Category: News

Celebrate the International Day of Happiness on March 20th with an Act of Happiness

The quest for happiness is one that everyone strives for—and that everyone can achieve—regardless of where we live or how we define it. Recognizing the importance of happiness as part of the human condition and the key to a more inclusive, balanced approach to economic growth, the General Assembly of the UN has declared March 20th the International Day of Happiness.

Mark your calendars because happiness can change the world and March 20th is just the start. To coincide with the United Nations’ International Day of Happiness, US-based Live Happy is leading the second annual Acts of Happiness campaign with the goal of getting 100,000 people dedicated to building happiness in 2014.

To celebrate, Acts of Happiness walls will be built in cities across the U.S., including New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta and Dallas, with a virtual wall of happiness at actsofhappiness.org. You can even organize your own happiness wall in your community as well. Everyone is invited to participate by sharing, posting and pledging how people are making the world around them a happier place. Go to ActsofHappiness.Org to pledge your #happyacts.

I think it was 2009, maybe even 2010, but as always, it was a sunny day in Brisbane. The missus and I were driving on Coronation Drive, heading into the CBD.

To my left I noticed a small group of people holding some signs — maybe six or eight people. Trying to get everyone’s attention. I couldn’t make out what the signs said, but it seemed like an attempt at a protest.

Is that a protest, I asked the missus. Yeah, that’s a typical Brisbane protest, she responded, they don’t protest like they do in Europe.

Since then I have always tried to attend a few protests as a reporter. Mostly to provide coverage for Westender, while also live-reporting using Twitter, but also to try to give the public a voice.

Unfortunately that has left me with a very bland taste in my mouth that is easy to forget.

When you turn up to a protest that around 1,000 people on Facebook has said they would come and support, but instead you suddenly find yourself having to search for it because only five people showed up — you kind of stop believing the hype.

This is why I didn’t go to Brisbane to have a gander at the March in March event yesterday. I just didn’t believe that it would attract enough people. Sure, on Facebook over 5,000 (when I looked) said they would attend.

Ever heard the story about the boy who cried wolf?

That is what happened to me yesterday. Too many times I’ve heard that cheeky boy cry wolf. Then, when I come running with notepad and camera in hand, all I see is him grinning at me.

Haha! Made you show your face again you gullible boofhead.

But I stand corrected. Apparently about 2,000 people showed up at the March in March event in Brisbane on Sunday.

If I hear that cheeky boy cry wolf again, I’ll still show my face. But he better not be sticking around if there is no wolf for me to see.

In a twisted way I guess you can say that Tony Abbott and Campbell Newman must be doing something right if they manage to gather about 2,000 people — even though the marchers came to rally against them.

Featured image credit: Jan Bowman

Thousands of Queenslander marched from Queens Park in Brisbane yesterday to protest against the extremism of the Abbot Government despite the heat, and the rail closures across Brisbane’s South. The March was part of a nationwide movement that brought thousands onto the street.

Despite the large numbers, the march was completely ignored in the mainstream media, the Courier Mail did not mention it at all, the network television stations did not cover it and the  Brisbane Times simply ran stories from other capitals.

This concerted effort at a media boycott of the event highlights the importance of independent media outlets, such as Westender. It also highlights the urgency of the debate about the tactics we employ to build an effective opposition to the forces representing the one percent with their monopoly on media, retail and resources.

As mainstream politics slips more into corporate feudalism it is critical that we explore the tactics to maintain the liberties won so painstakingly over the last millenia by our forebearers. Read more articles about this on the Westender

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Writing in the Guardian last week, Simon Copland’s piece March in March does not offer credible alternatives has attracted howls of derision from left and right alike.

Copland has set out to crticise the left for not building an alternative but has failed to outline how that alternative might emerge. Some of his critics point out that this is stating the bleeding obvious, others point out the simple truth that protests can build and that most revolutions have started with a population protesting that enough is enough.

In that context what Copland appears to be trying to say is that the left in Australia has not connected with a comfortably well-off Australian middle-class. Again, say some of the 400 people criticising the article, this is hardly in-depth commentary.

The real challenge is how to build a political movement that does engage the middle class, or accelerate the sense of dispossession so that the middle class is activated. The return of an active left in Europe is an example of the latter and raises the far more interesting question as to how and whether the Greens and the Socialists/Anarchists might work together in the future. Given the imminence of the G20 in Brisbane and the Abbot Goverments first counter-reformation budget that issue has some urgency.

In hindsight, the scale of the March in March simply reveals in hindsight that Copland was out of touch with the scale of dissatisfaction amoung voters. That is hardly a crime, we all misread the tea leaves some days. Given the media’s deliberate ignoring of the march, anyone with influence in the media should have been using it to increase awareness of the march and reasons for the protest.

What is more important, though, is that we dedicate our energies to building an alternative vision of the future. We have to establish not only that that future is possible and desirable, but that the counter-reformationists are out to destroy it, so that the majority of people will fight for it.

Copland is right that change is going to be partially driven by investors making decisions that influence corporate behaviour and partly by redefining the debate, but fails completely to recognise that the March in March is an important step to build a determined and cooperative effort between activists, protestors, community groups, welfare providers and political parties.

As became clear at the recent Cloudstreet forum on civil-liberties at Jaegara Hall simply shouting at people who are shouting with megaphones that they do not have the answers is not an answer in itself. That discussion highighted the need to create forums that allow these alternative visions to flourish. In addition to protesting against the G20 summit, we need to build an alternative vision by hosting a summit that develops and promotes that alternative view.

After waiting five weeks for their Disability Parking Permit to arrive, an astute reader noticed with dismay that its expiry date had already passed – 28 February 2014!

The Queensland Department of Transport, which administers the national scheme in this state, cannot find any evidence of the rogue permits, and advises readers affected by the apparent system glitch somewhere at the Qld Department of Motor Transport, its Federal counterpart or a supplier to let them know.

Well, you kind of have to, otherwise you’ll get parking fines all year.

A Transport and Main Roads spokeswoman told Westender, “Any permit issues should be reported to the department on 13 23 80 so we can investigate and replace them if necessary.”