This week's stories: Some Fires Are More Important Than Others...Bosses Agree, There's No Comparison Between Our Pay and the Plebs'...A Terrorist Is Someone Who's On Their Side...Lying Gets the Swoosh of Approval...Train Drivers Refuse to Move Ammunition for Gulf War...Quote of the Week (wrong!).
A resident of public housing in Canberra says that, during the Canberra bushfires, firefighters arrived, started unrolling hoses, then left to protect a farm instead when the fire approached. The man said that the ACT government has been trying to get rid of the Uriarra public housing settlement for years. (ABC radio). Unions say that the top 100 chief executives of Australian companies have received pay rises of 38 per cent in the past 12 months, while employers are opposing a $25 weekly pay rise for ordinary workers. Chief executive of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Peter Hendy, says it appears the campaign is a back-door attempt to rein in corporate salaries. Mr Hendy said that that would be "really opening a pandora's box". (ABC news website, January 16). A report by Human Rights Watch says that the United States government is ignoring repression by governments, as long as they support their "war on terror". The Bush administration is pushing for increased military ties with the Indonesian military in the name of the 'war on terror', and has expanded its International Military Education and Training program, which brings foreign military officers to the United States to be trained. (Herald Sun, January 15, East Timor Action Network and Indonesia Human Rights Network (US), January 23). Multinational Nike may be using 'free speech' as an excuse to lie about its operations in the Third World. The company says that its defence of its alleged sweatshops in China, Indonesia, and Vietnam is protected speech under the United States Constitution - and therefore that they can't be sued for false advertising, even if their statements are lies. The case arose from allegations of physical and verbal abuse, sexual harassment and unsafe working conditions made against Nike during the early to mid-'90s. The company repeatedly denied the allegations, despite a leaked internal audit of a Vietnamese factory by the accountancy firm Ernst and Young, which contradicted Nike's public statements of denial. Many leading US media companies are supporting Nike, including The New York Times and CNN. (The Age, January 13). A group of British train drivers have refused to move a freight train carrying ammunition believed to be intended for British forces being deployed in the Gulf. Railway managers cancelled the Ministry of Defence service after the crewmen said they opposed Tony Blair's threat to attack Iraq. (The Guardian (UK), January 9). Quote of the week: "The people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country." - Nazi leader Hermann Goering. anarchist news service write to James, PO Box 503, Newtown NSW 2042 or email [EMAIL PROTECTED] contact us to get ATNTF emailed directly to you. If you like All the News That Fits, forward it on. www.angry.at/politicians - new anarchist website with fliers for download, contacts etc. www.angry.at/racists - Anarchist/anti-racist music site with free mp3s, Real Audio, Real Video, internet radio, band interviews etc. Also includes the text of 'Escape', an anarchist novel - www.geocities.com/skipnewborn/novel.doc www.dolearmy.org - information for unemployed people. www.activate.8m.com - anarchist magazine aimed at teenagers. All the News That Fits appears in the Anarchist Age Weekly Review (www.vicnet.net.au/~anarchist - PO Box 20 Parkville VIC 3052) and The Ham (www.theham.cat.org.au), as well as Melbourne Indymedia (www.melbourne.indymedia.org). Media outlets mentioned in All the News That Fits are sources - items are not direct quotes from news media. Background information may have been gathered from sources in addition to media outlets cited. Where no source is cited, the information has been gathered from direct sources. .. -- -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Sub: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsub: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink