A voice in the wildernessJane Howarth received a warm welcome when she stepped off the bus in Baghdad. She found herself alone, without a backpack, in war-torn Iraq. Despite being a lone woman in a devastated country, Jane
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DARWIN — On May 12, an unemployed homeless man was sentenced to 12 months' jail for the theft of a baby towel valued at $15. Kevin Anthony Cook took the towel from the backyard of a house on April 15 to use for a blanket because
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Ripping off workers' entitlementsMore than 400 coalminer members of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, led by 45 of the 125 miners sacked from the Oakdale colliery, rallied outside Parliament House in
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Toot this and toot that I think it goes like this: everything passes, everything changes, everything dies. Except in the original French, it had a line of toutes in it — being, as it were, a French thing to say. But my linguistic skills are
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On February 18, a young substitute teacher from Columbus, Ohio, faced off with one of the most powerful people in the world. Dressed neatly in a white shirt and tie, Jon Strange was given the freak opportunity of putting a question
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Telstra Rather than being progressively sold off Telstra should be restored to full public ownership. Finance can be obtained from the Reserve Bank. Ideally, compensation for higher income earners should not exceed 25 percent of stock value. If
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While the world's capitalist media have been dominated by the massive US-directed NATO air war against Serbia, Washington's other terrorist war has been all but expunged from the airwaves and newspaper columns. Throughout the Balkans
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Iraq sanctions: a crime against humanityWALID spends most of his time on the streets of Baghdad. He is 14 years old and shines shoes each day to earn a meagre existence for his mother and brothers. If he had been born 10 years
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Guiding light By Brandon Astor Jones HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR MAYAHow quickly your lovely presence has grownYes, into your own greatness you must aspireBecause the roots of your knowledge are knownHAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR MAYA Maya, at 6.14 pm, on
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Environmental law 'reform': another Democrat sell-outAfter several weeks of secret negotiations, the Australian Democrats and the federal Coalition government have agreed on more than 500 amendments to the Environment Protection and
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... and ain't I a woman?: Labor without a clue Reading Martin Ferguson's preface to Labor Without Class: The Gentrification of the ALP by Michael Thompson, the latest offering to emerge from the "what is the true nature of the Labor Party"
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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, 10.30pm. Ph 9565 5522. Access News —
News
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NEWCASTLE — On June 25, the Newcastle University Council debated a motion to withdraw funding from the university and community radio station 2NUR FM. 2NUR is the only community radio station in the Hunter region. It broadcasts
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J18 rally attacks corporate tyrannySYDNEY — On June 18, a global carnival against corporate tyranny was held. It began here with an "Anti-Business Lunch", a rally of about 350 people in Martin Place. Speakers came from a range
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Camel trek fights nuclear dumpIn mid-July, nine women — Humps not Dumps — will start a 1000-kilometre camel trek through the South Australian desert in order to raise awareness about the national radioactive
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SYDNEY — There is a perception amongst some that Bob Carr's NSW Labor government is a working people's government. The government's fifth budget, announced on June 22, reveals where its allegiance really lies. Treasurer Michael
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Actions all around the world are planned in solidarity with the Burmese freedom struggle on September 9 this year (9-9-99). The global day of action will include protests and activities in at least 14 countries, including Britain,
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Candlelight march for political prisonersDARWIN — A rally, candlelight march through the city streets and an overnight vigil outside the Indonesian consulate took place here on June 19-20. The events, organised by the East
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More than 200 members of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union at Dorf Industries are on strike and staffing a 24-hour picket line. They are opposing the company's attempt to relocate to Sydney and their treatment. The
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Anti-GST rallies around the country Thirty people attended an anti-GST rally organised by the Greens at parliament in Canberra on June 21, Karen Burns reports. Several speakers addressed them on the GST's impact. Greens Senator Bob Brown said that
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MUA officials withstand challengesThe final results of the 1999 elections for the Maritime Union of Australia are now in. Both nationally and at branch level, the incumbent leadership has managed to withstand the challenge of
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Road to destroy coastal wetlandsMACKAY — The Queensland government seems set to push ahead with a major new road in Mackay that will destroy 12.3 hectares of coastal wetlands, despite Environment Protection Agency (EPA)
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SYDNEY — Housekeeping staff at the Hyde Park Plaza in Sydney have won an important victory. Their employer, Mirvac, backed off from its attempt to contract out their jobs after a lively and well-attended picket on June 25.
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"The National Organisation of Women Students Australia (NOWSA) was born during a period of student activism in opposition to tertiary fees and the graduate tax. The original NOWSA activists fought for women's access to education,
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Thousands rally against forest agreementBRISBANE — A 3000-strong crowd rallied in King George Square on June 14 to oppose the state government's regional forest agreement (RFA). The rally was organised by the Wilderness
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MELBOURNE — Australian Education Union (AEU) members at two state schools have taken action over moves to privatise state schools. Sandringham Secondary College and Blackburn High School are in the front line
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24-hour strike at Email plantsMORE THAN 5000 workers employed by whitegoods manufacturer Email took part in a 24-hour stoppage on June 17. The stoppage affected all 22 Email plants across the country, except the largest, in
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Fight to save Sydney bushlandSYDNEY — Residents and concerned environmentalists are vigorously protesting against the destruction of a large section of beautiful bushland in the Manly Dam catchment area in Sydney's northern
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Settlement won by staff at Sydney UniversitySYDNEY — National Tertiary Education Industry Union (NTEU) members at the University of Sydney have agreed to accept the latest enterprise bargain offer made by management on June
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'Brucegate' scandal spurs demand for Carnell to goCANBERRA — ACT Chief Minister Kate Carnell is embroiled in a major crisis which could result in her being sacked or her minority Liberal government being thrown out.
