GPJA #407: RALLY TODAY 6.30PM TO PROTEST THE CLOSURE OF RAPE CRISIS – QE2 SQUARE AUCKLAND
December 16, 2011 Leave a comment
GLOBAL PEACE AND JUSTICE AUCKLAND NEWSLETTER No. 407, December 16, 2011
RALLY TODAY 6.30PM TO PROTEST THE CLOSURE OF RAPE CRISIS – QE2 SQUARE AUCKLAND
As sexual violence surges in New Zealand, thousands join last-ditch campaign to restore funding for Auckland’s 24/7 sexual violence help centre. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1W_cNOe3mFNeUAA0wX6SYvCt0j8ad7p2vap3mB2QZTm8/edit?hl=en_US&pli=1
Petition: Stop the closure of Auckland’s 24/7 sexual violence crisis service http://www.change.org/petitions/new-zealand-government-stop-the-closure-of-aucklands-247-sexual-violence-crisis-service
24/7 sexual abuse helpline faces closure http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/6144719/24-7-sexual-abuse-helpline-faces-closure http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/shock-as-retreat-of-arctic-sea-ice-releases-deadly-greenhouse-gas-6276134.html
ANZCO CMP LOCKOUT – 0900LOCKOUT PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD
Hi All, As you are aware, over 100 workers have been locked out since 19 October. ANZCO, a multinational, locked them out because they wouldn’t accept 20% pay cuts. The workers offered to sacrifice 10% of their pay but ANZCO refuses to budge and wants to starve the workers into accepting the full cuts. This is wrong, and especially at this time of the year. We need to step up the fundraising efforts to support these families, and give the kids of the locked out workers a Christmas.
Please spread the 0900 number – 0900 LOCKOUT to get more information and to make a $5 donation. Thanks, Helen Kelly, President NZCTU.
Send a message: Lock out of New Zealand meat workers entering its 3rd month http://cms.iuf.org/?q=node/1290
AUCKLAND FUNDRAISER – SAT DEC 17, 12 NOON, MIDCITY MCD’S, 260 QUEEN ST
Help stop the ANZCO grinch from stealing Christmas from the 100 children of locked out CMP Rangitikei workers. Join us in Auckland at the Midcity McDonalds at 260 Queen Street at 12 noon on Saturday 17 December. Midcity McDonalds is a ten minute walk up Queen Street from Britomart. (Google map here: simon.aart.oosterman or on 09 817 9222. Yours, Simon Oosterman
DEC 17 FUNDRAISING AND PICKETTING: GIVE LOCKED OUT KIDS A XMAS
On December 17 we will fundraise outside of McDonalds nationwide to buy presents for the children of locked out ANZCO CMP workers and continue to put pressure on ANZCO customer McDonalds. On October 19 ANZCO stopped three-year-old Tarshay’s mum, Tasha, and 100 of her co-workers from working. The multinational locked them out because they wouldn’t accept 20% pay cuts (which wouldn’t apply to managers). The workers offered to sacrifice 10% of their pay to help the company but ANZCO refused to budge and wants to starve the workers into accepting the full cuts. Tarshay and a hundred other children and grandchildren of the locked out workers face a bleak Christmas. ANZCO is a primary supplier of meat patties to McDonalds. We want McDonalds to help us get ANZCO to end the lockout and resolve the dispute fairly. Your help will make a difference. On December 3, supporters held actions at McDonalds from Whangarei to Invercargill. We raised over $1,000 and received widespread media coverage. We can do it again with your help.
1. Find a picket in your town – see below or see http://www.union.org/anzcolockout for further details
2. RVSP on Facebook and let us know which McDonalds you can picket here: http://goo.gl/CH15Z or contact the picket organizer
3. Organise a picket in your town if there isn’t already one by emailing us or calling on 027 501 6880
4. Prepare for the picket by following the instructions on running a succesful picket here: http://goo.gl/Alfu6
5. Download our poster: http://goo.gl/jr5MK (don’t forget to put your even location in the empty box!) and paste up around town and put it up at work or church. Learn how to make wheat paste here: http://goo.gl/tkWWM
6. Download our flyer: http://goo.gl/7ws4a
Here are the details for events around the country on Saturday December 17th and the organisers’ contact details:
Auckland: @ Midcity McDonalds at 260 Queen Street at 12 noon on Saturday 17 December. Simon Oosterman 021 885 410 simon.aart.oosterman
New Plymouth: 11.00am @ McDonalds New Plymouth. Sam Jones, 027 544 8563, sam.jones
Palmerston North: Meet at 12pm in the middle of the Square for a fundraising picnic with music and speeches followed by a march and picket at McDonalds. Tali Williams, 021 204 4087, tali.williams
Wellington: TBC. meet at 11. Heleyni Pratley, 029 494 9865 heleyni
Hamilton: Time TBC, Jared Philips, 029 494 9863, jared
Christchurch: 11am, McDonalds Linwood, contact – Georgie McLeod 0275016880
Hastings: 11.30 – 1.30 @ Hastings McDonalds. Contact Thomas O’Neil 0272046350
Dunedin: 12 – 2pm George St McDonalds, Andrew Tait 0276069549
Invercargill: Invercargil McDs, time TBA. Contact: Barbara Anderson, Barbara.anderson or 0272097436
Please let me know as soon as possible if you can help co-ordinate an action in your area. Yours, Georgie McLeod, Communications and Campaigns Advisor, Council of Trade Unions – Te Kauae Kaimahi, ph: 04 802 3817; cell: 027 501 6880.
