STOPCRUSH.ORG – Ban animal torture videos – stop the sickos!! #fb #HR5566 #geekgirl

Animal “Crush” Video Awareness Week – STOPCrush.org

Monday, November 15 at 12:00am – November 22 at 12:00am
Facebook / The Internet / Your Bed / Your Couch
You DO NOT need to physically show up anywhere

THIS IS A WORLDWIDE EVENT ON FACEBOOK/THE INTERNET. You DO NOT need to physically show up anywhere!

Change your profile picture to an image in support of making ANIMAL CRUSH VIDEOS illegal again. This photo does NOT have to be graphic or even one of ours. With HR 5566 being part of lame duck voting sessions which would make these videos BANNED in the US, this is a very important time and event.

GET PICTURES HERE, OR MAKE YOUR OW…N:
http://www.stopcrush.org/?page_id=9
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=41551&id=123901460968753

What are Crush Videos?
Crush videos feature small live animals, such as kittens, puppies, reptiles, mice and rabbits being slowly tortured in the most horrific ways imaginable; including being burnt alive, cut with pruning sheers, nailed to the floor, skinned alive, beaten, stabbed, and having their limbs broken.

All of these videos share a common theme: the animals are incrementally crushed by a woman with high heels/other body parts. Most people view these materials for sexual gratification, but these videos are becoming increasingly popular just for their shock value alone on “gore sites”.

Human Rights Arts & Film Festival 2011 – submissions #film #Australia #geekgirl

www.hraff.org.au
Earlybird Applications Close: Friday October 29

Submissions are now open for the annual Australian Human Rights Arts and Film Festival. All emerging and established filmmakers are invited to submit their music videos, shorts, features, documentaries and experimental film for the 2010 program. The only criterion is that the film engages with human rights and social justice issues.

In 2011 HRAFF will again travel Australia with events and screenings taking place in Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, Perth, Adelaide, Alice Springs and Brisbane throughout April and May.

There is also over $5000 worth of cash and prizes up for grabs!

Men of letters hosted by Women of Letters #fundraiser #Melbourne #geekgirl

And now it’s the men’s turn - Men of letters – October 31 at the Thornbury Theatre (Melbourne)

After a whirlwind road trip incorporating four states, 23 letter-writers, and more hastily scribbled postcards than you could poke a Kilometrico at, Women of Letters is moving to its new permanent home at the Thornbury Theatre with a special one-off testosteroney line-up.

On October 31^st, co-curators Michaela McGuire and Marieke Hardy will host for the very first time their inaugural all-male Men of Letters, featuring a relatively gasp-inducing range of the country’s finest and most dapper talent. They will go where no man has gone before – into the celebration of the lost art of letter writing.

Singer/songwriter PAUL KELLY, sartorially elegant bandleader DAVE GRANEY, writer/performer JOHN SAFRAN, The Chaser’s CHAS LICCIARDELLO, star of stage and screen EDDIE PERFECT, The Gin Club frontman BEN SALTER, Spicks and Specks’ ALAN BROUGH, troubadour TIM ROGERS, political scribe and author BOB ELLIS and last but not least, Australia’s most decadent food critic MATT PRESTON will each be penning and reading a letter to ‘The Woman Who Changed My Life’.

There’ll be a DJ set by the inestimably lovely EMMA PEEL, wine, and copious amounts of letter writing.  Stamps and envelopes will be provided, and in the spirit of participation attendees are encouraged to pen short notes. Men of Letters  kicks off at 3.00 pm – doors open at 2.20 pm – and bookings are essential.

For $20 that’s a fairly formidable afternoon’s entertainment. All funds raised to go Edgar’s Mission.

The Thornbury Theatre is at 859 High Street, Thornbury. Tickets – http://www.thethornburytheatre.com

Blog Action Day – Oct 15th #water #bloggers #geekgirl

The topic for Blog Action Day 2010: Water.

The Blog Action Day 2010 site has been unveiled, and it’s aim is to make this year’s event the largest single day of action on the web in 2010. Click here to check out the new site and register for Blog Action Day 2010, held on October 15th.

You don’t need to be a water expert to participate — you just have to be interested in joining thousands of other bloggers from more than 100 countries in collectively raising awareness of one of the most important issues facing our world.

