Category: General news

Gaza letter in Lancet causes a stir

In an open letter for the people of Gaza, 24 leading scientists and doctors denounced the aggression and challenged the perversity of the defensive hostility in Gaza by Israel.

The letter was published by the Lancet, a weekly peer-reviewed medical journal which is one of the oldest and most prestigious general medical journals in the world.

In the letter, the 24 European and North American professionals acknowledged that they have worked in Gaza at some point and urged their colleagues, young and old, to join them to denounce the Israeli aggression.

“We are appalled by the military onslaught on civilians in Gaza under the guise of punishing terrorists. This is the third large scale military assault on Gaza since 2008. Each time the death toll is borne mainly by innocent people in Gaza, especially women and children, under the unacceptable pretext of Israel eradicating political parties and resistance to the occupation and siege they impose,” stated the letter.

After challenging the Israeli offensive, the letter illustrates the situation in Gaza in detail, by describing various facts and by mentioning the direct and indirect impact it has on the lives of the people.

The letter is also a platform that demonstrates their frustration and helplessness, due to the fact that even those who want to go and help are unable to reach Gaza due to the blockade by Egypt and Israel. A call for tighter sanctions on Israel, with cessation of any trade and collaborative agreements with Europe, was made.

The authors also registered their dismay that only 5% of their Israeli academic associates signed an appeal to their government to stop the military occupation of Gaza.

The letter concludes by recognizing the complicity of the European and North American countries and the rest of the Israeli academics, in the massacre in Gaza.

The letter has attracted a wave of criticism. Dr. Bruce M. Marmor, a veteran internal medicine specialist in Syracuse, New York, said it was “purely political, inaccurate and prejudiced.”

“The editors of The Lancet, which is supposed to be a medical journal, should have [recognized] the letter for what it is — a gross example of anti-Jewish bigotry, pure and simple,” said Dr. Marmor.

Following the response to “An open letter for the people in Gaza”, The Lancet has decided not to publish the names of signatories, concerned about threatening statements to the signatories posted on social media.

To view the open letter published by the Lancet, click the following link: http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2814%2961044-8/fulltext

On Friday 29 August 2014, Micah Projects will hold its 11th Annual Moonlight Magic Dinner Dance in the Plaza Ballroom at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre.

The Moonlight Magic Dinner Dance is a community event that provides a night of fun and glamour to the previously homeless, those with mental health issues and disabilities, and those living below the poverty line.

In the lead up to the event, Micah Projects are seeking donations of men and women’s evening attire (formal, ‘after 5’ dress), make-up and accessories such as shoes, handbags and jewellery are also needed to complete the outfits.

Also required are volunteer hairdressers, barbers and make-up artists to help make this night one to remember! If you can assist or would like to join us for this special occasion please contact Micah Projects on 3029 7000 or email info@micahprojects.org.au

WECA announced yesterday that the 7th Kurilpa Derby will dtake place on Sunday 7th September. The Derby is West End’s celebration of the lives lived on wheels.
Across the last six years:

• over 10,000 Westenders have participated in this event.
• we’re very proud to report that the event has been without incident for the duration.
• we’ve never had to make a claim against our full insurance cover.
• it has always been fully permitted and lawful under full insurance coverage.
• professional organised, always included qualified medical personnel and responsible volunteers.
• children that participated in our first Derby are now adults themselves and some have children of their own that they bring to the celebration.
• we’ve been featured in the Weekend Australian magazine, covered by each TV news channel and all local newspapers.

Features include:

• Wheeled glory including wheelchairs, bicycles, skates, skateboards, wheelchairs, carts, or wheeled creations
• Brisbane Hardcourt Bikepolo
• Brisbane Skateboarders Assoc
• More event demonstrations to be confirmed and announced closer to the day

For those new to the neighbourhood, the afternoon consists of two parts:

a) The parade will assemble under the Dornoch Terrace bridge on Boundary Street from 1pm, departing at 1:30pm.

b) The festivities are booked for 2pm-5pm down in the road closed section of Boundary Street between Vulture and Russell Streets. Vehicles will not be allowed in that road closed section between 1:30-5:30pm. Shops, restaurants and cafe will be open.

WECA events are queer, family, pet and children-friendly. Everyone is welcome to join with us in celebrating the values of 4101 in an atmosphere that is fun, safe and magical.

Bike polo may not be for the faint-hearted, but age and gender are definitely no barriers, or so says Ollie Wykeham who spoke with me about the sport recently. In fact he reckons there are players in their 50s and there’s even a player in the US as old as 87. As to gender, he said one of the best international players he has competed against is a woman called Birdie and teams often have mixed membership.

See photo gallery below.

You may have seen Ollie, Max, Leon, Maddy and others playing at Musgrave Park tennis court on Sunday afternoons. If you haven’t, do try to get along. The players I spoke with all described the sport as addictive and just watching them has convinced me. I am not a person who lives with regrets, but learning about this sport that has left me wishing I were younger and fitter.

The sport requires real skill and nerve, but the rules are simple. Ollie said the main rule when he started was “don’t be a dick”. The game consists of two teams of three players competing to be the first to score five goals. When a player touches the ground they are temporarily out of play. Hip and shoulder body contact is fine, within limits. As to spills and thrills, Ollie said there are a few, but added dismissively that the maximum damage he has sustained, was a broken finger.

