Mannie Blog, LGS, SPAIDS, InterSection, Israel/Palestine, Jewish Issues

Mannie Blog, LGS, SPAIDS, InterSection, Israel/Palestine, Jewish Issues



and new blog:

red-jos.blogspot.com

COUNTDOWN TO NET NEUTRALITY DEADLINE IN US CONGRESS

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CHILDREN LOCKED UP IN AUSTRALIA'S FOREIGN CONCENTRATION CAMPS

Content warning: this email mentions incidents of self-harm, suicide attempts and sexual assault.~



Dear Mannie,

Imagine if you heard about a government that was locking up children up in a place where they were being exposed to violence and assault,and suffering from significant mental health distress.

A place where children were detained out of sight and locked up for prolonged periods of time – in many cases, more than a year. Kept in conditions so inhumane and hopeless, that they were wetting their beds at night for fear of being assaulted on the way to the bathroom, subject to such mental distress that they were biting their nails down to the knuckle. Imagine if you heard kids as young as 12 were so mentally distraught that they were ready to give up on their young lives, and were resorting to acts of self-harm.

Would you intervene and ask that country to free those children? Welcome to your Australia.

We're said to live in a lucky country, which prides itself on providing a "fair go for all". Yet, Australia is being called out around the world – by the United Nations, international personalities like Russell Brand and human rights watchdogs – for its barbaric policy of indefinitely detaining children.

Today's long-awaited release of the Human Rights Commission's report on children in detention, titled "The Forgotten Children", paints a sobering picture of Australia's immigration policies – which could only be described as government sanctioned child abuse. But while these children have remained forgotten by our leaders for far too long, it's not too late to make a difference – starting right now.

Many of us are all too aware of the harmful effects of detaining children, but there are many more who aren't even aware it's happening. This is why it's so important for us to speak up. We've produced a video with a message from those who worked directly with children in detention. Our plan is to put it on the air to reach as many Australians as possible, for as long as possible. There's no time to waste. Will you speak up for all children, who remain locked in detention, and get the word out now? 

LET THE CHILDREN GO!

Click here: https://www.getup.org.au/kids-out

It will come as no surprise to most that the Human Rights Commission's inquiry found "detention was inherently dangerous for children". These are just some of the more disturbing findings uncovered by the Human Rights Commission's inquiry that show why it's so dangerous:

• There are still 221 children being held in mainland detention centres, and a further 119 children in detention on Nauru.¹
• More than 300 children in detention committed or threatened self-harm in a 15 month period.² This includes incidents of self-inflected cuts, repeated head banging, and ingesting harmful substances such as insect repellent.
• In the same 15 month period, there were three attempted hangings and five incidents of self-stranglulation.
• "Children are exposed to danger by their close confinement with adults who suffer high levels of mental illness. Thirty per cent of adults detained with children have moderate to severe mental illnesses."³

Now we've heard the evidence, it's up to us to ensure others hear it too. If we're to have any hope of changing government policy, we first need to change the way Australians think about the issue. We need to encourage as many people as possible to add their voice and speak up on behalf of all children in detention. Because no matter your position on this issue, or your politics – there aren't many Australians who would agree with locking up children.

The public outrage has definitely been there – at a simmer that heats up from time to time – but we need to reach boiling point, fast. Now is when our movement, our country, needs to band together to show we have a conscience that will not be silenced. It's time to free all children from detention and show them they're not forgotten.

Speak up. Get the kids out. Chip in to help us get the word out: https://www.getup.org.au/kids-out

Now is the time for renewed hope. The GetUp community is partnering with Amnesty International, the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, ChilOut, Save the Children, the Human Rights Law Centre, Welcome to Australia and Children's Rights International, who are supporting the call for all children to be immediately released from all Australian immigration detention facilities, including Nauru where 119 children still remain.

Our movement and its many friends are still lighting the dark, and our light is growing stronger by the day. We can provide hope for all the children still being detained in our name, and together we will make sure Australia returns to the right side of history.

Thank you for speaking up,
Alycia and Erin for the GetUp team

PS. It's worth noting that this report was tabled at literally the last possible minute in Parliament this evening, in order to meet the deadline for its release. But we won't let this strategic timing, which coincidentally is the time when the media are less likely pick up on stories, prevent the plight of these children from reaching as many Australians as possible. Can you help ensure it does? https://www.getup.org.au/kids-out

~ References ~

[1] Immigration Detention and Community Statistics Summary, 31 January 2015
[2] Children in detention exposed to danger, Human Rights Commission finds, The Guardian, 11 February 2015
[3] The Forgotten Children: National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention 2014, The Australian Human Rights Commission

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GetUp is an independent, not-for-profit community campaigning group. We use new technology to empower Australians to have their say on important national issues. We receive no political party or government funding, and every campaign we run is entirely supported by voluntary donations. If you'd like to contribute to help fund GetUp's work, please donate now! To unsubscribe from GetUp, please click here. Our team acknowledges that we meet and work on the land of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We wish to pay respect to their Elders - past, present and future - and acknowledge the important role all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people continue to play within Australia and the GetUp community.
Authorised by Sam Mclean, Level 2, 104 Commonwealth Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010.

Petition "Federal Government: Fund SBS properly to stop mid-programme advertising!"

Hello!

