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Mitchell Centre workers strike for safety

BY RUTH RATCLIFFE DARWIN — "We come to work standing, walking and talking, but with the current safety conditions, we could leave work in a pine box", the Electrical Trades Union (ETU) organiser Alan Paton, told Green Left Weekly. Workers on

UNITED STATES: Why hundreds of thousands marched

BY MALIK MIAH SAN FRANCISCO — In the largest anti-war protest since the peace marches of the Vietnam War era, some 200,000 people filled the streets here on January 18. Demanding "No war against Iraq", the demonstrators were a representative

Pharmaceutical benefits threatened by 'free trade' agreement

BY EVA CHENG Australia's right to draw up or maintain non-profit-oriented social policies will be under threat from the "free trade" agreement (FTA) that the Coalition government seeks to make with President George Bush's US administration. Formal

One ring to rule them all?

Lord of the Rings: The Two TowersDirected by Peter JacksonWritten by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Stephen Sinclair and Peter JacksonStarring Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen and Viggo Mortensen. REVIEW BY LAURA DURKAY The corporate media were quick to

Human peace sign

ANTARCTICA — People at the McMurdo Station in Antarctica — seven continents united — joined with hundreds of thousands of others around the world on January 18 to call for peace not war in Iraq. With the Antarctic mountain range in the

Eric Hobsbawm: a revolutionary pulse still beats

Interesting Times: A Twentieth Century LifeBy Eric HobsbawmAllen Lane, 2002448 pages, $55 (hb) REVIEW BY PHIL SHANNON It was almost better than sex, thought Eric Hobsbawm during the massive but last legal march of the German Communist Party (KPD)

Loose Cannons

Bright spark "He rang me Wednesday morning. The first thing we talked about was the bushfires. He didn't like the name bushfires. He said can't you call them natural fires. I said that's a bit hard, George. We're very used to the bush here. He said

Canberra firestorm could have been prevented

BY JAMES VASSILOPOULOS A firestorm swept through the western suburbs of Canberra on January 18, resulting in the deaths of four people, the destruction of 503 homes. Around 300 people had to be treated for burns and smoke inhalation and 60

ARGENTINA: Solidarity deepens among the oppressed

BY FEDERICO FUENTES BUENOS AIRES — Two separate delegations travelled to the northern province of Tucuman, one of the poorest provinces in Argentina, in January. Each represented the deep gulf that divides Argentinian society and politics.

BRAZIL: World Social Forum kicks off

BY FEDERICO FUENTES PORTO ALEGRE — This city is buzzing as more and more people arrive each day for the third annual gathering of the World Social Forum (WSF), being held here January 23-28. Once again, tens of thousands of global justice

Centrelink workers still waiting on payrise

BY RAY FULCHER Centrelink and the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) are back in negotiations over a new "development agreement" after a rejection by 72% Centrelink staff of management's attempt to get an unpopular pay and conditions

World-wide protests demand: 'Don't attack Iraq!'

BY ROHAN PEARCE The wave of global anti-war protests on January 18 was a massive show of opposition by the world's working people — in particular those in the United States — to a US war on Iraq. The protests also signal that the US