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BRITAIN: Lesley McCulloch case debated in parliament

BY IGGY KIM On October 24, a debate was held in Britain's House of Commons over the Foreign Office's handling of the detention of Lesley McCulloch in Indonesia. The debate was initiated by Alan Reid, the Scottish Liberal Democrats member for Argyll

BRAZIL: A challenge to Washington?

BY ROGER BURBACH Elected in a landslide victory with over 61% of the vote, Luis Inacio da Silva will become president on January 1 of Latin America's largest country with 175 million inhabitants. Lula, as he is commonly known, received three

INDONESIA: Right exploits anger at 'war on terror' campaign

BY MAX LANE JAKARTA — The "war on terror" propaganda campaign being conducted by the Australian and US governments is providing ammunition for xenophobic right-wing political forces in Indonesia. Australian government support for the

and ain't i a woman?: Amina's crime: to be a poor women

Amina Lawal has been sentenced to death by stoning for the "crime" of bearing a child by a man she divorced two years previously. Under sharia laws in effect in many of Nigeria's northern states, which are based on a strict interpretation of Islam,

Clarifying politics

BY PHIL SANDFORD I would like to comment briefly on some of the issues in the important and welcome discussion which the Democratic Socialist Party (DSP) has opened up around left unity. The term “united front” is being used in a very

Write On: Letters to Green Left Weekly

Socialist Alliance In her letter (GLW #513) regarding the Democratic Socialist Party's proposal to cease operating as a public party and build the Socialist Alliance, Angela Budai argues that this will create the perception that the Socialist

Students protest WTO and war

BY MEG WHITE-FOX & DANNY FAIRFAX SYDNEY — On October 30, 200 students congregated at Sydney University's Manning Bar to listen to a debate on the question, “Is the World Trade Organisation a positive step for world development?”. It

IRAQ: US backs Turkey's threats against Kurds

BY NORM DIXON In recent months, Turkish government and military leaders have repeatedly threatened to invade northern Iraq to prevent Iraqi Kurds creating an "independent state" in the aftermath of Washington's planned war on Iraq. Even though US

ALP refuses to end forest pillage

BY SHUA GARFIELD HOBART — The Tasmanian ALP state conference, held October 26-27 in Launceston, voted overwhelmingly to not debate a motion put by Denison MHR Duncan Kerr to end logging in areas of high conservation value. Instead, it

Rock for Refugees draws good crowd

SYDNEY — Around 1000 people enjoyed themselves at the inaugural Rock 4 Refugees concert on the afternoon of October 27. The concert was held at Henson Park, Marrickville. Among the bands that performed were Mental As Anything (pictured), the

On the road with Che

The Motorcycle Diaries: a Journey Around South America By Ernesto Che Guevara Fourth Estate $20.95 REVIEW BY STEVEN KATSINERIS The Motorcycle Diaries is the incredible story of a remarkable road journey, written in the words of a

Labor joins attacks on civil liberties

Labor joins attacks on civil liberties In a stunning display of just how far to the right a Labor leader can go, NSW Premier Bob Carr has called for even more attacks on civil liberties, paving the way for a crackdown on dissent, and