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News briefs 1

1 Schools funding policy condemned Prime Minister John Howard's March 11 announcement of a new federal funding policy for schools was condemned by Greens Senator Kerry Nettle. "Today's announcement decreases the public schools sector share of

East Timorese appeal for justice

On March 10, resources minister Ian MacFarlane introduced bills into both houses of Australian parliament that would pressure the East Timorese government to ratify the highly unfair international unitisation agreement. This agreement, between

Selling off our houses

Jody Betzien, Melbourne On December 31, Victorian housing minister Candy Broad released a consultation document on the government's Strategy for growth in housing for low-income Victorians. While Broad claims the strategy, which involves the

Anti-war activist's court case adjourned

A dozen protesters gathered at the Magistrate's Court in Melbourne on March 11 in support of Women for Peace activist Reta Kaur. She has been charged with $9000 in criminal damages for writing slogans against the Iraq war outside the US consulate

Loose with the truth

@intro2 = There is plenty of evidence to contradict the government's claim that it did not know that Iraq possessed no weapons' of mass destruction. The government said:Intelligence said: PM John Howard, September 9, 2002, 7.30 Report

Passion from Black 47

New York TownBlack 47Gadfly RecordsOrder at <http://www.gadflyrecords.com>. REVIEW BY BILL NEVINS Black 47 opens New York Town with a fierce, loping tribute to the St. Patrick's Battalion (the San Patricios), a band of Irish-American

UNITED STATES: Political elite moving toward reactivating draft

Maria Voukelatos US Senator John Kerry, now the sole Democratic Party candidate in this November's US presidential election, has called for an expansion of the US Army by an extra 40,000 "active service" troops. Kerry's call reflects a growing

Indigenous people and supporters to march on parliament

Norman Brewer, Sydney Aboriginal activists from the Redfern Block have called on "Aboriginal communities and their supporters to unite and support the demand for a national royal commission to examine police mistreatment of Aboriginal youth" by

TAFE workers rally for jobs

NEWCASTLE — One-hundred TAFE workers from around the Hunter region rallied at Newcastle TAFE campus on March 12. The workers, members of the NSW Public Service Association, resolved to reinforce industrial bans to win back 50 jobs cut through NSW

Outnumbered, exhausted and in over our heads

Rohan Pearce "Somewhere down the line, we became an occupation force in [Iraqi] eyes. We don't feel like heroes any more... We are outnumbered. We are exhausted. We are in over our heads." — a website posting by Isaac Kindblade, a US Army private

Supporting the Iraqi workers' movement

Seventy per cent of Iraqi workers — about 10 million people — are unemployed. Many are now organising in the Unemployed Union of Iraq. In February, the UUI appointed Jalal Mohamad its official representative in Australia. Socialist Alliance

US eye Darwin for base

Jon Lamb, Darwin While the federal Coalition government remains tight-lipped about the likelyhood of a new United States military base in Australia, opposition to such a facility continues to grow. Darwin has been earmarked as a suitable site for a