Letters/Articles continued from page 12 sun. It was spoiled only by an off note at the end of the day. I’m talking of the presentation of $10,000 of fundraising to the proponents of the controversial rail trail. This family event was advertised as ‘All proceeds to support arts and culture’, and the donation of $5,000 to the Arts in Schools program fits that aim, and is most welcome. But having the bulk of the funds raised go to a political lobby group, which was all prepared with publicity props and the Tweed mayor in tow, somehow doesn’t feel right. I felt like a secondhand banjo – a bit used! Perhaps the organisers can consider a more transparent and even-handed approach to their worthy patronage when planning for next year’s event – and steer away from divisive issues. Jim Richardson Clunes
Happy gathering
Before heading back to support the campaign to stop the coal and CSG invasion in the Pilliga and Leard in September, I’m guided to create a community event in Brunswick Heads on Saturday August 23 to bring everyone
mance in the Byron Shire’. Love and respect to the Ancestors and you all. Iris Kirra South Golden Beach
together in the spirit of earth culture and happiness. Inspired by Uluru elder Uncle Bob Randall’s teachings of ‘Kanyini’ – to unconditionally care, love and connect with each other and nature – I am in touch with a need of mine to meet with my tribe regularly; to dance and enjoy stories and rhythms of the earth and each other. And to bridge ancient culture with the new, within ‘Wirritjen’ (blackfella, whitefella dreaming). The event will start on Friday 22 at sunset in the river park at Bruns, with a Welcome to Country and a traditional ceremony held by a master drummer and master dancer from Ghana in West Africa. Then Saturday will be a full day of drumming and dance classes for all ages in the Memorial Hall in Fingal Street, followed by an evening celebration and performance open to the public to come watch, dance, drum and be enriched! If you want to find out more about this ‘Happy Africa’ event, bringing the spirit of two ancient lands together, you are welcome to call me 0417 937 720 or FB ‘Happy Africa drumming and dancing workshop and perfor-
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Bring on the buses
Buses are surely the best solution for public transport needs in our area. They are flexible, the infrastructure already exists and if they run frequently to and from the right places people will use them. Let’s back the buses. Hilary Wise Bangalow
PPP perversion
Public-private partnerships have been quite prominent for some time now. They have been often utilised for the delivery of infrastructure projects or the provision of certain services. But under the Abbott government they have evolved in a new direction. A most conspicuous example was the National Commission of Audit. It promised to fix everything that was wrong with Australia – from the perspective of the Business Council of Australia anyway. The Commission was headed by the BCA’s immediate past President Tony Shepherd and included the BCA’s chief economist. So it
ONE
presents
EMBODIMENT Mullum Civic Centre August 22nd-24th, 2014
Join us for a very special weekend immersion. Deepen your practice, ignite your dancer and celebrate with community Featuring Yoga, Dance, Somatic Movement & Pilates with:
Simon Borg-Olivier, Rachel Zinman Consta Georgoussis, Nirupa Hoffman Bhavani Lev, Max Schlueter Leyolah Antara (Kundalini Dance) Geash Bowler (5 Rhythms) Evening music with:
Sangeeta, Amir Paiss & Friends, Ecstatic Dance Party w Deya Dova & DJ Chris Deckker. Flower Puja ceremony, Discussion panels, Delicious organic Food and more.
$120 for full weekend includes Friday night dance event.
Weekend Space is limited so pl ease buy your tickets earl y. Pl ease bring yoga mat, blanket and water bottl e.
