John Pilger
The Guardian, Friday October 24 2008
Its banks secured in the warmth of the southern spring, Australia is not news. It ought to be. An epic scandal of racism, injustice and brutality is being covered up in the manner of apartheid South Africa. Many Australians conspire in this silence, wishing never to reflect upon the truth about their society's Untermenschen, the Aboriginal people.
The facts are not in dispute: thousands of black Australians never reach the age of 40; an entirely preventable disease, trachoma, blinds black children as epidemics of rheumatic fever ravage their communities; suicide among the despairing young is common. No other developed country has such a record. A pervasive white myth, that Aborigines leech off the state, serves to conceal the disgrace that money the federal government says it spends on indigenous affairs actually goes towards opposing native land rights. In 2006, some A$3bn was underspent "or the result of creative accounting", reported the Sydney Morning Herald. Like the children of apartheid, the Aboriginal children of Thamarrurr in the Northern Territory receive less than half the educational resources allotted to white children.
In 2005, the UN committee on the elimination of racial discrimination described the racism of the Australian state, a distinction afforded no other developed country. This was in the decade-long rule of the conservative coalition of John Howard, whose coterie of white supremacist academics and journalists assaulted the truth of recorded genocide in Australia, especially the horrific separations of Aboriginal children from their families. They deployed arguments not dissimilar to those David Irving used to promote Holocaust denial.
Smear by media as a precursor to the latest round of repression is long familiar to black Australians. In 2006, the flagship current affairs programme of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Lateline, broadcast lurid allegations of "sex slavery" among the Mutitjulu people in the Northern Territory. The programme's source, described as an "anonymous youth worker", was later exposed as a federal government official whose "evidence" was discredited by the Northern Territory chief minister and the police.
The ABC has never retracted its allegations, claiming it has been "exonerated by an internal inquiry". Shortly before last year's election, Howard declared a "national emergency" and sent the army to the Northern Territory to "protect the children" who, said his minister for indigenous affairs, were being abused in "unthinkable numbers".
Last February, with much sentimental fanfare, the new prime minister, Labor's Kevin Rudd, made a formal apology to the first Australians. Australia was said to be finally coming to terms with its rapacious past and present. Was it? "The Rudd government," noted a Sydney Morning Herald editorial, "has moved quickly to clear away this piece of political wreckage in a way that responds to some of its own supporters' emotional needs, yet it changes nothing. It is a shrewd manoeuvre."
In May, barely reported government statistics revealed that of the 7,433 Aboriginal children examined by doctors as part of the "national emergency", 39 had been referred to the authorities for suspected abuse. Of those, a maximum of just four possible cases of abuse were identified. Such were the "unthinkable numbers". They were little different from those of child abuse in white Australia. What was different was that no soldiers invaded the beachside suburbs, no white parents were swept aside, no white welfare was "quarantined". Marion Scrymgour, an Aboriginal minister in the Northern Territory, said: "To see decent, caring [Aboriginal] fathers, uncles, brothers and grandfathers, who are undoubtedly innocent of the horrific charges being bandied about, reduced to helplessness and tears, speaks to me of widespread social damage."
What the doctors found they already knew - children at risk from a spectrum of extreme poverty and the denial of resources in one of the world's richest countries. Having let a few crumbs fall, Rudd is picking up where Howard left off. His indigenous affairs minister, Jenny Macklin, has threatened to withdraw government support from remote communities that are "economically unviable". The Northern Territory is the only region where Aborigines have comprehensive land rights, granted almost by accident 30 years ago. Here lie some of the world's biggest uranium deposits. Canberra wants to mine and sell it.
Foreign governments, especially the US, want the Northern Territory as a toxic dump. The Adelaide to Darwin railway that runs adjacent to Olympic Dam, the world's largest uranium mine, was built with the help of Kellogg, Brown & Root - a subsidiary of American giant Halliburton, the alma mater of Dick Cheney, Howard's "mate". "The land grab of Aboriginal tribal land has nothing to do with child sexual abuse," says the Australian scientist Helen Caldicott, "but all to do with open slather uranium mining and converting the Northern Territory to a global nuclear dump."
