Issue 473

News

BY SARAH PEART MELBOURNE — The November 24 Rock Against Racism was no ordinary free concert. Held outside the Maribyrnong refugee detention centre, it became a solidarity statement that sent a loud and clear message to the refugees inside the
BY GRAHAM WILLIAMS GEELONG — Workers are facing divide and rule tactics from the bosses of the Godfrey Hirst carpet factory in South Geelong. Due to begin a 48-hour strike on November 27 as part of an ongoing four-week campaign of rolling
BY JIM GREEN The Howard government approved the Honeymoon uranium mine in north-eastern South Australia on November 21. Canadian-based mining company Southern Cross Resources is expected to begin commercial production next year. The mine,
BY NICK FREDMAN CONDONG — "Standin' on the picket line, cross the road from the mill/The war ain't over till the fat man pays the bill", local singer Steve MacDonald sang to cheering sugar mill workers and supporters on November 18. Pickets have
Students commit to anti-racism campaign MELBOURNE — Following their successful vigil outside the Maribyrnong immigration detention centre, students at Princes Hill High School, in inner-city Melbourne, have committed themselves to organising
BY JODY BETZIEN MELBOURNE — More than 500 workers from the five western suburbs sites of carpet maker Feltex Industries have ended their industrial action, after the company was forced to withdraw legal action against workers and union
BY DICK NICHOLS Declaring its federal election campaign a solid success, the Socialist Alliance has decided to work in the coming months to strengthen union resistance to the Coalition government and to seek to improve red-green collaboration.
BY LUKE FOMIATTI SYDNEY — Aboriginal education will continue at the Bankstown campus of the University of Western Sydney, as the student occupation of the Goolangullia Aboriginal Unit ended in victory on November 9. The university agreed to all
BY KIM BULLIMORE SYDNEY — In an attack on free speech, Burwood City Council has attempted to fine Max Lane, the Socialist Alliance candidate for the seat of Lowe in the November 10 federal election for "delivering an address-meeting without
BY SARAH STEPHEN While the spotlight may have moved off refugee detention centres, the misery of asylum seekers there has worsened. On November 18, six Iranian asylum seekers escaped from Woomera, the "hell-hole" of Australia's detention centres,
BY RACHEL EVANS Herb Feith, renowned Indonesianist and community activist, and my uncle, died tragically in a train accident on November 15. Herb will be missed by people all over the world who he touched with his compassion, intellect and
BY ANTHONY BENBOW PERTH — "When [Richard] Court and [Graham] Kierath were in power we had security guards and thugs on the wharves, now [Geoff] Gallop and the ALP are in and we have the same thing happening on construction sites. Is this what we
BY FRED FUENTES MELBOURNE — Activists from around the country will converge on Melbourne on December 2-3 for an anti-war and anti-racism conference jointly organised by the National Union of Students and ANSWER, Act Now to Stop War and End
SYDNEY - One-hundred and eighty people packed into Casa D’Italia in Leichhardt on November 24 to celebrate Green Left Weekly and raise funds to support it. Enjoying the delicate flavours of Middle Eastern food, attendees were entertained

World

BY LEE SUSTAR CHICAGO — The top US military brass, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, wanted a war — but they didn't have popular support for military action. Their solution? Stage an attack on an American military base, followed by a series of
BY NORM DIXON The speed with which the forces allied to the Northern Alliance (NA) took control of northern and western Afghanistan in the wake of the Taliban's retreat from Kabul on November 12 left Washington flat-footed. The US is now scrambling
BY SEAN HEALY Thousands gathered from across North America in near-freezing temperatures in the Canadian capital, Ottawa, to protest the policies of two of the pillars of corporate globalisation: the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
BY JOHN PILGER LONDON, November 16 — There is no victory in Afghanistan's tribal war, only the exchange of one group of killers for another. The difference is that President Bush calls the latest occupiers of Kabul "our friends". However

On July 3, 1979, US President Jimmy Carter signed a secret document that began a terrible train of events which may have culminated in the September 11 mass murders in New York and Washington.

BY EVA CHENG Of the world's rulers, China's were among the most shaken by the September 11 attacks. Their highly oppressive methods have long bred resentment, especially in China's vast north-western territory of Xinjiang, which borders
Hunted and suppressed under the Taliban, the country's weakened but courageous left faces new opportunities, and also new dangers, in the post-Taliban situation. On November 11, before the liberation of Kabul, SHOAIB BHATTI, the editor of the
BY SEAN HEALY There's not often something to celebrate on World AIDS Day, December 1, but there might be this year: a small, much fought-over clause in a World Trade Organisation declaration may signify a turning of the tide, at least insofar as
BY KAMAL FADEL The pictures beamed across the world told one story: hundreds of smiling, happy people in the Western Sahara welcome the king of Morocco into their homeland. But the reality is very different. The Saharawis were not happy about the
BY PHIL HEARSE LONDON — More than 50,000 people participated in a marched through this city's streets on November 18 to protest the war in Afghanistan. Organised by the Stop the War coalition, the march was notable both for the much-increased
BY MALIK MIAH SAN FRANCISCO — President George Bush's proclaimed "war on terrorism" is not just directed at Osama bin Laden, the al Qaeda network or the Taliban forces in Afghanistan. The war is also targeted at civilians in the US and abroad.
The Labour Party Pakistan, in close association with the Afghan Labour Revolutionary Organisation, has decided to launch the Afghan Workers Solidarity Campaign. The idea to start this campaign was discussed during the recent visit to Pakistan of
BY URI AVNERY At the reception desk of the War-Against-Terror Coalition, there lies an application form for new partners. After stating his name, country and function (king/president/emir/dictator/tyrant), the applicant is invited to answer the
BY SUE BOLTON AUCKLAND — When the New Zealand parliament voted on October 3 to offer Special Air Services troops and other military assistance to the US-led war in Afghanistan and declared that it "totally supports the approach being taken by the
BY LEE SUSTAR CHICAGO — The US government is using the war in Afghanistan to justify — and accelerate — its agenda of corporate globalisation. At the November 9-14 World Trade Organisation summit the US, Europe and Japan invoked the war to

Culture

GoHeiferOrder from <qsfix1@ozemail.com.au> BY BARRY HEALY SYDNEY — Heifer are a struggling independent band carving out a niche for themselves in the live pub rock scene that thrives in the outer western suburbs of Sydney out of the
BY BRENDAN DOYLE, GLW travel writer VILLAWOOD DETENTION CENTRE, SYDNEY — A little out of the way, but definitely worth a look! How to get there By train: Alight at Leightonfield Station and walk north for 15 minutes. Don't be daunted by the
REVIEW BY JIM GREEN Fight for Country: The story of the Jabiluka blockadeRockhopper Productions, 2001Written and directed by Pip Starr$35 (inc. postage) from Rockhopper Productions51 Alvie Rd, Mt. WaverleyVictoria
A Dirty Little WarBy John MartinkusForward by Xanana GusmaoRandom House428 pages, $24.95 Just over two years since the heroic East Timorese people voted for independence and so many questions remain unanswered and so many problems unresolved. Like
Actively Radical TV — Sydney community television's progressive current affairs producers tackle the hard issues from the activist's point of view. CTS Sydney (UHF 31), every Sunday, 9pm. Ph 9565 5522. Visit <http://www.channel31.org> for

Editorial

In the wake of the November 13 ousting of the Taliban regime from Kabul by Northern Alliance troops aligned with the exiled government of Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani, a number of groups involved in the anti-war movement in Australia have