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ECUADOR: President walks a tightrope

Duroyan Fertl On June 10, the 10th round of negotiations for a free trade agreement between the South American nations of Ecuador, Peru and Colombia, and the United States, ended in a stalemate, with neither side willing to budge, in yet another

PALESTINE: Villagers fight for olive groves

Kim Bullimore Since early June, almost-daily peaceful protests in the Salfit district of the West Bank have been hit by teargas, stun grenades, live ammunition and rubber bullets by Israeli occupation forces. The residents of Salfit are trying to

Letters from US soldiers

Will They Ever Trust Us Again? Letters From the War ZoneBy Michael MoorePenguin Books, 2004218 pages, $24.95 REVIEW BY ALEX SALMON In his latest book, Will They Ever Trust Us Again, Michael Moore set out to continue the work of his most recent

Militant unionists condemned in parliament

Peter Boyle On June 16, the federal minister for employment and workplace relations, Kevin Andrews, used a Dorothy Dix question to attack the June 11 National Trade Union Fightback Conference, singling out Socialist Alliance members Chris Cain and

Socialist Alliance prioritises union fight-back

Peter Boyle, Melbourne The June 11 National Trade Union Fightback Conference fired the spirits of the 200-plus delegates and observers at the fourth national conference of the Socialist Alliance, held at the Victorian Trades Hall over the two days

On the box

Australian Biography — Bill Harney discusses tradition in contemporary Aboriginal life, equal pay for Aboriginal workers and alcohol abuse. SBS, Friday, June 24, 3pm. Crim TV — Koori prisoners in Long Bay Jail make a video on the harsh

UNITED STATES: Lessons from the United Airlines pension plan negotiations

Malik Miah, San Francisco Working people don't just live on their hourly wages or salaries. The social wages — the benefits of health care, pensions, and other social programs — address fundamental and universal human needs to form the base of

ILO rejects Venezuela complaint

On June 12, the International Labor Organization rejected a request by Fedecameras, Venezuela's largest employer group, to open an investigation into supposed abuses of workers' rights in Venezuela. Fedecameras's ILO delegate walked out in protest at

SCOTLAND: Democracy for sale, as G8 protests loom

Alex Miller As the leaders of the world's top eight industrialised countries (Britain, France, Russia, Japan, Italy, Canada, Germany and the USA) prepare to gather for the G8 summit at Gleneagles in Perthshire, activists from all over the world are

BOLIVIA: Movement Towards Where?

Federico Fuentes No one can talk about the crisis in Bolivia, the site of continuous waves of mobilisation, road blockades and general strikes that have thrown out two presidents already, without mentioning Evo Morales. No matter what the viewpoint

Peace protesters hit Talisman Sabre

Jim McIlroy, Brisbane Anti-war campaigners from Brisbane and other parts of Australia gathered in Rockhampton over the June 10-12 weekend to protest against Operation Talisman Sabre, the largest military exercise ever held in Australia. Involving

Write on: Letters to the editor

Venezuela I wish to address Ray Fulcher's concerns ("Write On", GLW #629) regarding my article in Socialist Worker detailing my all too brief stay in Venezuela. For the record, the article described an all too brief visit to Venezuela I made