Green Left Weekly Activist Calendar 2013-10-09

	Green Left Weekly Activist Calendar
	October 9, 2013

Red Cinema: AZADI: Oppression, detention, asylum, hope, faith, freedom

Thursday, October 10, 7pm (meal from 6:30pm). Every year, thousands of people set sail for Australian shores seeking asylum, seeking protection, seeking freedom. Azadi follows the plight of an Afghani schoolteacher and his asthmatic son, who escape their oppressive homeland only to encounter another kind of persecution upon arrival in Australia. This short film will be introduced by a refugee activist. Afterwards there will be a discussion of the refugee policies of the Abbott government and what we can do. $10/$6. Resistance Centre, level 5, 407 Swanston St, City (opposite RMIT).  For more info ph 9639 8622.

Rally: March against Monsanto

Saturday, October 12, 2pm. Part of an international day of action. We are marching for: labelling on GM food; long-term health testing of GM food; a halt to GM food approvals; the right to save seeds; sustainable agriculture; transparency and accountability. State Library, 328 Swanston St, City.

Conference: Stand up! Fight back! Ideas to challenge Abbott's agenda

Saturday, November 2. Plenary & workshop topics: Workers, refugees, the environment: In the firing line but fighting back * What kind of feminism are we fighting for? * Beyond market solutions: Fighting for environmental justice * Towards a socialist Australia * No justice, No peace: Uniting to fight racism. 10am-5pm. Maritime Union of Australia Hall, 46-54 Ireland Street, North Melbourne (5 minute walk from North Melbourne Station). Full day: $15/$8 (Includes morning & afternoon tea); half day: $7/$4 (includes morning or afternoon tea) . Lunch available. Organised by Socialist Alliance. For more info ph 9639 8622.

This is the regular Melbourne activist calendar compiled by Green Left Weekly. Emailed to subscribers each Wednesday fortnight, it is a one-stop listing of the main left and progressive events in Melbourne and Geelong. Since it began in early 1991, Green Left Weekly has offered an indispensable alternative to the lies of the big-business media and has helped build the various movements for social change. To subscribe to Green Left Weekly, visit our secure online website for rates and payment or call our national hotline on 1800 634 206. You can also contact us at the Resistance Centre, 5th floor, 407 Swanston St, City; ph 9639 8622. In Geelong we are at the Activist Centre, Trades Hall, 127 Myers St (opening hours: Mon 2-4:30pm, Fri 10am-4:30pm); ph 5222 6900. New email address? Not already receiving this calendar regularly? Want to subscribe someone else? Let us know at Greenleft Melbourne.

