#333: Gaza protests

Subject: #333: Gaza protests

GLOBAL PEACE AND JUSTICE AUCKLAND
NEWSLETTER No. 333, June 7, 2010

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Message from a Kiwi in Palestine
Alana is a Vic student currently in Bethlehem doing her masters in Development. I hope we can all find strength and encouragement in her words: "Stay strong! What you are doing is really really important and the people here – seriously it makes them feel proud, supported and most of all, that they are remembered. This is the most important thing – Palestinians here that I have encountered are so fearful that they will be forgotten – they have been cut off from the rest of the world, and only a few foreigners trickle across the checkpoints. Maybe we can’t exactly end the occupation or even change the NZ position – but if we can make people in Palestine feel that they have not been forgotten, and that the world remembers them, then we have made a HUGE contribution to the ongoing resistance."

NZ PROTESTS OVER GAZA BLOCKADE

Thousands demonstrate across the world against Israel’s Gaza flotilla raid – Week-long ban is initiated by Swedish Port Workers Union, who says act is reaction to the ‘unprecedented criminal attack on the peaceful ship convoy.’ http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/thousands-demonstrate-across-the-world-against-israel-s-gaza-flotilla-raid-1.294295

Protests around the country over Gaza http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10649933

Palestinian Protest – Help them save lives http://waitakerenews.blogspot.com/2010/06/palestinian-protest-help-them-save.html

Matt McCarten: Tragedy opens doors to solving Palestinian crisis http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10649946

Anti-Israeli protesters pelt US consulate http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/3781198/Anti-Israeli-protesters-pelt-US-consulate

Keith Locke MP, Green Party Spokeperson for Foregin Affairs, thought you might be interested in his question in the House yesterday. http://www.greens.org.nz/oralquestions/will-government-call-immediate-lifting-israel-s-economic-blockade-gaza

RAGE FOR GAZA- tv reports and photos of solidarity demonstrations all over New Zealand http://socialistaotearoa.blogspot.com/2010/06/rage-for-gaza-video-and-photographs.html

Photos of Auckland Gaza protest June 5 20101 http://www.flickr.com/photos/16424226@N05/sets/72157624095081075/

Photso of Gaza Demo, Dunedin NZ http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicelogo/sets/72157624207842912/

Friday 4 Jun 2010 outside US embassy Auckland, NZ

MARCH TO US EMBASSY IN NEW ZEALAND 5 JUN 2010 – CONTENT: MARCH 1-2 Preparing to march, short intro Keith Locke, John Minto, Mike Treen, intro speech Janfrie Wakim of PHRC & Joe Carolan of Unite Union; 2-2 March to US consulate, protest and media interviews during protest. SPEECHES: 1-5 Keith Locke – Green Party MP; 2-5 Janfrie Wakim – PHRC; 3-5 Hela – SJP, Billy, Penny; 4-5 Hana; 5-5 Alp – from Turkey.

YOUTUBE LINKS:

1-2 Flotilla Protest in Auckland -WHY MARCH- 5 Jun 2010

2-2 Flotilla Protest in Auckland -MARCH TO US EMBASSY- 5 Jun 2010

1-5 Flotilla Protest Speech Keith Locke 5 Jun 2010

2-5 Flotilla Protest Speech Janfrie Wakim PHRC 5 Jun 2010

3-5 Flotilla Protest Speeches Hela-Billy-Penny 5 Jun 2010

4-5 Flotilla Protest Speech Hana Auckland 5 Jun 2010

5-5 Flotilla Protest Speech – Alp from Turkey 5 Jun 2010

Imprisoned on the sliver of land that is Gaza: OPINION: The deaths on the flotilla bringing aid to Gaza has turned the spotlight on the plight of the 1.4 million trapped in its borders, writes former UN official David Shearer. http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/opinion/3770512/Imprisoned-on-the-sliver-of-land-that-is-Gaza

One person’s terrorist really is another’s freedom fighter by Jane Young http://pundit.co.nz/content/one-persons-terrorist-really-is-anothers-freedom-fighter

Gordon Campbell: On The Need For New Zealand To Condemn The Gaza Blockade http://gordoncampbell.scoop.co.nz/2010/06/01/g-campbell-the-need-to-condemn-the-gaza-blockade/

INTERNATIONAL

`Intensify pressure!’ — (updated June 5) Call by Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee gains support http://links.org.au/node/1725

Israeli leftists denounce deadly flotilla raid http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=288876

Aussie photographer Kate Geraghty Tasered during flotilla raid http://tinyurl.com/34oprpc

Robert Fisk: The truth behind the Israeli propaganda http://tinyurl.com/3xfg886

“The Ship Turned into a Lake of Blood”: Israeli Commandos Used Beatings, Stun Guns, Live Ammo http://tinyurl.com/2fd35c6

Historic UNSC Condemnation of Israel, and of Gaza Blockade; World Body Demands release of Aid Activists, Ships http://tinyurl.com/2fwpbel

Flotilla attack – Sarah Colborne gives eyewitness account http://www.counterfire.org/index.php/news/70/5462

Democracy Now report on flotilla attack – This Democracy Now video is thebest report so far of Israel’s attack on the Gaza flotilla, including coverageof worldwide protests and contributions from leading commentators. http://www.counterfire.org/index.php/news/70-palestine/5440-democracy-now-report-on-flotilla-attack-essential-viewing

