LL:ART: many school students to rally against invasion
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/02/27/1046064168755.html Sydney Morning Herald - February 28 2003 Truants or not, many school students to rally against invasion By Gerard Noonan and Linda Doherty Students in NSW schools are being encouraged to express their feelings about war but those taking part in an anti-war demonstration next Wednesday without parental permission will be regarded as truants, school authorities say. The Department of Education is telling principals that students will not be given permission to attend an anti-war lunchtime rally organised by students from the University of Technology, Sydney. Catholic students face the same curbs. "Students who decide to attend a rally do so as individuals, guided by their own conscience; they will also need parental permission," said the head of Sydney's Catholic Education Office, Brother Kelvin Canavan. Principals interviewed by the Herald reported growing levels of stress among students, with anti-war petitions, passionate speeches at school assemblies and discussions in classes. At St Ignatius College, Riverview, the three school captains have written a strongly worded letter to the Prime Minister, calling for a withdrawal of Australian troops from the Persian Gulf and for a non-military solution. Tom van Beek, Sean Williams and Justin Fleming told Mr Howard a poll of 574 students at the Catholic high school showed 75 per cent were against Australian military participation in Iraq, regardless of the United Nations' position. The Riverside Girls High School captain, Nadya Marokakis, and its vice-captain, Elizabeth Garlan, led 25 fellow students in their school uniforms to the peace rally in Hyde Park on February 16. The 17-year-olds have addressed their school assembly and made banners arguing for peace. This is the first war these students have faced but many have studied the Vietnam and Gulf wars and feel "frustrated, more than anything else", Miss Garlan said. "Learning about the experience of war and the mistakes made, to see history repeating itself is frustrating for us. We're the next generation and they're messing with our future." Riverside's principal, Judy King, wondered whether educational authorities realised quite how deeply feelings were running and how aware most students were. The principal of St Raphael's primary in South Hurstville, Felicity Giles, said the pupils there had a heightened awareness and sense of unease. "At midday each day we down tools right across the school and say a prayer for peace - it might be a Muslim prayer or a Bahai or Hindu or Jewish prayer, not only a prayer from the Christian Catholic tradition. "They need to feel that it's the world that seeks peace." -- -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Sub: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsub: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
LL:DDV: Coming soon at Trades Hall
GET IT LIVE - GET IT AT TRADES HALL ARTS, bringing class back into the class struggle . . . KEV CARMODY with TONCHI McINTOSH One Night Only Kev Carmody has established himself as one of the most respected singer/songwriters in the country. Carmody lives out the life of a modern troubadour. He is a travelling songsmith with an itinerary which finds him touring the world. He regularly tours Australian goals, works with street kids, plays at a Greenpeace rally or fund-raiser, a world music celebration, an Aboriginal musical festival, on a university campus, or at Trades Hall. Kev will be accompanied by Tonchi McIntosh - a voice full of warmth and emotion, of a clear-sighted passion for the land and its traditional owners, moving from acoustic folk/rock to electric and touches of reggae and country. One of McIntosh's strengths is the meshing of imagery, be it allegorical or as raw and rich as the red earth of the outback. It gives his music an originality, that in Australia, is something to savour. The New Ballroom 8:30pm - Thursday, March 6th $20 Full/ $15 Conc - at the door on the night A CRACKER EVENING WITH JIMMY McGOVERN presented by the Australian Writers Guild Lovers of British drama and fans of television's Cracker, this is your chance to get up close and personal with screenwriter Jimmy McGovern. McGovern is something of an icon and hero in his hometown of Liverpool. He enjoys a reputation as a warm and gregarious individual. McGovern's success as a writer for stage and screen reads an impressive list of credits, including the award winning Cracker series staring Robbie Coltrane, the haunting British drama The Lakes and feature films including the controversial Priest and heart breaking Liam. Jimmy McGovern has generously agreed to this one off, unique event where he will enjoy a live interview with guild member Stella Kinsella and share clips and stories from his screen repertoire. This is a rare and valuable