In response to Indonesian President Suharto's attempts to backtrack from the promises which he gave the International Monetary Fund in exchange for US$43 billion in emergency credit lines, the US establishment has stepped up the
-
-
The Suharto Protection Society Some kinds of associations seem more prone than others to trouble. Fortunately, the Society for the Protection of the Suharto is not one of them. A Voice: Society for the Protection of what? Myself: The
-
Anti-Pinochet rally ADELAIDE — Fifty people rallied at Parliament House on March 10 to demonstrate their opposition to former Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet. Pinochet has stepped down after 25 years as chief of the army to take up a
-
Amnesty: genocide in our own back yardSYDNEY — On March 4, Amnesty International launched a report documenting the failure of the Howard government's response to the recommendations of the "stolen children" inquiry. The
-
Abortion rights At this time of renewed legal challenge of the limited rights to abortion available in Australia, and on the eve of International Women's Day, it was depressing to read Drusilla Modjeska's piece "It's time to rethink abortion" in
-
The appointment, on December 5, of an "independent committee" to "review" the Affirmative Action (Equal Opportunity for Women) Act 1986 by the federal minister for work place relations and small business, Peter Reith, heralds
-
The return of ABC TV's Media Watch, revamped with a new presenter and producer, is a timely reminder of how vital it is to keep an unflinching eye on the press. The need for media sentinels has never seemed more imperative, saddled as
-
Reith is rightPeter Reith, the leader of government business in the House of Representatives, is correct when he says there is an alternative to a unionised work force in Australia. He is on more dangerous ground with
-
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. Ph 9565 5522. Access News —
-
Talk is cheap John Howard has got a nerve. Not only does he attend an International Women's Day breakfast on March 8, but he also delivers a speech all about his "commitment to the continued advancement of women's rights" and "the inclusion of
-
Foreign language By Brandon Astor Jones "Life is a foreign language ... [many] mispronounce it." — Christopher Morley (1890-1957) Taken from Thunder on the Left (1923), Christopher Morley's words remind me that death is the only language
-
"The defence of ignorance is no longer available. Individual Australians are not responsible for the actions of others. But if Australians fail to respond to what you now know, that is another thing", said Gatjil Djerrkura, the
-
NOWSA at NepeanBetween June 28 and July 4, the annual NOWSA (Network of Women Students in Australia) conference will be held at the University of Western Sydney's Nepean campus. The theme for this year's conferences is "That was
-
Special appealSuharto and his cronies have the IMF and the World Bank to bail them out of the present crisis, but the Indonesian opposition, especially the underground movement based among the workers and urban poor, don't have the
-
Hinchinbrook appeal denied On March 13, the Friends of Hinchinbrook lost their application for special leave to the High Court to appeal the Federal Court's decision last year to allow Cardwell Properties' planned tourist resort at Oyster Point,
-
SYDNEY — About 12,000 people attended the second Sydney Women's Festival in the Domain on March 8. The festival was initiated last year by a group of women in business and at art college who believed that the traditional
-
Indonesia: Suharto prepares for siegeIn the midst of nationwide anti-Suharto demonstrations by students rioting over increasing prices and the arrest of scores of pro-democracy activists, the March 10 evening news report on
-
"Unity is the world's key, and racial harmony.Until the white man stops calling himself whiteand the black man stops calling himself black,we will not see it. All the people on earthare just one family." — Bob Marley, 1978 Some
News
-
CANBERRA — Half an hour before their lecture on March 10, 12 students at the Australian National University were informed that their first-year Russian course no longer existed. There was no prior consultation or discussion with
-
MELBOURNE — The growing financial difficulties of the Crown Casino have exacerbated the poor fortunes of the Kennett Liberal government in Victoria. A decline in revenue resulted in Crown posting a loss of over $40 million in the five
-
BANGKOK — Between March 4-6, affiliates and supporters of the Asia Pacific Coalition on East Timor met for the third APCET conference here. More than 50 representatives from Indonesia, Thailand, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines,
-
MELBOURNE — On March 8, International Women's Day, a loud crowd of more 1000 women and male supporters rallied at Melbourne's GPO around the theme "Women united for justice and native title". Nyrell Brooks, an
-
