MAPW Peace e-Script for Wednesday 1 April 2009
Nancy Atkin (MAPW)
Welcome to your fortnightly email from the
Medical Association for Prevention of War. We especially welcome new members,
and readers who have rejoined after our recent mail-out.
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MAPW: headlines
MAPW activities
More MAPW news
Australia and the region
Global news
Information
More events and activities
Contact us, contributions and comments
MAPW headlines
THANKS FOR SUPPORTING MAPW’S ICAN APPEAL
Last week MAPW members received a
brochure asking you to consider donating to our ICAN campaign. A big thank-you
to those who generously donated immediately! The International Campaign to
Abolish Nuclear Weapons has been funded for 3 years, until June 2009, by the Poola
Foundation, who have now generously offered to match your donations to ensure
ICAN can continue its highly effective work.. Please give your consideration to
our request, and to whether you may also be able to help, by asking others to
donate. Contact us at ma...@mapw.org.au
for more details or brochures (or if you are a member and didn’t get the
mail-out). Or consider making an immediate online donation at www.mapw.org.au
Melbourne Tuesday 14 April, 7.15pm
PLEASE SUPPORT OUR ICAN FUNDRAISER: SOLDIERS FOR PEACE
This star-studded Australian documentary won Best Feature
Film and Best Documentary Feature Film at the Monaco International Film Festival.
An inspiring journey across 5 continents and 14 countries, it shows the
extraordinary peace efforts of ordinary individuals across the globe. Well
worth attending, and worth also sending out to your email address book and
inviting your friends. View this
excellent film – and support ICAN - in high quality and comfort at ACMI,
in Federation Square. Please book ($20/$15) online at www.acmi.net.au (tickets
also available at the door). (See below for 8 May Perth benefit)
MAPW: support our activities!
It’s SO busy! Find your branch at: www.mapw.org.au/branches
Sydney, Thursday lunchtime, 2 April (tomorrow)
'SCARRED LANDS AND
WOUNDED LIVES: THE ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT OF WAR"
The Hon Lee Rhiannon MLC will host this MAPW film screening with an
introduction by MAPW President Dr Sue Wareham OAM.. The
film will be screened (1 hour) then discussion will follow. The film was made
by Alice and Lincoln Day. Sue appears in the
film, along with many others from around the world. Parliament House, Macquarie
Street, Sydney 12.00 –
2.00pm. More about
the film and its directors: www.fundforsustainabletomorrows.org
and www.scarredlandsfilm.org
Saturday, 4 April
, 7.00 pm
The Medical
Association for Prevention of War (WA) invites you to:
AN EVENING WITH JANET HOLMES Á COURT
Janet Holmes a Court is frequently recognized for her generous
philanthropic contribution to the Western Australian Community. She has had a
long involvement in the peace and justice movement of WA, having been inspired
from an early age by her parents.
The MAPW-WA dinner provides a wonderful
opportunity to listen to Janet Holmes à Court, one of Australia’s most
consummate leaders, talk about the about her family history, her involvement in
the peace movement, the importance of the arts and culture in society, and her
role as chair of the Australian Children's Television Foundation.
Warehouse Café, 221 Onslow Rd, Shenton Park. $50; $35
concession. BYO drinks. RSVP to Leigh Dix, w...@mapw.org.au or 9263 5459
Around Australia,
Sunday 5 April
PALM SUNDAY
Melbourne: Lets Make Peace Possible: End the waste of war. At the
State Library: 1.45pm Ecumenical Christian Service
followed by 2.30pm Rally & Peace March. Look for
the MAPW banner! Contact: Jessica on 0431
519 577
Sydney: Palm Sunday Rally for Peace. Parramatta Town Hall
amphitheatre. MAPW President Dr Sue Wareham OAM
speaking. 2.00pm - Multi-Faith Prayers for Peace; 2.30pm –
Rally. www.mapw.org.au
Hobart, Monday lunchtime 6 April
TASMANIAN MAPW MONTHLY MEETING
This informal monthly meeting is 1pm at the 'Timeless Way'
cafe in the IXL Jam factory area of Hobart's wharves.
Contact t...@mapw.org.au or just come
along, on the first Monday of each month. Nancy Atkin (MAPW
EO) is looking forward to meeting members at Monday’s lunch.
Melbourne (Mordialloc),
Saturday 18 April
SCARRED LANDS AND WOUNDED LIVES: THE ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT OF WAR
The Union of Australian Women are showing this excellent documentary, together
with David Bradbury's "All that Glitters
is not Gold" - an 8min video about uranium mining and its hazards. MAPW's
Vice-President, Deputy Chair of the International Physicians to Prevent Nuclear
War, Dr Ruth Mitchell will speak. At Mordialloc
Neighbourhood House
Sydney, Tuesday 21 April
MAPW GRAND ROUNDS, ROYAL NORTH SHORE,
MAPW Members and friends are encouraged to attend and hear MAPW President Dr
Sue Wareham, an outstanding speaker,
outline peace challenges confronting the world. Lecture at 1PM (12 noon for lunch. Norman
Nock Lecture Theatre, Reserve Road, Royal North Shore Hospital, Pacific
Highway, St. Leonards.
