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Letters to the Editor

Radioactive racism If the Howard government is serious about reconciliation, it should repeal blatantly racist legislation. A case in point is the government's attempt to impose a nuclear waste dump on unwilling Aboriginal communities in the

Burma protesters call for end to military ties

On October 13, 450 supporters of the Burmese democracy movement, including members of Sydney’s Burmese community, trade unionists, and members of the Greens and the Socialist Alliance, rallied in Martin Place.

Poem: The Cry of Killalea

I am a mystical Strand
between frenzied burgeon and wide waters
I am a decompression chamber
A pristine zone borrowed from Poseidon, till again,
he angers and commands large loyal swells to reclaim me,
with foam and sand and mermaid’s hair

David Matthews — 1927-2007

The socialist movement lost a strong supporter with the death from cancer of David Matthews — my father — on September 30 at the age of 79. David joined the Socialist Alliance soon after its formation and remained a financial member and a strong supporter of the campaign to bring the fractious left together.

Socialist candidate opposes NT intervention

On October 6, 40 people attended a public meeting on the Howard government's "emergency" intervention into Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory and the development of independent political voices for Indigenous people to aid the defence of their rights. Sam Watson, Brisbane-based Aboriginal activist and lead Socialist Alliance Queensland Senate candidate was the guest speaker.

On th Box

The World in 50 Years — A vision of the political and environmental state of our planet in 50 years' time. SBS, Saturday, October 27, 7.30pm. The Big Lie — A working-class mother of four takes on a global tobacco giant, in an attempt to gain

Green Left Weekly's $250,000 Fighting Fund: We need more than the worm

When PM John Howard tried, unsuccessfully, to ban the use of the “worm” — the audience’s reaction graph in the only debate Howard’s agreed to have with Labor leader Kevin Rudd in this election campaign — Rudd protested with a scripted joke.

WA public servants serve pay claim

#151; A special convention of Western Australian Civil Service Association delegates voted unanimously on October 17 to serve a claim for a 23% wage increase over three years on the WA government. The claim, known as GA4, would begin with a 9% rise in February 2008, when the current general agreement 3 expires.

Worth shouting about

Stand Up and Shout
GetUp! Action for Australia
Rouseabout Records, 2007
22 tracks, $24.95
http://www.undercovermusic.com.au/standup.html

Student walkout against Gunns

On October 19 Students Against the Pulp Mill handed out fliers advertising a student walkout against the Gunns pulp mill. The fliers were handed outside Hobart ANZ bank , in Elisabeth Mall. Gunns is relying on ANZ to finance its pulp mill in Tasmania’s Tamar Valley. The walk out is organised for November 1, will gather for a rally at 12.30pm at Parliament House lawns. If you wish to get involved with the student walk out call Gabby on 0400 91 7753.

Widespread rejection of racist scapegoating

Claims by immigration minister Kevin Andrews that African refugees are less capable of resettling in Australia than other migrant groups have been met with widespread condemnation by welfare, community and human rights organisations.

Resistance and the struggle for a free Burma

Resistance is an active, campaigning organisation. We’re in there where the struggle is. We don’t just talk about standing up for the oppressed. We actually do it. Recently, we met members of the Burmese community in Canberra at a series of protests outside the Burmese embassy. When we met them, we naturally wanted to jump into the struggle right there alongside them. We were involved in the first meeting of the Canberra Network for Democracy in Burma (CNDB), and helped organise the protest on October 13 for the international day of solidarity with the Burmese struggle.