Category: General news

Child marriage is an act of sexual violence against young girls, says Australian National Committee for UN Women.

The Australian National Committee for UN Women is concerned by the death of a 5  year old Saudi Girl, “Lama”, sexually abused and beaten to death by her father because he questioned his daughter’s virginity. Fayan alGhamdi has avoided a significant jail term by paying $50 000 in blood money to Lama’s mother.

Such horrific acts of violence and a lack of justice for Lama’s death is deeply concerning to the National Committee, which is dedicated to ending human rights abuses against women and achieving gender equality.  The National Committee is seeking to raise $20, 000 by October 11, International Day of the Girl Child, to help girls escape violence and poverty, and access education and a brighter future. Millions of girls around the world need this assistance, says Julie McKay, Executive Director of the National Committee.

“The past year has really shed light on the shocking scale of violence against girls worldwide. The terrible fate  of Lama is just the tip of the iceberg. On year ago to the week Malala Yousafzai was shot in the head by the Taliban for speaking out about girls’ education. Thankfully Malala has fully recovered and is now an  inspirational advocate for girls worldwide. But we know that other girls have not been so lucky. Girls live with violence every day, girls have their rights restricted every day.”

The Australian National Committee is focusing on ending violence against girls, in particular ending the practice of child marriage. Over 60 million girls worldwide are forced into marriage every year. In September, it was reported that an 8 year old Yemeni girl died on her wedding night after being forced into marriage with a man more than five times her age.

“Girls as young as 7 and 8 are being forced into marriage, forced into actions that their bodies are not yet ready for,” says Ms McKay. “Child marriage is physically and emotionally scarring for these girls. Pregnancy is the leading cause of death for 15-19 year old girls worldwide. Girls under 20 are 50 per cent more likely to experience miscarriages or stillbirths than women over 20. Girls worldwide are suffering every day. We need to stand up as a community and take action. This is not a standard we accept for our daughters, and we must not accept it for girls worldwide.”

“UN Women provides shelter, medical and psychological care for victims of violence and provides girls with education and training which enables them to plan for their future. UN Women also works with governments around the world to change laws and ensure that perpetrators of violence like Lama’s father are brought to justice.”

“By providing girls with a chance to grow without violence, to escape poverty and to get an education we are  investing in the future of our world. We are ensuring that these young girls can live free from violence and free to shape their own future.”

Donations to help girls can be made at http://www.mycause.com.au/events/dayofgirlchild or by contacting the National Committee on (02) 6173 3222.

Where will your money go?

$1040 can support girls who have been rescued from sex trafficking, giving them shelter, counselling, education and hope for the future.
$520 can fund a community-wide education program to end the practice of female genital mutilation/cutting.
$125 can support school teachers to educate students about forced marriage and early pregnancies.
$99 can provide a pregnant girl with medical care to ensure that she and her child are healthy and safe.

Background Notes:

60 million girls worldwide are forced into marriage before age 18 every year
Pregnancy is the leading cause of death worldwide for women ages 15 to 19
Girls under age 20 are 50 per cent more likely to experience miscarriages and stillbirths
1.2 million children being are trafficked each year – many of these children are girls forced into sex trafficking

Director Alfonso Cuarón, apparently took four and a half years to complete this eagerly awaited film Gravity.

You may remember his famous 10 minute  accident scene tracking shot in his last film the moody classic “Children of Men”. He says this shot was an accident because he yelled cut but no one heard him.

Cuaron says he worked like that in Gravity too. Not that I could tell. Every tracking shot and scene are not only an incredibly emotionally gripping ride, but the scenes are finely crafted as we float in micro gravity as  the camera effortlessly glides through the  points of view of the central characters  Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) and Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) as each overcome one outrageous space obstacle after another.

One of the first questions I asked at the end of my suspended-disbelief roller-coaster through space was, “how did he do it?”

“How does one create micro gravity without leaving the planet?”

It’s a bit like asking the magician to reveal the prestige of his trick. It was four and a half years of storyboards and animation and rehearsals in very confined spaces for Bullock who credits her background as a dancer and NASA astronautic advice on the authentic way to hold and move a monkey wrench while floating 500km above the earth. I believe the director said he’d never make another space film.

The metaphors in this film are obvious.

• Bullocks’ character is literally in the inertia she is struggling to overcome.
• It is no accident she becomes foetal in the womblike Russian refuge she finds after overcoming the obstacles (in the shape of blown up Russian satellite fragments.

The jury is out on a couple of scenes:

• when Matt Kowalski floats back into scene after a long absence (see if you think it adds to the plot or is a bit of a post editing afterthought) and
• the earth’s atmosphere re-entry (impossible she doesn’t burn to a cinder).

Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon, is mighty impressed with Gravity. The famed astronaut has  said he was “extravagantly impressed” with the film’s portrayal of zero gravity.

“Going through the space station was done just the way that I’ve seen people do it in reality,” he says.

Whether you find the plot credible and the special effects and 3-D elegant and commanding, Gravity places you right up there in space, along with the characters. That is the essence of Cuarón’s achievement: his technical virtuosity and the emotional grip it envinces become one.

At a most unusual Annual General Meeting last night, West End Traders Association elected a new committee without a chairperson/president. Paul Hey, elected unopposed as vice-president, will be the interim head of the Association.