OCTOBER15THSOLIDARITY.INFO NEWSLETTER
Tena koutou, you probably haven’t heard much in recent weeks about the upcoming trial for Taame, Rangi, Emily and Urs. The four are the last to still face charges from the state terror raids of 15th October 2007 and their trial will start on 13th February 2012 in the Auckland High Court. This date has been confirmed which means we all have less than TWO MONTHS to get ready and do what we can to support. There is plenty of things you can do. Here are a few ideas: 1. Talk to your whanau, friends and workmates about the trial and get them signed up to this email list (email us their address) and ‘like’ our facebook page to stay up to date: https://www.facebook.com/pages/October-15-Solidarity/25598818522 2. If you are in Auckland or planning to come to Auckland for the trial (or some of it – it is expected to last three (!) months), have a think about what you could do in terms of political and practical solidarity. 3. If you are a member of a union or a political group, get a story about this trial printed in your magazine to make the links between this trial and political activism and aspirations for tino rangantiratanga.
4. Write a letter to the editor – a great way to keep this show-trial in the public’s mind. 5. Watch ‘Operation 8’ – you can get it at many Video stores and libraries. Or you can buy a copy here: http://cutcutcut.com/Operation8.html 6. If you are in Wellington, go to the book launch this Saturday, 7pm at Thistle Hall. Some Justice, a book of political poems and lyrics by local Wellington punk poet and songwriter Ken Vicious, will be launched. The www.October15thSolidarity.info website is regularly updated. The website aims to be multilingual and gives background information aswell as updates on legal proceedings. There are poster, newsletters and leaflets available here: http://october15thsolidarity.info/en/node/236 A DROP THE CHARGES leaflet can be downloaded here: http://october15thsolidarity.info/sites/default/files/drop%20the%20charges%20A4.pdf
APPLICATIONS FOR 2012 PEACE SCHOLARSHIPS OPEN ON HUMAN RIGHTS DAY
White Poppies for Peace – 10 December 2011: Applications for White Poppy Peace Scholarships for research during the 2012 academic year opened today, Human Rights Day, on the sixty-third anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The Peace Scholarships comprise at least two grants that are awarded each year to assist students at any tertiary education institution in Aotearoa New Zealand with research into the impacts of militarism, militarisation and warfare; alternatives to militarism, militarisation and warfare; or collective non-violent responses to state violence. The formatted edition of this message is available at http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/psdec2011.pdf
WAIHOPAI PLOUGHSHARES APPEAL
This appeal is available online at http://www.facebook.com/notes/peace-movement-aotearoa/waihopai-ploughshares-appeal/273935145987195
On 30 April 2008, a Christian Ploughshares team – Adrian Leason, Father Peter Murnane and Sam Land – entered the grounds of the NZ Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) / US National Security Agency spy base at Waihopai and punctured the dome covering one of the two antenna to disable and draw attention to the role of the base – part of the US government’s global spy network – in the ‘war on terrorism’. They then built a shrine and prayed for the victims of the war with no end while waiting to be arrested.
In March 2010, after an eight day trial, the Waihopai Ploughshares were acquitted by the jury. In response, in October 2010, the Attorney-General lodged a civil claim for $1.2 million, on behalf of the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB). In August 2011, following a hearing in the High Court in Wellington, Associate Judge David Gendall issued a summary judgement awarding $1.2 million damages in the government’s favour, as well as court costs. A more detailed chronology of the events leading to that point is included below.
Since then, the Waihopai Ploughshares have lodged an appeal against the summary judgement – if the decision stands, it will be a major setback in terms of defences available in future for people acting on their conscience and taking non-violent direct action against military or signals intelligence bases.
Waihopai Ploughshares are now fundraising for the $6,000 required for the court fees so that the appeal can be heard. If the fee can be raised, the appeal will most likely proceed in March 2012.
This message, sent on behalf of Waihopai Ploughshares, is to ask you to consider contributing towards the cost of the court fees for the appeal. If you can assist, you can make a donation as follows: • by cheque: send your cheque, payable to ‘Peace Movement Aotearoa’, to Peace Movement Aotearoa, PO Box 9314, Wellington 6141, with your name and address so we can send you a receipt, and a note saying your donation is for Waihopai Plougshares; or • by internet banking or direct credit: make your donation to account 02 0536 0323908 08 – please put your name or organisation and ‘Ploughshares’ in the payee details / identifier section so we know who it is from and what it is for, and email pma with your physical address so we can send your receipt. Thank you.
Waihopai Ploughshares: chronology of events
On 30 April 2008, the Waihopai Ploughshares – Adrian Leason, Fr Peter Murnane and Sam Land – entered the grounds of the NZ Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) / US National Security Agency spy base at Waihopai and punctured the dome covering one of the two antenna to disable and draw attention to the role of the base – part of the US government’s global spy network – in the ‘war on terrorism’. They then built a shrine and prayed for the victims of the war with no end while waiting to be arrested. Their statement is available at http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/plshares.htm
The Waihopai Ploughshares trial started on 8 March 2010. Their defence was based on ‘claim of right’ (widely misreported by the media as a necessity defence) and on 17 March 2010, the trial jury acquitted the three defendants. An overview of the trial with links to more information is available at http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/plupdate.htm On 7 April 2010, the Attorney-General announced that the government would not appeal the verdict, but was considering suing Waihopai Ploughshares for (at that time) $1.1 million.
In October 2010, the Attorney-General lodged a civil claim for $1.2 million, on behalf of the GSCB – see for example, ‘$1.2m Crown seeking includes beer, pies’ at http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10679078
On 3 November 2010, the government announced that it would be limiting the ‘claim of right’ defence so that it could not be used in similar circumstances in future.
