Informed voting shout out

Hi guys just cleaning out my inbox and giving a shout out to those mobs who are voting and wanting us to have an informed vote. If you find more ’sites of interest’ like these just add them as comments. Age

Nuclear - Scorecard

http://votenuclearfree.net/

This website summarises the nuclear policies of Australian political parties to allow readers to make informed decisions.

UCA election 2007 resources

http://matrix.nsw.uca.org.au/assembly/resources/election_resources_2007/

Growing a Nation of Hope is the Uniting Church National Assembly’s Federal Election resource for 2007. It invites you to consider your vote through the vision and values of the gospel of hope. The material is non-partisan, and is a collaborative project grounded in the work of the National Assembly and the broader Uniting Church.

Below you will find the issues booklet, including a theological reflection and an election toolkit, and a series of hot issues briefs. Also below are a set of more in-depth issues papers, and some information to help congregations organise Election events and candidate forums.

We hope you find the kit useful!

Make Poverty History - policy scorecard

MPH has developed a policy scorecard that assesses the performance of political parties against the campaign’s key asks:

• Giving more and better aid
• Cancelling poor country debt
• Ensuring trade justice
• Supporting good governance
• Tackling climate change

GetUp - Promise Watch

Don’t you just hate it that every time an election comes around politicians try to woo you with a million promises that seem to disappear into thin air as soon as they get elected? This year, GetUp is putting an end to all that. Welcome to our new initiative - Promise Watch - our own ‘wiki’ to make sure all promises are core.

www.getup.org.au/PromiseWatch

This election season you can log every campaign promise that is made. Whether you hear it at your local community hall, read it online or have it shoved into your letterbox, we want you to log it on our new site!

Together we can hold the future Prime Minister - and every other MP and Senator - accountable for promises made. As soon as the new government is formed the Promise Watch clock will start ticking and together we will make sure they deliver on a progressive Australia.

TripleJ - Float Your Vote

Election coverage and info

http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/election/

Praxis07 - The shape

Hi guys I thought I would pop up a draft program and start name dropping on the elective leaders . Will post bios and blurbs for electives soon (when people send me one or I will write one and google a choice photo ) As you can see we have space to chat, play, pray with each other about changing us and the world

Have your registered? If you are planning on coming to praxis07 please register so I can relax about the numbers and stuff

[Read more]

Vote With Your Life (plan)

October 25, 2007
8:00 pm	to	10:00 pm

So there is a bit of an alternative vote booth action being planned at the Den (116 Little Burke Street, Melbourne) on Thursday night 8pm. If anyone is keen… your invited

The action will be on election day with alternative voting booths where people can place their vote for what type of life they want to live under the next government in spite of the government. I think… ish…… included will be some info about mobs you can join to basically “vote” by living your life in a way that transforms our communities and planet. Sooo ok, it is still a bit vague… thats why we are meeting.

NZ police arrest activists/mates

Below is an email from friends in NZ

Kia ora folks

Apologies for the silence!

In case you haven’t heard the NZ Police have made raids on properties all over the country today arresting Maori activists, environmentalists and peace movement members under the new ‘Terrorism Suppression Act’ - the government is claiming there are secret military style training camps deep in the national parks run and/or attended by these activists.

Sam who attended the first SPCA conference last year was arrested this morning at his home (which is also a bicycle workshop and community
centre). And a good friend of Nick’s from Hamilton is also being held with no knowledge of what she is being charged with.

For regular updates see: www.indymedia.org.nz
Other info at: www.scoop.co.nz and www.stuff.co.nz

Please pray and raise your voice - apparently a demonstration is planned for Melbourne and centres around NZ.

We are currently contemplating what response we should make in solidarity with those who have been detained and in
opposition to this blatant abuse of power.
Peace,

Election Bubble

Fill in what you hear….

Leadership…

“Both candidates agree that this election will be about leadership”, or so says the reporter on the news on television this evening. It makes me wonder what “leadership” really means, and what both Rudd and Howard mean when they name it, is Leadership all about leading, forging a way, forcing others to follow… Or is leadership about something different.

It also makes me ask questions like where are we being lead, do I want to go there, why would I want to go there and what will you do to convince me that I want to go there?

So I looked up in my quotes files for some leadership quotes by three big names to see what they think leadership involves…

I suppose leadership at one time meant muscles; but today it means getting along with people.
- Mohandas Gandhi

A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.
- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.
- Mother Teresa

I’ve got another post about “legacy of leadership” to write up in a few days time, but for now here’s question 2 of the election persiod here on MorePraxis:

What leadership qualities are you looking for in a political leader?

Federal Election Called

Mr Howard called the Federal election today, to be held on November 24, the week prior to the MorePraxis gathering (how are rego’s going for that by the way? If you’re going let us know!)

I’m keen on finding out what YOUR top issues are as the Federal Election comes closer and closer, what do YOU think are primary issues for Australia that our politicians should address? What are the things that you will make your votes on, or have you made up your mind without much thought to issues?

Leave your issues here:

AI Petition - Abolish the Death Penalty

Today, Wednesday 10 October, is World Day Against the Death Penalty.

In the coming weeks the UN General Assembly will vote on a Moratorium on capital punishment. Over 20,000 people worldwide are awaiting execution by their own governments. Amnesty International takes a consistent and principled stance against the death penalty, and continuously campaign for unconditional reversal of every sentence.

We believe that human rights are inalienable and belong to everyone regardless of their ethnicity, religion or status.

Now is a time for a worldwide end to capital punishment. Sign the petition to Abolish the Death Penalty.

Burma Actions etc

Hi guys below is one of the Burma support actions - please add others as comments as you find/engage with them.

“Hi, I’m sure you know about the crisis in Burma; ruled by one of the worst military dictatorships in the world.  Last month Buddhist monks and nuns began marching and chanting prayers to call for democracy. The protests spread and hundreds of thousands of Burmese people joined in — but they’ve been brutally attacked by the military regime.

I just signed a petition calling on Burma’s powerful ally China and the UN security council to step in and pressure Burma’s rulers to stop the killing. The petition has exploded to over 500,000 signatures in a few days and is being advertised in newspapers around the world, delivered to the UN Security Council, and broadcast to the Burmese people by radio. We’re trying to get to 1 million signatures this week, please sign below and tell everyone!

http://www.avaaz.org/en/stand_with_burma/tf.php?CLICK_TF_TRACK

Thank you so much for your help!”

CPT - Burma Reflection

CPTnet - 28 September 2007
BURMA REFLECTION: Monks, soldiers, and civilians on the march
by Gene Stoltzfus

[Note: CPT Director Emeritus Gene Stoltzfus worked in Southeast Asia during the 1960s and 1970s. The reflection below is adapted from a longer piece available at http://www.gstoltzfus.blogspot.com/]

Burma marches on to the world stage every other decade. Two groups with countrywide power and influence in modern Burma are now facing each other across potholes in the streets. The military with Chinese-supplied weapons,
is determined to retain the grip it has had on the nation since 1962. The Buddhist movement, with an institutional life going back more than 1000 years, is led by monks armed with spiritual disciplines and a commitment to an ethical system that combines practical living with a deep sensitivity to all of creation. The Buddhist way is nonviolence empowered by love, honed by teaching and meditation. However, this does not mean that monks are not tough, persistent, and even militant. In response to military actions on Saturday, Sept. 22, 2007, Buddhist monks withdrew spiritual services for all military personnel in Burma. [Read more]