FRIDAY NIGHT COMMUNITY DANCE PARTY 22nd Aug. Open to all from 7pm. Onl y $20
For bookings and more info pl ease visit
www.upliftfestival.com 14 August 12, 2014 The Byron Shire Echo
netdaily.net.au
North Coast news daily:
Mullum mobster holds Hollywood hostage Mullumbimby actress Aurea Morrisey has just finished shooting indie feature film So You Want To Be A Gangster? in LA. The film by Mexicanborn director Alex Kahuam has good prospects after a short film version was accepted into the Cannes Film Festival this year. Aurea plays volatile Christina, riding her sexuality to pursue a capricious agenda involving a deadly cocktail of guns, drugs, and ambition. When asked of her experience playing Christina, Aurea laughed, ‘Within the first ten minutes of arriving on set, I had to pash a ranga, pull a gun on someone, and then got shot’. Aurea also noted that ‘the high quality of cast, combined with the focused direction of Alex, created a stimulating and creatively charged environment’. is hardly a surprise that one of their findings was that the minimum wage ought to be reduced. That the examination of such issues was outside their remit is beside the point. And last week billionaire miner ‘Twiggy’ Forrest released a report on Indigenous jobs and training that Abbott had commissioned. It was entitled Creating Parity. One of its more controversial findings was that all welfare – except age pensions and payments to veterans – ought to be ‘quarantined’ (a word not used in the report) using the anodyne sounding ‘Healthy Welfare Card’. This is seemingly how ‘parity’ is to be found between Indigenous and non-Indigenous folk. In an era of ‘leaners and lifters’ where class warfare is passé, at least the Abbott government is quite transparent about subverting the public interest to the private sector. Dave Lisle Mullumbimby
Thoughts on Gaza
There are over 2,000 civilians dead, and rising, and some bombs hit schools with children attending. I have no knowledge of how many Israelis have been killed in this latest conflict on the Gaza Strip. When will the killing end? Probably when Israel has invaded all of Palestine. Israel has coveted Palestine since 1948. Israel has become what they hated after World War II. The government of Israel are war criminals for the kill-
Aurea’s acting skills were polished at the New York Film Academy in 2013, leading to television roles in MSNBC’s Heist, VH1’s Candidly Nicole, and several feature films, including Turkish film Yarmani with Paris Hilton. Additionally, Aurea has just commenced work on a comedic television pilot series
titled Two19 Game Night which follows the disparate lives of five friends and their dating shenanigans. Despite a hectic schedule, Aurea plans a short break between Hollywood hold-ups when she returns to Mullum in September for godmother duties and springtime fun with family and friends.
ing of children and innocent people and should be brought to account. This probably won’t happen because they are supported by the American government, which has a long history of war itself. Please don’t get me wrong; I don’t support any war from any side. Paul Brecht Mullumbimby
dom and dignity alongside their Israeli neighbours. Nicolette Jackson Mullumbimby
Q ‘We refuse to be enemies’ is the name of a movement for peace in Israel/Palestine that has been holding a vision camp in the West Bank. Another anti-war initiative that has just sprung up in the US is called ‘If Not Now, When?’. This is the brainchild of young people in the American Jewish community who are changing their views on Israel and who will no longer accept endless war and occupation. I take heart from knowing these groups exist, but I despair at the silence and inaction of the bulk of the Jewish diaspora around the world, who aren’t vocal in decrying the slaughter that is underway in Gaza. We cannot be complacent and shrug our shoulders and tell ourselves that it’s a terrible situation but that it’s too hard to change. It can change and it must and I strongly believe that this will only happen when Israelis, and members of the Jewish diaspora around the world, have the courage to stand up and decry the status quo and lobby for a fair and just solution: where Palestinians are able to live in free-
Q We
sent several email and Facebook messages to MP Justine Elliott asking why she had not signed the petition initiated by her WA colleague Melissa Parkes. Sixty-five current and former MPs have signed the Gaza Declaration, including Ian Cohen, Jan Barham and former prime minister Malcolm Fraser (www.gazadeclaration. com). We waited in vain for a response and after phoning her office received a ‘party line’ reply. Our reply to Ms Elliott was: ‘We asked if you had signed Melissa Parkes’s Gaza petition but you have not answered that question. Please do so advancing your reasons if you refuse to sign. We are not impressed with your “party line” response which is so fundamentally flawed… Why is there no condemnation of Israel’s gross violation of international and humanitarian law? ‘Please read the following link and then urge your Canberra colleagues to do some serious soul searching: http:// bit.ly/memonitor. ‘We will definitely not be voting for you or the ALP and will broadcast your mealy-mouthed responses to genocide in Gaza as widely as possible.’ Gareth Smith Byron Bay
Q I
am finding Australians taking one side or the other continued opposite
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