On 8 August 2011, there was an all-day hearing in the High Court as to whether the government would be awarded summary judgement of $1.2 million damages for the costs of repair of the spy base dome (and food and drink for the workers who repaired it) or whether the matter would proceed to trial – the decision hinged around whether or not the judge considered the three defendants had a chance of successfully arguing a case against the awarding of damages to the government. A brief overview of the defence case, which was based in part on the defences of necessity and self-defence / defence of another and in part on ex turpi causa, is available at http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=217666044947439
Associate Judge David Gendall’s decision was released on 31 August 2011. His judgement was that the defence did not have a case, and that summary judgement of $1.2 million damages was therefore awarded in the government’s favour, as well as court costs. The media release from Adrian Leason in response is available at http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=228892570491453
Waihopai Ploughshares are now appealing the decision if the decision stands, it will be a major setback in terms of defences available in future for people acting on their conscience and taking non-violent direct action against military or signals intelligence bases.
If you would like a copy of the High Court decision, please contact Peace Movement Aotearoa email pma
This chronology is available at http://www.facebook.com/notes/peace-movement-aotearoa/waihopai-ploughshares-chronology-of-events-leading-to-wednesdays-decision/229649693749074
INSIDE CHILD POVERTY
‘Inside New Zealand: Inside Child Poverty’, it will only be online for a limited time period at http://ondemand.tv3.co.nz/Inside-New-Zealand-Inside-Child-Poverty/tabid/59/articleID/4761/MCat/342/Default.aspx
ASK JOHN KEY TO KEEP HIS GOVERNMENT’S PROMISE ABOUT MINING OUR CONSERVATION LAND
From: Forest & Bird [mailto:enews] December 2011. Forest & Bird E-Alert. Helping you take action for your environment. Ask John Key to keep his government’s promise about mining our conservation land. This week the new government signalled that mining on public conservation
land is again on its agenda. It has broken the promise made last year to give all New Zealanders a say about significant mining projects on conservation land. On Monday, Conservation Minister Kate Wilkinson sent a letter to Forest & Bird saying the government will not publicly notify the access arrangement
for a planned 160-hectare open-cast coal mine on the Denniston Plateau. This would allow all New Zealanders to have a say on whether the mine should go
ahead. The Denniston Plateau is an extraordinary and wild part of New Zealand, with a unique ecosystem that is home to great spotted kiwi, kaka, West Coast geckos, giant land snails, bonsai rata and many other special plants and animals. For more information, see here.
http://royalforestandbirdprotectionsocietyofnewzealandinc.cmail3.com/t/r/l/ijtjird/aatumdj/d/ You can help. Please send this e-card
http://royalforestandbirdprotectionsocietyofnewzealandinc.cmail3.com/t/r/l/ijtjird/aatumdj/h/ to Prime Minister John Key today to ask him to keep his
government’s promise. Thank you very much from Forest & Bird. Forest & Bird NZ – Level One, 90 Ghuznee Street, PO Box 631, Wellington, New Zealand, Phone + 64 4 385 7374
EXPERIENCE THE REAL CUBA! JOIN THE 29TH ANNUAL SOUTHERN CROSS WORK-STUDY TOUR TO CUBA
Organised by the New Zealand – Australia Cuba Friendship Society 28 Dec 2011 to 20 Jan 2012. Be more than just a tourist join the 29th Southern Cross Work-Study Tour and support Cuba in the most direct manner by working alongside Cubans for a few days picking fruit, pruning or planting fruit trees or slashing grass and then visiting schools, hospitals, cultural sites & urban agriculture projects, etc. You’ll experience at first hand the cultural, political and social conditions in socialist Cuba. This year’s program will give participants an opportunity to celebrate the 51st anniversary of ICAP & gain an insight into how the Cuban people have triumphed over adversity to keep the revolution strong. For more information about the 29th Contingent of the Southern Cross Brigade visit the Brigade Webpage , email us or call 027 226 9950.
WHAT’S ON
Friday, December 9, 2.30pm -5.30pm, Ellerslie Events Centre, Auckland Racing Club, 80 Ascot Avenue, Remuera, Auckland
For Human Rights Day, the Human Rights Commission and the Netherlands Embassy invite you to a screening of There Once Was An Island;Te Henua o Nnoho, followed by a panel discussion with the filmmakers.
Friday, December 9, 7pm, 4/125 Grafton Rd, Auckland
Militant Labour Forum: “Documentary ‘The Green Chain’ How sawmill workers fought to expose company use of dangerous chemicals”. The Green Chain documents the fight by sawmill workers in the Bay of Plenty to bring to light the disastrous impact on their health of exposure to pentachlorophenol (PCP) – a chemical used in timber processing. Long-term effects have included high levels of cancer, respiratory problems, and heart and liver disease. The workers have continued their fight for more than two decades, winning some recognition of the harmful effects of the chemical and concessions from the government. This recent documentary features interviews with the workers who are leading the fight. Suggested donation $5 waged, $2 unwaged. By the corner of Grafton Bridge/Grafton Rd. Militant Labour Forums are held each week. Phone 369-1223 or email milauck To browse and buy Pathfinder Press books and the Militant newspaper, the hall is open one hour before the forum. For viewing at other times, call to make an appointment. On the web: Pathfinder Press books and pamphlets: www.pathfinderpress.com; The Militant: www.themilitant.com
Sunday, December 11, from 2.30pm to 4.30pm, Ponsonby Community Centre, 20 Ponsonby Terrace, Ponsonby, Auckland
You are invited to attend the Peace Movement Aotearoa Annual General Meeting With special guest Carol Archie, and a screening of ‘Family Land’. This invitation is available online at pma AGM Agenda: Apologies and remembrances, Minutes of the last AGM, Overview of Peace Movement Aotearoa’s work since the 2010 AGM, Presentation of the 2010/11 Financial Statements, Election of Working Group, General business, and Date and place of the next Annual General Meeting. Call for nominations to the Peace Movement Aotearoa Working Group (management committee): Working Group members should have a keen interest in peace and social justice issues, enthusiasm, a professional approach, a commitment to good employment practices, and be a Peace Movement Aotearoa member. If you wish to add items to the AGM agenda, send apologies, or nominate yourself or someone else to go on the Working Group, please contact email pma Peace Movement Aotearoa member group representatives: If you will be representing a Peace Movement Aotearoa member group at the AGM, please email pma in advance and let us know which group you are representing. Thank you.