Ongoing Picket: Stop the East-West tunnel. Cnr Westgarth & Brunswick Sts, Fitzroy. Thursday, October 10 Red Cinema: AZADI: Oppression Detention Asylum Hope Faith Freedom. Every year, thousands of people set sail for Australian shores seeking asylum, seeking protection, seeking freedom. Azadi follows the plight of an Afghani schoolteacher and his asthmatic son, who escape their oppressive homeland only to encounter another kind of persecution upon arrival in Australia. This short film will be introduced by a refugee activist. Afterwards there will be a Q&A on the policies of the Abbott government and what we can do. 7pm (cheap meal from 6:30pm). Resistance Centre, level 5, 407 Swanston St, City (opposite RMIT). $10/$6.  For more info ph 9639 8622. 3CR film fundraiser: Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer. Five women wearing brightly coloured balaclavas rushed the altar of a Moscow Russian Orthodox Cathedral with microphones, speakers and a guitar and launched into a 'punk prayer' in protest against Vladimir Putin's 'excessive nationalism'. Come to the 3CR film fundraiser and get the real story of what happened next. 6:30pm. Cinema Nova, 380 Lygon St, Carlton. $22/$18. To book visit 3CR. Saturday, October 12 Rally: Protect abortion rights! Don't wait for Abbott to take away our right to choose! On October 12, anti-choice bigots are holding their ‘March for the Babies’, which begins at Treasury Gardens and ends at Parliament House so we are holding a counter-rally on the steps of Parliament House. 12:30pm. State Parliament, Spring St, City. Rally: March against Monsanto. Part of an international day of action. We are marching for: labelling on GM food; long-term health testing of GM food; a halt to GM food approvals; the right to save seeds; sustainable agriculture; transparency and accountability. 2pm. State Library, 328 Swanston St, City. Public meeting: Omission of emissions: our environment, livestock & the climate crisis. Environmental and animal rights campaigner Paul Mahony will talk about the anthropogenic climate change crisis and demonstrate the impact of animal agriculture on climate and thus the environment we live in, and care about. Presentation preceding the Mullum Mullum Festival AGM. 4pm. Yarran Dheran Information Centre, Mitcham (enter from Ashburton Drive). Free event. All welcome. RSVP not required. For more info ph 9719 7661 or visitMullum Mullum Festival. Saturday, October 12- Sunday, October 13 Conference: Psychology for a Safe Climate. How can psychology and the social sciences help us face the reality of climate change? This conference will bring together researchers, practitioners and writers in psychology and the social sciences to examine these issues. The conference will include presentations and networking opportunities, including a dinner on Saturday evening. Community Room, Edinburgh Gardens, North Fitzroy.  Saturday October 12: 9:30am-5:30pm, and Sunday October 13: 10am-3pm. Dinner on Saturday evening at nearby restaurant. Haskins, The North Fitzroy Arms. To book visit Conference. Sunday, October 13 Rally: No to the East West tunnel. Yes to public transport! To show support for those engaging in peaceful community pickets to disrupt East West tunnel drilling we are asking everyone opposed to the East West tunnel to gather at the tunnel picket caravan on Sunday. This will be a family friendly event with food available by donation and speakers from various community groups who have been campaigning against the East West tunnel. To get involved in the campaign that has successfully disrupted East West tunnel drilling: Text ‘tunnel’ to 0432 447 036 to receive daily picket locations. 11am. Cnr Brunswick & Westgarth Sts, Fitzroy. For more info visit East West Tunnel pledge.  Planning meeting: Stop the theft: Save public housing. Summary of the federal election campaign and planning meeting for how we move forward and build the rally which we have scheduled for November 9, 2013. 3pm. CHERS, 510 Lygon St, Carlton (Carlton flats). Tuesday, October 15 Public meeting: Trade & technology: What does the TPP mean for Australia? Academic and invited panel members will each provide a short presentation summarising issues of interest before opening discussion up with the broader audience. 5:30pm. Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn Campus, TD Building, Room TD121, Wakefield St, Hawthorn. Places are limited. Event sponsored by Swinburne University. Register at Trade & Technology. Thursday, October 17 Public meeting: Henry Reynolds on the 'Forgotten War'. Australia is dotted with memorials to soldiers who fought in wars overseas. Why are there no official memorials or commemorations of the wars that were fought on Australian soil between Aborigines and white colonists? Why is it more controversial to talk about the frontier wars now than it was 100 years ago? 12:45–1:15pm. The Wheeler Centre, 176 Little Lonsdale St, City. This is a free event. Bookings are not required. Rally: Support international student cleaners! Stop international students being exploited, bullied and pushed into poverty in Melbourne’s office-cleaning industry! These students face bullying, intimidation and underpayment of up to $15,000 a year. Cleaners want all companies to sign a new Clean Start Agreement and guarantee respect, fair pay and decent conditions for all city office cleaners. 12pm. State Library, cnr La Trobe & Swanston Sts, City. Friday, October 18 Rally: Every worker counts. Join us in the Fluro Fightback. Stand up for workers trapped in insecure work during Anti-Poverty Week. 8am. Southern Cross Station. For more info visit Jobs you can count on. Book launch: How to Make Trouble & Influence People (2nd edition). Reveals Australia’s radical past through over 500 tales from the time of colonisation all the way to the present: Indigenous resistance, convict revolts and escapes, picket line hijinks, student occupations, creative direct action, media pranks, urban interventions, squatting, blockades, banner drops, street theatre and billboard liberation; including stories and anecdotes, interviews with pranksters and troublemakers, and over 300 spectacular photos documenting the vital history of creative resistance in this country. Speakers: Iain McIntyre (book author); Tom Civil (book designer and street artist); Rayna Fahey (craftivist). 6PM. Friends of the Earth Food Co-op & Cafe, 312 Smith St, Collingwood (cnr Smith & Perry Sts). Saturday, October 19 AAWL open day: A day in solidarity. Meeting and workshop to discuss strategies and future directions in AAWL. Come along and find out more about our campaigns, our organising strategies, and help us build and plan for the next year. 11am-4pm. Fitzroy Library, 128 Moor St, Fitzroy. Rally: Reclaim the Night Melbourne 2013. We will march together calling for justice and full funding of support services for survivors. We call for an end to gender inequalities — the underlying cause of violence against women. We stand together to demand our basic human right to safety and the right to participate in society to the fullest extent, free from harassment, discrimination and violence. 7pm. Brunswick Town Hall, 233 Sydney Rd, Brunswick. Concert: The Conch CD launch. The Conch aims to help mobilise and inspire communities to organise and to create a new vision of society. Because we want to be part of the movements for social change, we want to be part of the thinking and discussion that goes on among them. We want to help be a platform for all those others who want to make music and art for the revolution! Just six short years after our last release, we have a new album: Come and help us launch it! 3pm. The Reverence Hotel, 28 Napier St, Footscray. Tuesday, October 22 Public meeting: Climate change vs. nukes. Screening Climate of Hope and Women of Fukushima. Speaker:Jim Green (Friends of the Earth). 7pm. Longplay Bar & Cinema, 318 St Georges Rd, North Fitzroy. Hosted by the ACE Collective. Friday, October 25 Fundraiser: Rock for Refugees. This will be a very special night of music, dancing, sharing stories and most of all information about how you can get involved with grassroots refugee struggles. Featuring: New dub city; Flybz; Birdz. 7:30pm. Bar 303, 303 High St, Northcote. $8/$10 (solidarity). This is a fundraiser for RISE (Refugees, Survivors and Ex-Detainees). Wednesday, October 30 Rally: Abbott get your hands off our education and student unions. Student action against Abbott and Pyne’s ‘inquiry’ into higher education. We will assemble at Parliament House and then march to the Liberal Party HQ on Exhibition St. Stand up and fight back for your right to a fair and equal tertiary education. 12:30pm. Parliament, Spring St, City. Saturday, November 2 Conference: Stand up! Fight back! Ideas to challenge Abbott's agenda. Plenary & workshop topics on:Workers, refugees, the environment: In the firing line but fighting back * What kind of feminism are we fighting for? * Beyond market solutions: Fighting for environmental justice * Towards a socialist Australia * No justice, No peace: Uniting to fight racism. 10am-5pm. Maritime Union of Australia Hall, 46-54 Ireland St, North Melbourne (5-minute walk from North Melbourne Station). Full day: $15/$8 (includes morning & afternoon tea); half day: $7/$4 (includes morning or afternoon tea) . Lunch available. Organised by Socialist Alliance. For more info ph 9639 8622. Sunday, November 3 Film screening: Mary Meets Mohammad. Tasmania’s first detention centre opens and local knitting club member Mary, a staunchly Christian pensioner, is not welcoming of the 400 male asylum seekers mostly from Afghanistan. Mohammad is a 26 year old Muslim asylum seeker detained inside the centre and an unlikely friendship develops between Mary and Mohammad after her knitting club donates woollen beanies to the asylum seekers. Mary finds many of her prior beliefs are challenged as her relationship with Mohammad deepens. 6:30pm Premiere + filmmaker Q & A. (Then sessions twice day from November 7-13.) Kino Cinema, 45 Collins St, City. To book ph 9650 2100 or visit Mary meets Mohammad. Wednesday, November 6 Public meeting: Workers power and international action. AAWL co-ordinator Pier Moro reports on his recent visit to India and the struggles of car workers at Maruti Suzuki. 6pm. Evatt Room, Trades Hall. Organised by Australia Asia Worker Links. Saturday, November 9 Public meeting: Trade unionist refugee activist strategy meeting. The aim of this meeting is to discuss how to build more effective networks between unionists and refugee activists in order to build greater support for the refugee campaign. Speakers: Kevin Bracken (MUA Victorian branch secretary); Jeannie Rea (NTEU national president). 1pm. ANF house, 540 Elizabeth St, City. Organised by Refugee Action Collective. Tuesday, November 12 Public meeting: 17,300 nuclear weapons. Screening Maralinga Pieces, Genie in a bottle: Unleashed and The War Game. Speakers: Dimity Hawkins, Tim Wright (International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons) and Gisela Gardener. 7pm. Longplay Bar and Cinema, 318 St Georges Rd, North Fitzroy. Hosted by the ACE Collective. Monday, November 18 Rally: Canberra convergence to Demand a fair go for refugees & asylum seekers. It's time to tell our parliamentarians to stop violating human rights and adopt compassionate policies that protect asylum seekers. Parliament House, Canberra. To join the bus from Melbourne, email trconcepts@netspace.net.au or ph 0409 252 673. Organised by Refugee Action Network. Friday, November 22 Rod Quantock: Forty-five and counting. A walk down Memory Tollway (Rod remembers when it was a Lane) as Australia’s most seriously funny comedian reveals the things that have made him laugh for the last 45 years and sets a course for the next 45. Doors open 7pm (for 7:30pm start). To book visit Ticketek. Saturday, November 23 Rally: Equal marriage rights now. 1pm. State Library, 328 Swanston St, City. Tuesday, November 26 Public meeting: Muckaty & radioactive waste. Screening Muckaty Voices and Into Eternity. Speaker: Dave Sweeney (Australian Conservation Foundation). 7pm. Longplay Bar and Cinema, 318 St Georges Rd, North Fitzroy. Hosted by the ACE Collective. Friday, December 13-Sunday, December 15 Conference: How to make a revolution. Ideas for socialist youth. For young people across Australia and the world, these are difficult times. The newly elected Coalition led by the bigot Tony Abbott is rolling out a wave of cuts and attacks against young people, students, the LGBTIQ community, women, indigenous people, workers and refugees, while around the world governments and the ruling elite attempt to hold onto power against a rising tide of furious and marginalised young people.This is a conference to help young people who are ready and willing to challenge the system to develop a political understanding of the oppressive system we live under and a clear analysis of how to change it. Brisbane Activist Centre, 74b Wickham Street, Fortitude Valley. Organ ised by Resistance & Socialist Alliance. For more info ph 9639 8622.

