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more remarkable was that during their staythe verdict acquitting the police officerscharged with the bashing of Rodney Kingsparked the LA riots. Naturally the restaurantwas packed when the evening newsbroadcast came on the TV. The hum gaveway to an uncomfortable silence as footagewas shown of people wandering the streets,randomly firing guns, and of the near-fatalassault of a truck driver pulled from his rig.It wa hard, then, not to notice that thegroups of sailors were split into racial groupsm ore often than not. Half an hour later theunease was gone and joviality returned. Butthe ghost of som ething past was there.The American military make it clear totheir charges that when at rest in a foreignport they are being watched and thereforemust be on their best behaviour. At leastthis is what Michael told me, a 20-year-oldfrom Milwaukee with whom a m ate and Iplayed pool in a Bondi bar. His friendsdrinking in the corner joined in and we talkedabout Vegemite and topless bathing and thedifficulties of speaking English in Japan.Michael was a terrible player, but that'sunderstandable when you consider that poolis not the ideal hobby for a sailor. He spentm ost of the time inspecting the pockets foran invisible plastic coating. Somehow theconversation turned to poverty and crimein American cities. H e shrugged at som ewell-intended but naive remark of mineand said that a young black man in theinner city feels taunted by the constant andvisible police presence. 'They think you'vedone somethin' ', he said, 'so you m ay aswell go ahead and do it'.On the Tuesday after Easter the USSIndependence pulled out of port. At thetime, Prime Minister H oward was inBeijing meeting with Li Peng and otherdignitaries. N ewsreports that evening ofthe concerns the Chinese leadership hasover our defence ties with the US weremarried with images of the aircraft carrierleaving Sydney Harbour.There is a black American rap groupcalled Public Enemy and they have an albumentitled 'It takes a nation of millions tohold us back'. -Jon GreenawayMoclz worlzIs there anyone among you who wouldhand bis child a stone when heasked for bread! Wlw would hand hischild a scorpion when sheasked for fish !Since the Prime Minister's announcement in February of compulsory work forthe dole, few details h ave em erged that tellus what the cheme will entail for jobseekers. Lack of detail on the program'sdesign and funding has resultedin delay of the proposed legislationin the Senate and its referralto a committee for review .What does this kind ofmake-work have to offer unemployedand young unemployedAustralians? Similar schemeshave been propose d andknocked back since the mid '80swhen the Hawke Governmentput up its 'CommunityVolunteers Progran1' for unem ­ployed youth. As political diversionsor vote winners, these schem espromise the low-cost political quick fix . Asa solution to the problem of unemployment in disadvantaged regions of Australiathey are little more than popularist strategiesfeigning a lasting commitment to themost vulnerable m embers of the community.In its m ost positive light, work for thedole could provide som e minimal benefitsto 'clients' and their local communities.Voluntary work undertaken freely andwillingly by individuals can serve to relievework tests for short periods in regions wherejobs are just not available. It can addressmotiva tiona! needs and help people participatemore fully in local life. It could evensecure a small number of jobs over them edium term. Typically, however, this kindof schem e has an extrem ely low capacity togenerate employm ent. Worse, it risks dam ­aging the employ m ent prospects ofindividuals by failing to provide thenecessary level of training and support towin secure and gainful employment at thesame time as exacerbating an image of thelong-term unemployed as being work-shy.Talking PointsStar trek theologyT he June 1997 edition of Pacifica, entitledFeminist theology: the next stage, is bein g guestedited by Dorothy Lee and Muriel Porter, andfeatures the works of a number of promjnentinternational theologians-some of them men.H ere is the list: Elaine Wainwright, PatJi ciaMoss, Dorothy A. Lee, D eni s Edwards,Graeme Garrett, Elisabeth Schi.i ssler Fiorenzaand Maryanne Confoy.Between them they tackle subj ects ran gingfrom the 01igins of women's asceticism throughevolution to a study of' the Procrustea n bed ofwomen's spirituality'.You can orderthe June volume by writingto The Manager, Pacifica, PO Box 271 ,Brunswi ck East, VI C 3057. T he cost is $20.AspiringSt Paoick's Cathedral in Melbourne is cutTentlythe focus for centenary celebrations that includea number of splendidly curated exhibitionsand a seri es of lectures. Professor Marga retM anion wiJJ be giving one of the Centenarylectures on Tuesday May 20 at Spm. On June17 it will be the turn of Gerard O 'Collins SJ.Michael McGirr SJ desc ribes the WilJjamWardell exhibition tlus month (see p5).Wardell, architect of the Cathedral, is also partof the focus of a new Life of the Cathedral,wtitten by biographer Thomas Boland.Fr Boland maintains th at the great neo­Gothic building does indeed have enough lifein its stones to justify the title. T he photographfrom the book, reproduced above, givesyou some idea of th e extent, and daring, of therestoration enterprise.If you are in Melboume do drop into theCathedral and see the res toratio ns andexhibitions for yourself. They are spectacular.V oLUME 7 N uMBER 4 • EUREKA STREET 15