GPJA #450: WAIHOPAI SPYBASE PROTEST JANUARY 18-20, 2013

GLOBAL PEACE AND JUSTICE AUCKLAND NEWSLETTER No. 450, January 3, 2013

APPEAL FOR WITNESSES AND VIDEO CLIPS FROM TPP PROTEST.

Hi everyone, As a result of the protest against the TPP on 8 December outside Skycity one of our protest group is facing a serious charge of assault with intent to injure a police officer. We are helping to co-ordinate the defence and we need witnesses and video footage of the incident where the police officer with motorbike helmet (Robocop?) grabbed a woman around the neck and wrestled with her on the ground. If you were directly or indirectly involved in the incident please get in touch with us urgently. Please send video footage to mike as well as write down NOW what you actually saw of the incident and send that through as well. You can also call or text John Minto at 0220850161.

XMAS

We hope all GPJA supporters have a good break with family and friends over Xmas and New Year.

First GPJA Forum for 2013: Monday 4th February – Trades Hall, 147 Great North Road, 7pm

Breaking the siege of Gaza: Roger Fowler from Kia ora Gaza was in Gaza at the time of the latest Israeli attacks and he will speak of his experiences. Support for the BDS campaign (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) will be an important part of GPJA’s work in 2013 so we welcome you all to this important meeting to help set the scene for 2013.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

WAIHOPAI SPYBASE PROTEST JANUARY 18-20, 2013

The Kim Dotcom saga has certainly put the NZ Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) and its Waihopai spy base smack bang into the glare of the spotlight.

Not coincidentally this is happening in the same year that the Government has got New Zealand back into ANZUS in all but name. NZ has hosted its first visit from a US Defense Secretary for 30 years and he offered to base US marines here. For the first time since the 1980s, American troops have trained here; NZ troops have trained in the US; and NZ warships have taken part in US-led naval exercises. How ironic that all this was happening at the same time as the country was celebrating the 25th anniversary of our nuclear free law.

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 the global American warfighting machine is, and has been for more than 20 years, 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 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, and certainly not citizens.

Join us for the weekend of anti-war protest at this spy base. 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 spy base on NZ soil and directly involves us in America’s wars.

Waihopai must be closed.

Email abc for further registration information.

2012 ROGER AWARD PEOPLE’S CHOICE

Cast your vote at http://bit.ly/UIq28W For the first time, the organisers of the Roger Award for the Worst Transnational Corporation Operating in Aotearoa/New Zealand are inviting the public to have their say by voting online for the People’s Choice winner. This is an online poll only; the field is restricted to the eight finalists fro the 2102 Roger Award listed at the People’s Choice Website, along with brief information about why each of them was selected; the People’s Choice winner will be announced at the same May Day event in Wellington at which the Roger Award judges announce their winner. The judges’ choice is the actual winner of the Roger Award and, as always, will be accompanied by a detailed Judges’ Report and Financial Analysis. There will be no equivalent reports about the People’s Choice winner. Please help to publicise this. Spread the word. Season’s greetings, Murray Horton, Secretary/Organiser

BALSA MINDANAO SMR UPDATED URGENT APPEAL FOR THE VICTIMS OF TYPHOON PABLO

If you wish to donate, do so via PSNA and our good friends at Christian World Service will transmit the money to BALSA Mindanao for us, in one lump sum (doing it that way means that none of the money raised has to be spent on the extortionate international money transfer fees charged by banks). You can send your donation by cheque to: PSNA, Box 2450, Christchurch. Accompany it with a note saying “Flood appeal”, and include your e-mail address, so that we can acknowledge it. Or you can deposit your donation directly into PSNA’s bank account:

Philippines Solidarity Network, Kiwibank, 155 The Terrace, Wellington. 389000 0792619 00 Include your name and “Flood donation”. And please e-mail us, at this address, to tell us that you’ve made the deposit, so that we can look out for it online.

Best wishes, Murray Horton, Secretary, PSNA, Philippines Solidarity Network of Aotearoa. Box 2450 Christchurch, New Zealand

cafca

www.converge.org.nz/psna

Dear friends, Attached is our updated (Dec 14) urgent appeal for relief and rehabilitation of the Davao region provinces affected by Typhoon Pablo . Please distribute this to your networks and get it out to as many people as possible.

Mindanao is still in a state of calamity and crisis as a result of the typhoon. Pablo was the strongest storm to hit Mindanao in more than 40 years and has left nearly one thousand people dead in its wake, hundreds missing and injured. The more than 5 million farmers, agricultural workers, and lumads (indigenous peoples) who were physically and economically displaced have to date limited access to food, drinking water and medical care.