Resistance activist contests Swinburne by-electionMELBOURNE — Students at Swinburne University will vote to fill a number of student union positions in a by-election on March 24 to 26. Resistance activist Arty Titiz is
-
Iranian activists commemorate womenPARRAMATTA — About 60 people attended a film night organised by the Association of Iranian Political Prisoners (AIPP) in exile held at the Parramatta Migrant Resource Centre, western Sydney
-
Last week, the operators of Sydney's Star City Casino announced a $56.8 million loss for the first half of the financial year. The construction and opening of this latest mega-gambling den (held with great fanfare just over a month ago) cost some
-
Aboriginal hunger strike wins concessionsOn March 10, prisoner Kerry Jones ended a 27-day hunger strike at Goulburn Jail after winning concessions from the prison administration. Jones had decided to hunger strike in response
-
Secret talks on 10-point plan"Aboriginal people are about to be comprehensively sold out. Secret talks between the Howard government, Senator Harradine, and separately, the ALP, all point to a broad-fronted erosion of the
-
With the recent charging of two doctors in Perth for performing an abortion, the issue of women's right to control her body and her life has once again made it into the headlines of major newspapers and
-
MELBOURNE — As the rank-and-file Workers First campaign gears up to challenge the conservative leadership of the Victorian metals division of the Amalgamated Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU), the Financial Review has indicated which
-
KOOPALOONA NIARA — Logging has begun in the pristine, sub-alpine, old growth forests of Koopaloona Niara (Mother Cummings Peak) in northern Tasmania, despite a concerted effort by environmentalists to halt the destruction. For two
-
A 91̳ Weekly forum on native title held at Glebe Town Hall on March 12 attracted 50 people. The speakers were Jenny Munro from the Metropolitan Lands Council; Darryl French, NSW field officer with the Aboriginal Education
-
Know your enemy "Human rights and democratisation are taught in each and every course ..." — A spokesperson for the US School of the Americas, infamous for training Latin American military officers who later become torturers and dictators. Not
-
WOLLONGONG — The picket line at the Pivot fertiliser plant has ended after six weeks. A representative of the Australian Workers Union told 91̳ Weekly that the four members sacked without notice on February 1 had accepted a
-
ADELAIDE — On March 8, more than 2000 people took part in actions in support of reconciliation and native title. Around 1200 people gathered at Hindmarsh Square for the Show Your Hand Parade before marching to Rymill Park to link
-
'I love my media mogul' If anyone doubts that there will be a federal election this year, they need only observe the spectacle of John Howard and Kim Beazley making promotional videos for rugby league, under the slogan "I love my footy". These
-
Protests against One Nation SYDNEY Around 250 people protested outside a One Nation party meeting featuring Pauline Hanson at the Randwick Racecourse on March 13. The demonstration condemned both Hanson and One Nation's racist policies, and the
-
NEWCASTLE — More than 2500 workers joined a spirited and confident rally and march through the streets in support of the Maritime Union of Australia on March 12. A clear message was that the struggle of the MUA is a struggle for
-
Marchers back Tibetan independence Tibetans living in Australia and their supporters on March 10 completed an 11-day march from Sydney to Canberra, conducted to publicise demands on the Chinese government to recognise Tibet's right to independence
-
Activists condemn US sanctionsCANBERRA — At the University of Canberra on March 10, members of Resistance held a speak-out against the United States government's sanctions on Iraq. The students displayed many of the items
-
HOBART — Polls have shown 63% of Tasmanians oppose the privatisation of the Hydro Electric Corporation and the Liberals, ALP and Greens all promised before the last state election to oppose the sale. For the past year, however, the
-
SYDNEY — The administration of the University of Technology has announced it will not be introducing full up-front fees for any domestic undergraduate students in 1999. This follows similar decisions by other university
Analysis
-
Editorial: Racism and elections Racism and elections For almost six months now, the federal Coalition government and the big business media have been scaremongering about a possible "race-based election". If the Senate doesn't pass his 10-point
World
-
MOSCOW — No-one who has lived without a car in both Moscow and major western cities can be wholly cynical about the achievements of Soviet society. Whether it's twice-daily Sunday bus services to outlying Sydney suburbs, or the
-
"Weapons inspectors from the UN Special Commission in Iraq have a serious public relations problem: Hardly anyone — Iraqi or foreigner — has a kind word for them", reported a Baghdad-based correspondent for the Times of India
