The environmental movement is treading water and slowly drowning. There is abundant evidence that our efforts — and they have been formidable, even heroic — have largely failed. After 30 years of exceedingly hard work and
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In classical Orwellian doublespeak, editorials in the establishment press following the election declared, "A mandate is a mandate", and demanded that the Coalition government be allowed to implement its goods and services
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No less than 599 million By Brandon Astor Jones Like silent precious gems harnessed tightly to a speeding stallionEach second's passage is shouldered as a yoke of eternal weightStrapping down the wretched's limbs, condemned before hell's
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When ordinary people claim they want "tax reform", what they want is an end to tax rorting, legal and illegal and quasi-legal. They want equity in the tax system. During the federal election campaign, Liberal and Labor both
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Reclaim the Night collective rejects exclusion Virginia Brown MELBOURNE — On October 8, the Reclaim the Night collective here passed a motion to reject a bid by some student movement activists (mainly from Left Alliance) to exclude men from
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Reply by Allen Myers Paul Keys (Write on, September 30) bases his criticisms of GLW's Cambodian reporting on unreliable sources. First among these is Nate Thayer, mistakenly described by Keys as "renowned for his penetrative journalism". In fact,
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Educate, activate, organiseCANBERRA — Over the past two weeks, the Canberra branch of Resistance has been holding educational seminars on revolutionary politics. "Young people and revolutionary struggle: The experience of the
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Labor gains in campus electionsThe latest round of student elections has resulted in the ALP (both the "left" and right factions) gaining ground on many campuses, including those traditionally controlled by the activist left.
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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. Ph 9565 5522. Access News —
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Despite the Coalition having received only a minority of votes in the federal election, John Howard is claiming that winning a majority of seats in the House of Representatives gives him a "mandate" to introduce a GST. Howard's claim
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Spit the dummy, why don't ya Like many of my comrades among the Greenly Left masses, I am prone to a wee bit of cynicism every now and then. There's nothing wrong with that. While ideals and the passion they engender may claim a fair share of
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Jabiluka campaign moves to the citiesThe re-election of the Howard government hasn't fazed activists campaigning to stop the Jabiluka uranium mine. Plans to stop Energy Resources of Australia's (ERA) attempt to mine uranium in
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Rumblings from the pews Ann Nugent believes that Catholic women should have the same right as men to be ordained as priests. She is the editor of a newspaper published by the national group Ordination of Catholic Women. She has been punished
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How unions struck against destruction of MedibankJuly 12, 1976, was a historic date for Australian labour movement. It was the date of the first nationwide 24-hour strike called by the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU).
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Write on: Letters to the editor Head On I refer to the review of the film Head On ("Ethnicity, class and sexuality collide head on", GLW September 30) by Conrad Barnett and Natalie Wood: "Ari (Alex Dimitriades) takes us on a 24-hour bender and
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On September 26, it became public knowledge that the Howard government had secretly decided not to ratify the Kyoto climate change treaty. According to the Canberra Times, resources and energy minister Senator Warwick Parer, at a
News
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SYDNEY — On the September 22-24, the St Peter's Society at Sydney University held a seminar series under the title "Abortion Information Week — what really happens in an abortion". Intrigued and concerned by the implied
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Advertisement Do you know anyone with a spare fridge? Following the arson attack on the Brisbane Resistance Centre last month, the local branch of the Democratic Socialist Party urgently needs to replace the refrigerator destroyed by the fire.
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NTEU national council sets strategyThe National Tertiary Education Industry Union held its national council meeting three days before the October 3 federal election. Under the slogan "NTEU: Leading the Industry", more than 200
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ADELAIDE — The long-awaited decision on Green Left Weekly distributors' right to use public space was made by Adelaide City Council at its meeting of October 6. The council supported the recommendations of a report stating that
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Green Left is taking a break Green Left Weekly is taking a break from production next week. The next issue will be dated October 28.
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Election of One Nation senator condemnedBRISBANE — The Democratic Socialist Party organised a speak-out of 50 people in the Queen Street Mall on October 9 to protest the election of One Nation member Heather Hill to the Senate
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'Free Burma, boycott Pacrim!'BRISBANE — "Free Burma, boycott Pacrim!" was the demand of a small but lively group of picketers outside the head office of Pacrim Energy Australia (PEA) in the inner-city suburb of Spring Hill on
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Indonesian rape counsellor murdered A young activist working as a counsellor for ethnic Chinese women raped during Indonesia's May riots was found murdered in her home in central Jakarta on October 9. The Jakarta Post said Martadinata (Ita)
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While Labor rules anywhere "Something's bound to turn up." — David Hill on his career plans, after failing to win Hughes as an ALP candidate. Illustrious "An illustrious son of this blessed land is raised to the glory of the altars." — Pope
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20th anniversary of Reclaim the NightSYDNEY — The Reclaim the Night organising collective here will mark its 20th anniversary on October 30 with a march and rally on the theme "Hands off — our bodies are ours". With these
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BRISBANE — Believe it or not, there is a group of people Australia who are forbidden to earn a living. Because they cannot work, they cannot get Medicare. They also cannot receive social security benefits. They are not even allowed to do voluntary
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SYDNEY — The implementation of the deal which ended the dispute between Patrick Stevedores and the Maritime Union of Australia has hit serious snags here. MUA central NSW branch deputy secretary Jim Donovan has claimed in an
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ADELAIDE — Anti-racism activist Peter Lord was attacked in his home on September 30 by three men he believes were right-wing extremists. Lord has been threatened in the past by members of the neo-Nazi organisation National Action
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The socialist vote declined in the October 3 federal election, reflecting the swing back to the ALP in traditional Labor seats, where most of the 39 left candidates stood. The Greens and the Australian Democrats also suffered a
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Union wins fight over casino rostersADELAIDE — The Adelaide Casino has lost its fight to hire what it calls "loyal staff" on Sunday rosters. The dispute began in late August when a new enterprise agreement was due to be
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Poor conditions for unpaid carers MELBOURNE — A five-year study has exposed the poor conditions of unpaid carers in the home in Victoria. The study by health professionals reveals that most carers are women, and a large number are on duty
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Carr's public transport hypocrisySYDNEY — A last-minute deal saved the face of the state Labor government during NSW's inaugural Public Transport Week, October 5-11, when the railways unions called off a planned 24-hour strike.
