Dale Hess - Calendar - 20111012 to 20111028

Wednesday 12 October, 6.30 pm – 8.30 pm: War without End: a Lament 10 years inAfghanistan: a critical reflection.

Speakers: Professor Amin Saikal, Professor of Political Science and Director of the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies at ANU; Jessica Morrison who spent two weeks in Afghanistan meeting with humanitarian and peace building organisations in early 2011. She teaches Social Work at Victoria University. St Paul’s Cathedral, Melbourne. Supported by Act for Peace, Anglicord, Anglican Social Responsibilities Committee, Baptist Church, Centre for Excellence in Islamic Studies, Islamic Council of Victoria, Mark the Evangelist Church (North Melbourne), Social Policy Connections, Quaker Peace and Social Justice Network, TEAR, Yarra Institute. An offering will be received to assist with costs.

Thursday 13 October, 6.30 pm: Working For Peace: A PBI Information Night. 

An Information evening for people interesting in finding out more about the work of Peace Brigades International (PBI) in Nepal, Mexico, Colombia or Guatemala.The evening is a detailed introduction to PBI's unique role in protecting human rights with videos, presentations and discussions about PBI's work facilitating peace-building initiatives and providing protective accompaniment for human rights defenders, organisations and communities threatened by political violence. An opportunity to find out about peace work overseas, what its like to volunteer on a PBI project or get involved in this critically important human rights organisation here in Australia. Travellers Bookstore, 294 Smith Street, Collingwood.

RSVP to Ellen at coordinator@pbi-australia.org. Visit www.pbi-australia.org for more info.

Saturday 15 October, 2.30 pm: Futility of War. 

‘The war’, wrote one of its fiercest opponents and 19^th century diarist Charles Gerville, ‘was founded in delusion and error.’ Chief political correspondent for SBS, Karen Middleton, An Unwinnable War, philospher-historian Ian  Bickerton, An Illusion of Victory, academics Fay Anderson and Richard Trembath, Witnesses to War, present their views and research on the mythmaking, propaganda and the tensions between political and military decision . Chair: Carole Wigg, Medical Association for Prevention of War. Daily Pass: $30.00; Each Session: $7, unless otherwise stated students: $5.00 per session. Lunch $15.

Prepaid, early bookings are essential: ELTHAMbookshop@bigpond.com, 9439 8700. Venue:The Barn, Montsalvat, Hillcrest Avenue, Eltham Melways Ref: 22 A8 

Saturday 15 October, 5.15 pm: Poetry for Humanity. 

This  perennial and highly popular session at all World  Matters  presented by Adelaide based Friendly Street Poets Elaine Barker, Ros Schulzand Serbian born Jelena Dinic.  These empathetic poets couple their concerns for humanity with great poetic skill and strong personal voices in their profoundly moving, sometimes dark, writing that quietly and at a deep level open up their subjects for reflection and contemplation. Participating chair: Elaine Barker.  

Daily Pass: $30.00; Each Session: $7, unless otherwise stated students:$5.00 per session. Lunch $15. 

Prepaid, early bookings are essential: ELTHAMbookshop@bigpond.com,9439 8700. Venue:The Barn, Montsalvat, Hillcrest Avenue, Eltham Melways Ref: 22 A8

Sunday 16 October, 10.30 am: The Voice of Reason.  Professor Ian Lowe 

The Big Fix, Living in the Hothouse, pre-eminent scientist, environmentalist, cultural commentator and president of the Australian Conservation Foundation, thinks we have a chance, but we have to act now. Ian’s new book is an environmental and community call to arms – through logic rather than fear-mongering.  Chair: Morag Fraser. 

Supported by the Vic Climate Action Calendar. Daily Pass: $30.00; Each Session: $7, unless otherwise stated students: $5.00 per session. Lunch $15. Prepaid, early bookings are essential: ELTHAMbookshop@bigpond.com, 9439 8700. Venue:The Barn, Montsalvat, Hillcrest Avenue, Eltham Melways Ref: 22 A8

Sunday 16 October, 11.45 am: Missing Peace-Spotlight on Sri Lanka. 

“We all have to take positions when the temple bells ring.” A child soldier with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam,Niromi De Soyza, Tamil Tigress, activist Jeremy Liyanage and photographer Michael Baranovicshare their insights  and the compelling need for freedom amidst oppression. Chair: David Feith , Teacher,Globalisation, Monash  University. 

