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Pilger calls for 'constant and unrelenting mass action'

BY SUSAN PRICE SYDNEY — "Wow!" was the first word that journalist John Pilger said as he stood before the 2100 people who had filled Sydney Town Hall on March 1 to hear him speak. Titled "Breaking the silence: war, propaganda and the new empire",

Campaign to repeal abortion laws

BY KERRYN WILLIAMS CANBERRA — Feminist organisations and individuals in the ACT have gathered under the banner "Options for Women" to campaign for women's right to choose abortion. This challenges the renewed offensive by the anti-choice Right to

On the box

Actively Radical TV — Sydney community television's progressive current affairs producers tackle the hard issues from the activist's point of view. CTS Sydney (UHF 31), every Sunday, 9pm. Phone 9565 5522. Visit <http://www.channel31.org>

Bush threatens world's climate

BY JIM GREEN Federal environment minister David Kemp announced on February 27 the establishment of a Climate Action Partnership between Australia and the United States. The partnership is designed to protect the interests of oil, gas and coal

UNITED STATES: War profiteers have a field day

BY EVA CHENG Towards the end of Bill Clinton's presidency in 2000, the moaning and groaning of US "defence" contractors reached new heights — their profits were drying up as US military budgets shrank to a post-Cold War low. Following the

BRITAIN: Detention centre burns

BY TERRICA STRUDWICK It is feared that five women and an unknown number of children may have died in the fire which broke out on February 14 at England's Yarl's Wood detention centre. As of February 27, 25 detainees were still unaccounted for.

How the 'children overboard' lie developed

BY ALISON DELLIT On October 7, a fishing boat overloaded with desperate asylum seekers encountered the HMAS Adelaide north of Christmas Island. The warship fired warning shots to stop the boat from moving into Australian waters. Frightened by the

ZIMBABWE: Treason charge is Mugabe's latest poll ploy

BY NORM DIXON On February 25, the presidential candidate for Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change, Morgan Tsvangirai, was formally charged with "high treason", a crime that can carry a death sentence. Tsvangirai was allowed to

Loose cannons

Just behaves like one "I do not feel like a dill." — Australian Defence Force chief Admiral Chris Barrie, speaking at a February 27 press conference at which he finally acknowledged what all his subordinates had been telling him for more than

Revolutionary music from 'sleepy Scotland'

REVIEW BY ALEX BAINBRIDGE In Sleepy Scotland Alistair Hulett The Cold Grey Light of Dawn Alistair Hulett and Dave Swarbrick Saturday Johnny and Jimmy the Rat Alistair Hulett and Dave Swarbrick Order at

MAURITIUS: Anti-terrorism law leads to political crisis

[On February 19, Mauritius' interim president, Supreme Court Chief Justice Arianga Pillay, signed into law anti-terrorism legislation over which his two predecessors had resigned. Twice passed by parliament, the Prevention of Terrorism Bill, deemed

Rallies greet refugee 'Freedom Bus'

BY JIM McILROY & NICK EVERETT Three hundred people greeted the arrival of the refugee "Freedom Bus" in Brisbane on February 17, while 100 people packed into Sydney Trades Hall on February 25 to hear participants on the Freedom Bus describe their