Whistle-blower exposes Lucas Heights nuclear accidentsAn employee of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) has revealed information about a series of accidents at the nuclear reactor in the southern
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Worker's control, not government control Workers' control, not government control NEWCASTLE — GEOFF PAYNE, a rigger at the BHP steelworks, is the Democratic Socialists' candidate for the state seat of Newcastle in the March 27 NSW election. He
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If the pollsters are mistaken and Kerry Chikarovski gets the top NSW parliamentary job ahead of the ALP right's Bob Carr, will this herald better times for women? "Chika" seems to have the support of Eva Cox, self-styled feminist commentator, who
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Indigenous people oppose Beverley uranium mine In December, JILLIAN MARSH received the inaugural Jill Hudson Environmental Award from the Conservation Council of South Australia. Marsh, a member of the Flinders Ranges Aboriginal Heritage
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Letters to the editor Bogus environment parties We, the undersigned environment groups, are writing to warn voters concerned about environment protection who may be thinking of voting for new small political parties with nice environmental names
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Opposition to uranium mining in Australia emerged as a mass movement in the 1970s. However, opposition to environmental destruction had already existed for more than a century. Campaigners for national parks, against the
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Is there a crime wave?The impression you get from listening to the politicians is that we are in the midst of a violent crime wave. Crime statistics contradict this picture. When the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research
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ADELAIDE — The federal government announced on March 18 that the Beverley uranium mine, in South Australia's far north, has been given approval. The mine is expected to begin full production next year. It will be Australia's third
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Jeeves I was sitting up in bed sucking down the early morning cup of tea and reading over my night's work when there was a tap at the door and Jeeves appeared. "A Mr Kim Beazley, sir, on the telephone." "Oh, dash it, Jeeves", I said, "doesn't
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The decision to allow the Beverley uranium mine in South Australia to go ahead is only the latest attack on the environment and the rights of indigenous people by Howard and his pro-big business gang in government. Situated in a sensitive arid
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Carving up the city and the spoilsMELBOURNE — The Citylink private tollway is due to open in early May, but its construction is still dogged by controversy. One revelation is that the concrete on the new bridge over the Yarra
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A view from death row US political prisoner MUMIA ABU-JAMAL was interviewed in January by JACK HEYMAN for the US International Longshore and Warehouse Union's journal, the Dispatcher. It has been abridged here. Abu-Jamal, a radical African-American
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Correction The article "Why Howard wants zero tolerance policing" in the last issue of 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ Weekly referred to the Northern Territory government running zero tolerance policing trials in 1988. The trials were run in 1998.
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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. Ph 9565 5522. Access News —
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Correction The letter attributed to Mary Merkenich on Makhno printed in the last issue of GLW was actually written by Chris Slee. GLW apologies for the error.
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My enslaved ancestors"Kyle's mum's a fucking Jew" — Cartman. A cartoon character spoke the words above in an episode of the television show South Park. I know from personal experience that anyone who would say the
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Leadership challenge for South Coast Labour CouncilWOLLONGONG — A challenge for the leadership of the South Coast Labour Council (SCLC) has raised questions and encouraged debate among unionists and left activists about
News
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Reclaim the Streets MELBOURNE — In a protest against the increasing amount of space being taken up by cars, the Friends of the Earth Transport Collective here organised a Reclaim the Streets march and street party on March 13. Around 1500
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The proposed "voluntary student unionism" (VSU) legislation has provoked a major uproar. Screaming headlines, such as "Student union plan disaster", "Why voluntary unionism won't work" and "Voluntary union fees split Liberals", have appeared in many
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Hobart abortion services to expandHOBART — Over the past month, the local Mercury newspaper has run a series of reports and letters regarding a proposal to establish a new abortion clinic at Bellerive on the city's eastern
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Is sexism inevitable? Can we change things? What role can men play? Is parliament the solution? These questions were debated at a lively Resistance public meeting in Sydney on March 13. More than 60 people gathered to hear Catriona Elek, a feminist
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Democrats denounced over 'lunatic fringe' charge By Jonathan Singer The Greens have called the Australian Democrats' NSW election slogan, "Silence the lunatic fringe", offensive and hypocritical. Lee Rhiannon, Greens upper house candidate, on
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Native title attacked again in SAADELAIDE — The United Nations race discrimination committee has found that the federal Native Title Amendment Act (the so-called Wik bill) breaches the UN convention against racial discrimination.
