How corporate power hijacked democracy
You don’t have to be a radical to think that what passes for democracy in capitalist society is a fraud. Politicians are so obviously influenced by extra-parliamentary networks of power that only the most blinkered ideologue would argue that the average Australian has as much influence on...CONTINUE READING
Mateship of mongrels: seven decades of the US-Australia alliance
In a rare moment of clarity, Donald Trump tweeted after Scott Morrison became prime minister, “There are no greater friends than the United States and Australia”. Coming from the bigot-in-chief, such endearment would turn the stomach of any decent human being. But it was a sweet serenade t...CONTINUE READING
Losing Santhia, part three: exodus from Jaffna, war in the Vanni
The early monsoon came heavy, leaving parts of Jaffna peninsula waterlogged. The place is a sultry, taxing fog. West of the Point Pedro-Maruthankerny Road, an inland sea overwhelms the flatlands and paddies from which islands of palmyra reach for the clouds. To the east it’s sand dunes and...CONTINUE READING
Never powerless. Norm Wallace, 1926-2018
Norm Wallace, treasurer and assistant secretary of the Builders Labourers Federation until 1988, was no stranger to struggle. Described by the construction union as “a hard man with an amazing passion for social justice”, Norm’s life spanned from undercover work in Z Special Unit, formed d...CONTINUE READING
A people’s history of the Vietnam War
Images of battle-weary soldiers and children drenched in napalm are burned into the minds of those who lived through or have studied the Vietnam War, a conflict that left up to 5 million people dead. The war is often painted as a dark chapter in the history of an otherwise free and democra...CONTINUE READING
Explaining US hostility to Iran
The Trump administration is famous for its abusive tweets and infantile militarism. Yet no country suffers under such persistent and active hostility from the US government as Iran. In the first two years of his presidency, Trump has threatened to declare war against Iran on numerous occas...CONTINUE READING
What is socialism?
We are all socialists now”, said sir William George Granville Venables Vernon Harcourt, later a senior British government minister, in 1887. Newsweek carried the front page headline “We’re all socialists now” in 2009. Both the politician and the publication were vehement defenders of capit...CONTINUE READING
‘I’m part of the union!’ How the Builders Labourers Federation set the benchmark
You don’t get me, I’m part of the union, Till the day I die! The Strawbs’ hit “I’m part of the union” became an instant union anthem when it was released in 1973, a time of mass workers’ struggle around the world. You’ll still hear it today at union rallies and meetings, celebrating victor...CONTINUE READING
Skinheads vs. boneheads: the battle over a working class subculture
The image of the skinhead is for many associated with violent neo-Nazis. Footage of shaven-headed thugs covered in nationalist symbols taking to the streets and attacking immigrants, refugees or members of other oppressed groups is all too familiar. Committed to the “fourteen words” (we mu...CONTINUE READING