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A recently published Attorney-General's department report shows that Australians are 24 times more likely to have their phones tapped than people living in the United States. The report on the use of the Telecommunications (Interception) Act 1979
Tony Iltis, Melbourne One hundred and twenty people rallied in the Footscray Mall around the slogans "Stand up for multicultural communities!" and "Howard's racism will not divide us: say no to attacks on Muslims!". The May 20 rally, organised by
POEM BY JOHN TOMLINSON Battlers all, come rally roundkeep your noses to the ground.Doff your caps to interest ratefeed off loathing, fear and hate.Praise the Leader one and allat 5 foot 2 he's standing tall.He's deaf and mean, he is obscene.Small
Eva Cheng A secret March gathering in Beijing of high profile pro-capitalist economists, legal experts and government advisers — most of whom are members of the Communist Party of China (CPC) — have alarmed China's waning pro-socialist forces.
Leo Zeilig, Johannesburg On May 18, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) led a general strike to protest against low pay, job losses and casualisation. There is growing working-class anger at the levels of poverty and unemployment in
Rail system After the recent track work in Sydney on May 13 and 14. I feel we should debate out the proposed three weeks' straight of track work, that was cancelled, which would have resulted in Blue Mountains trains terminating at Penrith and an
Tony Iltis, Melbourne "The optimism that many Australians felt following significant reforms to asylum and refugee policy in 2005 has been cruelly dashed by the government's wretched response to Indonesia's displeasure at the granting of protection
Emma Clancy The June 1 student strike against the federal government's anti-union "Work Choices" legislation has struck a real chord around the country, with students responding enthusiastically to the call to strike and organising for the action
Peter Burdon What would you say if you were told that a large portion of South Australia is subject to an entirely different set of laws to the rest of the state? How would you feel if you knew that those legally responsible for this land consume
Jim McIlroy & Coral Wynter, Quito In a victory for the broad-based popular movement against the proposed free trade agreement between Ecuador and the US (TLC), energy minister Ivan Rodriguez announced on May 15 that the contract for oil exploration
Andrew Ferguson, Sydney Mass protest action by workers and the community is a vital component to our battle against the Howard government's radical new anti-worker laws. Our campaign so far against the laws has been a resounding success, with half
Marcin Jaskulski, Sydney A decade ago you could venture into a bank, passbook in hand, and withdraw money knowing that you alone would be reducing the balance of your account. Now the bank reduces your account balance with its array of fees. In