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Mass mobilisation on Palm SundayMELBOURNE — On March 28, the Palm Sunday march, rally and festival will take place. The main demand is "Stop the Jabiluka uranium mine". Other demands are "Stop the nuclear threat" and "Land
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CPSU branch rejects communications splitMELBOURNE — A major issue at the March 11 Victorian branch conference of the Community and Public Sector Union (PSU group) was a proposal for the Telecommunications section of the union
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Memories "I was sitting very close to Mr Whitlam, and when I see Mr Whitlam, I remember General Peron from my country." — Hugo Bonasso, a migrant from Argentina, at the ALP policy launch for the NSW election. We won "On any marking of the
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UNSW academics turn backs on celebrationSYDNEY — On March 18, about 100 academic staff at the University of New South Wales turned their backs in a symbolic protest on the launch of the university's 50th anniversary celebrations.
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The latest assault on feminism comes from a woman who is herself billed as a "feminist". Wendy Shalit, interviewed by the Sydney Morning Herald on March 5, has written a book titled A Return to Modesty:
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Rank-and-file challenge to MUA incumbentsNominations have closed for elections for all positions in the Maritime Union of Australia, to be held between April 14 and June 14. The election includes the biggest rank-and-file
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Residents resist McDonald'sMELBOURNE — Residents in the Moreland area are fighting attempts by fast food giant McDonald's to build an outlet on the site of a 110-year old house. The house, at 1 Sussex St, Coburg, is the
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MELBOURNE — Library workers in the Hume-Moonee Valley library service, covering an area from near-city Flemington to the dormitory suburb of Melton, shut down and picketed all library branches there on March 15 in support of
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Environment rally in LismoreLISMORE — Despite heavy rain, more than 200 people attended a "Vote with your feet for the environment" rally here on March 20. It focused on opposition to the destruction of native forests, the
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ASIET meeting on East TimorBRISBANE — A public meeting at the Resistance Centre on March 17, organised by 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ Weekly and Action in Solidarity with Indonesia and East Timor (ASIET), discuss "Which way forward for an
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Kennett continues sell-off of gasMELBOURNE — The state Coalition government is continuing its privatisation of gas services despite mounting concern from consumer and trade union groups. On March 10, the government announced that
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BRISBANE — It is disgustingly hypocritical that some principals continue to get up in front of school assemblies, rave on about how racism is bad and that it is up to young people to stop it, and then punish us when we try to do
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NSW elections: who are you really voting for?SYDNEY — So you've decided to vote against the Liberal-Labor establishment in the March 27 NSW elections and you want to support green and left parties. With a Legislative Council
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Students across New Zealand are organising against government attempts to introduce "voluntary student membership" of student organisations. A VSM law passed last year requires all student associations to run referendums on "compulsory" membership by
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Dorf workers fight redundanciesMELBOURNE — The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union is organising a campaign to stop the redundancy of 300 workers at Dorf Industries, a tapware manufacturer. Mass meetings of AMWU members at
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Brisbane: 12pm, King George Square; Canberra: 1pm, Workers' Club; Hobart: 12.30am, Refectory steps, Tasmania University; Melbourne: 1.30pm, State Library; Sydney: 1pm, Town Hall.