What is unique about Australia is not its sun-baked, derivative society, clinging to the sea, but its first people, the oldest on earth, whose skill and courage in surviving invasion, of which the current onslaught is merely the latest, deserve humanity's support.
www.johnpilger.com
Friday, October 24, 2008
Soliders ask fundamental question: To kill or not to kill
Reviewed by CLAIRE SCHAEFFER-DUFFY
Published:
October 21, 2008
Director Catherine Ryan in Hinesville, Ga., the day after the court martial of conscientious objector, Kevin Benderman. (Photo by Gary Weimberg)Director Catherine Ryan in Hinesville, Ga., the day after the court martial of conscientious objector, Kevin Benderman. (Photo by Gary Weimberg)A review
“Soldiers of Conscience,” the latest documentary by husband and wife filmmakers Gary Weimberg and Catherine Ryan, looks at how individual combatants grapple with war’s fundamental question — to kill or not to kill. Made in cooperation with the U.S. Army, the film profiles eight American soldiers, four who become conscientious objectors and four who believe in the duty to kill when necessary. All wrestle with the morality of killing, not as an abstraction but as soldiers experience it. Interspersed with the soldier’s narratives are images of casualties from the Iraq war not seen on our nightly news and some intriguing background on conscientious objection.
The film’s focus makes “Soldiers of Conscience” accessible to pacifists and warriors alike. The soldiers’ candid and deeply personal reflections remind us that in war human beings make choices they must live with the rest of their lives.
Early in the film, we learn a little-known stat from a U.S. Army study conducted during World War II: Less than 25 percent of US soldiers fired on their enemies, even when under attack. To overcome this inhibition toward the taking of human life, the military developed a technique known as “reflexive fire training.” Disturbing footage of combat training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, provides a glimpse of what this conditioning entails. Fresh-faced recruits gun down tin silhouettes of humans and shout “Kill! Kill! Kill without mercy!” While such “training” has dramatically increased soldiers’ firing rates in combat (upwards to 90 percent in Vietnam), it has not freed them from the burden of conscience, as evidenced in the revealing reflections of the eight men featured in the film.
Watch the trailer
Two of the conscientious objectors, Joshua Casteel, an Evangelical Christian, and Aidan Delgado, a Buddhist, are given honorable discharges for their refusal to kill. But the military imprisons Camilo Mejia, the first Iraq combat veteran to publicly refuse to return to war, and Kevin Benderman, a 10-year Army sergeant from Tennessee. All four eloquently describe their transformation from willing enlistee to refusenik. Delgado encounters Iraqi prisoners of war, who look just like the men in his own unit “but with brown skin,” and the fighting spirit “bleeds” out of him. The war’s devastating affects on civilians, leads Benderman to ask, “Why are we even doing this anymore?”
The awful but necessary choice of war can be a moral imperative when the weak need protecting and human rights are violated, argues Major Peter Kilner, a West Point ethics professor and former 82nd Airborne Infantry Commander. For drill sergeant Jaime Isom, pulling the trigger in battle has little to do with God or country; it’s about “defending the man to the left and right of you.” Isom admits to killing a 10-year Iraqi boy who held a grenade that would have killed his men. “I got no regrets,” he says, “but looking back at it, that’s when the demons come back. That’s when it haunts us.”
The candor of these soldiers evokes questions that haunt us. What are we asking of those ordered to kill on our behalf?
The film’s thoughtful interest in the soldier’s perspective is resonating with people who differ on the morality of war. The documentary, which airs on PBS stations this week, has been circulating among churches, peace groups, and VA Hospitals where clinicians are showing excerpts to soldiers struggling with combat trauma. In November, the film will screen at the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies. In January, it will be shown at a major conference for chaplains in the armed forces.
Claire Schaeffer-Duffy lives in Worcester, Mass. and writes frequently for National Catholic Reporter. US
Published:
October 21, 2008
Director Catherine Ryan in Hinesville, Ga., the day after the court martial of conscientious objector, Kevin Benderman. (Photo by Gary Weimberg)Director Catherine Ryan in Hinesville, Ga., the day after the court martial of conscientious objector, Kevin Benderman. (Photo by Gary Weimberg)A review
“Soldiers of Conscience,” the latest documentary by husband and wife filmmakers Gary Weimberg and Catherine Ryan, looks at how individual combatants grapple with war’s fundamental question — to kill or not to kill. Made in cooperation with the U.S. Army, the film profiles eight American soldiers, four who become conscientious objectors and four who believe in the duty to kill when necessary. All wrestle with the morality of killing, not as an abstraction but as soldiers experience it. Interspersed with the soldier’s narratives are images of casualties from the Iraq war not seen on our nightly news and some intriguing background on conscientious objection.
The film’s focus makes “Soldiers of Conscience” accessible to pacifists and warriors alike. The soldiers’ candid and deeply personal reflections remind us that in war human beings make choices they must live with the rest of their lives.
