A key question in the bushfire debate is the relationship of fire to the ecology of the Australian bush. Perspectives on this question are crucial in assessing the role of burning in any fire management strategy, and in any
-
-
The citizens of the city and county of San Francisco can be very proud of their sheriff, Michael Hennessey, for his uncommon courage and leadership. Sheriff Hennessey has broken away from the bureaucratic,
-
Since 1976 a radical bank in Bangladesh has transformed the lives of several million of its poorest people. A local group called RESULTS is now lobbying the Australian government to have it support a scheme to have the bank
-
By Anne O'Callaghan SYDNEY - "Over 200 years of oppression, racism, dispossession and incarceration have created the state of the mental health of Aboriginal people today. The psychiatric profession does not own the mental health of our people.
-
Conrad Black Conrad Black (who bought Fairfax) is serialising his autobiography in the Australian. Henry "Napalm" Kissinger is a close friend of Conrad, and described, by Conrad, as "a great man". Conrad's prose style is very reminiscent of the
-
BRISBANE - The Criminal Justice Commission inquiry into the death of Aboriginal dancer Daniel Yock in police custody was adjourned on December 22. Just prior to its adjournment, the inquiry took evidence from the six police
-
MOSCOW - In the last week of December, one of the leading figures in the newly elected Russian parliament was expelled from Bulgaria after urging the replacement of Bulgarian President Zhelyu Zhelev, whom he described as
-
"Dear Jesus, my baby is dead. God knows they didn't have to kill my baby boy!" Those words echoed throughout the tiny chapel. When Evette uttered them, her body went limp and fell into the stoic grips of her deacon, as they held her upright by
-
The people of New South Wales are looking back on the state's most serious bushfire crisis for 50 years. Yet with many fires still burning, what is usually the worst part of the bushfire season is still to come. The fires have
-
Happy New Year! 1994, the United Nations International Year of the Family. Isn't it meant to make us feel all warm and gooey inside? Isn't that why special issues of a 50 cent coin and a $5 note are going to be produced? The family is being
-
The 450 metre tall Omega mast at Darriman, Victoria, is perhaps the largest US top secret military project hidden in the open, carefully disguised as a vaguely inaccurate navigation transmitter dedicated to the worthy cause of
-
Forget reading the tea leaves, don't dissect your pets, ignore the latest Ukrainian mystic and other soothsayers who get reported in the media at this time of year. GLW gives you the definitive 1994 predictions. January:
-
Fear From the Book - A series on books of enormous influence that struck fear into the establishment of the day. - The Rights of Man, published over 200 years ago, alarmed all those who dreaded revolution in Europe. In it Thomas Paine called for
-
Christmas 1993 heralds half a decade of our revolution. As 1994 approaches, it is important to reaffirm our thoughts and aspirations so that we take the challenges of the new year with renewed vision. Every citizen should
-
Resources used in fighting the NSW bushfires were distorted by economic and political concerns. Initially, the Department of Bush Fire Services swung thousands of volunteers into action across the state. However, Greg Lofthouse,
-
According to the January 12 Financial Review, the insurance industry, a major beneficiary of the services of firefighters, is considering proposals to relieve itself of a levy that provides about three quarters of total NSW fire brigade funding.
-
1994 promises to be a very exciting year for the left and progressive people. In April will come the first democratic election in South Africa. Green Left will be there to cover it. Over Easter, the International Green Left Conference will draw
-
PERTH - The biotechnology park at Coogee here is part of a larger development (Port Catherine) which is going ahead nicely. However, the core of the biotechnology aspect of the park is the large abattoir currently operated by the
News
-
BRISBANE - Six people were arrested on January 14 after a picket to save the detoxification hospital at Biala. The Goss government is planning to close the 29-bed detoxification hospital on January 16 as the first stage in
-
SYDNEY - A range of exciting projects to develop links between socialists and progressive movements in Australia and around the world was discussed at the Democratic Socialist Party's 15th national conference, held January 3-8.
-
BRISBANE - Meetings of members of the Public Sector Union in the Department of Social Security here have voted to impose additional half-day office closures as an expression of "deep concern" over funding cuts to salary budgets and
-
MELBOURNE - The year-long struggle over Richmond Secondary College appears to have entered its most critical phase. Despite its public agreement to re-establish a coeducational facility in the area, the Kennett government has
-
Overtime rates should be cut to discourage workers working longer hours, says former Australian Council of Social Services (ACOSS) president Julian Disney. Professor Disney's comments follow last November's statement by the
-
SYDNEY - Independent green councillor Nick Masterman died on January 2, after being diagnosed as suffering from the asbestos-related disease, mesothelioma, in late November. He is believed to have contracted the disease while working as an apprentice
-
New South Wales Rugby League players have negotiated the best employment conditions of professional sports people in Australia. The players are members of the Rugby League Players' Union, which joined the Media, Entertainment
-
BRISBANE - Supreme Court Judge John Dowsett has said he is "heartily sick" of government agencies' applications to install secret listening devices in Queensland. Speaking on January 12 during a Criminal Justice Commission
-
Port Kembla grain terminal workers voted unanimously on January 13 to ban exports to Papua New Guinea. The ban will prevent a scheduled shipment of grain from leaving Port Kembla on January 28. Announcing the ban, South
Analysis
-
The release of the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics employment figures was greeted with enthusiasm by the federal government and big business alike. "Sensational", exclaims Chris Caton, chief economist for the Bankers Trust Australia. "At last:
World
-
Medical staff, inhabitants and authorities of the besieged Bosnian city of Mostar have addressed an appeal for help to humanitarian organisations throughout the world. The appeal, made on January 4, was translated and distributed by the Croatian
-
BOCHUM - A 17-year-old pupil in Aurich, in the state of Niedersachsen, has had to go into hiding and receive police protection after neo-Nazis terrorised him and his family. This pupil is among 250 German citizens who, because
-
In Mexico, a new revolutionary organisation, the Frente Zapatista de Liberacion Nacional (FZLN) has been born. Made up mainly of indigenous people, it demands land, democracy and an end to the repression and massacres carried out by the military
-
"Amnesty International urges the Government of Australia to halt any further provision of helicopters to the PNGDF and to conduct an immediate review of all military aid to PNG. It recommends that such aid be suspended until the
-
ALEX CHIS, a member of the editorial committee of Independent Politics in the United States, was in Moscow in October to attend the international labour conference "Modern Telecommunications: New Vistas for Workers' Solidarity", which was primarily
-
NAFTA was overwhelmingly ratified by the Mexican parliament last month, following the close vote in the US Congress. From San Francisco, SEAN HEALY reports on the changes it will bring. The North American Free Trade Agreement is ostensibly about
-
MANRICO MORO provides an update on the peace project promoted by Beati i Costruttori di Pace (Blessed Are the Peace Makers), a pacifist non-government organisation based in Italy. It's now just over a year since I travelled to Sarajevo with 500
-
The new left Causa R party emerged from elections on December 5 as a major force in Venezuela. From merely three deputies and no senators, official results indicated that the labour-based party would claim one-fifth of the
-
Viktor Ivancic, the chief editor of the well-known Croatian opposition satirical magazine Feral Tribune, was forcibly mobilised into the military on January 5. According to a statement by the editors of Feral Tribune, Ivancic received a call-up
-
Some years ago social psychologist Ignacio Martin Baro wrote that in El Salvador government officials had imposed an "institutionalised lie" upon society, which he defined in general terms as "the systematic screening of
-
Something unexpected has appeared in Zagreb - Women's Infoteka, a women's information and documentation centre. Women's Infoteka was founded and registered in December 1992, with regular activities beginning in March 1993. The feminist/women's
-
As internal debate within the Philippines Communist Party deepens, the Ramos government is seeking to exploit the situation. Within the first two weeks of 1994, a CPP leader aligned with the anti-Stalinist or "rejectionist" wing
Culture
-
Chaos A.D. Sepultra Roadrunner Records Reviewed by Kest It sounds like the herald proclaiming the end of the world. Perhaps even more than in their previous album Arise, Sepultra have made a record of utter desolation and anger. They
-
Addams Family Values Greater Union, Hoyts Reviewed by Kath Tucker It's twisted, funny, and even politically correct. That bizarre family turns traditional "American values" upside down in the most accessible way possible. If you're into
-
Youth Subcultures Edited by Rob White National Clearinghouse for Youth Studies, 1993 162pp. $28 Reviewed by Sean Malloy Theoretical or analytical books on subcultures are not commonplace. However, discussion and debate are flourishing in
-
Mau Mau - a revolution betrayedMau Mau Research Centre, New York. $10 Reviewed by Ndungi wa Mungai Maina wa Kinyatti is the foremost researcher on the Mau Mau in Kenya. In this small book he summarises the most recent
-
Cybergod Nausea More Songs About Plants and Trees Various Allied Recordings Reviewed by Kest "His omnipresent power is felt in every home/ Feel his warm static embrace, you'll never be alone/ His flickering gaze emanates the divine
-
Noel Counihan: Artist and RevolutionaryOxford University Press Australia, 1993. 568 pp., $59.95 (hb) Reviewed by Phil Shannon "Knock them off their feet with truth and reality", wrote an artist friend of Noel Counihan
-
Daens Directed by Stijn Coninx Academy Twin, Sydney Reviewed by Frank Enright Nominated for an Academy Award for "Best Foreign Film", Daens is a powerful film built on a solid story. There's no Hollywood glitter sprinkled all over this
-
The Long Journey: South Africa's quest for a negotiated settlement Edited by Steven Friedman Ravan Press, 1993. 206 pp., R66 Heroes or Villains? Youth politics in the 1980s By Jeremy Seekings Ravan Press, 1993. 108 pp., R44 Marabi