F E A T U R E S

Poetry: If I Were a Rich Man
Through a distortion in the time-space continuum, we have found a recording showing how people a few years into the future will deal with health care.

Interview: League of Nations
ICFTU general secretary Guy Ryder on the war, core labour standards and why Australia is an international pariah.

Industrial: 20/20 Hindsight
A retrospective analysis of the Accord is needed to help develop future strategies. Is it worth trying again? And if so, what would need to be different?

Organising: On The Buses
A new rank and file leadership team is standing up for the harried bus driver in the run-up to the NSW State Election

Unions: National Focus
A gaze around the country reveals some inspiring and innovative organising initiatives, a fruitful connection with young workers in South Australia and some typically robust industrial campaigns reports Noel Hester.

History: The Banner Room
On the eve of it�s refurbishment, Jim Marr ventures into one of Trades Hall�s best kept secrets; the room that houses relics of labour�s halcyon days.

International: The Slaughter Continues
Chilling new statistics from Colombia's main trade union confederation CUT: nine trade unionists assassinated in the first two months of this year.

Legal: A Legal Case For War?
Aaron Magner looks at the legal implications of the crusade of the Coalition of the Willing

Culture: Singing For The People
When there�s a struggle for social justice, when a war is brewing or rights are being eroded, the first ones to pen, paper and protest are often the folkwriters.

Review: The Hours
On the eve of International Women�s Day Tara de Boehmler follows the tale of three women who would rather choose death than a life devoid of personal choice.

Poetry: I Wanna Bomb Saddam
Scarier than Star Wars, the latest weapon to be deployed in the battle for Iraq is the Singing Dubya.

Satire: Diuretic Makes Warne's Excuses Look Thin
Australian cricketer Shane Warne today admitted that he was still feeling the after effects of the diuretic he tested positive to.

C O L U M N S

The Soapbox
Workers Friend
Shock jock Alan Jones snubbed his Liberal mates to bucket the Cole Royal Commission and launch Jim Marr's book

The Locker Room
Boer Bore Boring
In the face of oppression Phil Doyle falls asleep in front of the TV

Guest Report
Dead Labor
The Hawke and Keating legacy is John Howard, Leonie Bronstein argues.

Seduction
Hands Off, Tony
John Della Bosca argues the NSW Industrial Relations System gives his State a competitive advantage.

Bosswatch
Groundhog Day
Another year, another round of corporate excess. Bosswatch returns from its summer slumber to find the same old dogs up to the same tricks.

E D I T O R I A L

Re-considering The Accord
The twentieth anniversary of the Hawke Government�s election provides an opportunity to ponder the Accord�s historical conundrum: how at the moment of the union movement�s greatest influence did it suffer its greatest loss of members?

N E W S

Sacre Bleu � It�s �La Gong� Now

Mum Raises Labour Hire Bar

Investigate the Buggers

NSW Libs Madder Than The Monk

Kits Strike Terror into Govt

West Braces for Shelling

Executive Pay Under Senate Spotlight

Clean Energy�s Jobs Bonus

Zoo Workers Buck �Mercy Killing�

Canberra Firefighters Win Union Backing

Global Equity Under Spotlight

Aussie Workers Fight Indian Child Labour

Water on the Brain

Activists Notebook

L E T T E R S

WHAT YOU CAN DO

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Boer Bore Boring

******

Just when we thought the ascendant spirit in Australian society had been reached by Shane Warne's Mum, there was Little Alex Downer giving us a lesson in how to be supercilious courtesy of crikey.com.au

They say there is no such thing as ugly Americans, only ugly Texans. Well. If this is true then there is no such thing as ugly Australians, only ugly Australian cricketers.

It was nice to see "babykiller" Healy singing the praises of the robust Zimbabwean regime during the Australians rather redundant performance in the World Cup, and Tony Grieg's superfluous comment on the crowd size at Bulaweyo was even more bizarre - both contributions bandied about without any reference as to why this event wasn't staged in the Zimbabwean opposition heartland of Harare.

Indeed, it all existed as if Jim Maxwell had ever ventured onto the streets.

The ABC's Maxwell made some amazing observations of day to day life in the shadow of the world's most farcical sporting contest, while the contribution of Tubby Taylor and the rest of the television commentary team covering the World Cup has been full of the usual grating ascendant superiority complexes. Only the wireless provided any relief from the brain dead carpings of Kerry Packer's spruikers.

What a bizarre event this has been.

Given that one day cricket is about as graceful as a leaking oil tanker it has been a peculiarly painful experience to watch cricket's answer to Llittle Lleyton Hewitt, "Bucky" Lee put in some ordinary performances, and Glenn McGrath claim the best figures in a one day international against such compelling opposition as Namibia.

As for the spinner Hogg, he is a goose.

Nasser Hussain is the only person to emerge from this travesty with anything resembling a reputation, even if it was self interest that prompted the Poms to hide under their beds. Nasser has done the right thing and resigned. The two hundred and eighty other cricketers in the tournament should follow his example and get real jobs.

Thank god that so many Australians died to keep China British, or civilization may never have been able to enjoy this spectacle.

The other great spectacle has been the AFL, who have certainly made a spectacle of themselves with this Loan Shark Cup.

Footy is a simple game. You kick the ball between the big sticks.

Then some marketing nut gets a hold of it and you end up with the Supercalifragillisticexpialadoscious goal, which is fifty points if you kick it from the carpark.

For gods sake, if it's not broken don't fix it.

One day cricket, however, is broken. And no one can fix that.

Someone should do the right thing and take it out the back behind the shed and put a bullet in its head. It is the only humane course of action.

Then we can get back to serious things, like footy.

That's footy where a goal is six points, even if you kick it from the next suburb.

Phil Doyle - handballing in front of goal

Sporting Event Of The Century: Katoomba Lithgow Mountain Lions v Charles Sturt University Bulldogs, Lithgow High, Saturday 15 March, 2pm.

© 1999-2002 Workers Online
Workers Online is a resource for the Labour movement
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URL: http://workers.labor.net.au/features/200303/b_sportspage_doyle.html
Last Modified: 15 Nov 2005