For some months now, the nightly television news has been dominated by coverage of Somalia and Bosnia. The famine in the impoverished east African country and the fighting in the former Yugoslav republic have provided viewers
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The politics of desperation The latest unemployment figures show a small drop, but the Australian economy, like capitalist economies around the world, remains stuck firmly in recession. The drop in the figures is little more than a statistical
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A report prepared by the Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade has called for greater Australian participation in the economies of Latin America to take advantage of privatisation and other neo-liberal economic reforms
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In the Mix: The commodification of Malcolm X — In November, Spike Lee's much touted new film on the life of Malcolm X screens in the US. It marks the end point of Malcolm's regeneration in the politics and culture of Black America. Young
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Whose civil liberties? US criminal defence lawyer Alan Dershowitz is probably best known to Australians as Claus Von Bulow's lawyer in the biographical film Reversal Of Fortune (1990). Convicted rapist Mike Tyson has now hired Dershowitz to
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ADELAIDE — About 50 people rallied outside the Santos building on September 12 to protest against the South Australian-based oil company's plan to begin drilling operations in the Timor Gap. John Wishart, representing the CFMEU, condemned the
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The unprovoked massacre of unarmed, peaceful protesters by the Pretoria-backed Ciskei military regime will be met by an intensification of the campaign of mass action for peace and democracy, two senior leaders of the South
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Privatised prisons are already a reality in Australia. There is a new government-built remand centre leased to a private corporation in Brisbane. A new private prison is being built in Junee, NSW, and another in Alice
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With federal elections approaching and under the new leadership of Senator John Coulter, the Australian Democrats issued their electoral platform in July. First there was the Liberals' Fightback; then there was Labor's
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Carrying capacity The letters on immigration by Friel, Evans and Kault (GLW #69) only help to discredit the environmental movement. Arguments about "unsustainable Australian population growth", and about a country's "carrying capacity" are
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A position paper on Aboriginal deaths in custody was prepared by the National Committee to Defend Black Rights and presented in Geneva in July to the United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Populations by Helen Corbett, NCDBR chairperson.
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Will Firth Building bridges From August 5 to 15, some 550 people from 30 countries met in Kaunas, Lithuania, to discuss nationalism in central and eastern Europe. The record participation at this 65th annual congress of the World
News
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National estate forests threatened by APPMHOBART — Large 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ of the Tarkine forests, situated in the north-west of Tasmania, are threatened with logging by APPM. The company plans to set up a world-scale pulp mill in
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Crime a product of social crisis: PriceBRISBANE — While the Liberal, Labor and National parties compete over who can be the toughest against the supposed "crime wave" in Queensland, Democratic Socialist candidate Susan Price
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Rainbow Festival in south-westPERTH — A Rainbow Festival will be held next month in Cambray, just outside of Nannup 300 km south-west of Perth. Cambray is renowned for its spectacular bushland and natural springs. The
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Real issues dodged in Queensland pollBRISBANE — As the Liberals and Nationals desperately thrash around for an issue that can stop the Goss Labor band wagon rolling to victory on September 19, the real issues remain largely
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US President George Bush's announcement of a $1.4 billion expansion of the US Export Enhancement Program (EEP) for wheat exports could cut the price of Australian wheat exports by as much as $40 per tonne. The 29 million tonnes of subsidised wheat
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SYDNEY — There is a "policy vacuum" on energy issues in the NSW government and the state Electricity Commission, says Greenpeace. Conventional power stations produce over 50% of greenhouse gas emissions in NSW, and the
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Protests have occurred in a number of Australian cities in response to the unprovoked attack by Ciskei security forces on peaceful demonstrators on September 7, in which 32 people were killed. The South Australian United Trades and Labour
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ANC representative in WollongongWOLLONGONG — The deputy representative of the African National Congress in Australia, Mahlubandile Radebe, told 200 students at Wollongong University on September 10 that a "soft war" was
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Resistance campaigns at Qld UniBRISBANE — Campaigning in the current elections at Queensland University has been even sillier than usual this year, with gimmicks such as champagne breakfasts on roundabouts, livestock
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Newcastle students fight cuts By Tim E. Stewart NEWCASTLE — Responding to cuts to education in the last federal budget, and frustrated by the inactivity of the University of Newcastle SRC and NUS, campus activists have formed a Committee
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The six unions in metal manufacturing have launched a wage claim for pay rises totalling 6% over the next two years. Stronger union shops will also pursue enterprise deals. The claim will affect about 7000 companies. The rises would be in four
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New premier backed by SA independentsADELAIDE — Under the leadership of new Premier Lynn Arnold, the South Australian Labour government has attempted to distance itself from the John Bannon administration and avoid the
