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Why corporate rulers fear the new people's movement

BY PETER BOYLE Since the anti-World Trade Organisation protests in Seattle last November, a growing popular movement against corporate globalisation has taken to the streets several times around the world: Washington in April, Philadelphia and Los

PAKISTAN: Democracy conference denounces military rule

LAHORE — On the first anniversary of the military's takeover of the country, national attention was focused on the Lahore Press Club, where over 700 political activists packed into a conference to denounce Pakistan's military rulers and demand the

PHILIPPINES: Estrada must resign, but what's the alternative?

MANILA — Ten thousand people rallied here on October 18 calling for the impeachment or resignation of Philippine President Joseph Estrada (known by his nickname "Erap"). The rally was organised by the RIO (Resign Impeach Oust Erap) alliance centred

Action updates

S11 debrief BRISBANE — Activists who travelled from Brisbane to participate in the blockade of the World Economic Forum meeting in Melbourne on September 11-13 told their side of the story at a public meeting on October 19. Called by the

ANC minister opposes 40-hour week

South Africa is "not ready" for the introduction of a 40-hour week, African National Congress labour minister Membathisi Mdladlana declared on October 17. Mdladlana was commenting on a feasibility study on reducing the current 45-hour working week.

The Solomons need development aid not troops

On October 15, more than 130 Solomon Islanders — representing the rival militia of the Malaita Eagle Force and Guadalcanal's Isatabu Freedom Movement, as well as the central Solomon Islands government and the Malaita and Guadalcanal provincial

UNITED STATES: The dictatorship of the dollar

While the rest of the world is racking its brains trying to figure out why the world's currencies are plummeting against the US dollar, the United States elite is using the strong greenback to set in concrete its dominance of the world economy. The

TAB workers strike for security

BY BRONWEN BEECHEY ADELAIDE — South Australian TAB workers took industrial action for the first time on October 14, shutting down all TAB outlets and phone betting, and picketing the board's headquarters to oppose a government plan to sell the

BHP workers fight for entitlements

BY BRONWEN BEECHEY ADELAIDE — One hundred and twenty steelworkers at BHP's Whyalla plant walked off the job on October 17, after the company refused to secure their entitlements. The workers, all members of the Australian Manufacturing Workers

and ain't i a woman: Helping him quit

Switching on the radio, I heard a man's despairing voice: "I tried to quit, I tried to stop, but I realised I couldn't do it on my own. I needed help." It was part of the "Men's Help-line" campaign, a newly funded project of the Western Australian

SA Labor reassures business

BY BRONWEN BEECHEY ADELAIDE — The South Australian Labor Party's annual convention on October 13 departed from tradition in two ways, both of which sought to reassure big business that the party will cooperate if it wins the next election. The

PALESTINE: The world according to the US media

The formula for United States media coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is simple: Report on the latest developments in the fragile "peace process". Depict US officials as honest brokers in the negotiations. Emphasise the need for restraint