Wednesday, December 14, 4.30-6pm, CTU, Level 7 Education House, 178 Willis Street, Wellington
PLEASE JOIN US TO FAREWELL OUR BURMESE STUDENTS: We hope you can join us for the graduation of and farewell to the students from the 2011 intake of the Burma Young Community Leaders programme. Please RSVP by December 9th to Karin Currie on 385-1334 or email: karinc
Saturday, December 17, 7pm, Thistle Hall (upstairs), Upper Cuba Street, Wellington
BOOK LAUNCH: Some Justice: a book of political poems and lyrics Hosted by Rebel Press. Rebel Press would like to warmly invite you to celebrate the launch of Some Justice: a book of political poems and lyrics by Ken Vicious, and to celebrate the end of 2011 and the birth of a new year. The party is on Saturday 17 December at 7pm at Thistle Hall (upstairs), Upper Cuba Street, Wellington and features readings from the book, along with music from Dead Vicious followed by dancing with DJs Frittermix and Snowpony. Some food and refreshments provided, but feel free to BYO, and pass this invite to other friends, comrades and family. Some Justice is a fundraiser for October 15th Solidarity and a proportion of the sale price of each book will go towards the fund. Cheers, the Rebel Press Collective
QUOTES OF THE WEEK
“So distribution should undo excess, and each man have enough.” [King Lear, Act 4, Scene 1] –William Shakespeare, English playwright (1564-161)
“Behind every great fortune is a crime.” – Honore de Balzac French novelist (1799-1850)
“It is reasonable to ask whether the people of Iraq will notice any change.” — US Congressman Dennis Kucinich on President Obama’s pledge to withdraw troops from Iraq but leave thousands of armed contractors and State Department employees.
“When you have a great deal of market power in the hands of one or two retailers, you will have abuses of power. That’s in the nature of things.” — British retail expert David Hughes on the Australian food retailing industry, dominated by Coles and Woolworths.
“YOU’RE right, we did it. But thanks to you, we won’t do it again.” Future Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke speaking to Milton Friedman in a speech celebrating the Nobel laureate’s 90th birthday in 2002. He was referring to Mr Friedman’s conclusion that central bankers were responsible for much of the suffering in the Depression.
“This will become known as the lost decade of the fight against climate change. Genocide and ecocide will reach proportions that we have not yet seen.” — Pablo Solón, Former Bolivian ambassador to the UN
"I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have: three meals a day for their bodies, – education and culture for their minds – and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits" – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
"Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth." – — Albert Einstein — (1879-1955) Physicist and Professor, Nobel Prize 1921
STAT OF THE WEEK
“Data from tax returns show that the top 1 percent of households in the United States received 8.9 percent of all pre-tax income in 1976. In 2008, the top 1 percent share had more than doubled to 21.0 percent.” http://inequality.org/inequality-data-statistics/
BEST ON THE WEB
NEW ZEALAND
24/7 sexual abuse helpline faces closure http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/6144719/24-7-sexual-abuse-helpline-faces-closure
Murray Horton: Welcome to Johnkeyistan! Don’t Worry, She’ll Be Right (In Every Sense Of The Word) http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1112/S00166/welcome-to-johnkeyistan.htm
Good public education is at risk http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/comment/6134611/Good-public-education-is-at-risk
Big fish-hooks in educational vision http://www.odt.co.nz/opinion/opinion/190702/big-fish-hooks-educational-vision
PSA: New study warns of the danger to industry training funding cuts http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/top-stories/12354720/new-study-warns-aof-the-danger-to-industry-training-funding-cuts/
On the coalition agreements http://gordoncampbell.scoop.co.nz/2011/12/12/gordon-campbell-on-the-coalition-agreements/
Rich-poor gap is NZ’s shame http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10772328
A Decent Job – Right or Privilege http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU1112/S00332/a-decent-job-right-or-privilege.htm
Show us where the money is coming from for charter schools John? http://i.greens.org.nz/press-releases/show-us-where-money-coming-charter-schools-john
Why do we need charter schools? http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/comment/6110717/Why-do-we-need-charter-schools
Otara orchestra hits all the right notes http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/6121831/Otara-orchestra-hits-all-the-right-notes?mid=54
Petitionto the New Zealand Government: Stop the closure of Auckland’s 24/7 sexual violence crisis service http://www.change.org/petitions/new-zealand-government-stop-the-closure-of-aucklands-247-sexual-violence-crisis-service
Nicky Hager Interview On "Other Peoples Wars" http://plainsfm.org.nz/on-demand/earthwise05dec11/
Matt McCarten: A battle between popularity and experience http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10772324
Bennett accused of ‘beneficiary bashing’ http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/6122067/Bennett-accused-of-beneficiary-bashing
RNZ: Insight for 11 December 2011 – Housing Affordability (audio)
