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Orwell: the decline of a middle-class radical

Orwell: Wintry Conscience of a GenerationBy Jeffrey MeyersNorton, 2000380pp, $39.90 (hb) REVIEW BY PHIL SHANNON "Big Brother is watching you"; "All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others" — these epigrams from Nineteen

Comic note off-key but tickles fancy

BY JONATHAN STRAUSS Rough CrossingBy Tom StoppardDirected by Lloyd KingNew Theatre, SydneyThursday to Sunday until December 23$22/$15, bookings 9873 3575 Since the New Theatre's establishment in 1932, much of Sydney's alternative and radical

Action updates

Picket blocks Age MELBOURNE — A picket line imposed by the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) and the Electrical Trades Union prevented distribution of the November 23 edition of the Age. The picket arose from a dispute around a

Radical alliance to run in WA election

BY SARAH STEPHEN PERTH — Radical left groups and activists have joined together to run in the next Western Australia state election, due early in 2001. Democratic Socialist candidates Anthony Benbow (Fremantle) and Roberto Jorquera (Perth),

Loose cannons

Self-obligation "... my government has sought to constantly relate ... enduring Australian values to the circumstances of our time... The first of these goes to the heart of the Australian ethos, to the heart of our national self-image and to the

A tragic decline in living standards

BY ANDREW HALL CANBERRA — The ACT Coroners Court was told on November 17 that it was "a tragic indictment of the system" that a Canberra man had committed suicide while holding a letter of demand from the Child Support Agency (CSA). Warren

Beattie in crisis over electoral rorts

BY JIM McILROY BRISBANE — The Queensland Labor government faces its biggest crisis revelations over electoral rorts escalate. Te Shepherdson inquiry, established under the auspices of the Criminal Justice Commission following the conviction

Pilger attacks 'single-ideology state'

BY JOHN NEBAUER ADELAIDE — About 300 people packed Her Majesty's Theatre on November 16 to hear journalist John Pilger. The evening discussion, titled Hidden Agendas, was part of a series promoting the 2001 Festival of Ideas. The discussion

NEPAL: Socialists reaffirm fight against globalisation

BY SUE BULL& TIM GOODEN KATHMANDU — The Socialism 21 Conference here finished on a high note as representatives from 17 countries linked arms and led a spirited 10,000-strong rally against price hikes on November 9. The rally was organised by

CUBA: Terrorists' extradition demanded

BY JOHN PERCY The governments of Cuba and Venezuela are seeking the extradition of Luis Posada Carriles, a notorious Cuban terrorist with a long record of attacks against the Cuban Revolution. Posada has close ties with the US Central Intelligence

Convoy against proposed woodchip mill

BY ALEX BAINBRIDGE HOBART — Residents of two rural municipalities, Huon Valley and Kingborough, are organising a convoy to converge at Parliament House on December 10. The gathering is designed to build support among city people for the campaign

Private schools: no government funding

BY SUE BOLAND Most recent debate over government funding of private schools has focused on the injustice of public money being used to finance wealthy private schools. There has been little debate on the issue of why government money should be