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Anger over rape verdictADELAIDE — On August 24, a court here acquitted a man accused of raping his wife. The judge's remarks to the jury outraged many people. The judge told the jury that it was quite astounding the
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EYA activities The Environmental Youth Alliance's new office Sydney was launched on September 10. Indonesian environment activist Helmi Fauzi thanked EYA for the solidarity shown with the Third World, particularly EYA's efforts to protect
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And with feral premiers "I've got a friend who has a savage dog, and when I visit he has to get hold of its collar and half-throttle it before I can get out of the car. That's how you deal with unions." — Joh Bjelke-Petersen. Robbing
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Right takes Young Labor SYDNEY — In elections for NSW Young Labor on September 6, for the first time in 20 years the right factions won the positions of state president and state secretary. The left immediately cried foul and announced it
World
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Thousands of Guatemalan refugees in Mexico are thinking of returning home. MIKE KAY reports from Guatemala. In 1981 the military regime of General Lucas Garcia began what was, even by Guatemalan standards, an incredibly brutal counterinsurgency
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'Respectable' Germans encourage racismMembers of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Social Democratic Party (SPD) have been accused of assisting racist attacks on immigrants and refugees in Germany by
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British-US tensions over Cuba trade banLONDON — The British government is refusing to cooperate with US attempts to tighten the economic embargo against Cuba. Officials from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)
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In June Amnesty International secretary general Ian Martin addressed the annual general meeting of the US section of Amnesty in Los Angeles. The following is an excerpt from his speech on human rights in the US, reported in the September issue of
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New report on Dili massacre LISBON — A new report demonstrates that the death toll in the November 12, 1991, massacre of civilians in Dili greatly exceeded the Indonesian government's claim of 50 killed and 90 "missing". The report,
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Move to impeach Brazilian president RIO DE JANEIRO — A formal request for President Fernando Collor de Mello's removal from the presidency was presented to the national Congress on September 1 by leaders of Brazil's press and bar
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Investors frightenedSeveral Japanese banks and investment houses in Berlin have said they fear attacks against Japanese businessmen and investors, particularly in eastern Germany. Japanese businessmen have been mistaken for
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Joss Debrecery is a member of the New Zealand NewLabour Party and a student at Otago university. During a recent visit to Australia, Joss attended the Resistance national conference in Melbourne and the Students,
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An emergency situation continues in the regions of Nicaragua devastated by a tidal wave on September 2, according to reports from the Augusto Cesar Sandino Foundation (FACS). Thirty-seven communities and villages, and 16,913 people, were
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Polish workers fear foreign takeoversWARSAW — when a high-level US mission arrived here recently to determine why there is not more foreign investment in Poland, there was a single recurring complaint: the investors felt
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Essop Pahad, 54, first became politically active in the Transvaal Indian Congress in the late 1950s and was elected to its executive in the early 1960s, after which he was detained and then banned. He is a member of the Central
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Non-Aligned back Cuba JAKARTA — Washington must end its hostile actions against Cuba, says the Non-Aligned Summit's final declaration. The document, approved by the leaders of the movement's member nations on September 7, states the 30-year
Culture
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Melanie By Melanie Woss Edited and compiled by Fiona Giles Picador, 1992 Reviewed by Carolyn Beecham Melanie Woss committed suicide in 1989 at the age of 17. She was one of 380 young people in Australia, aged between 15 and 24, who took
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A project designed to raise funds for, and awareness of, world refugees has been organised by Austcare and radio station JJJ for September 18 to 27. Titled "Australian music caring for refugees", the project includes around
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The Proceedings of Ecopolitics V Edited by Ronnie Harding University of NSW Centre for Liberal and General Studies $40 ($45 to non-registrants) Reviewed by Carolyn Beecham The proceedings of the Ecopolitics V conference, held at the
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Final Exit: The practicalities of self-deliverance and assisted suicide for the dying By Derek Humphry Australian edition prepared by Dr Helga Kuhse Penguin Books, 222 pp. $18.95 Reviewed by Mario Giorgetti After an extraordinary 18 weeks
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Low, written by Daniel Keene, is showing at Adelaide's Red Shed until September 26. The play features Ulli Birvé and Syd Brisbane as two down and out lovers who turn to crime as a way of making their dreams come true. Photo by Lisa
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Near Ms's Written and performed by Sue Ingleton Directed by Kerry Dwyer At the Athenaeum, Melbourne, until September 27 Reviewed by Bronwen Beechey At the beginning of Near Ms's, Sue Ingleton states that the reason for her bringing her
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The perfect couple, but ... Yellow Roses Written and directed by Roxy Bent Presented by Vitalstatistix in conjunction with the Festival Centre Trust, Adelaide September 17-19 and 22-26, 8.15 pm. Matinee September 24, 11 a.m. Reviewed by