Peter Marinelli, president of the Association for the last two decades, was initially nominated but withheld his acceptance of that nomination until an extraordinary general meeting to be held on 14th November.

These decidedly unusual circumstances were brought about after a number of new businesspeople – including local identity and president of the West End Community Association, Darren Godwell – attended the meeting with the intention of joining the Association and voting at the AGM.

Darren was nominated for the position of president but unsuccessfully, as he was deemed not to be a financial member of the Association.

(The most recent meeting, in August, had advised those present that they could join, vote and nominate on the night of the AGM. At last night’s meeting, however, it was considered that this would be in breach of the Associations Incorporations Act.)

Peter Marinelli generously withheld his nomination so that new members have time to join, vote and nominate prior to the extraordinary general meeting to be held for that purpose.

Many long term members expressed disappointment and dismay at the process, and fervently hope that the extraordinary annual general meeting is less extraordinary than the ordinary Annual General Meeting.

Those same members, however, also expressed their sincere appreciation at the influx of new membership, and looked forward to new, more dynamic West End Traders Association.

Declaration of interest: Westender has had a long commercial relationship with Peter Marinelli through Swiss Gourmet Deli and has been a longstanding supporters and associate of West End Traders Association and the West End Community Association, Including serving as a committee member on the WETA.

The Queensland Treasurer Tim Nicholls will fill local businesses in on the plans of the Newman government over breakfast on Thursday November 7th at The Loft here in West End.

As well as the blueprint for the future the treasurer will be trumpeting the acheivements of the government’s year and a half in office. He has identified the following topics:

• What the Newman Government has done to facilitate and increase business opportunities;
• Reduction of red tape;
• How else costs have been cut;
• What else the government has done to turn the economy around

Most members of the SW Chamber and affiliated bodies, the West End Trader’s Association, the Philippine Australia Chamber of Commerce and The Hong Kong Australia Business Association will be focused on the government’s plans for the next three years.

The breakfast kicks off at 7am on the 7th of November at The Loft, 100 Boundary St West End. Tickets are available through the SW Chamber website www,chamber,org.

Other articles on the SW Chamber can be found in the Business section

of Westender.

Pro Musica Singers and the Counterpoint Vocal Ensemble present two concerts next month, singing about creatures of the feathered variety.

Pro Musica Singers is celebrating 61 years in the local community. A local community choir which has contributed to the cultural and artistic life of Brisbane, and West End in particular, since the 1950s, Pro Musica Singers specialise in Renaissance, Baroque, Classical and Contemporary music.

Founded in 1952 as a madrigal group, they practised at lunchtime in the Music Department in George Street, Brisbane, and then followed the Department to the St Lucia campus of the University of Queensland, later moving to West End in Brisbane as an independent community choir

The concerts on 10th and 17th of November will be held in collaboration with Counterpoint Vocal Ensemble and is inspired by the works of Byrd, Gibbons, Stanford and Grandage, and other composers who have written about our feathered friends.

Tickets will be available at the door, or may be pre-purchased through trybooking.com

Holy Cross Heritage Hall
28 Chalk Street, Wooloowin
3pm Sunday 10 November 2013
Enquiries: Phone 0424 376 468

St Francis of Assisi Church
59 Dornoch Terrace, West End
3pm Sunday 17 November 2013
Enquiries: Phone 3366 3474

Cost: $20 adults, school-age children free. Afternoon tea included in ticket price.

More information about his energetic, vibrant and caring community of singers is available at their website – promusicasingers.com

New “Mantra Room” in Montague Road sets its sights on being Brisbane’s brightest new Kirtan venue.

Kirtan is a dynamic call-and-response sacred world music that incorporates the voices of the audience right into the performance. Kirtan is a spiritual journey, a form of bhakti yoga — the yoga of devotion.

The Mantra Room, in Montague Road, West End, is proudly presented by the Australian School of Meditation and Yoga, and will be officially launched at 6 pm, Friday 25th October.

According to Gayatri, one of the organizers of the Mantra Room, there is no better way to learn about kirtan than to come along and join in.

“Sing, dance, clap your hands and have a great time,” says Gayatri.  “Let the experience transport you to a world of inspiration, peace and joy, far beyond the stress and worries of life.”

The Mantra Room will offer a vibrant mix of music styles combined with sacred yoga chant in a relaxed, enchanting atmosphere.  Featured kirtan leaders include Jayadharma, a popular yoga teacher whose smokey jazz influenced kirtan will have you tapping your feet and your voice soaring in response; Gayatri, with a melodic and captivating voice that will lead you on an inward journey; and Ishvara, who will have everyone up and dancing with an enlivening, soul inspiring, rocking kirtan.

“The experience of Kirtan is like no other,” says Gayatri. “You’re not just listening to the music, the leader sings the mantra, everyone sings it back. It starts off slow and meditative and then the tempo gradually builds and builds, a single chant can go for 30 minutes or longer.”

Gayatri says that The Mantra Room aims to be “the heart and soul of kirtan for Brisbane.”

“Everyone is welcome to come sing and dance enthusiastically or simply rest your heart and mind in the transcendental sound. Come celebrate, meditate and let the music set you free!”

Event Summary:

The Mantra Room Launch
236 Montague Road, West End, Brisbane
6pm, Friday 25th October