Green FOE go
Friends of the Earth (FOE) Ireland is set to be launched on
20th October (a new company has been set up, separate to Earthwatch
which has ceased trading). There are local groups involved
in Carlow, Clare, Kerry, Kilkenny, Louth and Waterford. General
enquiries can be made to 01 - 6794178. Meanwhile FOE Ireland
will be advertising for a director - look out for advertisements
the same week as the launch.
FOE Northern Ireland continues its work and
campaigning on a variety of issues. One big campaign is to
get the removal of Crown (British government) immunity for
the Water Service which is Northern Ireland's biggest polluter;
FOE has asked the European Commission to take legal action
on the matter. It is also drawing attention to the failure
of NI's Waste Management Strategy; an official report shows
only 14 out of 90 strategy targets set in 2000 have been achieved.
Other issues being dealt with include recycling, the threat
to the rail network in Northern Ireland, and environmental
protection. FOE-NI has local groups in Bannside (meeting Coleraine),
Craigavon, Downpatrick, Fermanagh and Larne; if you're interested
in setting up a group in your area of Northern Ireland you
can contact Lisa Fagan at lisf@foe.co.uk
or phone 028 - 9023 3600. FOE-NI is at 7 Donegall Street Place,
Belfast BT1 2FN, phone 028 - 9023 3488, fax 9024 7556, e-mail
foe-ni@foe.co.uk and
web http://www.foe.co.uk/ni
PANA
The PANA AGM will be held on the 23rd of October, 2-5.30pm
in the Amicus Headquarters, 15 Merrion Square, Dublin 2. The
keynote speaker is Kate Hudson, Chair of British CND. On the
13th of November at 1.00 PANA is organising a demonstration
at Shannon airport to protest against the continuing use of
Shannon Airport as a staging post to ferry US troops in order
to maintain military domination of its Iraq colony. On the
4th of December PANA is organising a seminar on the EU Constitution
in the EU office in Molesworth Street.
PANA was established in 1996 because Ireland was being integrated
into the US/EU military structures to ensure Irish participation
in the resource wars of the 21st century. There was a need
to build a broad based alliance to advocate a United Independent
Democratic Irish Republic with its own foreign policy pursued
through a reformed United Nations as an alternative to US/EU
military block advocated by FF/FG/PD/Labour/DUP/UUP/Alliance
group. PANA is confident that as the Irish people are dragged
deeper and deeper into the war for oil (war on terrorism)
the people will transfer their allegiance to those political
parties and Independents that oppose the war. The EU Constitution
is another step towards militarisation and for the first time
the people of all Ireland will have the right to vote. PANA
will be seeking to build an All Ireland Campaign against the
EU Constitution and if anybody wouuld like to help contact
pana@eircom.net. For
details see website; http://www.pana.ie
PANA, 17 Castle Street, Dalkey, Co.Dublin, phone 01- 235 1512.
Oh me, oh MII mediation
conference
The Mediators Institute Ireland Conference is to be held on
20th & 21st November at The Heritage Hotel, Portlaoise,
Co. Laois. We are delighted to have distinguished guests including
Kenneth Cloke and Robert Benjamin. Kenneth Cloke JD,PhD, LLM
is Director of the Centre for Dispute Resolution in Santa
Monica, California. His Keynote Speech, on Saturday "Conflict
Beneath The Surface" will give us some stories of the
work he has done on mediating the deeper "dangerous"
issues in conflict. Robert Benjamin has been a practitioner
mediator for over 23 years in most dispute contexts and runs
a regular basic training course. Sector meetings taking place
at the conference include Family Mediation, Restorative Justice,
Organisational & Workplace, Commercial, and Community
Mediation. There will also be a Northern Ireland regional
meeting. Contact: Anne Walsh, MII, Kylemore House, Sidmonton
Road, Bray, Co. Wicklow Tel. (01) 2828952 or by e-mail info@mediatorsinstituteireland.ie
Website at http://www.mediationireland.com
Hedge your school with
Afri 'Creating a global citizen in a world of conflict'
is the title of Afri's Hedge School which will take place
on Tuesday 23rd November from 7pm - 10pmat O'Connell Schools,
Dublin 1. The keynote speaker will be former President and
UN Commissioner Mary Robinson. Further details from Afri,
134 Phibsborough Road, Dublin 7. Phone 01 - 8827581/8827563,
e-mail afri@iol.ie and web
http://www.afri.buz.org
CAJ
CAJ, the Committee on the Administration of Justice, is holding
its AGM on 25th October and will be being addressed by Shami
Chakrabati, Director of Liberty, who will be talking of the
"war against terror" in England and the implications
especially for the Muslim community. Members will get an update
on activities during the year and elect the new executive.
Unfortunately, someone missing from their midst, after years
of loyal involvement, will be Stephen Livingstone, professor
of law at Queen's University and a former chair and treasurer
of CAJ, who is now presumed dead. A memorial service was organised
for him by Queens, CAJ and others on September 11th - a strangely
fitting date for someone who worked so hard to ensure that
terror never be used as an excuse by governments to deny people
their basic human rights. On a happier note, it can be reported
that Maggs O'Connor has taken up the post of legal officer
with CAJ. For those interested in knowing more about CAJ,
check out the website http://www.caj.org.uk
CAJ, 45/47 Donegall Street, Belfast BT1 2BR, phone 028 - 9066
1122.
GG for B again
Following the success of previous gatherings throughout Ireland
over the past three years, the Grassroots Gathering will be
back in Belfast over the weekend of 22nd - 24th of October.