opportunity for writers and lovers of screen drama to participate in what promises to be an evening of insight and laughter. Come chew the fat with McGovern and enjoy some wine, music and a good old yarn from one of Britain's best practitioners. This is the first of a series of special Guild the Lily cabaret/panel events presented by the Victorian branch of the Australian Writers Guild. The Old Council Chambers 7:30pm Thursday, March 6th Bookings through Annie O'Hanlon of AWG on Ph: 03) 9328 5671 WHITE SETTLEMENT IN AUSTRALIA Violent Conquest or Benign Colonisation? Keith Windschuttle debates Pat Grimshaw In his recent book The Fabrication of Aboriginal History, Keith Windschuttle charges academic historians with a series of wilful misrepresentations intended to portray Australia as a society marked by atrocities against Aboriginies. In this important debate, Keith Windschuttle and Pat Grimshaw outline competing accounts of white settlement, and explain what is at stake in the dispute. In addition to The Fabrication of Aboriginal History (2002), Keith Windschuttle is the author of six other books on contemporary social issues, including The Killing of History: How Literary Critics and Social Theorists Are Murdering Our Past (2000). He is also publisher and a frequent contributor to The New Criterion and Quadrant. Pat Grimshaw holds the Max Crawford Chair of History at the University of Melbourne. She is the author of Women's Suffrage in New Zealand (revised edition 1987) and co-author of Creating a Nation (1994). A co-authored comparative study of the place of indigenous peoples in the political structures of British settler colonies is currently in press. The New Council Chambers 6:30pm Wednesday, March 5th Entry: $10 Full/ $5 Conc/ RMIT Students FREE This event is being presented by the RMIT Community Advocacy Unit & The New International Bookshop - WORLD SEASON Film Screenings presented by Access News & SKA TV - SIMON JONES MEMORIAL CAMPAIGN (UK): Simon Jones was killed on his first day as a casual worker at the Shoreham dock of Euromin, after being sent by their employment agency Personnel Selection. While campaigning to bring those responsible for Simon's death to justice, his family and friends have faced a systematic Government cover-up of the human cost of casualisation. And it happens in Australia too! . . . Learn about the very similar story of Anthony Carrick here and help stop corporate killing. 7pm Monday, March 3rd Trades Hall Bar FREE event - donations welcome
LL:DDV: Mornington Peninsula Anti War Events
STOP THE WAR Rally for Peace Upcoming Events for the Mornington Peninsula... Sunday, March 8, 1.00pm POINT NEPEAN PEACE WALK Meet at Visitor Centre and then well walk to Point Nepean! (5km round trip, Adults $7.00 Child/Conc $3.50 Family $17.50) Saturday, March 15, 12.00 noon FRANKSTON PEACE RALLY Beauty Park, Frankston (Melway 102 - C 3) Info: Alison 97664304 Every Friday Night, 5.00pm FRANKSTON PEACE VIGIL Shannon Mall, Frankston (Melway 100A D 6 / 102 - D 2) To Be Announced PUBLIC MEETINGS with MPs Greg Hunt and Bruce Billson More Info Dave DeRango 5982 1025 or 0403 900202 (Chairperson of Victorian Peace Network Mornington Peninsula Group); or email [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.vicpeace.org/ -- -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Sub: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsub: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
LL:INFO: War on Iraq Knowledge Test
Please pass this on. Take the 'War'-on-Iraq IQ Test Do you know enough to justify going to war with Iraq? 1. Q: What percentage of the world's population does the U.S. have? A: 6% 2. Q: What percentage of the world's wealth does the U.S. have? A: 50% 3. Q: Which country has the largest oil reserves? A: Saudi Arabia 4. Q: Which country has the second largest oil reserves? A: Iraq 5. Q: How much is spent on military budgets a year worldwide? A: $900+ billion 6. Q: How much of this is spent by the U.S.? A: 50% 7. Q: What percent of US military spending would ensure the essentials of life to everyone in the world, according to the UN? A: 10% (that's about $40 billion, the amount of funding initially requested to fund the US retaliatory attack on Afghanistan). 8. Q: How many people have died in wars since World War II? A: 86 million 9. Q: How long has Iraq had chemical and biological weapons? A: Since the early 1980's. 10. Q: Did Iraq develop these chemical & biological weapons on their own? A: No, the materials and technology were supplied by the US government, along with Britain and private corporations. 11. Q: Did the US government condemn the Iraqi use of gas warfare against Iran? A: No 12. Q: How many people did Saddam Hussein kill using gas in the Kurdish town of Halabja in 1988? A: 5,000 13. Q: How many western countries condemned this action at the time? A: 0 14. Q: How many gallons of agent Orange did America use in Vietnam? A: 17 million. 