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Prison memoirs banned in Indonesia

By Max Lane On May 14 the Indonesian press reported that the prison memoirs of the country's most popular and respected novelist, Pramoedya Ananta Toer, had been banned. The banning order for Silent Song of a Mute had been signed by Attorney

Looking out: Change the world

Looking out: Change the world By Brandon Astor Jones "We are a feelingless people. If we could really feel, the pain would be so great that we would stop all suffering. If we could feel that one person every six seconds dies of starvation

Mt Isa workers face continuing struggle

By Jim McIlroy BRISBANE, May 21 — As we go to press, a return-to-work recommendation is to be put to a mass meeting of Mt Isa workers on Monday, May 22. Whatever the vote at the meeting, it is clear that the workers face an ongoing struggle to

A look at the US ultraright

The Aryan Nation: A Cross to Burn SBS TV Monday, May 29, 11.55pm (11.25 in SA) Reviewed by Norm Dixon This short report, produced for a Utah news program, kicks off a week of programs on SBS that look into racist and far right groups and

The politics and profits of addiction

The Nicotine War The Cutting Edge, SBS TV, Wednesday May 31, 9.30pm (8 in SA) Previewed by Lisa Macdonald Nicotine is one of the most addictive substances known. Despite this, in the US, tobacco is defined as an agricultural product and so

Women, poverty and health

By Lisa Macdonald May 28 is the International Day of Action for Women's Health. This annual event, part of the Campaign to Prevent Maternal Mortality and Morbidity, was launched in 1987. The 1995 call for action focuses on the feminisation of

From Moratorium to socialism

By Dave Riley When I left school at the end of 1966 I had two passions — theatre and politics. But they seemed contrary to one another. While I was able to indulge my dramatic bent at university, my political commitment was much more

Building a stronger movement for East Timor

By Max Lane On May 13 more than 1500 people, mainly young people, rallied around Australia demanding independence for East Timor and an end to all Australian military ties with the Suharto dictatorship in Indonesia. The National Day of

Thai government falls on massacre anniversary

By Chris Beale Thailand's longest serving elected government — just two and a half years old — fell on the anniversary of enormous pro-democracy demonstrations three years ago, which defeated soldiers bent on a massacre. There's no

Write on

Fighting bigotry and prejudice Last week's decision by the Administrative Review Tribunal, which upheld a refusal to pay a spouse benefit to a gay man whose partner of 11 years had died of an AIDS-related illness, highlights the need to overturn

Explosions fuel anger in South Korea

By Eva Cheng A gas explosion in Taegu on April 28 in which 101 PEOPLE — mostly children — were killed is the latest in a long list of disasters in South Korea which are suspected to be caused by substandard construction or maintenance.

Fighting to maintain wages and conditions

GREG BETTS is Queensland state secretary of the FEDFA and assistant district secretary of the CFMEU (the amalgamation of these unions is not yet complete on the state level). He was interviewed about the Mt Isa struggle by ANDREW WATSON. What