Following on from the spectacular March 5 Books not Bombs student
strike against the war on Iraq, students are getting ready to walk out
of classes again on March 26. Students voted unanimously at the March 5
rallies to
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It is usual for newspapers to canvass a range of opinions following major government speeches such as Prime Minister John Howards National Press Club address on March 13 in which he presented his government's case for
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Moral leadership Some advocates of a US-initiated war with Iraq will admit its illegality but argue that law and morality are not the same. This claim is true but, of itself, does nothing to establish the morality of war. Furthermore, if people
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In the past six years, there has been a rapid decline — from 80% to 70% — in the proportion of doctors who bulk-bill their patients, charging the government direct, rather than charging the patient a fee. If this rate of
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Actively Radical TV — Sydney community television's progressive current affairs producers tackle the hard issues from the activist's point of view. Includes the Green Left news. CTS Sydney (UHF 31), every Sunday, 9pm. Phone 9565 5522. Visit
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With the recent rise of the Greens as a real force in electoral politics, the question is posed: why is the Socialist Alliance bothering to contest elections. The answer is simple. The Socialist Alliance strongly supports the
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CANBERRA On March 23-24, thousands of people will converge on parliament, in a national protest against the Coalition governments support for an attack on Iraq. Green Left Weekly spoke to James Vassilopoulos, one of
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Prime Minister John Howard's Liberal-National coalition government has taken a decision to commit to a war that Australians want no part of, and it has done so without even bothering to hold a parliamentary debate. In these
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Dear Jose, I am proud to have participated in conferences and solidarity demonstrations with East Timor from the Indonesian invasion in December 1975 until the withdrawal of Indonesian troops. Twelve years ago, when I edited
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Howard's dishonest case for war Prime Minister John Howard's March 13 address to the National Press Club clarified one thing the Australian people have no reason at all to support a war on Iraq. In a speech littered with emotional
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Women who earn more than $90,000 a year are the "most eager" of all Australian women to have children, and the least likely to expect to be childless, according to a study just released by the federal government and the Curtin University of
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SYDNEY Ask anyone on the street in NSW when the date of the state election is and the odds are you'll get a blank look. This isn't a reflection of people's disinterest in politics after all, just three weeks ago
News
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TRARALGON — The depth of opposition to Prime Minister John Howard's rush towards war was again demonstrated on March 14 when more than 2000 people rallied and marched in the La Trobe Valley town of Traralgon in the Gippsland region
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On March 15, the day after a 2000-strong protest in Traralgon, people hit the streets in a number of regional and rural areas in Victoria to oppose the government's support for Washington's war drive. Six-hundred people marched
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BRISBANE — "In the face of a US-led war on Iraq and the looming World Trade Organisation meeting in Mexico in August, the Brisbane Social Forum wants to create an axis of hope — discussing how another world is possible", according
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SYDNEY — "Peace is possible! War is not the answer!" echoed through the streets of the famous seasside suburb of Manly on March 10 as more than 700 anti-war residents joined together to show they will not support a war on the
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Thousands of refugees' rights supporters from around the country are set to converge over the Easter weekend on the Australian government's latest concentration camp the Baxter detention centre, near Port Augusta in South
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400 rally against warMELBOURNE — Around 400 people rallied in Federation Square on March 14, a snap action that was called just six days before. Protesters condemned Prime Minster John Howard's speech on March 13 that
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MELBOURNE Socialist Alliance candidates recorded respectable results in the Maribyrnong and Brimbank local council elections on March 15. Maurice Sibelle scored 6.1% of the vote in McKay, a ward of the Brimbank council
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HOBART — More than one thousand people protested against war on March 15, in a protest organised at less than a week's notice in response to the escalation of US plans for war. The rally, called by the Peace Coalition,
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Legitimate unprovoked aggression "Saddam Hussein poses no direct threat to us today. But confronting him is a legitimate choice." — New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, presenting the "case" for a US war against Iraq. People like US
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BY STEVE O'BRIEN CHARLESTOWN, NSW The newly opened campaign headquarters for the Socialist Alliance's election campaign for the seat of Charlestown in the March 22 NSW election is attracting the attention of voters. The windows of the
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BY OSCAR JUKES & RUTH RATCLIFFE DARWIN Cries of "UN, USA no war, no way! woke up the usually sleepy Smith Street Mall as 2500 people took to the streets on March 15. Larrakia activist June Mills opened the rally saying: "No more
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Balmain calls for peaceSYDNEY — Chants of "Come on Balmain, stand for peace, join the march on Darling Street" echoed from 300 anti-war protesters who marched through Balmain on March 15. Led by peace drummers, the march,
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WOLLONGONG — Illawarra NoWar is calling on the government of France to use its veto against any plans for war put to the UN Security Council. On March 11, a delegation from NoWar took their message directly to the French
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CANBERRA — Around 800 people came to Parliament House on March 13 for an anti-war rally to coincide with Prime Minister John Howard's speech to justify Australian involvement in a US war on Iraq. Howard's speech was
