#337: GPJA Forum Mon July 12 – Organising solidarity with Palestine

GLOBALPEACE AND JUSTICE AUCKLAND
NEWSLETTER No.337, July 4, 2010

Website: https://gpjanz.wordpress.com/
Contact details:
Forums – John Minto, Work: (09) 845 2132, Home 09 846 3173 jbminto@xtra.co.nz
Newsletter Editor & Website – Mike Treen 0295254744 mike@unite.org.nz
Donations can be sent to GPJA, P O Box 7175, Wellesley St,Auckland.

Subscriptions: To subscribe to this newsletter please use the subscription box in the right hand top of the GPJA website.

GPJA FORUM THIS MONTH

Two Monday forums this month. The water privatisation forum is on the normalfirst Monday of the month time slot for GPJA Forums so we are holding ours onthe second Monday. Monday, July 5, 7.30pm,

Freemans Bay Community Centre, 52 Hepburn St Ponsonby
PUBLIC MEETING: Stop Privatisation! No corporate control over ourwater. Investigate United Water’s 7 NZ contracts. (Refreshments / networking9.30 – 10pm) All welcome – bring friends. CONFIRMED SPEAKERS: Penny BrightWater Pressure Group Spokesperson; Tony Holman North Shore City Councillor;Alan McCulloch Grey Power Auckland Regional Director; Phil Twyford LabourAuckland Issues Spokesperson; Keith Locke, Green party; Winston Peters Leaderof NZ First. INVITED SPEAKERS: Rodney Hide Minister for Local Government; MarkFord Auckland Transition Agency Executive Chair; Green Party speaker; NationalParty speaker; Maori Party speaker.
http://www.stopprivatisation.org.nz

Monday 12 July (note the change to second Monday in July) TradesHall, 147 Great North Road, Grey Lynn, 7.30pm.
GPJA Monthly Forum: “Organising Solidarity with the People ofPalestine”. Speakers: Mike Treen: GPJA spokesperson and long-timeactivist supporting the Palestinian struggle. Tuma Hazou: Palestinian refugeewhose family fled Jerusalem after El Nakba (the catastrophe) in 1948established the Jewish state of Israel in Palestine. A speaker from Studentsfor Justice in Palestine. After last month’s brutal, cowardly attack onthe humanitarian flotilla bringing aid to Gaza the meeting will look at ways wecan extend support and solidarity to the people of Gaza and the West Bank.

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, JbHifi, Queen St, Auckland
Blockade and Boycott- Queen Street JB Hifi- please pass on to your networks.Friday 4 till 6pm then saturday 1 till 4pm. Support low paid workers fightingfor a Living Wage. Week 8 of the Queen Street protest, and 5,000 customers havenow signed the petition to boycoptt JB Hifi, until they pay the workers a 50cincrease. Big Day of Action on JB Hifi this Friday and Saturday- invite yourfriends- appealing for everyone who can to come down. Bring drums, horns,vuvzelas, pots, pans, klaxons. its gonna be NOISY. Workers at JB Hi-Fi haven’thad a pay rise in 3 years, and now earn only 75c more than the new minimumwage. JB Hi-Fi is making record profits – up 29% this year to an estimatedNZ$140 million. CEO Richard Euchtritz has dismissed the workers’ pay claim of a50 cents per hour raise as “absurd” at the same time he has taken a NZ$1million bonus, bringing his net pay to $4 million. The NZ workers pay claimamounts to just under $200,000 per year to the company. “Our manager told methat I would never get a pay rise if I stayed with the . There was a lotof pressure put on me to resign. Now they’ve cut down on the areas I used tosell on in our store. It’s unfair- I’m rejoining the union and striking tostand up for my rights,” explained Unite member Jack Lucas.

WHAT’S ON IN AUCKLAND

Monday, July 5, 7.30pm, Freemans Bay Community Centre, 52 Hepburn St Ponsonby
PUBLIC MEETING: Stop Privatisation! No corporate control over ourwater. Investigate United Water’s 7 NZ contracts. (Refreshments / networking9.30 – 10pm) All welcome – bring friends. CONFIRMED SPEAKERS: Penny BrightWater Pressure Group Spokesperson; Tony Holman North Shore City Councillor;Alan McCulloch Grey Power Auckland Regional Director; Phil Twyford LabourAuckland Issues Spokesperson; Keith Locke, Green party; Winston Peters Leaderof NZ First. INVITED SPEAKERS: Rodney Hide Minister for Local Government; MarkFord Auckland Transition Agency Executive Chair; Green Party speaker; NationalParty speaker; Maori Party speaker.
http://www.stopprivatisation.org.nz

