Jim McIlroy continues a debate
Roger Clarke (GLW #162) correctly describes isolation from the working class as the key problem facing the socialist movement today. In his article entitled "Isolation from the workers: the real prison for
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Looking out: Smiles, age and wisdom"Everyone has been a child. All can understand through muffled memory how childhood was. But none has been old except those who are that now." — Bert Kruger Smith
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Twenty-seven years ago this month, Ernesto "Che" Guevara died, murdered by rangers in the village of Higuera, Bolivia. Jorge Jorquera argues that more than any other symbol of the 1960s, El Che should be remembered. To the Argentineans,
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ADELAIDE — It was enough to bring tears to the eyes of any True Believer. Two hundred people cram into the beer garden of the Exeter Hotel. The atmosphere is restless. Someone gets up and sings a few working-class songs.
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Solving the problem of violenceThis week, women all over the country and internationally will march in Reclaim the Night marches. These marches have traditionally been used to highlight violence against women
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Based on highly reliably international contacts, leaked documents and horoscopes from several TV magazines, Nostradamus' Media Watch presents a highly accurate forecast of political events across the globe.
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ALP and left — 1 I empathise with George Georges' return to social democratic politics (GLW #159). Left communities outside of the ALP are disappointingly fragmented. Life on the far left is like a concert with no audience or a party
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In the six years of the Bougainville war, the Australian government has directly invested over $200 million into the Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF). According to Department of Defence information, around 100
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Ralph Nader, the world's best-known consumer rights advocate, visited Australia as the guest of the Australian Federation of Consumer Organisations earlier this month. The talented lawyer, who successfully pushed for the
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ALICE SPRINGS — Aboriginal women, friends and supporters will gather on October 27 to celebrate the survival of Aboriginal women's law and culture. The celebrations will be hosted by the Alukura Council, which has designed, planned and developed
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PERTH — Ian who? Ian Taylor was the parliamentary leader of the WA ALP until his resignation on October 9. Following Carmen Lawrence's move to federal parliament in March, Taylor had been elected unopposed.
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Scientists, politicians and economists recently gathered in New Zealand for the Greenhouse 94 conference from October 10 to 14. Discussions at the conference confirmed that the heat is on: sea levels are rising, climate patterns are shifting, and the
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Judgmental judges Only last week in Wollongong, a judge, convicting a man of assault against his spouse, used the opportunity to pass judgment on the female victim of the violence instead. In this particular case, three years earlier the
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Is the English royal family on a course of self-destruction? With the release of the book The Prince of Wales: A Biography by the broadcaster and journalist Jonathan Dimbleby we are treated to yet another episode in the
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The Senate inquiry into possible commercial influence over ABC television programming appears to have largely evaded the larger issue of the commercialisation of the ABC by the federal Labor government. An
News
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SYDNEY — The damp but determined Fast for the Forest team announced on October 23 that they had collected 16,000 signatures calling for a moratorium on the logging and woodchipping of old growth forests. Lisa,
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As a clothing machinist in Manila unable to feed and house her small son, Susie accepted a job offer of sex work in Sydney. "I am here", she says, "to work hard, and in six months I will go home and buy a house and have
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On October 15, Resistance organised a National Day of Action for freedom in East Timor. Across Australia people rallied around the demands "Indonesia out of East Timor" and " Australia out of the Timor Gap". The day mobilised thousands of people and
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Chris Hani tour in PerthPERTH — The final leg of the Chris Hani Memorial tour included a number of successful functions. A memorial dinner attended by 190 people on October 5 heard both John Gomomo,
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Ti-tree forests 'vandalised' The world's worst destruction of a single old growth species, Melaleuca alternafoli, Australia's unique ti-tree, is almost complete according to a two-month survey by the North Coast Chemical Coalition.
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Police to be charged over abductionsBRISBANE — Six police officers here face charges of deprivation of liberty after they admitted dumping three Aboriginal children at Pinkenba, on the city's outskirts, as
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Dope conviction in Darwin By Rob Wesley-Smith DARWIN — In a court here on October 17 Magistrate McGregor imposed a 12-month good behaviour bond on a man convicted of possessing about a kilo of dope. The "offence"
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Agency bargaining revived in HSHCANBERRA — Agency bargaining in the Commonwealth Department of Human Services and Health (HSH) has been resurrected from near death by the national officials of the Community
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Work ethic "In the late '80s people were often staying right through dinner, and it's almost getting back to that stage now. We generally get banking and finance people and the bond and derivatives dealers." — The owner of the Imperial Peking
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SA teachers fight cutsADELAIDE — The South Australian Institute of Teachers has promised to continue industrial action over the state government's $22 million education cuts. Teachers in South
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Moura inquiry: warning signs existedBRISBANE — Coal miners at the Moura No 2 mine, which suffered an explosion on August 7 killing 11 workers, have given evidence to the mining warden's inquiry at Gladstone that
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SA public sector conditions threatenedADELAIDE — Attacks on workers in the state public sector have been unrelenting since the election of the Brown Liberal government last December.
