One year after the protests against the World Trade Organisation (WTO) meeting in Seattle, the movement against corporate globalisation is still going strong with 100,000 protesters planning to converge on Nice. In Australia, anti-corporate
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If federal education minister David Kemp gets his way, by 2004, public schools will receive only an estimated 32% of federal government funds, despite educating 70% of students. To its credit, the Independent Education Union (IEU)
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For two years the establishment media has carried the odd snippet about the NSW Labor Council's plans to lease Currawong, the trade union movement's beachfront holiday retreat on Pittwater, north of Sydney. Over the years Currawong,
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BY VIV MILEY & ALEX BAINBRIDGE Neil Smith was fined $7000 on October 27 for his part in a 1998 forest protest against the logging of virgin forest at Kooparoona Niara, also known as the Great Western Tiers. Smith was known at the time by the
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"You are fair [skinned] as a black woman, you get certain privileges in white culture that other ... [blacks] don't get." — William "Reyn" Archer III, quoted in the October 20 Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The statement above was made by the top
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CANBERRA — Inflation figures for the September quarter were recently announced. Included in the figures is the initial impact of the goods and services tax (GST), which the Australian Bureau of Statistics describes as having a
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Surviving another year What changes has the past year produced for the internet? Companies such as MP3.com and Napster have been hounded by armies of lawyers representing corporations claiming to be defending intellectual endeavour. 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 Sunday, 9-11pm. Ph 9565 5522. Access News — Melbourne community TV,
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Call for solidarity The situation in Gaza and the West Bank is deteriorating day after day due to Israel's practices against our people. Our children cannot sleep well, hearing the shooting and shelling at night and during the day. They cannot go
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The Earth is becoming a nastier planet on which to live. The growing hole in the ozone layer, increased global warming and the wholesale destruction of the world's forests are evidence of this. Moreover, according to the World
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In late November, at least three former employees of Australasian Correctional Management (ACM), the private company contracted by the federal government to run Australia's immigration detention centres, revealed that child abuses and other crimes
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Last week's column looked at Prime Minister John Howard's conservative agenda for women. Research shows that under the Liberal-National Coalition government, women are not being driven back into the home, as is often claimed. Participation rates for
News
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BY PETER JOHNSTON & KAREN CIERI DARWIN — The announcement of the formation of an Aboriginal political party has understandably ruffled the feathers of both Labor and the Country Liberal Party (CLP). The Labor Party traditionally receives the
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SYDNEY — A leaked document that appears to be a management report of a secret meeting between some federal Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) officials and P&O Stevedoring to discuss further retrenchments of workers has caused
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AMWU to launch 'Campaign 2001' Following the success of the Victorian Australian Manufacturing Workers Union's 'Campaign 2000', the national AMWU is planning to lodge a combined claim on manufacturing employers with the aim of improving job
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The number of senior ALP figures implicated in vote rorting and other shady internal party practices is increasing as middle and lower level ALP figures spill their guts to the Queensland Criminal Justice Commission inquiry headed by
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This is the last issue of 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ Weekly for 2000. The next issue — #432 — will be published on January 17.
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SYDNEY — Australian Broadcasting Corporation staff voted no confidence in ABC managing director Jonathan Shier at stop-work meetings across Australia held on November 29. The meetings followed revelations in the Senate Estimates
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Sexist advertisements marketing Chivas Regal whiskey are the latest to be targeted by an anti-sexist graffiti campaign. Chivas says it is lapping up the “extra publicity”. The advertisement features a woman, minus her
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MELBOURNE — The National Union of Students (NUS) Victorian conference held at Monash University on November 25 adopted a number of progressive positions. The policy motion condemning Labor Victorian Premier Steve Bracks over his
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MELBOURNE — In Palestine, young people are resisting Israeli tanks with rocks. In Indonesia, students, workers and peasants are mobilising daily against rising prices and job losses imposed by the International Monetary
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SYDNEY — Student activists have begun preparations for the Student Solidarity Conference to be held in Sydney next April. The conference will bring together solidarity activists from around the country, and the Asia-Pacific region,
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BY STEPHEN O'BRIEN NEWCASTLE — A photo of STP bosses Stephen and Bradley Weeks with the caption "wanted for unpaid workers' entitlements of over $3 million" is appearing around Newcastle as part of the support campaign for 220 workers owed money
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ADELAIDE — In recent weeks, the Woomera detention centre has been the focus of media attention, following allegations that the centre's management had covered up the sexual abuse of a 12-year-old boy at the centre. There have
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PERTH — The NUS West state conference was held here on November 26. The Labor Party right faction, Unity, had the majority of delegates. Annette Haeker, former Murdoch University education vice-president was elected to the
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Chockers already “There is no room in the ALP for people who break the law.” — ALP federal leader Kim Beazley. Their health is another matter “We commit to respecting the religious, cultural and ethical concerns of people.” —
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BY ROBERTO JORQUERA & SARAH STEPHEN PERTH — Around 150 people attended the "Globalisation: trash or treasure" conference at Curtin university on November 25. The one day conference was initiated by the Stop MAI [Multilateral Agreement on
