In recent times Prime Minister John Howard has spoken out against the "black armband" view of Australia's history. He seems to prefer that the shameful and sorry treatment of Aboriginal peoples at the hands of
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Risking the planet for big business profitsAs the December climate conference in Kyoto approaches, the rich capitalist countries are refusing to agree to emission targets that begin to reduce the levels of greenhouse gases
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Pick up any newspaper in any city on pretty much any day of the week, and there'll be at least one article quoting one or another politician, so-called expert or social commentator on how "society" is paying a price for
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Women students expect lively debateNext year's conference of the Network of Women Students Australia (NOWSA) will be held at the University of Western Sydney. The large group of activists who volunteered to organise it
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The following is abridged from a strategy paper prepared by the socialist youth organisation, Resistance, for the National Education Conference in Melbourne, December 6-7. In 1998, for the first time, Australian undergraduate students will enter
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Blood pressure expert supports hospital mercury banDevelopments toward safer working environments for hospital workers exposed to mercury received a boost late last year. International medical opposition to phasing out
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In September the Australian Law Reform Commission had the temerity to brief the current federal government on its view of Howard's 10-point plan to extinguish native title. It warned that the proposed legislation is probably
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Something for nothing John Winston Howard, MHR (Lib) Bennelong: It would be impossible for me to give you — with no scientific training — even a glimpse of my knowledge and achievements in organic chemistry. You know me as a
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Pregnancy and discrimination The Tasmanian Sex Discrimination Commission's annual report, released earlier this month, reveals that complaints of sexual discrimination increased by 80% in the last year. Twenty-three percent of the
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Suncorp-Metway staff reject non-union agreement BRISBANE — Staff at the newly merged Suncorp-Metway Bank voted on November 14 to reject a non-union industrial agreement. Although the plan was defeated by only 51% to 49%, Janice Mayes, state
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Living in the Olympic stateSYDNEY — Maximising profits for property developers tendering for the Olympic Village, by not requiring a component of affordable housing, was motivated by the government's desire to "drive
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Actively Radical TV — Sydney community television's progressive current affairs producers tackle the hard issues from the activist's point of view. CTS Sydney (UHF 31), every Thursday, 10pm and Saturday, 7pm. Access News — Melbourne
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SYDNEY — On November 15, the National Union of Students NSW branch conference passed a motion limiting the role of the activist Cross-Campus Education Network (CCEN). This is a significant shift away from the state branch's
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Emulsifying your enemies' internal organs (or design under capitalism)From that very silly Commonwealth Bank logo to the handle on your fridge, you can be pretty sure that a professional designer had a part in shaping your
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Monkey business By Brandon Astor Jones "The Simiadae then branched off into two great stems, the new world and the old world monkeys; and from the latter at a remote period, man the wonder and glory of the universe, proceeded." —
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The family home is hardly havenBy Margaret Allen John Howard and his government are determined to reinstate "family values". But while Howard may extol the virtues of a return to the comfortable and relaxed nuclear family, the reality is
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Nuclear avoidance ANSTO's Prof. Helen Garnett faced a Senate Estimates meeting on November 12. She refused to answer many of the questions put to her about the proposed new reactor in southern Sydney, claiming commercial confidentiality or
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International Women's Day takes aim at HowardSYDNEY — Feminists are preparing for International Women's Day 1998. The Sydney collective aims to bring together as many women as possible against the Liberal government's
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Dili massacre commemorated PERTH — On November 16, 300 people marched through the streets of Fremantle to commemorate the 1991 Dili massacre and protest the Australian government's continued support for the Suharto regime. They demanded
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In defending its determination not to commit Australia to binding greenhouse gas reductions at next week's international meeting in Kyoto, and in fact to seek approval to increase Australian emissions, the Howard government has
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The Millera people in New South Wales are struggling to protect their ancestral lands and culture from devastation by Ross Mining's gold mine. They have presented the first native title case concerning mining, rather than pastoral leases. KATHY
News
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New airport driven by profits By Alistair Dickinsonand Rupen Savoulian SYDNEY — Developers of the Badgerys Creek airport will make big profits, while residents will pay the cost, Kay Vella, a coordinator of the western Sydney anti-airport
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CANBERRA — Not content with demolishing public sector jobs and services, the Howard government has decided to demolish public buildings in Canberra, supposedly to get the economy going. Sound bizarre and irrational? But wait ...