The urgency of this moment Radhika Sainath, The Electronic Intifada http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11314.shtml

Israel and the psychology of "never again" – The wounds of its people’stragic history have trapped Israel in a cycle of violence http://www.salon.com/news/israel_flotilla_attack/index.html?story=/news/feat

Smuggling Marbles To Hamas: Flotilla Cover-Up Unravels http://www.uruknet.de/?s1=1&p=66590&s2=03

How And Why I got ‘On-Board’ With The FREEDOM FLOTILLA To Gaza By EileenFleming http://www.countercurrents.org/fleming030610.htm

Life In Occupied East Jerusalem By Stephen Lendman http://www.countercurrents.org/lendman030610.htm

NATO’s other member state http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11289.shtml

Australia: World must take a stand against Israel http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/world-must-take-a-stand-against-israel/story-e6frg6zo-1225874202053

Australia: Loewenstein: Boycott, divest from and sanction Israel http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/44350

Thousands rally for Freedom Flotilla in Stockholm http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11307.shtml

Erasing International Law in Israel’s Gaza Flotilla Attack – Rogue StatePolitics http://www.counterpunch.org/dimaggio06042010.html

George Galloway – Zionist Grip of Israel Days Now Numbered – George Gallowayannounces concrete plans for next convoys

Flotilla debate ratchets up: Norman Finkelstein and Daniel Pollack http://www.normanfinkelstein.com/finkelstein-on-flotilla-bloodbath-ii/

Goods blocked from Gaza http://gisha.org/UserFiles/File/HiddenMessages/ItemsGazaStrip060510.pdf

Turkish Gaza Aid Ship Survivors Speak by Anita McNaught http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2010/mcnaught050610.html

Blinding the Witnesses By Naomi Klein – There is something way too literalabout Israel shooting out the eye of a witness to its crimes. http://www.naomiklein.org/articles/2010/06/blinding-witnesses

Naomi Klein speaks at Gaza Freedom Flotilla protest in Toronto, Canada

The Gaza Blockade Is Illegal and the Flotilla Attack Was an Illegal Act ofWar – Because the blockade of Gaza itself violates international law, Israelcommitted an illegal act of war attacking the convoy, regardless of whoattacked whom first. http://tinyurl.com/2bxdn6y

Report: Autopsies Suggest Israelis Shot Flotilla Activists Execution-Styleat Close Range http://tinyurl.com/23j9n66

Children Of Gaza – Are You Brave Enough To Witness Life In Gaza? Must WatchDocumentary – Surrounded by the remnants of the demolished Gaza Strip andincreasingly isolated by the blockade that prevents anyone from rebuildingtheir homes and their lives, Children of Gaza is a shocking, touching anduniquely intimate reflection on extraordinary courage in the face of greatadversity. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article25632.htm

Exposing right wing lies – a Q & A on the crisis by Mike Treen

https://gpjanz.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/exposing-right-wing-lies.pdf

National Day Of Action Against Water Privatisation (Saturday 12 June)
No one should profit from water – it is a natural monopoly, a necessity oflife, and a human right. On Tuesday 4 May 2010 the Local Government AmendmentBill passed its first reading in New Zealand Parliament. While the governmentis denying this, the Bill allows councils to privatise water. They will be ableto: * Enter into contracts with private companies to run water services for upto 35 years (the current limit is 15 years); * Allow private companies to ownand control water infrastructure for the duration of these contracts (thecurrent legislation requires councils to retain ownership and control ofwater). The long-term leases the Bill allows for are the dominant model ofwater privatisation in the world. It is very rare for councils or governmentsto sell off the water asset entirely. Long term leases work in privatecompanies favour as they can make profit from water while the public sectorretains long-term costs and responsibilty. Internationally the model that hasbeen proposed is shown to lead to higher water costs, less accountability andreduced services. The global water industry is dominated by two mega companiesSuez and Veolia. A subsidary of Veolia is United Water and already active inNew Zealand. Get organised with your friends, whanau, church, school, club tooppose water privatisation. Join the National Day of Action in your area. Evenif you can’t attend, please click ‘Invite people to come’ and let others knowabout it.