After all, clean water is essential for our survival, but dangerously scarce. Nearly one billion people in the world today don’t have access to clean water and 42,000 people die each week from water-borne diseases. And the issue doesn’t stop there — water availability impacts a wide variety of issues from the environment to women’s rights and from technology to fashion. If you’re unsure what to write about on October 15th, check out our list of water post suggestions to get started.

Last year, Blog Action Day included influential voices ranging from the White House to former Prime Minister Gordon Brown. This year, we’re looking forward to an even larger group of influential voices, from celebrities to politicians, to help widen the scope of conversation.

International Women’s Day: Celebrating 100 Years – filmmakers need participants #unifem #geekgirl

A short film about the dramatic history of International Women’s Day and the feminist movement in Australia and in our region.

SYNOPSIS
The feminist movement has progressed in leaps and bounds over the past century. From the dramatic actions of the Suffragettes to current petitioning against human rights abuses of women, the movement has been peppered with moments of courage, bravery, persistence as well as frequent disappointment.

2011 marks 100 years of International Women’s Day, when the world stops to celebrate, commemorate and ruminate on the status of women internationally.

International Women’s Day: Celebrating 100 Years (Working Title) will chart the history of the feminist movement and International Women’s Day in Australia and regionally through archival footage interwoven with the stories of ordinary women who have been involved in some extraordinary events in the name of progressing women’s rights.

International Women’s Day: Celebrating 100 Years will both speak to those generations born after the rise of second wave feminism- a compelling reminder to these generations of the male-dominant landscape of the past and the hurdles that have been overcome- as well as celebrate the achievements of those strong and persistent women who have been involved in the feminist movement over the last century.

The award-winning all female team of International Women’s Day: Celebrating 100 Years will bring life to the story of International Women’s Day, and the film will provide hope and inspiration in looking towards addressing the challenges that women still face nationally and internationally.

UNIFEM AUSTRALIA
This project has been commissioned by UNIFEM Australia, part of UN Women, an NGO under the umbrella of the United Nations that works towards gender equality internationally.

The film is being produced to coincide with the 2011 centenary of International Women’s Day and amongst other audiences it will be distributed to all Australian secondary schools and screened at International Women’s Day events nationally as
well as be posted on the UNIFEM Australia website.

HOW CAN U  HELP
The filmmakers are looking for a handful of women to interview on film for this project who have been personally involved with key events in the feminist movement in Australia and regionally over the last century, including currently. They would like stories that emphasise the courage and optimism of women who have battled for gender equality, often through unique and non-conformist actions.

CONTACT
e. IWDfilm@gmail.com
p. (Kylie Plunkett) 0424656283
a. 915/37 Swanston St
The Nicholas Building
Melbourne 3000

TWLOHA – To Write Love on Her Arms – Sept 25th #Australia #love #geekgirl

http://www.twloha.com.au

On the 25th of September, 2010 there will be an Australia-wide To Write Love On Her Arms Day.

What is To Write Love On Her Arms? (TWLOHA for short)

TWLOHA is a movement dedicated to helping the fight against depression, addiction, self-harm and suicide. A non-profit, non-commercial and non-religious. TWLOHA is people helping people, nothing more and nothing less.

What do I have to do?
Quite simply; write the word LOVE on your arm. That is all we ask of you. If you’d like to take a photo of it and post it to our group, we’d love that. We’d love you to tell your friends and family why you’ve written it there, and we’d love you to help them write love on their arms as well.

If you’re in Melbourne, Sydney, Hobart or Launceston and wish to get more involved, then please seek out the TWLOHA representatives in your area.

Can I get more information?
Yes you can! Check out our website at http://www.twloha.com.au/, post a comment on the wall of this event or the TWLOHA Australia group, or email support@twloha.com.au

Wanna get involved, help us out, offer your services, or be in one of the groups on the ground? Let us know and we’ll help you out.

–

The vision is the possibility that your best days are ahead.

The vision is the possibility that we’re more loved than we’ll ever know.

The vision is hope, and hope is real.

You are not alone, and this is not the end of your story.

Remember; Love is the Movement.

Help save orang-utans and help save ourselves #donate #geekgirl

orangutans

Please give generously to help these awesome orang-utans.

DONATE GREENPEACE US

Stay in touch and informed and  how you can help locally; via Australian Zoos. And contribute to the Zoos Victoria Foundation Orang-utan Conservation Fund.

