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VENEZUELA: US tries isolation tactics

Stuart Munckton "We are very concerned about a democratically elected leader who governs in an illiberal way", intoned US Secretary of State-designate Condeleeza Rice addressing a January 18 Senate foreign relations committee. Rice was referring to

Workers defeat Esso roster plan

Sue Bolton, Melbourne On February 1, workers employed by construction contractors on Esso's Bass Strait oil and gas platforms defeated an attempt by the oil company — the Australian subsidiary of ExxonMobil, the world's biggest oil corporation

BOTSWANA: Six Bushmen fined for hunting

Despite Botswana's President Festus Mogae November claim to British MPs that Bushmen had been allowed to hunt in the Kalahari Game Reserve, on February 2 Botswanan courts handed out 1000-pula (AU$310) fines for hunting gembok antelope. The Bushmen

Vera Drake is not a criminal

Vera DrakeWritten and directed by Mike LeighStarring Imelda Staunton and Phil DavisOpens nationally February 10 REVIEW BY ELIZABETH SCHULTE Movies that even mention abortion are few and far between. So when a movie like Vera Drake, which depicts

Stan Goff: "We can win, and we will win"

A retired US Army officer turned revolutionary socialist and author, Stan Goff spent the majority of his military career in a field euphemistically termed "Special Operations". Beginning with Vietnam in 1970, Goff was deployed to eight countries

UNITED STATES: Just say yes

The first state-funded evaluation of the impact of the US abstinence-only approach to sex education in Texas has found that more teenagers were sexually active after taking the program than before it. The evaluation, which involved surveying all

Religious right pushes abortion debate

Lara Pullin Women's access to abortion is back on the political agenda as the religious right attempts to whip up controversy. But the anti-abortion forces may have misjudged the amount of support that a woman's right to choose has throughout the

The Habib injustice - a threat to us all

Sarah Stephen &Aaron Benedek, Sydney Consider this scenario: an Australian citizen travels to another country, is kidnapped by the military of a third country, receives absolutely no assistance from the Australian government, is imprisoned for

BRAZIL: Manifesto for action raises controversy

Federico Fuentes A manifesto proposed by 19 intellectuals created a stir at this year's World Social Forum. The 12-point platform of proposals is designed to make concrete the slogan "Another World is Possible". Circulated in order to gain the

Doomadgee family: 'inquiry will be a whitewash'

Dave Riley, Brisbane With the coronial inquiry still pending into the November death-in-custody of Cameron Doomadgee, the Queensland government and its police force have been able to avoid taking responsibility for the death. The inquest will

Write on: Letters to the editor

Israeli-Palestinian conflict Rachel Freeman (Write On, GLW #612) perceives the Israeli-Palestinian confrontations from a Zionist perspective whereas Kim Bullimore and Doug Lorimer see it from a Marxist standpoint. Freeman stresses the different

This week in history

January 10 1879: Ned Kelly's Jerilderie letter recounting his reasons for revolt is published. 2000: Blockades temporarily halt logging on the Errinundra Plateau, Gippsland. 1932: CNT general strike in Spain leads to insurrection. 1990: 800