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Loose cannons

Back from the dead "You never kill the inflation dragon, but it's subdued at the moment." — Treasurer Peter Costello, who three months ago declared the "dragon" dead. And their wallets "In telling these [bank] stories, Lawsie will invite

Liberal bigotry

SYDNEY — Student activists organised a protest here on October 30 when they got wind of the following policy motion being put to a vote at a Liberal Party convention at the University of New South Wales: "That the Liberal Party calls upon both the

The Russian Revolution and V.I. Lenin

Kathy Newnam and Marina Carman November 7 is the anniversary of the victory of the Russian Revolution in 1917. Vladimir Ilyich Lenin combined practical leadership of that revolution with important theoretical contributions to socialists'

Write on: letters to the editor

Slavery George Bernard Shaw is famous for saying that under socialism no-one would be allowed to be poor. Guild socialist G.D.H. Cole, when asked what was the greatest evil, responded: not poverty, but slavery. It is tempting to remark that the

Yeltsin forever

By Boris Kagarlitsky MOSCOW — Early in September, the main theme of political forecasts in Russia was the supposedly imminent resignation of President Boris Yeltsin. Anyone with even the slightest knowledge of Yeltsin, however, regarded all this

Karl Marx: the personal and the political

Karl Marx: the personal and the political Karl Marx: An Illustrated HistoryBy Werner BlumenbergVerso, 1998175 pages, $49.95 (hb) Review by Phil Shannon Karl Marx's mother complained her son wrote Capital rather than made it. She was disappointed

Greenhouse blues in Bonn

By Jim Green International efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are faltering as representatives from 166 nations meet in Bonn, Germany, from October 25 to November 5 to debate proposals to reduce greenhouse emissions and reduce global

Kumarangk demonstration planned

Kumarangk demonstration planned By John Nebauer ADELAIDE — Activists opposing the building of the bridge to Kumarangk (Hindmarsh Island) are planning a series of peaceful actions, following a green light to construction work given by the courts

Johannesburg workers march against privatisation

Johannesburg workers march against privatisation By Norm Dixon Around 20,000 members of the South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU) paralysed the streets of Johannesburg on October 26 to protest against the African National

Company tax: A deal between Liberal and Labor?

Comment by Sue Boland Most Labor Party voters at the last election hoped that the ALP would resist the Coalition agenda. Instead, the Labor "opposition" is preparing a deal with the government to pass its package of corporate tax cuts. The

Unionists 'living underground'

Unionists 'living underground' By Bill Mason BRISBANE — Unionists on October 27 held a picket outside a public hearing of the Senate inquiry into the federal government's second wave workplace relations bill, being conducted in the City Hall

NSW Greens still backing undemocratic election changes

By Wendy Robertson and Marina Carman SYDNEY — Despite growing protests from supporters and their own members, leaders of the NSW Greens are still supporting some of the anti-democratic changes to NSW's electoral laws proposed by the Carr Labor