489

Cuba is winning the 'battle of ideas'

BY LISA MACDONALD SYDNEY — “Human capital, the level of knowledge of our people, is the most important type of capital in Cuba.” Otto Rivero Torres, Cuba's minister for youth and the first secretary of the Union of Communist Youth,

Drug users 'surrender' to police

BY GARY MEYERHOFF DARWIN — Four drug law reform advocates handed themselves into the Darwin Local Police Office on April 12 to raise awareness of the Northern Territory Labor government's proposed "drug house" legislation. The four activists,

Loose cannons

Immovable "The Palestinian leader is seen to be just as immovable as his Israeli opposite." — ABC correspondent Jill Colgan, 7.30 Report, April 15, after earlier noting that "Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has been held under siege by Israeli

'Free, free Palestine!'

BY LISA MACDONALD SYDNEY — Two thousand people, many of them carrying candles and Palestinian flags, marched through the city centre as part of an Asia-Pacific regional day of action for Palestine on April 19. Simultaneous protests were held in

PALESTINE: The reality of Israel's 'generous offer'

No Israeli defence of its war on the Palestinians would be complete without a reference to Palestinian Authority leader Yasser Arafat's supposed rejection of "peace" at the July 2000 Camp David summit hosted by US President Bill Clinton. The story is

Legal challenge against reactor

BY JIM GREEN SYDNEY — Greenpeace is legally challenging the construction license granted for the new nuclear reactor, to be built at Lucas Heights in Sydney's southern suburbs. A Federal Court hearing has been scheduled in May. The basis of the

M1: Uniting progressive activists

BY SUE BULL MELBOURNE — The city's immigration department offices are almost certain to be closed on the morning of May 1 when protesters against racist attacks on refugees, the US war drive and union bashing will converge on them. The Community

M1: Demand money for jobs, not war

Since the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, First World governments have exploited the fear that was generated to justify the diversion of government funds from programs that benefit working people and the poor to the

Why we're blockading ACM

BY ZANNY BEGG As part of this year's May 1 protest events, protesters will blockade the Sydney offices of Australasian Correctional Management (ACM). Here are some reasons why we will be doing this. ACM, and its US parent company Wackenhut, are

We Were Soldiers: Turning defeat into victory

REVIEW BY PAUL D'AMATO We Were SoldiersDirected by Randall WallaceWith Mel Gibson, Greg Kinnear and Sam ElliotShowing at major cinemas from April 25 Hollywood has released a string of movies lately that claim to give us a realistic portrayal of

ITALY: Communist Party adopts radical left turn

BY DICK NICHOLS RIMINI — Since it was launched in 1991 by opponents of the dissolution of the old Italian Communist Party (PCI), Italy's Party of Communist Refoundation (PRC) has not only kept the communist name alive in national politics, but

News Briefs

NTEU campaign against homophobia BALLARAT — After the University of Ballarat endorsed a student contingent at the 2002 Pride March, two public emails were sent by staff members condemning "sexual perversion". Although the NTEU responded with a