Editor’s note: Animals in all shapes and sizes humble us. Even the little mouse that has inhabited our home makes me smile. Not because she poos everywhere and eats our cheese and chocolate. It’s because she is small, vulnerable and like us all, scurries around just trying to survive. Each time you help an animal cause you help humanity understand the great chain of connections we have to each other, and the richness we all share while alive. Loving animals is a sign of loving ourselves. *HUGS* GG

Fundbreak – nice idea #helpsarah #geekgirl #onemovement2010

Help get Tasmania’s Sarah Heald to One Movement 2010 #music #stargurl #geekgirl #donate

One Movement 2010 is the Asia-Pacific trade expo for Australian recording artists launching into international markets, and Sarah Heald has been fortunate enough as part a graduate of the JB Seed Management Workshop program, to be selected to represent Tasmanian artists for the first time at the conference.

This is an enormous opportunity for Tasmanian musicians who Sarah has already collaborated with in both formal and informal mentorship, management, promotional and advisory roles (such as Charles Du Cane, All Fires The Fire, Rough Skies Records, The Native Cats, The Paradise Motel and White Woods) under the banner of non-profit consultancy “Behind Every Great Management”.

Prior to her Tasmanian seachangeSarah was employed as an in-house PR at Mushroom Distribution Services, Wall of Sound Recordings (UK), and at Best Est PR (Pulp, Blur, Glastonbury webcast). After relocating to beautiful Tasmania in 2005,  she has actively been involved in events such as MONAFOMA, A Day on The Green, Hobart Fringe Festival, and Falls Festival in event coordination roles, as well as volunteering on the board of Hobart Fringe and the young friends of the Tasmanian Museum & Art Gallery (TMAGgots). Many locals will also recognise her from her work at live music venues, in particular North Hobart’s “The Alley Cat Bar”.

The good folk at JB Seed have provided her with a full conference pass and assistance to the value of nearly $1000, however she needs to arrange her own flights, freight, accommodation and per diems during the event and will also be taking unpaid leave to do so. Subsequentlyshe is relying on the broader community, and some of her volunteer hours ‘kharma’ to help have Tasmanian artists have a real presence for trade and export at One Movement.

Please donate.

Roots to Resistance! Visual Artist brings 12 Women Activists to Life #facebook #geekgirl

No More Silence! Please help spread the word by joining the Global Postcard Campaign!
Visual Artist brings 12 Women Activists to Life http://www.facebook.com/rootstoresistance

Renowned award winning visual artist and creative activist Denise Beaudet is bringing forth the images and stories of 12 remarkable women in a project entitled Roots to Resistance, painting larger than life sized portraits of these women activists as well as creating postcards that  spread word of their work.

This project aims to create voices for us all by creating postcards and sending them around the world and saying that we won’t be silent about war, atrocities and violence against women!

Examples of postcards include a portrait of the Congolese Journalist Chouchou Namegabe. Her work is simply of the utmost importance. It is a critical and dangerous endeavor as she travels across the war torn Congo to record the stories of the hundreds of thousands of women who have been assaulted there. She needs our support and our voices!

The global postcard exchange is completely free and really just involves us sending postcards to those interested in being partners in the Exchange. All we ask is that you give them out in your community and spread the word and we will print them in the language spoken there!

To become a partner in the Global Postcard Campaign please contact
Denise: invisible_earth@yahoo.com  and for more info and images of the
project: http://www.facebook.com/rootstoresistance

The 12 women:
Natalia Estemirova-Chechnya-Murdered Human Rights Journalist
Malalai Joya-Afghanistan-Woman’s Rights Activist
Chouchou Namegabe–Congo–Journalist/Women’s Rights Activist
Maria Gunnoe-U.S.-Environmental Activist
Aung San Suu Kyi-Burma-Human Rights Activist
Parvin Ardalan-Iran-Women’s Rights Activist
Rebecca Gomperts-Netherlands-Environmeari-Indonesia-Labor Activist
Wangari Maathai-Kenya-Environmental Activist
Zapatista Woman-Mexico Environmental/Indigenous Rights Activist
Marina Silva-Brazil-Environmental Activist
Yvonne Margarula-Australia-Indigenous Rights Activist