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We live in a world dominated by war, racism, poverty, environmental destruction and oppression. We are told that these disasters are inevitable: they are part of "human nature", and there is nothing we can do about them. But there is no human gene
In 1986, Mordechai Vanunu, an engineer at Israel's Dimona nuclear centre, revealed to the London Sunday Times the existence of the secret Israeli nuclear weapons program. He was kidnapped in Italy by Mossad, the Israeli secret service, following his
Simon Butler, Newcastle The three-year community campaign to save the heavy rail line into Newcastle has won. The NSW Labor government announced on February 21 that it was abandoning the unpopular plan to remove the rail line into Newcastle's CBD.
Peter Boyle On February 23, Australian treasurer Peter Costello belted out this warning to Muslim migrants: "Before becoming an Australian you will be asked to subscribe to certain values. If you have strong objections to those values, don't come
Graham Matthews Since its adoption as the national flag in 1901, the Australian flag has stood for colonialism, racism and militarism. So it was no coincidence that the anti-Lebanese rioters at Sydney's Cronulla beach last December draped
On February 18, the 43 US members of the World Council of Churches issued a statement denouncing the US-led war on Iraq "launched in deception and violating global norms of justice and human rights. We mourn all who have died or been injured in this
The first issue of the Workers Charter newspaper was published in February, establishing a new forum for "workers to talk to workers". The paper's editor, well-known leftist John Minto, wrote in the first edition that the paper and the Workers
AWB I The Howard government is hiding behind the AWB's company status arguing that it only has remote oversight over its business operations. Although this is a dishonest excuse the disaster would then be the direct result of its failed small
Farida Iqbal Debates about same-sex marriage are intensifying internationally. On December 1, the Constitutional Court of South Africa ruled that it is unconstitutional to prevent same-sex marriages. The government has confirmed that it will
Coral Wynter & Jim McIlroy, Santiago On February 18, Chilean President Ricardo Lagos denied that Chile was involved with the United States in forming a common front to counteract the influence in the region of the Venezuelan government of Hugo
Kevin Healy, Melbourne Since Bill Hartley died at the age of 76 on February 18, a number of friends have spontaneously proffered that it is the end of an era. Looking at Bill's 76 years, it is not hard to understand why — he became part of the
The following statement was endorsed by a large number of women and women's organisations across Australia last week following PM John Howard's latest anti-Muslim comments. We are a group of Australian women from diverse ethnic and cultural