1998 fighting fund
1998 is already shaping up as an eventful year in Australian and world politics.
Across Asia, the capitalist "miracle" is looking decidedly dodgy; the negotiations in Ireland and the Middle East are fast approaching crunch
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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 community
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The federal government has clearly signalled its intention of making 1998 a crucial year for its plans to restructure higher education. The final report of the West review of higher education, due for release in March, will outline
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Dot-dot-dot-dash-dash-dash-dot-dot-dot The message from Asia has said it plain enough: "SOS. SOS. This is Asia. Position 45 N 150 E 90 W. Stop engine. We need assistance." Of course you heard it. It was everywhere!
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Suharto-IMF plan hits the poorThe contradictions of the Indonesian economic and political situation have sharpened greatly over the last few weeks. The first blow to the Suharto regime was the massive drop in the value of the
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An irreconcilable differenceAs the century slides to a close, it is clear that the much criticised leadership of Prime Minister Howard has prevailed in one important area. Many people envisaged the republican debate as an
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There are two misnomers regarding the Asian currency crisis. The first is that it is an Asian crisis and the second that it is a currency crisis. This is a global, not a regional, crisis. It is not a currency crisis but an
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Union's long battle with Hamersley IronReading James Vassilopolous' article on the disgusting practices of Rio Tinto and its allies (GLW #300), I was struck by a passage dealing with the company's activity in WA's Pilbara,
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Ted Bull, 1914-1997 Ted Bull, 1914-1997 Veteran communist and trade union activist Ted Bull died on December 11, aged 83. More than 500 people packed into the auditorium of Trades Hall on December 22 to honour Ted's memory and to celebrate
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One of Brisbane's best-known left movement identities, Bob Leach, died in Sydney on Christmas eve. Several hundred people gathered in St Mary's Church in Brisbane's West End on December 31 for a moving funeral meeting for Bob. The audience included
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Secret files Following revelations in the Age last year about the keeping of secret police files on community and political organisations and activists, I submitted a Freedom of Information request for my file as I had been named in the Age
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ALP failed on 'right to negotiate'In respect of land use, native title holders would be little more than onlookers under proposals from both the ALP and Coalition. Imagine a large piece of leasehold land near the sea. The
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I am sorry By Brandon Astor Jones "In the expression of the emotions originality merits the first consideration ... The words used, however, should be old ones." — Fujiwara no Teika (1162-1241) While the jury was still out, during my
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The national conference of the National Union of Students (NUS), held December 8-12, showed clearly the distance NUS still has to travel before it can really claim to be "the national voice of students" that effectively
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Native title: Labor's real roleIn the flurry over John Howard's Wik bill attacking native title rights, it is easy to forget that Paul Keating's 1993 Native Title Act was intended to restrict the native title rights
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Left on-line Free Speech TV — Here's a progressive site that takes full advantage of the technology of the net. If your browser has the RealVideo plug-in, you can watch hundreds of political video documentaries on your computer screen (you can
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No compromise On January 22, 25 years ago, abortion was made legal in the United States. On the anniversary of that important victory, feminists must confront the grim fact that, since then, the struggle for women's reproductive rights has
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White privilege and working-class unityIt is not just in Australia that racism is on the rise. A poll of 16,000 people in the 15 European Union countries in December found that 9% said they were "very racist", 24% said they
News
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AMSTERDAM — Greenpeace on January 13 released a confidential French government memo which reveals plans by the plutonium industry to again ship high-level nuclear waste from France to Japan. For the first time the waste will be taken through the
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MELBOURNE — While most people in the community were preparing for the Christmas break, the Victorian minister for vocational education, Phil Honeywood, announced the greatest shake-up of Victoria's TAFE system in 20 years.