BALSA Mindanao (Bulig alang sa Mindanao/Help for Mindanao) is a broad Mindanao-wide network of church and church-based organizations, schools, disaster response NGOs, local executives, professional groups, youth and students, women, partylists, and concerned individuals. It is a citizen-led response to the immense humanitarian crisis brought about by Typhoon Sendong. It is a people’s mobilization for disaster response and climate justice. It relies on a stream of volunteers from all over Mindanao, who bring with them various expertise and contributions needed to help empower and rebuild affected communities.

Balsa’s Relief and Rehabilitation Operations are composed of the following services: Relief distribution, Medical Mission (with minor surgical operations), and Psychosocial Therapy for Children and other victims suffering from trauma.

Photos of the relief missions can be found here:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.275436545912541.62388.138498292939701&type=1

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151127380426601.429429.199210461600&type=3

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.230418027090687.58646.100003674730558&type=1

We need to raise 3,655,000 pesos (US$90,000) to undertake this next round of relief missions – the full budget is in the attached appeal. This is allot of money for us to to raise, we need your urgent assistance. Please let us know if your able to help out in anyway.

This is a personal account of witnessing the devastation of Pablo. https://www.facebook.com/notes/fr-fausto-pops-tentorio-foundation-inc/3-days-post-pablo/275426772580185

SPECIAL CALL FOR DONATIONS TO HELP BANGLADESHI GARMENT WORKERS

Hi everyone, Some of you may know that I run a small non-profit called Aotearoa Solidarity Network, which donates money to a Bangladeshi organisation helping garment workers. This is a Christmas appeal for donations to help keep their organisation up and running.

– Duncan

You may have read recently about a tragic fire in a Bangladeshi garment factory that killed at least 112 workers on November 24.

(if not you can read this article). Sadly this is not a lone incident. Recent fires at garment factories in Bangladesh and Pakistan have killed hundreds of workers.

Big companies supplying clothing to us in the West, put profits before safety and refuse to ensure fire safety standards are enforced in the factories that supply the clothes they sell.

Currently labour activists like Kalpona Akter from the Bangladesh Center for Workers Solidarity (BCWS) are hard at work uncovering Multinational’s like Walmart, Enyce and Dickies who used the factory as a supplier and who need to held accountable.

Aotearoa Solidarity Network (ASN) is a non-profit organisation set up to help garment workers in Bangladesh. We take donations and send them directly to the Bangladesh Center for Workers Solidarity. ALL proceeds go directly to BCWS (minus a Western Union transfer fee).

This message is a special call for donations so that BCWS can continue their important work. PLEASE consider making a donation

BCWS have been instrumental in getting companies like Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein to sign up to comprehensive fire safety programmes.

BCWS also maintains programs on labour rights education, leadership training, conflict resolution and runs a night school as well as a day-care centre for children of garment workers. Thanks to the work of BCWS many workers can enjoy their legal benefits, including maternity leave, and exercise their right to form and join unions.

PLEASE DONATE TODAY and help save lives of the most vulnerable and lowest paid workers in the world

BCWS have been under constant attack from the Bangladeshi Government because they are so effective in fighting for garment workers’ rights.

In 2010 their leaders were arrested and tortured, their offices ransacked and their bank accounts closed down.

This year, Aminul Islam, a BCWS organiser, was taken by the Bangladeshi National Security Intelligence and brutally tortured and murdered

BCWS and the garment workers of Bangladesh need our help.

Aotearoa Solidarity Network will be making a Western Union transfer on 20 December.

PLEASE consider making a donation today, or setting up a regular donation to keep this vital organisation running

In Solidarity, Duncan Allan, Sole volunteer for ASN

PEACE RESEARCHER ISSUE # 44 NOVEMBER 2012

A Dotcomedy Of Errors. GCSB Illegally Spies On New Zealanders: We Told You So – by Murray Horton
Back Into Bed With Uncle Sam: A Loyal Satellite Once More – by Murray Horton

Killing Bin Laden: The Legitimatising Of State Terrorism by Dennis Small

The Campaign To Demilitarise Harewood by Maire Leadbeater

Spooky Bits by Warren Thomson

Resisting The Roots Of War by Dennis Small
Case Study: The 1965-70 Indonesia Genocide by Dennis Small

CAFCA/ABC Organiser Account: Financial Report 2011/12 by Warren Brewer

Review by Jeremy Agar “Organize: Building From The Local For Global Justice”, edited by Aziz Choudry, Jill Hanley and Eric Shragge

Obituaries by Murray Horton & Evin Wood Larry Ross, Rosa Oliver

APPLICATIONS FOR 2013 PEACE SCHOLARSHIPS OPEN ON HUMAN RIGHTS DAY

White Poppies for Peace. 10 December 2012. Applications for White Poppy Peace Scholarships for research during the 2013 academic year opened today, Human Rights Day, on the sixty-fourth 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. Information about how to apply for and support the Peace Scholarships is included below.

