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BRITAIN: WMD scandal causes Labour poll slump

BY ROHAN PEARCE A survey by polling organisation YouGov has revealed that the British Labour Party's popularity has fallen dramatically as the scandal over Prime Minister Tony Blair's lies about Iraq's alleged arsenal of weapons of mass destruction

FRANCE: Three thousand voices for Bove

BY DANNY FAIRFAX Denouncing the arrest of Jose Bove, one of the most high profile global justice activists in France, 3000 people protested in the town of Millau, the major population centre of Bove's home region Aveyron, on June 28. Bove, a

SCOTLAND: Union backs socialists

BY KEEF TOMKINSON From its birth, the Scottish Socialist Party has called on trade unions to break their link with the British Labour Party. On July 1, the 65,000-strong British Rail Maritime and Transport union decided that branches could affiliate

Write on: Letters to the editor

Brazil Luke Fomiatti's letter (Write On, GLW #544) is not informed, but is based on wishful thinking. Fomiatti seems to know little of what is going on in Brazil and even less about the way in which the Lula regime is being received by the left

IRAQ: US occupation troops losing morale

BY ROHAN PEARCE There are an increasing number of reports in the corporate press that the growing armed resistance to the US occupation of Iraq and the deepening hostility of they face from the Iraqi population is causing US soldiers to lose

THAI SOLIDARITY: Drug user activists tackle the Thai terror

BY MICHAEL ARNOLD "End the drug war now" say needle nymphs in New York, methed-up militants in Moscow, direct-action druggists in Darwin, cranked-out campaigners in Canberra and global goodie-gobblers. On June 12, drug user activists, non-user

News briefs

Protest against raids on Iranian oppositionists MELBOURNE — On July 1, 60 people attended a protest against detention of members of the pro-imperialist People's Mujaheddin Organisation of Iran (PMOI) and Australian Federal Police raids on

Women rip it up at Taos poetry circus 2003

BY BILL NEVINS NEW MEXICO — Slam Poet/Freedom Fighter Pat "Velvet Hammer" Payne led her sisters to triumph in mid-June at Taos, as women poets swept all Taos Poetry Circus competitions held this year. Payne defeated hard-battling Nuyorican

The battle to save Jamieson Park

BY JOHN GAUCI Jamieson Park is a 42.8 hectare bushland reserve in Sydney's northern beach suburbs. It is under the control of the Warringah municipal council. On June 2, 60 concerned local residents gathered near the Jamieson Park Sailing Club to

WORLD TRADE ORGANISATION: Agricultural talks enter crucial stage

BY EVA CHENG On July 28-30, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) will hold yet another "mini-ministerial" — its fourth since the Doha ministerial summit in November 2001 launched a new round of global trade talks. The meeting, in Montreal, is

Solomons intervention: John Howard's new colonialism

BY DOUG LORIMER On July 8, the parliament of the Solomon Islands is expected to approve an Australian-led military and police intervention into its country. The proposal was endorsed by the foreign ministers and government leaders of all 16 Pacific

MIFF: world citizen

52nd Melbourne International Film FestivalJuly 23 to August 10Forum Theatre, cnr Flinders and Russell streetsSingle ticket sales open July 11<http://www.melbournefilmfestival.com.au> PREVIEW BY ANNE O'CASEY More than 400 films born of a