Whangarei
12 noon – 2.00pm, Proposed Rally outside Whangerei District Council Chambers,Forum North Building, Rust Avenue, Whangarei. Assistance needed with placards /speakers. Contact: Claire Swinney, (09) 430 7252 or 021-0732885
North Shore City
12 noon – 2.00pm, Rally outside North Shore City Council Chambers, 1 TheStrand, Takapuna, Contact: Kerry Bevan: (09) 473 3747 or percy Allison on (09)443 0369
Waitakere City
12 noon – 2.00pm, Rally outside Waitakere City Council Chambers, 6Henderson Valley Road, Henderson, Waitakere. Contact: Mered Barrar: (09) 8366389
Auckland
12.00-2.00pm, Rally outside Auckland Town Hall. Contact Penny Bright:waterpressure @ gmail . com or (09) 846 9825 or 021 211 4 127. Website: http://www.stopprivatisation.org.nz/
Manukau City
12 noon – 2.00pm, Rally outside Manakau City Council Chambers, 31-33 WiriStation Road (opposite Manukau District Court), Manukau City Centre. Contact:Bill Wiki by email or 021 058 6538
Franklin District Council
12 noon – 2pm, Outside Franklin District Council Chambers, 82 Manukau Road,Pukekohe. Contact: Judy Spencer (09) 236 3899 or Margaret Swift Ph Judy (09)236 3899 Or email Franklin against Water Privatisation: thestudio@paradise.net.nz
Hamilton
11.00-1.00 (ring to confirm). Rally outside Hamilton City Council ChambersContact: Mischelle Rhodes: tommopmog@gmail.com or (07) 8477405
Kapiti Coast
Coastlands stall and rally, Contact David Scott: davidscott@ihug.co.nz
Hutt City
12 noon – 2pm, Main Council Building, 30 Laings Road, Lower Hutt Contact AnnaSutherland: anna or 021349 411
Kapiti Coast
Coastlands stall and rally, Contact David Scott: davidscott@ihug.co.nz
Wellington
11.30am, Bucket Fountain on Cuba Street. moving at 12.30 to the Wellington CityCouncil Buildings, 101 Wakefield St Wellington. Contact Sam Buchanan: quackysam@hotmail.com website: http://www.righttowater.org.nz
Christchurch, NB Sunday not Saturday
Sunday 13th June, 3pm. Cathedral Square, Cathedral will be open if its wet.Contact Eugenie Sage (03) 329 8177. Website: http://www.ourwaterourvote.org.nz
Dunedin
12.00-2.00pm, Dunedin Council Chambers, Civic Centre, 50 The Octogan. ContactFliss Butcher: (03) 477 9972. or Lyndon Weggery: LWeggery@hotmail.com

Hammer the Pokies
GPJA is still on the quest for 200 people willing to take part in a civildisobedience exercise whereby they register their hammers for a “hammerthe pokies” protest. We have around 40 people registered so far but to besuccessful we need a lot more. There are over 20,000 pokie machines in localcommunities (non-casino pokies) which are sucking the lifeblood from low-incomeareas (over half the machines are in the poorest third of communities).Families coping with pokie addicts in the recession just adds to the misery ofwhole communities left behind by growing inequality. We’d like GPJAmembers to help spread the word. You can get a copy of the campaign flyer,register your hammer or for more information email johnminto@orcon.net.nz or phone Johnat 8463173.

Wanted For Corporate Greed! Every Saturday, 1pm, JB Hifi, Queen St, Auckland
Richard Euchtritz, CEO of JB Hi Fi, gets paid $4 million per year. His company,JB HiFi, is set to make $150 million profit this year alone. Profits up 29% Newstore opening in Palmerston North. But he hasn’t given his workers a pay risein three years, and has dismissed their demand for a pay rise as "Absurd". ThisSaturday, saddle up and join the Posse for a how down outside JB Hi Fi store.Yer all Deputies of the Unite Union now, neighbours. Expose this CorporateCowboy! YouTube video Link

WHAT’S ON IN AUCKLAND

Wednesday, June 9, 7.30pm, Mt Albert Senior Citizens Hall, Corner ofWairere Avenue and New North Road, Mt Albert, Auckland
Public Meeting – Don’t Sell Our Water – Rodney Hide has introduced a GovernmentBill to open up council water supply to privatisation. It will allow privatecompanies to own our water infrastructure for up to 35 years. All over theworld, water privatisation has been a disaster. Labour and the Greens arefighting this move. We believe New Zealanders want water to remain under publicownership and public control. Come to this public meeting and show youropposition. It is your chance to find out more about the water privatisationbill (Local Government 2002 Amendment Bill) so you can make a submission to theSelect Committee (deadline is June 18). The meeting is hosted by MPs PhilTwyford (Labour spokesperson on Auckland Issues), David Clendon (Greenspokesperson on Auckland Issues) and Sue Kedgley (Green spokesperson on LocalGovernment), Jacinda Ardern (Labour candidate for Auckland Central), CarolBeaumont (Labour candidate for Maungakiekie).

Monday, June 14, 7pm, Religious Society of Friends Meeting House,115 Mt. Eden Road, Mount Eden, Auckland
Prison Reform: Best practice or blind belief? Tony Taylor Emeritus Professor:School of Psychology, Victoria University. Warren Brookbanks Professor of Law:University of Auckland. Tony and Warren will be addressing prison reform andthe Government’s Sentencing and Parole Reform Bill (Three Strikes). ContactJennie Searle Ph: 09 828 4577

Tuesday, June 15, 5.30-7.30pm, Trades Hall, 147Great North Road, Grey Lynn
Economics for Everyone: An Introduction To How The Economy Really Works (AndDoesn’t Work) by Jim Stanford, Economist and Author. Jim Stanford iseconomist for the Canadian Auto Workers union, and an economics columnist forthe Globe and Mail newspaper. He is also the author of Economics for Everyone(Pluto Books, 2008), a critical-thinking primer on economics for union members,social activists, and others concerned with challenging the phony mystique andunderlying biases of conventional economics. Join Jim for a special two-nightintroduction to the economics of everyday life. You’ll equip yourselfwith the knowledge and the confidence to reject the belt-tighteningprescriptions of our current government. After all, as Jim says,“economics is too important to be left to the economists!” Allwelcome.