Daily Pass: $30.00; Each Session: $7, unless otherwise stated students: $5.00 per session. Lunch $15. Prepaid, early bookings are essential:ELTHAMbookshop@bigpond.com, 9439 8700. Venue:The Barn, Montsalvat, Hillcrest Avenue, Eltham Melways Ref: 22 A8

Tuesday 18 October, 6 pm – 7.15 pm: From Hiroshima to Fukushima: Paths to a Nuclear-Free Future. 

Tens of thousands of Japanese citizens recently took to the streets to demand a nuclear-free future. Since the March 11 crisis at Fukushima began, ICAN has worked to provide the public with accurate information about the health effects of radiation. We have also drawn attention to the inextricable link between nuclear power and nuclear weapons. This month, we invite you to a forum in Melbourne with Steven Leeper, the chair of the A-Bomb Museum and Peace Park in Hiroshima.

Green Building, 60 Leicester St, Carlton. Inquiries: info@icanw.org or 03 9347 4795

Tuesday 18 October, 6 pm – 9.30 pm: An evening of Brotherhood with Emmanuel Jal. 

On Tuesday 18 October supporters of the Brotherhood will have the exclusive opportunity to meet international hip-hop artist and human rights activist, Emmanuel Jal at a screening of the Emmy-nominated film War Child. Emmanuel will be talking with his childhood friend, David Vincent, about their shared experiences as children in an Ethiopian refugee camp. These experiences are depicted in the film, War Child, which tells Emmanuel Jal’s story.

Venue: The Collingwood Town Hall, 140 Hoddle Street, Abbotsford 3067, Melway ref 2C, J10. Contact: Brotherhood of St Laurence: Email:events@bsl.org.au; Phone: 9483 1301

Wednesday 19 October, 6 pm – 7 pm: You say you want a revolution: Emmanuel Jal speaks.

Sudanese rapper and writer Emmanuel Jal is a child of war. The internationally acclaimed hip-hop star is celebrated for his electrifying concerts and albums, songs written about his homeland and his history amongst the violence and horror of civil war. Alongside his musical appearance for the Festival, for one night only he discusses peace and reconciliation, his experiences as a child soldier and survivor, and his memoir War Child. 

Fairfax Studio, the Arts Centre, 100 St Kilda Rd Melbourne. $20 and $12 concession. Booking fee applies. Website:  http://wheelercentre.com/calendar/event/emmanuel-jal-speaks/

Friday 21 October, 5:30 pm -7:30 pm; Saturday 22nd October 2011, 9:00 am - 4:30 pm: National Justice Symposium. Keynote speaker: Frank Vincent QC.

Frank Vincent will be addressing the question: What does a humane and effective justice system look like? Key leaders across the justice system will address: crime prevention; sentencing and restorative justice; prisons; transitional and post release support. Friday evening entry by donation

TO BOOK:www.trybooking.com/UNP; Saturday $75 or $50 concession - TO BOOK: www.trybooking.com/UYZ.Registration closes on 14 October. Limited seating capacity - bookings essential. Enquiries - Tel: (03) 9427 7388 or email: kerrie.spencer@jss.org.au. For information -www.jss.org.au/nationaljusticesymposium.

The Symposium is jointly sponsored by Jesuit Social Services and the Public Policy Institute, Australian Catholic University.

Saturday 22 October, 8 pm: Notes from the Hard Road and Beyond: A Musical Collaboration from Revolution to Redemption.

Mavis Staples, Joss Stone, Rickie Lee Jones, Paul Dempsey, Emmanuel Jal, The Black Arm Band, John Schumann. notes from the hard road and beyondchronicles an inspiring canon of songs from civil rights, anti-war and women's suffrage to environmentalism, feminism and the abolition movement in a glorious and daring celebration of the music of protest, rebellion, love and hope. Weaving together music by Billie Holiday, Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, Leonard Cohen, Pete Seeger and Green Day, to name just a few, notes from the hard road and beyond is a unique and joyous testament to the indomitable nature of the human spirit, expressed through music.