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More Jabiluka protesters face court DARWIN — Three university students — Michael Williams, Wendy Edwards and Rebecca Nissim — go to court on March 22 on four charges arising from their participation in a "lock-on" protest at the Energy
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Resistance has organised a national speaking tour of campuses on the topic "What would Marx say today?". The four forums held so far have revealed a high level of interest among students for Marxist ideas. At Sydney University last
World
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Indonesia plays delaying game with East TimorUnited Nations-sponsored talks between Indonesia and Portugal on the future of East Timor, which took place March 9-11, resulted in Indonesia agreeing to allow some form of direct ballot
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March 24 marked the 10th anniversary of the oil spill from the Exxon Valdez tanker in Alaska, one of the worst oil disasters in history. Friends of the Earth International chose that day to release a report on Exxon and its new
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NOVOSIBIRSK — There's not a great deal of joy in being a worker in Russia, and things are harder still if you are not in the relatively well-off capital, Moscow. Left-wing activism continues even in some of the most remote
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Zero tolerance or zero survival?The New York Police Department is issuing hollow-point ammunition — dum-dum bullets — to its cops. This is being done despite protests from citizens' groups and despite the fact that the use of
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Upsurge in Iranian KurdistanNews filtering out of Iranian-occupied Kurdistan (north-west Iran) indicates there has been a significant upsurge in the Kurdish people's struggle for national self-determination since the seizure of
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CANBERRA — In a public meeting here on March 16, Tamil surgeon Dr Thayalan Ambalavanar asked the Sri Lankan government to respect the right of self-determination of the Tamil people and to open peace talks with the Liberation
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Ireland: RUC suspected in lawyer's murderA well-known human rights lawyer who had received death threats for her work representing nationalists in one of Northern Ireland's most volatile communities was killed on March 15 when a
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Challenges face new workers' party in ZimbabweHARARE — The March 1 announcement by Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) secretary-general Morgan Tsvangirai that his federation's executive has mandated the creation of a
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BAKRIE, a member Komite Rakyat Pekalongan (KPR — Pekalongan People's Committee) spoke to 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ Weekly's SAM KING about his group's work organising the urban poor community in north-central Java. Question: What motivates you to organise Java's
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PARRAMATTA — The International Federation of Iraqi Refugees has launched a campaign to protest against the rejection of applications for asylum from Iraqi Kurds by European governments. These governments claim that Iraqi
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Rights wins Salvadoran election On March 10, the Salvadoran Supreme Electoral Tribunal officially certified Francisco Flores, of the right-wing Republican Nationalist Alliance (ARENA), as the winner of the March 7 presidential elections. Flores won
Culture
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Early Williamson packs a punch The RemovalistsBy David Williamson New Theatre, NewtownFriday-Sunday until 1 May Review by Helen Jarvis Written nearly 30 years ago, and becoming David Williamson's first major success in Australia before going
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Feminist Cabaret ResistBRISBANE The Resistance Centre hosted the second in its monthly series of political cabarets, Cabaret Resist, on March 19 — a special all-women line-up in honour of International Women's Day. "This
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Intellectual Impostures: Postmodern philosophers' abuse of scienceBy Alan Sokal and Jean BricmontProfile Books, 1998274pp., price? Review by Neville Spencer The complexity and difficulty of most writing by postmodernist theorists is widely
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Coping with the water crisis Sydney on TapBy John ArcherPure Water Press, 199896pp, $9.95 (paperback) Review by Dot Tumney John Archer's latest water quality opus provides a description of the events surrounding Sydney's 1998 water crisis. The
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The French Dickens Victor HugoBy Graham RobbPicador, 1998 — 682 pp., $19.95 (pb) Review by Phil Shannon Scotland Yard regarded him as "the most obnoxious" of the French exiles, but his picture was a common sight in the homes of French workers.
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Greek Australians: beyond the stereotypes In Their Own ImageBy Effy Alexakis and Leonard JaniszewskiHale & Iremonger, 1998.240pp. $49.95 (hb) Review by James Vassilopoulos The most enduring stereotypes of Greek Australians are that they are
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SYDNEY — On Friday, April 9, three top Latin American bands will be joining forces to help raise funds for Cuba. Bands Candela, Charanga Libre and Club Havana will perform a vast spectrum of Cuban music styles. The event will take place at