Issue 310

News

By Phuong Dang and Sarah Lantz MELBOURNE — On March 8, International Women's Day, a loud crowd of more 1000 women and male supporters rallied at Melbourne's GPO around the theme "Women united for justice and native title". Nyrell Brooks, an
Activists condemn US sanctions By Emily Potts CANBERRA — At the University of Canberra on March 10, members of Resistance held a speak-out against the United States government's sanctions on Iraq. The students displayed many of the items
By Martin Iltis ADELAIDE — On March 8, more than 2000 people took part in actions in support of reconciliation and native title. Around 1200 people gathered at Hindmarsh Square for the Show Your Hand Parade before marching to Rymill Park to link
By Andrew Hall WOLLONGONG — The picket line at the Pivot fertiliser plant has ended after six weeks. A representative of the Australian Workers Union told Green Left Weekly that the four members sacked without notice on February 1 had accepted a
By Ben Reid MELBOURNE — As the rank-and-file Workers First campaign gears up to challenge the conservative leadership of the Victorian metals division of the Amalgamated Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU), the Financial Review has indicated which
Aboriginal hunger strike wins concessions By Francesca Davis On March 10, prisoner Kerry Jones ended a 27-day hunger strike at Goulburn Jail after winning concessions from the prison administration. Jones had decided to hunger strike in response
By Sarah Stephen and Trisha Reimers With the recent charging of two doctors in Perth for performing an abortion, the issue of women's right to control her body and her life has once again made it into the headlines of major newspapers and
Protests against One Nation SYDNEY Around 250 people protested outside a One Nation party meeting featuring Pauline Hanson at the Randwick Racecourse on March 13. The demonstration condemned both Hanson and One Nation's racist policies, and the
By Chris Spindler A Green Left Weekly forum on native title held at Glebe Town Hall on March 12 attracted 50 people. The speakers were Jenny Munro from the Metropolitan Lands Council; Darryl French, NSW field officer with the Aboriginal Education
By Tony Iltis HOBART — Polls have shown 63% of Tasmanians oppose the privatisation of the Hydro Electric Corporation and the Liberals, ALP and Greens all promised before the last state election to oppose the sale. For the past year, however, the
By Will Williams CANBERRA — Half an hour before their lecture on March 10, 12 students at the Australian National University were informed that their first-year Russian course no longer existed. There was no prior consultation or discussion with
Resistance activist contests Swinburne by-election By Kerryn Williams MELBOURNE — Students at Swinburne University will vote to fill a number of student union positions in a by-election on March 24 to 26. Resistance activist Arty Titiz is
Iranian activists commemorate women By Rupen Savoulian PARRAMATTA — About 60 people attended a film night organised by the Association of Iranian Political Prisoners (AIPP) in exile held at the Parramatta Migrant Resource Centre, western Sydney
Last week, the operators of Sydney's Star City Casino announced a $56.8 million loss for the first half of the financial year. The construction and opening of this latest mega-gambling den (held with great fanfare just over a month ago) cost some
'I love my media mogul' If anyone doubts that there will be a federal election this year, they need only observe the spectacle of John Howard and Kim Beazley making promotional videos for rugby league, under the slogan "I love my footy". These
Secret talks on 10-point plan By Angela Walker "Aboriginal people are about to be comprehensively sold out. Secret talks between the Howard government, Senator Harradine, and separately, the ALP, all point to a broad-fronted erosion of the
By Ben Reid MELBOURNE — The growing financial difficulties of the Crown Casino have exacerbated the poor fortunes of the Kennett Liberal government in Victoria. A decline in revenue resulted in Crown posting a loss of over $40 million in the five
By Max Lane BANGKOK — Between March 4-6, affiliates and supporters of the Asia Pacific Coalition on East Timor met for the third APCET conference here. More than 50 representatives from Indonesia, Thailand, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines,
By Jane Beckmann NEWCASTLE — More than 2500 workers joined a spirited and confident rally and march through the streets in support of the Maritime Union of Australia on March 12. A clear message was that the struggle of the MUA is a struggle for
Marchers back Tibetan independence Tibetans living in Australia and their supporters on March 10 completed an 11-day march from Sydney to Canberra, conducted to publicise demands on the Chinese government to recognise Tibet's right to independence
By Matt Bloor KOOPALOONA NIARA — Logging has begun in the pristine, sub-alpine, old growth forests of Koopaloona Niara (Mother Cummings Peak) in northern Tasmania, despite a concerted effort by environmentalists to halt the destruction. For two
By Sean Healy SYDNEY — The administration of the University of Technology has announced it will not be introducing full up-front fees for any domestic undergraduate students in 1999. This follows similar decisions by other university

