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A shelf full of heresies

United States: Essays 1952-1992 By Gore Vidal Abacus, 1994. 1295 pp., $19.95 (pb) Reviewed by Phil Shannon Gore Vidal has, for most of his 70 years, been writing novels, plays, essays and journalism in a brave attempt to hold back the

A welcome resource for lesbians

Lesbian Sex By the ACON Women's Team 1994 (Women and AIDS Project & Glidup) Reviewed by Kath Gelber "This booklet is for anyone who identifies as a woman and who has sex with other women", proclaims the first line in this informative

How do people end up on death row?

By a US death row prisoner How do people end up on death row? Many would answer this question a million ways. Problems with family, the way you are raised, being poor, drugs etc. There is pressure upon the president. The way they run this

Loose cannons

Employable "With my skills in life, I am employable elsewhere." — NSW Labor right MLA Bob Martin, threatening to resign and cause a by-election if he was dropped from the front bench. Loyalty "If you only want to run for the big jobs, what

Acid jazz, psycho-funk and electric humpbacks

Not Necessarily Stoned Society Through Disculture Reviewed by Norm Dixon This terrific little CD single, by Sydney-based band Society, came as a pleasant surprise when I popped it onto my stereo. Two extended tracks focus on issues that

Write on

Hilton explosion I am not quite sure of the point of attempting to maintain that what happened outside the Sydney Hilton Hotel on 13 February 1978 was not a bombing as Joan Coxsedge and Gerry Harant do in their article "Fallout from an

A very 'ordinary' commentator

Studs Terkel's Chicago SBS, Thursday, April 20, 8.30pm Reviewed by Norm Dixon Studs Terkel is one of the United States' most celebrated radical writers. In his long life he has been a gangster (at least in radio soap operas), a DJ, a

Queensland ALP factions duel over affirmative action

By Dave Riley BRISBANE — A major factional spill during last year's state ALP conference dismembered the party's left wing. Two key left unions — the Miscellaneous Workers' Union and the metalworkers — allied themselves with factions of

Major parties vote themselves another $15 million

By Lisa Macdonald Two weeks ago, the ALP, Coalition and Australian Democrats voted themselves a windfall totalling over $15 million. The Commonwealth Electoral Amendment Bill (No. 2) 1994, passed by the Senate on March 30, was a deal

Life of Riley: Bump me into parliament

Bump me into parliament Dave Riley How do you reckon I'd go as prime minister? It's a thought, isn't it? Instead of the glint from John Howard's glasses, the light at the end of the tunnel could be me. Of course, I'd keep doing these

Deaths in custody at 'unacceptable' level

By Craig Cormick SAM WATSON is an Aboriginal activist, writer and manager of the Brisbane Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Legal Service. He recently talked to CRAIG CORMICK. You were recently a guest at the Sydney Writers' Festival.

Kazakhstan's parliament is dissolved

By Boris Kagarlitsky MOSCOW — Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbaev has always stood out among political leaders in the former Soviet Union for his skill at manoeuvring in quickly changing situations. As a Communist Party official of Kazakh