Saturday, October 12 Albury-Wodonga Rally: Equal love now. Speakers: Virginia Mansel Lees (president, National Tertiary Education Union, Victorian Division); Paige Phoenix (transgendered performer); Father Peter (St. Matthew's Church); Stephanie Meachen (Equal Love activist). 1pm. QEII Square, 538 Dean St, Albury. MAPW fundraiser: Another dazzling evening with music from jazz to Gilbert & Sullivan. 7:30pm. Keith Humble Centre, Geelong College, cnr Aphrasia St & Claremont Ave, Geelong. For more info & tickets contact Medical Association for the Prevention of War. Saturday, October 19 Rally: Refugees are welcome! Rally will commence at the Forecourt area in Johnstone Park (Gheringhap Street side) and proceed through town down to the waterfront where a ceremony will be held to commemorate the sinking of SIEV X, which caused the deaths of 353 asylum seekers under the Howard government. Bring out your banners and placards, time to protest the ever increasing anti-refugee sentiment being put forward by the Liberal government. 11am. Johnstone Park, Fenwick St, Geelong. Organised by Combined Refugee Action Group. Saturday, November 9 Benalla Public meeting: Stop the boats, burn the boats or welcome the boats? Speakers: Julian Burnside & Pamela Curr (Asylum Seeker Resource Centre). This public forum will discuss the current political and social implications of seeking asylum in Australia and ways in which we might respond to the need for safe refuge in Australia. 6pm. FCJ College, Wedge St, Benalla.

