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It's unanimous: no more women's prisons!

It's unanimous: no more women's prisons! BY SEAN HEALY SYDNEY — Prisoners' rights group Justice Action has called for the state's corrective services minister Bob Debus to abandon plans to build a new women's jail at Windsor, after the Upper

Mayor defends Townsville homophobia

Mayor defends Townsville homophobia BY BRIDGET RIGGS TOWNSVILLE — Responding to televised accusations of rampant homophobia in his city, Townsville Mayor Tony Mooney has dug himself in further by blaming the messenger, claiming to be "outraged"

INDONESIA: New labour bill rejected by unions

A group of unions has demanded President Abdurrahman Wahid disallow a new labour rights bill, which was unanimously passed by the House of Representatives on July 10 but needs the president's approval to become law. While the new bill gives workers

Students, staff win at Murdoch

BY BARBARA WHELAN PERTH — After months of campaigning by students and staff at Murdoch University here, including a nine-day occupation in May, the university's Senate has backed off from plans to cut courses, imposed in a management drive to

PHILIPPINES: Protesters disrupt Congress

PHILIPPINES: Protesters disrupt Congress MANILA — Five members of the Philippines Socialist Party of Labour (SPP) were detained on July 18 in the Batasan (parliament) hall. The SPP members interrupted a special session of Congress called to pass

UNITED STATES: Race and class — The politics of death

SAN FRANCISCO — Is it wrong for the state to murder its own citizens? In the United States, the answer is no. If you're convicted of murder, capital punishment (as the death penalty is euphemistically called) is carried out by the state. This has

S11 Alliance pickets Downer

S11 Alliance pickets Downer BY ANGELA LUVERA BRISBANE — Armed with a leaflet declaring "Picket Downer! Shut Down the WEF!", 25 students braved the early morning to picket a function attended by Foreign Minister Alexander Downer. The function,

Farmers' GE objections knocked down

BY RAYYAR FARHAT SYDNEY — Over the objections of many farmers present and despite the urging of environmental activists, the NSW Farmers Association voted at its July 18 annual general meeting to support the release of genetically engineered

Theatre, money and privilege

Theatre, money and privilege The Great GatsbyNew Theatre, Newtown, SydneyJuly 15-September 2 REVIEW BY BRENDAN DOYLE The Sydney theatre establishment functions as a sort of club. If you're a member, you get the public funding. Hence Barrie Kosky

Loose cannons

Greed "The blame mostly lies with a greedy Australian electorate." — Right-wing think tank Access Economics lamenting the reduced federal budget surplus because "the punters demanded that 'everyone be no worse off'" after the introduction of a

Rage Against the Machine: Exploding like a sonic Molotov cocktail

Exploding like a sonic Molotov cocktail BY RICHARD PITHOUSE The surge of interest in "world music" and the development of compelling popular music forms like acid jazz, trip-hop, breakbeat and hip hop have made most rock bands look uninspired by

International news briefs: Indonesia, Britain, Ecuador

International news briefs Rio Tinto workers resume blockade JAKARTA — Coalmining company PT Kaltim Prima Coal (KPC) stopped operations on July 18 for a second time in less than five weeks after striking workers resumed their blockade in the