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Burmese leader to visit A Burmese democracy leader, Dr Thaung Htun, will visit Australia to participate in the Asia Pacific Solidarity Conference being organised by the Asia Pacific Institute for Democratisation and Development (API) from April
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Activists sued over Kumarangk campaignADELAIDE — Five more organisations and individuals are being sued for defamation by Thomas and Wendy Chapman, the proprietors of the development company Binalong, formerly associated
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SYDNEY — A group of overseas trained doctors are on a hunger strike to protest discrimination against them. The Australian Doctors Trained Overseas Association (ADTOA) is trying to counter a sustained campaign by the
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Rallying for native title SYDNEY — More than 300 people rallied at the Town Hall steps on November 21 to support native title and Aboriginal land rights. Speakers included Ian Cohen, NSW Greens MP; Dr Arthur Chesterfield-Evans from the
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DARWIN — The Northern Territory government and the Darwin City Council have rejected appeals for water and toilet facilities for homeless Aborigines camped under the busy flight path of the international airport in Ludmilla. The
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Bus drivers to walk out over cutsBRISBANE — Bus drivers employed by Brisbane City Council are preparing to take strike action to protest against threatened cuts to jobs, pay and conditions. The workers rallied in King
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SYDNEY — The Capsicum Gas Monitoring Committee, which has done extensive international research into the use of this chemical weapon, has condemned the announcement by state police minister, Paul Whelan, that capsicum gas would be introduced into
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Campaigning for a free East TimorPERTH — On November 12, East Timorese and their supporters attended a protest at Parliament House to commemorate the 1991 Dili massacre. Amidst crosses bearing the
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Progressive gift-giving Just in case you haven't ventured near a shopping centre in the past few weeks, there is something you may need to know. Those who celebrate Christmas will be doing so in a matter of weeks. That means the shops are
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Another Aboriginal death in custody in WA PERTH — Another Aboriginal person has died in custody in Western Australia, the Deaths In Custody Watch Committee (WA) has reported. "His body was found in his cell on the evening of November 14 at the
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MELBOURNE — After two successful strikes and demonstrations, more actions are planned in the campaign against cuts to WorkCover. The Kennett government is planning to dramatically cut payments to injured workers; change the
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CANBERRA — The Aboriginal tent embassy has issued an invitation for the "great gathering of the elders" — a corroboree for sovereignty — to mark the 26th anniversary of the embassy and survival day, January 26, 1998. The embassy is inviting
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Hinchinbrook: new evidence of disasterBRISBANE — Keith Williams' Port Hinchinbrook development is again under a cloud of controversy after reports last week that thousands of litres of acidic water have poured off the site
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HOBART — Around 40 people attended a film night organised by Everyone for a Nuclear Free Future (ENuFF) on November 18. The films shown were irt Cheap, about uranium mining in the Northern Territory; Take Heart,
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New premises for Women's Liberation House SYDNEY — New premises for the Sydney Women's Liberation House have been found after an accidental fire destroyed the original centre on June 6. The new address is 43 Bedford Street in Newtown.
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DARWIN — In August last year, the Northern Territory government changed the law relating to unpaid fines. Until then defaulters were sentenced to do community service work. The government abolished that option and replaced
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Move for legal recognition of same-sex couplesBRISBANE — The Queensland Labor opposition announced last week that it will introduce an amendment to the Powers of Attorney Act to include the recognition of same-sex
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Population implosion "We are all capitalists now, with 1.2 million Australians buying about $8 billion of shares in Telstra." — Sydney Morning Herald editorial, November 18. Oh so modern "The [socialisation] objective, totally
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The Tax Office section council of the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU), meeting in Sydney on November 13-16, discussed how to respond to the threat of compulsory redundancies in the Australian Taxation Office. Management
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Greenhouse action in lead up to Kyoto conferenceCANBERRA — A speak-out in Civic on November 21 organised by members of Resistance condemned the Howard government's stance on the greenhouse issue. The Australian
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On December 1, the 50 year-old Commonwealth Employment Service will cease to exist and the Public Employment Placement Enterprise will take over its functions. The 5000 remaining CES workers face the unenviable choice of either
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An ominous silence from Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) officials has marked the end of the first stage of Telstra privatisation. By November 17, after weeks of being tied up in working parties and negotiations over an
Analysis