Brian Rudman: Sth Auckland’s kids forced to be guinea pigs in school experiment http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10772596
Tapu Misa: Secret of successful schools of concern to us all http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10772559
In our thousands, in our millions, we are all Palestinians … Tigilau Ness and Roger Fowler at the Kia Ora Gaza fund-raising event in Mangere, South Auckland, New Zealand 26 Nov 2011. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=SXZv7ZY04Fc&mid=54
Outspoken stands needed on global warming http://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/opinion/6124963/Outspoken-stands-needed-on-global-warming
Hundreds of low paid aged care workers to hit the streets today http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/top-stories/12318086/low-paid-aged-care-workers-to-hit-the-streets-today/
What is the Fijian Govt trying to hide? Australian and NZ unions to go ahead with visit despite reported ban
Harawira: Maori Party lured by baubles of office http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/6126671/Harawira-Maori-Party-lured-by-baubles-of-office?mid=5504
Gordon Campbell On the Labour leadership change http://gordoncampbell.scoop.co.nz/2011/12/13/gordon-campbell-on-the-labour-leadership-change/
State Of It: No Crystal Ball Needed To Define Ideology Plan by Selwyn Manning http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1112/S00050/state-of-it-no-crystal-ball-needed-to-define-ideology-plan.htm
David Shearer New Labour Leader – Presser Audio/Video/Pics http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1112/S00081/david-shearer-new-labour-leader-presser-audiovideopics.htm
Jon Stephenson & Glenn Williams Discuss NZ Media & Reporting On Afghanistan http://livenews.co.nz/2011/12/jon-stephenson-glenn-williams-discuss-nz-media-reporting-on-afghanistan/
Retaining skilled rail workforce needs to be a priority for Transport Minister http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1112/S00175/retaining-skilled-rail-workforce-needs-to-be-a-priority.htm
PEACE RESEARCHER ONLINE
Contents Page Online: http://www.converge.org.nz/abc/prcont42.htm
The GCSB: How Much Do We Pay? – by Warren Thomson
Spooky Bits – by Warren Thomson
The Bougainville Peace-Broking Experience Revisited – by Maire Leadbeater
Military Spending: Out Of Control – by Warren Thomson
Australia’s Military – Growing Power, Growing Ambition – by Warren Thomson
More Media Warmongering – by Dennis Small
Reviews by Jeremy Agar "Other People’s Wars" – by Nicky Hager ; "A History Of The World Since 9/11" – by Dominic Streatfeild
Obituary by Kate Dewes Patricia Morrison
CAFCA/ABC Organiser Account 2010/11 – by Warren Brewer
New Treasurer For Organiser Account: Warren Brewer Replaces Bob Leonard – by Murray Horton
Biggest Ever Donation To The Organiser: Thank You, Ron Resnick by Murray Horton
NZ ECONOMY
Opinion: Bernard Hickey argues the RBNZ should nudge the banks to ‘burn some profit fat’ rather than pass on higher funding costs to borrowers and savers. http://www.interest.co.nz/opinion/57077/opinion-bernard-hickey-argues-rbnz-should-nudge-banks-burn-some-profit-fat-rather-pass
Latest manufacturing results confirm problems in wood industry http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU1112/S00303/manufacturing-results-confirm-problems-in-wood-industry.htm
Bernard Hickey: What’s all the noise about the global downturn? http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10772316
Taxman chalks up a big win against overseas ‘tax avoiders’ in NZ$300 http://www.interest.co.nz/news/57129/businessdesk-taxman-chalks-big-win-against-overseas-tax-avoiders-nz300-mln-plus-case
Gareth Morgan and Susan Guthrie: Inequality will lead us to a grim future http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10772838
BusinessDesk: Kiwi households save money for the first time in 11 years http://www.interest.co.nz/print/57197
OCCUPY AOTEAROA
Occupy trespass case adjourned http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/6102227/Occupy-trespass-case-adjourned
Pitch your tents somewhere else, Occupy protesters told http://www.3news.co.nz/Pitch-your-tents-somewhere-else-Occupy-protesters-told/tabid/423/articleID/235815/Default.aspx#ixzz1gBwTYsrh
Auckland: Occupy Auckland http://www.occupyauckland.org/ Facebook http://www.facebook.com/OccupyAuck
Wellington: Occupy Wellington http://www.facebook.com/OccupyWellingtonNZ
Christchurch: Occupy Ōtautahi Christchurch http://occupychristchurch.org/ Facebook http://www.facebook.com/occupychristchurch
Dunedin: Occupy Dunedin Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Occupy-Dunedin/141220149310691
OCCUPY WALL STREET
Michael Moore: The Winter of Our Occupation …a proposal http://www.europe-solidaire.org/spip.php?article23685
The Future of the Occupy Movement http://www.europe-solidaire.org/spip.php?article23684
Global Inequality: Tackling the Elite 1% Problem http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/poverty-matters/2011/nov/28/global-inequality-tackling-elite-national
Global rebellion: The coming chaos? Global elites are confused, reactive, and sinking into a quagmire of their own making, says author William I. Robinson http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2011/11/20111130121556567265.html
The ancestors of Occupy: Paul LeBlanc is a history professor at La Roche College in Pittsburgh and the author of numerous books, including most recently Marx, Lenin, and the Revolutionary Experience: Studies of Communism and Radicalism in an Age of Globalization. In mid-November, he spoke at Occupy Boston, as part of the movement’s Howard Zinn Lecture Series. http://socialistworker.org/2011/12/12/the-ancestors-of-occupy
