Issue 288

By Jeremy Smith On August 20 the federal Industrial Relations Commission handed down an important decision on tenure and conditions for casual and contract staff working in tertiary education. Since 1995, the National Tertiary Education and

By Margaret Gleeson SYDNEY — There were few surprises for opponents of the Bob Carr/Michael Egan plan to privatise NSW electricity generation and distribution in the committee of inquiry report released on August 28. The committee, chaired by

By Graham Matthews On August 30, eight activists were arrested in Townsville while trying to prevent the transport of the dredge to be used in the Hinchinbrook Channel for the building of Keith Williams' 1500-room resort, canal estate and marina

By Chris Spindler SYDNEY — All Burma Student Democratic Front (ABSDF) representatives Myint Thu and Ye Win addressed a public meeting here attended by 140 people on August 24. They heard from a panel of speakers on the political situation in

By Tom Flanagan DARWIN — A strong statement against the racist politics of Pauline Hanson was made here on August 26. Eight hundred people rallied outside a One Nation party recruiting meeting in suburban Nightcliff. This was despite prior

CANBERRA — Twenty members of the Greenpeace Climate Rescue Team were arrested and charged with trespass on August 20 after disrupting a conference here. They were protesting against the federal government's refusal to join world efforts to cut

MARIA NAVARETTE, better known as MARIA CHICHILCO, representing the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), has just finished a national speaking tour organised by the Salvadoran community and the Committees in Solidarity with Latin

By Param Paramanathan In Sri Lanka's north, the Tamils are suffering because of the government's greed for more land, whereas in the south, the Sinhalese workers are suffering because of the multinationals' greed for more and more profit.

Government seeks to discredit Teamsters' president By Barry Sheppard Ron Carey, president of the Teamsters' Union, which just won a historic strike against United Parcel Service, has won increased respect among teamsters and the

Number of executions doubles By Eva Cheng The number of people executed in China last year to at least 4367, according to Amnesty International. Most were killed with a single gun shot to the back of the head, after staged mass rallies and

By Renfrey Clarke MOSCOW — Since the days of perestroika, the US government, working through quasi-independent aid bodies and the main US labour federation, the AFL-CIO, has spent millions of dollars trying to fashion a new Russian labour

The Black AdderChannel 7, Thursdays 11.05pm Review by Al McCall It's back from the video vaults, resurrected on rewind — Black Adder has returned. "Black Adder, Black Adder, with many a cunning plan. Black Adder, Black Adder, you horrid little

Rock Against Racism By Paul Howes SYDNEY — Four hundred rockers crowded into the Harbourside Brassiere on August 28 to protest against racism and to listen to 13 of Australia's best known bands. The bands performing at Rock Against Racism

Wall Street — How It Works and for WhomBy Doug HenwoodVerso, 1997, 372 pp. Review by Eva Cheng The US-based progressive periodical Left Business Observer has for years been a valuable source of information and sharp analysis of the US economy