247

Unpromising start to Yeltsin's second term

By Boris Kagarlitsky MOSCOW — The dramatic worsening of President Boris Yeltsin's health has caused the crisis of power to intensify. When an autocrat is sick, sharp struggles break out in the ruler's entourage. Every grouping tries to seize and

Looking out: Costing too much

Costing too much "usury n.,pl.-ries. 1.The act or practice of lending money at excessive interest rates. 2. An exorbitant or illegal [or inhumane] rate of interest." — Webster's II New Riverside Dictionary Be especially mindful of those who

Anger over racism

Anger over racism By Kathy Newnam BRISBANE — Racist comments made last week by Queensland Liberal Party backbencher Ted Radke have caused anger among students at MacGregor State High School. Radke told school cleaners in his electorate that

Organiser's death caused by safety breaches

By Anthony Benbow PERTH — On the afternoon of September 6 Mark Allen, an organiser with the WA Builders Labourers, Painters and Plasterers' Union (WABLPPU), fell to his death on a demolition site in East Perth. Mark was 23 years old. The grief

and ain't i a woman?: Catholic offensive against women

The right to choose to terminate an unwanted pregnancy is under heavy attack again from conservative forces. On September 11 the Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference and Australian Catholic Health Care Association were admitted as "friends of

Left On-line

GeekGirl (http://www.geekgirl.com.au/geekgirl/007tent/index.html) — Self-described as: "A fair dinkum attempt at engaging the reader/spectator to think about issues of media ownership, control and autonomy. We have a blast with: Jayne Loader

East Timor asylum seekers fight deportation

By Lisa Kent Pedro Lay arrived in Australia at the end of 1994 as an asylum seeker from East Timor. He was just 12 years old when the Indonesian army invaded East Timor in 1975 and, like other students at his high school, he joined Unetin, a

US hid evidence on shooting down of Korean airliner

In August 1983, Soviet fighter planes shot down a South Korean civilian airliner which, on a flight from Alaska to Seoul, went hundreds of kilometres off course and passed over restricted Siberian territory. The event was portrayed by the US Reagan

EAG contesting elections

EAG contesting elections CANBERRA — The main tickets running in this year's Students Association elections at the Australian National University include Labor and Liberal Party tickets and the Education Action Group (EAG). The EAG consists of

Victorian union leaders defend members

Victorian union leaders defend members By Michael Bull and Sue Bolton MELBOURNE — A Victorian branch meeting of the construction division of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union on September 5 unanimously endorsed a state

CPSU NSW branch elections

CPSU NSW branch elections By Chris Pickering WOLLONGONG—Elections for the NSW branch of the CPSU (a federation, on paper only, of the national CPSU and state public service unions included in the State Public Services Federation) were conducted

Subtle metaphor for the 'American dream'

Hoop DreamsDirected by Steve JamesProduced by Peter Gilbert and Federick MarxAt Greater Union CinemasReviewed by James Goodman Arthur Agee and William Gates were ordinary black US 12-year-olds when the Hoop Dreams film crew entered their lives.