Early in the film, we learn a little-known stat from a U.S. Army study conducted during World War II: Less than 25 percent of US soldiers fired on their enemies, even when under attack. To overcome this inhibition toward the taking of human life, the military developed a technique known as “reflexive fire training.” Disturbing footage of combat training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, provides a glimpse of what this conditioning entails. Fresh-faced recruits gun down tin silhouettes of humans and shout “Kill! Kill! Kill without mercy!” While such “training” has dramatically increased soldiers’ firing rates in combat (upwards to 90 percent in Vietnam), it has not freed them from the burden of conscience, as evidenced in the revealing reflections of the eight men featured in the film.
Watch the trailer
Two of the conscientious objectors, Joshua Casteel, an Evangelical Christian, and Aidan Delgado, a Buddhist, are given honorable discharges for their refusal to kill. But the military imprisons Camilo Mejia, the first Iraq combat veteran to publicly refuse to return to war, and Kevin Benderman, a 10-year Army sergeant from Tennessee. All four eloquently describe their transformation from willing enlistee to refusenik. Delgado encounters Iraqi prisoners of war, who look just like the men in his own unit “but with brown skin,” and the fighting spirit “bleeds” out of him. The war’s devastating affects on civilians, leads Benderman to ask, “Why are we even doing this anymore?”
The awful but necessary choice of war can be a moral imperative when the weak need protecting and human rights are violated, argues Major Peter Kilner, a West Point ethics professor and former 82nd Airborne Infantry Commander. For drill sergeant Jaime Isom, pulling the trigger in battle has little to do with God or country; it’s about “defending the man to the left and right of you.” Isom admits to killing a 10-year Iraqi boy who held a grenade that would have killed his men. “I got no regrets,” he says, “but looking back at it, that’s when the demons come back. That’s when it haunts us.”
The candor of these soldiers evokes questions that haunt us. What are we asking of those ordered to kill on our behalf?
The film’s thoughtful interest in the soldier’s perspective is resonating with people who differ on the morality of war. The documentary, which airs on PBS stations this week, has been circulating among churches, peace groups, and VA Hospitals where clinicians are showing excerpts to soldiers struggling with combat trauma. In November, the film will screen at the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies. In January, it will be shown at a major conference for chaplains in the armed forces.
Claire Schaeffer-Duffy lives in Worcester, Mass. and writes frequently for National Catholic Reporter. US
Saturday, October 18, 2008
World Day of Fasting for Peace and Independence of Nourishment - Water for Peace
Call for a Solidarity Fasting on 18 October 2008
Message from Pastoral Land Commission, CPT, member organisation of Pax Christi International in Brazil
We are calling upon you to join us on a worldwide day of fasting for peace and independence from nourishment in defence of free access to water and healthy food as a human right and in support of local, family farmers.
At the end of 2007 the Franciscan bishop Dom Luiz Cappio protested with fasting and praying for 24 days against the water diversion project of the Rio Sao Francesco. This was his means of supporting the preservation of the natural resources of this semi arid region and a proper revitalisation of the Rio Sao Francesco.
Pax Christi International awards Dom Cappio and all those who fought with him the Pax Christi International Peace Award 2008. The awarding of the prize is going to take place together with the fifth Water Pilgrimage (Romaria das Aguas) in Sobradinho, Bahia on 18 October 2008. Numerous organisations and thousands of people are expected to come to the event "Water for Peace".
During the World Nourishing Week the social movements of the Rio Sao Francesco region and of the northeast, the Via Campesina Brasilia and Pax Christi International are going to carry out a worldwide day of fasting for peace and independence from nourishment. These activities are part of the campaign of Via Campesina against genetically manipulated plants and continue the movement of solidarity fasting that developed from the solidarity with Dom Cappio. Hundreds of people worldwide fasted for one or more days during the hunger strike of the bishop. Their action was a demonstration for a world of justice. This movement combines political aims and spirituality and is to be seen in the tradition of Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr. and the non-violence of many others which was founded by Jesus Christ himself.
We want to use this gesture to draw attention to the severe and growing conflicts about water. This issue affects one third of the world population, as does the growing control that some transnational companies are exhibiting over land, production of, and access to, food.
The abundance and extravagance of the rich coincide with a growing endangerment of the population by pesticides and genetically manipulated foods. At the same time the number of those who do not have regular access to enough quality food is constantly rising.
