Green Left Weekly Activist Calendar - 15-10-07

Activist Calendar, October 7

Rally: Stand up for refugees Sunday, October 11, 2pm. No turnbacks; Close Manus & Nauru; No Border Force Act; End mandatory detention. State Library, 328 Swanston St, City. Organised by Refugee Action Collective. Film screening: No Free Steps to Heaven Friday, October 30, 7pm (meal from 6:30pm). 2014 documentary by Israeli journalist who visited Kurdish YPG and PKK fighters in Iraqi and Syrian Kurdistan. The film interviews Kurdish women fighters. Resistance Centre, Level 5, 407 Swanston St, City(opposite RMIT). $10/$5. Presented by Socialist Alliance & Green Left Weekly. For more info 9639 8622. Socialist Alliance day school: Australia’s role in the region: Racism, colonialism & imperialism Saturday, November 7. Proposed agenda: 11am-12:30pm: Opening panel: Australia’s racist and colonial history. 1:30-3:30pm: Workshops: (a) Fighting for self-determination: the Tamil and West Papuan struggles; (b) Australian imperialism and the Pacific; (c) TPP and free trade agreements. 3.45-5pm: Closing panel: Campaigning against racism and imperialism. ETU office, 200 Arden St, North Melbourne.

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.

Until Wednesday, October 30 Photo exhibition: 37 years of people's struggles and resistance against brutal Iranian regime. Daily 10am-6pm. Meeting Room 1, Trades Hall, cnr Lygon & Victoria Sts, Carlton South. For more info 0470 424 753. Wednesday, October 7- Friday, October 9 Latin American & Asia-Pacific Documentary Film Festival. For full details see Facebook. Thursday, October 8 Rally: Stop Ansell's union busting in Sri Lanka. For years, Australian company Ansell has been engaged in aggressive union busting in Sri Lanka. They have sacked around 300 workers fighting to have their union recognised in one of Sri Lanka's so called Free Trade Zones. Now it's Ansell AGM time. We'll be there to let their shareholders know of the disgraceful acts that are done in their name. Join us to tell Ansell to reinstate the sacked workers and recognise its workers' right to organise. 10am. Grand Hyatt, 123 Collins St, City. Friday, October 9 Commemoration: Peter Norman. In the 1968 Mexico Olympics, a young athlete from Melbourne put his his personal sporting glory aside to support his fellow competitors' stance on human rights. 12 noon. Human Rights Square, (aka City Square), corner Collins & Swanston Sts, City. Facebook Public meeting: A conversation with Ilyasah Shabazz. Malcom X’s daughter spreads his legacy in Australia. 50 years after Malcolm X's assassination, his legacy lives on through his daughter, Ilyasah Al Shabazz who is walking in her father's footsteps. Ilyasah Al Shabazz is a community organiser, social activist, motivational speaker and author. She promotes higher education, interfaith dialogue and helps build bridges between cultures for young leaders of the world. 6:30pm.Melbourne Town Hall, 90-120 Swanston St, City.  $25. Bookings. Organised by Islamic Council of Victoria. Saturday, October 10 Rally for diversity: Say NO to UPF in Bendigo. The United Patriots Front (UPF) have called another anti-mosque, anti-Muslim rally in Bendigo. This is a call to all people who support inclusiveness and diversity to rally against them and say 'not in our streets'. We'll be rallying 2 hours before the beginning of the UPF rally with the aim of disrupting it, so bring chants, songs, coloured balloons, placards, anything! The UPF include among their ranks open, proud, Hitler saluting Nazis who want to recruit Bendigonians to their vile racism and bigotry. The time is now to stand up for an inclusive, diverse Bendigo. 12 noon. Bendigo Town Hall, 189-193 Hargreaves St, Bendigo. Organised by Bendigo Action Coalition. Sunday, October 11 Rally: Stand up for refugees. No turnbacks; Close Manus & Nauru; No Border Force Act; End mandatory detention. 2pm. State Library, 328 Swanston St, City. Organised by Refugee Action Collective. Monday, October 12 Rally: Speak out for fossil fuel divestment at Melbourne University. For more than 2 years now, students, staff and alumni have been calling on University of Melbourne decision-makers to take serious action on climate change by getting rid of their investments in the top 200 coal, oil and gas companies. 2 years is too late; we need action that is in line with the urgency of climate change. We need a divestment commitment now. 12 noon. Underneath Raymond Priestley Building, University of Melbourne. Rally: Solidarity with indigenous Mapuche people in Chile. 12 noon. Chilean Consulate, 390 St Kilda Rd, City. Tuesday, October 13 Film screening: Black Hole. Special Q&A with Filmmaker João Dujon Pereira. Black Hole reveals unseen footage of coal, corruption and community resistance of one of Australia’s most controversial mining projects – Whitehaven’s Maules Creek Coal Mine in the Leard State Forest. Set against the backdrop of the mining industry’s ever-increasing thirst for fossil fuels, Black Hole is an intense and riveting exposé of the tensions between large corporations, the Australian government and the community. 6:30pm. Village Cinemas Karingal, 197 Karingal Drive, Frankston. Wednesday, October 14 Rally: Fluro Fightback 2015. As part of Anti-Poverty Week the National Union of Workers is going to get active and help to raise awareness of the growing number of people, including working people, that are living in poverty. Our Union campaign, "Jobs you can count on", is a campaign to unite all workers - whether permanent, casual, labour-hire or contract - all workers deserve security, dignity and respect at work. While there are growing reports of people in work living below the poverty line, the increase of workers in insecure working arrangements is also growing, and we believe that something has to be done about it! 8am. Southern Cross Station, cnr Bourke & Collins Sts, City. Organised by NUW. Thursday, October 15 Film screening: Black Hole. Special Q&A with Filmmaker João Dujon Pereira. Black Hole reveals unseen footage of coal, corruption and community resistance of one of Australia’s most controversial mining projects – Whitehaven’s Maules Creek Coal Mine in the Leard State Forest. Set against the backdrop of the mining industry’s ever-increasing thirst for fossil fuels, Black Hole is an intense and riveting exposé of the tensions between large corporations, the Australian government and the community. 