[Commpsych] FW: PFP Upcoming Melbourne Events

[Heather Gridley]

Please find below information about some events that may be of interest to you. Dr Marsella's lecture is particularly noteworthy, as he currently serves as President of Psychologists for Social Responsibility, a USA group with similar goals and missions to PFP.

Peacefully Yours

Catherine Ryan
Administrator
Psychologists for Peace 

Culture and Conflict: Cultures of War, Cultures of Peace 

Date :  Friday 14 March 2008 
Time :  2.15pm -4pm 
Venue :  Sunderland Theatre, Medical Building, University of Melbourne 
Speaker: Dr Anthony Marsella 

This is a FREE lecture co-sponsored by: Researchers for Asylum Seekers 
The Conflict Studies Group, Australian Centre for Peace andConflict Studies, 
University of Queensland Centre for International Mental Health 

Please register your intent to attend by email to Sharon Fong wtfong at unimelb.edu.au or 
phone (03) 8344 6376 

About the Speaker : Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D., D.H.C., is Emeritus Professor of Psychology at the University of Hawaii.  
Dr. Marsella has published 14 edited books and more than 190 book chapters, journal articles, and 
technical reports in the areas of cultural and international psychology and psychopathology. He 
received the International Advancement of Psychology Award from the APA in 1998, the 
International Psychologist of the Year Award from the International Division of APA in 2004, And 
the Asian-American Psychological Association President's Award for lifetime contributions to Asian- 
American Psychology in 2004. In 1999, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University 
of Copenhagen (Doctoris Honoris Causas) for his contributions to international peace and 
understanding. Today, Dr Marsella serves as President of the Psychologists for Social 
Responsibility, an organization committed to peace through social justice. 
In this lecture : Dr Marsella will explore the relations between culture and conflict that emerge when parties with 
differing constructions of reality come into contention regarding the distribution of power, control, 
and influence, and the competition for identities, roles, and economic, political, and religious needs. 
While differences in the construction of reality do not necessarily mean conflict, and while conflict 
does not necessarily lead to violence, differences in the construction of reality that are codified and 
asserted in "unassailable"belief systems and group policies often elicits and sustains violence and 
war.  Building on this framework, and adding to it the influences of history, cultural ethoses, and 
national myths, the presentation then explores the forces involved in creating and supporting 
"cultures of war,"and the forces that are necessary for creating and supporting "cultures of peace." 


Public Forum:  US Labor Against War co-convenor Kathy Black

Wednesday March 12 - 7pm
Trades Hall, cnr Victoria Pde and Lygon Sts, Carlton

Kathy Black is a co-convener of US Labor Against War, a coalition of unions in the US that campaign for an end to US occupation of foreign countries. She has been invited to tour Australia by Palm Sunday committees in Brisbane, Sydney, Perth, Wollongong, Melbourne, Geelong and Tasmania. See www.uslaboragainstwar.org for more info.

Organised by the Melbourne Palm Sunday Committee 2008
For more information contact Jessica Morrison 0431 519 577 or Katie Cherrington 0433 695 693


Palm Sunday Rally for Peace and Nuclear Disarmament

Sunday March 16th - 2pm
Meet at the State Library - Cnr Swanston and LaTrobe Sts, Melbourne

March through the city and return to State Library to enjoy the gypsy rock music 
of the fabulous Martin Martini and The Bone Palace Orchestra

Organised by the Melbourne Palm Sunday Committee 2008
For more information contact Jessica Morrison 0431 519 577 or Katie Cherrington 0433 695 693
 www.iraq5yearstoolong.info/melbourne

Current endorsements for the events include: 

Medical Association for Prevention of War; International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons; Nuclear Free Australia; Peace Organisation of Australia; Melbourne Stop the War Coalition; Justice & International Mission Unit (Vic); Uniting Church (Vic/Tas); National Union of Students; Pax Christi; Melbourne University Student Union; Resistance; Socialist Alliance; Friends of the Earth; Socialist Alternative; Edmund Rice Center for Justice; Unity for Peace; Victorian College of the Arts Student Union; Solidarity; Australian Centre for Democracy and Justice; Religious Society of Friends (Quakers); Campaign for International Co-Operation and Disarmament; Civil Rights Defence; Federation of Australian Muslim Students and Youth (FAMSY); Swinburne University Students Union; Lyn Allison (Australian Democrats); Maritime Union of Australia (Aust/Vic); National Tertiary Education Union (Vic); Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union (Vic); CEPU - Postal Division (Vic); Victorian Greens; Australian Education Union (Vic); Australian Student Christian Movement; Geelong Trades Hall Council ... (more endorsements welcomed)

Further information:

Palm Sunday is a traditional day of rallying for peace and social justice. This year Palm Sunday marks the fifth anniversary of the invasion and occupation of Iraq.  The Iraq war has claimed the lives of over a million Iraqis and nearly 4000 US soldiers, and the senseless killing in Afghanistan is continuing. It's time for the wars to end and to allow the people of Iraq and Afghanistan to decide how best to run their country.

Public opinion in Australia and the United States is overwhelmingly opposed to both the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has pledged to pull out only a third of the troops from Iraq and is considering increasing the troop numbers in Afghanistan. We need to send a clear message for the withdrawal of ALL troops.

This year's Palm Sunday also supports nuclear disarmament and an end to uranium mining in Australia. 26,000 nuclear weapons remain in our world, each threatening the survival of our planet and ourselves. Australia must take the lead on international disarmament efforts and stop exporting bomb fuel - uranium. In addition to nuclear weapons threatening global annihilation, Depleted Uranium is currently being used in Iraq, believed responsible for countless birth defects and increased cancer rates. 

There are plans for Australia to become the worlds biggest exporter of uranium by the year 2013. The uranium is primarily planned to come from Roxby Downs in South Australia. They will need a water desalination plan as large as the one planned for Sydney for the 150 million litres of water used per day. The radioactive tailings dam will be huge. It is planned to produce a Melbourne Cricket Ground worth of nuclear waste every day for the next 100 years. The sale of Australian uranium encourages the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

Organised by the Melbourne Palm Sunday Committee 2008
For more information contact Jessica Morrison 0431 519 577 or Katie Cherrington 0433 695 693


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