Adelaide, Thursday 23 April
SA MAPW BRANCH MEETING
7:30pm in the Memorial Hospital board room.
s...@mapw.org.au
Perth, Friday 8 May
SOLDIERS FOR PEACE: WA PREMIERE AND ICAN FUNDRAISER
The Astor Cinema, 659 Beaufort St, Mt Lawley. 7.30pm. Wine
and nibbles from 6.45pm. Other
details as in headlines above or on our website www.mapw.org.au. Buy now through www.moshtix.com.au
Alice
Springs, Saturday 9 May
NT MAPW BRANCH MEETING
MAPW (NT) next meeting,
planning action on climate change, opposition to mining at Angela Pamela,
and indigenous issues related to nuclear industries.
Venue: Olive Pink Botanic Garden, at 1.00pm (1300). Contact: n...@mapw.org.au
The latest: More MAPW news
Our Newsletter
and Annual Report are now available on our website
PHYSICIANS WRITE TO
OBAMA, MEDVEDEV
On the eve of Prime
Minister Rudd’s meeting with US President Barack Obama, more than 300 of
the world’s top physicians have written to the US and Russian Presidents.
Their letter calls for US President Obama and Russian President Dmitri
Medvedev to “end the nuclear weapons era once and for all.” Prominent
Australians to sign the letter include four Australians of the Year, Professors
Fiona Stanley, Sir Gustav Nossal, Nobel laureate Peter Doherty and Ian Frazer; with
former MAPW leaders Professor Ian Maddocks and Professor
Fred Mendelsohn also among the 22 Australians to sign. See www.mapw.org.au for details; and http://www.ippnw.org/News/MedicalAppeal.htm
for the full text. Thanks to
all who signed, and to those who facilitated signatures
MAPW
PRESIDENT IN MEDICAL OBSERVER
Dr Sue Wareham is the featured GP in the latest edition
(page 12). Unfortunately this section doesn’t appear to be online; but
Sue highlights the human suffering caused by war; and recommends “The Scars of War”, by Robert
McManus, to read on the psychological impact of war. (Very timely given the
debate on this issue – see links later in this email).
NUCLEAR TREATIES
INQUIRY: PUBLIC HEARINGS
The Australian Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Treaties (JSCOT)
is conducting an inquiry into ALL Australia’s
nuclear treaties. MAPW, ICAN and many of our partners appeared
as witnesses in Melbourne and Sydney last week, along with nuclear authorities
and the nuclear industry. There are 78 written submissions online. Transcripts
will also be posted. : www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/jsct/nuclearnon_proliferation/subs.htm
The latest: Australia and the region
AUSTRALIA
FAILS VETERANS OVER MENTAL HEALTH
A investigative article in the Age reports that “Up
to 10 per cent of troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan will have
long-term mental health problems, including post-traumatic stress disorder,
according to the Australian Centre for Post-Traumatic Mental Health.” . .
. “Last year, the Government acknowledged fears that the mental health
system for soldiers and veterans was failing, and commissioned two confidential
inquiries. The findings are still secret, but with the conflict in Afghanistan
raging and the prospect of Australia being asked by the US to send more troops,
expectations are high.” The Age also ran an editorial on this topic.
http://www.theage.com.au/national/the-endless-battle-20090327-9eao.html
THREAT OF NUCLEAR WASTE FOR NORTHERN
TERRITORY
Northern Territory politician Damian Hale MHR, has
warned the Territory might have to take a nuclear dump for the good of the
country – in contravention of ALP promises before the Federal elections:.
http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2009/04/01/42391_ntnews.html
The possibility of waste from overseas being dumped in the Territory is also
being raised. http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2007/06/05/1206_ntnews.html
Global news
FRANCE TO FINALLY COMPENSATE VICTIMS OF NUCLEAR TESTING
The French Government will compensate victims of past
nuclear tests and has earmarked an initial 10 million euros to do so, Defence
Minister Herve Morin says. The French state had long refused to officially
recognise a link between its testing of nuclear bombs, which ended in 1996, and
health complaints reported by both military and civilian staff involved in the
tests. France tested nuclear weapons in Algeria between
1960 and 1966, then in French Polynesia in the Pacific
Ocean between 1966 and 1996. It conducted a total of 210 tests. (Condensed
from ABC online, 24 March.) The announcement came just before court cases began
for compensation of nuclear test victims in Tahiti, with the
first scheduled in Papeete on 27 April.
(Email us for full details of these stories).
THREE MILE ISLAND: 30 YEARS ON
***The Three Mile
Island nuclear power reactor, near Harrisville, Pennsylvania, partially melted
down on 28 March 1979***.