The Peace Scholarships open on Human Rights Day each year to draw attention to the link between militarism and human rights. While the link between armed conflict and gross violations of human rights is obvious, the link between militarism and human rights is perhaps less well known. The United Nations was established in 1945 to “save succeeding generations from the scourge of war”, to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights and in the dignity and worth of the human person, and for member states to live together in peace with one another as good neighbours. [1] As one way to progress these worthy goals, the UDHR was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 10 December 1948 in recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family as the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world. [2]

Yet sixty-seven years after the UN was established, the vision of the UN Charter and the UDHR has not yet been fully realised, in part because of the dominance of the ideology of militarism – “the policy of maintaining a military organisation in aggressive preparedness for war” [3] – which has a negative impact on the enjoyment of economic, civil, cultural, political and social rights around the world.

One way this can be readily illustrated is by looking at the prioritisation of military expenditure over social spending. Last year global military expenditure was more than $1,738 billion (US$), an average of more than $4.7 billion a day. By way of contrast, on average, 24,000 children under the age of five die every day from mainly preventable causes – lack of access to adequate food, clean water and basic medicines. That is one of the prices paid, the collateral damage that is seldom talked about, for maintaining armed forces in a state of combat readiness around the world.

Among the other harmful effects of militarism is the acceptance of the belief that violence is an acceptable way to resolve conflict, an acceptance that seldom occurs in other aspects of daily life, and the way this actively prevents the exploration of other ways of resolving conflict. Militarism is what keeps the global cycle of violence going round and round in a downwards spiral.

The purpose of the Peace Scholarships is to increase understanding of the role of New Zealand governments (past and present) in the global cycle of violence; of the impacts of militarism, militarisation and warfare here and overseas; and of alternative ways of resolving conflict.

About the Peace Scholarships

The Peace Scholarships comprise at least two grants that are awarded each year to assist 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 Peace Scholarships are for students at any tertiary education institution in Aotearoa New Zealand. Each grant is a minimum of $1,000 – one is for a Maori or Moriori student, with the other/s open to any student with New Zealand citizenship or permanent residency. The Peace Scholarships are entirely funded by donations, including those collected during the White Poppies for Peace Annual Appeal (17 to 24 April). The number and amount of the grants awarded annually is determined by the amount raised during each year.

How to apply for a Peace Scholarship

Guidelines for applicants are available at peacescholarship The deadline for applications for Peace Scholarships to assist with research in the 2013 academic year is Friday, 1 March 2013.

How you can support the Peace Scholarships

There are two ways you can support the Peace Scholarships – by making a donation, or by helping to collect donations for white poppies, an international symbol of remembrance for all the casualties of war and of peace. Your generosity will help to promote peace by directly supporting research into militarism, militarisation and warfare. To make a donation by cheque, please use the form at peacescholarship and we will provide the details for you. A tax credit receipt is sent for all donations.

To support the Peace Scholarships by collecting donations for white poppies: if you can assist with the White Poppies for Peace Annual Appeal, 17 to 24 April, please fill in and return the form at whitepoppies if you would like to have white poppies available at a peace event at any time during the year, please email whitepoppies with your request.
References: [1] Charter of the United Nations, Preamble; [2] Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Preamble; [3] Collins English Dictionary, William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd, 1986, 2nd edition

DEMAND EQUAL PAY – PLEDGE YOUR SUPPORT NOW

Please circulate this to all your networks and ask them to make a call to action to show support for ‘Demanding Equal Pay’ by going to http://demandequalpay.org.nz to pledge support to show the NZ government there is public support for adopting a new legislative framework to create transparency and openness around gender pay issues within the workplace in New Zealand.

The YWCA want to give this a really BIG push this week so really appreciate your help here.