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KATH GELBER discusses the issues raised in a controversial new book, Women as Wombs: Reproductive Technologies and the battle over Women's Freedom, by Janice G. Raymond. The book is published by Spinifex Press, at a recommended retail price of
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DSS dispute escalatesMELBOURNE — Community and Public Sector Union members in the Department of Social Security voted on October 19 to escalate industrial action in a dispute over staffing and resources.
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Greens (WA) senators Christabel Chamarette and Dee Margetts are pressing the Labor government to amend its Indigenous Land Corporation and Land Acquisition bill. They have indicated that if substantial amendments are not
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Rallies for marijuana legalisationBRISBANE — 1000 people marched here on October 21 to demand the legalisation of marijuana in Queensland. Speakers included representatives from HEMP
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Memorial lecture well attendedSYDNEY — Eighty people braved unusually cold and rainy weather to attend the 1994 Jim Percy Memorial Lecture here on October 18. The lecture, given by Dick Nichols from the
Analysis
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A look into privatisation A glimpse of the wonders of privatisation was provided on October 17 when a report tabled in the NSW parliament by the auditor-general, Tony Harris, dredged up the scandal of the Sydney Harbour Tunnel and similar
World
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By Chow Wei-Cheng LONDON — Some 100,000 people marched from Westminster to Hyde Park on October 9 in opposition to the repressive Criminal Justice Bill. The bill is a sharp attack on civil rights and will especially affect young people
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MOSCOW — In Russian workplaces, the era of "social partnership" is ending. The period opening up will be one of sackings, lockouts and union-breaking, as bosses force workers to pay the costs of capitalist "reform".
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By Chow Wei-Cheng LONDON — As support for the Tory government continues to dwindle, Tony Blair, the new, young leader of the British Labour Party, made his debut at the Labour Party's annual conference in Blackpool. Blair and
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Washington announces arrangements on migration of Cubans The United States has announced a plan to grant 20,000 entry visas a year to Cubans requesting residence in the US, in compliance with the accord signed with Cuba on September 9 in
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By Mustafa Al-Haj Jneid Prison — Palestinian prisoners chose to sacrifice their freedom in their quest to fulfil the Palestinian dream. Such hope added fuel to the burning fires of the Intifada. Dialogue, understanding and
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Following the October 19 suicide bombing of a bus in Tel Aviv by Hamas (Islamic Resistance Movement), Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin made it clear the attack would be used as a pretext to move further toward his
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MOSCOW — Despite a great deal of selfless work and a steady increase in their political authority, non-communist leftists in Russia have until now failed to establish a mass political organisation. This is
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Arafat writes to prisoners President Yasser Arafat sent a letter dated September 27 to the Palestinian prisoners inside Israeli jails, in reply to the many letters he has received. In his letter, Arafat said, "I have read your
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AMSTERDAM — The besieged people of Tuzla, a large industrial and mining town in Bosnia surrounded by Serbian forces, recently welcomed the 14th convoy of trucks bringing much-needed food aid and political solidarity. The
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By Chow Wei-Cheng Germany has been plunged into political instability by the outcome of the general elections held on October 16. The 60 million voters gave Kohl's party its worst election result (41.5%) since 1949. The
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As is almost always the case, when you come expecting fire, you usually get smoke. Bernadette Devlin McAliskey was expected to come from Tyrone with plenty of fire, and a bit of brimstone too, but her appearances
Culture
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Bridging Two Worlds: Aboriginal English and Crosscultural Understanding By Jean Harkins University of Queensland Press, 1994 Reviewed by Nina Murka This is a scholarly yet readable book. It is motivated by Jean Harkins'
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Undertow Tool Reviewed by Neville Spencer "In the late summer of 1948, Ronald P. Vincent decided that survival had become intolerable, that absolute anguish had become less fearful than suppression. Six months earlier, his wife
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MADRID — Among the thousands of activists attending the recent Alternative Forum: The Other Voices of the Planet conference here was writer Darrin Wood. Wood recently visited Chiapas, Mexico, with a team of committed film
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Dickens By Peter Ackroyd Mandarin, 1994. 608 pp., $16.95 (pb) Reviewed by Phil Shannon Dickens was one heck of a writer. Only the rich and unfeeling do not cry with pity for the hard lot of his heroes, laugh at the pomposity
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The Chatto Book of Dissent By Michael Rosen and David Widgery Chatto and Windus. 457 pp., $19.95 Reviewed by Dave Riley "Nothing is harder and takes more character than to stand in open opposition to one's time and loudly
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MELBOURNE — About 60 people attended the launching here on October 14 of Macedonia: Its Disputed History, by Neil Simpson. The book provides a brief overview of Macedonia's complex history, giving a background to
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Hotspur By Geoffrey Atherden Starring Ruth Cracknell and Garry McDonald Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House Until December 10 Reviewed by Frank Noakes Freddy Brown (Garry McDonald) enters stage left, quietly ushering
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Graham Greene: The Man Within By Michael Shelden Heinemann, 1994. 537 pp., $45 (hb) Reviewed by Phil Shannon The left has got Graham Greene entirely wrong. According to Shelden's biography, Greene was no friend of
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Distorted, crunching, chainsaw-like guitars, drums like a jackhammer and vocals from hell. Someone once likened it to holding an electric drill against your forehead. Thrash music, hardcore, speed metal, call it what you