The world day for peace and independence of nourishment supports the immediate necessity for an agricultural reform to give more families the opportunity to produce their own food. This reform has to make the production and consumption of healthy and ecologically produced food possible. Every people and every region have to have the right to produce and to consume their own food without being suppressed by global players like Syngenta, Monsanto, Bunge, ADM, Cargill, Dupont, Bayer and BASF. These companies are striving to control the water resources, the agricultural land, the biological and agricultural diversities, biotechnology and the global business with food. Their main asset is the development of genetically manipulated seeds which is made possible because the governments neglect their caretaking principles.
This gesture strengthens the necessity of recognising the access to water as a human right and as a universal right of creation. It explicitly opposes the diversion project of the water of the dying Rio Sao Francesco, which supports the production of fruit meant for export, of bio-fuel, of shrimps and steel by 70%.
The infrastructural mega-projects of the growth speeding programme have to be reconsidered in favour of another development programme that does not only take the need of the whole population into consideration, but looks especially at the needs of the poor, and which at the same time includes the challenge of the ecological crisis. Hundreds of fundamental organisations in the semi arid regions are already working accordingly on methods of water capacities and water usage. One example out of many is the Atlas Nordeste of the ANA (Agencia Nacional de Aguas) proposal to decentralise water supplies. These are much less expensive and much more expansive in their social and local responsibilities than the apparent "solution" of the diversion of the Rio Sao Francesco waters. The life and production model is supported by the simple people who live and know about the real needs of the population of the region and their independent organisations.
Until today the following organisations, that will participate on the Global Day of Peace and Independence of Nourishment" have signed the Manifest "Water for Peace" (as of 13-10-2008) Pax Christi International, Misereor (Germany), Via Campesina Brasil (MST, MPA, MAB, MMC, FEAB, CPT, PJR), CPP, PACS, CESE, CARITAS, Forum Permanente em Defesa do Rio Sao Francisco, SERPAJ-Brasil e America Latina, International Free Water Academy.
Please tell CPT if your organisation wants to sign this manifest and who wants to participate in the fasting. E-mail cptba@cptba.org.br - or tel. (0055)71.8714-5724; 71.9208-6548 -- Ruben; 31.9997-2440 -- Erica) or Via Campesina / Nordeste (e-mail viacampesinape@gmail.com or tel 81-3222-7569 81-9164-9758 -- Paula) this is important to enable us to publish the participants!
Brussels, 17 October 2008
2008-0760-en-am-HS
Message from Pastoral Land Commission, CPT, member organisation of Pax Christi International in Brazil
We are calling upon you to join us on a worldwide day of fasting for peace and independence from nourishment in defence of free access to water and healthy food as a human right and in support of local, family farmers.
At the end of 2007 the Franciscan bishop Dom Luiz Cappio protested with fasting and praying for 24 days against the water diversion project of the Rio Sao Francesco. This was his means of supporting the preservation of the natural resources of this semi arid region and a proper revitalisation of the Rio Sao Francesco.
Pax Christi International awards Dom Cappio and all those who fought with him the Pax Christi International Peace Award 2008. The awarding of the prize is going to take place together with the fifth Water Pilgrimage (Romaria das Aguas) in Sobradinho, Bahia on 18 October 2008. Numerous organisations and thousands of people are expected to come to the event "Water for Peace".
During the World Nourishing Week the social movements of the Rio Sao Francesco region and of the northeast, the Via Campesina Brasilia and Pax Christi International are going to carry out a worldwide day of fasting for peace and independence from nourishment. These activities are part of the campaign of Via Campesina against genetically manipulated plants and continue the movement of solidarity fasting that developed from the solidarity with Dom Cappio. Hundreds of people worldwide fasted for one or more days during the hunger strike of the bishop. Their action was a demonstration for a world of justice. This movement combines political aims and spirituality and is to be seen in the tradition of Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr. and the non-violence of many others which was founded by Jesus Christ himself.
We want to use this gesture to draw attention to the severe and growing conflicts about water. This issue affects one third of the world population, as does the growing control that some transnational companies are exhibiting over land, production of, and access to, food.
The abundance and extravagance of the rich coincide with a growing endangerment of the population by pesticides and genetically manipulated foods. At the same time the number of those who do not have regular access to enough quality food is constantly rising.
The world day for peace and independence of nourishment supports the immediate necessity for an agricultural reform to give more families the opportunity to produce their own food. This reform has to make the production and consumption of healthy and ecologically produced food possible. Every people and every region have to have the right to produce and to consume their own food without being suppressed by global players like Syngenta, Monsanto, Bunge, ADM, Cargill, Dupont, Bayer and BASF. These companies are striving to control the water resources, the agricultural land, the biological and agricultural diversities, biotechnology and the global business with food. Their main asset is the development of genetically manipulated seeds which is made possible because the governments neglect their caretaking principles.
