Analysis

"In the world, the tendency today is to bury Marxism and communism. The equation is simple: the collapse of the European socialist bloc is the end of the ideology and the theory

A victory to build on Twenty-four years ago this week, the Indonesian military launched its brutal invasion of East Timor. Today East Timor is at last free of the Indonesian occupation. Although the East Timorese have paid a huge price, and now

Wrong people, wrong purpose Just about everyone is supporting John Howard's new "Timor tax" to fund the Australian Defence Force commitment there. Labor leader Kim Beazley immediately supported it, as did the Democrats' Meg Lees. The Australian

Welfare through the looking glass If anyone has travelled through time, then Lewis Carroll, best known for writing Alice in Wonderland, has. Conclusive evidence is provided by his modelling of the companion novel, Through the Looking Glass, on the

A matter of life or death The national crisis in public health care was dramatised last week when emergency wards in at least five public hospitals in Sydney were closed to all patients except those with life-threatening conditions. "You don't get

A win for reaction The defeat of the republic referendum on Saturday was a victory for reaction. It was not an unmixed victory, however, and need not be a major one, provided progressive-minded people understand the reasons for it. The result of

End military ties with Jakarta, now! The federal government has made much of its supposed foreign policy "shift" on East Timor. Foreign minister Alexander Downer travelled to Indonesia on July 30 for discussions with Indonesian government and

Neither 'free' trade nor protection US President Bill Clinton announced on July 8 that Australia's quota of lamb exports to the United States would be subject to a 9% tariff, with extra shipments facing a 40% tariff. In subsequent talk-back radio

The theft of Telstra The Senate vote to privatise more of Telstra is another theft of public assets and is not in the interests of consumers or telecommunications workers. Last year, Telstra made a net profit of $3 billion, and it is expected to

Kosovars, not NATO, must decide their future The US-directed NATO air war against Serbia appears to have ended. NATO forces are occupying Kosova. NATO's bombing campaign continued by violent means its policy of seeking to preserve the political

East Timor's best chances for freedom Almost every day, more evidence emerges of the Indonesian regime's support and coordination of the pro-integration terror gangs in East Timor. These "militias" are carrying out a terror campaign against the

It is ironic that on the day the Business Review Weekly released its Rich 200 list, the Australian Democrats and the Coalition agreed on a GST deal to make those on the list even richer. Australia's richest tycoons increased their wealth by $9