FEATURES
The Great Depression: lessons from the past http://tinyurl.com/7geh9xh
The Stop Online Piracy Act: Class War in Cyberspace by Dean Baker, Truthout http://www.truth-out.org/stop-online-piracy-act-class-war-cyberspace/1323095436
Feeding The Monster – Militarization And Privatized "SECURITY" In Central America http://upsidedownworld.org/main/international-archives-60/3347-feeding-the-monster-militarization-and-privatized-security-in-central-america
Class and Capitalism in the Gulf – The Political Economy of the GCC by Adam Hanieh http://www.socialistproject.ca/bullet/578.php#continue
Legal Scholars Release Critical Analysis of U.S. Proposals for Intellectual Property and Pharmaceutical Chapters of the Trans Pacific Partnership http://infojustice.org/archives/6360
Fidel Castro: Genocidal cynicism (Part 1) http://www.granma.cu/ingles/reflections-i/reflection-12nov-1.html (Part 2) http://www.granma.cu/ingles/reflections-i/14NOV-47Reflex2.html
Marching Off the Cliff By Noam Chomsky – To gain perspective on what’s happening in the world, it’s sometimes useful to adopt the stance of intelligent extraterrestrial observers viewing the strange doings on Earth. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article29914.htm
Assange On Mass Surveillance: ‘You are all screwed!’ – Video – Wikileaks founder Julian Assange speaking to journalists and students at a press conference at City University London in central London on December 1, 2011
LAND, LABOUR & THE ENVIRONMENT
2011 COP17 succumbs to Climate Apartheid! http://www.climate-justice-now.org/2011-cop17-succumbs-to-climate-apartheid-antidote-is-cochabamba-peoples%E2%80%99-agreement/?mid=54
Declaration of the indigenous peoples of the world to COP17 http://climateandcapitalism.com/?p=6179
Capitalism and the Accumulation of Catastrophe by John Bellamy Foster http://monthlyreview.org/2011/12/01/capitalism-and-the-accumulation-of-catastrophe
Global carbon emissions reach 10 billion tonnes – Global carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels have increased by 49 per cent in the last two decades, according to the latest figures. If this continues, catastrophic climate change is inevitable http://climateandcapitalism.com/?p=6199
A vicious attack on the poor – Instead of confronting the system that creates poverty and causes environmental degradation, the population controllers aim to eliminate the poor. http://climateandcapitalism.com/?p=6183
Outing the oligarchy: The billionaires who benefit from today’s climate crisis – New report identifies the 50 ultra-rich individuals whose investments benefit from climate change and who block efforts to phase out pollution from fossil fuel http://climateandcapitalism.com/?p=6157
‘Climate smart’ agriculture’ – another World Bank resource grab targets Africa’s poorest farmers http://climateandcapitalism.com/?p=6152
Greening Work in an Age of Uncertainty: Is There Something Worse than Climate Change Denial? By Steven Tufts http://www.socialistproject.ca/bullet/579.php
Fukushima crisis raises nuclear energy costs to level on par with thermal power generation http://www.europe-solidaire.org/spip.php?article23762
WORLD ECONOMIC CRISIS
Soros: World Financial System on Brink of Collapse http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2011/12/01/soros-world-financial-system-on-brink-of-collapse/
General Analysis on Inequality of Wealth and Income Distribution http://tinyurl.com/7n7yg7j
British and Greek Workers Strike for All of Us http://inequality.org/british-greek-workers-strike/
Factories stall worldwide, U.S. jobless claims rise http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/01/us-global-economy-pmi-idUSTRE7B00WJ20111201
Lessons of the 1930s – There could be trouble ahead http://www.economist.com/node/21541388/print
Reports from the Economic Front by Martin Hart-Landsberg: European Nightmare http://tinyurl.com/7x56njk
The End of Capitalism? – David Harvey (Penn Humanities Forum, 30 Nov 2011)
Robert Fisk: Bankers are the dictators of the West http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-bankers-are-the-dictators-of-the-west-6275084.html
Depression and Democracy By PAUL KRUGMAN http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/12/opinion/krugman-depression-and-democracy.html?_r=1
CULTURAL DISSENT
Capitalism Makes Me Sick http://www.brooklynrail.org/2011/11/express/capitalism-makes-me-sick
Important we should still hear the call of the Wilde http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/3715610.html
New Pappe book highlights plight of forgotten Palestinians http://electronicintifada.net/content/new-pappe-book-highlights-plight-forgotten-palestinians/10668?mid=54
CANADA
Dossier on the Housing and Shelter Crisis in Attawapiskat and Other Indigenous Territories in Canada http://rogerannis.weebly.com/indigenous-peoples.html
Gitxsan chiefs’ treaty office taken over in Enbridge pipeline protest http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Gitxsan+chiefs+treaty+office+taken+over+Enbridge+pipeline+protest/5820676/story.html
Gitxsan History of Resistance http://www.gitxsan.com/our-history/history-of-resistence.html
CHILE
Camila Vallejo, Chile’s iconic student leader, loses election – Left-wing candidate Gabriel Boric elected to lead Universidad de Chile student federation.