Wednesday, July 7, 7.30pm, Fickling Centre, 546 Mt Albert Rd, ThreeKings
AUCKLAND PUBLIC MEETING: Kia Ora Gaza-KIWI AID TO GAZA – On 31 May 2010, a Gazaaid flotilla was hijacked on the open sea by Israel’s military. Ninecivilian aid workers were shot to death. To break the siege of Gaza, on 12thSeptember mass aid convoys will set off from London by sea and land. We want tosee Kiwi volunteers and aid go with them. Kia Ora Gaza is raising funds to makethis possible. Please give your support. Write a cheque for ‘Kia OraGaza’ and post to: Kia Ora Gaza, PO Box 59-007, Auckland. Email: grantmorgan@paradise.net.nz

Wednesday, July 7, 7-9pm, 19 Newton Road (back of ECONZ building at Urban), Auckland
FILM FUNDRAISER: Hello lovely friends – So this is a fundraising event for ahome for kids from disadvantaged backgrounds in Peru…these kids are so cool,I spent 3 weeks with them last year in October and they are amazing. However,the home is poor and to keep doing their work they need support! We’ll bescreening Motorcycle Diaries, a movie about Che Guevara before he was famous.It is a rad movie. (AND IT”LL BE ON A PROJECTOR which makes it for evencooler). Hopefully you will have finished exams by this time and can come hangout and have a good time. There will be baking and hot drinks available fordonation (if you feel like bringing baking to support, many thanks if this isyou ). $5. We’ll start the movie at 7.30. Bring cushions and pillows if you sodesire comfort but are too peace loving to fight it out over the couches.

Wednesday, July 7, 8pm, Academy Cinema, Lorne Street (next to theCentral Library)
You are invited to attend the next great City Vision event to raise funds forthe upcoming local body election: COME TO OUR FUNDRAISING MOVIE NITE! 8pm fordrinks and nibbles, the movie will start at 8.30pm. Price:$20 waged, $10unwaged. Movie: The View from Greenhaven (2008). PLOT: Dash is a grumpy senioris driving his wife Dot nuts. Chris Haywood plays Dash, a curmudgeonly creaturewho’s forced to celebrate forty years of marriage to Dot, (Wendy Hughes),by going on a mystery tour that has been organised by their daughter Kate,(Susan Prior) and her husband Tim, (Russell Dykstra). Dash is not happy but Dotgives him an ultimatum. He’s even less happy when he meets their fellowtravellers. To add insult to injury the destination of the mystery tour isright back where Dash and Dot live – in the idyllic coastal town ofGreenhaven. But sometimes, the life you’re waiting for is waiting for you… CITY VISION NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT! If you can’t make it, buy sometickets anyway and give them away to friends or just make a donation (see bankaccount details below). Cost is $20 per person (includes delicious nibbles andcomplimentary wine) $10 unwaged. While you can pay on the night, we would bevery grateful if you would purchase your tickets online: NAME : City VisionACCOUNT NUMBER: 38 9007 0461177 00 (Kiwibank). Please include a reference to”movie nite tickets”. Any questions? Please feel free to contact CathyCasey: cmcasey 0274 744 231or 09 845 1952 Bruce Kilmister: bruce@bodypositive.org.nz 021 633373 or 09 376 8656

Friday, July 9, 5.30pm, Trades hall, 147 Great North Rd, GreyLynn
Celebration Fund Raiser for Rendezvous SFWU members. $10 – entry (allproceeds to SFWU). Nibbles Provided. Cash Bar. Bring extra money for rafflesetc!

Monday, July 12, 7.30pm, (note the change to second Monday in July)Trades Hall, 147 Great North Road, Grey Lynn
GPJA Monthly Forum: “Organising Solidarity with the People ofPalestine”. Speakers: Mike Treen: GPJA spokesperson and long-timeactivist supporting the Palestinian struggle. Tuma Hazou: Palestinian refugeewhose family fled Jerusalem after El Nakba (the catastrophe) in 1948established the Jewish state of Israel in Palestine. A speaker from Studentsfor Justice in Palestine. After last month’s brutal, cowardly attack onthe humanitarian flotilla bringing aid to Gaza the meeting will look at ways wecan extend support and solidarity to the people of Gaza and the West Bank.