I've started the petition "Federal Government: Fund SBS properly to stop mid-programme advertising!" and need your help to get it off the ground.
Will you take 30 seconds to sign it right now? Here's the link:
http://www.change.org/p/federal-government-fund-sbs-properly-to-stop-mid-programme-advertising
Here's why it's important:

SBS Television and advertisements
author: Mannie De Saxe
target: SBS Management in Australia and the Federal Government

SBS television was started in Australia some 30 years ago to assist the multicultural aspects of modern Australia's changing demographics. SBS was funded by the federal government but successive governments reduced their budget, so SBS began putting commercial advertising at the beginning and end of their programmes in order to raise revenue.
 When a new CEO was apponted some 12 years ago, he decided that if the advertisements were played in the middle of programmes, more revenue would be raised for the station. This ploy failed miserably, and as a consequence SBS lost viewers and the quality of its programmes deteriorated rapidly.
Now in 2015, SBS has a new management and this petition is to urge the new team to drop the advertisments in the middle of programmes. SBS used to have the best news bulletins of all tv stations in Australia, and, because of the advertisements, it has lost continuity and quality - and some of its best newsreaders!
 We are hoping to get enough signatures on this petition to induce SBS management to reconsider, and restore the service to its former glory!
 Late in 2012 SBS started a new channel specifically for Indigenous programmes. These too are interrupted in the middle of interesting programmes by commercials. These need to be stopped now in order to make SBS what it was originally - the world's first - and best - multicultural broadcaster.
It now seems that because the Federal government is determined to ruin SBS and the ABC, the government wants to join them together and reduce accommodation and staffing.
Margaret Pomeranz and Quentin Dempster, together with GetUp, have also started a petition, so there will now be at least two petitions for everyone to sign - Urgently!!

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Here's something you may not already know about: the government is proposing major changes to SBS' advertising arrangement – which, if passed, would see primetime broadcasting interrupted with more ads, more frequently, than ever seen in Australia's public broadcasting history.

Read on for a message from former SBS & ABC TV presenter Margaret Pomeranz, and public broadcasting advocate and journalist Quentin Dempster, on what you can do to stop this proposal in its tracks – and click here to sign the petition: www.getup.org.au/saveoursbs

~ A message from Margaret and Quentin ~

Mannie,

Want to stop the further commercialisation of our already under fire public broadcasters?

When Parliament re-commences next month, MPs and Senators will face a proposal on whether to allow the doubling of ads and commercial breaks on SBS, a move that will have a significant negative impact on our public broadcaster and its devoted viewers.

If the government's proposed amendments to the SBS Act are passed, SBS will look no different from the commercial networks. It will effectively be turned into Australia's fourth fully commercial TV channel, by stealth.

We will be doing everything we can to get the word out about the threat that these amendments pose to public broadcasting – but we need your help to demonstrate we have the support of the Australian public. The more signatures we can collect, the more seriously MPs and Senators will take us.

Now is the moment that Australians need to stand up to fight for sustainable, multicultural public broadcasting, and stand up for our SBS. Sign our petition urging the Federal Parliament to reject amendments to extend advertising on SBS: www.getup.org.au/saveoursbs

Our SBS is unique. It emerged in 1978 as an initiative of the Fraser Government, because of the shortage of services for the growing population of newly arrived Australians who didn't speak English.

In 2015, SBS' reason for being is more relevant than ever. Australia is one of the world's most multicultural countries, with an increasingly culturally diverse population. Thirty-three per cent of Australians weren't born here, nor were their parents. In a time when the risk of segregation and polarisation are greater than ever, our SBS can break down xenophobia, racism and bigotry through intelligent, engaging journalism, informed conversation, satire, documentary, movies and entertainment programming.

But if proposed amendments to the SBS Act pass, the SBS will be brought back to a shadow of its former self. It will be severely hindered in its ability to comply with its very own Charter, and provide quality content for Australians from diverse backgrounds.

Audiences love SBS, but love it less with commercial breaks continually disrupting programs. Together, let's remind our Parliament that we want our public broadcasters to treat us as audiences and as citizens in a robust democracy, not as consumers to be delivered up to advertisers.

Will you sign this petition, urging Parliament to protect SBS and reject these amendments? www.getup.org.au/saveoursbs

This isn't just about SBS. Australian commercial media networks rely upon advertising revenue to underwrite its financial viability – and they don't need a taxpayer-subsidised SBS competing for precious ad revenue. Public broadcasters weren't designed to be run on a commercial media business plan.

Here's what we need to tell our politicians: we want a strong and creative private media sector in Australia, complemented by robust public broadcasters with their independent Charter roles. It's this that has helped to make Australia a great and peace-loving country. Please join us and the Save Our SBS our campaign to fight for a non-commercial future for Australia's great multi-cultural broadcaster: www.getup.org.au/saveoursbs

With every good wish,

Margaret Pomeranz & Quentin Dempster

PS - We believe a public broadcaster that reaches Australia's diverse communities through multi-lingual radio, online services and television programming is crucial to a sense of inclusion. SBS is an investment in our communities – let's show politicians that we won't stand for cuts by stealth: www.getup.org.au/saveoursbs

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GetUp is an independent, not-for-profit community campaigning group. We use new technology to empower Australians to have their say on important national issues. We receive no political party or government funding, and every campaign we run is entirely supported by voluntary donations. If you'd like to contribute to help fund GetUp's work, please donate now! To unsubscribe from GetUp, please click here. Our team acknowledges that we meet and work on the land of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We wish to pay respect to their Elders - past, present and future - and acknowledge the important role all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people continue to play within Australia and the GetUp community.
Authorised by Sam Mclean, Level 2, 104 Commonwealth Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010.

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Please get every one you know to sign the petitions so that there will be hundreds and thousands of signatures to the Federal Government and SBS!

You can sign my petition by clicking here.
Thanks!
Mannie De Saxe

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