The meeks are gathering
Blessed with the opportunity to meet with the GLW reading public over the recent Easter break, I am pleased to announce the founding of a new third force set to shake up electoral politics in this country. Mrs A. Meek of
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Protests greet Goss mega-dam plansBRISBANE — Protests have begun over plans announced by Premier Wayne Goss on April 19 for two huge dams in central Queensland. The dams, part of a major pre-election economic package, would
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PERTH — The WA Forest Alliance and Wilderness Society are encouraging people of all ages, levels of fitness and degrees of concern to see the Sharpe Forest and be active in its preservation. On April 24, the Department of Conservation and Land
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This is the text of Cuban President Fidel Castro's speech to the concluding session of the United Nations Summit on Social Development, held in Copenhagen in March. The text is from Granma International. "Life is built on a dream, and dreams are
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More than 170 states that have signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) are meeting to discuss whether the treaty should be renewed. The NPT came into force in 1970. Anti-nuclear groups and some of the more powerful newly industrialising
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People will remember Keating's infamous "Get a job" remark to a group of demonstrators taking part in the March 23 national day of action against fees. From Keating's attitude, and the fairly minimal media coverage, you could be
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In 1991 the United Nations passed a resolution which called for a moratorium on the use of driftnets on the high seas. Driftnets are defined by the UN as gill nets over 2.5 kilometres long and left to drift beyond the exclusive economic zone of any
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The war in Bosnia-Hercegovina has now passed its third year. It has been three years of a public and inept display of international conflict resolution and mediation by the "great" powers and the organisations that purport to
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Forgiveness, today!'What will it take for all of us to transcend ancient angers, hurts and assumptions? — Donna Britt in the Washington Post. No-one in the USA knows more about how slow black people are to
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So Robert McNamara, the architect of the United States war against Vietnam of the 1960s and 1970s, now considers the war a "mistake", and an "unwinnable war." I doubt it. The real problem was that the US and its allies such as
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Somewhere between 2.6 and 3.8 million US men and women served in Vietnam during the years 1965 through 1971, the years when chemical herbicides were being used to denude the jungle and destroy enemy crops. Alongside the
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Education was made "free" in the 1970s because an increase in participation rates was critical to the continued expansion of capitalism. There was considerable structural change in the economy, with a transfer from more
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Internationally, May Day is celebrated as the working people's holiday. It is a tradition that began late last century in the struggle for the eight hour day in the USA and Australia. As a tradition, the day is a mark of solidarity with working
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Trading off basic needs In June 1993 the Keating government reduced a "safety net" wage rise being negotiated with the ACTU by $4 a week. This wage rise had earlier been agreed in Accord Mark 7, before the 1993 election. The pay-off for the
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A wide-ranging patent granted in the US at the end of March to the National Institutes of Health, a major government-funded research body, will cripple the development of life-saving gene therapies. NIH has given the
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Actively Radical TV — Community television's progressive current affairs program that tackles the hard issues from the activist's point of view. CTS Sydney (UHF 31), every Friday, 10.30pm. Movie: Dilemma (1989) — A socially committed woman
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Nomination I'd like to nominate the Honorable Gareth Evans for the inaugural award of the Crichton-Browne statuette to the Australian politician for outstanding achievements in disservices to humanity. The award already affectionately known as
News
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RMIT students oppose smart cardMELBOURNE — Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) is intending to collate information on student spending habits and movements. The university is proposing to introduce magnetic
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Adelaide campaign for East Timor takes offADELAIDE — The campaign in support of a free East Timor is well and truly under way here, with several successful meetings and events over the past month. On April 7, Resistance
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Principles "We want to make life as difficult for them as they made life for us ... they used their numbers on the floor to block sensible, rational legislation ... they can count on us using all the forms and procedures and every tactic in the
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Governments and media alike are promising extensive benefits from the recommendations on competition policy known as the "Hilmer Report". A recently released Industry Commission (IC) study on the report projects
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MELBOURNE — The Victorian government has invested over $1 million in an advertising campaign which promotes the economic and social benefits of a Grand Prix in Albert Park. This amounts to a campaign of
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Melbourne rally for East TimorMELBOURNE — About 500 East Timor supporters picketed the opening of the "Great Expectations: The United Nations at 50 Years" Conference at Melbourne University on Thursday, April 27. The
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Green elected in NSWSYDNEY — Ian Cohen from the Greens has won a seat in the state's upper house. Other minor party candidates elected include the right-wing Shooters Party and Call to Australia, as well as a Democrat
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SYDNEY — Bulldozers have moved into bushland at the North Ryde and Beecroft sections of the M2 tollway, but the campaign to stop the construction continues. A blockade has been in place at Terrys Creek, North Ryde, since the
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More deaths in custody SYDNEY — "The death of Adam Bessell, 53 years old, who died of a heart attack at Cooma Prison on April 21, only strengthens the Watch Committee's position that the Royal Commission recommendations must be implemented and
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Sexism in the judiciaryBRISBANE — Remarks by a federal Industrial Court judge on April 13 that "It is not unknown for a woman to sleep her way to the top", have drawn outrage and criticism from a wide range of women and
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BRISBANE — The shooting death of a 16-year-old youth during a confrontation at a suburban Rochedale house on April 25 has provoked a nationwide debate on vigilante justice for home owners in the face of break-ins. The death
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Just one month into his four-year term, NSW Premier Bob Carr has angered trade unionists with his proposed cuts to the NSW public sector. Carr is taking steps to corporatise State Rail freight services, and has warned that
