US Bases in Australia... Counting the Cost

Public Forum, Friday 1st of June, Abel Smith Lecture Theatre, Univ. of Queensland. 6.00pm for a 6.30pm start.

• What would 'armed neutrality' mean for Australia? Dr Peter Stanley, Chief Historian, National Museum Australia
• US Bases in Australia - Where, What, When.  Felicity Hill, Former Director, UN WILPF
• Master of Ceremonies, Ron Monaghan, QCU General Secretary.

View the online poster

Beyond Tribal Loyalties
Edited by Avigail Abarbanel 

There is an expectation in Jewish communities around the world that all Jews embrace Zionism and offer unquestioning support for Israel, right or wrong. Jewish identity and Zionism are commonly and deliberately blurred. Jews who criticise Israel or question Zionism are often excluded, vilified and threatened. If they express sympathy for the plight of the Palestinian people, they risk being branded as traitors and accused of supporting the enemies of Israel. Beyond Tribal Loyalties is a unique collection of twenty-five personal stories of Jewish peace activists from Australia, Canada, Israel, the United Kingdom and the United States. More

Just Peace Queensland Presents 

Our 10^th Anniversary Celebration, Friday, 28^th October 2011

Guest Speakers 

Ron Monaghan - Secretary, Queensland Council of Unions 

“Why Peace has been, and is, Union Business”

 Kathy Kelly – Three-time Nobel Peace Prize Nominee and Prominent US Peace Activist. Tour hosted by Pace e Bene

"Prospects for Peace- Palestine-Iraq-Afghanistan"

 2^nd Floor, TLC Building, 16 Peel Street, South Brisbane

5:30pm for 6:00- 9:30pm

Scrumptious Dinner catered by Robbie Dunne

Only $30 waged and $20 concession

Entertainment by:

Combined Union Choir and Jumping Fences

Seating limit of 100

RSVP: Early but by 21^st October

To: [email protected]

For more information phone Annette on 0431597256

Please bring your historic photos of Just Peace activities

www.justpeaceqld.org

Next Just Peace Meeting

Guest Speaker Inoue Miwako

Miwako is the Granddaughter of survivors of the Nagasaki bombing. She is an acclaimed artist and is a supporter of the Japanese campaign to abolish nuclear weapons.

Project NOW, the project name, places an emphasis on art, music, fun, and peace.

Annette Brownlie

Petition against Cluster Bombs bill

Cluster munitions are large weapons that open to release hundreds of small bombs which rain down over a wide area. They are  horrific weapons that kill civilians long after conflict has ended.

Australia has signed the international Treaty banning cluster bombs, but during the week of July 4–7 the Government plans to introduce its Bill in the Senate withunprecedented loopholes. The Bill will effectively allow Australian soldiers to actively and directly assist the US to use cluster bombs. The Bill also lets the US stockpile cluster bombs on Australian soil and does nothing to prevent ongoing investment in manufacture.

The Cluster Munitions Coalition Australia has been lobbying both major parties but your support is critical!

What you can do:

Sign the petition at www.cmcaustralia.org and to pass it on to as many  people as possible.

Burma Campaign — APHEDA Union Aid Abroard

Union Aid Abroad — APHEDA is conducting a campaign that calls on the Australian government to fund cross-border aid programs, rather than the current system of providing aid to Burma in cooperation with the Burmese military regime.

Cross-border aid conducted along the Thai-Burma border allows greater freedom in the delivery of aid compared to the political restrictions placed on aid administered through the Junta. Towns on the Thai-Burma border are home to organisations that travel into eastern Burma in order to provide medical care and support to communities, especially those displaced by the regime. Cross-border aid also means supporting long-term community-based initiatives run by people and organizations based permanently in Burma's Eastern States.

What you can do
Send an e-mail to Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd (see APHEDA campaigns website for suggested text) or contact your local, state or federal representatives.

Meetings, events and actions can also be used to raise awareness and put pressure on the government to change Australia's aid policy to Burma. If you are interested in holding an event, such as a film screening, discussion group or talk, important reports, news articles and links to videos are provided at the APHEDA campaigns website.

Labour 4A Just Palestine

Here is a selection of news items from the latest edition of the Labor 4A Just Palestine newsletter. 

UN - Protection of Civilians

Haaretz - UN chief: Israel's  occupation is 'morally, politically unsustainable'

AP - Israeli official: Decision next month on final approval for 1,500 east Jerusalem   apartments

Ynetnews - 46% of Israeli teens: Revoke Arabs' rights

Times SA - Neither Hamas nor Israel seem to want new war

For more information on Labor 4A Just Palestine click here.