Saturday 17 July 3-30 Sunday 18 July 5-45 and Monday 19 July1-30
Strange Birds in Paradise : A West Papuan story is on at the Film FestivalAuckland. It sounds great: While the Indonesian army continues to dominate theindigenous inhabitants of West Papua, three friends gather in Melbourne torecord outlawed folk songs with renowned Australian rock musicologist DavidBridie. Donny Roem is a recent exile. With his two young brothers and 42 otherrefugees, he crossed the Arafura Sea to Australia in a homemade canoe. JacobRumbiak was a child soldier in the West Papuan resistance movement. His movingstory is one of oppression, torture and escape. Charlie Hill-Smith, anAustralian writer, cartoonist and comedian, is their friend. His passion forcontact across cultures has led him to forge close friendships with theMelanesians and the Javanese families he met as a teenage exchange student. Anextraordinary story of an imaginative, adaptable culture confronting tyrannywith the joyful power of art, music and self-expression.

Monday, July 26, 7pm, St Columba Centre, 40 VermontSt Ponsonby, Auckland.
CPAG AGM: Child poverty and current politics: Looking ahead with Sue Bradford– Guest Speaker. 7:00 pm AGM business. 7:45 pm guest speaker. Plenty ofparking is available on site. For further information contact Julie Timmins,CPAG Administrator admin or(09) 303-9260.

Tuesday, August 10, 5.30pm, University of Auckland BusinessSchool
Reshaping the NZ economy – What will fix NZ’s econpomy? Seminar with Dr RickBoven, Director of the NZ Institurte; Selwyn Pellet, CEO. Sponsor NZ FabianSociety http://www.fabians.org.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.

Thursday, November 4, 9am-5pm, Conference Room 1 – Copthorne HotelAuckland City 196 – 200 Quay Street
Globalisation and Labour in the Pacific: Re-evaluating the 1890 Maritime Strike9.00-5.30pm, Thursday 4 November 2010 SYMPOSIUM INVITATION Organised by theAuckland Labour History Group and the Labour History Project In associationwith the Australian Society for the Study of Labour History and NZWALMI. Paperswill be presented on the 1890 strike, its broader political and historicalimpact, the nature of Pacific Rim connections in the labour market and betweenlabour organisations, lessons for contemporary labour relations in the maritimeindustry in the Pacific, and the impact of globalisation generally in PacificRim labour relations. Attendance: All welcome. Fee: $40 includes lunch andrefreshments. All registrations to Ann Williamson at nzwalmi@aut.ac.nz Information subject tochange

ANNOUNCEMENTS

KIA ORA GAZA – KIWI AID TO GAZA
Gaza’s 1.5 million people are imprisoned by the state of Israel in agiant concentration camp. The Israeli military enforces a blockade of essentialsupplies. There is terrible suffering, especially among the children. Thecitizens of Gaza face collective punishment, which is illegal underinternational law. On 31 May 2010, a Gaza aid flotilla was hijacked on the opensea by Israel’s military. Nine civilian aid workers were shot to death.To break the siege of Gaza, on 12th September mass aid convoys will set offfrom London by sea and land. We want to see Kiwi volunteers and aid go withthem. Kia Ora Gaza is raising funds to make this possible. Please give yoursupport. Write a cheque for ‘Kia Ora Gaza’ and post to:• KiaOra Gaza, PO Box 59-007, Auckland. Or make a payment directly into our bankaccount:• Kia Ora Gaza, 03-0211-0447718-000, Westpac Bank, Onehungabranch. Encourage your family and friends to make a personal donation. Appealto • organisations you are involved with to make an institutionaldonation. All funds raised by Kia Ora Gaza will be audited by a professionalwho is independent of our bank trustees. Email: grantmorgan@paradise.net.nz

BE MORE THAN JUST A TOURIST! JOIN THE SOUTHERN CROSS BRIGADE TOCUBA: DEC 27, 2010 TO JAN 20, 2011
Join the 28th Southern Cross Brigade and support Cuba in the mostdirect manner by working alongside Cubans, visiting unions, schools, hospitals,cultural sites, performances & urban agriculture projects, learning thesalsa, meeting Cubans, fraternising with other international guests and havingfree time in Havana. You will experience at first hand the cultural, politicaland social conditions in socialist Cuba. This year’s program will giveparticipants an opportunity to join in the celebration of ICAPs (Cuba Institutefor Friendship With The Peoples Of The World) 50th anniversary & theongoing success of the Cuban Revolution. Find out more at http://www.cubasolidarity.org.nz;register at wkcultur(03 7324010) or Ina at inashina@clearnet.net.nz ((093031755). Cost: $1100 (after July 31st, $1200) – excluding airfare, taxes andhealth insurance.

