226

Fighting Howard: 'Grassroots organising and direct action'

'Grassroots organising and direct action' STEPHEN SPENCE is the South Australian convener of the Greens, state secretary of the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance and a member of the United Trades and Labour Council executive. He was

Looking out: Pitiless merchants

Pitiless merchants "I have always thought it would be easier to redeem a man steeped in vice and crime than a greedy, narrow-minded, pitiless merchant." — Albert Camus The Georgia Diagnostics and Classification Centre confines more

Shanghai Triad

Shanghai TriadStarring Gong Li, Li Baotian, Wang XiaoxiaoDirected by Zhang YimouScreens from April 4 at Dendy (Sydney & Brisbane), Kino, Longford (Melbourne), Luna (Perth)Reviewed by Eva Cheng Contrary to what the name suggests, Shanghai Triad is not

* A state of selective optimism

The State of HumanityJulian L. Simon (ed.)Cambridge, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishers, 1995Distributed in Australia by Allen & Unwin608 pp., $49.95 (pb)Reviewed by Peter Montague The recent outpouring of hefty "feel good" books has not let up.

Actions against uranium mining

SYDNEY — As a part of the Democratic Socialism '96 conference, Resistance has initiated a pre-conference action around the demand "No uranium mining! No mines in Kakadu! No uranium sales to Indonesia!". The action, to be held outside the offices of

South African budget 'investor friendly'

By Norm Dixon The African National Congress-led government of national unity (GNU) signalled that there will be no significant change in post-apartheid South Africa's economic direction when it announced its third budget on March 13. The budget

Borbidge threatens maternity leave

By Bill Mason BRISBANE — The Queensland Coalition government has threatened to scrap a 12-week paid maternity leave agreement for state public servants, claiming the deal would blow a $50 million hole in the state budget. Implementation of the

A penetrating social critic

Chomsky's PoliticsBy Milan RaiVerso, 1995. 225 pp., $95 (hb), $34.95 (pb)Reviewed by Alex Bainbridge Noam Chomsky is one of the most popular figures to whom a broad range of radicals look for contemporary political analysis. Large audiences at his

* Whale deaths linked to US Navy

WASHINGTON — Greenpeace on March 13 called on US President Bill Clinton to immediately halt planned NATO exercises, including weapons testing, off the coast of Florida in light of evidence connecting the US Navy to the killing of up to five

Student control of student affairs

Some 2500 students rallied and marched in opposition to the Victorian government's Voluntary Student Unionism (VSU) legislation on March 28. The rally was part of a national day of action demanding student control of student affairs. Victoria and WA

* California methyl bromide ban overturned

On March 7, the California legislature approved a bill overturning a scheduled state ban on the widely used and highly toxic pesticide methyl bromide. Methyl bromide was to be banned in California at the end of March; however, Governor Pete Wilson

Wool scourers defiant

By Geoff Spencer GEELONG — After four weeks on strike, the morale of workers at EP Robinson, a wool scouring plant here, is still high. According to Shearers and Rural Workers Union (SRWU) Assistant General Secretary, John Morgan, the