Call for the immediate release of Aung San Suu Kyi

Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi taken to prison to face new charges. Take action now to demand her release!

Amnesty has drafted a letter which enables you to send a message of protest to Myanmar’s Foreign Minister Nyan Win. Please take the time to defend the rights of Aung San Suu Kyi and all other prisoners of conscience.

There are more than 2,100 known political prisoners and prisoners of conscience in Myanmar (formerly Burma). Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, is the best-known. The co-founder of Myanmar’s main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), Aung San Suu Kyi is also one of the country’s best-known political figures and campaigners for human rights.

Source: Amnesty USA.

TANK MAN TANGO – A Tiananmen Square memorial

June 4 2009 is the 20th anniversary of the massacre of protestors at Tiananmen Square. You are invited to participate in a memorial made of dancing bodies in cities around the world.

On 4 June, forget to forget. Do the Tank Man Tango.

Sydney
Rehearsal of the steps choreographed from the footage of the man who defied the tanks in 1989.

6pm, 3 June 2009
Performance Space @ CarriageWorks – 245 Wilson St Redfern/Darlington, Sydney, Australia

Public memorial event: 4 June from 5pm, place TBA
Followed at 7pm by 649 exhibition at Serial Space, 33 Wellington St., Chippendale, NSW

Singapore
Tank Man Tango, The Substation, 45 Armenian Street, Singapore Thur 4 June at 8pm, The Substation Theatre: collective public performance of the Tank Man Tango

Fri 5 June, Substation Gallery, 11am–9pm: public art installation of paper statues of the “Goddess of Democracy”

Weimar events – hosted by ACC Galerie, Burgplatz 1+2, Weimar, Germany 4 June (Info TBA)

More cities around the world to participate. Forget to forget website.

Scientology attempts to ban picketers due to their HIV status

Los Angeles, CA (1-12-09) – In a shocking new tactic attempting to ban peaceful protesters from picketing the Scientology compound known as “Gold Base” near Hemet, CA, Scientology lawyers have obtained medical information regarding two protesters, and are using their HIV positive status in an attempt to prevent them from picketing at the location.

Worldwide pickets against Scientology have surged in the last year, and Scientology has been fighting to stop them, especially near the Hemet compound. Scientology has used tactics ranging from physical attacks [1], false reports to police [2], and the emission of an estimated 110db organ note from loudspeakers in an attempt to drown out the protesters’ chants. [3]

The latest tactics, however, are downright sickening, illegal, and an insult to members of the LGBT community and HIV patients worldwide.

Attorney Graham Berry and activists “Angry Gay Pope” (AGP) and “Happy Smurf” (a former Scientologist) are openly homosexual. Scientology, which policy states that homosexuals are “low on the tone scale” and should be “disposed of quietly and without sorrow” [4], has obtained AGP and Happy Smurf’s private records and discovered that they are HIV positive. [5]

Scientology is lobbying for the passage of a county-wide ordinance restricting protesting at “Gold Base”. [6] Scientology considers the presence of the two HIV+ men to be a threat to the well-being of the alleged 500 “church workers” at the Base, and is seeking to restrict protests in a move that may constitute an restriction on 1st Amendment rights of activists in Hemet.

This is not the first time Scientology has openly spoken out against homosexuality. At the 2008 Toronto Gay Pride Parade, Scientologists made false claims of being able to cure homosexuality. [7]

Recently the Church of Scientology of California donated a generous sum of money to aid in the passing of Proposition 8, a law that banned marriage between homosexual couples. [8]

For more information on the protesters being discriminated against at “Gold Base”, see http://angrygaypope.com and http://www.grahamberry.com.

References:

[1] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1RUQ7xwz3Y
[2] http://rinf.com/alt-news/activism/scientology-injunction-denied-against-anonymous/2783/
[3] http://vimeo.com/2721512
[4] http://www.solitarytrees.net/racism/dispose.htm
[5] http://forums.whyweprotest.net/123-leaks-legal/breaking-news-riverside-ordinance-35565/10/#post687069
[6] http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-scientology10-pg,0,5285738,full.story
[7] http://www.queerty.com/scientologys-anti-gay-push-thwarted-at-toronto-pride-20080710/
[8] http://www.xzonenews.com/Hypocritical%20Church%20of%20Scientology%20Says%20Ban%20Gay%20Marriage%20-%2020081024.htm

For more information on Chanology visit:
http://www.whyweprotest.net
http://forums.whyweprotest.net
http://marcab.org

Double Happiness – Kill the Poor

Filmed in Second Life, there seems to be some protest happening in the Double Happiness Jeans factory. Probably just some pathetic attempt to market bloody virtual jeans but hey who gives a shit it’s like nearly the New Year.