WANT TO GET INVOLVED IN CAMP FOR CLIMATE ACTION 2010?
Hello Climate Campers, Over the next few weeks, folks all around the countrywill be meeting up to discuss an exciting proposal for a 2010 Climate CampGathering. If you would like to get involved; please get in touch by sending anemail to your closest contact point…
Auckland: auckland.climatecampnz@lists.coactivate.org
Wellington: wellington.climatecampnz@lists.coactivate.org
Christchurch: christchurch.climatecampnz@lists.coactivate.org
Dunedin: dunedin.climatecampnz@lists.coactivate.org
Taranaki: taranaki.climatecampnz@lists.coactivate.org
Whangarei: whangarei.climatecampnz@lists.coactivate.org

THE ROGER AWARD – NOMINATIONS OPEN
The Roger Award For The Worst Transnational Corporation operating in NewZealand has run annually since 1997. There are no prizes for guessing whom itis named after. It is organised by CAFCA and GATT Watchdog, bothChristchurch-based groups. New The winner(s) of the 2009 Roger Award wereannounced at a Wellington event on Thursday 11 March 2010. The winner of theRoger Award was the bank ANZ. “ANZ has succeeded in winning the 2009 RogerAward because the ING funds fiasco is simply and plainly ‘pure greedcapitalism’ at its worst” said the Judges’ Statement. Auckland CityCouncil and its officials won the Accomplice Award for “helping tocontract out Auckland’s waste management to Transpacific and thereforeacting as a template for future transference of public assets into privatehands”. A background to the Roger Award was given at the event by MurrayHorton, CAFCA secretary/organiser. The judges for 2009 were: Paul Corliss, fromChristchurch, a life member of the Rail and Maritime Transport Union; ChristineDann, from Banks Peninsula, a writer and researcher; Bryan Gould, from Bay ofPlenty, a former Waikato University Vice-Chancellor; Joce Jesson, a SeniorLecturer in Critical Studies in Education, University of Auckland and anactivist in various community organisations; and Wayne Hope, AssociateProfessor, Communications Studies, Auckland University of Technology. They weregiven a shortlist of finalists. For the record, the nomination form, whichincludes criteria and details of how to make a nomination, is available here inWord(54 KB) or PDFformat (164KB). Criteria are also below. The judges have awarded prizes forrunners up, continuity and collaborators over the years. The Award hasattracted considerable interest since its inception (even from the corporatemedia), and has had a succession of distinguished and completely voluntaryjudges. The events to announce the winners have become highly memorable intheir own right.
http://canterbury.cyberplace.co.nz/community/CAFCA/publications/Roger/index.html

DAVID ROVICK TOUR OF NZ: AUG 20 – SEPT 1
Friday, August 20th, Canterbury University, Christchurch
Saturday, August 21st, Sammy’s, Dunedin.
Sunday, August 22nd, 8 pm, Venue Dux de Lux, Christchurch
Thursday, August 26th, Riverside Community and Cultural Centre, Motueka
Saturday, August 28th, Newtown Community Centre, Wellington. Don Franks will bedoing an opening set
Tuesday, August 31st, Biddy Mulligans Irish Bar, Victoria Street, Hamilton
Wednesday, September 1st, The Wine Cellar, Auckland

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 never see the smoke and the fire, we never smell the blood, we never seethe terror in the eyes of the children, whose nightmares will now featurescreaming missiles from unseen terrorists, will be known only as Americans.” :Martin Kelly

“A terrorist is someone who has a bomb but doesn’t have an air force”:Unknown

“I would unite with anybody to do right and with nobody to do wrong.” —Frederick Douglass

BEST ONTHE WEB

NEW ZEALAND

MP’s bill aims for abortion on demand http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz-government/news/article.cfm?c_id=144&objectid=10656210

‘Massive’ vegetable markups hit consumers, growers http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10656463

John Minto: Defending our kids’ education: it’s a matter of principals http://tinyurl.com/2cdzo34

Minister to face schools’ rebellion http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/3877176/Minister-to-face-schools-rebellion

MPs line up for a big pay increase – Union general secretary Matt McCartensaid it was unbelievable. “It would make every New Zealander vomit in theirWeet-Bix tomorrow morning.” http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10655944

Matt McCarten: High-flying MPs suffer a hard landing over perks http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10656304

Protestors push for equal pay http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/protestors-push-equal-pay-125438

Pay Equity – No stone unturned at Parliament today http://payequity.wordpress.com/2010/06/30/no-stone-unturned-at-parliament-today/