Bike Polo originated in Ireland in the early 1900’s but in its current form is quite young having emerged around 16 years ago from the ranks of bicycle couriers in Seattle who started playing in down times at work. It is now played across North America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia: after all as Ollie said, all you need is a bike and a stick. Certainly a stark contrast to the very exclusive and expensive pony polo.

While equipment is generally cheap and accessible it is becoming more specialised, and there is an emerging cottage industry surrounding the sport in Brisbane. Ollie for example now manufactures polo mallets. He likens the stage of development of the sport to the early days of skate boarding.

Local tournaments seem to be largely organised on Facebook. A recent interstate event titled “No Sleep Till Brisbane” held on the weekend of 12 & 13 July, attracted 11 teams from Perth, Sydney and Melbourne, and five from Brisbane: 16 teams in all. Two Brisbane teams, Majestic and Extra Gear, competed for a berth in the final, but in the end the Sydney-Perth combination “JSIM” overwhelmed the local team Extra Gear (Tom, Max and Ollie) for the title. Extra Gear is sponsored by local West End bike shop “Gear”.  Commercial sponsorships for bike polo are likely to increase as the sport expands.

The Brisbane players hire courts at Milton State School on Mondays and Wednesdays and, with the assistance of Gabba Ward Councillor Helen Abrahams, have been using the disused tennis court at Musgrave Park on Sundays afternoons. However, these sites are no longer meeting the needs of the growing sport, and players are looking for a permanent home with lights. Cr Abrahams says bike polo is a real sport with skilled and enterprising players and they deserve a permanent venue, although she say it may be difficult to find a venue in the inner city. In the meantime Cr Abrahams is happy for the players to continue to use Musgrave Park while it remains available.

Next up on the Brisbane players agenda are the world championships which will be held in Montpellier in France from 28 to 31 August. The top seven teams from the recent “No Sleep Till Brisbane” tournament will be attending, including three teams from Brisbane. This is the 6th world championship and this year games will be live streamed on bikepolo.tv with results published on hardcourtpodium.com

My thanks to Ollie, Max Newstead, Madeline Elise,  Leon Cameron and others for sharing their love of bike polo with me; they can count me as a convert, at least as a spectator.

Click here to hear a recent broadcoast on 612 ABC Brisbane.

Beatriz’s War, astonishing first film from East Timor will be screened at BEMAC on Friday 15th August, followed by a special Q&A with co-producer Lurdes Pires

This fim was made guerrilla style by the men and women who fought in the armed resistance and the clandestine movement during the small country’s twenty-four year long war with Indonesia.

The film is the story of one woman’s passion for independence and justice, both for her nation and for her soul. Beatriz’s husband Tomas is arrested after the Timorese resistance attacks Indonesian troops in the village of Kraras.  In retribution for the attack, the Indonesians massacre the entire male population of Kraras. Tomas disappears during the massacre but his body is not found. Beatriz then takes command of the ‘village of widows’ and holds on desperately to the hope that her husband is alive.

WHEN: 7pm Friday 15 August

WHERE:  BEMAC, 102 Main Street, Kangaroo Point, Brisbane

To celebrate the unveiling of Queensland Museum’s latest display, 4000 Species, museum curators are bringing out the A-Z of species cataloguing the wonderful and diverse range of species they have played a role in discovering over the Museum’s 152 year history.

From the skull of a rare Longman’s Beaked Whale to a beautiful, yet endangered species of butterfly and small but nasty carnivorous snail, these and many other species will be showcased, some for the first time on Wednesday, 6 August.

The 4000 Species display is an interactive exhibition that takes visitors on a journey from discovery to naming.

Through the touchscreen you can explore more than 4000 species of tropical and sub-tropical life and learn how they were named and by whom.

Dr Robert Raven, Senior Curator (Arachnida) & Head of Terrestrial Environments said people enjoy finding names for things, whether it’s a house, boat, pet or product and natural scientists were no different.

“We have great fun making names of species and families such as animal groups,” he said.

“The names may be simply based on some part of the anatomy, after a place, another animal on which they live or even after people.

“Even so, there are formal rules in place on how the names must be formed, if the species is named after a male, an ‘I’ is added to the end, while females have an “AE” added.

“And like many others, the Queensland Museum Network scientists and associates have often struggled with the naming process.”
Included within the species featured are 10 dinosaurs, 50 mammals, 89 birds, 370 crustaceans and more than 1100 spiders.

And of the list that now exceeds 4000, Dr Raven has named over 370.

Dr Raven said if a species is named after a person, it is often considered a great honour, even for President Bush who has a Slime Mould Beetle named in his honour.

“Sometimes the honour is given simply because the person gave us the animal or collected it, they may have made wonderful contributions to the museum and its research or sometimes the scientist just wants to express their appreciation for an artist,” he said.

4000 Species is now open on Level Two Queensland Museum Southbank.

The Queensland Museum and Sciencentre open daily from 9:30am to 5pm except Good Friday, Anzac Day, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. southbank.qm.qld.gov.au