NOTE: World AIDS Day Australia does not yet (mid-November 2007) have a poster available for 2007
Let's Talk about Sex
Seminar:
Meet writers Katherine Albury, Gary Dowsett and Stephanie Laurens, each one an authority on sex. From raunchy romance, health to social and cultural issues, sex is a prominent influence in our daily lives, may it be through advertising and media, education, escapism or simply the quest for love.
Kath Albury is a researcher at the Centre for Social Research in Journalism and Communication, University of NSW and author of Yes Means Yes: Getting Explicit about Heterosex. She is also co-author of The Porn Book (MUP) due to be released in October.
Professor Gary W. Dowsett, PhD, is Deputy Director at the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society at La Trobe University, and Associate Professor of Clinical Sociomedical Sciences at Columbia University in New York. A sociologist, he has long been interested in sexuality research, particularly in the rise of modern gay communities. Since 1986, he has been researching HIV/AIDS in Australia's gay communities and has worked on many international HIV/AIDS and sexual health projects. He is author, co-author or editor of 5 books, 75 book chapters and academic papers, and 90 other publications. In 2003 he was elected to the International Academy of Sex Research, and in 2005 he was awarded a five-year VicHealth Senior Research Fellowship.
Stephanie Laurens specialises in writing historical romances set in Regency England. Since 1991, she has had 34 such works published, all of which remain in print, and have been translated and read by millions of readers all over the globe. Her last 20 releases have been New York Times bestsellers, the most recent of which, BEYOND SEDUCTION was released in Australia this year by HarperCollins Australia.
When: Tuesday 9 October, 6.30-8pm
Where: VWC Space, 1st floor Nicholas Blg 37 Swanston St, Melbourne
Cost: Non-member $25 VWC Members $15/$12 VWC conc.
Bookings: 9654 9068
Australia was the first country to have banned same-sex marriage. This ban runs contrary to other Western nations, which have legalised same-sex marriage such as Belgium, Netherlands, Canada, South Africa and Spain. Even archconservative George Bush has not been able to ban same-sex marriage within America.
Not content to ban same-sex marriage the Howard government banned the Australian Capital Territories (ACT) same-sex civil unions in June 2006 and squashed any hope of an ACT same-sex registration scheme in 2007. The Howard government intends to ban overseas same sex adoption in the lead up to the election this year. Currently WA and Tasmania are the only two states, which allow same sex adoption.
In Australia, we are fighting a staunchly homophobic regime. Any initiatives for relationship schemes are welcome ? but we will not give up the fight for full equality ? for full same-sex marriage rights, civil unions & adoption.
Join us in the fight to repeal the marriage ban and for marriage rights for all. Rally for the National Day of Action on August 12, 3 years after they banned same-sex marriage.
In 2006 this NDA was endorsed by: AIDS Council of NSW (ACON), Amnesty International (Australia), Australian Bisexual Network, Australian Democrats, Australian Lesbian Medical Association, Australian Marriage Equality, Bi-NSW, Community Action Against Homophobia (CAAH), Council for Civil Liberties NSW, Council of Australian Post Graduate Associations (CAPA), Gay & Lesbian Rights Lobby (GLRL), Gender Centre, Greens, Leather Pride Sydney, Lesbian & Gay Solidarity, Mature Age Gays (MAG), Metropolitan Community Church, National Union of Students (NUS), New Mardi Gras, Newcastle University Student Association, Pride Centre Sydney, Queer Play UNSW, Queer Professionals, Queer Students Network, Radical Women, Rainbow Babies & Kids, Rainbow Labor, Resistance, SAGE (Sex & Gender Education)Australia, Socialist Alliance, Stonewall Democrats, Sydney University Queer Collective, 10/40 Matrix, United Ecumenical Catholic Church, UTS Progressive Law Students Network, UTS Students Association Can your organisation sign on to fight for equality in 2007?
Email Farida do_the_bim@yahoo.com Or Ben ben8721@hotmail.com or Call CAAH Sydney Co Convenors Shelly 0417 735 597 or Allan 0402 630 132
-- Make Homophobia History. Stop Bush. Repeal VSU now
Shelly Dahl Q & A 4 all our rights Community Action Against Homophobia (CAAH) Syd Co Convenor & UWS Resistance Club Email: shiverstess@gmail.com M: 0417 735 597 F: 02) 4736 0676
Contact: Mannie De Saxe, SPAIDS (Sydney Park AIDS Memorial Groves) (03)9471 4878 josken_at_zipworld_com_au
Sydney Park, St Peters/Alexandria, Sydney
Transport: Tempe Bus 422 to St Peters Station, Train to St Peters Station, Car - Barwon Park Road and car park.