This gesture strengthens the necessity of recognising the access to water as a human right and as a universal right of creation. It explicitly opposes the diversion project of the water of the dying Rio Sao Francesco, which supports the production of fruit meant for export, of bio-fuel, of shrimps and steel by 70%.
The infrastructural mega-projects of the growth speeding programme have to be reconsidered in favour of another development programme that does not only take the need of the whole population into consideration, but looks especially at the needs of the poor, and which at the same time includes the challenge of the ecological crisis. Hundreds of fundamental organisations in the semi arid regions are already working accordingly on methods of water capacities and water usage. One example out of many is the Atlas Nordeste of the ANA (Agencia Nacional de Aguas) proposal to decentralise water supplies. These are much less expensive and much more expansive in their social and local responsibilities than the apparent "solution" of the diversion of the Rio Sao Francesco waters. The life and production model is supported by the simple people who live and know about the real needs of the population of the region and their independent organisations.
Until today the following organisations, that will participate on the Global Day of Peace and Independence of Nourishment" have signed the Manifest "Water for Peace" (as of 13-10-2008) Pax Christi International, Misereor (Germany), Via Campesina Brasil (MST, MPA, MAB, MMC, FEAB, CPT, PJR), CPP, PACS, CESE, CARITAS, Forum Permanente em Defesa do Rio Sao Francisco, SERPAJ-Brasil e America Latina, International Free Water Academy.
Please tell CPT if your organisation wants to sign this manifest and who wants to participate in the fasting. E-mail cptba@cptba.org.br - or tel. (0055)71.8714-5724; 71.9208-6548 -- Ruben; 31.9997-2440 -- Erica) or Via Campesina / Nordeste (e-mail viacampesinape@gmail.com or tel 81-3222-7569 81-9164-9758 -- Paula) this is important to enable us to publish the participants!
Brussels, 17 October 2008
2008-0760-en-am-HS
Sunday, September 21, 2008
19 October - The 7th International Interreligious Abraham Conference
Affinity Intercultural Foundation welcomes you to attend:
Date: Sunday, 19th of October 2008
Time: 11am to 3:30pm
Location: Webster Theatre, University of Sydney, City Road Camperdown.
Cost: $20 (Includes Lunch and Afternoon Tea)
Keynote Address: Prof Larissa Behrendt, Prof of Law & Director of Research
at the Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning at the University of
Technology, Sydney
Panel Chair: Mr Richard Morecroft, former ABC TV News anchorman
Theme: Walking together: Our faiths and reconciliation.
The Australian Government has recently declared an apology to the "stolen generation" of Aboriginal Australians on behalf of Australia. Yet even after this landmark event, much still needs to be done. Delicate and careful considerations are needed from all parties. A robust and accommodating approach to reconciliation must be taken if we are to share this land. The Abrahamic faiths of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam need to listen to handwork together with indigenous voices to recognise injustice and to explore common traditions of offering forgiveness and moving forward in a new direction. The Abraham Conference provides a practical way forward for people of all faiths and backgrounds to become aware of our responsibilities
and thus work towards reconciliation.
For further information please click on below link:
http://www.affinity.org.au/7IIAC%20-%20Abraham%20Conf%20Program%20v2.pdf
Date: Sunday, 19th of October 2008
Time: 11am to 3:30pm
Location: Webster Theatre, University of Sydney, City Road Camperdown.
Cost: $20 (Includes Lunch and Afternoon Tea)
Keynote Address: Prof Larissa Behrendt, Prof of Law & Director of Research
at the Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning at the University of
Technology, Sydney
Panel Chair: Mr Richard Morecroft, former ABC TV News anchorman
Theme: Walking together: Our faiths and reconciliation.
The Australian Government has recently declared an apology to the "stolen generation" of Aboriginal Australians on behalf of Australia. Yet even after this landmark event, much still needs to be done. Delicate and careful considerations are needed from all parties. A robust and accommodating approach to reconciliation must be taken if we are to share this land. The Abrahamic faiths of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam need to listen to handwork together with indigenous voices to recognise injustice and to explore common traditions of offering forgiveness and moving forward in a new direction. The Abraham Conference provides a practical way forward for people of all faiths and backgrounds to become aware of our responsibilities
and thus work towards reconciliation.
