12: enforce all Security Council resolutions passed against Iraq since 1990 or a massive US attack on Iraq will be "unavoidable".

AMWU fights it out in court

BY SUE BULL MELBOURNE — The Victorian office of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union remains in limbo, awaiting a resolution to the dispute between the AMWU's national office and elected Victorian officials. By September 14, most

Commission attacks NSW CFMEU

BY SAM WAINWRIGHT SYDNEY — The Royal Commission into the Building and Construction Industry, although based in Melbourne, has also been holding sessions in other cities, including Sydney. The most recent Sydney session finished on August

Socialist Alliance approaches Victorian registration

BY GRAHAM MATTHEWS MELBOURNE — On September 13, the Victorian Electoral Commission sent letters to all 764 Socialist Alliance members in Victoria. The letters ask one simple question — "Are you an Australian citizen 18 years or over and