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Tariq Ali: 'Punish the politicians with blood on their hands!'

Norm Dixon, Sydney US President George Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Australian PM John Howard — "politicians with blood on their hands" — should be "punished" at the ballot box for invading and occupying Iraq, renowned political

Left union leaders say 'Defend Craig Johnston'

Sue Bolton, Melbourne Many Victorian unionists were shocked when an ACTU-initiated resolution titled "Criminal and violent conduct policy" was rammed through the March 12 Victorian Trades Hall Council (VTHC) executive meeting. The resolution is

Student occupation forces backdown

Leigh Hughes, Adelaide Thirty years after the month-long occupation of Flinders University in 1974, students have used the tactic to force their administration to consult better over fee increases. Vice Chancellor Anne Edwards is planning to

NEW ZEALAND: Building a movement for real democracy

In January, New Zealand National Party leader Don Brash gave a speech viciously attacking affirmative action for Maoris. In the uproar that followed, New Zealand's Labour government made significant concessions to Brash, agreeing that a "new balance"

CHINA: High growth unsustainable

Eva Cheng After achieving an average annual GDP growth of about 8% over the last decade under Beijing's push to restore capitalism, the Chinese economy grew at an even more back-breaking pace of 9.1% last year. But during the March 5-14 annual

Thousands march for 'Troops out of Iraq'

Pip Hinman Up to 7000 people joined a March 20 protest organised by the Stop the War Coalition in Sydney. Thousands more rallied in other cities, including 2000 in Melbourne and 1000 in Brisbane. The Spanish election results had clearly given

East Timor: Australia's double betrayal

Max Lane Since the East Timorese independence referendum in 1999, the Australian government has received approximately $1 billion dollars in taxes on oil taken from the Laminaria Corallina field, which is fully situated in East Timorese territory.

IRAQ: Kurds, Shiites criticise US-imposed constitution

Doug Lorimer While Washington is scrambling to keep Spain from withdrawing its contingent of 1300 troops from Iraq, it is threatened by a serious rift with another NATO ally, Turkey. Turkey is objecting to the interim constitution that the US has

Male teacher shortage is not the problem

Bronwyn Jennings The federal government's recent announcement that it will attempt to amend the Sex Discrimination Act to encourage more men to become teachers will have little effect on the number of men who are attracted to the teaching

Loose cannons

Feeling Bolshie "A [Russian] leader writer has expressed concern that the Soviet Union still exists, that nostalgia for it seems to be the dominant mode. Polls by reputable institutes confirm this: 57% of Russians want the USSR back (2001); 45%

Vote for the millions, not the millionairres!

Socialist Alliance candidates in the March 27 NSW local government elections: Auburn: Lisa Macdonald (councillor, First Ward). Bankstown: Raul Bassi, Rihab Charida, Maurice Shaya (councillors, East Ward). Canterbury: Susan Mullan (mayor).

Our Common Cause: An unsustainable course

On March 21, it will be 10 years since 154 countries signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) following the 1992 Earth Summit in Brazil. The only implementing treaty, the Kyoto Protocol, is in limbo. The US and