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April Newsletter

Kia ora and hello: I have been gathering a few opinions on the recently released The Passion of Christ directed by Mel Gibson. I was interested because of the demand from the Society for the Protection of Community Standards that the censorship rating be lowered from the existing R16. In the Christian publication Challenge, a spokesperson from Vision NZ said "I hope people are so disturbed by the movie that they will make their peace with Christ". Isn't this emotional blackmail? The film reviewer in the Wellington paper Contact commented that the film was about Mel Gibson's passion of Christ not "The passion of Christ". In the March 27 Listener, Bill Hastings (Chief Censor) features in the "What I'm Reading" column and says he is grateful that Mel Gibson has films as an outlet for his violence.
  • April monthly meeting: there will be no April meeting because the AGM will be held on Saturday 3 April.
  • May monthly meeting: Monday 3 May  Turnbull House. Wellington. All welcome. 7.30 pm  Topic: Religion and Women.
  • Radio Access:  11 am 783 kHz Sunday 11 April.
  • Committee/ Council meeting: Sunday 11 April 10.45 AM at Jeff and Joan's 8 Amritsar Street, Khandallah, Wellington.
  • AGM: 1 2004   Saturday 3 April  Venue: Senior Citizen Room on the Mezzanine Floor of the Wellington Public Library.
    Parking is available in the Library building basement. The proposed AGM programme is as follows:
     - 10.30 am  Celebrants: a discussion led by Jeanne van Gorkom.
     - 12 Noon  Lunch. There is a Cafe within the Library complex.
     - 1.15 pm  Presentation of Eileen Bone scholarship.
     - 1.30 pm  AGM with financial report for year ending June 2003.
     - following the AGM, a shared meal at The Mexican Cafe or other eatery to be discussed at the time.
     We look forward to seeing you there!!!
  • AGM 2 2004 will be held Sunday 25 July. John Tamihere, Associate Minister of Maori Affairs will address us. Details later.
    The financial report for year ending June 2004 will be presented.
  • Eileen Bone Humanist Trust Scholarship for 2004. The successful applicant will be announced preceding the April AGM.
     Snippets: Recent news on the Y chromosome from New Scientist, 6 March 2004, p.42 "Genomes don't play dice" Lynn H.Caporale who
     published a book in 2003 Darwin in the Genome. We need not despair.
     "...the human Y chromosome has revealed a way of undoing mutations.  Until it was sequenced last year, most researchers had assumed that this
     partner-less little chromosome was doomed to decline.(by random  mutation) Some researchers believe the Y may carry its own back up  copy in the form of palindromic DNA which is analogous to words that  read the same backwards or forwards." Maybe men have a future!!

    •  Quotable Quote: from Albert Einstein:
     "Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds".
                
    Gaylene Middleton
     

      Humanist Society of New Zealand

     

    Marriage Celebrant Discussion

     

    led by Jeanne van Gorkom Humanist Marriage Celebrant

    followed by AGM

    Saturday 3 April 2004  10.30 am

     

    Senior Citizen Lounge

    Mezzanine Floor Wellington Public Library

     

    AGM at 1.30 pm

    All Welcome

     
    IHEYO International Humanist Youth Conference 2004,
    Kampala, Uganda 20-24 May

    Please publish this information and forward it to young humanists and human rights activists in your organization. 

    Dear Humanists,

    IHEYO is pleased to announce its 2004 international humanist youth conference: Global Humanism for Peace and Social Justice being co-hosted with the Ugandan Humanist Association (UHASSO). The conference will take place between the 20th and 24th of May in Kampala, Uganda.

    The conference is a follow up to the earlier conferences held in the Netherlands (2002) and in Germany (2003). It is the first of its kind in Africa since the commencement of global youth humanism in the 1960s. The conference promises to be exciting, educating, fun-filled and memorable as the previous ones in Europe!!

    IHEYO-UHASSO KAMPALA 2004 will bring together between 70-100 youth from all around the world. The conference is for young persons between 15 and 35 years, especially humanists and Human Right activists.

    About the Conference programme

    The conference will focus on humanist education, leadership training, peace and social justice. These and related topics will be addressed in workshops and keynote speeches, in training and discussions on concrete projects. And there will be social and cultural activities, a peace rally and visits to local projects. At the last day on 24 of May, the second IHEYO General Assembly will be held.

    Practical details

    The participation fee for the conference is 40 Euros for participants from developing countries and 75 Euros for participants from developed countries. This includes accommodation, food and local travel. Travel to and from the conference is not covered by the fee.

    We do offer a sponsorship possibility for fee and/or travel for African young people. One can apply for this through the Registration Form. The selection for this will be made soon after the deadline of 31st of March.

    The deadline for registering is 31 of March, but this can change depending on the amount of registrations we receive. When the organizers receive more applicants than we can host by the 31st of March, we will need to make a selection. Every one that registers will be notified in the second week of April whether he or she is selected as participant.

    The registration form and all information can be found at: www.iheyo.org/kampala2004/. The website has been recently updated. Registration to the conference has just started. Participation is open to every one; we encourage people to register soon because of availability in places.

    Other humanist events in Uganda

    There will be more humanist activities in the week of 20 May, like the International Humanist Conference "Humanist Visions for Africa" on 25 and 26 May in Kampala. To check out all events, please go to: http://uganda.humanists.net.

    Other events IHEYO

    IHEYO has also an online discussion group and will soon announce its international humanist youth internship programme. Please go to www.iheyo.org for more details.

    More information

    One can more information and details about the Conference at the website of IHEYO:     www.iheyo.org/kampala2004/ where one can also find the registration form. Or one can e-mail for more information and questions, IHEYO conference coordinator Yemi Johnson and IHEYO-President Gea Meijers, office@iheyo.org.

    We are looking forward to meeting youth from your organisation and hope they can come!

    Best regards,

    Yemi Johnson and Gea Meijers
    IHEYO conference organisers
    www.iheyo.org

    Mother Teresa: The Truth at Last
     
    Dear Humanist/Atheist

    MOTHER TERESA THE FINAL VERDICT (ISBN 81 88248 00 2) by Aroup Chatterjee is now published after 8 years of research.

    20th century's biggest myth is finally busted by a Calcuttan.

    You may, if you wish read the book online at www.meteorbooks.com

    You can also browse through the reviews.


    Yours faithfully


    Meteor Books
    Calcutta India
     

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    April Newsletter. This page created May 2004
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