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CANBERRA — More than 900 staff at the Australian National University voted overwhelmingly on June 24 to demand an enterprise bargaining agreement that guarantees no net job losses, maintenance of superannuation contributions and
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Albury residents protest against freewayCANBERRA — Sixty people travelled from Albury on the NSW-Victoria border to Parliament House on June 21 to protest against the federal government's refusal to consider alternatives to
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Tough deal for sex workersOn June 20, the Queensland Labor government introduced what Premier Peter Beattie called "a tough package of prostitution law reform". The "reforms" will legalise and regulate brothels, while increasing
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University of Melbourne manoeuvres on wages MELBOURNE — University of Melbourne management announced on June 9 that it would unilaterally grant a 2% pay increase to all staff as a "reward" for meeting previous revenue targets. The National
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Youth wages: slavery in the free market?On June 24, the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC) handed down its final report on junior wage rates. With the federal Coalition government and big business hailing the findings
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Flexible: The high level of youth unemployment acts as a pressure on young people to accept extremely poor workplace conditions and low wages. This means young people are more easily forced to accept jobs which are largely casual positions with
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In need "[Kosova]'s going to be like Bosnia or Cambodia. There will be almost as many foreigners trying to help as those who need it. And they will need restaurants and bars and brothels, and this place will never be the same." — A UN official,
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MELBOURNE — Student union leaders at Chisholm TAFE are optimistic about maintaining student control of the fledgling Chisholm Association of TAFE Students (CATS) after a recent occupation of the administration office at the
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Eyewitness report on Indonesian elections BRISBANE — Fifty people gathered in the Paddington Workers Club on April 24 to hear from Karen Fletcher and Graham Matthews, who recently returned from Indonesia. The new documentary Indonesia in
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Solidarity from AMWU workers for East Timor and IndonesiaMELBOURNE — East Timorese independence activists Alex Tilman and Gil Santos from Fretilin and Action in Solidarity with Indonesia and East Timor (ASIET) member Bronwyn
Analysis
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The theft of Telstra The Senate vote to privatise more of Telstra is another theft of public assets and is not in the interests of consumers or telecommunications workers. Last year, Telstra made a net profit of $3 billion, and it is expected to
World
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UN delays vote in East Timor By Jon Land United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan announced on June 22 that the UN-administered vote in East Timor, scheduled to take place on August 8, would be delayed until August 21 or 22. In a
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Wiranto: 'No gatherings of the masses!' By Max Lane On June 25, the Jakarta daily newspaper Kompas quoted the minister of defence and commander in chief of the armed forces (TNI), General Wiranto, as stating that the government would
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Kashmir: freedom struggle confronts barbarismMost establishment media reports portray the military confrontation in Kashmir as simply a border conflict between India and Pakistan. This ignores the aspirations and the persistent
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Dirty Dozen pesticides: banned but still traded A review of recent US exports of the Pesticide Action Network's "Dirty Dozen" pesticides indicates that a national ban is not sufficient to prevent a pesticide from entering a country. According to US
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China, Taiwan and Hong Kong: growing integration and joint struggle HONG KONG — AU Loong YU is a leader of a small socialist group, Pioneer, formed in the early 1980s from a split in the now defunct Revolutionary Marxist League (RML). It
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Kosova: what remains after 'victory'?Who won the Kosova war? According to Western leaders, NATO did, and Slobodan Milosevic "totally capitulated". According to Milosevic, the war ended with a "victory for Serbia's peace
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Latest on Indonesian elections The Joint Media and Operations Centre in Jakarta, which has been monitoring the Indonesian vote count, has estimated the final vote for the major parties to be: Megawati Sukarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic
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Serbia under Milosevic: politics in the 1990sBy Robert ThomasHurst & Company, London, 1999 Review by Chris Slee Slobodan Milosevic has been in control of Serbia since 1987. This book deals with his rise to power and the political struggles that
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Philippine solidarity with East Timor DAVAO CITY, Philippines — The Asia Pacific Coalition for East Timor (APCET) launched the Help East Timor Now campaign with a week of solidarity activities here starting on June 14. The campaign is part of
Culture
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SYDNEY — Four hundred people packed the Globe Cinema on Friday, June 25, for the premiere of John Pilger's documentary The Timor Conspiracy, presented by Action in Solidarity with Indonesia and East Timor (ASIET) and 91̳
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SBS to screen new Jabiluka doco As the final decision of the listing of Kakadu National Park on the "World Heritage in danger" list approaches on July 12, SBS is to screen Cathy Henkel's documentary Walking Through a Minefield. Narrated by film
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DIG: The last history of Burke and Wills A short story by Craig Cormick ROBERT O'HARA BURKE waves his top hat triumphantly and leads Mr Wills and Mr King into the fortified stockade at Cooper's Creek. They've covered the last hundred miles with
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How To Attract Capital Take a pageFrom Auschwitz Auschwitz attractedPlenty of Capital Two huge factoriesKrupps and Siemens Why was AuschwitzSuch a beaconFor Capital? The reason is simple:Labour at AuschwitzCost nothing. Denis Kevans
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Jazzed up, anti-racist and danced outMELBOURNE — More than 400 people packed the Prince of Wales Hotel on June 16 to hear a range of artists perform in 91̳ Weekly's Jazz Against Racism. The audience was treated to
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A conflict created by chauvinist intellectuals Kosovo: A Short HistoryBy Noel MalcolmPaperMac, 1998 Review by Michael Cooke This book provides historical background to current events in the Balkans. Malcolm's work is even-handed, judicious and