Watch it…
http://iam.colum.edu/plichty/video/SF_Gaz_Pat_Second_Front.mov

Call for China to cease harassment of human rights advocates

Some 39 of 300 intellectuals who signed the Charter 08 human rights petition have been harassed, including prominent Beijing writer Liu Xiaobo, who was taken away by public security officers on 8 December for being one of the document’s drafters. See the Charter here: http://www.nybooks.com/articles/22210 and sign the online petition for Dr Xiaobo’s release: http://tinyurl.com/48bk7d.

Australia’s Climate Action Day

On the first day of Federal Parliament, 2009, Australia’s Climate Action Summit will culminate in thousands of people and community groups forming a human chain around Parliament House.

Stand with us to demand urgent action on climate change, for a safe climate future.

We will gather at 8am on the protest lawn in front of Parliament House. Marshals will organise people into a human circle around Parliament House. There will be speakers, entertainment and light refreshments available.

Once we have formed the human circle we will hold a press conference to put our demand for real climate action in 2009 to the Rudd Government. A helicopter will take aerial photos and then we’ll gather for lunch and a celebration of our people power in delivering this critical message to our politicians.

Let’s make this a momentous demonstration, and give force to our demand for a safe climate. Help us make our message strong by getting a group of family and friends together to stand alongside us.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009
8:00am – 12:00pm
Lawn in front of Parliament House, Canberra, Australia
Contact InfoEmail:
info@climatesummit.org.au
http://www.climatesummit.org.au/

The Great Firewall of Australia – Petition

Imagine a government proposing an internet censorship system that went further than any other democracy – one that made the internet up to 87% slower, more expensive, accidentally blocked up to one in 12 legitimate sites, and missed the vast majority of inappropriate content.

This is not China, Saudi Arabia or Iran – this is the vision of Senator Stephen Conroy for Australia. Testing has already begun. The community must now move to stop this plan.

The system that Senator Conroy wants is a mandatory filter of all internet traffic, with the government of the day able to add any unwanted site to a secret blacklist. Already, the wrangling has begun for the inclusion of material relating to anorexia, euthanasia and gambling. It isn’t difficult to see the scheme is open to abuse.

Even when it comes to preventing child p-rnography, the filter will not prevent peer-to-peer sharing and is very simple to sidestep. The protection of our children is vitally important – that’s why we can’t afford to waste funds on this deeply flawed system. We should be concentrating on solutions that are more effective and won’t undermine our digital economy or our democratic freedoms.

This must rank as one of the most ill-thought decisions of the Rudd Government’s first year in power. We need to act now to tell big brother the mandatory internet filter is incompatible with the principles of a modern democracy and modern economy.

Our government should be doing all in its power to take Australia into the 21st century economy, and to protect our children. This proposed internet censorship does neither. Take action to save the net today.

www.getup.org.au/campaign/SaveTheNet

Do you love your pot?

Check out the petition and sign it if you feel inclined. If you love your pot and and honour the sacred plants, I;d suggest taking a peak at this petition.

For those of you who aren’t aware there is a constitutional challenge going on in Melbourne against drug laws. If ever there was a perfect opportunity to support the work then this is it..Here’s a link to a petition that is doing the rounds regarding this matter…please download it and spread around like good Jam!!!!…

Also the below link is a new study which has been released about the possible curative properties of Cannabis.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/04/17/health/webmd/main2696726.shtml

Editor’s note: I never inhaled. !! xx

Yes Men move date of protest!

For a variety of reasons including the collapse of capitalism and the looming elections, the big plan we’ve been keeping you in suspense on will occur not in October, but rather:

*** NOVEMBER 10-14 ***

Moving it after the elections will let it serve as a much-needed kick in the pants to those with too much faith in the saving power of the winning candidate. (Quick, touch some wood.) And it won’t distract from efforts to get him elected.

There IS, however, something to keep you in shape in the meantime. Tuesday Oct 17th at noon, join the incredible activists of CODE PINK in front of the Stock Exchange. Wear a suit and tie or other business wear (no Friday casual!) and be ready to do some theatrics.

When: Tuesday, October 7, 12 o’clock noon
Where: In front of the New York Stock Exchange
(http://maps.google.com/maps?q=18+Broad+Street+New+York)
The theme:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/424/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=1414
Who: You, along with the most visible activists in America:
http://www.codepinkalert.org/
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=code+pink+interrupt

Swift End to Endangered Parrot

Plans to log areas of forests, including Wielangta Forest in southern Tasmania, are likely to severely jeopardise the future of the globally-endangered Swift Parrot, according to Birds Australia who is urging the Tasmanian and Commonwealth Governments to put a stop to the imminent disaster.

There are less than 1000 pairs of the nationally endangered Swift Parrot known to exist in the wild, yet Forestry Tasmania plans to undertake logging in the Wielangta Forest where there are believed to be several hundred Swift Parrots preparing to breed.

To help the Swift Parrot and find out how to directly contact the politicians who are involved go to the Birds Australia website.