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An anti-imperialist message from Bollywood

The Rising: Ballad of Mangal PandeyDirected by Ketan MehtaStarring Aamir Khan, Toby Stephens, Rani Mukherjee, Amisha Patel and Coral BeedScreening nationally at selected cinemas REVIEW BY RAJIV RAWAT A strange North American silence seems to have

NEW ZEALAND: Neither Labour nor National to win majority

Dean Parker, Auckland According to a Herald-DigiPoll poll, released on September 9, the incumbent Labour government of Prime Minister Helen Clark and the opposition National Party are running neck and neck in the lead-up to the September 17 New

Call to protest Rice-Rumsfeld visit

Call to protest Rice-Rumsfeld visit Emma Murphy, Adelaide The Rice/Rumsfeld Reception Committee (RRRC) has begun organising around the possibility of the inaugural meeting of the Asia Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate being

Women, work and welfare

Helen Masterman-Smith, Adelaide A large crowd gathered at the Adelaide Town Hall on September 2 to hear speakers on the impact on women of the Howard government's planned welfare and workplace changes. Elspeth McInnes of the National Council of

The tradition of class-struggle unionism

Uncharted Waters: Social Responsibility in Australian Trade UnionsBy Greg MalloryBoolarong Press, Brisbane, 2005243 pages, $35 (pb) REVIEW BY JIM MCILROY In his foreword to Uncharted Waters, former NSW Builders Labourers Federation (BLF)

Why we need unions

While the Coalition federal government is hell bent on pandering to big business's agenda, it is undermining the quality of life of every Australian. The new industrial relations legislation, and specifically individual contracts, which are already

VENEZUELA: Chavez increases aid, slams Bush

Stuart Munckton "Cowboy" Bush failed US citizens in his handling of the crisis caused by Hurricane Katrina, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said in a televised cabinet meeting, Reuters reported on August 31. Chavez attacked Bush, who he referred

Death and transcendence

Who dies?September 16-18 & 23-25, 8pm St Luke's Hall, 11 Stanmore Rd, Enmore$22/$15For bookings phone (02) 9747 1402 or email <kineticenergy@iprimus.com> Sydney's Kinetic Energy Theatre Company is celebrating its 30th birthday by

Bill of rights needed

Lawrence Gibbons Ten years ago last month, the first edition of the City Hub hit the streets of Sydney. The headline on my first page three editorial read: "Toss a flag on the barbie". I encouraged readers to burn Indonesian flags in defiance of

CUBA: Lowest infant mortality rates in Latin America

According to a report on progress towards the Millennium Development Goals, announced on September 7, Cuba has the lowest infant mortality rate in Latin America — 5.6 deaths per thousand in 2004 — putting it on a par with developed countries. The

Howard's wages plan: we work harder for less

Dick Nichols It's the lying rodent's favourite statistic in the "battle of ideas" over his government's new industrial relations legislation: on average, real wages have risen 12 times more in the last nine years of the John Howard government (14%)

VIETNAM: 60 years of independence

Eva Cheng, Hanoi Around 100 solidarity and left-wing activists travelled here from some 40 countries on August 31-September 2 to join the 82 million Vietnamese people in celebrating their 60 years of hard-won independence. Throughout several days