“[M]illions of Americans will find their lives changed because [of]
Bush's views on ... ergonomics.” — David Broder, the Atlanta Constitution,
March 16, 2001
A subtle contempt is expressed by David Broder in his recent political
commentary
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QUEBEC CITY — For three days, from April 20-22, this city was filled with the spirit of revolution and CS gas. The Summit of the Americas had come to town — and so too had tens of thousands determined to stop its plans for
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There are two emotions many Australian workers feel about globalisation — fear and anger. The fear is bred of insecurity about jobs, living standards and overwork. The anger is born of seeming helplessness. Ordinary working
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The Australian government has been the main accomplice of the United States in its efforts to kill the Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse gas emissions. The US government's strategy was spelt out in an April 1 state department cable to US
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Special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation on April 21 raided the premises of the Seattle Independent Media Center, after security plans for the Summit of the Americas were posted on its web site. FBI agents
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If the mainstream media are to be believed, the ascendency of Natasha Stott Despoja to the leadership of the Australian Democrats, and of Aden Ridgeway to the deputy leadership, heralds a new era in Australian politics. Never has
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Networker: 'Take political action' “Take political action” was the call by Lawrence Lessig at a US conference, organised by the O'Rielly Network, in February on peer-to-peer (P2P) networking. P2P refers to the exchange of music (such as
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"Violence against women — it's against all the rules" is the name of the adverts broadcast on commercial radio and displayed on the back of buses on behalf of the NSW attorney-general's department. The campaign is targeted at young men and
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Iraqi women Iraqi women suffer gender discrimination and oppression due to the implications of Iraqi family law and the policies of the Iraqi government. The UN's economic sanctions have also jeopardised living conditions and intensified women's
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The state machines of the First World are prepared to go to enormous lengths to crush political dissent — if Canadian police's cold-blooded and calculated attacks on peaceful protesters in Quebec City are anything to go by. But to no
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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, 9pm. Ph 9565 5522. Visit <; for
News
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LISMORE — A lively crowd of 150 spoke out against corporate globalisation and marched through the streets here on April 28. The action was the first May Day celebration to be held in the region. It was a colourful protest, with
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CANBERRA — As well as state governments trying to slash workers rights to fair compensation for injury, the federal government is aiming to push through its own attacks that will affect 285,655 commonwealth public sector and ACT
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Nike forced to close MELBOURNE — Corporate giant Nike's city superstore was forced to cease trading for more than an hour on April 27 after 100 protesters blockaded it for fifth Friday night in a row. Blockaders demanded an end to Nike's
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BRISBANE — Four prisoners who had sought to prevent Queensland Police from taking compulsory DNA samples have had their legal bid dismissed in the Supreme Court on April 27. They plan to appeal. The prisoners' argued that they
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SYDNEY — On April 27, 1500 workers attended a ceremony on the steps of the Opera House to mark International Day of Mourning for Dead and Injured Workers. The ceremony paid tribute to all workers killed or injured at work and was of
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BRISBANE — "I've never been to a public meeting where so many politicians have given so many apologies", stated Drew Hutton from the Queensland Greens. He was addressing an April 20 public meeting in Narangba, 30km north of
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SYDNEY — With song, prose and reflection, 100 supporters of the Cuban Revolution jammed into the Newtown Edge Theatre here on April 21 to commemorate the 40th annivesary of the Cuban people's defeat of the US-backed Bay of
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Students at the University of Sydney are outraged at an unprecedented move by the university administration to prevent activists from publicising a public protest, the May 1 stock exchange blockade, and have vowed to launch a free speech campaign if harassment of activists continues.
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[The following statement, initiated by the Melbourne Refugee Action Collective, is to be published in the May 26 Australian. To add you name to the statement and/or that of your organisation, or to make a donation to help pay for its
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SYDNEY — More than 1500 workers, led by Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union members, and supported by unions affiliated to the NSW Labor Council, marched to state parliament on April 27 to protest against the state Labor
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BRISBANE — Protesters gathered outside Queensland parliament here on April 20 to highlight the threat to the environment posed by large-scale land clearing in the state. An estimated 80% of all land-clearing in Australia takes
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SYDNEY — Thirty people packed into the Democratic Socialist Party's new office in Burwood on April 21, to launch the party's new inner-west branch, in the traditional style: with drink and laughter and hope for the future.