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May Day on South CoastWOLLONGONG — Workers, students and community activists are expected to rally on May 6 for the annual May Day March in support of justice for all peoples. Leading the march will be picketers
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SYDNEY — On the evening of April 8, Vibe Tribe's free community party, "Freequency", in Sydney Park, St Peters, was attacked. The party had been in progress for over two hours, when numerous police squad cars and paddy
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MELBOURNE — "Stop woodchipping old-growth forests" was the chant as 40 people from Friends of the Earth, the Wilderness Society and the Cross Campus Environment Network marched through the city on April 21. The action was
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Rail union militant campaigns for membership controlBRISBANE — Gary Dale, a suburban train guard with Queensland Rail, has launched a campaign for membership accountability and militant policies in the state branch of the
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$3000 up-front fee for NSW law studentsSYDNEY — The three-month professional legal practice course at the College of Law will cost students $3000 plus materials fees of around $250, up front, in 1996. The college says
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Protest against human rights violationsSYDNEY — More than 100 people gathered outside the Global Cultural Diversity Conference on April 28 to protest against continued human rights violations in East Timor, Bougainville
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BRISBANE — Workers at Mount Isa Mines struck for 24 hours on April 24 in a continuing bid to win pay and other demands, and prepared to cut power to the giant MIM mine. The Mt Isa combined union disputes committee has
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Timorese meet UN secretary-generalMELBOURNE — Some 100 East Timorese and members of the Australia-East Timor Association rallied outside the Grand Hyatt Hotel on April 27. Inside, United Nations Secretary-General Boutros
Analysis
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Public relations gone wrong The first Global Cultural Diversity Conference held at Darling Harbour in Sydney last week may have brought together 1000 delegates from around the world in an impressive show of skin colours, ethnic costumes and
World
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SARAH STEPHEN, who was recently in Scotland, spoke to TOMMY SHERIDAN, Scottish Militant Labour councillor, about Militant Labour and the progressive movement in Scotland. Could you give our readers a bit of background on your organisation and
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By Daniel B. Schirmer Philippine-US relations appear to be on the verge of a radical and retrogressive shift — reinstating US military dominance of the island nation after it had been seriously challenged by the Philippine Senate's defeat of
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LONDON — A sharp polarisation of voters towards the extreme right and left was a key feature of the first round of the French presidential elections, held on April 23. French presidential elections are held in two rounds if
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Freeing of hijacker 'condones terrorism' HAVANA — Cuba on April 19 warned that the release of Leonel Macias, who murdered a Cuban navy officer and hijacked a vessel to the United States last August, is equivalent to condoning terrorism.
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By John Lindsay-Poland The US military revealed for the first time on March 9 which US bases in Panama it plans to consider keeping beyond the year 2000, when the Carter-Torrijos Treaties mandate their withdrawal. In hearings convened by
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More student leaders arrested in IndonesiaDemonstrations have taken place in Yogyakarta and the central Java city of Solo in protest against the arrest of 10 activists from Students in Solidarity with Democracy in Indonesia
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We have received word from Kurdistan that for some time a women's army has been in existence among the guerillas there. We spoke to a representative of the Free Women's Movement of Kurdistan (TAJK), who has herself taken part
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Left wins Italian regional voteROME — On April 24, the first day after the regional elections in 15 regions out of 20 in Italy, the headlines of the communist journal Liberazione read: "The French teach: the left wins
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New party launched in El Salvador A new centrist party, "El Partido Democracia" (Democracy Party) was launched in San Salvador in late March. It is a consolidation of those elements which, rejecting Marxism and embracing social democracy, split
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In 1946 the paramount chief of the Marshall Islands made the now famous statement: "If the US government and the scientists of the world want to use our island and atolls for furthering development, which with God's blessing will result in kindness
Culture
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Bad Boys Starring Martin Lawrence, Will Smith and Tea Leoni Directed by Michael Bey Reviewed by Barry Healy Bad Boys is produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, the people responsible for Flashdance, Beverly Hills Cop, Top Gun and
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Passion in DarwinOn the eve of Good Friday, Club Q, Darwin's new queer dance club, presented Passion, its most spectacular and well-attended night so far. By 1am, when Erica and her Disciples were ready to perform, 300
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The things that happen on Yungaburra RoadSYDNEY — Death Defying Theatre's Yungaburra Road, written by Noelle Janaczewska, provides an examination and voyage into all forms of violence: individual, community, national
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Shelley: The Pursuit By Richard Holmes Harper Collins, 1995. 830 pp., $49.95 (hb) Reviewed by Phil Shannon In 1819, Percy Bysshe Shelley was collecting his mail from England at a post office in Rome. When his name was called out, a
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Aboriginal voices SYDNEY — A new book, Voices of Aboriginal Australia: Past Present Future, will be launched on Tuesday, May 9, 6:30pm, at the Glebe Town Hall, 160 St John's Rd, Glebe. The date is the fourth anniversary of the final report of
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Kind Hearted Woman Michelle Shocked Self-produced Reviewed by Jen Crothers Michelle Shocked has not had an easy road in the music business. It started with the unauthorised release of what she now calls the "Texas Campfire Thefts" (The
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Higher Learning Starring Omar Epps, Kristy Swanson, Jennifer Connelly and Ice Cube Written and directed by John Singleton Screening at Hoyts cinemas Reviewed by Sean Moysey The bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City on April 18
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ZR Rifle: The Plot to Kill Kennedy and Castro By Claudia Furiati Melbourne: Ocean Press, 1994. 183 pp., $22.95. Reviewed by Allen Myers Conspiracy is not the cause of history, but history often creates conspiracies. In the three decades
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Two unnervingly hawkish Pentagon documents prepared for the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, and acquired recently by Greenpeace under the Freedom of Information Act, positively seethe with gung ho enthusiasm for a nuclear brawl,
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With the advent of e-mail and the Internet, the art of letter-writing may be disappearing. Still, for many of us letters have the capacity to provoke memories more intensely than any other form of human communication. Sean McLeod, Michael Collins and