Abortion rights under attack — again!Abortion rights under attack — again!
In late March the Queensland parliament passed an amendment to the criminal code proposed by independent MP Liz Cunningham. The amendment to section 313, which
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The age of usuryThe age of usury Due to some blunder, some monstrous breach of faith — I'm not accusing anyone, not yet! — a report from the sturdy financial mind of Mr Stan Wallis has been released in Canberra without the customary
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Government inspection of foods arose from experience: as industrial capitalism developed, it became clear that only fear of the law could restrain some capitalists from selling adulterated and/or poisonous goods. In his book The
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Actively Radical TV — Sydney community television's progressive current affairs producers tackle the hard issues from the activist's point of view. CTS Sydney (UHF 31), every Thursday, 10pm, and Saturday, 7pm. Access News — Melbourne
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Submissions to the federal government's West review into higher education have begun. Any alternative view is being drowned out with calls for universities to develop strategies to cope with further funding cuts, be more
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Would socialism work?Would socialism work?Socialists condemn capitalism because it has failed the overwhelming mass of humanity in the most decisive way. It promises freedom, democracy and prosperity but spectacularly
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In 1987, about 45% of US residents were living with one or more chronic conditions (a term that includes chronic diseases and impairments). In 1935, the proportion was 22%, so chronic conditions have approximately doubled
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Wherever there is a human beingWherever there is a human being By Brandon Astor Jones "Wherever there is a human being, I see God-given rights inherent in that human being, whatever may be [his/her] sex or complexion." — William
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Alex Bainbridge's "Self-sufficiency or self-determination?" (GLW #262), quotes Ted Trainer's thesis: our planet can't sustain our consumption now, let alone the 10-fold increase needed if all people in the world of 2060
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@letter head = Moral posturing What a lot of gutless Torquemadas, these pseudo States Rights politicians in their recent bill to prolong the agony and suffering of the dying — all their moral posturing, merely to feed their own eccentric
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Indonesians to boycott rigged electionsThe militant section of the Indonesian pro-democracy movement has launched a campaign to galvanise the general sentiment to boycott the May 29 general elections into an active movement to
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Call for Foster's boycott MELBOURNE — The Ethical Investment Group has called for a boycott of Foster's beer and other Carlton United Brewery products because of the company's involvement in Burma. Foster's has been operating in Burma,
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The recent spate of food poisoning in Victoria has heightened concern over safety. In response, national health officials are only proposing to improve company-operated "quality assurance" programs — industry
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MELBOURNE — A survey of 78 local governments conducted by the Victorian state parliamentary Labor Party, results of which were made public on April 9, revealed a massive drop in the number of food inspectors. This follows the
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MELBOURNE — At the end of National Day of Action for a Living Income on March 26, the organising committee of the Coalition for a Living Income decided to put a motion that the rally march to the ALP headquarters. The
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"The age of union militancy has passed; the age of employer militancy has arrived", according to Ross Gittins, writing in the Sydney Morning Herald. The aim of the article was to look at why "the bosses are winning". The most interesting aspect
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PERTH — The Greens (WA) have three seats in the state Legislative Council. GIZ WATSON, MLC for the North Metropolitan region, was elected in December along with Christine Sharp in South-West. Jim Scott, in South Metropolitan, was re-elected. Watson
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National Action attack ADELAIDE — On April 11, at least three members of the racist formation National Action walked into the Resistance bookshop on Hindley Street, kicked over two bookshelves and threatened, "If you don't tell your DSP mates
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By Stephen O'Brien NEWCASTLE — Community activists are organising an alternative to the "Pathways to Sustainability" conference, which will be held here on June 1-5. The official event, one of a series of international follow-ups to the Rio de
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While the technical and further education system has always tried to meet the skill needs of industry, it has balanced this role with a commitment to the social and educational needs of the wider community. In the past few years,
