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Action updates

Vigil for refugees MELBOURNE — The Refugee Action Alliance is to begin a weekly vigil at Maribyrnong detention centre from February 25, in the hope it will give people to an opportunity to see for themselves the situation of detained

INDONESIA: Masses rise against Golkar

BY MAX LANE During 2000, only the People's Democratic Party (PRD) championed the political slogan: "Smash the remnants of the New Order, leave behind the fake reformers". But now, following attempts by the party of former dictator Suharto and the

Sydney socialists celebrate new outpost

BY MICHELE JONES SYDNEY — The Democratic Socialist Party and Resistance started the year off in a big way with a well-attended opening of the eastern suburbs Resistance Centre on February 3. Around 50 members, supporters and political activists

WTO head says protesters make him vomit

BY JAMES VASSILOPOULOS CANBERRA — "The people who stand outside and say they work in the interests of the poorest people ... they make me want to vomit." This is how Mike Moore, the director-general of the World Trade Organisation (WTO),

ECUADOR: Unrest forces presidential about-face

BY SEAN HEALY Ecuadoran President Gustavo Noboa has been forced into a partial backdown on International Monetary Fund-mandated prices rises on fuel and transport after massive countrywide protests by indigenous people and unionists reminiscent of

Sussan's sweaty clothes

BY KIM BULLIMORE SYDNEY — Protesters picketed Sussan's fashion store in Pitt Street Mall on February 8, chanting "this sweat goes with clothes at Sussans". The picket was part of the campaign, an initiative of Fairwear, aimed at protecting

Loose cannons

Sensitive, new-age genocide acceptable "Israel may have been able to get away with a blatant process of ethnic displacement of millions of Palestinians from their homes in 1947, but this is 2001 and the world has been sensitised to such events."

UNITED STATES: Government cracks down on dissent &&

BY ABBY SCHER NEW YORK — Over the past 12 months, the US government has intensified its crackdown on political dissidents opposing corporate globalisation. With the Secret Service taking on extraordinary powers designed to combat terrorism,

Council workers rally

More than 100 Sydney City Council workers rallied outside the Town Hall on February 8 to protest contracting out of their jobs. The rally was called by the Municipal Employees Union as a warning to the council before the expiry of the workers'

UNITED STATES: World Bank chokes on own medicine

BY SEAN HEALY Leaked internal correspondence has revealed a deep crisis of morale in the World Bank, with staff fearful of being humiliated by top executives or of being made redundant, incensed at being forced to compete against each other in the

Rally remembers victim of 'jail state'

BY NICK SOUDAKOFF DARWIN — Two hundred people have marked the first anniversary of the death in custody of a young man sentenced to a 28-day jail sentence for stealing textas, in an emotional rally here on February 9 calling for an end to

M1 Sydney calls people to action

BY LISA MACDONALD SYDNEY — M1 Sydney has adopted a “call to action”, seeking the endorsement and active participation of organisations and individuals in building the mass anti-corporate protests planned for May 1, which are focused on a