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The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) lists the basic rights and freedoms that every person is entitled to. December 10 will be the 50th anniversary of the document's drafting. Many Australians are probably unaware of the existence of this
Analysis
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Racism: the fight isn't over When One Nation failed to win more than one Senate seat, National Party and other politicians were quick to claim that the racists had been "turned back". The implication is that racism can be defeated simply by keeping
World
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The embattled government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has turned to some of the African continent's most reactionary forces in its bid to halt the mutiny in the east of the country. Having achieved the limited objectives
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International news briefs Korean bank strike aborted A planned strike led by South Korea's Federation of Bank and Financial Labour Unions (KFBU) to defend 18,700 jobs was called off on September 29, the day it was scheduled to take place. The
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Behind India's food crisisNEW DELHI — India stands on the brink of a food crisis to rival the darkest periods of its modern history. "In five years' time, this issue will be settled in the streets with riots, massacres,
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Indonesian anti-military campaign gains supportThe Indonesian political establishment has finished celebrating two of its most "holy" days. These were Pancasila Day on October 1, celebrating the crushing of the Indonesian Communist
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Despite a chain of summit meetings since early October among the world's most powerful countries, they remain far from a solution to the spreading economic crisis which, exploding first in July last year in Asia, is threatening to
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Three years after the Croatian army took control of the Serbian-held areas of Croatia, those who were caught between the warring parties continue to face enormous obstacles in their attempts to return to their homes and way of life.
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The myth of Indonesia's development of East TimorThe latest round of UN-sponsored talks between Indonesia and Portugal this month keeps the door of hope open for East Timor's supporters. Yet the daily reality in that country
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Nepali student movement holds conferenceKATHMANDU, NEPAL — The All Nepal National Free Student Union (ANNFSU), Nepal's largest student organisation and one of the world's largest left student organisations, held its 14th national
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On October 9, the Italian government of Romano Prodi lost a vote of no confidence in the Italian lower house, the Chamber of Deputies. The fall of the Prodi government, which has been in office since the 1996 Italian general
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Official Indonesian reports of a relaxing of the "military operations zone" status of Irian Jaya (West Papua), and of a cease-fire agreement with OPM (Free Papua Movement) activists, are contradicted by the OPM's denial of such an
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MEXICO CITY — October 2 was the 30th anniversary of the bloody suppression of the Mexican student movement, when the army opened fire on a demonstration in the Plaza of the Three Cultures in the Tlatelolco housing complex. For
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Renewed war in East Timor The Indonesian military has increased troop numbers in eastern East Timor and is engaged in a renewed war against the people, according to the Australian East Timor Network (AETN). AETN said last week that it has reliable
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Despite its claim to be the world leader in human rights, the United States is failing to respect fundamental rights at home and abroad, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL said on October 6. AI has released a report on US human rights and launched its first
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Fernando Henrique Cardoso, leader of the centre-right Brazilian Social Democratic Party (PSDB), was elected for a second term as Brazil's president on October 4. With Brazil's economy on the brink of a collapse similar to those
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Secondary students protest prison spending SAN LEANDRO, California — On October 2, thousands of high school students in San Leandro left their classrooms to protest against too much state spending on prisons and too little on schools.
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By Nadeem A. Ansari Pakistan's chief of the army staff, General Jahangir Karamat, submitted his resignation on the night of October 7 to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. This resignation is a result of Sharif's effort to rule the country with absolute
Culture
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Love, booze and social justice Upstairs @ Lamberti'sThe Hooligans Review by Barry Healy The Irish folk tradition is a broad church. It includes everything from the respectable, squeaky-clean Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem through to the
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MELBOURNE — Aifunan Midar (Sweet Flowers), a play devised and performed by 18 members of the East Timorese community, opened here on October 8 at Gasworks Theatre. The play uses traditional singing and drumming, coupled with
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A head start that went to waste? Temper Democratic: How Exceptional is Australia?By Humphrey McqueenWakefield Press, 1998. 261 pp., $24.95 (pb) Review by Phil Shannon Humphrey McQueen has been poking his Marxist nose into Australian society for
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Review by James Vassilopoulos As it happened: the Greek Civil War SBS TVFriday, October 16, 8pm (7.30pm SA) A far greater tragedy than the ancient Greek playwrights Euripides, Aeschylus or Sophocles could ever have written befell the Greek people
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Privatisation Come gather round children and sit on the floor,I'm sorry there aren't any chairs any more.Take this rag, little Johnny, wipe the tears from your eyes,The news is our nursery has been privatised.What's that, Helen darling, oh where