The Grassroots Gatherings have aimed towards a network which
would, among other things, be based on the principle that
people should control their own lives and work together as
equals, as part of how we work as well as what we are working
towards. A theme the Belfast gathering hopes to tackle is
building safe communities with an emphasis on undoing racism
(both structural and interpersonal) and addressing gender
bias and patriarchal structures and attitudes throughout society
and within our social movements. The main venue is Queen's
Students Union. To receive further information about this
grassroots gathering contact: grassrootsbelfast2@safe-mail.net
or c/o PO Box 505, Belfast, BT12 6BQ
or phone 077 - 29785327. More information on the web at http://www.mallusk.net/grassrootsgathering
Walking through with
WRI
War Resisters' International has received the Friedrich-Siegmund
Schultze award to support nonviolent activities in 2004; it
receives this award especially for its work on conscientious
objection, which is the main focus of its The Right to Refuse
to Kill Programme. The work ranges from lobbying international
institutions such as the United Nations, to direct support
and cooperation with local groups of conscientious objectors.
Meanwhile the focus for Prisoners for Peace Day on 1st December
is Finland where substitute service is twice as long as military
service and there many total objectors who typically receive
upwards of two hundred days in prison. A concern which the
WRI has tried to highlight regarding the UK is that although
it does not have conscription and in principle recognises
the right to conscientious objection for members of the armed
forces, the regulations governing this are not publicly accessible
making it difficult to apply or to assist those wishing to
apply (e.g. people opposing the Iraq war). INNATE is a WRI
associate. See http://www.wri-irg.org
or contact WRI at 5 Caledonian Road, London N1 9DX, phone
020 - 7278 4040.
Student Advisory Group
on Diversity Campaigns
Are you a student and interested in campaigning for an end
to prejudice and discrimination in your college and the wider
community? NUS-USI, the umbrellla body for student unions
in Northern Ireland, are looking for students to join our
new Advisory Group on Diversity Campaigns.This will involve
working with other students to develop ideas for action on
issues such as racism, sectarianism, homophobia and disabilitydiscrimination.
For further information, contact Emily Brough or Damian Kavanagh,
phone 0289024 4641,Textphone 028 9032 4878 or email emily.brough@nistudents.org
or damien.kavanagh@nistudents.org
If music be the food
of peace, decibel on
The second Peace Not War 37-track double CD was released
on October 4th 2004. Selected from 500 submissions the compilation
redefines protest music for the twenty-first century: non-stop
funky beats on one disc and fat guitars on the other, with
deep and inspiring lyrics throughout. It's an eclectic mix
of hard-hitting rhythms to pound the streets and emotive radical
lyrics to stir the soul into creative resistance against the
Bush-Blair war machine.
Featuring the likes of Michael Franti and Liquid
Blue who have visited US soldiers in Iraq and sung for them,
to bring an anti-war message that is positive. Others, like
Sydney's The Herd and London's GM Baby, convey the soldiers'
experience of being in a battlefield: often either deadly
or soul destroying. Available from http://www.peace-war.org
(distribution in both Europe and N America) at £10 for
one or big reductions for peace groups to sell and raise money.
Visit Tools for Solidarity
in your own home
Tools for Solidarity (TFS) website is now up at http://www.toolsforsolidarity.org.uk
including the September Solidarity newssheet which looks back
at some milestones in twenty years of TFS, recently holding
birthday celebrations. Tools for Solidarity is a charity which
collects old, unwanted hand tools, repairs and ships them
out to skilled tradespeople in Africa and Latin America. Address:
Unit 1B1, Edenderry Industrial Estate, 326 Crumlin Road, Belfast
BT14 7EE. Phone 028 - 90 747473., e-mail tools.belfast@virgin.net
Dept of Environment
to save trees
The Environment Bulletin produced by the Environmental Awareness
Section of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and
Local Government in the Republic will soon be available in
electronic format only. This publication is a must for those
wanting to keep an eye on official policies and procedures
and other information. To receive the e-mail edition (whether
you have received the paper one or not), send your e-mail
address to environmentbulletin@environ.ie
One World Centre Annual
Lecture
Belfast One World Centre's Annual Lecture 2004 is entitled
Web of Deceit: A Critique of Britain's Foreign Policy to be
delivered by Mark Curtis, a former Research Fellow at the
Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House) and
currently Director of the World Development Movement. It's
on Wednesday, 13th October 2004 at 1pm in Room 212, Peter
Froggett Centre, Queen's University, Belfast. Everyone welcome!
The One World Centre produces a very useful monthly E-Bulletin,
contact info@owcni.org.uk
to be put on the mailing list. One World Centre, 4 Lower Crescent,
Belfast BT7 1NR, phone 028 9024 1879.
Roses are red, poets are green
The Green Party is holding its second annual "Poets
for the Planet" evening in the John Hewitt bar,
Donegall Street, Belfast, 7.30pm - 9.30pm, on Tuesday 16th
November. All are welcome, free admission. The evening of
bards at the bar will be hosted by Tommy Sands, who will introduce
readings from: Deirdre Cartmill, John Knowles, Lindsay Hodges,
Maria Mc Manus, Matt Kirkham, Maureen Boyle, Moyra Donaldson,
Paddy McEvoy, Pamela Green , Peter Emerson, Ruth Carr, Sinead
Morrissey and Sonia Abercrombie. Queries to 028 9071 1795.
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