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By "Michael", "Jonathon" and "Rupert" CANBERRA — The Indonesian ambassador's August 19 reception (commemorating the proclamation of the Republic of Indonesia) was shaping up to be just one more ho-hum event on the diplomatic cocktail circuit —
The AlchemistBy Ben JonsonDirected by Neil ArmfieldBelvoir Theatre until September 29Reviewed by Jonathan Strauss Why should an end-of-the-20th-century audience greet with guffaws and hearty applause a 385-year-old black comedy, focused on our
Irish Nationalists address meeting by phone By Tyrion Perkins BRISBANE — A meeting of about 100 people here on August 24 spoke directly to Irish activists in Ireland and the US. Australian Aid for Ireland organised an amplified telephone, and
By Jorge Jorquera PERTH — The leadership of the WA branch of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union is facing a challenge in the union's September elections. Since May Day, the opposition ticket has run a dirty campaign against the
Ecstasy: Three Tales of Chemical RomanceBy Irvine WelshRandom House, 1996. 276 pp., $20 (pb)Reviewed by Nick Fredman Irvine Welsh is the young Scottish writer who shot to fame in 1993 when his first novel, Trainspotting, a gritty tale of 1980s
Russian defeat brings hope for peace in Chechnya By Renfrey Clarke MOSCOW — August 1996 seems destined to be remembered as the point when Russians came to accept that their armed forces had lost the war in Chechnya, and when the regime of
Indonesia: the land of a million political prisoners By James Balowski Political trials have become regular events in Indonesia. Thousands of the regime's opponents — communists, radical nationalists, students, Muslims and labour activists
Violence Everywhere In the fury of the storm when the wind turns gale, in the struggle between predator and prey, violence strikes. Violence breaks the will, enforcing difference. It looks to ends: disregarding means It has become a feature
By Neville Spencer From July 27 to August 3, the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN) hosted one of the most unusual international conferences ever. The EZLN, in spite of not being able to operate freely and legally, invited people from around
By Marina Cameron "Government schools will lose a potential $323.6 million over four years as a result of an accounting trick employed by the Howard government in order to disguise a broken promise", said Sharan Burrow, president of the Australian
The Howard government's budget has set Australia on the road towards a "two-tier" health system: one tier for the wealthy, and another for the rest. In the United States, where such a system is in place, the human cost is appalling. A recent
Liberals and the Democrats By Barry Sheppard The "liberals" had their day at the Democratic Party convention — they were allowed to speak in respectful disagreement with President Bill Clinton, while using their influence to exhort those