Issue 401

Members First to contest CPSU national elections BY MELANIE SJOBERG Arguing that the current leaders of the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) have not stood up to challenge massive job losses and outsourcing in the Australian Public

Protesters confront Howard BY DANI BARLEY SYDNEY — More than 300 people gathered in Faulconbridge, in the Blue Mountains, on April 7 to protest against Prime Minister John Howard's racist government. The protesters were high school students

Asylum seekers protest Asylum seekers at the remote Woomera detention centre in outback South Australia have launched a peaceful protest, demanding to be released. Several hundred men, women and children gathered on April 7 near the razor-wire

Forest activists occupy Timbercorp MELBOURNE — Forest campaigners from Friends of the Earth (FoE) occupied the offices of Timbercorp here to protest against the company's destruction of one-third of red tail black cockatoo nesting sites at a

New threat to Fraser Island BY CAM WALKER Fraser Island, off Queensland's central coast, was "saved" in the early 1990s, when the federal government intervened to stop logging on the island following a concerted campaign by many environment

Week of action against mandatory sentencing The socialist youth group Resistance has called a national week of action to demand that the federal government overturn mandatory sentencing laws in the Northern Territory and Western Australia and

ALP won't decriminalise marijuana BY ALEX BAINBRIDGE HOBART — The ALP government has reneged on an election campaign promise to decriminalise marijuana use in Tasmania. Instead, minor violations of the laws against marijuana use will result in

Stop Nuclear Dumps group formed BY JIM GREEN Opponents of a planned national nuclear dump in northern South Australia have formed a new group, Stop Nuclear Dumps. The group was formed by Everyone for a Nuclear Free Future (formerly the Adelaide

Telstra anti-privatisation rally planned BY TIM STEWART BRISBANE — With the leaders of Telstra unions concentrating their campaign efforts in towns like Geelong and Townsville, the left-wing Members First activist group in the Community and

MADRID — What Have I Done to Deserve This? is the title of a popular movie directed by Spanish film-maker Pedro Almodovar. This is a question that I have often asked myself since living in Spain. I was born in Chile, left in 1975 following Augusto

Russia: Everyone loses in 2000 election By Boris Kagarlitsky MOSCOW — The official results of the March 26 Russian presidential election were no surprise. Former president Boris Yeltsin's handpicked successor, Vladimir Putin, won in the first

SWEDEN: Parliament acknowledges Armenian genocide SWEDEN: Parliament acknowledges Armenian genocide Sweden's parliament on March 29 formally acknowledged the Armenian and Assyrian genocide, committed by the Ottoman Empire in 1915. During World

ENGLAND: British Nuclear fooled again The problems facing British Nuclear Fuels Ltd (BNFL) continue to mount. On April 2 it was revealed that four workers at BNFL's Sellafield plant in north-west England were sacked for forging entry passes. The

BOUGAINVILLE: Help needed now Bougainville's struggle for self-determination has reached a critical point. A full political settlement hangs on just one crucial concession from the government of Papua New Guinea. The alternative is renewed war. The

KURDISTAN: 'The PKK is threatened with decay' On February 16, 1999, Abdullah Ocalan, the chairperson of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), was kidnapped by Turkish intelligence in Nairobi, Kenya, and taken to the prison island of Imrali. Twelve

UNITED STATES: From the news media to Elian, with love Oh Elian, we love you! We're the news media. And you're incredibly special. Many politicians, legal experts, psychologists, celebrities and pundits have wanted the world to know that they

UNITED STATES: A dozen reasons to protest on April 16 The next citizen showdown against corporate globalisation will be on April 16 and 17, when thousands of people come to Washington, D.C., to protest — through legal demonstrations and/or civil

IRELAND: Civilians the main targets BELFAST — In what is being hailed as "the most comprehensive study to date" of Troubles-related deaths, an April 1999 University of Ulster study confirms what has long been hidden by British propaganda and

UNITED STATES: 'Hurricane' speaks out for Mumia The International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal held a press conference on March 25 in Pittsburgh. A featured speaker was Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, the former middleweight boxer who

Mozambique, a country of 20 million inhabitants, has just suffered its worst floods for 30 years. The government estimates the cost of reconstruction at US$250 million. While governments of the industrialised countries point to the emergency aid they

Cartoons from out of Leftfield, and on the web By Rani Singh More than 2000 people have already visited a new web site which features political cartoons by Arun Pradhan. The cartoons include the fortnightly feature in Green Left Weekly, "From out

Review by Stuart Munckton SchwerpunktBombscareAvailable at gigs for $5 or contact <oibombscare@hotmail.com> Punk rock has come a long way. The pop-punk, like that of Blink 182, which dominates the airwaves these days has little in common