Pay Equity Stone Turning http://www.flickr.com/photos/union/sets/72157624388968784/

Magical Budget causes imaginary closure of wage gap – Wong http://www.thestandard.org.nz/magical-budget-causes-imaginary-closure-of-wage-gap-wong/

Paper Reclaim strike enters third day http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU1007/S00056.htm

Westpac freezes staff pay with zero wage offer http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU1007/S00080.htm

Good journalism versus evil market http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10655864

Unite union member sacked for exposing security companies cheating NZQA -TV3 Video http://www.3news.co.nz/Security-companies-encourage-staff-to-cheat-NZQA/tabid/309/articleID/163778/Default.aspx

John Minto: If MPs were fast-food workers… http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/blogs/frontline/3878939/If-MPs-were-fast-food-workers

Good Penny turns up – She’s been arrested 22 times, often at the councilchambers. So why is Penny Bright receiving a good citizen award? Rebecca Blithetalks to Auckland’s relentless radical. http://www.theaucklander.co.nz/local/news/good-penny-turns-up/3916539/

Socialist Aotearoa’s Top Five Football Moments http://socialistaotearoa.blogspot.com/2010/06/socialist-aotearoas-top-five-football.html

Law Society Strongly Opposes Electoral Disqualification http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1006/S00313.htm

East Coast protests against oil exploration http://www.scoop.co.nz/multimedia/tv/national/37869.html

Opinion split on how to ditch debt by Brian Fallow NZH http://tinyurl.com/2aruo87

Key declines Australian request for more troops http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10655619

ETS will bring barrage of price rises: watchdog http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10655632

FEATURES

John Pilger: There Is a War on Journalism – Decmocracy Now! Interview WithJohn Pilger: “The reason we don’t see the war on civilians, the war that hascaused the most extraordinary devastation, human and cultural and structuraldevastation in both Iraq and Afghanistan, is because of what is almostlaughingly called the mainstream media.” http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article25843.htm

In Case You Missed It: Sir! No Sir! The Suppressed Story of The GI Movementto end the war in Viet Nam Video – A “must-see” documentary which seeks toreturn to the historical record the pivotal story of the GI anti-war movementduring the Vietnam War. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article13036.htm

The Mythology Surrounding Petraeus’ Surge in Iraq Will Keep Us Trapped inAfghanistan – The real story of Petraeus’ job in Iraq is that he failed toaccomplish one of the most crucial tasks of the occupation. http://tinyurl.com/2c3fmk2

The fight for football: Is the ’world game’ the people’sgame? http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/44596

Interview: Reviving the spirit of equality – Richard G Wilkinson & IainFerguson – Richard G Wilkinson is a prominent British researcher in socialinequalities in health and the social determinants of health. His work showsthat societies with more equal distribution of income have better healthoutcomes than ones in which the gap between the richest and poorest in societyis greater. http://www.isj.org.uk/index.php4?id=658&issue=127

NAOMI WOLF: The High Cost of Cheap Fashion – What has been liberating forWestern women is a system built literally on the backs of women in thedeveloping world. How do Primark and its competitors in the West’s shoppingmalls and High Streets keep that cute frock so cheap? By starving andoppressing Bangladeshi, Chinese, Mexican, Haitian, and other women, that’s how.http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/wolf25/English

WORLD ECONOMIC CRISIS

Johann Hari: How Goldman gambled on starvation – Speculators set up a casinowhere the chips were the stomachs of millions. What does it say about oursystem that we can so casually inflict so much pain? http://tinyurl.com/254oevs

Global Trade Unions Demand Sustainability From G8 Leaders http://www.alternet.org/story/147330/global_trade_unions_demand_sustainability_from_g8_leaders_

RSA Animate – Crisis of Capitalism – Radical sociologist David Harveyasks: is it time to look beyond capitalism towards a new social order thatwould allow us to live within a system that really could be responsible, just,and humane? http://comment.rsablogs.org.uk/2010/06/28/rsa-animate-crisis-capitalism/Full lecture http://www.thersa.org/events/vision/vision-videos/david-harvey-the-crises-of-capitalism

Sticking The Public With The Bill For The Bankers’ Crisis By Naomi Klein http://www.countercurrents.org/klein290610.htm

Dean Baker: Why should we trust the IMF? The IMF is shouting about the needfor austerity today, but it was strangely quiet during the build-up of thebubble that got us here http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2010/jun/28/useconomy-imf