Sidney Myer Music Bowl, King's Domain, Cnr Linlithgow and Alexandra Avenues, Melbourne 3004. Website:http://www.melbournefestival.com.au/program/production?id=3869&activityid=34899

Thursday 27 October, 6 pm – 7.30 pm: Ethics in Philanthropy Debate.

Does philanthropy reinforce the distinction between the haves and have nots? Come and hear what some of our leading philanthropic and public policy thinkers and commentators have to say. Speakers: Prof. Dennis Altman, Rod Quantock, Emeritus Prof. Dorothy Scott, Stephanie Alexander and Cath Smith. Co-hosted by Melbourne Writers Festival, Australian Communities Foundation, ABC Radio National and Federation Square.

BMW Edge, Federation Square. Free, bookings essential. Book now

Friday 28 October, 2 pm – 5 pm: Free public forum on religion and ecology to launch the Forum on Religion and Ecology @ Monash.

Panelists: Rabbi Jonathan Keren-Black (founding President of Greenfaith Australia), Assoc. Prof. John Bradley (MonashIndigenous Centre), Dr. Padmasiri Da Silva (Monash Centre for Studies in Religion and Theology),Prof. Norm Habel (Theology, Flinders University), Elyse Rider (Monash Centre for Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies), Dr. Salih Yucel (Monash Centre for Studies in Religion and Theology).

Monash University Caulfield H Building Room 1.16. RSVP (for catering purposes):

Sharon.Elliot@monash.edu.au with subject line: Forum on Religion and Ecology RSVP.

Garage Sale : Fri & Sat, 7-8 October : Address released

THE OCCUPY WALL STREET MOVEMENT ... coming to somewhere in Australia near you

I am sure that even people who are not on Twitter have heard of #OccupyWallStreet and the variations of it that have sprung up across the USA and Canada. Now, comes a declaration from here.  I am sure that what is happening in the USA will, more than likely, find itself replicated in Australia in spite of economic conditions being less severe than those experienced in the USA.

People are tired -

• of the wealthy having a dominant say and getting their way
• of insurance companies who won't pay up when natural disaster strikes
• of career minded politicians across all parties who are poll and business driven - not people sensitive
• of in your face alcohol, gambling and sexual services
• of the little losses of amenity in life eroding what was once a carefree Australian life

Please Networkers, feel free to add to the list of what you are tired of and what would get you off your behinds to protest outside a bank, a parliament, council offices, corporate establishments.  The list above is just to get you started.

Declaration of the Occupation of 

New York City

What follows is the first official, collective statement of the protesters in Zuccotti Park:

As we gather together in solidarity to express a feeling of mass injustice, we must not lose sight of what brought us together. We write so that all people who feel wronged by the corporate forces of the world can know that we are your allies.

As one people, united, we acknowledge the reality: that the future of the human race requires the cooperation of its members; that our system must protect our rights, and upon corruption of that system, it is up to the individuals to protect their own rights, and those of their neighbors; that a democratic government derives its just power from the people, but corporations do not seek consent to extract wealth from the people and the Earth; and that no true democracy is attainable when the process is determined by economic power. We come to you at a time when corporations, which place profit over people, self-interest over justice, and oppression over equality, run our governments. We have peaceably assembled here, as is our right, to let these facts be known.

• They have taken our houses through an illegal foreclosure process, despite not having the original mortgage.
• They have taken bailouts from taxpayers with impunity, and continue to give Executives exorbitant bonuses.
• They have perpetuated inequality and discrimination in the workplace based on age, the color of one's skin, sex, gender identity and sexual orientation.
• They have poisoned the food supply through negligence, and undermined the farming system through monopolization.
• They have profited off of the torture, confinement, and cruel treatment of countless animals, and actively hide these practices.
• They have continuously sought to strip employees of the right to negotiate for better pay and safer working conditions.
• They have held students hostage with tens of thousands of dollars of debt on education, which is itself a human right.
• They have consistently outsourced labor and used that outsourcing as leverage to cut workers’ healthcare and pay.
• They have influenced the courts to achieve the same rights as people, with none of the culpability or responsibility.
• They have spent millions of dollars on legal teams that look for ways to get them out of contracts in regards to health insurance.
• They have sold our privacy as a commodity.
• They have used the military and police force to prevent freedom of the press.
• They have deliberately declined to recall faulty products endangering lives in pursuit of profit.
• They determine economic policy, despite the catastrophic failures their policies have produced and continue to produce.
• They have donated large sums of money to politicians, who are responsible for regulating them.
• They continue to block alternate forms of energy to keep us dependent on oil.
• They continue to block generic forms of medicine that could save people’s lives or provide relief in order to protect investments that have already turned a substantial profit.
• They have purposely covered up oil spills, accidents, faulty bookkeeping, and inactive ingredients in pursuit of profit.
• They purposefully keep people misinformed and fearful through their control of the media.
• They have accepted private contracts to murder prisoners even when presented with serious doubts about their guilt.
• They have perpetuated colonialism at home and abroad.
• They have participated in the torture and murder of innocent civilians overseas.
• They continue to create weapons of mass destruction in order to receive government contracts.*