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l = Editorial: US out of the Persian Gulf! l = US out of the Persian Gulf! The US government has threatened to launch a military attack on Iraq over a relatively insignificant matter to do with the composition of the United Nations Special
World
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Turkey's one-year-old Liberty and Solidarity Party's (ODP) annual congress on October 26 was attended by thousands. The ODP brings together various strands of the Turkish left which have fought against repressive regimes for
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Israeli racism murders Palestinian childWEST BANK — On November 11, a Palestinian child was shot in the head by an Israeli soldier in Bethlehem. He was pronounced dead on November 15 by Israel's Hadassah hospital. Ali
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Corruption scandal hits Russia's 'young reformers'MOSCOW — During a meeting with Boris Yeltsin on November 4, "young reformers" Anatoly Chubais and Boris Nemtsov reportedly urged the Russian president to sack business
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In early October, Italy's Party of Communist Refoundation (PRC) withdrew its support for the ruling Olive Tree coalition government of Prime Minister Romano Prodi because of the cuts contained in the government's draft 1997-98 budget. However, after
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NEW YORK — An Amnesty International report released on November 19 documents a spiralling increase in violence in Algeria, which has claimed up to 80,000 lives since 1992. Amnesty called for an international investigation into recent massacres and
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West Papua: Indonesia's brutal colonialismLife in "Irian Jaya" — the name the Indonesian government gives to West Papua — is akin to the colonies of Spain in Latin America, or Europe in Africa. The land and its fruits
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Suharto blocks East Timorese asylum seekersThe Indonesian government is refusing to allow six East Timorese sheltering for more than three months in the Austrian embassy in Jakarta to leave for Portugal. Indonesian authorities
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Dita Sari hospitalised with typhoidOn November 18, the Javanese daily Surya reported that the chair of the Centre for Labour Struggles (PPBI), Dita Indah Sari, had been admitted to the Syaiful Anwar hospital in Malang,
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Prisoners' group condemns ANC Youth League bidThe SA Prisoners Organisation for Human Rights (SAPOHR) has expressed "shock and outrage" at the ANC Youth League's involvement in a consortium bidding for a multimillion-rand
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Washington seeks revenge for successful UPS strikeA former federal judge, acting on behalf of the capitalist government, has barred the Teamsters' current president, Ron Carey, from running for re-election. Carey
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South Korea: another Asian economy in troubleSeoul's November 21 call for assistance from the International Monetary Fund is the latest sign that the South Korean economy, the 11th biggest in the world, is in deep trouble.
Culture
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Global Spin: The Corporate Assault on EnvironmentalismBy Sharon BederScribe Publications, 1997. 288 pp., $24.95 Review by Allen Myers It is hard to find words sufficiently enthusiastic to describe Sharon Beder's new book. This is an outstanding
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Pope JoanPerformed by the Women's CircusDirected by Sarah CathcartAt the Old Police Garage, Russell Street, MelbourneThurs-Sat, 8.30pm, until December 6 Reviewed by Bronwen Beechey The Women's Circus began as a project for women survivors of
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Left on-line ApologyList is collecting apologies from white Australians for the removal of Aboriginal children — the stolen generations — citing that fact that almost half of the Aboriginal deaths in custody investigated by the 1988 Royal
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Sting like a butterfly, buzz like a bee Bernard ShawBy Michael HolroydChatto & Windus, 1997. 834 pp., $49.95 (hb) Review by Phil Shannon "A good man fallen amongst Fabians" — so Lenin was alleged to have summed up the playwright
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Activist launches first bookADELAIDE — About 100 women crowded into the Lion Bar of the Lion Arts Theatre Complex on November 11 to congratulate well-known activist Marg McHugh on the launch of her first book, What Would
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Seven years in TibetA film by Jean-Jacques AnnaudReleased by TriStarOpening at Hoyts on December 4 Review by Allen Myers First things first. The Tibetan people should have the right to self-determination, including complete independence from
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The Bottom LinePeter HicksSend $22.50 to PO Box 163, Camperdown NSW 2050 Review by Alex Bainbridge The Bottom Line is the first solo album by left-wing Sydney singer/songwriter Peter Hicks for several years. The result is excellent — a truly
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Fremantle's women take centre stage Waterfront WomenDeckchair Theatre CompanyDirected by Angela Chaplin, written by Marcus HughesVictoria Quay, Fremantle, until November 29Regional WA tour to December 6 Review by Anne O'Callaghan The Port
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Money? How much for a breath of fresh air?Is it very expensive, should consumers beware?How would I be for a smile,Will it come with a warranty, last for a while? Would world peace cost the earthWill we all pay the priceIs our generation
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Music at the Creek — as the November 7-9 Major's Creek Folk Festival is known — has been running for five years. Each year it attracts more musicians and larger audiences to the former gold-mining hamlet about 15 km south of