Issue 179

News

Unions see MIM confrontation By Bill Mason BRISBANE — Unions at strife-torn Mount Isa are predicting a major industrial confrontation following the March 10 appointment of Comalco Ltd's Nick Stump to head giant Queensland mining company
Stoppages planned against SA education cuts By Adam Hanieh ADELAIDE — The South Australian Institute of Teachers is planning a series of rolling stoppages on March 14, 16, 21 and 23. The demands are prevention of further cuts to
Women marched in their thousands across Australia on Saturday, March 11, for International Women's Day. In Sydney, Amanda Mitchell reports that more than 3000 women marched to Circular Quay, where they heard speakers on the theme "Women Around
Liberals threaten SA hospital lockout By Melanie Sjoberg ADELAIDE — The state Liberal government has threatened to lock out workers who refuse to carry out full duties from Sunday, March 11. Cleaners and orderlies have maintained bans for
Rank and file discuss woodchip crisis By Andrew Hall SYDNEY— A lively "jobs and environment" meeting organised by the Rank and File Alliance was attended by more than 50 people on March 4. Gavin Hillier, the NSW secretary of the
By Pip Hinman Energy Resources of Australia, the operator of the Ranger uranium mine in Kakadu in the Northern Territory, announced on March 9 that it intends to release radioactive water into nearby Magela Creek. ERA has been given permission
CJC slams Pinkenba Six By Mick White BRISBANE — The Criminal Justice Commission has called for the sacking of a senior police officer over the "Pinkenba Six" incident, in which six police were charged over the abduction of three

World

Italian computer network raided On February 28, at 7am, members of the Carabinieri Anti-Crime Special Operations Group raided the homes of a number of people in Rovereto and Trento associated with the local self-managed social centre "Clinamen".
By Boris Kagarlitsky MOSCOW — Unable to defeat the Chechen fighters, Russian generals have launched a new battle. This time the goal is to force the repeal of a law that allows male students to defer their military service. Complaining of a
By Rodolfo Casals Fifteen Puerto Rican independence fighters, including six women, are currently enduring extremely harsh conditions of imprisonment in US jails. They are regularly strip-searched and held in solitary confinement with no outside
By Eva Cheng At least four groups of political activists braved arrest in the first week of March to make their voices heard in demand for greater democracy in China. They are of diverse background, posing a wide range of daring demands by
Palestinians oppose talks while settlements continue The Centre for Palestine Research Studies in Nablus conducted its 15th public opinion poll February 2-4, interviewing a total of 1089 Palestinians 18 years or older; 669 interviewees were from
By Eva Cheng China and the US have locked horns repeatedly over trade issues in recent years, from the most favoured nation (MFN) benefits to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) membership and from trade balances to intellectual
By Renfrey Clarke MOSCOW — You've got a mountain of highly toxic industrial waste, which can't be reprocessed at a profit. It can be kept from contaminating the environment only if you're prepared to foot a heavy bill. What do you do?
Young people around the world are organising to campaign for social and environmental justice. Over the last five years, a network has begun to develop, opening up the possibility of bringing many of these groups together in collective action. It's

Two years after "Gaza first" comes "Jenin first." Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin staged a public relations coup [in mid-February] when he offered to immediately transfer authority in Jenin to the Palestinian National Authority.

The Zapatista uprising testifies to a new radicalism of the indigenous peoples of Mexico. A range of Indian organisations drafted the following declaration during the November assembly of the National Democratic Convention. They call for autonomy,
The following statement for International Women's Day was issued by Women in Black in Belgrade. March 8th is the international day of women's action of solidarity against all kinds of discrimination against women. Women's solidarity is a

Culture

Vengeful goddess Bandit Queen Directed by Shekhar Kapur Starring Seema Biswas and Nirmal Pandey At Sydney's Mandolin Cinema and Melbourne's Kino Cinema Reviewed by Karl Miller This film is based on the prison diaries of Phoolan
By Jorge Sotirios Tasmania's innovative IHOS Opera returns to Sydney with its much acclaimed production of To Traverse Water. Like its piece of three years ago, Days and Nights with Christ, which dealt with schizophrenia, this production engages
Beyond Blood: writings on the lesbian and gay family Louise Wakeling & Margaret Bradstock, eds Blackwattle Press, Sydney, 1995. 151 pp. $14.95 (pb) Reviewed by Kath Gelber Blackwattle Press promotes itself as "Australia's foremost gay and
Emotion Papa Wemba Realworld through Larrikin Entertainment Reviewed by Norm Dixon Released to coincide with Papa Wemba's appearances at the Womadelaide festival and other capitals, Emotion will come as bit of a disappointment for those
Huxley: The Devil's Disciple By Adrian Desmond Michael Joseph, 1994. 475 pp., $40.00 (hb) Reviewed by Phil Shannon Charles Darwin fretted for 20 years about publishing revolutionary materialist theory of the evolution of species. If all
The Simpsons Channel 10, Wednesdays Reviewed by Dave Riley Confronted with The Simpsons, Walt Disney would turn in his grave. If Uncle Walt's subterranean crypt had access to network television, maybe he would (finally) feel remorse for what
Once Were Warriors By Alan Duff University of Queensland Press, 1994. 198 pp., $15.95 (pb) Reviewed by Peter Riedlinger It was with some misgivings that I bought a copy of Alan Duff's novel. I'd read an interview he'd given and heard him
Jess Hawk Oakenstar features at Sydney CD By Jen Cruthers At Sydney's first Cultural Dissent for 1995, on February 26, several entertaining women performers played to a lively and appreciative audience. The women's performance night
Melbourne's Queer Film and Video Festival By Bronwen Beechey MELBOURNE — Last year's Melbourne Queer Film and Video Festival provided audiences with the first opportunity to see Armistead Maupin's brilliant Tales of the City series, and

Editorial

Smooth market functioning So "rogue trader" Nick Leeson blew $2 billion punting the wrong way on the Nikkei 225 index. So the Mexican peso has almost halved in value against the US dollar in three months. So last week the once mighty greenback