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PALESTINE: Sharon forced to resume negotiations

Kim Bullimore After being elected president of the Palestinian Authority (PA) with 62% of the popular vote on January 9, Mahmoud Abbas was due to be sworn in on January 15. However, on January 14, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon announced that

Reclaim the streets

SYDNEY — One-thousand people reclaimed a main street of inner-city Sydney to dance to music and have fun on January 29. Speakers on the open mike discussed the war in Iraq. A prominent banner announced "Welcome Mamdouh" Habib. Photo by Norman

'Boycott Emirates'

Paul Benedek, Brisbane On February 1, refugee-rights activists picketed Emirates Airlines in several cities. The airline is directly involved in forced deportations. On January 11, the federal Coalition government forcibly deported two asylum

The bombing of Dresden

Jon Lamb Sixty years ago, on the evening of February 13, 1945, 234 British bombers set off for the German city of Dresden. They were followed a few hours later by an additional 538 and the next day by a wave of 311 US bombers. Laden with high

SHOCKFACTS: Rising household debt

The average Australian household spends 2.3% more than it earns each week. In 2002 household debt, at $431 billion, represented almost 60% of economic activity in Australia. Current average household debt represents around 1.3 years of household

Checkpoint: a statement against censorship

BY LISA SARAMEL Checkpoint is a series of life-sized depictions of armed soldiers, which were to be placed at various locations in Blacktown in November 2004. The "checkpoints for weapons of mass distraction" were intended to confront people with

Australia's next environmental flashpoint?

Rich Bowden The site where a French team conducted the first scientific experiments in Australia is now the subject of an international furor following the Tasmanian government's decision to ignore its own heritage council recommendation and allow

'Late justice' for power workers

Jim McIlroy, Brisbane The pay rises of up to 27% over three years recently announced for the Queensland power industry were "some late justice" for the sacking of 700 electricity workers in 1985, according to Bernie Neville. Neville was a leading

Debating Che's revolutionary strategy

Che Guevara and the Cuban RevolutionBy Mike GonzalezBookmarks 2004186 pages, $28 REVIEW BY CHRIS SLEE Che Guevara and the Cuban Revolution is a critique of Che's political theory and practice. Mike Gonzalez argues that Che's understanding of

Mentally ill woman accidentally detained

Sarah Stephen Cornelia Rau is a very unlucky woman. She suffers from schizophrenia and escaped from a mental institution in Sydney last April. She was taken to a Queensland police station by Indigenous people she had been living with, but instead

ACEH: PRD activist: reconstruction, not carpetbagging!

Zely Ariane has been the secretary-general of the Peoples Democratic Party (PRD) since 2003. Indonesia's only openly operating socialist party, It played a central role in the movement to overthrow Suharto between 1994 and 1998 and has been at the

When the world said no to war

SYDNEY — A packed February 2 opening of When the World Said No to War — an exhibition of images from the global anti-war protests of February 14-15, 2003 — heard from John Pilger, whose comments on the anti-war movement's need for