15. Q: Are there any proven links between Iraq and September 11th terrorist attack? A: No 16. Q: What is the estimated number of civilian casualties in the Gulf War? A: 35,000 17. Q: How many casualties did the Iraqi military inflict on the western forces during the Gulf War ? A: 0 18. Q: How many retreating Iraqi soldiers were buried alive by U.S. tanks with ploughs mounted on the front? A: 6,000 19. Q: How many tons of depleted uranium were left in Iraq and Kuwait after the Gulf War? A: 40 tons 20. Q: What according to the UN was the increase in cancer rates in Iraq between 1991 and 1994? A: 700% 21. Q: How much of Iraq's military capacity did America claim it had destroyed in 1991? A: 80% 22. Q: Is there any proof that Iraq plans to use its weapons for anything other than deterrence and self defense? A: No 23. Q: Does Iraq present more of a threat to world peace now than 10 years ago? A: No 24. Q: How many civilian deaths has the Pentagon predicted in the event of an attack on Iraq in 2002/3? A: 10,000 25. Q: What percentage of these will be children? A: Over 50% 26. Q: How many years has the U.S. engaged in air strikes on Iraq? A: 11 years 27. Q: Were the U.S and the UK at war with Iraq between December 1998 and September 1999? A: No 28. Q: How many pounds of explosives were dropped on Iraq between December 1998 and September 1999? A: 20 million 29. Q: How many years ago was UN Resolution 661 introduced, imposing strict sanctions on Iraq's imports and exports? A: 12 years 30. Q: What was the child death rate in Iraq in 1989 (per 1,000 births)? A: 38 31. Q: What was the estimated child death rate in Iraq in 1999 (per 1,000 births)? A: 131 (that's an increase of 345%) 32. Q: How many Iraqis are estimated to have died by October 1999 as a result of UN sanctions? A: 1.5 million 33. Q: How many Iraqi children are estimated to have died due to sanctions since 1997? A: 750,000 34. Q: Did Saddam order the inspectors out of Iraq? A: No 35. Q: How many inspections were there in November and December 1998? A: 300 36. Q: How many of these inspections had problems? A: 5 37. Q: Were the weapons inspectors allowed entry to the Ba'ath Party HQ? A: Yes 38. Q: Who said that by December 1998, "Iraq had in fact, been disarmed to a level unprecedented in modern history." A: Scott Ritter, UNSCOM chief 39. Q: In 1998 how much of Iraq's post 1991 capacity to develop weapons of mass destruction did the UN weapons inspectors claim to have discovered and dismantled? A: 90% 40. Q: Is Iraq willing to allow the weapons inspectors back in ? A: Yes 41. Q: How many UN resolutions did Israel violate by 1992? A: Over 65 42. Q: How many UN resolutions on Israel did America veto between 1972 and 1990? A: 30+ 44. Q: How many countries are known to have nuclear weapons? A: 8 45. Q: How many nuclear warheads has Iraq got? A: 0 46. Q: How many nuclear warheads has US got? A: over 10,000 47. Q: Which is the only country to use nuclear weapons? A: the US 48. Q: How many nuclear warheads does Israel have? A: Over 400 50. Q: Who said, "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter"? A: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr * Charles Sheketoff, Executive Director Oregon Center for Public Policy PO Box 7, Silverton, OR 97381 The United States Government will spend more on the military in fiscal year 2003, than all the rest of the countries on Earth combined. Current expenditures are 437
LL:DDV: Forum on East Timorese Asylum Seekers
* * * PLEASE CIRCULATE WIDELY * * * Justice for East Timorese Asylum Seekers NO DEPORTATIONS Thursday 13 March at 6.30pm Trades Hall (54 Victoria Street, Carlton) Featuring Fivo Freitas from the East Timorese community, and exploring what action the community can take to prevent the deportation of East Timorese Asylum Seekers. Other confirmed speakers include representatives from Action in Solidarity with Asia and the Pacific and the Refugee Action Collective. Invited speakers include representatives from the Sanctuary Network and the Australian Education Union. Please join this important discussion and help to circulate information about the event as widely as possible. Further information is available from Gillian on 0421 109 474. With thanks. -- -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Sub: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsub: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
LL:DDV: Women's Voices against War - Women's Performance Night
Green Left Weekly presents: 'Women's Voices against the War' Join us at our annual GLW Women's performance nite celebrating the manifold talents of uppity women and feisty feminists. A night of music, poetry and comedy Saturday, March, 22, 8.00pm=20 Barbukka 279 Smith St Fitzroy $12.00 or $7.00 conc. ALL WELCOME For more information and bookings contact : 9639 8622 or Rachel on 0403 798 420 -- -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Sub: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsub: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