33rd SPAIDS planting between 11am and 3pm will be in the dedicated AIDS Memorial Groves, signposted, in Sydney Park adjacent to Barwon Park Road off Princes Highway. Look for Old Brickworks Chimneys entrance, opposite St Peters Station.
SPAIDS and Sydney City Council invite you to join us for the 33rd SPAIDS planting between 11am and 3pm in the dedicated AIDS Memorial Groves, signposted, in the park in Sydney adjacent to Barwon Park Road off Princes Highway. Look for the Old Brickworks Chimneys entrance, opposite St Peters Station.
Plant one or more young Australian native trees provided by Sydney City Council's tree nursery to commemorate the life of someone who has died from HIV/AIDS.
SPAIDS Plantings also include commemorating lesbians, gay men and transgender people who have died as the result of violence or any other means, the Nazi Holocaust, and as another memorial alternative to the Quilt Project and Candlelight.
Picnic around midday with barbecue provided by Council, on Sunday 29 July, after which we hope to have our traditional tree-blessing ceremony.
We picnic in the Reflection Area, dedicated at the 21st planting on Sunday 27 May 2001. This area is on the hill overlooking the SPAIDS Groves area.
SPAIDS has a complete listing of all names commemorated since the first plantings on 15 May 1994. The list has about 1200 names after 32 plantings, and is available for viewing at each planting day.
To date over 8000 trees have been planted in the Groves.
Join us for our 33rd planting and visit the Reflection Area in remembrance of those we have lost in our communities. Plant more trees and help enhance the growing beauty of the SPAIDS Groves.
They've silenced David Hicks -- but they can't silence Terry!
Hear Terry Hicks speak on how the government forced his son to plead guilty and why Guantanamo must be closed.
No gag orders. No secret deals. Free David now!
info: 0407856628
Endorsed by Civil Rights Defence, Liberty Victoria, Victorian Trades Hall.
Terrorism is the war of the poor. War is the terrorism of the rich - Leon Uris
In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act - George Orwell
ORGANISED BY MELBOURNE STOP THE WAR COALITION
For more information Phone:(03)9639 8622 email:melbournestopthewar@yahoo.com.au
Ciaron OReilly
Dear Sydney Folks,
I have been in recent contact with Carmen Trotta in New York City. The folks there are busy organising NVDA for Washingtom DC for January 11th - the 5th.a anniversary of the opening of Guantanamo. They are confident they will have 450 folks in orange jumpsuits (representing those still detained at Guantanamo) decending on the Federal Court for nonviolent civil disobedience.
WITNESS TORTURE - CLOSE GUANTANAMO BAYThey are hoping there will be vigils at U.S. embassies, consuls and sites of significance on the same day. They are wondering if anyone in Sydney can take on organising a Gitmo vigil for january 11th.? Can anyone confirm that they are taking on organising such a vigil (maybe include a David Hicks theme?) so they can include it in pre-publcity.
Check www.witnesstorture.org for further background and updates.
Confirm with Carmen Trotta trottacarmen@yahoo.com and myself ciaronx@yahoo.com if you can take on organisng a vigil for January 11th.
Peace and SolidarityInvite to Jan 11th International Day to Shut Down Guantánamo in Wash DC
On January 11th, 2002, twenty hooded and shackled men shuffled off a plane from Afghanistan, arriving at the U.S. prison at Guantánamo. In an attempt to sidestep the Geneva Convention protections for prisoners of war, the Bush administration created a new category of "enemy combatant" for these men captured in the "war on terror."
Since that time, more than one thousand men and boys have been imprisoned at Guantánamo. Accounts of cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment have been condemned by the United Nations, Human Rights Watch and other reputable bodies. The prisoners have resorted to hunger strikes as a way of protesting their treatment. Many have attempted suicide; three men killed themselves on June 10th 2006. Desperation, fear and frustration mark their confinement.
Five years later, not a single prisoner has been charged, tried or convicted of any crime. Many have been released because no evidence has been found against them, but more than 430 men remain in indefinite detention without hope of release. The United States has abandoned law and justice.
January 11th, 2007 marks five years of unjust imprisonment, isolation, beatings, interrogation and abuse for these men. We must say: no more. We must say: no longer. For our nation of laws, for our democracy, for our humanity and theirs, we demand small but essential steps to help return our nation to the best of our own traditions.
We mark January 11, 2007 as a day of national shame. But we can also mark it as a day of citizen action. How? By acting on behalf of our fellow human beings in Guantánamo, their bereaved families and all victims of the "war on terrorism." We declare January 11, 2007 an International Day of Action to Shut Down Guantánamo.
Schedule of Events on Jan 11th in Wash DC
10am - Press Conference at the US Supreme Court (One First Street, NE) Hear from Guantánamo Lawyers, family members of prisoners, survivors of torture and others.