Beyond Zero Emissions Melbourne branch. We meet on the third Monday of every month at Level 2, Kindness House, 288 Brunswick St, Fitzroy. For more info email Chitra Perez or ph 0401 087 085. Friends of the Earth's Anti-Nuclear & Clean Energy (ACE) collective. Meets every second Tuesday. FoE office, 312 Smith St, Collingwood. For meeting times & more info email Zin. Indigenous Social Justice Association. The Indigenous Social Justice Association was established in January 2005 campaigns to permanently stop Aboriginal deaths in custody. During 2013, ISJA will meet the first Thursday of every month. For more info visit ISJA. Melbourne Feminist Action Group. It's time to put women's rights back on the public agenda. We've started an open organising group and everyone's invited, from already existing women's rights groups and activist organisations, to women and men who may never have been involved in feminist action in their lives but just want to do something. For more info ph 0438 869 790 or email us. Quit Coal: No New Coal Power for Victoria. A Melbourne-based collective which campaigns against expansion of the coal industry in Victoria. We believe this is important because building new coal infrastructure locks in decades of dirty, old technology, when we should be moving towards clean, renewable energy. Quit Coal meets each Wednesday at 6pm, at FOE, 312 Smith St, Collingwood. For more info visit Quit Coal or email us. Refugee Action Collective. Established in 2000, RAC is a democratic, grassroots activist collective, representing a broad cross section of the community. It aims to mobilise opposition to Australia's inhuman refugee policies. For more info ph 0413 377 978 or visit RAC. Victorian Climate Action Calendar. For a comprehensive list of climate action events in our state. To subscribe to the calendar email Monique Decortis. Weekly updates are e-mailed out and online updates are available at VCAC. To add an event to the calendar, please download the Event Template from the website. Feel free to forward the VCAC to other interested people. Workers Solidarity Network. WSN believes that we, as workers, have the power to improve our working conditions and bring about positive social change. WSN believes that the only way to bring about a fairer share of resources in our society in by forming active unions and community organisations to fight for it. For more info visit WSN.