LL:DDV: Socialist Alliance International Women's Day dinner
The Socialist Alliance invites you to: International Women's Day Dinner and the Maribyrnong & Brimbank Council Election Launch: " Peace, Justice & Solidarity" - No War on Iraq enjoy an exquisite three course meal, live performance and brief toasts from our candidates and local activists Saturday, March 8, 7.00pm Church Hall, Hyde Street (next to Council Chambers) Footscray costs: $ 25.00 (solidarity price), $ 20.00 waged, $ 10.00 concession for more information and bookings contact: Linda on 9687 0789 or 0403 920 394 -- -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Sub: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsub: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
LL:DDV: International Women's Day Luncheon
International Women's Day Luncheon Wednesday March 5 ~ 12.- 2 p.m. Level 4, Ross House, 247 Flinders Lane Melbourne 'NO WAR - AN IRAQI WOMAN SPEAKS OUT' SPEAKER: SURMA HAMID Celebrate IWD with us - delicious lunch $10 Union of Australian Women Inc A 002121R Ross House, 247 Flinders Lane, Melbourne, 3000 Phone/fax (03) 9654 7409 Email <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> . -- -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Sub: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsub: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
LL:DDV: White settlement: violent conquest/benign colonisation?
Please circulate White settlement in Australia: violent conquest or benign colonisation? Two of Australia's high-profile historians go head-to-head in Melbourne's Trades Hall. KEITH WINDSCHUTTLE debates PAT GRIMSHAW WEDNESDAY 5 MARCH @ 6.30PM New Council Chamber, Trades Hall Last year, the independent historian Keith Windschuttle published The Fabrication of Aboriginal History, a study of settlement in Tasmania which claims to debunk the orthodoxy that white colonisation meant murder and dispossession. On Wednesday 5th March, he debates Pat Grimshaw, the Max Crawford Professor of History at Melbourne University and author of numerous historical works, including a forthcoming co-authored study of the place of indigenous peoples in the political structures of British settler colonies. Roger Kimball in The New Criterion, New York declared The Fabrication of Aboriginal History a 'scholarly masterpiece - destined to become an historical classic' while Dr Shayne Breen from the University of Tasmania attacked it as 'replete with misconceptions, distortions, character assassinations and unsupportable generalisations'. The issues in dispute go to the heart of Australia's past, present and future. Have the conventional historians of settlement got it wrong or was this country founded on a deep and abiding injustice? This is an important event, not just for historians but for anyone who cares about black-white relations in Australia. Keith Windschuttle is the author of The Killing of History: How Literary Critics and Social Theorists Are Murdering Our Past (2000), now in its fourth edition, as well as five other books on contemporary social issues. His most recent book, The Fabrication of Aboriginal History, Volume One, Van Diemen's Land 1803-1847, was published by Macleay Press in November 2002. He is also a publisher and a frequent contributor to The New Criterion and Quadrant. Pat Grimshaw holds the Max Crawford Chair of History at the University of Melbourne. She is the author of Women's Suffrage in New Zealand (revised edition 1987) and Paths of Duty: American Missionary Women in Nineteenth Century Hawaii (1989), and co-author of Creating a Nation (1994). A co-authored comparative study of the place of indigenous peoples in the political structures of British settler colonies is currently in press with Manchester University Press. The event will be chaired by Associate Professor Joy Damousi, Editor of Australian Historical Studies. ENTRY: $5 FULL / $3 CONCESSION / RMIT & LATROBE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS FREE Further information from Gillian on 9925 2910 or Jeff on 9662 3744 www.advocacy.tce.rmit.edu.au or www.nibs.org.au Sponsored by the RMIT Community Advocacy Unit, the New International Bookshop, Australian Historical Studies, the Australian Historical Association, Latrobe University Aboriginal Studies and Virtual Communities. Jeff Sparrow Coordinator New International Book Co-operative Trades Hall Box 18 54 Victoria St Carlton Sth 3053 Mon-Fri 9am-6.30 pm Sat 11am-5pm tel 03 9662 3744 fax 03 9662 4755 www.nibs.org.au to receive regular updates about bookshop events, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] . -- -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Sub: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsub: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]