Dean Baker: How to impress the bond markets Instead of beating up onretirees by cutting social security, we can reduce deficits by standing up topowerful interest groups http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2010/jun/21/deficit-hawks-social-security

Wall Street Congratulates Washington: A Job Well Done http://www.truth-out.org/wall-street-congratulates-washington-a-job-well-done60845?print

The Adult Recession: Age-Adjusted Unemployment at Post-War Highs http://www.cepr.net/index.php/publications/reports/the-adult-recession

US Economy Loses 125,000 Jobs in June http://blog.aflcio.org/2010/07/02/economy-loses-125000-jobs-in-june/

John Bellamy Foster – The unsurprising failure of U.S. financial reform http://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/voices/the-unsurprising-failure-of-u-s-financial-reform/1857/

FOOD, FARMING AND THE ENVIRONMENT

In defence of the People’s Agreement — Tanuro and Invernizzi get Cochabambawrong http://links.org.au/node/1765

Food crisis: causes, consequences and alternatives http://climateandcapitalism.com/?p=2670

Climate Crisis: A Symptom of the Development Model of the World CapitalistSystem by Mara Fernanda Espinosa Minister of Cultural Patrimony, Ecuador. http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2010/espinosa300610.html

REVIEWS

‘Letters from Palestine’: a must-read – I seldom read books fromcover to cover. But when Kenneth Ring sent me his Letters from Palestine with anote saying “Here’s my baby,” I couldn’t put it down. http://www.uruknet.de/?s1=1&p=67430&s2=28

I Read Some Marx (And I Liked It)

No Fretful Sleeper GUEST: Paul Millar on Bill Pearson – In November 2004Bill Pearson’s trenchant essay ‘Fretful Sleepers’ was posted on Public Addressas part of Russell’s Great New Zealand Argument series. As I was thenresearching Pearson’s life for my biography No Fretful Sleeper: A Life of BillPearson, I wrote a brief preface to the… http://publicaddress.net/6726

Behind the New York Times’ hatchet job on Oliver Stone’s “South of theBorder” – On June 26, the /New York Times/ published not one but two criticalarticles about director Oliver Stone’s latest documentary, /South of theBorder/, about the tectonic political changes occurring in South America.Stone, who is known for such popular hits as /Wall Street/ and /Platoon/, madehis film based on interviews with leaders such as Raul Castro of Cuba and HugoChvez of Venezuela. For responses by the film’s makers and consultants, andvideo excerpts, see http://links.org.au/node/1770

Tea Party as Western movie – Philosopher Robert Pippin takes a wide-angleview of the politics expressed in old Hollywood Westerns. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/political-bookworm/2010/06/tea_party_as_western_movie.html

Return of the working-class heroes? Alexander Billet looks at GaslightAnthem’s new album American Slang. http://socialistworker.org/2010/06/30/return-of-working-class-heroes

AFGHANISTAN

The last post: McChrystal’s bleak outlook – President Obama lost patiencewith Runaway General’s failed strategy http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/the-last-post-mcchrystals-bleak-outlook-2011730.html

Why the Taliban is winning in Afghanistan http://www.newstatesman.com/international-politics/2010/06/british-afghanistan-government

Afghanistan: War lost, but killing continues http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/44591

AUSTRALIA

Aboriginal summit to expose government’s media lies http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/44607

Gordon Campbell: On Julia Gillard (And Simon Power) Julia Gillard’sascent to the top job in Australia will face its first major policy test in thenext fortnight, as she will have to outline her stance on the claims of asylumseekers – always an explosive political topic across the Tasman.Somehow,Kevin Rudd had become identified with a ‘soft line’ on asylumseekers and refugees – despite the fact that his government had alreadyfrozen the asylum claims from Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, on the grounds thatconditions were improving in both countries (!) and therefore asylum was notwarranted. http://gordoncampbell.scoop.co.nz/2010/07/01/gordon-campbell-on-julia-gillard-and-simon-power

BANGLADESH

Bangladesh garment protests spread to Dhaka streets http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i0rBxS0rPSLz1RjvkQ6ypoMPG6cw

BURMA

Burma’s 2010 elections reveal ugly truths. Naing Ko Ko http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1006/S00221.htm

CANADA

Toronto is burning! Or is it? Black bloc tactics play into the state’s handshttp://links.org.au/node/1763

CHINA

U.S.-Owned High Tech Jabil Factory in China Runs Like Minimum SecurityPrison Producing for Whirlpool, GE, HP http://www.nlcnet.org/reports?id=0602

COLOMBIA

Colombia: army colonel gets 30 years for Palace of Justice disappearances http://www.ww4report.com/node/8738

