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Toxic PVC fire in Canada

Toxic PVC fire in Canada HAMILTON, ONTARIO — A Greenpeace team began sampling for dioxin around Hamilton and its vicinity on July 12 as firefighters assessed the clean-up required following a fire at a PVC plastic (vinyl) plant located in the

Looking out: True friendship

True friendshipTrue friendship By Brandon Astor Jones "When you have succeeded in dehumanizing a person; when you have put that person down, and make ... this person to be but as the beast of the field; and when you have extinguished

Protect Kimberley, say Aborigines, conservationists

Protect Kimberley, say Aborigines, conservationists By Susan Laszlo Aborigines are opposed to the WA state government's plans to dam the Fitzroy River, said Kimberley Land Council (KLC) director Peter Yu on July 18. Speaking after a forum

Conference strengthens international support for East Timor

By Max Lane OPORTO — More than 200 people attended a conference here between July 17 and 20 to discuss "Self-determination in East Timor — Democratisation in Indonesia: An international responsibility". The conference was organised by the

Ireland: a socialist in parliament

intro = Ireland's first Socialist Party TD [MP], Joe Higgins, took his seat in the Dail [parliament] at the end of June. The following interview with Higgins is reprinted from the British Socialist. Question: What is your own political

'How are we meant to survive?'

Cuts to unemployment benefits, called Newstart Allowance, took effect from July 1. Those in share accommodation receive only two-thirds of the maximum rate for rent assistance; for many people this means a cut in income of as much as $32 a week — a

Rap and the politics of sexism

By Sujatha Fernandes The 1995 Million Man March, initiated by black nationalist leader Louis Farrakhan, which promoted the need for black men to take responsibility for their lives and families, left many, including black leader Angela Davis,

Paradise lost

By Anthony Brown In October 1995, Brisbane indigenous health worker Noritta Morseu-Diop went to Tahiti, the chief island of French Polynesia, along with five other Aboriginal people. They went to protest at the resumption of French nuclear

Driving women out of the work force

By Jennifer Thompson John Howard's July 10 comments to Sydney radio interviewer Alan Jones, supporting a "homemaker's allowance" to encourage women to drop out of the labour force have been linked to a "white picket fence" view of Australia and

Passionate and intriguing lives

Vita and VirginiaWritten by Eileen Atkins, directed by Richard CottrellWith Ruth Cracknell and Jennifer HaganSydney Theatre CompanyThe Playhouse, Sydney Opera House from July 26 Vita Sackville-West and Virginia Woolf, two of England's most intriguing

Environmentalists in Russia fight old growth logging

By Renfrey Clarke MOSCOW — "Greenpeace and our 'greens' have become toys in the hands of powerful forces blocking the implementation of economic reforms ..." That was how Karelia, the government newspaper of the Karelian Republic in north-west

Tax management aims to cut conditions

Tax management aims to cut conditions By Chris Slee Australian Taxation Office (ATO) management has begun an attack on both the working conditions of its employees and their right to union representation. Management's approach to a new