For further information please click on below link:
http://www.affinity.org.au/7IIAC%20-%20Abraham%20Conf%20Program%20v2.pdf
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Pacific Calling for Climate Justice
The Pacific Calling Partnership invites you to a participatory forum Pacific Calling for Climate Justice a human rights framework?
9.00am - 5pm Saturday 25 October 2008
Gleeson Auditorium Australian Catholic University
25A Barker Rd Strathfield NSW
Forum
The forum will open with Indigenous representatives from Australia and the Pacific speaking about the effects of climate change on their people. The forum will then explore how an effective human rights framework can respond to calls for climate justice from our neighbours:
* WHAT STRUCTURES ARE CURRENTLY AVAILABLE INTERNATIONALLY THAT CAN BE APPLIED IN OUR NEIGHBOURHOOD?
* WHERE ARE THE GAPS?
* WHERE ARE THE STRESSES EMERGING?
* WHAT STRUCTURES DO WE NEED TO PUT IN PLACE FOR THE FUTURE?
The forum will be participatory and is open to as broad a range of organisations as possible. All who come will be contributing to the outcomes which will include recommendations to be taken to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Poland in December 2008.
Call for Papers and Abstracts
If you would like to present at the forum please send the title and a brief description of about 200 words by email to jillf@erc.org.au, or post Attention: Jill Finnane PO Box 2219 Homebush West LPO NSW 2140, or fax to 02 9745 9770
The DEADLINE for receiving abstracts is 31 August. Papers will be 20 minutes in length. You will be notified by 7 September, by email or phone if your proposal is accepted.
Registration
Fee (includes lunch, morning and afternoon tea) (will depend on how much sponsorship we receive) Business/Government, NGO, Concession, Student
Early bird registration must be received by Monday 1 October 2008 to be eligible for the discount. Cheques should be made payable to the Edmund Rice Centre and posted to the above address.
ABN 4063781303
9.00am - 5pm Saturday 25 October 2008
Gleeson Auditorium Australian Catholic University
25A Barker Rd Strathfield NSW
Forum
The forum will open with Indigenous representatives from Australia and the Pacific speaking about the effects of climate change on their people. The forum will then explore how an effective human rights framework can respond to calls for climate justice from our neighbours:
* WHAT STRUCTURES ARE CURRENTLY AVAILABLE INTERNATIONALLY THAT CAN BE APPLIED IN OUR NEIGHBOURHOOD?
* WHERE ARE THE GAPS?
* WHERE ARE THE STRESSES EMERGING?
* WHAT STRUCTURES DO WE NEED TO PUT IN PLACE FOR THE FUTURE?
The forum will be participatory and is open to as broad a range of organisations as possible. All who come will be contributing to the outcomes which will include recommendations to be taken to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Poland in December 2008.
Call for Papers and Abstracts
If you would like to present at the forum please send the title and a brief description of about 200 words by email to jillf@erc.org.au, or post Attention: Jill Finnane PO Box 2219 Homebush West LPO NSW 2140, or fax to 02 9745 9770
The DEADLINE for receiving abstracts is 31 August. Papers will be 20 minutes in length. You will be notified by 7 September, by email or phone if your proposal is accepted.
Registration
Fee (includes lunch, morning and afternoon tea) (will depend on how much sponsorship we receive) Business/Government, NGO, Concession, Student
Early bird registration must be received by Monday 1 October 2008 to be eligible for the discount. Cheques should be made payable to the Edmund Rice Centre and posted to the above address.
ABN 4063781303
Dear friends,
Next week, a group of small islands' leaders plan to take the unprecedented step of putting a resolution before the United Nations calling upon the Security Counci to address climate change as a pressing threat to international peace and security.
It seems a small ask for all of us to sign the petition organised by Avaaz. Please consider signing the petition now! Click here
Signatures will be presented to the UN by the islands' ambassadors as they introduce their resolution next week. States who are sponsoring the resolution are Fiji, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Seychelles, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, joined by Canada and Turkey.
President Remengesau of Palau, a small island in the Pacific, recently said: 'Palau has lost at least one third of its coral reefs due to climate change related weather patterns. We also lost most of our agricultural production due to drought and extreme high tides. These are not theoretical, scientific losses -- they are the losses of our resources and our livelihoods.... For island states, time is not running out. It has run out. And our path may very well be the window to your own future and the future of our planet".