To the people of the world, We, the New York City General Assembly occupying Wall Street in Liberty Square, urge you to assert your power.

Exercise your right to peaceably assemble; occupy public space; create a process to address the problems we face, and generate solutions accessible to everyone.

To all communities that take action and form groups in the spirit of direct democracy, we offer support, documentation, and all of the resources at our disposal.

Join us and make your voices heard!

NationofChange has been an unfiltered media resource for the Occupy Wall Street movement even while the mainstream media has ignored, censored, and undermined the progress of the people.

Rather than delivering consumers to advertisers NationofChange works tirelessly to deliver people to one another.

Make a secure, tax-deductible donation to NationofChange today, and help sustain this vital service to the community.

Reconciliation Victoria resurrected and re-launched

Reconciliation Victoria info@reconciliationvic.org.au

Dear friends and supporters, Last night RecVic celebrated a significant moment in our history -  we were re-launched, or as our Co-Chair Vicki Clark put it, "Resurrected"!   Read and see more about the event on our website or in attached Media Release.   You can also download our recent newsletter, our submission on  Constitutional Reform and info about a current vacancy at RecVic. Thank you to everyone who was able to be there last night and share  in the celebrations, and to those who've supported the cause through  a tumultuous time.   We look forward to contributing to revitalising the reconciliation movement  in Victoria, and harnessing your support, commitment and energy as we  continue the journey towards the unfinished business of recognition, respect  and reconciliation between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and other Australians. Erin -- Erin McKinnon | Statewide Coordinator Reconciliation Victoria   e:  erin.mckinnon@reconciliationvic.org.au p:  04199 43520    working towards just and respectful relationships between  Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and other Australians   www.reconciliationvic.org.au Follow us on Facebook   Level 3, 673 Bourke St, Melbourne VIC  3000 Our office is on the land of the Wurundjeri People

Goings on in the Melbourne City Council : the weakness of local government in NSW and Victoria

There's a bit of a brouhaha over at the Melbourne City Council.  At the heart of the matter are concerns by some about electoral reform.  Matters of concern include:

1. Voter eligibility
2. Direct election of the Lord Mayor

Victoria and its capital city, Melbourne, 

have some practices which I regard as nothing less than 'quaint'.  

I have spent a large slice of my working life employed in local government.  I have worked in Local Government in Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria and in the Department of the Legislative Assembly in the Northern Territory in a position which meant that I worked closely with local government.  Based on this experience, my view is that Local Government in New South Wales and Victoria is weak. If I were to put my views more strongly, I believe that Local Government in New South Wales and Victoria is neutered, white-anted, kept at bay by the State Governments of the respective states.

One of the difficulties for Local Government 

is that it has no basis within the Australian Constitution. 

I believe that inclusion of Local Government in the constitution could strengthen local government vis a vis State and Commonwealth Governments.  While State Governments have the power to dismiss a specific local council and install an administrator, to me it seems that in NSW and Victoria local councils are on a roller blind.  There is a track record where Premiers of both conservative and labor sides of State politics have rid themselves of bothersome councils.  I would hope that constitutional recognition of local government would make this attitude less prevalent and provide some basis for fightback at the local level against decisions made in Spring and Macquarie Streets.  

However, let's take away the prospect or otherwise of constitutional recognition of local government and deal with matters as they are now. Let's look at the two issues above in light of my accusation of Victorian 'quaintness'.