World

By Frederick Kirschenmann If the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has its way, food now known as "organically grown" may be genetically engineered, fertilised with sewage sludge, and/or irradiated with nuclear wastes. On December 16, USDA
By Norm Dixon "Weapons inspectors from the UN Special Commission in Iraq have a serious public relations problem: Hardly anyone — Iraqi or foreigner — has a kind word for them", reported a Baghdad-based correspondent for the Times of India
Magazine sells out, but editor doesn't Magazine sells out, because editor doesn't By James Balowski In most countries, the editor of a magazine that sold out within a few days and can now be purchased only at more than 10 times its cover price
Japanese activists block nuclear waste ship Anti-nuclear activists in the fishing village of Rokkasho in Japan celebrated a temporary victory on March 10, when a ship carrying 30 tonnes of nuclear waste from France for storage in Rokkasho was
Class-struggle unionism isn't dead By Barry Sheppard Workers at Caterpillar, which produces farm and heavy construction equipment, have been fighting for a fair contract since November 1991, when the company forced a strike by the United
By Renfrey Clarke MOSCOW — No-one who has lived without a car in both Moscow and major western cities can be wholly cynical about the achievements of Soviet society. Whether it's twice-daily Sunday bus services to outlying Sydney suburbs, or the
IWD in Turkey attacked By Norm Dixon Police broke up an International Women's Day demonstration with batons and tear gas on March 8 in Istanbul. Demonstrators were injured in the central Taksim square, the Anatolian news agency reported. The
Libya wins court ruling The International Court of Justice at the Hague ruled 13 to two on February 27 that it had the authority to decide whether Libya must surrender two of its citizens for trial on charges of blowing up a Pan Am jumbo jet over
US car giant collaborated with Nazis By Norm Dixon The Ford Motor Company reaped "enormous profits" from collaboration with Hitler's Nazis, a class action suit claims. Ford used slave labour to build tens of thousands of military vehicles at its
DITA INDAH SARI, chairperson of the Centre for Indonesian Labour Struggle (PPBI) and a leader of the People's Democratic Party (PRD), was sentenced to five years' jail on April 22, 1997, for fighting alongside Indonesian workers for better wages,
By Norm Dixon An investigation conducted for Britain's Channel Four and the London Independent by respected Middle East journalist Robert Fisk has revealed that the Iraqi people are suffering from an epidemic of cancer following the 1991 Gulf War.
Roisin McAliskey freed In January, a London magistrate signed an order for the extradition to Germany of Roisin McAliskey on charges that she was involved in an IRA bomb attack on a British army base in Osnabruck in June 1996. On March 10, that
By Norm Dixon Late last year, a worried President Robert Mugabe consulted Zimbabwe's most revered spirit medium. Through the medium, the spirit of Mbuya Nehanda — the woman executed in 1896 by the British after she led an anti-colonial rebellion

Culture

Having a laugh at racism Mr Nguyen Throws a PartyThe Surf 'n' Theatre CompanyBondi Pavilion TheatreWeekdays 11am and weekends 11am and 3pm until March 21Tickets $6 to $12Bookings (02) 9365 1796. Review by Brendan Doyle What does a "true blue
Talkin' about Survival What are we gonna do about the hole in the sky? What are we gonna do when the water's running dry? What are we gonna do about the air that we breathe? What are we gonna do when there's no food to feed?
All Over MeDirected by Alex SichelWritten by Sylvia SichelPlaying at independent cinemas Review by Becky Ellis "Grrrls go through some serious shit!" So states the publicity flyer about All Over Me, an excellent coming-of-age film about young women
AmistadDirected by Steven SpielbergWith Djimon Hounsou, Matthew McConaughey, Morgan Freeman, Stellan Skarsgard, Nigel Hawthorne, Pete Postlewaite and Anthony Hopkins Review by Norm Dixon Steven Spielberg's $75 million Amistad is really two films.
Political Economy of SocialismBy Makoto ItohMacMillan Press$39.95 Review by Sarah Peart Makoto Itoh's Political Economy of Socialism is a refreshing contribution to the debate around socialism, in particular socialist economics, following the
A short story by Craig Cormick CAPE YORK, 1848 — Kennedy's blood is draining out of him. Seeping slowly into the damp soil. He is lying in the mud with three spear wounds. One in his back, one in his side and one in his thigh. He can feel his
The duchess of King Street The Duchess of MalfiBy John WebsterDirected by Margaret DavisNew Theatre, King Street, NewtownFri-Sun until April 25 Review by Allen Myers If it were now September, I would declare this almost certainly Sydney's play of
A tragic, exotic love story A Mongolian TaleOpens at the Valhalla, Glebe, on March 19 Review by Francesca Davis Set in the breathtakingly beautiful steppes of Mongolia, A Mongolian Tale is the story of two young people whose personal lives are
How to attract capital Auschwitz had it all. Within the wire, therewere two huge factories —Krupp and Siemens. These pre-eminent Germancapitalists, were "stoned"by investment conditionsin Auschwitz. The Nazi State fed 'em!No medical
Fascinating AidaAida in Sydney Review by Tony Smith It is not often that a dedicated fan of an established act visits the theatre and comes away an even more ardent admirer. Too often, high expectations lead to disappointment, so those who go with

Editorial

Editorial: Racism and elections Racism and elections For almost six months now, the federal Coalition government and the big business media have been scaremongering about a possible "race-based election". If the Senate doesn't pass his 10-point