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ISRAEL: Ehud Barak's Big Lie

BY URI AVNERY TEL AVIV — Last week, in Europe, I happened to pass a frozen lake. I was told that a few days before it was possible to skate on it. But the temperature had risen and the ice cover had started to melt. It still covers the whole

Goolengook forest blockade attacked

BY GRAHAM MATTHEWS MELBOURNE — The Victorian Labor government sent police and environment department staff to dismantle the Goolengook forest blockade in East Gippsland in the early morning on March 5. The blockade has been the longest

Government cuts domestic violence centre's services

BY KERRY VERNON BRISBANE — "It is with deep disappointment and sadness that we announce the closure of the Domestic Violence Resource Centre's statewide functions due to a decision by the Queensland minister of families and the department of

and ain't I a woman: US companies exploit women in Guatemala

and ain't I a woman: US companies exploit women in Guatemala Human Rights Watch (HRW) has released a report — "From the household to the factory: sex discrimination in the Guatemalan labor force" — which exposes the widespread abuse of

PAKISTAN: IWD celebrated in Lahore

BY TARIQ SHAHZAD LAHORE — Hundreds of women and men paid five rupees each to participate in a March 6 festival to commemorate International Women's Day, organised by the Women Workers Help Line. This was the third year that this event

The People v Philip Ruddock

BY MARY CARROLL SYDNEY — One hundred and thirty people filled the Manly Youth Centre Hall on February 28, attending a "People v Philip Ruddock" meeting called by the northern branch of the Socialist Alliance. Speakers were moved to tears as

SCOTLAND: Socialists aim for eight MSPs

BY SARAH PEART DUNDEE — "The Scottish Socialist Party promotes a vision that tackles poverty and inequality head on", declared the SSP's sole MP, Tommy Sheridan, in opening the fourth annual SSP conference held in Dundee's Caird Hall over the

PALESTINE: Sharon fans the flames of war

BY ROHAN PEARCE On March 5, a group of Palestinian school children sent a letter to US President George Bush, in which they wrote, "[E]ven our parents' comforting does not free us from the horror we live on a daily basis, the images of funerals,

On the box

Actively Radical TV — Sydney community television's progressive current affairs producers. CTS Sydney (UHF 31), every Sunday, 9pm. Phone 9565 5522. Visit <http://www.channel31.org> for program details. Access News — Melbourne

Thousands march to support meatworkers

BY LAURA COX ROCKHAMPTON — Almost 3000 spirited protesters marched through the CBD on March 2, in support of the 1350 workers who lost their jobs when Consolidated Meat Group (CMG) closed the Lakes Creek abattoir in mid-January. Mounting

Afghan woman to address conference

BY SARAH STEPHEN Tahmeena Faryal, a 23-year-old activist involved in the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA), will be a featured speaker at the Second Asia Pacific International Solidarity Conference, which will be held in

'Stop the war on women!'

BY LAUREN CARROLL HARRIS "This year's International Women's Day [IWD] takes place in a very dangerous political climate for women — both in Australia and internationally. The launching by the United States of a socalled war against terrorism —