CHINA
Shanghai strike enters 8th day amid wave of unrest in China http://tinyurl.com/7lk9bwc
Strikes spread amid economic slowdown http://chinaworker.info/en/content/news/1673/
Sit-in strike by Hitachi workers in Shenzhen http://chinaworker.info/en/content/news/1676/
Shanghai Hi-P strike: Protest against company’s strike-breaking methods http://chinaworker.info/en/content/news/1675/
The Global Crisis Reaches China: Unrest Spreads as Growth Stalls: China’s leaders are currently contending with declining demand, rising debt and a real estate bubble. Some factories are laying off workers, suffering financial losses or even closing as orders from crisis-plagued Europe dry up. http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,802308,00.html
CONGO
Mineral profits fuel Congo violence http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/49676
CUBA
Human rights in Cuba: A reality for all and every Cuban http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO1112/S00337/human-rights-in-cuba-a-reality-for-all-and-every-cuban.htm
GREECE
Shipowners thrive despite crisis http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite2_25700_07/12/2011_417765
GUATEMALA
Guatemala investigation yields 2,082 victims of US syphilis experiments, finds 6 survivors: A Guatemala investigation of a 1940s U.S. experiment that intentionally infected people in the Central American nation with sexually transmitted diseases says the number of victims is higher than previously thought. http://wapo.st/tkhtqk
HAITI
Haiti Grassroots Watch/Ayiti Kale Je has just published a groundbreaking, seven-part study on the past, present and future of sweatshop factory investment in Haiti. It is titled, Haiti "Open For Business" http://haitigrassrootswatch.squarespace.com/haiti-grassroots-watch-engli/2011/11/29/haiti-open-for-business.html
A text version of the study is posted to the Canada Haiti Action Network website. It includes a printable pdf, which is 30 pages. This version contains the most important information that is displayed in the charts, notably figures on the minimum wage and on average salaries of factory workers. http://www.canadahaitiaction.ca/content/haiti-%E2%80%9Copen-business%E2%80%9D
INDONESIA
Strikes and protests as discontent rises http://www.europe-solidaire.org/spip.php?article23712
Indonesia’s crisis of leadership http://www.europe-solidaire.org/spip.php?article23711
IRELAND
Reports from the Economic Front – by Martin Hart-Landsberg: Ireland: “Good” Countries Finish Last http://tinyurl.com/ckfy7ts
IRAN
War on Iran has already begun. Act before it threatens all of us – Escalation of the covert US-Israeli campaign against Tehran risks a global storm. Opposition has to get more serious http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/dec/07/iran-war-already-begun
ITALY
Italy’s unions dig in over proposed austerity measures
KAZAKHSTAN
Mass strikes and protest action by oil workers in Mangystau Province http://www.europe-solidaire.org/spip.php?article23755
LIBYA
Tripoli in lockdown as Libya authorities try to drive out militias http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/dec/07/tripoli-lockdown-libya-militias
Libyan commander: ex-rebels needed in Tripoli for now http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=49451
Thousands protest in Benghazi, Libya http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/World/20111212/benghazi-libya-protest-111212/
Libya One killed as "rebels" attempt to assassinate country’s new army commander http://bit.ly/tJcISW
Protest in Libya capital against former rebels: Hundreds of residents and policemen in Tripoli protested jointly on Wednesday against former rebels who toppled Moamer Kadhafi but are still camping out in the capital and parading their weapons. http://bit.ly/uS8WCX
MEXICO
John Pilger: Mexico’s universal struggle against power and forgetting http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/49670
PACIFIC
Solidarity with the Freeport workers: Six thousand of our comrades at PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) have been on strike since September 15. They are demanding a wage increase to US7.5 per hour…. http://www.internationalviewpoint.org/spip.php?article2403
PAKISTAN
Tariq Ali: What next for Pakistan’s President Zardari? There is little doubt that Pakistan’s army want him out, so Asif Ali Zardari’s trip to Dubai could well spell the end of his presidency http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/dec/07/memogate-pakistans-terrible-mess
Rare Photographs Show Ground Zero of the Drone War: Be advised: Many of these pictures are disturbing. Some of them show dead children. http://bit.ly/rYK1f0
Pakistan Says U.S. Drones in its Air Space Will be Shot Down By NBC News – According to the new Pakistani defense policy, "Any object entering into our air space, including U.S. drones, will be treated as hostile and be shot down," http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article29946.htm
PALESTINE
Artists Violating Cultural Boycott of Israel: Moral Inconsistency and Logical Incoherence http://www.pacbi.org/etemplate.php?id=1582
Shocking Clip: Israeli Checkpoint Cruelty
Gaza: reflections on resilience by Jonathan Chadwick – There is a danger in giving an account of the human damage sustained there that an image will be given of Gaza as a society of victims. Gaza is an exceptional social, political and economic space full of extraordinary paradoxes. It is not a bomb-site. http://www.opendemocracy.net/jonathan-chadwick/gaza-reflections-on-resilience?mid=54
Amnesty: Record number of Palestinians displaced by demolitions as Quartet continues to talk http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/record-number-palestinians-displaced-demolitions-quartet-continues-talk-2011-12-13?mid=5519
New report documents children under fire in Gaza – AlertNet: Twenty-eight children have been shot at near the border fence http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/new-report-documents-children-under-fire-in-gaza?mid=551
Thousands protest Israel Bedouin relocation plan http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=444101&mid=551
Thousands mourn protester killed at Nabi Saleh http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=444045&mid=551
Terrorists control The White House
Record number of Palestinians displaced by demolitions as Quartet continues to talk http://palsolidarity.org/2011/12/record-number-of-palestinians-displaced-by-demolitions-as-quartet-continues-to-talk/
Nedal, 14 years old, collected metal to support his family – they shot him from behind http://palsolidarity.org/2011/12/nedal-14-years-old-collected-metal-to-support-his-family-they-shot-him-from-behind/
RUSSIA
Russia’s revolt against Tsar Putin http://tinyurl.com/7og3nrc
Making the Case Against the Kremlin BY Amy Knight http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2011/dec/06/making-case-against-kremlin/
Russia’s Great December Evolution http://www.thenation.com/blog/165102/russias-great-december-evolution?rel=emailNation
SAUDI ARABIA
Amnesty: Protesters and reformists targeted in name of security http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/saudi-arabia-protesters-and-reformists-targeted-name-security-2011-12-01
SYRIA
Bullets & bombs ‘humanitarian aid’ to help Syria?
NATO dreams of civil war in Syria By Pepe Escobar http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/ML15Ak03.html
THAILAND
Peua Thai Government lines up with the Military http://www.europe-solidaire.org/spip.php?article23746
UK
Bagram jail detainee unlawfully held, court rules: Appeal court tells British ministers to ask US to end Yunus Rahmatullah’s seven-year ordeal at notorious Afghan prison http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/dec/14/bagram-jail-detainee-yunus-rahmatullah
USA
Mumia’s supporters continue to push for freedom
Senate Panel’s Probe Of CIA Torture Program Concludes It Was "Far More Widespread And Systematic Than We Thought": It could have been big news, if U.S. torture weren’t so anathema to the press corps, such that reporting upon it is considered either a fruitless and unprofitable enterprise http://pubrecord.org/torture/9912/feinstein-senate-panels-probe/
Beyond Guantánamo, a Web of Prisons for Terrorism Inmates: It is the other Guantánamo, an archipelago of federal prisons that stretches across the country, hidden away on back roads. Today, it houses far more men convicted in terrorism cases than the shrunken population of the prison in Cuba that has generated so much debate. http://nyti.ms/ua0TGl
Land of the free, home of the hungry – Nowhere is the chasm between America’s political class and its working poor more vast than in the demand to cut food stamps http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/dec/09/land-of-free-home-of-hungry
An Open Letter from America’s Port Truck Drivers on Occupy the Ports http://cleanandsafeports.org/blog/2011/12/12/an-open-letter-from-america%E2%80%99s-port-truck-drivers-on-occupy-the-ports/
VENEZUELA
Chavez: 2012 will be the October revolution http://venezuelatranslatingtherevolution.blogspot.com/2011/12/chavez-2012-will-be-october-revolution.html
VIETNAM
Enterprises attack draft Labour Code http://www.intellasia.net/news/articles/legal/111349237.shtml
YEMEN
Yemenis protest in thousands against Saleh loyalists in new cabinet: Tens of thousands of Yemenis marched in the streets of the Yemeni capital today, chanting "no partnership with murderers", in reference to former regime loyalists that have been appointed to the newly formed unity government. http://bit.ly/tKQnbH
OLDER ANNOUNCEMENTS
KEEP THE COAL IN THE HOLE SUMMER FESTIVAL – MATAURA, SOUTHLAND, NZ. 20-23 JANUARY 2012
You are warmly invited……to gather for a Summer Festival and camp. We will share ideas, skills, knowledge, enthusiasm and take action now to oppose lignite mining in the Mataura Valley. This event will be fun, friendly and 100% coal-free! We’ve got the Festival Kaupapa, detailed Festival Information and our Programme. For more information or to get involved in Festival organising please Email Us.
WAIHOPAI SPYBASE PROTEST JANUARY 20-22, 2012
The Waihopai spybase was subjected to unprecedented public attention by the March 2010 trial and acquittal of the three Ploughshares peace activists who penetrated its high security in 2008 and deflated one of the two domes concealing its satellite dishes from the NZ public. This legal saga has continued into 2011 with the Government changing the law to prevent their grounds of defence being used again and then suing the three activists personally for the $1.2 million damage to the dome. The Anti-Bases Campaign was happy to support this non-violent direct action anti-war activity, from start to finish. The public face of New Zealand’s role as an American ally is the NZ military presence in Afghanistan. But New Zealand’s most significant contribution to that, and other American wars, including the one in Iraq, is the Waihopai electronic intelligence gathering base, located in the Waihopai Valley, near Blenheim. It is controlled by the US, with New Zealand (including Parliament and the Prime Minister) having little or no idea what goes on there, let alone any control. First announced in 1987, Waihopai is operated by New Zealand’s Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) in the interests of the foreign Powers grouped together in the super-secret UKUSA Agreement (which shares global electronic and signals intelligence among the intelligence agencies of the US, UK, Canada, Australia and NZ). Its two satellite interception dishes intercept a huge volume of civilian telephone calls, telexes, faxes, e-mail and computer data communications. It spies on our Asia/Pacific neighbours, and forwards the material on to the major partners in the UKUSA Agreement, specifically the US National Security Agency (NSA). Its targets are international civilian communications involving New Zealanders, including the interception of international phone calls. Post- 9/11 the GCSB and Waihopai now spy further afield, to those regions where the US is waging wars. The codename for this – Echelon – has become notorious worldwide as the vast scope of its spying has become public. New Zealand is an integral, albeit junior part of a global spying network, a network that is ultimately accountable only to its own constituent agencies, not governments, not citizens. Join us for the weekend of anti-war protest at this spybase. Come prepared for roughing it and camping out. We provide the food (we cater for vegetarians but vegans will have to bring their own). Bring sleeping bag, groundsheet, a tent, torch, water bottle, eating utensils, clothing for all weather, and $40 (or $20 unwaged) to cover costs. No open fires. How to find our camp at Whites Bay: turn off SH1 at Tuamarina (9km north of Blenheim or 20 km south of Picton) and drive to Rarangi on the coast. Follow the steep Port Underwood Road over the hilltop before descending to the Whites Bay turnoff. There is a DoC public camp at the bay with basic facilities. ABC has to pay a fixed charge per head. Waihopai does not operate in the interests of New Zealanders or our neighbours. Basically it is a foreign spybase on NZ soil and directly involves us in America’s wars. Waihopai must be closed. Organised by the Anti-Bases Campaign, P.O. Box 2258, Christchurch. E-mail cafca www.converge.org.nz/abc $40 Registration ($20 unwaged). Make all cheques to ABC
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