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Stop MAI campaign launchedSYDNEY — The launch of a campaign against the Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI) was held here on January 15. The MAI, which has been largely hidden from public debate in Australia, is an
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BRISBANE — Queensland ALP leader Peter Beattie has urged the Labor Party not to adopt a "heart-on-the-sleeve" approach to the native title issue at the party's national conference in Hobart, as Premier Rob Borbidge gears up for an
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Sorry business: NSW councils split on Aboriginal apology Like all levels of government, local councils in NSW are under pressure to make a public apology to Aboriginal people of the "stolen generation". Some have been quick to comply, happy to
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'Day of Mourning' anniversary On January 26, 1938, more than 100 Aboriginal people from communities in NSW, Victoria and Queensland gathered in Sydney to mark the "Day of Mourning" — the 150th anniversary of the invasion by British colonists at
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Rally in defence of native titleMELBOURNE — About 1000 people braved the rain to rally in opposition to the Howard government's 10-point plan to amend the Native Title Act on December 13. The rally, called by Campaign
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Profits take priority over planetIn early December, the rulers of the richest capitalist countries had the opportunity to set aside their self-interest and economic rivalry and agree to cuts in greenhouse gas emissions large
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SYDNEY — The Democratic Socialist Party and Resistance commemorated 150 years of the Communist Manifesto with a socialist education conference here, January 3 to 7. The 255 conference participants reaffirmed and discussed the
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Give them some "I say, listen, you're rich. Politicians need money. If you like them, then there's nothing wrong with giving them some of it." — Silicon Valley lobbyist Wade Randlett on how to win friends among influential people. Money talks
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Port Hinchinbrook resort protestPORT HINCHINBROOK — On December 14, the first stage of the Port Hinchinbrook resort was opened by Premier Rob Borbidge and developer Keith Williams. Police and private guards were deployed to
Analysis
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The Christmas roast turkey had barely enough time to be digested before the Sydney Morning Herald launched a broadside against wharfies and the Maritime Union of Australia, hoping to isolate them from other workers and thus ease the way for the government's planned attack.
World
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When Burma's ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) changed its name last year to State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), some regarded it as a coup against the old guard; some even hoped for a return of
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The jailing of 23 national executive members of the left-wing Basque pro-independence party, Herri Batasuna (HB, People's Unity), has provoked widespread demonstrations in the Basque country. There have also been a spate of armed
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South Korean workers fight jobs threatSeizing on the current economic crisis, South Korean bosses succeeded in pushing through the National Assembly on January 12 a new labour law that further erodes working conditions and makes
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Russian miners targeted by anti-worker offensiveMOSCOW — According to recently announced plans of the Russian government, 1998 is to be the year when the country's coal industry is gutted and cut up, the most toothsome
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Growing resistance by Chinese workers HAN DONGFANG, 34, an organiser of the Beijing Workers Autonomous Federation, which was formed and crushed in May-June 1989 in Tiananmen Square, has been a vocal defender of Chinese workers' rights since he
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From Wounded Knee to ChiapasAccording to the Mexican secretary of foreign relations, US President Bill Clinton has "interfered in Mexican internal affairs" by demanding an investigation into the massacre which occurred in
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US Teamsters' leader Ron Carey became a threat to big business. He not only presided over a profound transformation of a major union situated at the heart of the economy, he took on the United Parcel Service, won, and set an aggressive
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New elite triumphs at ANC conferenceThe 50th conference of the African National Congress, held in December in the North West Province capital of Mafikeng, has been hailed as a "changing of the guard" in the movement that
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Roberto N. Múndez PANAMA — Panama's government announced on December 24 that it has reached an "agreement in principle" with the United States regarding the presence of US military bases in Panama beyond the year 2000. The government has
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Three Tamil prisoners in Colombo were killed and seven injured on December 1 in an attack by Sinhala prisoners allegedly incited by prison officials. "The latest attack on Tamil political prisoners had a political motive and was quite clearly
Culture
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Cosette: The Sequel to Les MisérablesBy Laura KalpakianHarperCollins, 1997. 652 pp., $14.95 (pb) Review by Phil Shannon "The Republic belongs to Property, Profit and Order. That's what they're setting in place of the King. New government,
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Links. Number 9 Review by Allen Myers After an irregular publication over the past year or so, Links, the international journal of socialist renewal, has been relaunched on a three-times-a-year schedule. Issue number 9 leads with the mass struggle
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Here they come again Alien Resurrection Review by Mary Merkenich I must admit I enjoyed the very first Alien, but Alien Resurrection, number four in the series, is not worth spending your hard-earned money on. It's sexist, extremely gory and
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PowerThe Bones of ContentionNever Surrender Records/ICEMSend US$18 c/- Labor Heritage Foundation, 815 16th St. N.W., Room 301, Washington, DC 20006 Review by Norm Dixon "Is it really true what we're told? Is there 'no alternative' to cut-throat