The more signatures are delivered to the UN next week, the more urgently this call will ring out to protect our common future. So please sign now: For a draft of the Small Islands States Resolution, please click here
You might also consider sending an email to the Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Affairs, Duncan Kerr, asking for Australia to support their resolution. This is one of the issues the delegation from the Pacific Calling Partnership will take up with him when it meets with him on 15th September so it would be helpful for you to have written to him from your organisation or as an indivdual before we meet. His email address is duncan.kerr.mp@aph.gov.au.
Thank you for your support
Jill Finnane
Pacific Calling Partnership
Edmund Rice Centre for Justice and Community Education
Flemington
Next week, a group of small islands' leaders plan to take the unprecedented step of putting a resolution before the United Nations calling upon the Security Counci to address climate change as a pressing threat to international peace and security.
It seems a small ask for all of us to sign the petition organised by Avaaz. Please consider signing the petition now! Click here
Signatures will be presented to the UN by the islands' ambassadors as they introduce their resolution next week. States who are sponsoring the resolution are Fiji, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Seychelles, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, joined by Canada and Turkey.
President Remengesau of Palau, a small island in the Pacific, recently said: 'Palau has lost at least one third of its coral reefs due to climate change related weather patterns. We also lost most of our agricultural production due to drought and extreme high tides. These are not theoretical, scientific losses -- they are the losses of our resources and our livelihoods.... For island states, time is not running out. It has run out. And our path may very well be the window to your own future and the future of our planet".
The more signatures are delivered to the UN next week, the more urgently this call will ring out to protect our common future. So please sign now: For a draft of the Small Islands States Resolution, please click here
You might also consider sending an email to the Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Affairs, Duncan Kerr, asking for Australia to support their resolution. This is one of the issues the delegation from the Pacific Calling Partnership will take up with him when it meets with him on 15th September so it would be helpful for you to have written to him from your organisation or as an indivdual before we meet. His email address is duncan.kerr.mp@aph.gov.au.
Thank you for your support
Jill Finnane
Pacific Calling Partnership
Edmund Rice Centre for Justice and Community Education
Flemington
Monday, August 18, 2008
ZIMBABWE CRISIS
Dear friends,
This Saturday, thousands of trade unionists and citizen groups will march on a Southern Africa leadership summit, waving red cards to signal that Mugabe must go. Stand with the marchers and the people of Zimbabwe -- send a red card now!
CLICK HERE TO SEND A RED CARD
Hopes are slipping away for a deal to resolve Zimbabwe's political crisis. Yesterday, Robert Mugabe announced plans to ignore the ongoing negotiations with the opposition MDC party, form a sham "Government of National Unity" with a breakaway opposition faction, and open parliament next week.
This weekend, when Southern Africa's 15 leaders, including Mugabe, meet at a major summit in Johannesburg, they will look out upon a sea of red. Thousands of Southern African trade unionists and other citizens will march to the summit waving red cards -- the football penalty symbol for expulsion -- and call for Mugabe to go. The organisers have appealed to Avaaz for international support, and will carry signs at the march representing the "red cards" sent by Avaaz members.
The region's powerful trade unions have threatened that unless Southern African leaders take action now, they will refuse to handle goods coming to or from Zimbabwe and will squeeze Mugabe out. A massive march this weekend backed by 100,000 supporters from around the world will be a overwhelming signal to Southern African leaders that they must act now before the crisis becomes even more desperate -- to announce that the Mbeki-led negotiations have failed, and to launch a new and fairer negotiating process immediately. Click below to send a red card, and pass this message along to friends and family!
Four and a half months have passed since the people of Zimbabwe voted for Morgan Tsvangirai and the Movement for Democratic Change on 29 March. Hyperinflation has exploded to an unimaginable 40,000,000%, and millions now face starvation. The EU, US, and UK have pledged a $1.9bn financial aid package to stabilise Zimbabwe's economy, feed the hungry and combat hyperinflation -- but only if Mugabe is removed.
Meanwhile, distribution of food aid by local and international humanitarian agencies has been prohibited by Mugabe's government. Torture camps remain in operation, political violence continues in some rural provinces, and 12 opposition MPs languish in jail on trumped-up charges. The Mbeki-led talks are collapsing, as Mugabe and his military high command insist on retaining control.