The capital cities of NSW and Victoria, Sydney and Melbourne respectively, have councils which occupy only the CBD and close inner suburban areas of those cities.  Then the remaining suburban areas have their own councils.  Over the years amalgamations have occurred to enlarge these councils for the purpose of greater financial efficiencies.  The City of Brisbane is not like this. The differences between Brisbane on one hand and Sydney and Melboure on the other are significant and, in my experience, otherwise knowledgable people are not aware of the difference and their implications.

Voter eligibility

In the City of Melbourne, voter registration is dependent upon being over 18 and being an owner or occupier of a rateable property.  This appears to be a hangover from the archaic once-common practice whereby only actual ratepayers were entitled to vote in local government elections. 

It is amazing that any voter eligibility in this day and age has any connection whatsoever to property.  In short, if you are homeless in the City of Melbourne you are disenfranchised - even if you have spent your whole life within its boundaries. At best, this practice is 'quaint' and antiquated.  Voters rolls within the City of Melbourne should be dependent upon the electoral roll maintained by the Australian Electoral Commission and the relevant State electoral organisations.  There are no property connections whatsoever in relation to voter eligibility for State and Commonwealth rolls and elections.

Direct Election of the Lord Mayor

 While the Lord Mayor of Melbourne is directly elected, out in the 'burbs the councillors take turns in being Mayor.  That last bit is not quite true.  The local suburban council elects a mayor for a twelve month period. In councils which remain in the control of one side or another over an extended period, 'taking turns' can become manifest as the side rewards each in turn with their own little twelve-month place in the local sun.

What does it matter, you might say.  Earlier this year, the City of Brisbane experienced extensive serious flooding.  When the Lord Mayor of Brisbane spoke, he spoke for the CBD and all the suburbs of Brisbane. He could speak with authority and unity.  Clover Moore in Sydney and Robert Doyle in Melbourne were they to be  in a similar circumstance could not speak for all the suburbs of Sydney and Melbourne - but only the respective CBD and related inner suburbs. 

There can be difficulties with the direct election of the Lord Mayor.  In Brisbane, because the Council Wards are so large, councillors salaries are set in accordance with salaries of State Members of Parliament simply because the Wards are similar in size to State electorates.  For a councillor to become Lord Mayor means giving up a seat that has been built up over time and a good salary to risk loss in a Lord Mayoral race.  This means that the Lord Mayoral race is usually between candidates who have no experience on the City of Brisbane Council.  In short, they are outsiders without the detailed knowledge of Council decisions and practices.  

I believe the practices in NSW and Victoria which don't allow for direct election of Mayors weakens local government in those states when compared with local government in Queensland.  I believe that local government is stronger in Queensland because they demarc themselves, to some extent, against the City of Brisbane Council.  The strength of local government in Brisbane impacts across the state.  I don't mean to suggest that Queensland is the land of milk and honey in relation to local government.  I wish to suggest that it has strengths which are not particularly evident in New South Wales and Victoria.  

The twelve month stint for Mayors in Victoria, outside the City of Melbourne, means that there is little opportunity for a local person to build up a successful and effective power base within the local community.  This benefits State Governments, irrespective of which political party holds the reins of government.  It means that the political parties don't have successful locally based politicians putting up successful runs for pre-selection for parliament.  Party machines can have their way in political pre-selections more readily to get up their favoured apparatchiks.  

My years in local government have shown me that the way Local Government works best is when there is a strong Mayor and a strong CEO.  Weakness on either side means ineffective or less than optimal governance.  When the Mayoral position is weakened - as it is when there is no direct election for the role - the unelected CEO becomes the dominant force.  At its worst this means either rubber-stamping by elected representatives of CEO initiated policies and decisions or disruption and dysfunctionality in decision-making by the elected body. From either of these factors, further adverse consequences can follow.

Reform is needed in Local Government in Victoria - but not necessarily in the way a lot of Victorians think.