Part I: Understanding the Logic of Capitalism.

Tuesday, June 22, 5.30-7.30pm, Trades Hall, 147 Great North Road,Grey LynnEconomics for Everyone: An Introduction To How The EconomyReally Works (And Doesn’t Work) by Jim Stanford, Economist and Author.Jim Stanford is economist for the Canadian Auto Workers union, and an economicscolumnist for the Globe and Mail newspaper. He is also the author of Economicsfor Everyone (Pluto Books, 2008), a critical-thinking primer on economics forunion members, social activists, and others concerned with challenging thephony mystique and underlying biases of conventional economics. Join Jim for aspecial two-night introduction to the economics of everyday life. You’llequip yourself with the knowledge and the confidence to reject thebelt-tightening prescriptions of our current government. After all, as Jimsays, “economics is too important to be left to the economists!”All welcome.

Part II: What Went Wrong? The Failure of Neoliberalism, and theAlternatives

Thursday, June 24, 4pm, Case Room 2, 260-057, University of AucklandBusiness School
Beware the “Insurance” Model for Unemployment Benefits: CautionaryEvidence from the Canadian Experience. Dr Jim Stanford will review thestructure and recent experience of Canada’s Employment Insurance program,considering the advantages and weaknesses of its conception as an“insurance” scheme. This experience is relevant in light ofproposals to restructure New Zealand’s unemployment benefit system.Stanford will also answer questions regarding recent developments in Canadianpension and social policy. Dr Stanford is economist for Canada’s largestprivate-sector union (sister union to the EPMU here), the Canadian Auto Workersunion in Toronto, Canada. He received his PhD in economics in 1995 from the NewSchool for Social Research in New York, specializing in international trade,macroeconomics, and the economic impact of labour and social institutions.Stanford’s research on a wide range of economic topics has been published innumerous academic and popular outlets. He is the author of Paper Boom, 1999,published by Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives & James Lorimer &Company. Stanford also writes regular columns for CBC News Magazine, and is aregular economics columnist for the Globe and Mail newspaper. See: Bottomline: Canadian banks should pay their fair share , April 2010; Areason to celebrate, March 2010: thelowest paid in Ontario just got a raise, March 2010; CorporateCanada’s enemy lurks within, October 2009. More recently, he authoredEconomics for Everyone, a primer in critical economics for trade union membersand other activists. (See: http://www.economicsforeveryone.com)Followed by: 5.30-6.30pm (pay for your own) Drinks at Spicers (level 3 OGGB).RSVP: Space is limited. Please book your seat with Tressy Menezes t.menezes@auckland.ac.nz

Wednesday, September 1, 8pm, St Kevins Arcade, K road
David Rovics returns to Auckland on Sept 1st 2010. Come check him out, alongwith special guests, at the Wine Cellar. Tickets on the door for $20. DavidRovics grew up in a family of classical musicians in Wilton, Connecticut, andbecame a fan of populist regimes early on. By the early 90’s he was a full-timebusker in the Boston subways and by the mid-90’s he was traveling the world asa professional flat-picking rabble-rouser. These days David lives with hisfamily in Portland, Oregon and tours regularly on four continents, playing foraudiences large and small at cafes, pubs, universities, churches, union hallsand protest rallies. He has shared the stage with a veritable of who’s who ofthe left in two dozen countries, and has had his music featured on DemocracyNow!, BBC, Al-Jazeera and other networks. His essays are published regularly onCounterPunch, and the 200+ songs he makes available for free on the web havebeen downloaded more than a million times. Most importantly, he’s really good.He will make you laugh, he will make you cry, he will make the revolutionirresistible. http://www.davidrovics.com/

September 29-30, Telstra Clear Pacific Events Centre, ManukauCity
JUST ACTION CONFERENCE: Just Action is for all those with a heart for TheSalvation Army’s mission to fight suffering in all its forms, to speakout and act against injustice, and to be a force for justice, faith and mercyin the world. Here’s some information to bring you up-to-date on plansfor next year’s Just Action Conference, ‘The Power toChange’, which is being held as part of Mission 2010, a combined congressof The Salvation Army New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga Territory. Full Conferencedetails and registration information will be available next year. For moreinformation, contact Major Ian Kilgour, The Salvation Army Social Policy andParliamentary Unit. p: (09) 261 0883 or e: ian_kilgour@nzf.salvationarmy.orgPlan to join us and explore how the Gospel can bring international, national,community and neighbourhood change. Plan to join us and explore how the Gospelcan bring international, national, community and neighbourhood change.SPEAKERS: Jim Wallis is a best-selling author, publictheologian, speaker, preacher and international commentator on religion andpublic life, faith and politics. He is President and Chief Executive Officer ofSojourners, where he is editor-in-chief of Sojourners magazine. DaveAndrews, Coordinator for training with the Community InitiativesResource Association, and educator-atlarge for TEAR Australia. Dave, his wifeAnge, and their family, have lived and worked in intentional communities withmarginalised groups of people in Australia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India andNepal for more than 30 years.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

