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IRAQ: Is the US empire invincible?

BY DOUG LORIMER Seven months ago, when the US army rolled into Baghdad, the US war machine seemed invincible. The US rulers seemed to be in reach of realising their goal of conquering Iraq and using it as a secure base from which to establish

HONG KONG: Voters turn against pro-Beijing party

BY EVA CHENG The pro-Beijing Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB) had only 62 of its 206 candidates elected in Hong Kong's District Council elections on November 23. In the last DC elections in 1999, 83 DAB candidates were

UNITED STATES: 'FTAA lite': a setback for Washington

BY EVA CHENG The United States' "free trade" push suffered another setback at the November 17-21 fourth ministerial summit of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), held in Miami. Due to opposition, led by Brazil, to aspects of the pact, the

A woman's place is in the struggle: The business of child care

In fourth place on Business Review Weekly's 2003 young rich list was Eddie Groves, head of the child-care company ABC Learning Centres. At 14th place was his competitor Michael Gordon, who runs the new Peppercorn Management Group. Six years since the

More than 100 communities oppose refugee deportations

BY HEATHER MARR& MARIANNE JAMIESON ALBANY, Western Australia — On December 14, towns across Australia will celebrate their communities' support for refugees on temporary protection visas, who are threatened with deportation. The Albany City

ACT introduces industrial manslaughter laws

BY PAUL OBOOHOV CANBERRA — The ACT Legislative Assembly passed the first industrial manslaughter laws in Australia on November 27. The legislation, introduced by the ACT Labor government, was supported by two independent MLAs and Greens MLA

SOUTH KOREA: Big protests oppose troops to Iraq

BY LEE YU KYUNG On November 17, following a meeting with US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld, South Korea's defence minister Jo Young Gil announced that Seoul had agreed to send 3000 additional troops to Iraq, including combat troops. They will

Save the Ridge activists step up campaign

BY PAUL OBOOHOV CANBERRA — The Save The Ridge campaign group is intensifying its campaign to defend the area of bushland threatened by the Gungahlin Drive road extension. Save the Ridge activists have begun marking endangered trees throughout

The politics of the Matrix franchise

Matrix RevolutionsWritten and directed by Andy and Larry WachowskiWith Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, Keanu Reeves, Mary Alice and Laurence FishburneAt major cinemas REVIEW BY NICK FREDMAN In an epic blaze of hyper-marketing, the Matrix series

ACTU branch of Reserve Bank launches 'wage claim'

Ian Macfarlane, the head of the Reserve Bank, must be really pleased with the work of his Australian Council of Trade Unions office. With unemployment falling to 5.6% and construction booming, the ACTU has submitted to the Australian Industrial

Glenn Hodgman: A socialist and leading shop steward

BY TIM GOODEN GEELONG — On November 26, leading building union activist Glenn Hodgman was tragically killed in a motor accident at Newport. He was 47 years old. Originally from Tasmania, Glenn came to Melbourne in the mid-1980s, a carpenter by

Australia's military: 'rebalanced' for aggression

BY NORM DIXON On November 7, the federal Coalition government announced multi-billion-dollar, high-tech military purchases that will give the Australian Defence Force (ADF) the ability to launch major unilateral military aggressions in the