News
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Ipswich protest spoils Hanson's partyIPSWICH — Some 300 protesters, chanting "Hi, ho, hi, ho, Pauline Hanson's got to go" and waving anti-racist placards and banners, on April 12 picketed a dinner launching independent
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SA public servants reject pay dealADELAIDE — One thousand public servants crammed into the Art Theatre here on April 9 for a stop-work meeting to protest against the state Liberal government's new wages policy, which
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Sydney rally agains racism SYDNEY — Up to 1500 people attended a rally against racism at Hyde Park on April 12. Protesters came from as far afield as Cabramatta and Bankstown to demand an end to the government's racist attacks on migrants and
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MELBOURNE — Members of the National Tertiary Education and Industry Union (NTEU) at Melbourne University on April 9 voted by a narrow margin to accept an administration offer in the current round of enterprise
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BRISBANE — "We need united action against racism and the other attacks on the poor in our community — that's the answer for Aborigines, for migrants, and for workers", Jorge Rodriguez, coordinator of the Migrant Workers'
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CANBERRA — Electioneering by national officer incumbents in Australia's largest union, the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU), shifted into full swing in early April. In addition to finally preparing a response to national
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HOBART — The environment movement has deplored the rafting company Peregrine Adventures' use of the Mt McCall track in Tasmania's west. Contradicting the world heritage management plan, the federal government has
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DARWIN — On April 5, the Northern Territory branch conference of the Community and Public Sector Union voted to call for action by the CPSU national executive to back up negotiations with the federal government for an
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Library campaign: three rallies and a partial victoryNEWCASTLE — On April 11, Newcastle University Council agreed to review its decision to close the Huxley Library, after hundreds of students
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On March 24, seven East Timorese youth were shot dead and 42 wounded, four severely, during a peaceful demonstration inside the Mahkota Hotel in Dili. The 200-strong rally of students from the University of East Timor had been
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Residents fight to save park SYDNEY — Around 150 Marrickville residents packed into a public meeting in Herb Greedy Hall on April 7, outraged by a Marrickville Council proposal to hand over a public park and sports fields to a private
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WOLLONGONG — The federal government's work-for-the-dole scheme is targeted at unemployed people aged between 15 and 24 years. Under the scheme, those 15-21 will work for 20 hours per week, and 21-24-year
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Anti-militarism conference MELBOURNE — The Asia Pacific Anti-Militarism Conference, held from March 28 to April 1, attracted around 150 people. The conference heard a detailed and inspiring report from Bougainville activist Lillian Crofts on
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CPSU union activists run candidateMembers First, an independent group of activists in the Tax Office section of the Community and Public Sector Union, is standing a candidate on the CPSU Challenge ticket in the union's
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CJC probes police violence in IpswichBRISBANE — The Queensland Criminal Justice Commission has begun investigations into allegations of police violence against Aboriginal youth during arrests made outside a nightclub in the
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Only BMW drivers are human? "My wife is not obliged to withdraw from the human race because you will attack her." — Victorian treasurer Alan Stockdale, replying to opposition questions about his wife being given free use of a BMW for a year;
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PERTH — Flickering lights normally cause most word processor users to break into a sweat, fearing imminent loss of power and their document. However, it was a source of hope for this correspondent last week — an indication
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SYDNEY — The University of Sydney Senate met on April 7 to decide whether to introduce up-front fees for undergraduate places from 1998. Within hours of university reconvening from the Easter break, more than 500 students
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Trade unions break with the ALPADELAIDE — Disillusionment with the policies and actions of the Labor Party has been growing amongst ordinary workers since the years of the Accord exposed the true allegiances of ALP
World
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MOSCOW — Millions of workers across Russia struck and demonstrated on March 27 in one of the greatest outpourings of labour protest in the country's history. The key demand was for the prompt payment of spiralling wage debts.