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Links: 'Socialism for the 21st century'

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Socialist Alliance: Broad, non-sectarian, activist

Socialist Alliance is a proud supporter of the Green Left Weekly project and contributes a regular column. Socialist Alliance is a broad, non-sectarian socialist party, dedicated to bringing together all those who want to resist the capitalist assault on our planet and its people and fight for a socialist society that puts people's needs before business profits. Anyone who agrees with the general approach of our policies is welcome to join and organisations are invited to affiliate. For more information visit Socialist Alliance or join us on Facebook. See our recent statements: Don't agonise, organise against Abbott's agenda Take back the wealth: Five reasonsto nationalise the mines Climate emergency Contact Socialist Alliance. Join with other socialists in the struggle. Melbourne: Visit us at the Resistance Centre, 5th floor, 407 Swanston St, City; ph 9639 8622. In Melbourne, Socialist Alliance meets on the first Tuesday of each month, 6:30pm, at the Resistance Centre. Geelong: Activist Centre, Trades Hall, 127 Myers St (opening hours: Mon 2-4:30pm, Fri 10am-4:30pm); ph 5222 6900.

Moreland Socialists

Moreland Socialists is open to anyone (even if you live outside the area) who wants to work constructively to support Socialist Alliance councillor Sue Bolton and use her position to build up a stronger activist left presence in Moreland. In general, we meet monthly and alternate between Coburg and Fawkner. If you want to get involved in the group, email us at Socialist Alliance or phone Sue on 9639 8622 or 0413 377 978. For news and opinion visit Sue's Moreland Report or Facebook.