Colombia: Ten Injured as Riot Police Break Strike at Calgary-Owned OilCompany http://upsidedownworld.org/main/news-briefs-archives-68/2541-colombia-ten-injured-as-riot-police-break-strike-at-calgary-owned-oil-company

Another Trade Union Leader Assassinated in Colombia http://upsidedownworld.org/main/news-briefs-archives-68/2533-another-trade-union-leader-assassinated-in-colombia

The Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement: Forgery, Murder, and Deception http://upsidedownworld.org/main/news-briefs-archives-68/2530-the-canada-colombia-free-trade-agreement-forgery-murder-and-deception

Against the Odds: Fighting Canada’s Free Trade Deal With Colombia https://nacla.org/node/6604

CONGO

Patrice Lumumba `will live forever’ — exclusive book excerpt http://links.org.au/node/624

CUBA

HASTA SIEMPRE – COMANDANTE CHE GUEVARA

Rupert Cornwell: Ten years after Elian, US softens towards Cuba http://tinyurl.com/39d46cd

ERITREA

Everything You Are Not Supposed to Know about Eritrea: Interview of MohamedHassan Part1 Part2 Part3

GERMANY

The Painful Birth of a New German President by Victor Grossman http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2010/grossman010710.html

GREECE

Clashes have broken out between demonstrators and police at a protestagainst government spending cuts http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2010/06/2010629121248216143.html

“When injustice becomes the law, resistance is a duty!” TassosAnastassiadis, Andreas Sartzekis http://www.internationalviewpoint.org/spip.php?article1888

HAITI

The Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti (IJDH) have produced aneight-page report outlining grave concerns over the national election that hasrecently been set for November 28, 2010 by President Ren Prval. The reportoutlines a series of legal and political concerns about the course of democracyin Haiti over the past year, including the decisions of an unconstitutional andincreasingly arbitrary provisional electoral council. This is the body that issupposed to ensure free and fair elections. The report examines in detail thetwo decisions of that body in 2009 to exclude the Fanmi Lavalas party fromparticipation in national elections. http://ijdh.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Elections-Process-6-30-10_final-1.pdf

aiti’s leader rejects U.S. election proposals http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6600FA20100701?type=politicsNews

HONDURAS

One year on, Honduras rift persists – It is time for the US to stand withits Latin American neighbours and stop fighting to legitimise a repressiveregime http://tinyurl.com/27fafk7

INDIA

Bhopal: Corporate genocide, appeasement of imperialism, environmentalhypocrisy http://links.org.au/node/1766

Military Governance In Indian-Administered Kashmir By IPTK http://www.countercurrents.org/iptk300610.htm

IRAN

The Iranian Threat By Noam Chomsky – “They are gearing up totally for thedestruction of Iran,” according to Dan Plesch, director of the Centre forInternational Studies and Diplomacy at the University of London. “US bombersand long range missiles are ready today to destroy 10,000 targets in Iran in afew hours,” he said. “The firepower of US forces has quadrupled since 2003,”accelerating under Obama. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article25841.htm

“The Tragicomedy of Iran Sanctions.” – “… the 2007 US sanctions againstIranian banks ironically ensured Iran’s immunity from the global financialcrisis that was about to explode.” http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2010/05/201052271814825709.html

Heinonen Pushed Dubious Iran Nuclear Weapons Intel By Gareth Porter -OlliHeinonen, the Finnish nuclear engineer who resigned Thursday after five yearsas deputy director for safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA), was the driving force in turning that agency into a mechanism tosupport U.N. Security Council sanctions against Iran. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article25860.htm

IRAQ

In Case You Missed It – Iraq: The Hidden War Video – Iraq: The Hidden Storyshows the footage used by TV news broadcasts, and compares it with thedevastatingly powerful uncensored footage of the aftermath of the carnage thatis becoming a part of the fabric of life in Iraq. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article13420.htm

IRELAND

In Ireland, a Picture of the High Cost of Austerity http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/29/business/global/29austerity.html?ref=business&pagewanted=all

Eamonn McCann: “Bloody Sunday — a very British Atrocity” http://www.socialistreview.org.uk/article.php?articlenumber=11335

ICELAND

Icelander’s Campaign Is a Joke, Until He’s Elected http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/26/world/europe/26iceland.html?_r=1&src=tptw

KOREA

Korean Unionists Protest Free Trade Agreement with U.S. http://labornotes.org/node/1155

MEXICO

Steelworkers Condemn Mexican Government Attack on Cananea Miners http://www.usw.org/media_center/releases_advisories?id=0291