-
Late last year, a worried President Robert Mugabe consulted Zimbabwe's most revered spirit medium. Through the medium, the spirit of Mbuya Nehanda — the woman executed in 1896 by the British after she led an anti-colonial rebellion
-
Libya wins court ruling The International Court of Justice at the Hague ruled 13 to two on February 27 that it had the authority to decide whether Libya must surrender two of its citizens for trial on charges of blowing up a Pan Am jumbo jet over
-
US car giant collaborated with NazisThe Ford Motor Company reaped "enormous profits" from collaboration with Hitler's Nazis, a class action suit claims. Ford used slave labour to build tens of thousands of military vehicles at its
-
Roisin McAliskey freed In January, a London magistrate signed an order for the extradition to Germany of Roisin McAliskey on charges that she was involved in an IRA bomb attack on a British army base in Osnabruck in June 1996. On March 10, that
-
Japanese activists block nuclear waste ship Anti-nuclear activists in the fishing village of Rokkasho in Japan celebrated a temporary victory on March 10, when a ship carrying 30 tonnes of nuclear waste from France for storage in Rokkasho was
-
Magazine sells out, but editor doesn't Magazine sells out, because editor doesn't By James Balowski In most countries, the editor of a magazine that sold out within a few days and can now be purchased only at more than 10 times its cover price
-
Class-struggle unionism isn't deadWorkers at Caterpillar, which produces farm and heavy construction equipment, have been fighting for a fair contract since November 1991, when the company forced a strike by the United
-
If the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has its way, food now known as "organically grown" may be genetically engineered, fertilised with sewage sludge, and/or irradiated with nuclear wastes. On December 16, USDA
-
IWD in Turkey attackedPolice broke up an International Women's Day demonstration with batons and tear gas on March 8 in Istanbul. Demonstrators were injured in the central Taksim square, the Anatolian news agency reported. The
-
DITA INDAH SARI, chairperson of the Centre for Indonesian Labour Struggle (PPBI) and a leader of the People's Democratic Party (PRD), was sentenced to five years' jail on April 22, 1997, for fighting alongside Indonesian workers for better wages,
-
An investigation conducted for Britain's Channel Four and the London Independent by respected Middle East journalist Robert Fisk has revealed that the Iraqi people are suffering from an epidemic of cancer following the 1991 Gulf War.
Culture
-
A tragic, exotic love story A Mongolian TaleOpens at the Valhalla, Glebe, on March 19 Review by Francesca Davis Set in the breathtakingly beautiful steppes of Mongolia, A Mongolian Tale is the story of two young people whose personal lives are
-
Talkin' about Survival What are we gonna do about the hole in the sky? What are we gonna do when the water's running dry? What are we gonna do about the air that we breathe? What are we gonna do when there's no food to feed?
-
How to attract capital Auschwitz had it all. Within the wire, therewere two huge factories —Krupp and Siemens. These pre-eminent Germancapitalists, were "stoned"by investment conditionsin Auschwitz. The Nazi State fed 'em!No medical
-
Fascinating AidaAida in Sydney Review by Tony Smith It is not often that a dedicated fan of an established act visits the theatre and comes away an even more ardent admirer. Too often, high expectations lead to disappointment, so those who go with
-
All Over MeDirected by Alex SichelWritten by Sylvia SichelPlaying at independent cinemas Review by Becky Ellis "Grrrls go through some serious shit!" So states the publicity flyer about All Over Me, an excellent coming-of-age film about young women
-
Political Economy of SocialismBy Makoto ItohMacMillan Press$39.95 Review by Sarah Peart Makoto Itoh's Political Economy of Socialism is a refreshing contribution to the debate around socialism, in particular socialist economics, following the
-
The duchess of King Street The Duchess of MalfiBy John WebsterDirected by Margaret DavisNew Theatre, King Street, NewtownFri-Sun until April 25 Review by Allen Myers If it were now September, I would declare this almost certainly Sydney's play of
-
Having a laugh at racism Mr Nguyen Throws a PartyThe Surf 'n' Theatre CompanyBondi Pavilion TheatreWeekdays 11am and weekends 11am and 3pm until March 21Tickets $6 to $12Bookings (02) 9365 1796. Review by Brendan Doyle What does a "true blue
-
AmistadDirected by Steven SpielbergWith Djimon Hounsou, Matthew McConaughey, Morgan Freeman, Stellan Skarsgard, Nigel Hawthorne, Pete Postlewaite and Anthony Hopkins Review by Norm Dixon Steven Spielberg's $75 million Amistad is really two films.
-
A short story by Craig Cormick CAPE YORK, 1848 — Kennedy's blood is draining out of him. Seeping slowly into the damp soil. He is lying in the mud with three spear wounds. One in his back, one in his side and one in his thigh. He can feel his