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Loud silences and abusive families

Loud silences and abusive families Spanking the Monkey Opening in Sydney June 1 and Melbourne June 9 Previewed by Lou Stanley The film is well directed and at points quite funny, but the most disturbing aspect is the audience's response

Mt Isa tense despite return to work

By Jim McIlroy BRISBANE — A crane driver was stood down at MIM's Mt Isa mine in the days following the return to work, accepted at a mass meeting on May 22, despite a 14-day cooling off period agreed to by unions and the company to end the

Gay men on WA council

Gay men on WA council By Leon Harrison PERTH — In a postal vote which concluded on May 6, two openly gay candidates have been elected onto the Vincent Town Council in WA. Gay activist Brian Grieg, representing Mt Hawthorn, received

WA social welfare facing big cuts

By Gemma Byrne and Julia Perkins PERTH — A Liberal state government proposal involves ending funding of all peak bodies in the welfare sector by June 30. They must then tender "expressions of interest" for new funds (up to a maximum of

Growing demands to cancel Sydney tollway

By Lisa Macdonald SYDNEY — More than 400 people attended a rally outside Parliament House here on May 23 calling for a halt to the privately owned and operated M2 tollway development, which threatens to lock nearly 300 square kilometres of

Victorian teachers campaign over workload

Teachers voted at stop-work meetings around Victoria on May 3 to begin an industrial campaign to improve working conditions. The Melbourne meeting was attended by more than 5000 teachers, and good attendances were recorded at meetings in Mildura,

Radio highlights

Sunday Concert: 1995 Irish Music Festival — Mairie ni Chathasaigh plays the Irish harp and is one of Ireland's finest exponents of traditional dance music. She and guitarist Chris Newman unite their instruments in a mix of dance music, swing, jazz

East Timor protests target Habibie

East Timor protests target Habibie By Andrew Hall SYDNEY — More than 150 people picketed the Regent Hotel on May 26 over the visit of Dr B.J. Habibie, Indonesia's research and technology minister and close confidant of President Suharto.

Israeli nuclear policy: the sane alternative

By Gideon Spiro "An ill wind is blowing from the Egyptian Foreign Ministry." Such was Yitzhak Rabin's response to Egypt's demand that Israel sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The demand would subject this country to international

Yeltsin, Chernomyrdin launch 'party of power'

By Renfrey Clarke MOSCOW — Yes, there are to be parliamentary elections in Russia in December. After repeated indications that the authorities wanted the polls put off indefinitely, or run in conjunction with the presidential election due for

'Four fifths of the world cannot be wrong'

World Music: The Rough Guide Rough Guides/Penguin Books, 1994 720pp., $29.95 (pb) Reviewed by Norm Dixon This moderately priced brick of a book is a godsend for anybody interested in beginning the addictive journey of exploration through

I bandaged my wound, dried my eyes

Ding Zilin is the mother of Chiang Jielian, a 17-year-old student who was among the hundreds massacred in Tienanmen Square six years ago, on June 4, 1989. Chinese officials branded the pro-democracy protests "counter-revolutionary" and claimed that