11:30am - "Prisoners of Guantanamo Procession" to the US Federal Court In this massive street theater performance, hundreds of "prisoners"--each wearing orange jump suits, black hoods and chains, and bearing the name of a current detainee--will march in an orderly silent procession, stopping occasionally to kneel or bow at the beck and call of "prison guards" who accompany them. We hope to form a prisoner contingent that will consist of as many people as there are detainees to evoke a dramatic visual representation of the moral disgrace that is Guantanamo.
12-5pm Vigil at the Federal Court (intersection of Constitution Ave, NW and Pennsylvania Ave, NW) Upon arriving at Federal Court, we invite people to deliver motions on prisoners' behalf to the Court. Those who do not wish to risk arrest will stay and continue to hold vigil outside the Court as part of a permitted rally and demonstration.
We encourage people to let us know in advance if they are willing to participate in either the Prisoners March, Civil Disobedience, or both.
There will be solidarity demonstrations from Amsterdam to Boise, Idaho and in Guantánamo, Cuba and a National Call-In Day to Congress. For a full list of solidarity actions, endorsers, and details of the day of action, please contact Witness Against Torture
witnesstorture.orgFor more information contact:
Matt Daloisio ? Ph (201) 264-4424 E-mail daloisio@riseup.net or Frida Berrigan ? Ph (347) 683-4928 E-mail Frida.berrigan@gmail.comOriginal article is at
NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION-FIVE YEARS TOO LONG-BRING DAVID HOME NOW!
by Marlene Monday December 04, 2006 at 01:17 AM
- Close Guantanamo prison camp - Stop the war on civil liberties
*Sydney: SATURDAY DECEMBER 9
12 NOON @ SYDNEY TOWN HALL
*Adelaide: SATURDAY DECEMBER 9
11am VICTORIA SQUARE
*Melbourne: SATURDAY DECEMBER 9
2pm FEDERATION SQUARE
*Perth: SATURDAY DECEMBER 9
12 NOON PICA (Vigil starting Friday 8 Dec. from 1pm till noon on Dec. 9 @ WESLEY UNITING CHURCH)
*Brisbane: SATURDAY DECEMBER 9
2pm QUEEN'S PARK (Cnr George & Elizabeth Sts.)
* Canberra: Sunday 10 Dec. - contact Amnesty
wear orange, bring drums...
December 9 marks the fifth year of imprisonment for David Hicks with no chance of his release in sight. He remains in legal limbo. David, like more than 700 men and minors who have gone through the US naval base prison camp of Guantánamo, has endured physical and psychological torture.
Britain, Bahrain, Denmark, France, Jordan, Pakistan, Russia, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden and even Afghanistan have successfully negotiated the release of their citizens from the hell hole of Guantánamo.
Just a phone call from the Australian Prime Minister John Howard, or Attorney General Philip Ruddock, could mean the immediate release, repatriation and end of torture for David. Human rights and civil liberties groups and organisations have come together to organise a National Day of Action calling for the repatriation of David Hicks and the closure of Guantánamo. Events taking place in: Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, Canberra & Sydney.
Endorsed by: Terry Hicks, Fair Go for David, Justice Action, Australian Muslim Civil Rights Advocacy Network (AMCRAN), Canterbury-Bankstown Peace Group, CFMEU, Australian Lawyers Alliance, Civil Rights Defence Melbourne, Islamic Friendship Assoc., Just Peace WA, Pennant Hills Peace Group, Western Sydney Peace Group, Research Initiative in International Activism (RIIA); Communist Party of Aust.; Socialist Alliance; Socialist Alternative; NSW Greens; Senator Kerry Nettle; Daryl Melham, Labor MP; Dr Tim Anderson, Civil Liberties Campaigner; Brian Brunt, PNG Human Rights Lawyer, …
Organised by: Justice for Hicks & Habib & Stop the War Coalition
For more information & to add your endorsement & support contact Marlene on 0401 758 871 or Anna on 0401 900 690
Or access Fair Go For DavidandStop War Coalition
Bring Hicks home
The Age - Ian Munro and Penny Debelle December 3, 2006
He lives in a cell of featureless walls, 24-hour lighting and a single window of frosted glass that in daylight glows like a fluorescent globe.
For five years, David Hicks has occupied spaces like this, caught between a US Government that has been unable to prosecute him and an Australian Government that refuses to try to free him. This sentence without trial, in conditions so secret that he cannot be photographed, could drag on for another two years unless the Federal Government asks the United States to send him home.
Hicks' military lawyer, Major Michael Mori, says Australia is tolerating a terrible situation. While Hicks has been in legal limbo, John Walker Lindh — the so-called American Taliban who trained at the same camp as Hicks — has been charged, pleaded guilty and sentenced. But Lindh broke American law; Hicks has not broken Australian law.