GARAGE SALE : RINGWOOD, VIC : 7/8 OCTOBER 2011

It's Monday: Let's get organised - then all you fascists bound to lose

The Victorian Climate Action Calendar 24 September - 8 November 2011

A cup of coffee from across The Ditch

I hope @Iain 2008 doesn't mind but he sent me a nice cup of coffee in the form of this post below which has come from his Twitwall.  Iain lives across The Ditch and you will find more of him here.

~~~~~

Iain2008 Following

Life is Like a Cup of Coffee

posted 10/09/10

"A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.

Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups: porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite. 

He told his guests to help themselves to the coffee.

After everyone had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said, 'If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups have been taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.

Be assured that the cup adds no quality to the coffee.

In most cases, it is just more expensive, and in some cases, even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup.  But you consciously went for the best cups...  And then you began eyeing each other's cups to see who had the best one. 

Now consider this... 

Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of life we live. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee.

Savor the coffee, not the cups!

The happiest people don't have the best of everything.

They just make the best of everything.

Live simply.

Speak kindly.

Care deeply. 

Love generously.'"

Source:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3NgzQ9Pcsg

Like it? ReTweet it!  Share This!

RECLAIM, RESPECT, PROTECT - The 1000 Warrior March

The 1000 Warrior March

On Saturday the 5th of November, Aboriginal and Islander men will March to Reclaim, Respect & Protect.

The purpose of the 1000 Warrior March is to:

*       To Show solidarity amongst Aboriginal and Islander Men
*       To reinforce our place in family and community.
*       To reinforce our culture as a way forward.
*       To show we are role models for our families and our young.
*       To make a stand for healing our country.
*       To commit to the rights of Aboriginal people.
*       To pledge to honour the 1000 warrior values.

Aboriginal and Islander men will be participating in the March and they will march through Melbourne in harmony to Reclaim, Respect and Protect.  The men will then meet their families, friends and loved ones at Birrarung Marr (back of Federation Square) to celebrate.

DETAILS OF THE 1000 WARRIOR MARCH

DATE:

Saturday 5th of November 2011T

TIME: 

The March will begin at 10:00am

ADDRESS:

The Fig Tree

(top of Gertrude Street corner of Gertrude & Nicholson Streets Fitzroy)

For more information on the 1000 Warrior March please contact:

Alan Brown - 0413 045 536

Richard Frankland - 0408 486 603

Phil Cooper - 0417 112 422

We look forward to seeing all Aboriginal and Islander men

on Saturday 5th November

Regards
The 1000 Warrior March Committee

Involuntary simplicity - with maximum economic force

I look at this picture and it reminds me of when I supported boycotts against apartheid in South Africa back in the 1970s.  I have never been to South Africa but to me it looks like photographs from segregated communities in apartheid South Africa. 

The sad, horrible thing is that the photograph above is from 21st century Australia.  

The Northern Territory. 

Where we stigmatise Aboriginal people. 

Where we boss them around. 

Where we give them a specific card, a sort of economic passport 

which defines status rather like the the pass laws of apartheid South Africa.

And where we sing

Advance Australia Fair.

Aboriginal people have served as a social laboratory for the major political parties of Australia - the Liberal/National Party under John Howard which governed from 1996-2007 and the Australian Labor Party under Kevin Rudd and then Julia Gillard which has governed Australia since the end of 2007 and now governs by the skin of its teeth in a hung Parliament.

Both sides of the political coin have supported this evil, sinful public policy.

Now this system is to be extended further to urban black people and others dependent on the social security system through Centrelink.

We have become a nation which stigmatises people: Aboriginals, refugees and asylum seekers, the poor.  We are forcing people to simply live .... living, to put it simply, in dire and insecure circumstances depriving children of their future and the elderly of meaningful care and support while confusing and placing impositions on everyone else.  Then there are those who simply live a sort of death-in-life process because their wounds have meant addiction to grog and drugs or criminal offences which walk them through prison gates.

In all this, successive Australian Governments have played fast and loose with the Racial Discrimination Act which purports to give effect to Australia's responsibilities under The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD).  

We in Australia are hypocrites. 

We in Australia are people not to be trusted. 

For we Australians, our word is not our bond.  

Victorian Climate Action Calendar 17 September - 27 October 2011

The Meetup Story