The people of Zimbabwe need strong allies willing to take bold action. Already, more than 300,000 Avaaz members -- including tens of thousands in Africa -- have signed petitions, donated funds, and written to their leaders in global campaigns for democracy and justice. After Avaaz flew a 280-square-metre banner over an Mbeki-chaired United Nations meeting, South Africa finally called for the release of elections results. In April, trade unions and civil society groups including Avaaz led a successful campaign to block a Chinese arms shipment to Zimbabwe. Now, as the crisis accelerates, our voices matter more than ever -- we can send an electronic wave of red cards to Johannesburg and bolster the efforts of on-the-ground advocates pressing for change.
Join the global outcry now, and then pass this message along!
http://www.avaaz.org/en/red_card_for_mugabe
With hope,
Ben, Alice, Ricken, Brett, Paul, Iain, Pascal, Graziela, Veronique, and Milena -- the Avaaz.org team
PS: For a report on Avaaz's campaigning so far.
PSS: Here are links to sources for this alert:
"Zimbabwe: Mugabe set to keep power amid rumours of breakaway deal" - The Guardian, 14 August 2008
http://
Information on the march - COSATU / SW Radio Africa
"South Africa: Unions Bid to Halt Zimbabwe Arms Ship" - Business Day (Johannesburg), 22 April 2008
"No arms for Zimbabwe" - Avaaz campaign
This Saturday, thousands of trade unionists and citizen groups will march on a Southern Africa leadership summit, waving red cards to signal that Mugabe must go. Stand with the marchers and the people of Zimbabwe -- send a red card now!
CLICK HERE TO SEND A RED CARD
Hopes are slipping away for a deal to resolve Zimbabwe's political crisis. Yesterday, Robert Mugabe announced plans to ignore the ongoing negotiations with the opposition MDC party, form a sham "Government of National Unity" with a breakaway opposition faction, and open parliament next week.
This weekend, when Southern Africa's 15 leaders, including Mugabe, meet at a major summit in Johannesburg, they will look out upon a sea of red. Thousands of Southern African trade unionists and other citizens will march to the summit waving red cards -- the football penalty symbol for expulsion -- and call for Mugabe to go. The organisers have appealed to Avaaz for international support, and will carry signs at the march representing the "red cards" sent by Avaaz members.
The region's powerful trade unions have threatened that unless Southern African leaders take action now, they will refuse to handle goods coming to or from Zimbabwe and will squeeze Mugabe out. A massive march this weekend backed by 100,000 supporters from around the world will be a overwhelming signal to Southern African leaders that they must act now before the crisis becomes even more desperate -- to announce that the Mbeki-led negotiations have failed, and to launch a new and fairer negotiating process immediately. Click below to send a red card, and pass this message along to friends and family!
Four and a half months have passed since the people of Zimbabwe voted for Morgan Tsvangirai and the Movement for Democratic Change on 29 March. Hyperinflation has exploded to an unimaginable 40,000,000%, and millions now face starvation. The EU, US, and UK have pledged a $1.9bn financial aid package to stabilise Zimbabwe's economy, feed the hungry and combat hyperinflation -- but only if Mugabe is removed.
Meanwhile, distribution of food aid by local and international humanitarian agencies has been prohibited by Mugabe's government. Torture camps remain in operation, political violence continues in some rural provinces, and 12 opposition MPs languish in jail on trumped-up charges. The Mbeki-led talks are collapsing, as Mugabe and his military high command insist on retaining control.
The people of Zimbabwe need strong allies willing to take bold action. Already, more than 300,000 Avaaz members -- including tens of thousands in Africa -- have signed petitions, donated funds, and written to their leaders in global campaigns for democracy and justice. After Avaaz flew a 280-square-metre banner over an Mbeki-chaired United Nations meeting, South Africa finally called for the release of elections results. In April, trade unions and civil society groups including Avaaz led a successful campaign to block a Chinese arms shipment to Zimbabwe. Now, as the crisis accelerates, our voices matter more than ever -- we can send an electronic wave of red cards to Johannesburg and bolster the efforts of on-the-ground advocates pressing for change.
Join the global outcry now, and then pass this message along!
http://www.avaaz.org/en/red_card_for_mugabe
With hope,
Ben, Alice, Ricken, Brett, Paul, Iain, Pascal, Graziela, Veronique, and Milena -- the Avaaz.org team
PS: For a report on Avaaz's campaigning so far.
PSS: Here are links to sources for this alert:
"Zimbabwe: Mugabe set to keep power amid rumours of breakaway deal" - The Guardian, 14 August 2008
http://
Information on the march - COSATU / SW Radio Africa
"South Africa: Unions Bid to Halt Zimbabwe Arms Ship" - Business Day (Johannesburg), 22 April 2008
"No arms for Zimbabwe" - Avaaz campaign
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