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Issue No. 137 24 May 2002  
E D I T O R I A L

An Aussie Icon
The public deification of the Last Anzac, Alec Campbell, proves the adage that when you scratch the surface of an icon you'll invariably find a far more interesting reality.

F E A T U R E S

Interview: Just Done It?
Nikewatch's Tim Connor gives his verdict on the global giant's latest innovation: ethics.

Tribute: Lest We Forget
Rowan Cahill goes looking for the real Alec Campbell and finds a story the Telegraph will not be publishing.

History: Solidarity Forever
Neale Towart looks at the enduring relationship between the union movement and the defence forces and finds it all comers down to solidarity.

Technology: Unblocking the Superhighway
Michael Gadiel argues the case for Open Standards as a way of breaking the grip of big business on the IT industry.

International: Gloves Off
Workers and their unions are facing a battering throughout South America as a wave of economic turmoil sweeps across the continent.

Unions: Out Of Work
Jim Marr travels to the frontline to witness the impact of the Howard Government's decision to close Employment National.

Review: Strange Business
Tara de Boehmler looks at a new flick that exposes the dark side of the Material World.

Poetry: The Lawyer's Lament
One of the big issues of recent weeks has been the explosion of insurance costs for public and community events, many of which have had to be cancelled as a result.

Satire: Government Mourns Loss Of Last Anzac
Treasurer Peter Costello has lamented the death of Alec Campbell, the last surviving ANZAC, bemoaning the lost revenue the government could have gained at his expense following the Budget.

N E W S

 Workers Honour Radical Digger

 Retailers in Outworker Spotlight

 Nurses, Teachers Snare Agenda

 Syd in Vicious Backpacker Stand-off

 Microsoft Monopoly Under Challenge

 Kiddies Not Exactly Having a Ball

 NSW ALP Faces Asylum Seeker Test

 Canberra Acts on Industrial Manslaughter

 Carr Delivers on Dismissals

 Santa Claus Strikers on Christmas Island

 Abbott Believes Management Should Dictate

 Low Paid Not To Blame For Beer Price Rise

 Casino Award Covers Eastern States

 Security Workers Want Bosses Sacked

 Sydneysiders Rally For Western Sahara

 Activists Notebook

C O L U M N S

The Soapbox
The Cold Hard Truth
The Rail,Tram and Bus Union's Nick Lewocki argues our hard-hearted treatment of refugees is a betrayal of our proud immigrant history.

The Locker Room
The South Melbourne Football Club Pty Ltd
A spectre is haunting football; it is the spectre of revolution; a free market revolution, writes Phil Doyle.

Bosswatch
The Good, The Bad and the Ugly
Jobs are under threat in the textile and trye markets; but there's better news in the Newcastle mills and the Nike factories.

Postcard
Gas Treaty - The Raw Deal
East Timor is getting less then 40%�not 90% royalties from the oil and gas revenue in the Timor Sea, reports HT Lee.

Week in Review
Origin of the Species
Phil Gould, Andrew Johns and Danny Buderus may have buried the laughable notion that Rugby Union is the sport they play in heaven, but outside Stadium Australia life goes on, as Jim Marr discovers.

L E T T E R S
 Dancing With Trotsky? Not Bloody Likely.
 Your Tools Page is Down
 Big Dave Foster
 Give Us a Click!
 Will the Real Mark Latham Please Stand Up?
 Unified Labour
 The Last Survivor
 Not Hate Mail
WHAT YOU CAN DO
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Letters to the Editor

The Last Survivor


Dear Sir,

What utter hypocrisy and bad wagon hijacking displayed by politicians and their ilk on the death of Mr. Alex Campbell, the last Australian survivor from the "Great War"

For years all sides of politics have bit by bit reduced the state benefits provided to these veterans, particularly the disabled.

Why is it, that this individual has been placed on a pedestal as a war hero, Mr. Campbell, displayed no attributes that were not displayed by the majority of his comrades?

The use of individuals as "Icons" , to worship is another indication of the demise of the nation , and what depths have we reached when we need to beatify an individual whose only claim to fame is that he outlived his contempories , this public worship of a man is more blasphemous than Aharons "Golden Calf .

The belligerent insinuation by commentators that any one who did not agree with the waste of productive time, in stopping work for one minute in memory of Mr. Alex Campbell, under the guise of a memory of unless massacres inflicted upon a nations youth is akin , to "Spanish Inquisition" ,imposition of beliefs on others.

While, Mr. Campbell, in all probability was a very nice person, I fail to see how the expense of a State Funeral and 19, million minutes of national stagnation are justified.

My own Grandparents, were victims of the massacres with on the paternal side , my Grandfather and his brothers being members of the Ulster Volunteer Force ,and on the maternal side members of the 16th Division of the Irish Volunteers , where on the 1st of July 1916 , 1 man in 3 of the 36th Ulster division were killed or died from their wounds , so I can relate to the emotion of this War.

But in the case of Mr. Campbell, his claim to fame is nothing other than being wounded along with millions of others of all nations, he is the last Australian survivor, and he is being used as just another icon to worship for a nation that has no God, but man made ones.

This is in no way a personal reflection on Mr. Campbell, but the misuse of his death which included, just over one year military service in 103 years of life , as an pseudo reflection the nation.

This one minutes silence being paid for by employers, would be much better used if every person who wanted to pay their respects should contribute their wages for this minute to legacy , an organisation which over the past few years find it extremely difficult raise funds for legatees.

I am also certain , that John Grey Gorton , who was in all probability , was more important to Gough Whitlam , than John the Baptist was to Jesus , had a more positive impact on the Australian Nation that 100 Alex Campbell's , who tugged the forelock , said yes "M'Lud" , and accepted their lot in life as being cannon fodder for the games their betters played when bored.

Brian Gnome


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