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Rally demands end to Israeli repression ADELAIDE — Around 150 people rallied here on November 29 on the steps of Parliament House to demand an immediate end to the brutal Israeli repression of the Palestinian people. Speakers included
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SYDNEY — “Student organisers don't need to live in the areas that they represent, or attend the campuses that they organise. Regional organisers shouldn't be asked to live in the regions they organise, it would be like
Analysis
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The failure of the November 13-24 international climate change conference at the Hague presents a major challenge for the environment movement. The seriousness and urgency of climate change has recently been highlighted by the Intergovernmental
World
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RAMALLAH — The ongoing uprising and the violent Israeli reaction in the West Bank and Gaza Strip took a new twist on November 28, when Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak announced that early Israeli elections would be held only two
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BUENOS AIRES — When Francis Fukuyama declared the end of history, he was prematurely announcing the triumph of capitalism. The message was that there was no longer any point in resisting and workers around the world should
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Workers in Taiwan have frequently taken to the streets recently — and not only to defend their own conditions. In a clear rejection of neo-liberal propaganda which encourages national chauvinism, a section of the Taiwanese trade
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RAMALLAH, WEST BANK — As Florida recounts distracted the international media, Israeli tanks and helicopters continued to bombard towns and villages throughout the West Bank and Gaza. Following the bombing of a settler bus, Israel
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Having failed to restart the World Trade Organisation negotiations since the mass demonstrations in Seattle last November, the US is now seeking to prioritise the "free trade" regime in the Americas as an interim measure. Hence, the
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"This is not Vietnam", US president Bill Clinton announced during a one-day trip to the northern Colombian city of Cartagena in late August. Clinton was launching "Plan Colombia", the goal of which is to tame the country's guerrilla
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Australian domestic demand for natural gas is projected to steadily increase over the next decade, with the fields off the coast of Western Australia and the Northern Territory — especially those in the Timor Sea — being the
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MANILA — In November alone, more than 300,000 demonstrators here have called for the resignation or sacking of President Joseph Estrada (known as Erap). The mass protests have continued to put pressure on the regime and have
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If you were going to use the kind of language that seems to typify discussion of people from the Middle East, I suppose you might say that the Ethnic Community Council's seminar on "Responsible Media in a Multicultural Society" on
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School teachers demonstrate in Surabaya On November 29, 60 private school teachers from the Private School Teachers Communication Forum (FKGS) demonstrated at the Surabaya legislative council for improved legal rights and wages. FKGS leader Yudin
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Anti-capitalist protesters who succeeded in Seattle last November-December in helping block the launch of a new round of global trade negotiations under the auspices of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) can proudly register their
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Despite a massive presence by Indonesian troops and stern warnings from Jakarta and local police, thousands of West Papuan's on December 1 peacefully celebrated the 39th anniversary of their self-declared independence from Dutch
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Dear 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ Weekly readers, The 200 million people of Indonesia — the millions of factory and office workers, the tens of millions of farmers and the millions upon millions of unemployed and underemployed — face an impending social and
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91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ Weekly's MARINA CARMAN travelled to South Africa in October and talked with a number of left activists about their views on the way forward for the left.
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BAUCAU — On November 26-30, 40 or so members of the Asia Pacific Coalition for East Timor (APCET) met here to discuss international solidarity with East Timor. The international guests were joined by around the same number of
Culture
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Rage Against The Machine has recorded an album of classic socially and politically charged hip-hop, rock and punk songs. Rage attacks these songs in its typical hard-edged, unconventional fashion. Renegades (Epic) is a
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SHORT STORY BY CRAIG CORMICK I went down to my local bank the other day — only to find it had been closed down. A large "For Lease" sign hung in the window and a small card on the door informed me where the closest branch not yet closed down
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Capitalism In Crisis: Globalisation and World Politics TodayBy Fidel CastroOcean BooksMelbourne, 2000292pp., $29.95 (pb) REVIEW BY SHANE HOPKINSON There is no shortage of talk about globalisation these days. Cuban leader Fidel Castro paints a
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BeachballsProduced and directed by Bronwyn KiddSBS TV, Tuesday, December 12, 8.30pm REVIEW BY MARINA CARMAN If you want a chance to see some of the reality behind the glamour and glitz of the Sydney Olympics, then park yourself in front of the TV
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The Pretoria High Court's November 10 rejection of famed anti-apartheid poet Mzwakhe Mbuli's appeal demonstrates the difficulty of dismantling apartheid, especially when the system's engineers and foot soldiers have been retained.
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East Timor: The Price of Freedom By John G. Taylor Zed Books/Pluto Press, 248ppTo Resist is to Win: The Autobiography of Xanana GusmaoEdited by Sarah NinerAurora Books/David Lovell Publishing, 256ppFighting Spirit of East Timor: The Life of
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As more activists from many cities and towns respond to the call for mass actions against corporate tyranny on May 1, cultural activists are to lend their support to these blockades and related events. Taking our cue from the
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Rise Like Lions: The Hijacking of Australian HistoryBy Steve DavisGinninderra Press, 2000138pp., $19.80 (plus $3.30 postage)Order from PO Box 53, Charnwood ACT, 2516. The cover of Steve Davis' Rise Like Lions: the Hijacking of