DEMAND JUSTICE FOR WAR SURVIVORS AND AN INDEPENDENT WAR CRIMESINVESTIGATION
Dear supporter, It’s been a tragic year for Sri Lankans inside and outside thecountry, and one year after the end of the conflict, tens of thousands ofinnocent civilians are still suffering. – 82,000 people – children, women, theelderly – are languishing in squalid camps; – many of those who have ‘returnedhome’ came back to rubble and poverty; – while the shelling has stopped,attacks on lawyers, journalists and aid workers haven’t; – more than 10,000alleged insurgents, including former child soldiers are held in camps wheretorture has been documented; – and despite its claims and commissions, theruling regime has done nothing to bring about justice for victims or promotereconciliation; Act now! Sign our new urgent action petition to UNSecretary-General Ban Ki-moon. http://www.srilankacampaign.org/takeaction.htm
We are asking all Campaign supporters to help us push for a credible,independent and effective war crimes investigation. The Government of Sri Lankais keen to pacify the international community by setting up its own ‘Commissioninto Lessons Learnt’. Let’s remind Mr Ban that no Sri Lankan inquiry has everyielded results and that gross human rights abuses still occur every day. Onceyou’ve signed, please forward the link to others by email or share through yourFacebook page. There can be no lasting peace without justice.
The Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace & Justice is a global non-partisanmovement calling for justice, rights and reconciliation in Sri Lanka. While thesituation remains desperate, the Campaign has made progress on specific goals,such as giving a voice to human rights defenders in Sri Lanka and lobbying forsuspension of the EU’s preferential trade agreement with the country. We arenow gearing up to re-launch the Campaign as a long-term initiative. For this,we need your ongoing support! To find out more, visit http://www.srilankacampaign.org

4TH INTERNATIONAL INDIGENOUS TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE CONFERENCE, 6-9JUNE 2010, AUCKLAND, AOTEAROA/NEW ZEALAND
"Kei muri i te awe kapara he tangata ke – behind the tattoed face astranger stands: Recognising, engaging, understanding difference" http://www.traditionalknowledge2010.ac.nzTena Koutou Katoa (Greetings), There is just over a week to go before theclosing date for abstracts on Friday, 30 April, 2010. • Find all thedetails about Abstracts here: http://www.traditionalknowledge2010.ac.nz/submissionsand information about the conference theme here: http://www.traditionalknowledge2010.ac.nz/explanation-key-questions
• Scholarship recipients please submit outlines or title talks toproceedings@traditionalknowledge2010.ac.nz by Friday, 30 April, 2010
• Visit our conference website http://www.traditionalknowledge2010.ac.nz toRegister for the Conference online (early bird rates end on May 14th 2010)
Contact details: enquiries@traditionalknowledge2010.ac.nz / Telephone+64-9-3737599 ext 82376 or 84220

AFGHAN WAR FOR CHRISTCHURCH STAGE JULY 16—AUG 14.
329BC, Alexander the Great conquers Bagram, crossroads of Asia.
1839, the British army takes Kabul.
1970, a kiwi hippie gets stoned on quality hash beneath the Hindu Kush.
1980, the Socialist Action League organises a meeting in the Wellington TradesHall to explain Soviet intervention in Afghanistan.
2010, a New Zealand army unit sets out on a mission to the Chagai hills,southern Afghanistan….
All of this in “The Perfumed Garden,” a New Zealand play aboutAfghanistan, opening at The Forge / The Court in Christchurch, July16—Aug 14. http://www.courttheatre.org.nz/index.cfm/0,26,231,html?previewid=241

JOIN THE 2010 NATIONAL ELECTIONS BRIGADE TO VENEZUELA SEPTEMBER 17 -28, 2010
The Australia-Venezuela Solidarity Network’s brigades to Venezuela are aonce-in-a-lifetime experience – the opportunity to see first-hand an unfoldingrevolution that is not only radically transforming the lives of Venezuelans,but challenging the greed, exploitation and destructiveness of globalcapitalism by showing that a better world is possible. A special feature of theSeptember 2010 brigade will be observing Venezuela’s vigorous democracyin action. The brigade will coincide with Venezuela’s next NationalAssembly elections, on September 26th, enabling brigadistas to observe the lastweek of campaigning – including the traditionally huge election ralliesheld on the weekend before – and polling day itself. As well as observingthe national elections, brigade participants will experience Venezuela’sparticipatory democracy at work, with visits to communal councils and communes.They will also visit worker-run factories and cooperatives; free, high-qualitypublic health and education services; Indigenous-run sustainable developmentprograms; and community controlled media stations. During the 10 days,brigadistas will have the opportunity to speak to a wide range of grassrootsorganisations, community activists, trade unions and government representativesabout the radical changes being implemented by the Venezuelan people. The 2010national elections brigade is the 11th solidarity tour to Venezuela organisedby the AVSN. Reports and photos from previous AVSN brigades are posted athttp://www.venezuelasolidarity.org. We are also happy to put you in touch withpeople who have participated in AVSN brigades, if you would like to find outmore.
Brigade registration and costs
The deadline for registering for the 2010 National Elections brigadeis July 1, 2010. To express interest in participating and obtain a registrationform, please contact brigades@venezuelasolidarity.orgParticipants will need to book their own international airfares, but the AVSNcan help with advice. Accommodation, transport and English-Spanish translationwithin Venezuela will be organised for all brigade participants. You will needto budget for a total cost of approximately $4000. This will cover:international return airfares and taxes (approximately $2500 from Sydney);accommodation (twin-share basis); transport and basic food while you are inVenezuela; and the brigade registration fee ($500 for workers, $300 forstudents or pensioners). For more information, email brigades@venezuelasolidarity.orgor phone Lisa Macdonald +61 413 031 108, Jim McIlroy +61 423 741 734 or RobertoJorquera +61 425 182 994.

