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When utopia crumbles

Revolutionary Road
Directed by Sam Mendes
Written by Justin Haythe and Richard Yates
With Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio
In cinemas

'Self-determination has been shattered'

The following is an open letter to Indigenous affairs minister Jenny Macklin regarding the Northern Territory intervention. The letter was signed by the Prescribed Area People’s Alliance delegation to Canberra and presented to Macklin and others on February 4, 2009.

Venezuela: The significance of the referendum

On February 15, Venezuelans vote in a referendum on a proposed constitutional amendment that will allow for any candidate to stand for any elective office, without restriction on the number of terms they may serve.

Venezuela: Struggle for constitution change

Dr Julian Isaias Rodriguez, a former vice president and participant in the drafting of the 1999 Venezuelan constitution, told 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ Weekly that the proposed constitutional amendment to be voted on by the Venezuelan people on February 15 will “allow people to be real protagonists and fundamental actors in making their own history”.

No zero-tolerance drug policy!

The death of Gemma Thoms at the Perth Big Day Out music festival on February 1 was tragic and preventable.

Non-union ferry: bad news for workers and passengers

The Sydney branch of the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) and its supporters have rallied each day at Circular Quay since February 10.

Bushfires — just chance, or climate change?

With VictoriaÂ’s bushfire holocaust now confirmed as AustraliaÂ’s worst-ever natural disaster, people are reasonably asking: are these events linked to climate change?

Venezuela: Opposition campaigns with slander, violence

The international and domestic campaign against the Venezuelan government of President Hugo Chavez has dramatically escalated in the lead up to the February 15 referendum to remove the restriction on elected official standing for office if they have already served two terms.

Demystifying the economic crisis

Meltdown! A Socialist view of the Capitalist Crisis
By Tony Iltis, Lee Sustar, John Bellamy Foster, Phil Hearse, Adam Hanieh & Dave Holmes
Resistance Books, 2009
54 pages, $6.00
Available from

Climate emergency or a crisis of democracy?

When the authorities put the figures together, the death rates in Melbourne and Adelaide due to the recent heat wave will show a spike in response to the record temperatures over Eastern Australia.

On the box

Jerusalem Cuts — On May 14, 1948, eight hours before the British mandate over Palestine was to expire, Israel's future prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, declared independence for the state of Israel. SBS, Friday, February 20, 2.30pm. Blaktrax

Beat the car — increase public transport

Sydney residents of the lower north shore and inner city are increasingly “electing” to drive to work “despite living a relatively short bus ride from the heart of the city”, a report in the February 10 Sydney Morning Herald concluded.