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Appeal for condemnation of repression

May Day events organised by the Worker-Communist Party of Iraq (WCPI) and other groups, in Iraqi Kurdistan, attracted more than 200,000 people. In one city, Duhok, armed forces belonging to the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) attacked a May 1

Action at Fairlea Women's Prison

By Kim Linden MELBOURNE — A "wringout" for Fairlea Women's Prison at Fairfield on May 19 was a resounding demonstration of solidarity with the women imprisoned there and against the scheduled replacement of Fairlea by a private prison. The

and ain't i a woman?: Equal pay and Howard's IR bill

Equal pay and Howard's IR bill A comment by the chief executive of the Metal Trades Industry Association — the metal bosses' "union" — reveals employer thinking behind their hostility to paying women and men equal pay for work of equal value.

Mayak: the other Chernobyl

By Renfrey Clarke MOSCOW — The 1986 accident at Chernobyl was not the first case in which the Soviet nuclear industry contrived to pour huge quantities of deadly radionuclides into the environment. In terms of total radioactivity released, the

Victorian government to debate drug law reform

By John Campbell MELBOURNE — The Victorian state council of the Liberal Party voted overwhelmingly on May 12 against decriminalising marijuana. While the vote is not binding on Liberal MPs, statements by leading parliamentarians, including

Beijing steps up repression

By Eva Cheng Dozens of people in China have been arrested, some receiving long jail sentences, under laws which use a sweeping definition of "state secrets" as an excuse to stifle public scrutiny, according to the Amnesty International. Journalist

Poem: Batik Diplomacy

An Australian mouse squeaks petulantly at the distant Lion as its bombs insult the peaceful ocean, degrading both the culture of origin and the hapless victims of "collateral" damage, deformed babies coral reefs and birds, mutant fish

The GST raises its ugly head

Since the federal election, business groups have lost no time in re-raising their arguments for a goods and services tax (GST). Having had to let it go after John Hewson's spectacularly unsuccessful bid to popularise the GST in the 1993 election,

Viewpoint: The public sector — not guilty!

James Vassilopolous The public sector — not guilty! If you're a public servant, a lot of important people, like John Howard, Ray Martin, John Laws, are trying to make you feel very guilty: guilty about a $6-$8 billion federal government

Broad alliance against Howard's education cuts

By Natasha Simons On May 14, representatives from Australia's 36 universities met with senior officials from the Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs (DEETYA) to discuss the biggest cuts to higher education funding in