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Activist denied visa for stepfather's funeral

BY LUKE WILLIAMS Peter Tatchell, renowned for his fight for gay liberation and human rights, has been denied a visa to Australia. The debacle has prevented him from attending his stepfather's funeral. He was refused entry despite repeated requests

Write on: Letters to the editor

Nutters I'm scared! I am afraid! I really am frightened — that great superpower (the United States of America) is now being ruled by nutters — a cabal of nutters. Its president, and his mates (Richard Wolfowitz in particular) are talking of

Proposed Asia Pacific Social Forum

BY IGGY KIM SYDNEY — Following the success of the second World Social Forum at Porto Alegre, Brazil, activists will meet at the second Asia Pacific International Solidarity Conference to discuss the formation of a regional social forum. The

Class showdown looms in Venezuela

BY DICK NICHOLS CARACAS — Venezuela's wealthy elite is using every resource at its disposal to force President Hugo Chavez Frias to retreat or resign. Their offensive reached its highest point yet on January 23, when their "March for Freedom and

Bush's racist war on the Third World

By Leigh Hughes "Every nation, in every region, now has a decision to make. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists. From this day forward, any nation that continues to harbor or support terrorism will be regarded by the United

INDONESIA: 'Why I rejected the Reebok Human Rights Award'

BY DITA SARI JAKARTA — The driving forces of globalisation are the movement and expansion of capital and technology, through multinational companies. Globalisation, some people argue, has contributed a lot to the creation of a new world, with

Bush declares war on the world

BY NORM DIXON US President George Bush's January 29 State of the Union speech, and his proposed US$396 billion 2002-2003 war budget, sent shudders through peoples and governments throughout the world — including Washington's imperialist allies in

Corporate Scumbag: Qantas

Corporate Scumbag: Qantas Qantas is doing well. The world's second-oldest airline boasts more than a thousand flights a day, Australia's largest airline loyalty program and 30,000 staff. In the financial year 1999-2000, Qantas profits soared

The soldiers' truce

REVIEW BY PHIL SHANNON Silent Night: The Story of the World War I Christmas TruceBy Stanley WeintraubThe Free Press, 2001206 pages, $39.95 (hb) It was the war that was supposed "to be over by Christmas". It very nearly was. A spontaneous

Refugees: How far will Labor's soul searching go?

BY PIP HINMAN The brave hunger strikers in Woomera and other immigration detention centres have sparked broad and growing opposition to the federal government's anti-refugee policies. Three months after a federal election campaign, in which the

Chumbawamba puts its money where its mouth is

British anarchist band Chumbawamba has turned over $210,000 it received from General Motors to anti-capitalist campaigners. The band was paid the money for the use of its song "Pass it Along" to advertise GM Pontiac cars. "We're planning on using

Cracks showing in the major parties

BY ALEX BAINBRIDGE HOBART — The ALP and the Liberals in Tasmania have both been rocked this year by scandals reflecting in different ways the ongoing crisis of legitimacy of the major capitalist parties. This demonstrates that the solid