Watch the US election with the PIS!

Join the PIS for drinks as we watch the vote count for this historical election on CNN and drink beer!

10:30am until later
Maori Chief Hotel
118 Moray St (corner of Moray and York streets)
South Melbourne

You can get there by taking the 112 tram (leaves from Spencer St in the city) towards St Kilda and getting off at stop 117, the corner of Clarendon and York Streets, and walking a few blocks east along York St to pub. You can find a map at http://www.maorichief.com.au, along with other useful information like their menu. See you all there!

As free as China?

Although Australia still waits on broadband for all, its politicians are planning to provide this just in a 'clean' fashion. Clean is the euphemism used to disguise internet censorship on level with free, democratic countries like China, Cuba or Iran.

Please take some time to inform yourselves and take action. The cases of Dr. Haneef, Dr. Moeller and even the Benbrika case are alarming examples that those claiming to represent Australian citizens systematically dismantle democracy.

The internet expanded the connectedness of the little big island Australia, the planned internet censorship returns Australia to the beginnings of this country: Being a large prison.

PIS 'cluboscope' in Farrago edition 7

Greetings to anyone who took an interest in the advertisement for the Political Interest Society in Farrago, and thank you for checking out our blog. Unfortunately the item in that magazine contained a small but important error - the room in which our meetings are held. This semester we hold our meetings, not in Alice Hoy 109, but in Alice Hoy room 330. At least the building was right.

We do hope to see some new faces at future meetings - people of all political backgrounds and opinions are welcome. The door is always open. Except when other students are being rowdy in the corridor and we can't hear each other. Then we might shut it. But you can always knock.

Keating! the Musical at Federation Square, Wednesday 20 August

Keating! the Musical is a show much loved by many members of the PIS, and which many other members wish to see. It charts the rise and fall of Prime Minister Paul Keating in song, through laments about life on the backbench, election debates in rap, victory songs in reggae and a ballad bemoaning Keating's loss to John Howard. It also has Alexander Downer in stockings.

After a long touring season, the final performance of Keating! will take place in Sydney this Wednesday. However, we will not miss out on this great event, as this last performance will also be streamed live to Federation Square.

The screening will not be on the big outdoor screen, which I presume will be showing the Olympics. Instead it will be in the cozier, less drafty, indoor public space known as the Atrium, which can be accessed from Flinders street as shown on this map. The Atrium also has a bar, Beer Deluxe, just one more advantage it has over the big, windy bit that the sports fans will be watching.

So please come and join the PIS for this great event! Meet at the downstairs bar at 7pm for drinks and laughs before the final show begins at 8pm.

Semester Two - The Honeymoon Is Over

Semester one was a tumultuous time for the Political Interest Society, first with the exile from our traditional homeland, the Alice Hoy Building, and then the resignation of President Fettling, but with hard work and determination we weathered that storm and the new President Rocke came to power with the promise that the biscuit tin would never again run empty, and no politically interested student would ever be left behind.

In Semester 2 we return again to the Alice Hoy building, this time to the loftier heights of Room 330. But there are many challenges in the months ahead, and after two months, the Rocke Administration's honeymoon is over, and they are going to have to produce results.

(Welcome to our new members for Semester 2. We all hope to see you at meetings soon, and I assure you, we aren't always this silly.)

The first weekly meeting of the semester, complete with biscuits for all tastes and ideologies, will be at 1pm Wednesday 30 July in Alice Hoy 330, followed by the traditional drinks at PA's. Another email will be sent out in a few days with the topics for discussion.

This will be followed the next day by the 2008 PIS Non-Annual Trivia Night, so come along and show off your political knowledge, or just come for a laugh. The Trivia Night will be held on Thursday, July 31 at 6:30pm, INU Bar, Union House. Entry is free and there are some great prizes to win.

Audi Alteram Partem is the biannual PIS journal, showcasing a range of political opinions and exchange of views. Matt, the AAP Editor, is currently putting together the Semester 2 Edition, and the deadline for submissions is Wednesday, August 6. If there's any political or social issue that you're passionate about, anything from emissions trading to the US elections to curfews for cats, we want to print it! For more information, contact Matt at m.incerti@ugrad.unimelb.edu.au

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That's all for now, but this semester still has many things to come, including the Society's tenth anniversary celebrations and the US Presidential Elections, so come along and get involved!

Annual General Meeting 2008

This year's AGM was memorable. We spent ages hanging around waiting for enough people to make quorum and ended up with at least ten more than we needed by the end of the meeting. There were barely enough candidates to fill the committee positions. Michael Pountney accepted his life membership with a spectacular display of grandiose waffling. Lindy provided us with lots of biscuits, and we finished twenty minutes early to rush off to the pub, where we all had lots of celebratory beer.

And yet, I have neglected to announce the results of that great election to those unfortunate members who couldn't join us! Please accept the heartfelt of apologies of this new, untested but devoted President.

So, as voted at the Annual General Meeting on April 30, the PIS committee for 2008-9 is as follows:

President: Megan Rocke
Secretary: Charlie Goodman
Treasurer: Stacey Nguyen
Publications Editor: Matt Incerti
Speakers Officer: Alex Davis
Publicity Officer: Simon Coles
Social Secretary: Dean Hallett