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PAKISTAN: Fighting for women's rights

BY TAMARA PEARSON LAHORE — The first thing I did after crossing the border into Pakistan was catch a bus into the city. Buses in Pakistan are divided in two by a barrier. The first quarter of the bus is reserved for women and their

Socialists run anti-war election campaign

BY LINDA WALDRON MELBOURNE — The Gellibrand Socialist Alliance branch decided on February 5 to contest the March 15 Maribyrnong and Brimbank council elections. The Socialist Alliance promises a “working council for working people”. The

John Pilger: Why Bush lies about Iraq

US President George Bush's plans to invade Iraq have nothing to do eliminating "weapons of mass destruction", preventing terrorism or ending human rights abuses. An attack on Iraq will be the first phase of a pre-existing strategy to increase US

A woman's place is in the struggle: War won't liberate the women of Iraq

Living conditions for Iraqi women deteriorated dramatically after the 1991 Gulf War. US-enforced sanctions have wrecked Iraq's economy, depriving people of everything from medical supplies and school textbooks to the European beauty products that are

'Don't just vote, change the system!'

BY SUSAN PRICE “Elections results don't change very much for ordinary people.” Surprisingly, this comment was made by Lisa Macdonald, a candidate in the March 23 NSW state elections. But perhaps her comment was not so surprising, since

Librarians strike for pay rise

BY ALEX MILNE MELBOURNE — On February 4, librarians employed at the State Library of Victoria, staged a one-day strike in support of their demand for a 6% pay rise and worker representation on the SLV board. SLV librarians are among the lowest

Arundhati Roy: 'terrorism is the symptom not the disease'

The Algebra of Infinite JusticeBy Arundhati Roy Flamingo, 2002305 pages, $21.95 (pb) REVIEW BY PHIL SHANNON "How many dead Iraqis will it take to make the world a better place?", asks a waspishly angry Arundhati Roy in The Algebra of Infinite

SCOTLAND: Scots prepare warm welcome for Blair

BY MATT PRESTON GLASGOW — Tens of thousands of Scots anticipate giving British Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair a warm welcome on February 15. Scotland is set to become one of the pivotal points of protest against the impending war on Iraq.

AFGHANISTAN: Has the US liberated women?

BY NICOLE COLSON "Many people outside the country believe that Afghan women and girls have had their rights restored. It's just not true" — that's the conclusion of Human Rights Watch official Zama Coursen-Neff, co-author of a report released in

Depriving the Yorta Yorta of land

Depriving the Yorta Yorta of land BY EMMA MURPHY On December 12, the legal system once again failed the Indigenous peoples of Australia. Since the High Court dismissed the Yorta Yorta people's appeal against a Federal Court decision that they no

VIETNAM: 'Not a market economy country'

BY MICHAEL KARADJIS HANOI — The United States Department of Commerce (DoC) ruled on January 24 that Vietnam is "dumping" catfish on the US market. The ruling was based on a decision made by the commerce department last November that Vietnam is

IRAQ: Powell's dishonest case for war

BY ROHAN PEARCE "Ladies and gentlemen, these are not assertions", US Secretary of State Colin Powell assured the UN Security Council on February 5. "These are facts, corroborated by many sources, some of them sources of the intelligence services of