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

We should never forget that everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was"legal" and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was"illegal." ~Martin Luther King, Jr., "Letter from BirminghamJail," Why We Can’t Wait, 1963

As long as the world shall last there will be wrongs, and if no man objectedand no man rebelled, those wrongs would last forever: ClarenceDarrow

Never do anything against conscience even if the state demands it:Albert Einstein

BEST ONTHE WEB

NEW ZEALAND

The Rise of Unite Union – TV3 "The Nation" http://www.3news.co.nz/The-rise-of-Unite-Union/tabid/1348/articleID/159421/Default.aspx?ArticleID=159421

Union eyes Rugby World Cup for wage marches TV3 http://www.3news.co.nz/Union-eyes-Rugby-World-Cup-for-wage-marches-/tabid/421/articleID/159433/Default.aspx

Rugby World Cup strike risk http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10650070

Union calls for ‘whanau leave’ http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/3781992/Union-calls-for-whanau-leave

State assets assessed for sale to investors http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10647277

Bryan Gould: Pandering to the wealthy few a waste of time http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10647390

Editorial: Special days should be Mondayised http://www.nzherald.co.nz/employment/news/article.cfm?c_id=11&objectid=10647939.

A better answer to the looming jail http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10647948

1700 jobseekers for 110 jobs http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10647976

$20k compo for worker sacked over pregnancy http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10648239

Households told cut back despite boost in Budget http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10648793

Tapu Misa: Let’s get beyond ridiculous stereotyping http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10648522

The benefits of working By Simon Collins http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10649772

Cold reality of rising bills to hit soon http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/personal-finance/3781543/Cold-reality-of-rising-bills-to-hit-soon

Couple stung by Blue Chip face another fight http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/personal-finance/3779863/Couple-stung-by-Blue-Chip-face-another-fight

CTU: Day Of Shame For NZ International Reputation http://www.voxy.co.nz/politics/ctu-day-shame-nz-international-reputation/5/51112

$100 million cuts in health services on cards http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE1006/S00021.htm

NZ Lacks Expertise To Cope With Oil Spill – Expert http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1006/S00003.htm

Gordon Campbell: On The Rugby Apology To Maori, The Gaza Blockade And LyingAbout Kiwibank http://gordoncampbell.scoop.co.nz/2010/06/03/g-campbell-rugby-apology-gaza-blockade-kiwibank/

Top barrister sceptical over three strikes law http://www.scoop.co.nz/multimedia/tv/politics/36633.html

Sacramento prison reformers to New Zealanders don’t be suckered with soundbites and statistics http://tinyurl.com/26erprv

FEATURES

Drones and Democracy http://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/151-afghanistan/49147-drones-and-democracy.html

The Back Art Of ‘Master Illusions’ By John Pilger – How do wars begin? Witha "master illusion", according to Ralph McGehee, one of the CIA’s pioneers in"black propaganda", known today as "news management". http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article25601.htm

WORLD ECONOMIC CRISIS

Kiwi comedian John Clarke and Bryan Dawe calculate the cost of the Europeandebt crisis. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article25521.htm

Experts fear spread of social unrest as financial crisis continues – "Thisis a 21st century rendition of the ‘workers of the world unite’. The people arefully aware of the enormous bailout going to the ‘too big to fail’s’ that theyare being forced to pay for. The higher the taxes go, the more jobs that arelost, the greater the levels of protest." http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,5547861,00.html

Meltdown Part II: Return of the jitters http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10649016

‘The Time We Have Is Growing Short’ by Paul Volcker http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2010/jun/24/time-we-have-growing-short/?pagination=false

The Cult of Subprime Central Bankers http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dean-baker/the-cult-of-subprime-cent_b_591511.html

Does Corruption Cause Poverty? by Walden Bello http://tinyurl.com/25p3hs8

‘Go for the Jugular’ By Sebastian Mallaby – The collapse of Greece’seconomy, and its domino effect on Spain, Portugal, and other countries in theeuro currency zone, is in many ways a replay of an earlier financialcrisis–the break-up of the continent’s Exchange Rate Mechanism in 1992. Then,as now, Europe’s policymakers showed little patience with–or understandingof–markets. Then, as now, Germany often seemed contemptuous of the lesscompetitive economies on the periphery of Europe. The 1992 crisis came to ahead on Friday September 9, when currency speculators forced the devaluation ofthe Italian lira. By the following Tuesday, Britain was facing the same fate.In this excerpt from More Money Than God, his new history of hedge funds,Sebastian Mallaby tells the story of the crisis from inside the cockpit ofGeorge Soros’s Quantum Fund. http://www.theatlantic.com/business/print/2010/06/go-for-the-jugular/57696/

Capitalism, the Absurd System – A View from the United States by Robert W.McChesney and John Bellamy Foster http://monthlyreview.org/100601mcchesney-foster.php