Those of you who have your own blogs may know about meetup. It is a wonderful net tool for organising people to get together for meetings, a drink, whatever.  And while bloggers may love to communicate on their blogs, many of them like to meet up with similarly interested bloggers in their neighbourhood...so there's a tendency to use meetup.  In my mail box to-day dropped the wonderful and somewhat emotional story of how it all started............

Fellow Meetuppers,

I don't write to our whole community often, but this week is special because it's the 10th anniversary of 9/11 and many people don't know that Meetup is a 9/11 baby.

Let me tell you the Meetup story. I was living a couple miles from the Twin Towers, and I was the kind of person who thought local community doesn't matter much if we've got the internetand tv. The only time I thought about my neighbors was when I hoped they wouldn't bother me.

When the towers fell, I found myself talking to more neighbors in the days after 9/11 than ever before. People said hello to neighbors (next-door and across the city) who they'd normallyignore. People were looking after each other, helping each other, and meeting up with each other. You know, being neighborly.

A lot of people were thinking that maybe 9/11 could bring people together in a lasting way. So the idea for Meetup was born: Could we use the internet to get off the internet -- and grow local communities?

We didn't know if it would work. Most people thought it was a crazy idea -- especially because terrorism is designed to make people distrust one another.

A small team came together, and we launched Meetup 9 months after 9/11.

Today, almost 10 years and 10 million Meetuppers later, it's working. Every day, thousands of Meetups happen. Moms Meetups, Small Business Meetups, Fitness Meetups... a wild variety of 100,000 Meetup Groups with not much in common -- except one thing.

Every Meetup starts with people simply saying hello to neighbors. And what often happens next is still amazing to me. They grow businesses and bands together, they teach and motivate each other, they babysit each other's kids and find other ways to work together. They have fun and find solace together. They make friends and form powerful community. It's powerful stuff.

It's a wonderful revolution in local community, and it's thanks to everyone who shows up.

Meetups aren't about 9/11, but they may not be happening if it weren't for 9/11.

9/11 didn't make us too scared to go outside or talk to strangers. 9/11 didn't rip us apart. No, we're building new community together!!!!

The towers fell, but we rise up. And we're just getting started with these Meetups.

Scott Heiferman (on behalf of 80 people at Meetup HQ)
Co-Founder & CEO, Meetup
New York City
September 2011

--
Add info@meetup.com to your address book to receive all Meetup
emails

To manage your email settings, go to:
http://www.meetup.com/account/comm/

Meetup, PO Box 4668 #37895
New York, New York 10163-4668

The Sustainable Renter 2011 No. 3 : the checklist

Knowledge is power the headline says - and I believe it in more ways than one.  In matters of public policy and encouragement to voters, everything seems more geared to homeowners.  Certainly, little is available for renters - whether they are in the private rental market or renting some form of public housing.  Certainly, there is little or no coercion to get landlords pro-active and providing sustainable measures on their properties.

So what to do?  I believe it is up to us the renters who want to be green, who want sustainability in their lives.  So here is a check list:

1. Do your utmost to be a good tenant in every way.  This is credit in the bank, in a manner of speaking.  There are a lot of bad tenants out there: not paying their rent, doing disappearing acts, leaving premises in poor condition full of horrible old furniture.  Being the very opposite of these sort of people gives good street cred - and property manager cred at the real estate agency.  There is no guarantee that being the best-est tenant will get you what you want but one thing is certain - you won't get to first base in any negotiations without this vital component.
2. Put your thinking cap on and be reflective.  Sustainability is a way of life - in all parts of your life.  You don't establish sustainable life patterns without having a good think and reflecting on what you are doing now and what you might be able to do differently, better, and more sustainably.  So please remember: sustainability starts with you.
3. Look around.  Start with what you have.  For instance, when I moved into my current place the toilet would not switch off and would continue to fill - thus wasting vast amounts of water.  So I called to ask for it to be repaired.  The toilet cistern was a bit of an antique insofaras it was single flush.  So when I asked for the repair, I suggested that perhaps a new cistern with dual flush could be considered.  It was considered and now I have not only a properly operating toilet but a modern dual flush one.  Quite a reasonable transaction and one small step towards a sustainable renting experience.  
