Issue 637

MELBOURNE — Brunswick Town Hall was full for Melbourne's Global Solidarity Fiesta on July 30. An annual event now in its fourth year, this Green Left Weekly fundraiser was, once again, a great night out. Guests heard greetings from Joan Doyle

Jim McIlroy and Pip Hinman The US government faces "deficits" on a number of fronts in its occupation of Iraq, peace activist and author Phyllis Bennis commented at a meeting sponsored by the Brisbane Social Forum and Just Peace Queensland on July

DARWIN — Two political activists were convicted on July 29 for trespass after they participated in a peaceful protest against PM John Howard during his visit to Darwin in September 2004. Justin Tutty and Stuart Highway were arrested at the protest

Thank you supporters, we have raised nearly half our target! Peter Boyle In just three weeks of campaigning, Green Left Weekly's supporters have raised $46,630 for the Emergency Appeal. This is a spectacular response. Certainly, John Pilger's

Sue Bolton, Melbourne When General Motors-Holden's contract with Pilkington Glass to supply windscreens and back windows for cars ends at the beginning of 2006, 120 jobs will be lost from the Geelong and Laverton plants in Victoria, and the Pooraka

Sue Bull, Ballarat At a meeting on August 5, 90 National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) members employed at Ballarat University vowed to fight any attempts by their administration to stand them down for bans imposed as part of a dispute over a new

Sue Bolton The Labor Party has again undercut the union movement's campaign against the Coalition government's plans for broad-sweeping attacks on workers' rights. On July 29, in response to a journalist's question about whether a Labor

Susan Price, Sydney The announcement by two key NSW Labor MPs — former treasurer and deputy premier Andrew Refshauge and former planning minister Craig Knowles — that they would be following former Premier Bob Carr into political retirement has

Marce Cameron, Sydney Without any public consultation, Sydney City Council (SCC) voted on August 1 to allow a council sub-committee to consider a development application that would grant "consent to enable the lodgement of a development application

Anti-nuclear and anti-war activists rallied and marched around Australia, and the world, on August 6 to mark the 60th anniversary of the US nuclear bombing of Hiroshima. The Sydney rally (pictured) called on the Australian government to withdraw

CANBERRA — One-hundred-and-fifty Community and Public Sector Union members rallied on August 5 alongside Department of Employment and Workplace Relations workers who are campaigning to have their certified agreement ratified. The rally marched

Jim McIlroy& Mike Byrne, Brisbane Prominent Indian anti-neoliberal globalisation campaigner Arundhati Roy's saying, "Another world is not only possible, she is on her way", was the theme for the fourth Brisbane Social Forum (BSF), held at the

Colin Hughes, Apartaderos The old man carries his X-ray across the brand spanking new clinic. He enters the specialists' room and is given the news he is to be flown to Cuba within five days for a life-saving operation. Three days earlier, the

Bernie Stephens, Harare The finding by UN Special Envoy Anna Tibaijuka that Operation Murambatsvina (drive out rubbish) — the bulldozing of informal settlements — has left up to 3.3 million Zimbabweans "deeper in poverty, deprivation and

Girma Belay, a 52-year-old Ethiopian refugee who has lived in London for 12 years, was detained for six days in connection with the London bombings. He told the August 4 Guardian that he was at a friend's apartment when officers burst in and forced

Tonga's public servants, who have been on strike since July 22, rejected a new government pay offer on August 1, which fell well short of the 60-80% rises the workers are demanding. A further offer was also rejected on August 4, and on August 5 a

Federico Fuentes, Caracas With a firm date, December 4, set for Bolivia's presidential elections, the left is discussing how to best approach the current political situation. The elections were won through a popular uprising in May-June, which

Paul Benedek, Venezuela solidarity "brigadista", describes his experiences meeting with workers and unionists, including teachers, in Merida. After returning from a beautiful trip through the Andes, we entered the offices of the UNT (National Union

Workers on all of Argentina's railroads, except the Buenos Aires subway network, went on strike on August 4, together with other sectors, demanding a salary rise. Engine-driver guild representatives warned that if there was no agreement in a week,

On August 1, more than 300 women from Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) and more than 20 men marched in Bulawayo to hand over a letter to the provincial governor for President Robert Mugabe. The letter called for the repeal of unjust laws and the

Rohan Pearce The August 1 death of Saudi Arabia's King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz al Saud triggered a predictable, and nauseating, flurry of tributes from the "Coalition of the Willing" — the Iraq invasion alliance of Australia, Britain and the US. In

Lee Sustar, Chicago Call it the wishbone strategy — grab hold of a big part of the labour movement, give a hard pull and hope to end up with the biggest piece. That's the method of the seven-union Change to Win coalition, whose three biggest

Navigating FlindersBy Don ReidDirected by Christopher HurrellStarring Drew Forsythe, Jonathan Gavin & Ksenja LogosEnsemble Theatre, SydneyUntil August 27 REVIEW BY BRENDAN DOYLE There must have been a conspiracy to make Australian history boring