Converging Crises: Reality, Fear and Hope by Susan George – The term crisisimplies a short lived period of uncertainty – suggesting there is somethingtemporary or anomalous about the current state of the global economy. On thecontrary, our global economy, from the financial clouds (or bubbles) to thereal roots – where men and women work, live and survive – is suffering fromsystemic flaws based on an ever expanding void between rich and poor. http://www.tni.org/paper/converging-crises-reality-fear-and-hope

Did Vladimir Lenin Predict The Banking Disaster Of 2008? "Hence theextraordinary growth of a class, or rather, of a stratum of rentiers, i.e.,people who live by “clipping coupons”, who take no part in anyenterprise whatever, whose profession is idleness. The export of capital, oneof the most essential economic bases of imperialism, still more completelyisolates the rentiers from production and sets the seal of parasitism on thewhole country that lives by exploiting the labour of several overseas countriesand colonies…." http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20946.htm

The Vicious Circle of Debt and Depression – It Is a Class War By IsmaelHossein-zadeh – Having bailed out the insolvent banksters, many governmentshave now become insolvent or nearly insolvent themselves, and are asking thepublic to skimp on their bread and butter in order to service the debt that isnot their responsibility. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article25456.htm

FOOD, FARMING AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Big oil’s PR team slick at hiding truth http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10647891

Hightower: Who the Hell’s in Charge Here? BP Disaster Caused by a Nasty Mixof Government Impotence and Corporate Rule http://tinyurl.com/24pwwgl

REVIEWS

Cuba singer Rodriguez wistful and polemical in U.S. show http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6540W120100605

Sex and the City #2 http://louisproyect.wordpress.com/2010/05/31/sex-and-the-city-2/

Noam Chomsky: The U.S. Continues to Be a Terrorist State – Noam Chomskydiscusses his forthcoming book, the hypocrisy of neoliberalism and where hefeels hopeful about democracy despite U.S. terrorism. http://tinyurl.com/287e7eg

AFGHANISTAN

The “Black Jail” – After continually denying the existence of asecret detention center at Bagram Air Force Base, the Defense Department hasfinally confirmed the existence of the prison which former prisoners havereferred to as the "black jail." http://tinyurl.com/2dvl2wv

With U.S. Aid, Warlord Builds Afghan Empire By DEXTER FILKINS – The mostpowerful man in this arid stretch of southern Afghanistan is not the provincialgovernor – It is Matiullah Khan, the head of a private army that earns millionsof dollars guarding NATO supply convoys and fights Taliban insurgents alongsideAmerican Special Forces. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article25640.htm

Afghan Prosecutor Issues Arrest Warrant for US Army Officer Over PoliceKilling By Stephen Grey – The chief military prosecutor in Kabul, has accusedthe US of creating an outlaw militia which allegedly shot dead Matiullah Qateh,the chief of police in the city of Kandahar. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/may/16/afghan-prosecutor-arrest-warrant-us-officer

Taliban: the indistinguishable enemy – The US-led occupation of Afghanistanhas transformed the once-reviled Taliban into freedom fighters for the Pashtunpeople http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/may/16/taliban-indistinguishable-enemy-afghanistan

CHINA

Honda’s China Plants Remain Closed as Talks Continue (Update1) http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-05-31/honda-s-china-plants-remain-closed-as-talks-continue-update1-.html

The high costs of cheap labor – Companies scramble as Chinese workers balkat long hours and low pay http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/feed/sc-biz-0604-china–20100603,0,512625.story

On iPhone assembly line to suicide http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10649790

Open Letter to the Public and All the Workers in Honda Auto PartsManufacturing Co.Ltd. Written by The Delegation of Representatives of theStriking Workers for Negotiation http://worldlabour.org/eng/node/361

COLOMBIA

UN publishes report on Colombia military killings: Colombian security forcescommitted "a significant number" of murders over the past decade, often forpersonal profit, and few of the perpetrators have been punished, according to areport published Thursday by an independent U.N. human rights expert. http://www.wtop.com/?nid=105&sid=1966962

CUBA

Breaking the Blockade of Silence: L.A. Art and Advocacy for the Cuban 5 byDiana Block http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2010/block290510.html

Danny Glover’s message on Cuban 5

"Five Cuban men convicted on charges of espionage over ten years ago and putin prison may have been the victims of a smear campaign by the US government."http://rt.com/Top_News/2010-06-03/us-secret-media-cuba.html

Here’s more media coverage, such as it is: http://www.freethefive.org/legalFront/FOIA/PressConferencePress60210.htm

Fidel Castro: THE EMPIRE AND THE WAR http://www.cuba.cu/gobierno/reflexiones/2010/ing/f010610i.html

Fidel castro: IMPERIALISM AND DRUGS http://www.cuba.cu/gobierno/reflexiones/2010/ing/f300510i.html

Cuba’s quiet revolution http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/05/31/cuba.farms/index.html

FRANCE

French protest retirement age plan: French labour unions have staged a dayof strikes and street rallies to protest against plans by Nicolas Sarkozy, thepresident, to raise the retirement age beyond 60 years. http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2010/05/2010527123221805109.html

GREECE

General strike paralyses Greece: "We are here to send a strong message tothe government, the Brussels directorate, the IMF and all those pencil-pusherswho are targeting the social, labour, pension and economic rights ofemployees," http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2010/05/20105206473368731.html

