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A racist flag?

Graham Matthews Since its adoption as the national flag in 1901, the Australian flag has stood for colonialism, racism and militarism. So it was no coincidence that the anti-Lebanese rioters at Sydney's Cronulla beach last December draped

IRAN: US legislators endorse Bush's war drive

Doug Lorimer On February 15, the US House of Representatives adopted a resolution by 404 to 4 votes condemning "the government of Iran for violating its international nuclear non-proliferation obligations and expressing support for efforts to

NEW ZEALAND: Workers Charter paper goes to the press

The first issue of the Workers Charter newspaper was published in February, establishing a new forum for "workers to talk to workers". The paper's editor, well-known leftist John Minto, wrote in the first edition that the paper and the Workers

BRITAIN: FBI questions Morrissey

British singer Morrissey has been questioned by British intelligence and the FBI after expressing his opposition to the US-led war on Iraq and Britain's involvement. According to British MTV, Morrissey, who has described US President George Bush as a

Marriage rights for all

Farida Iqbal Debates about same-sex marriage are intensifying internationally. On December 1, the Constitutional Court of South Africa ruled that it is unconstitutional to prevent same-sex marriages. The government has confirmed that it will

'Too much at stake to be silenced'

Brianna Pike The RSL has weighed into the debate over Resistance distributing Australian flag-burning kits on campus, claiming that it is not "decent". But Resistance says the campaign is useful because it has generated a wide-ranging discussion

Bill Hartley, 1930-2006

Kevin Healy, Melbourne Since Bill Hartley died at the age of 76 on February 18, a number of friends have spontaneously proffered that it is the end of an era. Looking at Bill's 76 years, it is not hard to understand why — he became part of the

Full Marx

Marx in SohoWritten by Howard ZinnIron Age TheatreWith Bob Weick Imagine if Karl Marx could return from the grave — but only for one hour — to answer the 120-plus years of bad press since his death. This is the concept of the Howard Zinn play

UNSW staff launch EB campaign

Susan Price, Sydney On February 21, staff at the University of NSW launched their 2006 enterprise bargaining campaign. The launch, organised by the UNSW branch of the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU), coincided with the first day of

Unions mobilise to defend Opera House workers

Alex Bainbridge, Sydney Sixty unionists and their supporters gathered to defend specialised maintenance workers at the Sydney Opera House on February 24. The protest was directed against a new anti-union contractor who has refused employment to the

Standing up to sedition: the US experience

Socialism on TrialBy James P CannonResistance Books, 1999200 pages, $17.95Available at Resistance bookshops (see page 2) or order at <http://www.resistancebooks.com> REVIEW BY JON PICCINI AND STELLA RIETHMULLER The Howard government

VENEZUELA: The threat of a good example

Stuart Munckton "In another era, the alliance between an oil-rich joker in Venezuela, an ageing Cuban dictator and a jumper-wearing Bolivian peasant leader would hardly be worthy of superpower attention, but Latin America's shift to the Left is