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General secretary Vickramabahu "Bahu" Karunarathne and two other members of the New Sama Samaja Party (NSSP) have been detained by police in connection with an arms cache police claim to have discovered in a building housing the Health Workers Trade
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Beijing curbs Hong Kong rightsThe Beijing-appointed chief executive of Hong Kong after the British withdrawal on July 1, Tung Chee-hwa, on April 9 announced plans to curtail basic democratic rights. Under the sweeping cover of
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In an act of defiance towards Beijing, Taipei test-fired two US-made surface-to-sea missiles on April 1, two days after China's President Jiang Zeming offered Taipei leaders a vice-presidential position in exchange for their
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PARIS — It is certainly not exaggeration or scaremongering to call the National Front (FN) fascist. Of course, given France's experience of Nazi occupation, the FN hotly rejects the label. But its leader, Jean-Marie Le Pen,
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China plans to shrink state sector further The leaders of the Communist Party of China have arrived at a "unified view" on further reducing the weight of the state sector in the economy, according to Fan Hengshan, a senior official of China's
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MOSCOW — During 1996, the head of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, General Viktor Samsonov, told journalists recently, about 500 of the country's military officers committed suicide. As recently as 1991, the
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Whaling foe faces extradition Paul Watson, president of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and long-time proponent of direct-action environmentalism, was seized on April 2 by Netherlands police acting on behalf of the Norwegian government.
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PARIS — The shock of seeing Jean-Marie Le Pen's fascist National Front (FN) win the mayoral elections in the town of Vitrolles, the fourth town to fall under its control, has sparked widespread concern and debate about the
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Moving protest in Indonesian courtroom On April 7, members of the Struggle Alliance for Democracy and Human Rights (APDHAM) entered the courtroom where Dita Sari and Coen Pontoh were being tried. It was the day on which they would read their
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SAN FRANCISCO — On March 25, at the beginning of what turned out to be my last shift as an operator at the Unocal oil refinery in northern California, the forewoman told my crew to collect our personal belongings at the end
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McCops On March 21, the Detroit Police Department opened "community work stations" inside 30 of the city's McDonald's fast food joints. A Detroit PD spokesperson described the arrangement as "a partnership of sorts" and said that cops will be
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"We're advancing, we're heading for Kinshasa. That is our objective ... this is the time for Mobutu to go", declared rebel leader Laurent Kabila on April 8 before a crowd of 50,000 cheering supporters in Mbuji-Mayi, the capital of
Culture
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Op-Center: Acts Of WarBy Tom Clancy and Steve PieczenikHarper Collins. US$13.95 Review by Kani Xulam Tom Clancy and Steve Pieczenik's newest novel is surging up the best seller lists. It introduces a new set of bad guys to the already prodigious
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Devil's OwnDirected by Alan PakulaWith Brad Pitt, Harrison Ford, Margaret Colin, Treat Williams Review by Sean Healy When I first saw the shorts for this film, I thought, "Oh no, another Hollywood anti-republican film" and was sharpening my pen
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Juan Garrido, a dedicated and talented poet and political activist, has released his first collection of poetry in Australia, Twenty Years on the Rollcall of the Marginalised, in celebration of his 20 years of
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Society give funk a lift ElevatorSocietyTo order phone (02) 9363 9417 Review by Norm Dixon This spunky little collection of remixes of Society's new single "Elevator" is just a taste of what lies in store for funk fans around November, when
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Towards a Peaceful Solution in East TimorBy Jose Ramos HortaProduced by the East Timor Relief AssociationPO Box 23, Fairfield NSW 216567 pp. Review by Jon Lamb This booklet aims to improve awareness of and international support for the peace
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Mutiny on air! Sydney community radio 2SER-FM has launched a new radio program called Mutiny. Each week it will examine protest and rebellion, here and abroad. A team of program makers interested in an in-depth analysis of how change is achieved
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Sometimes I wonder why I bother to visit the lounge room. Each week when I sit down with my local TV guide, there's less and less that takes my fancy. Days may go by without a program item worth circling in biro or the remote
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Analytical Marxism: A CritiqueBy Marcus RobertsVerso, 1996. 268 pp., $39.95 Review by Neville Spencer Probably most Marxists would barely have heard of Analytical Marxism. However, within those academic circles which still maintain some
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Behind the LinesBy Stephen JollyGlobal Books, 1996. 296 pp. $20 Review by Sean Lennon Shortly after coming to office in Victoria in 1992, the Kennett government announced a range of cuts to public services, which included closing 55 schools. One
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Every Secret Thing: My Family, My CountryBy Gillian SlovoLittle, Brown & Company, 1997282 pp., $35 (hb) Review by Phil Shannon Gillian Slovo, born the daughter of Communist parents Ruth First and Joe Slovo in 1952 in South Africa, always felt