Jim McIlroy, Brisbane
The Stolen Wages Campaign Working Group has criticised the Queensland government's limitation on resources to pursue claims for "stolen wages" for Aboriginal workers, who had wages withheld or absorbed into state revenue for
Issue 612
News
Sarah Stephen
On January 14, the same day that he received a letter rejecting his s417 appeal for ministerial intervention, Iranian asylum seeker Ardeshir Gholipour took an overdose of sleeping tablets. He was admitted to Port Augusta hospital and
Katie Cherrington & Megan Connor, Sydney
On January 20, students demonstrated outside ANZ branches in Sydney and Brisbane to protest the bank's involvement in an international consortium, the Trade Bank of Iraq, which facilitates corporate
SYDNEY — On January 12, the Stop the War Coalition web team awoke to find that its website had fallen prey to a malicious hack attack. More than 100 news articles, reports and interviews and details of upcoming events were erased and replaced with
Josephine Hunt, Canberra
More than two years after their claim for a wage increase first went before the Industrial Relations Commission, qualified childcare workers in Victoria and the ACT were delivered a pay rise of up to $82.20 per week in a
Alex Bainbridge, Hobart
Eighteen members of the "Gunns 20", accompanied by 200 supporters, crowded onto a narrow footpath outside the William Street courthouse in Melbourne on January 14, to officially declare their intention to contest Gunns'
Kathy Newnam, Darwin
In the quest for the truth about her husband's death, Letty Scott has amassed evidence of the murder of Douglas Scott at the hands of prison guards in Berrimah prison on July 5, 1985 and the subsequent cover-up.
New evidence
Kate Howard & Simon Butler, Newcastle
After a week of intense campaigning and local media interest, anti-racists in Newcastle organised two major events in opposition to the activities of the small fascist group the Patriotic Youth League.
A
World
Raul Bassi
When Nestor Kirchner was elected president of Argentina in 2003, many both inside and outside Argentina viewed him as a progressive alternative to the rampant neoliberalism of the Carlos Menem years.
Menem had governed the country
Jamal Juma', Ramallah
Away from international attention, the destiny being prepared for the Palestinian people is showing its true face more clearly in the new Israeli plans presented to the public in the past few months.
The Apartheid Wall, with
VENEZUELA: Government expropriates paper company
On January 19, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez signed decree number 3438, expropriating the paper company Venepal. The National Assembly had previously passed a decree unanimously declaring the
Chris Slee
Tamils around the world are collecting money to help tsunami survivors in the north and east of Sri Lanka. The Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) has played a key role in aid efforts in the north and east of Sri Lanka. Initially
James Balowski, Jakarta
The US has given its clearest signal yet that it may consider lifting a 23-year-old arms embargo imposed on the Indonesian armed forces (TNI). A partial lifting of the embargo came soon after the tsunami hit Aceh on December
At least 10,000 protesters from around the country converged on John Marshall Park in Washington, DC, on January 20 bringing a powerful antiwar message to the presidential inauguration of George Bush. The first thing that Bush saw as the presidential
Federico Fuentes
Twenty-thousand people chanted, "El Alto is on its feet, never on its knees", as they marched from that city onto the capital to celebrate their victory on January 14. Less than five years ago, the population of Cochabamba
Alison Dellit
On January 9, 19-year-old Andres Raya, just returned from Iraq, decided to utilize his US marine training to take on his town's local police department, and hundreds of police units from the neighbouring area. By the time he was
Comment by Shirley Shackleton
I have studied the TNI (the Indonesian military) for 30 years and what is happening in Aceh has striking similarities to what happened in East Timor. The TNI terrorised the East Timorese for a quarter of a century and
Dustin Langley, New York
"I am ashamed to be associated with this mess, and I certainly did not join the army to kill women, children and old men. I just don't see how these innocent people could be a threat to the constitution of the United
Stuart Munckton
"We were living like slaves, and slaves don't make enough to eat", Venezuelan peasant Jesus Guerrero told the Miami Herald, as quoted in an April 25 article. Guerrero is one of hundreds of thousands of peasants to benefit from the
Kim Bullimore
Kate Raphel-Bender, a Jewish activist was forcibly deported from Israel on January 16. Raphel-Bender, an activist with the International Women's Peace Service, had been arrested along with another anti-wall activist, Kelly
Reihana Mohideen, Sri Lanka
Kirinda, a small coastal fishing village in the south, was flattened by the tsunami waves. A large cargo ship had been swept in and lay in the middle of town. There was debris everywhere: collapsed homes and buildings,
Culture
The Exception to the Rulers: Exposing America's War Profiteers, the Media That Love Them and the Crackdown on our RightsBy Amy Goodman, with David GoodmanAllen & Unwin346 pages (pb), $24.95
REVIEW BY MAUREEN FRANCES
This book examines how our
@head2 ='We all need to work together for a better place'
Green Left Weekly's Alex Bainbridge spoke to Graeme Kelly, the founder of the band Civil Rights.
Why did you call the band Civil Rights?
Because myself, and some members in the band,
CHIP HENRISS-ANDERSSEN
"What did your protests achieve?" asked the taxi driver, his frustration showing through his Tanzanian accent. "Nothing! No-one listened — they voted for Howard and Bush, it was all for nothing", he said.
His response
Message Stick: Leila Murray — The story of one woman's campaign for answers and justice that helped spark the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. ABC, Friday, 28 January, 6pm.
Thapelo: A Prayer for Africa — Exposes the tragic
Editorial
On January 12, the Iraq Survey Group — Washington's "weapons inspectors" charged with discovering the vast arsenal of weapons of mass destruction that the White House claimed Saddam Hussein's regime possessed — announced that the search for Iraqi