"America would not tolerate this for one of its citizens," says Mori. "Nor would it tolerate any politicians sacrificing some American citizen to the whim of a foreign country, regardless of whether they are our ally or not. It just doesn't happen."
Lindh and Hicks trained at the al-Qaeda-run camp, al Farooq, before the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Training included weapons familiarisation, maps and topography, battlefield operations and explosives. Hicks allegedly also trained for two months at a Lashkar-e- Toiba camp in Pakistan.
Another convert to Islam to attend al Farooq, and to observe bin Laden, was Jack Thomas. He has fared much better than Hicks. While Hicks was captured by the Northern Alliance and handed over to American forces in Afghanistan in November 2001, Thomas avoided capture in al-Qaeda safe houses in Pakistan. When finally detained in January 2003, Thomas was held by Pakistani security for five months and released. After returning to Australia, Thomas was charged, remanded, tried, convicted of two charges and acquitted of two other terrorismrelated offences.
He has since appealed successfully against his convictions. Thomas' case was subject to months of pre-trial argument. All told, he spent 14 months in custody, but is presently free and subject to a control order that also is being challenged in the High Court. Whatever else might be said of Thomas' experiences, he has had the benefit of a robust and transparent legal system.
After Hicks' capture, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer dismissed concerns that the Government had abandoned one of its citizens, saying those who got involved with groups like al-Qaeda were "bound to get into trouble". More recently, the Government has urged the US to try him swiftly.
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Unity for Peace
Rally and peace festival
Saturday, September 23
Don't attack Iran
Global week of action against war on Iran
* Troops out of Iraq
* Israel out of Palestine
*Respect diversity: solidarity with the Muslim community
* Defend civil liberties
Rally, 2pm, Saturday, September 23
State Library, corner of Swanston and Latrobe sts, Melbourne
March through the city to a community peace festival
at Trades Hall, starting at 4pm
Organised by Unity for Peace in Melbourne -- the coalition which organised the recent speaking tour by US peace activist Cindy Sheehan, and a national peace conference, bringing together more than 70 organisations
Forward this email to your networks º put this date in your diary º add your organisation's endorsement
For more details, email dglanz@optusnet.com.au or ring 0418 316 310
Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission - Consultations
Between July and October the Inquiry will be holding Hearings and Public Forums across Australia to obtain further testimonies and information on access to financial and work related benefits and entitlements for same sex couples.
The consultation process will be launched in Sydney on the 26 July and conclude in Canberra on 20 October 2006.
Following are the dates and approximate times for the Hearings and Public Forums :
26 July, 9am - 4.30pm: Hearing in Sydney
26 July, 6pm - 9pm: Public Forum in Sydney
9 August, 9am - 4.30pm: Hearing in Perth
10 August, 6pm - 9pm: Public Forum in Perth
28 August, 9am - 4.30pm: Hearing in Adelaide
28 August, 6pm - 9pm: Public Forum in Adelaide
25 September, 9am - 4.30pm: Hearing in Hobart
25 September, 6pm - 9pm: Public Forum in Launceston
26 September, 6pm - 9pm: Public Forum in Melbourne
27 September, 9am - 4.30pm: Hearing in Melbourne
10 October, 6pm - 9pm: Public Forum in Brisbane
11 October, 9am - 4.30pm: Hearing in Brisbane
16 October - Public Forum: Alice Springs
17 October - Public Forum: Darwin
20 October, 9am - 4.30pm: Hearing Canberra
20 October, 6pm - 9pm: Public Forum Canberra
Rural and regional meetings are still being planned and details will be available shortly. There is also the possibility of additional capital city meetings should demand require it.
Members of the public are invited to attend any of these events.
For further information please contact Samantha Edmonds at samesex@humanrights.gov.au or on 9284 9600
WRITE TO FERGUSON TO SHOW YOUR OPPOSITION TO HIS STANCE ON URANIUM MINING AND OTHER ISSUES ON WHICH YOU FEEL HE AND HIS PARTY HAVE LET THE ELECTORATE DOWN.
info@defendandextendmedicare.org
PO Box 5035, Alphington Vic 3078
Phone: (03) 9766 8555
SPAIDS -Sydney Park AIDS Memorial Groves Tree Planting Event
email: materialsurvey@museum.vic.gov.au
Telephone: 03 8341 7381
Mannie De Saxe also has a personal web site, which may be found by clicking on the link: RED JOS: HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISM
Mannie's blogs may be accessed by clicking on to the following links:
MannieBlog (from 1 August 2003 to 31 December 2005)
Activist Kicks Backs - Blognow archive re-housed - 2005-2009
RED JOS BLOGSPOT (from January 2009 onwards)
This page updated 14 APRIL 2016 and again on 29 OCTOBER 2016
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