6:45pm. $20. Cinema Nova, 380 Lygon St, Carlton. Friday, October 16 Film screening: Citizen Four. An explosive and timely documentary that examines the ever increasing erosion of privacy and the government’s growing and alarming powers to monitor and record our every move. Holed up in a Hong Kong hotel room with Edward Snowden, filmmaker Laura Poitras captures the sensational now public series of events as they unfold in real-time. 7:30pm. $17/$13. Australian Centre for the Moving Image, Federation Square, City. Bookings. Saturday, October 17 Public meeting: Russell Brand's 'Trew World Order'. Russel Brand tours a live version of his television series, The Trews. The show's name is a portmanteau of 'true' and 'news' and the premise, according to Brand, was to provide 'the true news so you don't have to invest any money in buying newspapers that charge you for the privilege of keeping your consciousness imprisoned in a tiny box of ignorance and lies'. 8pm. Rod Laver Arena, Batman Avenue, Richmond. Bookings. Sunday, October 18 Fundraiser: Run for refugees. Asylum Seeker Resource Centre's yearly Run 4 Refugees event is back on as part of the Melbourne Marathon. Bookings. Monday, October 19 Rally: Release the teachers in Iran! In Iran today, teachers wages put them below the poverty line. In 2015, nationwide rallies were held for better wages.In response, the Iranian Government threw the union leaders in prison. 10am. Parliament steps, Spring St, City. Organised by Victorian Trades Hall Council. Presentation: What will the new government leadership mean for the climate movement? 6:30pm. Followed by regular Climate Action Moreland meeting.Cheap meal available. BYO alcohol. Satay Anika (back room upstairs), 140 Lygon St, Brunswick.  Facebook Thursday, October 22 Film screening: Citizen Four. An explosive and timely documentary that examines the ever increasing erosion of privacy and the government’s growing and alarming powers to monitor and record our every move. Holed up in a Hong Kong hotel room with Edward Snowden, filmmaker Laura Poitras captures the sensational now public series of events as they unfold in real time. 9pm. $17/$13. Australian Centre for the Moving Image, Federation Square, City. Bookings. Saturday, October 24 Activist Arts Festival 2015. The Activist Arts Festival is a tribute to activists out there, past and present, who have given and continue to give so much of their time and their lives to fight for a better, more compassionate world. It is an initiative to bring together activist groups throughout Melbourne to present on their work in the human rights, animal rights and social justice fields. It is hoped the Festival will enable access to these groups by local communities in a non-protest environment. The event also exhibits different forms of activism through art: photography, music, spoken word, visual art, performances, workshops and film. 11am-6m. Trades Hall, 54 Victoria St, Carlton South. Sunday, October 25 Public meeting: Save the Ballerrt Mooroop Aboriginal site. The Ballerrt Mooroop site is in danger of being sold off to private developers. If this happens we would lose a site of significance for Aboriginal people. There is a campaign to save the Ballerrt Mooroop site for a Gathering Place and a First Nations Community Hub. There is also a Spirit Tree and Ceremonial Ground on the site.BBQ, speakers, music, kids activities. 12:30-4:30pm. Gather at the Ballerrt Mooroop site, 208A Hilton St, Glenroy (10 min walk from Glenroy Station). For more info 0413 377 978. Thursday, October 29 – Sunday, November 1 Theatre: Little Black Bastard. Originally performed at La Mama Courthouse in 2003. Since then, the book has been published and the performance has toured the world to critical acclaim. Noel Tovey, 81, returns to the building where he was taken from his parents at five years old and sentenced to Pentridge at 17. Don’t miss this celebration of an artistic career spanning seven decades, honouring this elder, mentor to indigenous performers and advocate for the LGBTI community. Times: Thu-Sat 7.30pm, Sun 4pm. $25/$15. La Mama Courthouse, 349 Drummond St, Carlton. Bookings. Friday, October 30 Film screening: No Free Steps to Heaven.  2014 documentary by Israeli journalist who visited Kurdish YPG and PKK fighters in Iraqi and Syrian Kurdistan. The film interviews Kurdish women fighters. 7pm (meal from 6.30pm). Resistance Centre, Level 5, 407 Swanston St, City (opposite RMIT). $10/$5. Presented by Socialist Alliance & Green Left Weekly. For more info 9639 8622. Saturday, October 31 Moreland Socialists meeting. 1pm. Anatolian Cultural Centre, 195 Sydney Road, Coburg (100 metres south of Reynard St). For more info ph 0413 377 978. Saturday, November 7 Socialist Alliance day school: Australia’s role in the region: Racism, colonialism & imperialism. Proposed agenda: 11am-12:30pm: Opening panel: Australia’s racist and colonial history. 1:30-3:30pm: Workshops: (a) Fighting for self-determination: the Tamil and West Papuan struggles; (b) Australian imperialism and the Pacific; (c) TPP and free trade agreements. 3.45-5pm: Closing panel: Campaigning against racism and imperialism. ETU office, 200 Arden St, North Melbourne. Sunday, November 8 Fundraiser: Run for Palestine.  Initiative of the Australians for Palestine organisation that supports humanitarian efforts in Palestine. Join us in raising awareness and important funds to assist with these efforts. 10am. The Tan Running Track, Royal Botanic Gardens, Birdwood Avenue, South Yarra. Bookings.