4. Garden. Also in the "look around" category is to look at how you might garden at your premises.  You may have a strip of lawn/land/garden.  You might have nothing more than a porch or the back steps.  Get some pots from the hard rubbish or a coolite box from the greengrocers and plant some herbs.  'Growing your own' is a vital part of sustainable living.  You may wonder what difference growing a few herbs in a box is going to make - especially when you can buy as you need it at the local supermarket.  The biggest and most vital difference is to acquire gardening skills.  This is a lifelong pursuit.  Even the best gardeners admit they are still learning after decades of garden involvement.  You need to look at the sunshine and light that plants need - and that herb box may need to be shifted around to different spots at different times of the year.  You learn that not only do you need wholistic food and maintenance, so does soil....and so on. So start your lifelong learning about the natural world right now.
5. Utilities. Electricity, gas, and water are things we can take for granted. We flick a switch and turn on a tap. It's there. We need it. We use it.  There is where Point No. 2 is vital.  The way we use these utilities can be crucial in our care for the planet.  Not to mention that there are major corporations out there making a heap of money out of our utility usage.  So, it's time to have a big think ... and often it will need to be of the thinking outside the square variety. Very few renters are living with solar power on their rooves but I reckon that should be the aim of the green and sustainable renter: to negotiate with the landlord for sustainable power.  
6. Conversations. Humans are social creatures and it is amazing what can be learned when we interact and converse with one another. Conversation, dialogue is the most basic way of exchanging information.  It is also why I plan to go along to ZCM's Carbon Tax Evasion pub night, August 11, 6-8pm, Edinburgh Castle Hotel, corner Sydney Road and Albion Street, Brunswick.  It's why I stay in touch with Green Renters and follow them on Twitter.  If I don't do these things, I might miss out on a vital piece of information or a useful contact which will help me on my journey and make a difference to my life as a sustainable renter.

The six point list above is not exhaustive, I'm sure.  If you can add to this list, please comment below.  More importantly, if you have been able to negotiate with your landlord for sustainable improvements please give us the goss on all of that so we can follow in your illustrious footsteps.

66 years of Nuclear Power : From Hiroshima and Nagasaki to Fukushima, please remember

HIROSHIMA DAY - 6 AUGUST 2011

Fukushima Power Plant - showing destruction

Bob Dylan - A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall 

Oh, where have you been, my blue-eyed son ?

And where have you been my darling young one ?

I've stumbled on the side of twelve misty mountains

I've walked and I've crawled on six crooked highways

I've stepped in the middle of seven sad forests

I've been out in front of a dozen dead oceans

I've been ten thousand miles in the mouth of a graveyard

And it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard, and it's a hard

It's a hard rain's a-gonna fall.

Oh, what did you see, my blue eyed son ?

And what did you see, my darling young one ?

I saw a newborn baby with wild wolves all around it

I saw a highway of diamonds with nobody on it

I saw a black branch with blood that kept drippin'

I saw a room full of men with their hammers a-bleedin'

I saw a white ladder all covered with water

I saw ten thousand takers whose tongues were all broken

I saw guns and sharp swords in the hands of young children

And it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard, and it's a hard

It's a hard rain's a-gonna fall.

And what did you hear, my blue-eyed son ?

And what did you hear, my darling young one ?

I heard the sound of a thunder, it roared out a warnin'

I heard the roar of a wave that could drown the whole world

I heard one hundred drummers whose hands were a-blazin'

I heard ten thousand whisperin' and nobody listenin'

I heard one person starve, I heard many people laughin'

Heard the song of a poet who died in the gutter

Heard the sound of a clown who cried in the alley

And it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard

And it's a hard rain's a-gonna fall.

Oh, who did you meet my blue-eyed son ?

Who did you meet, my darling young one ?

I met a young child beside a dead pony

I met a white man who walked a black dog

I met a young woman whose body was burning

I met a young girl, she gave me a rainbow

I met one man who was wounded in love

I met another man who was wounded and hatred

And it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard

And it's a hard rain's a-gonna fall.

And what'll you do now, my blue-eyed son ?

And what'll you do now my darling young one ?

I'm a-goin' back out 'fore the rain starts a-fallin'

I'll walk to the deepths of the deepest black forest

Where the people are a many and their hands are all empty

Where the pellets of poison are flooding their waters

Where the home in the valley meets the damp dirty prison

Where the executioner's face is always well hidden

Where hunger is ugly, where souls are forgotten

Where black is the color, where none is the number

And I'll tell and think it and speak it and breathe it

And reflect it from the mountain so all souls can see it

Then I'll stand on the ocean until I start sinkin'

But I'll know my songs well before I start singin'

And it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard, and it's a hard

It's a hard rain's a-gonna fall.

Lyrics from here

This is your Life. Do what you love, and do it often.

http://tradpad.blogspot.com/

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/a19l1v