Kerry Smith
SYDNEY — National Union of Workers members taking industrial action at the National Parts warehouse at Smithfield have been warned by police not to swear on the picket line or they will face police action. NUW NSW secretary Derrick
Issue 641
News
HOBART — "Workers' rights here to stay, John Howard go away" was chanted by 50 trade unionists who "greeted" the prime minister as he arrived to make a funding announcement on September 2.
From Green Left Weekly, September 7, 2005.
Visit the Green Left Weekly home page.
Noreen Navin, Sydney
Across NSW, 40,000 public school students with a language background other than English (LBOTE) are being denied English as a second language (ESL) support because the NSW Labor government refuses to prioritise their needs.
A
Jenny Forward & Susan Austin, Hobart
The unions involved in Tasmania's Allied Health Professionals Campaign — the Community and Public Sector Union-State Public Service Federation and the Health and Community Services Union — are celebrating
Friends of Green Left Weekly in Sydney expresses its sincere thanks to Jamie Parker, Rochelle Porteous, Michele McKenzie and Kate Hamilton, the four Greens councillors on Leichhardt Municipal Council.
These councillors argued for and won a waiver
'Keep going and you will get there'
Chris Williams
After seven weeks, Green Left Weekly's special emergency appeal is still on target, with $73,413 having been donated. The donations from subscribers and supporters are often accompanied by
Alison Dellit, Sydney
Around 1500 protesters descended on the Sydney Opera House on August 30 to protest one of the grossest international gatherings of corporate crooks: the Forbes Global CEO Conference.
Delegates to the Forbes conference paid
Graham Matthews, Sydney
More than 300 people attended the Sydney Social Forum (SSF), held over the weekend of August 27-28 at Petersham West TAFE. A "super session" at the old mint building in Macquarie Street was held on the evening of August 29.
Kathy Newnam, Darwin
One hundred and twenty people attended the "Don't Waste the Territory" public meeting organised by the No Radioactive Waste Dump Committee on August 31.
"This project can be stopped", the Australian Conservation Foundation's
Graham Matthews, Sydney
Pip Hinman, the Socialist Alliance candidate in the September 17 Marrickville by-election, has issued an open letter to NSW Premier Morris Iemma calling on his Labor government to refuse to cooperate with the federal
Chris Kerr & Jim McIlroy, Brisbane
On August 27, 300 people rallied in Roma Street Forum for Tampa Day and marched across the Brisbane River to the Queensland College of Art.
The protest, sponsored by the Refugee Action Collective and Amnesty
Jim McIlroy, Brisbane
"Can you imagine being sued for trying to protect something irreplaceable?" That was theme of a public meeting of 150 people held in the Powerhouse on August 30.
The meeting launched a national tour sponsored by the
Alex Bainbridge, Hobart
The Save Ralphs Bay campaign won a major victory on September 2 when the Walker Corporation announced that it would not proceed with the development.
Walker proposed to develop a luxury housing estate with canals at Ralphs
World
James Balowski, Jakarta
On August 15, the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) signed a historic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) as a first step in seeking a peaceful and lasting solution to the decades-long conflict in Aceh.
Roger Annis, Vancouver
The commander of Canada's armed forces, General Rick
Hillier, is speaking out boldly in support of the US-led imperialist war effort in the Middle East and Asia. He is spending the summer months on a lecture circuit as the
John Pilger, London
Thomas Friedman is a famous columnist on the New York Times. He has been described as "a guard dog of US foreign policy". Whatever America's warlords have in mind for the rest of humanity, Friedman will bark it. He boasts that
Grant Morgan, Auckland
On August 18, a draft Workers' Charter was finalised by a steering committee elected at a meeting of unionists and left-wing activists in Auckland on July 2. Over the next year there will be broad discussion of the draft
John Mage
On August 8, Japan's upper house of parliament unexpectedly joined the French and Dutch electorates to give a sharp slap to neoliberal inevitability. Much to the totally delicious distress of all the usual suspects, from the London
Dale T. McKinley, Johannesburg
A great deal of excitement has been generated, among South Africa's general population and also in left-wing political and activist ranks, by the launch of what has been labelled by the mainstream media the "new
Alex Miller
The bitter Gate Gourmet airline catering firm dispute, which led to the temporary shutting down of London's Heathrow Airport last month, shows no sign of being quickly resolved.
On September 2, Tony Woodley, general secretary of the
Bronwen Beechey, Auckland
As the Tongan civil service strike entered its sixth week, New Zealand trade unionists, the expatriate Tongan community, social justice activists and church groups are organising support and solidarity.
The strike
Kim Bullimore
While the world has been distracted by the Gaza "disengagement", Israel has continued to approve plans for, and to build and expand, illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
In July, Israeli planners approved
Dahr Jamail
As the US-backed Iraqi puppet government flails about arguing over the so-called constitution, Iraq remains in a state of complete anarchy. There is no government control whatsoever, even inside the infamous "Green Zone" where the
John Catalinotto, New York
A group of right-wing members of the US Congress close to the Bush administration has pressured the Italian government into interfering with an October conference in Rome aimed at building solidarity with Iraqis fighting
Stuart Munckton
The furore continues to grow over the call to assassinate left-wing Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez made on US national television on August 22 by Pat Robertson, a right-wing Christian televangalist and well-known supporter of US
Culture
Selling Sickness: How Drug Companies are Turning Us All into PatientsBy Ray Moynihan & Alan CasselsAllen & Unwin, 2005254 pages, $26.95 (pb)
REVIEW BY PHIL SHANNON
Thirty years ago, the retiring head of the Merck pharmaceutical company told
Ladies First: Women Rebuild Rwanda — In 1994, women and girls made up 70% of the population in Rwanda — a result of the civil war and genocide that had devastated the country. They are now playing an unprecedented role in the country's
Beholdthe ambassador of silenceaportfolio carrying grave responsibility in an age wherewordsspew like raw sewageintothecollective consciouswithsilencethe only insurancerealagainst the perverse influenceofpost truth double speakshut upplease
Will
REVIEW BY LANCE SELFA
Chavez RavineRy Cooder with various artistsNonesuch Records (a division of Warner Music)
Virtually every baseball fan knows that Los Angeles' Dodger Stadium is located in an area called Chavez Ravine. But few know Chavez
Betrayed: The Story of Canadian Merchant Seamen Directed by Elaine Briere 55 minutes
REVIEW BY CLINTON FERNANDES
Betrayed is the latest documentary by renowned film-maker and photographer Elaine Briere. The film deals with the Canadian Seamen's
Editorial
Headscarves worn by Muslim women should be banned in public schools, federal Liberal backbencher Bronwyn Bishop declared on August 28, because they are "a symbol of defiance" and "an iconic symbol of the clash of cultures".
Bishop told the ABC on