Friday, October 9 GEELONG Organising meeting: Where to next for the marriage equality campaign in Geelong? Geelong held its first marriage equality rally on September 19 drawing in longtime campaigners as well as a new crowd of people wanting to be part of the campaign. Come along to be part of the discussion about where to take the campaign to next in Geelong. 5:30pm. Trades Hall, 127 Myers St, Geelong. Friday, October 23 GEELONG Red Cinema: No Free Steps to Heaven. 2014 documentary by Israeli journalist who visited Kurdish YPG and PKK fighters in Iraqi and Syrian Kurdistan. The film interviews Kurdish women fighters. 7pm (meal from 6.30pm). Entry by donation. Trades Hall, 127 Myers St, Geelong. Presented by Socialist Alliance. For more info 5222 6900. Saturday, October 31 BALLARAT Rally: Equal marriage now. Equal love Ballarat are working Hard to bring another rally to Ballarat. This time we are going big! October 31 is meant to be dark and spooky but not this year: We will make Halloween RAINBOW. We are having the rally then having an all ages event. 2pm. Bridge Mall, Ballarat. Organised by Equal Love Ballarat. Saturday, November 7 BALLARAT Theatre: I'll Be There! An inspiring music theatre show featuring songs and stories of solidarity that people really connect with. It was created, produced and performed by the Victorian Trade Union Choir in collaboration with award winning playwright Rebecca Lister and our musical director Michael Roper. The Victorian Trade Union Choir is a group of 30 committed trade union members who believe in the power of song. We sing at union meetings, rallies, protests, picket lines, conferences, celebrations, concerts and music festivals to support workers and connect to the broader community. 7:30pm. Ballarat Trades Hall, 24 Camp St, Ballarat. Bookings