US Banks Financing Mexico Gangs Admitted in Wells Fargo Deal http://tinyurl.com/2925wus

After Failed Mexican Mining Strike—and NAFTA—A Push for NewNorth American Union http://axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/Article_60506.shtml

NEPAL

Nepali Maoists Debate the Next Leap in Revolution http://kasamaproject.org/2010/06/29/nepali-maoists-debate-the-next-leap-in-revolution/

PACIFIC

How the Fiji regime’s censorship contradicts the People’s Charter http://cafepacific.blogspot.com/2010/03/how-fiji-regimes-censorship-contradicts.html

West Papua: Independence movement defies repression http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/44585

PAKISTAN

Thousands of Punjab peasants rally to mark 10 years of struggle http://links.org.au/node/1769

PALESTINE

Demolitions, new settlements in East Jerusalem could amount to war crimes– UN expert http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=35175&Cr=Palestin&Cr1

Israeli foreign minister wants Palestinians stripped of citizenship andrelocated http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100626/FOREIGN/706259818

Israel’s discrimination against its Arab citizens http://tinyurl.com/27omj9p

Israel’s 1.5 Million Starving Prisoners – Israel’s four-year blockade ofGaza continues to trample the lives of 1.5 million innocents. http://www.alternet.org/story/147376/israel%27s_1.5_million_starving_prisoners?page=entire

SOUTH AFRICA

South Africa: FIFA, not migrants, are the real tsotsis http://links.org.au/node/1759

UK

Pensioner plans first trip to Dublin – Elizabeth Windsor divides opinion. Many feel that she is a dignified figure who deserves the love of a grateful nation. A grudgeful few hold the view that she’s the matriarch of a bunch of parasites who should be obliged to live on benefits in a council estate on the outskirts of an insalubrious northern English town. http://liammacuaid.wordpress.com/2010/07/02/pensioner-plans-first-trip-to-dublin/

How long can the housing market avoid a crash? http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/how-long-can-the-housing-market-avoid-a-crash-2014108.html

This may be Britain’s Abu Ghraib – The allegations of torture by British soldiers in Iraq bear chilling comparison with America’s worst excesses http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jul/03/abu-ghraib-baha-mousa

Iraq deaths in British custody could see military face legal challenges – MoD faces judicial inquiries as the Guardian raises questions over seven Iraqis who died while being held by UK troops http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/01/iraq-deaths-custody-military-legal

Mark Steel: If only we were all in it together http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/mark-steel/mark-steel-if-only-we-were-all-in-it-together-2008669.html

USA

Scenes from the social forum – But what did it accomplish? http://www.metrotimes.com/news/story.asp?id=15179

Social Forum Focuses on Workers’ Issues By James Parks http://blog.aflcio.org/2010/06/28/social-forum-focuses-on-workers-issues/

The High Budgetary Cost of Incarceration http://www.cepr.net/index.php/publications/reports/the-high-budgetary-cost-of-incarceration/

Burge Torture Victim Mark Clements Reacts To Guilty Verdict: ‘I Do Not Feel Sorry For Jon Burge’ (VIDEO) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/28/burge-torture-victim-mark_n_628543.html

New Study Documents Media’s Servitude to Government – American newspapers are highly inclined to refer to waterboarding as “torture” when practiced by other nations, but will suddenly refuse to use the term when it’s the U.S. employing that technique. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article25846.htm

Minnesota Nurses Strike Shows Emergence of Unions in Healthcare Industry http://axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/Article_60507.shtml

Interview: Sal Rosselli – NUHW and the fight for union democracy – The interim president of the National Union of Healthcare Workers talks about reviving militant unionism in California’s hospitals and beyond. http://socialistworker.org/2010/05/27/nuhw-and-fight-union-democracy

Los Suns also rise – The Phoenix Sun’s stand against Arizona’s SB 1070 should be an inspiration for us. ANYONE WHO believes that sports can’t be an effective platform for social justice needed only to watch Wednesday night’s game between Los Suns of Phoenix and the San Antonio Spurs. http://socialistworker.org/2010/05/07/los-suns-also-rise

Interview: Jeremy Scahill and Anthony Arnove – Rebranding war and occupation – Antiwar authors Jeremy Scahill and Anthony Arnove analyze the record of the Obama administration on foreign policy after five months in office. http://socialistworker.org/2009/06/17/rebranding-war-and-occupation

ZIMBABWE

Struggle, dictatorship and the response of the social movements http://links.org.au/node/1768