541

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. Includes the Green Left news. CTS Sydney (UHF 31), every Sunday, 9pm. Phone (02) 9564 1277. Visit

Protest against Burma crackdown

CANBERRA — On June 3, 80 people marched from Parliament House to the Burmese embassy to protest against the recent crackdown against opposition forces in Burma. Protesters called for the release of detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and

Malaysian human rights activist speaks

BY IGGY KIM SYDNEY — Toni Kasim, from Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM), discussed Malaysia's repressive Internal Security Act (ISA) at a June 2 public forum organised by Amnesty International, AidWatch and the NSW Labor Council. SUARAM is

Who really murdered Martin Luther King?

An Act of State: the Execution of Martin Luther KingBy William F. PepperVerso, 2003334 pages, $49.95 (hb) REVIEW BY PHIL SHANNON Around 5pm, April 4, 1968, John McFerren was shopping at the LL&L Produce Company in Memphis, Tennessee, when he heard

An 'acid test' for the union movement

BY LIAM MITCHELL SYDNEY — As 40 workers started their 12th week of strike action, 200 people turned up for a community picket to support the strike at the Morris McMahon site on June 5. Although the dispute began over working hours in March, it

What's behind the attempt to ban Hezbollah?

The Australian parliament is debating legislation to amend the criminal code and ban the Lebanese-based Hezbollah (Party of God) as a terrorist organisation. This means that any Australian resident raising funds or supporting the organisation in any

All the way with FTA?

BY SEAN HEALY When they met over steaks and beer at the US president's Texas ranch, the discussion between John Howard and George Bush turned quickly to the Australian government's "reward" for participating in the Iraq war. And this, we are

CUBA: 'Independent librarians' not so independent

BY KIM BULLIMORE Among the 75 opponents of the Cuban Revolution arrested and jailed in Cuba in early April, 10 have been described in the Western media as "independent librarians". Their arrest drew swift condemnation from the US government, and

PALESTINE: Israel imposes checker board on 'road map'

BY AHMAD NIMER RAMALLAH — On June 2, as I was trying to get back into Ramallah from Jerusalem, I was met with an all too familiar sight at the Qalandia checkpoint, a few kilometres south of the city. Thousands of Palestinians trying to leave

Terrorism: Governments fuel fear

BY SARAH STEPHEN At the start of a new century, the world has entered a new and frightening "age of terror", the world's ruling elite tells us. The attack on Manhattan's Twin Towers supposedly "changed everything". There is a "real and present

The Australians the government 'forgot'

BY DALE MILLS The Australian government has shown that it cares as little about the civil rights of Australians abroad as it does for the civil rights of Australians at home. Australian citizen Jack Thomas has been held in detention in Pakistan

BRITAIN: 'WMD' will be on Blair's political headstone

BY JOHN PILGER LONDON, June 3 — Such a high crime does not, and will not, melt away; the facts cannot be changed. Prime Minister Tony Blair took Britain to war against Iraq illegally. He mounted an unprovoked attack on a country that offered no