Issue 345

By Melanie Sjoberg ADELAIDE — Premier John Olsen and the state Liberal government are squirming with embarrassment over their handling of state public sector workers' wages and conditions in recent weeks. Prior to the end of the 1998 school year,

Mass picket supports locked-out workers By Michael Bull MELBOURNE — More than 600 people heeded a call to attend the picket line at the Australian Dyeing Company (ADC) on January 13. The ranks of the picket again swelled by more than 50 people

Historic houses threatened By Emma Murphy MELBOURNE — The planners for Melbourne University Private — an annexe of Melbourne University reserved the rich — have announced the demolition of 18 National Trust-listed terrace houses in Carlton.

Casino workers continue campaign By Bronwen Beechey ADELAIDE — Workers at the Adelaide Casino are continuing their campaign for a collective workplace agreement, despite harassment and intimidation from management. The workers, members of the

Public servants strike for job security By Stuart Martin CANBERRA — On December 17, 2000 members of the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) employed in the ACT public service went on strike for 24 hours in protest against the Liberal

Brisbane River 'a sewer pipe' By Bill Mason BRISBANE — The Brisbane River, and the Bremer River flowing into it from Ipswich, have become "sewer pipes", funnelling pollution, effluent and sediment into Moreton Bay, a report has revealed. The

Opposition grows in MUA By Dick Nichols A mood of anger and revolt is sweeping the ranks of the Maritime Union of Australia. The impact of the MUA-Patrick deal (set to be extended to P&O Ports) and the loss of the industry roster for

CANADA — Canada has topped the United Nations' Human Development Index for the past five years. However, a new report, released by the UN on December 4, condemns Canada's federal and provincial governments for exacerbating poverty and homelessness

The myth of the pink dollar in the US Is there an economic dividing line in the United States based on sexual orientation? In a report released late last year, Dr Lee Badgett establishes that gay, lesbian and bisexual people are not richer than

By Ebrahim Afshar The murdered bodies of two active members of the Iranian Writers Association(IWA) were found on the outskirts of Tehran in December. Later, it was disclosed that the two, who were kidnapped a week apart, were immediately strangled

'I will always strive to engineer a better society' By Sue Boland The Indian revolutionary movement has suffered a double blow with the deaths of Vinod Mishra, general secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist Leninist) on December 18,

By Kim Bullimore More than 100 screenings of a controversial documentary on the British "McLibel" case occurred around the world on January 12, to coincide with the beginning of the McLibel court appeal in Britain. The film was screened in

As schools decay, Russian teachers protest By Renfrey Clarke MOSCOW — When Russian authorities learned on December 15 that striking teachers had blocked an important rail line, it may finally have dawned on them that the situation in the

Vietnam launches action plan for women By Reihana Mohideen The women of Vietnam have been described as showing a greater sense of independence than women in other south-east Asian countries. During the war of national liberation, first against

A report released last month by the Canadian firm Hatfield Consultants calls for urgent international attention to problems created by United States spraying of Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. The study found that the spraying has resulted in

When paranoia makes sense Enemy of the StateDirected by Tony Scott and produced by Jerry BruckheimerWith Will Smith, Gene Hackman, Jon Voight, Lisa Bonet and Regina King Review by Norm Dixon The big business newspaper smartypants all shouted in

'History happened to people' Review by Phil Shannon Eleanor Dark: a writer's lifeBy Barbara BrooksMacmillan, 1998 — 504 pp., $39.95 (pb) In 1947, Eleanor Dark was denounced in Australia's parliament as an "underground worker for the

By Zanny Begg and Amanda Lawrence From December 7 to 11, the national conference of the National Union of Students met at the University of Ballarat. Labor students were in a particularly strong position. They won more than 47% of all delegates

By Natalie Zirngast Between December 16 and December 19, while much of the world was distracted by Christmas hype, a massive 70-hour air bombardment was launched by the US and Britain against Iraq. The offensive was appropriately dubbed Operation

By Alison Dellit On December 19, federal education minister Dr David Kemp announced that the government would introduce "voluntary student unionism" (VSU) legislation in this sitting of parliament. Kemp also said that the government intended to