HAITI

Many say Haiti unprepared for hurricane season BY JACQUELINE CHARLES http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/05/31/1657440/as-the-hurricane-season-gets-underway.html

Bill Clinton’s Doubletalk on Haitian Agriculture – Bill Clinton hasadmitted that the US free-market agriculture policy towards Haiti did not work.But the solutions Clinton puts forward, as the UN Special Envoy to Haiti, callsfor more of the same failed policies. http://tinyurl.com/2ee8rle

IRELAND

How bankers brought Ireland to its knees: Once noted mainly for the exportof people, Ireland became one of Europe’s wealthiest countries, overtaking itsformer colonial master. It used EU regional aid to modernise, above all ineducation and infrastructure, and then it put in place low-tax,business-friendly policies that became a magnet for investors. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/67ae51e2-5e35-11df-8153-00144feab49a.html

INDIA

India’s War on People at Home by Gautam Navlakha and Arundhati Roy http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2010/nr040610.html

Forest Areas, Political Economy and the "Left-Progressive Line" on OperationGreen Hunt by Shankar Gopalakrishnan http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2010/gopalakrishnan040610.html

IRAQ

VIDEO: Next Stage of US Occupation – Economic Colonization of Iraq ledby IMF http://www.globalpolicy.org/iraq/political-issues-in-iraq/withdrawal/49148.html?ItemID=1181

Half a Million Displaced Iraqis Face Grim Future In Squalid Squatter Camps -Iraq’s illegal squatter settlements are spreading so rapidly, one senior UNofficial considers homelessness "the greatest humanitarian problem facingIraq." http://tinyurl.com/292slh9

IRAN

Brazil, Turkey sharpen tone with US over Iran: Brazil and Turkey lashed outat the United States Friday in a deepening confrontation over Iran, saying itand other nuclear powers lacked credibility in demanding Tehran hobble itsatomic program. http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100528/wl_afp/irannuclearpoliticsunusbrazilturkey

JAMAICA

Jamaicans see little to choose between drug gangs and bloodstained soldiers:Support for Kingston’s war on crime ebbs after failure to capture drug baronand claims of extra-judicial executions http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/may/30/jamaica-police-killings-drug-war

KOREA

Ssangyong unionist sentenced to four years jail http://www.aawl.org.au/content/korea-ssangyong-unionist-sentenced-four-years-jail

PAKISTAN

Obama’s Pakistan Strategy Is Not Working http://www.alternet.org/story/146868/obama%27s_pakistan_strategy_is_not_working?page=entire

SRI LANKA

Support Tamils not Sri Lanka’s war-criminal government — Eva Golingermisinterprets solidarity http://links.org.au/node/1726

THAILAND

Thai Labour Advocate Arrested http://www.aawl.org.au/content/thai-labour-advocate-arrested

The ‘Voter’s Uprising’ that is changing perceptions inTHAILAND http://timeupthailand.blogspot.com/2009/05/voters-uprising-that-is-changing.html

USA

The Failure of the American Jewish Establishment http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2010/jun/10/failure-american-jewish-establishment/?pagination=false

Black men’s cries of police torture finally answered http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10647410

The New Poor – Blacks in Memphis Lose Decades of Economic Gains http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/31/business/economy/31memphis.html

20,000 rally against anti-immigrant law – Arizona march defends undocumentedhttp://www.themilitant.com/2010/7423/index.shtml

Labor Unions May Have To Abandon Obama to Beat Corporate America – Laborunions need to start fighting their battles in the workplace, not on CapitolHill. http://tinyurl.com/272jy5x

Gitmo ‘suicides’ torture gone wrong?: In an appearance Thursday on Fox News’Freedom Watch, Horton stated that the only real question in his mind is whetherthe men’s deaths were deliberate murders or were "negligent homicides"resulting from "some sort of procedure that was performed on them." http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0528/horton-discusses-gitmo-suicides/

The War is Making You Poor: Next year’s budget allocates $159,000,000,000 to"contingency operations," to perpetuate the occupations of Afghanistan andIraq. That’s enough money to eliminate federal income taxes for the first$35,000 of every American’s income each year, and beyond that, leave over $15billion that would cut the deficit. http://salsa.mydccc.org/o/30019/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=34

Conspiracy of Banks Rigging States Came With Crash: A telephone call betweena financial adviser in Beverly Hills and a trader in New York was all it tookto fleece taxpayers on a water-and-sewer financing deal in West Virginia. Thesecret conversation was part of a conspiracy stretching across the U.S. by WallStreet banks in the $2.8 trillion municipal bond market. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=axH24KWxjVDE&pos=10

How Investors Made Millions from People Facing Eviction: A six-yearconspiracy by veteran real estate investors to rig bids and stifle competitionat tax sale auctions made two chief organizers at least $10 million, largelyfrom fees homeowners paid to keep from losing their properties, according tofederal prosecutors. http://huffpostfund.org/stories/2010/05/investors-made-millions-people-facing-eviction

Schwarzenegger’s budget deals blows to the poor: The governor unveils aproposal that would cut the welfare-to-work program and reduce child care forthe needy. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/politics/la-me-state-budget-20100515,0,7750555.story?track=rss

VENEZUELA

Venezuelan workers march for nationalisations http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/44401

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