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Rally defends refugees CANBERRA — "If Saddam Hussein is such a monster, why do you lock his victims up in hell-holes such as the detention camps in Baxter, Woomera and Nauru? If Saddam is such a monster, why are you trying to force asylum
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MELBOURNE — At a March 11 caucus of the national left unions in the leadup to the Australian Council of Trade Unions executive meeting on March 25-26, there was a discussion about whether to propose a motion to toughen up the ACTU's
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During the last few years, visits to the Green Left Weekly web page have been steadily rising, but they've taken a dramatic leap in the last month, probably reflecting the rising anti-war consciousness and activity. In April 2001,
World
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On February 1, Thailand's Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra significantly upped the stakes in the war on drug users, resolving to make Thailand "drug free" within three months. Given the level of drug use and distribution in
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Just a month after more than 12 million people across the planet took part in the largest anti-war protest history in an attempt to prevent the United States' war machine decimating the people of Iraq, millions of people throughout
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US Secretary of State Colin Powell made headlines on March 9 when he announced that Iraq's unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) program — pilotless "drones" — were the ever-elusive "smoking gun" that proved Iraq was concealing banned
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Dita Sari, head of the Indonesian National Front for Workers' Struggle, was in Baghdad on March 14-18 as part of high-profile Asian peace mission to Iraq. Mission members visited hospitals, orphanages and schools. They met with
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More than 1 million people marched through Cairo on March 1 in a anti-war protest sponsored by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's ruling National Democratic Party. Members of the party, including the minister of information, marched with the
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On February 15, 500,000 people converged on Berlin, and 50,000 in Stuttgart, to say "Keine lust auf krieg!" (We don't want war!). This is despite the fact that the federal Social Democratic Party (SPD)/Greens coalition government,
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The Philippines government has threatened to label the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) a "terrorist" group. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on March 10 stated that "actions, including the sabotage of [electricity]
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With media attention focused intensely on the UN Security Council debate over Iraq, the London-based Observer newspaper revealed on March 2 that the United States is apparently spying on the diplomatic delegations of Security Council nations. Despite
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BY ALI ABUNIMAH, MICHAEL BROWN & NIGEL PARRY The inclusion in the Israeli government of the racist National Union, which openly calls for the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians, has received muted coverage in the mainstream media. The
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WELLINGTON Five people were arrested at a 600-strong anti-war protest outside Parliament House on March 10. The demonstrators mobilised to greet Australia's pro-war Prime Minister John Howard as he arrived for a state luncheon hosted by
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JAKARTA In response to continuing protests and press criticism, the government of President Megawati Sukarnoputri is resorting to the tactics used by the Suharto dictatorship to suppress dissent. A March 1 article in the
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US President George Bush has increasingly resorted to the claim that the aim of his regime's planned invasion of Iraq is to spread "democracy" throughout the Middle East. The worth of this claim is belied by the US record of backing
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According to a poll published in the March 7 Glasgow Herald, support for the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) has surged because of its steadfast opposition to a war in Iraq, with or without UN backing. "The Scottish Socialist Party has made
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Suddenly, and without justification, five Cuban political prisoners being held in US prisons were thrown into solitary confinement on March 3. Prison authorities have not given the official reason for the illegal confinement in "the hole", but
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On March 9, US Secretary of State Colin Powell declared that Washington was "in striking distance" of getting "nine or 10" votes on the UN Security Council to pass a draft resolution giving Iraq until March 17 to "disarm" or face an
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Despite the March 1 vote by Turkey's parliament against allowing 62,000 US troops to be deployed in Turkey, the Pentagon has pushed ahead with preparations to use bases in eastern Turkey as part of its planned invasion of Iraq. US
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LONDON — Several hundred people marched from Parliament Square, Westminster, to a rally at the US embassy on March 8, International Women's Day. There was a significant presence from the Iraqi, Kurdish and Iranian communities,
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MANILA — More than 3000 women, led by Women Rage (Women's Resistance to Globalisation and to End War), protested outside the US embassy here on International Women's Day, March 8. The women demanded that the Philippines government address issues of
Culture
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Anthony Blunt: His Lives By Miranda Carter Macmillan, 2001 590 pp, $25 (pb) REVIEW BY PHIL SHANNON In 1979, when British PM Margaret Thatcher exposed Sir Anthony Blunt as the Fourth Man of the famous Cambridge University spy ring (Guy
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REVIEW BY JOHN ESTHER Antwone FisherWritten by Antwone FisherDirected by Denzel WashingtonWith Derek Luke, Denzel Washington, Joy Bryant and Salli Richardson It is a Hollywood fairytale come true. Antwone Fisher was a security guard at Sony
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MELBOURNE — Scottish folk music legend Dick Gaughan will be performing at Trades Hall for one night only on March 25. His songs evoke a deep sympathy and respect for the working class, their struggles and their victories. A professional musician
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"Now how many people must get killed? For oil families' pockets to get filled?", ask the Beastie Boys in the new anti-war song "In a World Gone Mad". The song was released on March 11 on the group's web site