Australians for Kurdistan. Meets regularly to build solidarity with the Kurdish freedom struggle in Rojava (liberated zone in northern Syria), Turkey and elsewhere. For campaign and open letter to have the PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party) removed from the Australian list of terrorist organisations see Lift the ban on the PKK. Meets on the first Thursday of each month. For information ph Gulay 0413 936 706 or Aran 0410 197 814. Australian Unemployment Union. The Australian Unemployment Union is an organisation by the unemployed, for the unemployed. Our mission is to protect the common interests of the 750,000+ Australians who are currently unemployed. For more information visit AUE or Facebook. Australian West Papua Association (AWPA). Struggles against the Indonesian occupation of West Papua and against environmental destruction and resource theft. For info 9510 2193 or email AWPA. Climate Action Moreland. Meets regularly to develop action on climate change in the Moreland area. For information ph Andrea on 0424 508 535 or email CAM. 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. 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. Timor Sea Justice Campaign. For info visit TSJC, email Tom Clarke or ph 0422 545 763. Victorian Climate Action Calendar. Online updates are available at http://vcac.org.au/calendar/.

Recent articles from Green Left Weekly Naomi Klein: Capitalism is waging war on life on Earth Inside immigration detention on Manus Island — Part 5 ‘We must say no to bombing Syria’ Exploiting young workers hurts all workers Check out Green Left TV: See Greece: Prospects for the fight against austerity by Dr Michael Karadjis To subscribe to Green Left Weekly visit our secure online website for rates and payment or call our national hotline on 1800 634 206. Join us on Facebook. You can also contact us at the Resistance Centre, 5th floor, 407 Swanston St, City; ph 9639 8622. In Geelong: Activist Centre, Trades Hall, 127 Myers St (opening hours: Mon 2-4.30pm, Fri 10am-4.30pm); ph 5222 6900. 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: Turnbull vs Abbott: Same shit, different shovel The case for a universal age pension How to fight the growth of the far-right 'Reclaim Australia' movement 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.

Resistance Bookshop Just out! The eruption of the brutal fundamentalist ‘Islamic State’ in the Middle East has placed the Kurdish people at the centre of the political stage.  The Rojava Revolution in northern Syria has attracted increasing interest and admiration around the world because of its unyielding resistance to the IS gangs, the heavy and unprecedented involvement of women in its defence forces and its attempt to build a people-centred society. Across the border in Turkey, the Democratic Freedom Party (HDP) and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) confront the racist, anti-Kurd war drive of the regime. This pamphlet concentrates on the Kurdish struggle in Rojava and Turkey. It aims to provide information and perspective on these tremendously important developments and, hopefully, furnish a basis for more active solidarity in Australia. By Dave Holmes, Tony Iltis & others.  44pp, $6. Available from Resistance Bookshop, Level 5, 407 Swanston St, City.