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Jenny Long, Sydney As Sydney enters its third week of massive disruption to commuter rail services — with up to 121 daily commuter services having been cancelled — some astonishing facts have been emerging from this remarkable dispute. One is
Sarah Stephen Immigration minister Amanda Vanstone is feeling the pressure of public opposition to children in detention. So the government is quietly releasing them, one by one. Over the past 12 months, the number of asylum-seekers under 18
Sarah Stephen, Sydney Journalist and film-maker John Pilger and former intelligence official Andrew Wilkie addressed a packed crowd of 1000 at a public meeting organised by the Stop the War Coalition on February 15. Addressing the impact of the
Sue Bull, Melbourne Federal education minister Brendan Nelson thinks it's not a problem that his government has increased public funding of wealthy private schools like Haileybury College, Ivanhoe Grammar and Presbyterian Ladies College, by up to
The February 12 announcement by Prime Minister John Howard that a Coalition party room meeting had approved a reduction in federal parliamentarians' superannuation to 9% (from 69.1%) would have gladdened most hearts. Howard was pleased because he
Steve Georgopoulos During the 2001 Tampa crisis, the unwritten law of the sea to help those in need was denigrated and broken by Prime Minister John Howard. Some asylum seekers were accepted as refugees by New Zealand and the rest have been sent to
Eva Cheng More than 60,000 people formed a human chain in southern Taiwan on February 1, acting in defiance of Beijing's military threats. Supported by President Chen Shui-bian and former president Lee Teng-hui, the protesters vowed to form a much
Nicole Colson, Iowa "Friends, the piece of news that I have is historic," Brian Terrell announced to a crowd of 150 cheering protesters gathered at the federal building in Des Moines, Iowa on February 10. "The subpoenas against the four of us were
DARWIN — The local No War committee has begun meeting to organise for the March 20 global day of protest against the occupation of Iraq. The rally also will demand a stop to plans for a new US base in the Northern Territory. The rally will be held
Peter Robson On December 4, the Senate passed federal education minister Brendan Nelson's legislative package of "reforms" to higher education. The Nelson legislation is the most regressive changes to the education system since the abolition of
Lee Sustar The media have a standard story line to explain the uprising in Haiti — one-time populist leader Jean-Bertrand Aristide has become a corrupt authoritarian who is relying on armed gangs to crush a popular uprising. In reality, the
Doug Lorimer The radical government of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has accused the US government of financing a conspiracy to carry out an anti-government coup. Washington regards the burgeoning Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela — an