'Mass destruction in slow motion'BRISBANE — "When the war ends and the guns are silent, the mines remain", Overseas Service Bureau state representative Jenny Davidson told a public meeting here on May 19. Dr John Ward, NSW
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Police harass Wilderness Society 'koalas'"If the streets of Cairns are not safe for koalas, they're not really safe for human beings", responded Greg Sargent, branch secretary for the Wilderness Society, commenting on the
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Iain Aitken, in "The use-value of postmodernism" (GLW May 25), falls squarely into the trap set by postmodernism which has caught so many, often well-intentioned, leftists before him. This is the illusion that postmodernism is
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Everyone knows that when applying for a job you have to "sell yourself". Selling yourself is like selling any other product: the packaging must be appealing and the price attractive enough to make the purchaser feel that he/she
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Fudged definitions Ron Guignard, in his article "Is Marxism Scientific?" (GLW #145), seems to have fudged both his definitions of Marxism and of science. Ron's definition of science is constructed in such a way that nothing can be
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HOBART — The "Pedder 2000" campaign — to restore Tasmania's Lake Pedder to its original condition — has attracted considerable attention since it was launched on April 18 by David Bellamy, Bob Brown and the David Suzuki Foundation. They said it
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Introducing Asian Studies — Political Economy in Postwar Eastern Asia — This series begins with a look at the differing policies and rates of growth in the region from China to Japan. Part one of a 13-part series. ABC Radio National, Friday, June
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Have you ever thought about who owns Green Left? Did you think perhaps it might be part of the Packer stable, or the Murdoch empire? With practically every other newspaper or magazine in the country, if you answered that way, you'd probably be right.
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MELBOURNE — Under legislation which took effect on June 2, Victorian police now have the power to demand name and address of anyone. Police can also take fingerprints and body samples without having to apply to a magistrate first. The Federation of
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Riley IncAre you concerned about social issues and corporate ethics? Are you looking for financially sound investments that are socially responsible? Then look no further. Now you can integrate your personal values with your
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SYDNEY — Why, in a city with unacceptable pollution problems, are we pumping still more pollutants into the air through an inefficient and irresponsible transport system? In Sydney 90% of commuters travel by
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Meet the TaylorsOn May 22, Precious enjoyed teething on my eyeglasses case; and while she has now gone back to Chicago Heights, Illinois, her scent permeates that case. She was a full eight months old yesterday.
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MANILA, June 3 — For the last week a battle has raged here in the Philippines capital for the right to hold the Asia Pacific Conference on East Timor, despite systematic attempts by the Ramos government to prevent it happening and
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Meeting focuses on juvenile justicePERTH — Between 200 and 250 people packed the Social Science Lecture Theatre at the University of Western Australia on May 30 for a forum entitled "Juvenile Justice two years down the
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Ron Guignard (GLW, June 1) argues that Marxism is not scientific because it fails to meet "a rigorous definition of pure science", and because a series of predictions about the development of society supposedly made by Marx have
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By "Peaceful Protester" DARWIN — About 20 East Timorese and Australian protesters rallied in front of the Indonesian Consulate on May 24. Crosses with the names of those murdered were leaned against the front fence of the consulate. We stood
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Masterpiece: From Shore to Shore — This documentary examines both the continuity and the changes that have affected Irish traditional music since the turn of the century. By showing the development of Irish culture in New York, it illustrates what
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Maternity allowances The federal Labor government last week mooted a proposal to pay maternity allowances through the social security system to women workers employed in the private sector. It has been described as a pro-women reform,
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Romeo Legaspi, an outspoken columnist and publisher of the Voice of Zambales, was last seen by his family on January 11, 1993. After the Filipino journalist vanished, police showed his family photographs of a charred corpse. It
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There are more than 20 cities worldwide with a population of more than 10 million. Seventy per cent of the "mega-cities" are in the Third World, but some cities in the advanced capitalist countries are undergoing their own process of
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BRISBANE — A public meeting of the Labor Women's Organisation on May 25 was addressed by a panel of speakers concerned about the low proportion of women among Labor MPs. The speakers were: Joan Kirner (former Premier of
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The following article is reprinted, slightly abridged, from the rank and file building workers' journal Back on Track. When Juan Antonio Samaranch announced, "The winner is Sydney" on that Friday, September 24 1993, New South Wales rejoiced. And
News
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CSIRO staff work inBRISBANE — The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation division of tropical and animal production facility at Long Pocket, on 7.2 hectares of prime riverfront land, is under threat of
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The declaration of a whale sanctuary in the Southern Ocean is a " major victory", says Greenpeace whale campaigner Robbie Kelman. The International Whaling Commission (IWC) approved the creation of the sanctuary, which excludes
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MELBOURNE — An agency bargaining deal between the Department of Social Security and the Public Sector Union will not go ahead following a decision by the PSU National Delegates Committee (NDC) to withdraw from discussions and
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ADELAIDE — 7000 public sector workers, including teachers and nurses, mobilised on May 24 in opposition to massive job cuts proposed in the SA government's audit commission report on state finances. The establishment media,
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MELBOURNE — Community groups have united once again to fight government plans to increase the traffic capacity of Alexandra Parade. "There is strong community concern about this plan to push a six-lane freeway through
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World Environment Day, June 5, was marked by marches, rallies, and festivals in Australia's major cities. Nationally more than 1000 young people, including large numbers of high school students, mobilised to highlight their concerns, both global and
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PERTH — The West Australian Forest Alliance (WAFA) and the Wilderness Society have decided to take direct action in an attempt to block the destruction of valuable forests. A blockade has been planned, which will start with a
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Shoalwater sand mining dumpedBRISBANE — In what the mining industry has described as its biggest setback since the banning of mining at Coronation Hill in the Northern Territory, a federal government inquiry has recommended
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Fight to save Hillview hospitalPERTH — A community group fighting to save the Hillview adolescent psychiatric hospital has walked out of discussions with the Health Department. The Friends of CAPS (Child and Adolescent
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The family that plays together ... "There is a big misunderstanding between parents and kids. If parents just took the time to be more active with their kids in playing video games, they would understand it more and would be able to participate in
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Kumarangk Coalition fights bridge constructionADELAIDE — The decision to construct a bridge from the mainland to a small island near the mouth of the Murray River has been strongly opposed by local residents, Aboriginal
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HOBART — The 1992 honours thesis of Alexandra de Blas, which studied the impact of the Mt Lyell Mining and Railway Company on Macquarie Harbour and Strahan, was published last week. Its appearance was delayed 16 months by threats
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Campaign aims to save Victorian ambulance servicesMELBOURNE — Seventy people attended a public forum here on May 29 to discuss Victoria's ambulance service and work out ways of campaigning for improvements. The forum,
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By Andrew B. Rens CAIRNS — Students have condemned a plan by the Queensland government to sell off rainforest hill slopes surrounding the future James Cook University campus at Smithfield, north of here. The land, which adjoins World
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Murri community targets skyrailBRISBANE — The Djabugay community has claimed native title over the Barron Falls National park near Cairns to prevent construction of the $35 million Kuranda Skyrail. The skyrail, for
Analysis
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His master's voice "Caved in to employer pressure" and "Brereton's backflip" were the typical responses of the establishment media to the announcement that industrial relations minister Laurie Brereton would modify the unfair dismissals
World
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Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has responded to the latest threats to Venezuela's sovereignty from US President Donald Trump, in which the US leader promised "swift and strong actions" if Venezuela decides to proceed with the July 30 elections for a National Constituent Assembly.
Maduro called Trump's threats "vulgar", TeleSUR English reported. He said: "The process of the constituent assembly is already in the hands of the people who will exercise their right to vote. This is my response, the constituent assembly does not belong to me.
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Kazakhstan miners need support The following message was issued by Vassilli Myasnikov, president of the Independent Miners Union of the Western Donbass (Ukraine) on May 28. The miners of Karaganda from Kazakhstan have been on strike since
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A white male of the baby boom generation is about twice as likely to get cancer as his grandfather was, and a white female of the same age has about a 50% greater chance of getting cancer than her grandmother did, according to
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Anti-Shell campaigner arrested in Nigeria Ken Saro-Wiwa, leader of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) in Nigeria, was reported on May 26 to have been charged with the murder of four Ogoni elders. A representative of the
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Greenpeace delays missile tests At the third attempt, the British Navy test fired a Trident nuclear missile for the first time from a submarine off the Florida coast on May 26. Two earlier attempts by the submarine, HMS Vanguard, to fire the
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Greenpeace finds 'barbaric forestry' in Russia VLADIVOSTOK — Greenpeace on May 23 called for an end to destruction of the unique forests of the Russian far east by Russian and multinational logging companies. A three-week expedition based on
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When Ukraine declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, it seemed likely to be the most viable of the ex-Soviet states aside from Russia itself. The country had a hugely productive domestic agriculture, enabling it to
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SYDNEY — Forty people gathered outside the office of the Philippines Department of Tourism here on May 31, protesting against the attempts by the Philippines government to stop the Asia Pacific Conference on East Timor in Manila
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Situated 4000 metres above sea level, amongst the glaciers and tropical alpine valleys of the central highlands of West Papua, is Indonesia's biggest and most controversial mine, the Freeport-McMoran copper and gold operation at
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Hungary's May 29 elections brought a triumphant return to government of the Socialist Party (HSP), the "reformed" Communists, who ruled the country from 1945 until 1990. But it is unlikely that this victory of the HSP will give
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RACHEL EVANS and RAY FULCHER visited the Philippines for three weeks in April. Here they describe, in words and pictures, life in Payatas, the largest active rubbish dump in Manila. The infamous Smoky Mountain proved too much of an embarrassment
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SYDNEY — "Clearly, with the expansion of all forms of punishment in NSW, what we are seeing is not a crime wave but a punishment wave", states a review of prisons in NSW by the Inter-Church Committee on Prison Reform. The
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The treatment of Grbavica, the suburb of Sarajevo occupied by Serb Chetnik forces, is as uncertain as the future of the city as a whole. The suburb remains an inglorious symbol of the collective traumas suffered by the city during two years of siege
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Thirty women have been murdered in Algeria in the last few months for not wearing the veil. Other women have been raped or abducted. These crimes followed the circulation of a leaflet by Islamic fundamentalists stating that any woman not wearing
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ZOLILE MTSHELWANE interviews SAM SHILOWA and ZWELINZIMA VAVI, Congress of South African Trade Unions general secretary and assistant general secretary, about the main issues to be discussed at the 5th national congress of COSATU in September. This
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MOSCOW — Every spring since the Chernobyl catastrophe in April 1986, the Russian press has returned to history's worst nuclear disaster. In the first years, the articles focused on the heroism of the
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The following is slightly abridged from a statement issued by the African National Congress government of the province of PWV. World Environment Day offers the new South Africa and our province the chance to address the pollution legacy of
Culture
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Action updates.
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MELBOURNE — This year's 3CR Radiothon will be held June 13-26. The station has been broadcasting for 18 years, providing a voice for many groups and interests which find it hard to gain access to the establishment media.
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Accidental Death of an Anarchist By Dario Fo Director: Robyn Archer Cast includes: Mick Molloy, Stephen Rae and Vince Sorrenti Footbridge Theatre, Sydney, until June 19 Reviewed by Arun Pradhan The twisted perspective of the comic book
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Last week I saw Ordinary Fascism, a fascinating documentary on Nazism by Soviet film maker Mikhail Romm. Made in 1961, it is remarkable both for its portrayal of that weird brand of fascism and for the way it does so.
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Australia's Spies and Their Secrets By David McKnight Allen & Unwin, 1994. 350 pp., $24.95 (pb) Reviewed by Phil Shannon David McKnight takes the knife to the boil of Australia's secret police in his history of ASIO. In a very detailed and
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Baraka Baraka A film by Ron Fricke Reviewed by Andrea Carroll "Baraka" is an ancient Sufi word meaning a blessing or the breath/essence of life. Through a series of stunning images, the film explores the theme of the essential unity of
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The Culture of Complaint By Robert Hughes Oxford University Press, 1993 Reviewed by Bill Doyle Robert Hughes is probably best known in this country as the author of the excellent The Fatal Shore, or perhaps as the cheeky, slightly lairish
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Blues, bluegrass and classical Peculiaroso Leo Kottke BMG Records, Private Music Label Reviewed by Jill Hickson Leo Kottke, billed as one of the most innovative steel-string guitarist of all time, has produced an album of beautifully