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BY SARAH STEPHEN& RUPEN SAVOULIAN PERTH — Thirty-five people held a spirited protest outside the immigration detention centre at Perth airport on April 21. The protest was organised by the Refugee Rights Action Network (RRAN). The protesters
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Leadership "I hope we can find some way to keep the businesses around here going but I don't know." — new Japanese PM Junichiro Koizumi. Best qualified person for the job President George W Bush's choice for the number three spot at the US
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BY JO HARNEY & MICHELLE BREAR SYDNEY — A scandal involving a university's burial of library books has inspired students to re-ignite a struggle for better quality education and more equitable funding. In 1995, approximately 10,000 books, some
Analysis
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In case you missed it, April 25 was Anzac Day. And in case you didn't get the message of the day, it was printed on the Australian flags that lined the march routes: "Their Sacrifice. Our Heritage." Anzac Day is not about commemorating the
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BY PETER BOYLE With the successful M1 mobilisations under its belt, the movement against corporate globalisation will soon discuss its next major focus. A month ago we floated the idea of a Canberra convergence against the new
World
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A survey conducted in Russia to mark Bolshevik Revolution leader Lenin's 131st birthday on April 22 found that 66.7% of those questioned regarded Lenin's role in Russian history as positive, the Itar-Tass news agency reported. Some 29% said his
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On April 23 a new organisation was established in Jakarta to campaign in solidarity with the Acehnese people. The organisation, Solidarity Movement for the People of Aceh (SEGERA), was formed in response to the issuance of Presidential
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SAN FRANCISCO — The winner of the Winter Greenwash Award is Philip Morris, the largest US-based tobacco corporation, for its "Working to make a difference" television ad campaign. The commercials tell us moving stories of real
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Breaking the Banks: the Impact of the Asian Development Bank and Australia's Role in the Mekong RegionBy Jonathan Cornford and Michael SimonCAA-Oxfam Australia, 2001$17.95 REVIEW BY MELANIE GILLBANK Breaking the Banks is a timely publication from
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BY DALE T. McKINLEY JOHANNESBURG — Prior to South Africa's first democratic elections in 1994, the labour movement here did not give much thought to the specific political, social and economic role that it might play in the new dispensation. If
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In early March the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) aided the Macedonian army's crackdown on the Albanian insurgents of the National Liberation Army (NLA). This followed the agreement between NATO and the Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica to allow Yugoslav troops into the Serbia-Kosova buffer zone to crush autonomy-seeking Albanian rebels.
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In the wake of the second round of negotiations between Australia and East Timor on the Timor Gap Treaty and the disputed seabed boundary, Australia's big business press are stepping-up its support for Canberra's push to deny East Timor
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WELLINGTON — New Zealand is the most transnationalised economy in the Western world, according to the UNCTAD World Investment Report 2000. Most of New Zealand's productive, financial, energy, retail, transport, media and
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BY PASTOR VALLE-GARAY Pending US congressional approval, the White House's next ambassador to the UN will be a grey eminence of the United States' bloody Central America policy during the 1980s. In his obsession to destroy the Sandinista
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The military dictatorship of General Pervaiz Musharraf has arrested hundreds of oppositionists in an attempt to prevent them staging a pro-democracy protest on May Day in Karachi, Pakistan's main port and largest city. Police and
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A legal challenge against Shell and the military government of Pakistan began in a Karachi court on April 25 over plans to explore for gas in Kirthar National Park. The Kirthar National Park was established in 1974 and is one of
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On March 29, a Canadian judge dealt a crushing blow to farmers' rights by ruling that Percy Schmeiser, a third-generation Saskatchewan farmer, must pay Monsanto thousands of dollars for violating the gene giant's monopoly patent on genetically
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DILI — Thousands of small traders at the Dili market (Mercado Lama) are being pressured to move to two refurbished markets in Comoro and Becora, on the western and eastern outskirts of the city respectively. The traders have
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Between 100,000 to 500,000 supporters of President Abdurrahman Wahid are expected to gather in Jakarta for a mass prayer meeting on April 29, just one day before the Indonesian house of representatives meets to discuss a censure motion
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The International Monetary Fund is tightening the screws on President Abdurrahman Wahid to deliver on austerity measures in return for its US$5 billion bailout package. Following a review of Indonesia's neo-liberal economic reforms,
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91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ Weekly's SARAH PEART spoke to Ricardo Navarro, chairperson of Friends Of the Earth International, who has recently been in Australia. Navarro is the first chairperson of FoEI from the Third World. What are some of the major environmental
Culture
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Larry Kirwan is best known as leader/song-writer of Irish-American rebel-rockers Black 47. He is most often seen in a packed New York pub, his fist upraised, shouting, "So here's to you, revolution! May your flame keep burning still!".
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REVIEW BY NICK EVERETT No LogoBy Naomi KleinHarper-Collins, 2000490pp., A$21.95 "A world united by Benetton slogans, Nike sweatshops and McDonald's jobs might not be anyone's utopian village", writes Canadian journalist Naomi Klein, "but its
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Former Dead Kennedys' front man and candidate in the US Green Party's presidential primaries, Jello Biafra, has endorsed the World Bank bonds boycott campaign on his new spoken-word album, Become the Media. On the album, Biafra talks about the
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The Age of AccessBy Jeremy RifkinPenguin Books, 2000$45 (hb), 312 pages REVIEW BY KARL MILLER According to the cover notes to The Age of Access, Jeremy Rifkin makes his living from lecturing to "CEOs and corporate management". That is clearly the
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Three Days of RainBy Richard GreenbergSydney Theatre CompanyWharf Theatre, Walsh Bay, SydneyUntil May 13 REVIEW BY MARK STOYICH The southern belle makes a welcome return to modern US theatre in this mid-'90s play by prolific New York playwright