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Rage Against the Machine: Renegades of funk

Renegades of funk BY RICHARD PITHOUSE Rage Against the Machine have lobbed their last sonic Molotov cocktail at musical mediocrity and political injustice. Rage Against the Machine, by far the most politically radical rock band to achieve major

Acehnese supporters target defence force

BY JOHN GAUCI SYDNEY — One hundred and fifty people rallied outside the Australian Defence Force headquarters here on January 20 to support self-determination for the Indonesian province of Aceh. The action coincided with a self-determination

Racist loses appeal in defamation case

BY JESSICA ROSE ADELAIDE — The full bench of the South Australian Supreme Court has ruled against Michael Brander, head of the racist National Action organisation, in his defamation action against Messenger Newspapers. Brander claimed that he

LATIN AMERICA: Trend toward dollarisation accelerates

BY SEAN HEALY Two shockwaves have hit the Central American country of El Salvador in the first weeks of January. One, a massive earthquake which measured 7.6 on the Richter scale, struck on January 13 and killed more than 600 people, devastating

Nurses strike for extra staff

BY JACQUI LEE FREMANTLE — Western Australia's nurses made the condition of the state's health system a make-or-break election issue when on January 15 and 16 they struck, refusing to open beds unless staffing levels were increased. The

McDonald's workers excluded

BY GRANT COLEMAN PERTH — On December 12, the Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers Union (LHMU), Australian Hotels Association (AHA), and the Chamber and Commerce Industry (CCI) finalised a deal to increase WA hospitality pay rates to the

Labor in damage control as Kaiser quits

BY JIM McILROY BRISBANE — The Queensland Labor government is in deep trouble after one of its leading lights, MP for Woodridge and former state secretary Mike Kaiser, quit the ALP and announced he would not stand in the upcoming state election.

$27 million for Hewitt, violence for workers

BY GEORGINA DAVIES MELBOURNE — Australian tennis ace Lleyton Hewitt has reportedly signed a five-year sponsorship deal with Nike valued at a cool $27 million. The contract reportedly also includes a bonus clause that could double the figure if

Depleted uranium row rages

Depleted uranium (DU) is a by-product of uranium enrichment. Enriched uranium contains a greater percentage of the uranium-235 isotope than natural uranium, whereas the DU by-product contains less uranium-235 (and more uranium-238).

Rorts fill universities' funding hole

BY VIV MILEY Universities are lowering academic standards in order to pass a greater number of full fee-paying domestic and international students, the preliminary results of a new study of academic freedom has revealed. The soon to be released

Unions 'need to get rid of dog eat dog mentality'

BY TIM STEWART Since the election of the federal Liberal-National Coalition government in 1996, very few unions have been prepared to adopt an attitude of struggle at all costs. Instead of employing tactics aimed at winning gains against the bosses

Blackwater threatened by mine closures

BY BILL MASON BRISBANE — Mineworkers, their union and townspeople have condemned a decision by BHP to close two underground mines at Blackwater, 200km west of Rockhampton, and the resulting loss of 200 jobs. The closure of the Laleham and Kenmare