”Climate progress”
writes: TMI still
haunts the US reactor industry 30 years after the
partial meltdown.
http://climateprogress.org/2009/03/27/three-mile-island-anniversary-meltdown-nuclear-power-problems/
”The Nation” writes:
There are 103 reactors in sixty-four locations across the United
States. None of these reactors were designed to last more than
forty years. We are reaching that deadline. During the Bush years, the NRC relicensed
forty of the country's reactors. In those eight years, the NRC did not deny a
single renewal request. This is unconscionably reckless behavior. The
regulators of this industry would appear to be somnambulant hostages to the
nuke operators.
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090413/parenti
FRANCE’S DODGY URANIUM DEALS WITH NIGER
President Sarkozy is expected to back a
controversial deal signed in January between French nuclear giant Areva and Niger’s
government that would lead to the exploitation of the Imouraren mining site in
northern Niger, the world’s second
biggest uranium deposit. This story reports that Niger is the only country that
has a uranium contract that doesn’t prevent France from using the uranium
for weapons. The mine also has raised questions over environmental standards
and the treatment of the nomadic Toureg landowners. http://www.france24.com/en/20090327-sarkozy-niger-back-arevas-unranium-deal-with-niamey-african-tour-dr-congo-talks
Information sources
NEW TRAINING E-RESOURCE INCLUDES
SMALL ARMS, LANDMINES, AND UNEXPLODED ORDNANCE
The James Madison University’s
Mine Action Information Center has just released the Global Education and
Training Initiatives (GETI) Directory. This e-book provides a practical resource for global training and
education courses available to people seeking training information, and is
available here:
http://maic.jmu.edu/geti/intro_pg.htm
.
More events and activities
Melbourne, Wednesday 1 April
THE AMBASSADOR OF THE REPUBLIC OF KAMARIA
His Excellency Jacob Grech KLAP: 1 April event for Underground
Talk, 6 for 6:30pm downstairs at Trades Hall
*Every two years, the United States and
Australian militaries conduct war games against the country of Kamaria. Codenamed
Operation Talisman Sabre, these joint exercises occur in some of the most
environmentally precious locations in Australia including
the biodiverse region of Shoalwater Bay on the
central coast of Queensland.
On the occasion of the launch of the Kamarian Government-in-exile's new website,
his Excellency will give an address on the colourful history of this
little-known, peace-loving nation. $5/ $2 concession. All proceeds from this
event go the planned Peace Convergence www.peaceconvergence.com
May-July, Sydney
PEACE
AND ACTIVISM COURSE
A new Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies (University of Sydney) certificate training
course intended to provide students with theoretical understanding and
practical experience of the techniques of peace activism. The course will be taught in five intensive all-day (Fridays
10am-1pm and 2pm- 5pm) classes from May 15 to July 4 and will culminate in a 6
day field trip July 9- 14) to Central Queensland to participate in the Peace
Convergence at the time of the Talisman Sabre joint US-Australian military
exercises. Taught by Professor Jake Lynch, Dr Hannah Middleton, Harpreet Kalsi,
Estelle Hinds and Trent Newman. $500 (includes materials and travel). Registrations
due by Friday 17 April. Limited. Enquiries arts....@usyd.edu.au
RADIOACTIVE TOUR IN MAY
The highly recommended Radioactive Exposure Tour is on again! Join Friends of
the Earth to visit the Olympic Dam uranium mine at Roxby Downs, the beautiful Lake Eyre and Mound
Springs and meet with Aboriginal people campaigning against the nuclear
industry. The trip will also visit the beautiful Gammon Ranges and Arkaroola,
the not-so-beautiful Beverley uranium mine, and much more.
www.foe.org.au/anti-nuclear/media/news-items/2009/radioactive-exposure-tour-2009
June 30 to July 2
ARMS FAIR IN ADELAIDE
This is not the one we stopped last year: but it’s an exhibition where
the Federal Government has invited anyone who wants to sell weapons to come and
show them. More details next time!. www.defenceandindustry.gov.au
Queensland, July 6-26
TALISMAN SABRE MILITARY EXERCISES
See details of action, festival and other protests in Central
Queensland
www.peaceconvergence.com
A picture story to finish off . . .
PACKED ALICE SPRINGS MEETING GRILLS MINISTER OVER MINES
See the story and photos here:
http://www.abc.net.au/local/photos/2009/03/27/2528374.htm?site=alicesprings&rotator=true
MAPW thank you list
Thanks to this week’s
contributors, including Jim Green, Gerry Schultz, Jessica Morrison, Christina MacPherson, Dale Hess, Nic
Maclellan and many others – thanks!
Written by Nancy Atkin, for the Medical Association for Prevention of
War (Australia)
Email comments and contributions to: nancy...@mapw.org.au
www.mapw.org.au