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A cosmetic change

A cosmetic change Like most ALP conferences during the past three decades, the “special” rules conference held on October 5-6 was a carefully stage managed affair. It was designed to bolster the image of federal Labor leader Simon

BRITAIN: Not in our name!

BY JOHN PILGER LONDON — If Tony Blair uses the royal prerogative, "the absolute power of kings", to join George Bush's attack on Iraq, he acts in a manner no different, in principle and deed, from Germany's unprovoked attacks that ignited the

Write on: Letters to the editor

Socialist Alliance I The value and necessity of a united response from the left on key issues has been borne out during the current debate around asylum seekers. The Socialist Alliance has consistently been present in (and often driving) community

US war on Iraq has lasted 12 years, meeting told

BY ALANA KERR SYDNEY — The US war on the people of Iraq has persisted since 1991, an October 9 public meeting in Bondi Junction, hosted by the Eastern Sydney branch of the Socialist Alliance, was told. Layla Mohammad, from the Worker

Washington psychokiller on the loose

Amerika Psycho: Behind Uncle Sam's Mask of SanityBy Richard NevilleOcean Press, 2002126 pages, $18.95 (pb) REVIEW BY PHIL SHANNON "The wounded Goliath" (the US after the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001) "is on a rampage — armed to the

INDONESIA: More protesters arrested

BY MAX LANE On October 5, Indonesian police arrested Ricky Tamba, secretary-general of the Popular Youth Movement (GPK), an urban poor youth organisation that acts in political solidarity with the Peoples Democratic Party (PRD). Tamba was

ACM guards scapegoat detainees

BY SARAH STEPHEN Fifty Australasian Correctional Management guards at Port Hedland immigration detention centre ended a 12-day strike on October 6, after reaching an agreement with ACM management on increased staffing levels during day and night

Protesters demand closure of Pine Gap spy base

BY ALEX MILNE & KIM HALPIN ALICE SPRINGS — For three days from October 5, activists from across Australia converged on the US-controlled military spy base at Pine Gap. More than 300 people made the journey to voice their anger at the Australian

UNITED STATES: Bush's blueprint for world domination

BY JOHN PERCY On September 20, the Bush administration released a new National Security Strategy (NSS) document. The document justifies US aggression on a world scale — pre-emptive strikes, "regime change", unilateral action. "We will not

'A generous and commendable step'

BY IAN BOLAS It is no secret that for a long time the socialist left has suffered through being fragmented into lots of little groups, all of which had appointed themselves the vanguard, but none of which have demonstrated a capacity to

AMWU court decision fails to resolve dispute

BY STUART MARTIN MELBOURNE — On October 4, the Federal Court handed down its judgement on the dispute over control of the Victorian branch of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union. The decision was not a clear victory for either the

WTO: Attacks on public health to escalate

BY EVA CHENG "The [World Health Organisation's] objective is 'the attainment of all peoples of the highest possible level of health', and WHO defines health as 'a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence