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Nationalise the wharves!

Nationalise the wharves! By Dick Nichols Imagine that we have just woken up and all of Peter Reith's dreams about waterfront “reform” have come true. How much do we “average” Australians stand to gain from it all?  

Chronology of a crisis

Compiled by James Balowski July-October, 1997 — The rupiah starts to crumble. Jakarta abolishes managed exchange rate system and asks IMF for assistance; a US$43 billion package is announced. January 6, 1998 — Indonesia announces 1998-99

Pakistani working class begins to stir

Pakistani working class begins to stir By Farooq Sulehria On May 5 Pakistani workers observed a two-hour strike at the call of the Pakistan Workers Confederation, which groups eight major federations. The call was given by PWC under immense

Celtic rock: from the extraordinary to the pedestrian

Bothy CultureMartyn BennettRykodisc through FestivalThis Strange PlaceWolfstoneGreen Linnett Records through Festival Reviews by Barry Healy From Bob Dylan's amphetaminecharged '60s ballads and the Beatles' and Jimi Hendrix's LSD-drenched anthems,

... and ain't i a woman?: Biology as ideology

Biology as ideology "Why is it that wealthy old men seem to attract beautiful young women?", asks well-known Australian scientist and author Paul Davies. He answers: "something deeply biological is involved ... the battle of the sexes is just

Federal budget no answer to health crisis

By James Vassilopoulos The small funding boost for some health programs in the federal budget will not address the massive cuts that occurred in the Coalition's 1996 budget. Nor will it provide the expansion that is needed in the public health

Web wars: Micro$oft and the price of the internet

By Arun Pradhan If we are to believe self-proclaimed "technology gurus", we have entered a realm where people swim in a sea of free information, interactive entertainment that is better than life and immediate communication with anyone, anywhere at

Suharto on the brink

By Max Lane The rubber stamp People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) appointment in March of Suharto as president for another five years was the trigger that escalated a wave of student demonstrations which spread right around Indonesia. These

Pete Seeger: fighting back with music

Pete Seeger: fighting back with music By Tom Bridges “I had a beautiful long-necked banjo, the 'Pete Seeger' model ... and I played it constantly. I had a sweetheart too, who gave me a Pete Seeger album for my birthday ... At last

'Why didn't they arrest him 20 years ago?'

Tom Fawthrop PHNOM PENH — Kim Bophana is bitter about the failure of US plans to capture Pol Pot and deliver him to an international tribunal. Bophana lost 38 relatives during the 1975-79 Khmer Rouge rule. "The US had the power to arrest Pol Pot

Carr pushes for more police powers

By Gemma Doherty SYDNEY — In recent weeks in NSW, both major political parties have been trying to outdo each other in statements to the media about the "law and order" issue. Premier Bob Carr's plan, announced last month, to help police tackle

Arief Budiman backs IMF in Indonesia

Comment by Helen Jarvis SYDNEY — More than 100 people, mainly Indonesians, packed into Burwood Community Centre on May 9 to hear Indonesian sociologist Arief Budiman speak on the topic "Can Suharto survive democratisation?" in a meeting organised