Issue 525

News

BY ALISON DELLIT "This is a crucial time for all feminists to take a stand. Now more than ever we need to come out against this most unjust and cruel war, which poses the biggest threat to peace and security for communities across the Earth... War
BY JACKIE LYNCH MELBOURNE — On February 4, 150 apprentices who are members of the Electrical Trades Union (ETU) in Victoria went on strike for 24 hours as part of their campaign to put an end to unpaid downtime in the construction, maintenance
Clare Valley marches against war BY SANDY WHELEN CLARE, South Australia — On February 8, about 150 concerned citizens marched down the main street of this town, protesting against the possibility of a war on Iraq. Singing and chanting, the
BY VANNESSA HEARMAN MELBOURNE — Ten-thousand building workers marched from Trades Hall to the Melbourne Magistrates Court on February 6 in support of Martin Kingham, Victorian state secretary of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union
BY LINDA WALDRON MELBOURNE — The Gellibrand Socialist Alliance branch decided on February 5 to contest the March 15 Maribyrnong and Brimbank council elections. The Socialist Alliance promises a “working council for working people”. The
BY JOHN GAUCI SYDNEY — Anger in the northern suburbs is rising against the federal government's support for a US war on Iraq. Anti-war film screenings and protest meetings are attracting large crowds. On January 22, a Chatswood screening of
BY ALEX MILNE MELBOURNE — On February 4, librarians employed at the State Library of Victoria, staged a one-day strike in support of their demand for a 6% pay rise and worker representation on the SLV board. SLV librarians are among the lowest
BY JACKIE LYNCH MELBOURNE — Thousands of people cheered, chanted along, clapped and urged on the Peace Not War/Socialist Alliance contingent at the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transexual Pride 2003 march on February 2. Although crowds were down
BY GRANT COLEMAN WOLLONGONG — On February 8, the people of this working-class city mobilised in numbers never before seen in the Illawarra, exceeding even the protests against the Vietnam War. More than 5000 people came out to demonstrate their
BY MARY MERKENICH MELBOURNE — Opponents of the Howard government's policy of mandatory detention of "illegal" refugees are planning to converge on the Baxter detention centre outside Port augusta over the Easter weekend, April 18-21. Baxter is
BY KAROL FLOREK SYDNEY — More than 100 people took part in a demonstration organised by the Refugee Action Coalition outside a Liberal Party function at Darling Harbour on February 7. The dinner was hosted by NSW opposition leader John Brogden
BY JODY BETZIEN MELBOURNE — A coroner's inquiry into the death of a 52-year-old Tongan man at Maribyrnong detention centre, has been told by one witness that the man jumped from a basketball hoop after he had been sitting on it for eight hours.
BY GRANT COLEMAN & EMMA CLANCY WOLLONGONG — Following the February 8 anti-war protest in Wollongong, 25 students from high schools and universities held a meeting to plan action for the international student strike on March 5. The strike
BY HEIDI GILL CANBERRA — Six hundred people turned out on the evening of February 4 to watch a public debate in Old Parliament House entitled “Should Australia go to war in Iraq?”. Chaired by Radio National's Late Night Live host Phillip
500 march in Bendigo BY KERRYN WILLIAMS According to the Bendigo Advertiser, on January 31 more than 500 people joined a rally against war on Iraq, marching through the town's streets in "scenes reminiscent of the anti-war-in-Vietnam rallies of
Meeting discusses crisis in Venezuela SYDNEY — On January 31, 120 people gathered at Trades Hall to hear Socialist Alliance activist Jorge Jorquera speak on the political situation in Venezuela. The meeting was organised by Committees in

World

BY ROHAN PEARCE "Ladies and gentlemen, these are not assertions", US Secretary of State Colin Powell assured the UN Security Council on February 5. "These are facts, corroborated by many sources, some of them sources of the intelligence services of
BY NICK SOUDAKOFF The Philippines government, in alliance with Washington, is using the "war on terror" as cover for a full-scale assault on the revolutionary left. Immediately after the 9/11 attacks in the US, Manila announced its backing for
BY MICHAEL KARADJIS HANOI — The United States Department of Commerce (DoC) ruled on January 24 that Vietnam is "dumping" catfish on the US market. The ruling was based on a decision made by the commerce department last November that Vietnam is
BY TAMARA PEARSON LAHORE — The first thing I did after crossing the border into Pakistan was catch a bus into the city. Buses in Pakistan are divided in two by a barrier. The first quarter of the bus is reserved for women and their
BY NICOLE COLSON "Many people outside the country believe that Afghan women and girls have had their rights restored. It's just not true" — that's the conclusion of Human Rights Watch official Zama Coursen-Neff, co-author of a report released in
BY MATT PRESTON GLASGOW — Tens of thousands of Scots anticipate giving British Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair a warm welcome on February 15. Scotland is set to become one of the pivotal points of protest against the impending war on Iraq.

Culture

Last month, Iraq delivered to the United Nations a 12,000-page report denying it had weapons of mass destruction. Knowing President George Bush does not have the attention span to read such a large document, the Iraqis also provided a confidential
BY TIM STEWART If ever there was a reality check needed amidst the noise and dust whipped up by the US war machine, this simple photograph exhibition about Iraq is it. No satellite photos and no fuzzy phone intercepts, just mountains of evidence
The Algebra of Infinite JusticeBy Arundhati Roy Flamingo, 2002305 pages, $21.95 (pb) REVIEW BY PHIL SHANNON "How many dead Iraqis will it take to make the world a better place?", asks a waspishly angry Arundhati Roy in The Algebra of Infinite
Won't Pay!, Nobel Prize, Shane Morgan, Mike Piccerilli, Gabriella Maselli, Heidi Gledhill, Mark Duffy , Damien Pleming, Cat & Fiddle Hotel"> Dario Fo comes to Balmain Dario Fo comes to Balmain SYDNEY — The contemporary