WHAT’S ON IN AOTEAROA/NEW ZEALAND

Thursday and Friday 14 & 15 February 2013, AUT University Business School, 42 Wakefield St, Auckland city

Supported by the Occupational Health and Safety Research Group, AUT University; the NZCTU; the SFWU; the University of Auckland and the NZ Industrial Relations Foundation Trust Inc. PRECARIOUS WORK AND THE LIVING WAGE IN OUR COMMUNITIES. Two Day Symposium and Workshops. Keynote speakers include: Guy Standing, Professor of Economics, University of London; Malcolm Sargeant, Professor of Labour Law, Middlesex University; Iain Campbell, Senior Research Fellow, RMIT University; Deborah Littman, Metro Vancouver Alliance. This symposium will include in-depth discussions on the employment of vulnerable workers and the current developments around a living wage in New Zealand and around the world. We encourage participants from academia, unions, NGOs, faith communities and government agencies to attend. There is a charge of $40 per day. Attendees must register to: work.research More info: www.workresearch.aut.ac.nz/ohs www.livingwagenz.org.nz

Saturday, February 16, 9am – 5.30pm, Blockhouse Bay Boat Club, end of Endeavour St, Blockhouse Bay, Auckland

The Workshop for Agents of Change is an interactive, transformational workshop designed to deepen our understanding of what it means

to be an Agent of Change, and to empower our capacity to address humanity’s most pressing issues. All participants will receive a resource

notebook from the day that includes worksheets, resources and inspiration. Participation by koha: Participants are invited to contribute with great love commensurate with their experience.

Monday, April 15

2013 Global Day of Action on Military Spending: 15 April 2013 – if you would like to be involved in the 2013 Global Day of Action in Aotearoa New Zealand, or would like your organisation listed as a pma

BEST ON THE WEB

NEW ZEALAND

Treasury documents show charter schools plan must be dumped http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1212/S00400/treasury-documents-show-charter-schools-plan-must-be-dumped.htm

Matt McCarten: The MPs who could and should have done better http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10856531

Support the ‘Idle No More’ movement http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1212/S00347/support-the-idle-no-more-movement.htm

Fee rise a bitter pill to swallow for many http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/8123840/Fee-rise-a-bitter-pill-to-swallow-for-many

Indigenous protest movement spread to NZ http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10857061

CTU: Public surgical centres should not be run by private contractors http://union.org.nz/news/2012/public-surgical-centres-should-not-be-run-private-contractors

POVERTY & WELFARE DEBATE

Shocking disparities exist in child obesity – expert http://www.voxy.co.nz/health/shocking-disparities-exist-child-obesity-expert/5/143351

Beneficiary ‘Impact’ Sees Shocking Need for Food Grants http://www.indymedia.org.nz/articles/561

Child abuse fueled by poverty and lack of support – paediatrician http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10857042

WORKRIGHTS NZ

CTU: MBIE and Forest Owners Collude to Deny Workers Info http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1212/S00339/mbie-and-forest-owners-collude-to-deny-workers-info.htm

Christchurch teachers vote for strike action, challenge law

STATS OF THE WEEK

Twenty years ago, the CEO of fast-food giant McDonald’s pocketed compensation that equaled about 230 times the pay of a full-time McDonald’s worker paid the federal minimum wage. The $8.75 million the McDonald’s CEO took home last year, notes a Bloomberg analysis, topped the take-home of a full-time McDonald’s minimum wage worker by 580 times.

Net worth of world’s richest rose by $241B in 2012: The richest people on the planet got richer in 2012, adding $241 billion to their collective net worth, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a daily ranking of the world’s 100 wealthiest individuals. http://is.gd/ZYvbqT

Cost of War in Iraq & Afghanistan Since 2001 = $1,409,195,692,685 http://www.costofwar.com/

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

“It is alarming to see hotbeds of tension and conflict caused by growing instances of inequality between rich and poor, by the prevalence of a selfish and individualistic mindset which also finds expression in an unregulated financial capitalism.”

Pope Benedict XVI , annual New Year’s message, January 1, 201

“Economic inequality begets political inequality and vice versa. Then the very vision that makes America special — upward mobility and opportunity for all — is undermined. One person, one vote becomes one dollar, one vote. That is not democracy. That is political decay.”

Joseph Stiglitz, The price of inequality, Christian Science Monitor, October 17, 2012

FEATURES

Suliman: ‘Al Jazeera plays the piper, but Qatar calls the tune’ http://www.dw.de/suliman-al-jazeera-plays-the-piper-but-qatar-calls-the-tune/a-16477490

Africa’s ‘rising’ or overdue uprising? http://links.org.au/node/3163

WORLD ECONOMIC CRISIS

A Major Attack on Labor Rights in the U.S. as the Federal Reserve Makes Another Inflationary Move http://tinyurl.com/a5svo9o

Monsters of the Market: An interview with Professor David McNally https://soundcloud.com/frombeyondthemargins/monsters-of-the-market

The Ten Most Outrageous Economic Calamities of 2012 – From blatant robbery to money laundering, here are the biggest scandals of 2012 banking history. http://www.alternet.org/economy/ten-most-outrageous-economic-calamities-2012

The world economy: prospects for 2013 http://thenextrecession.wordpress.com/2012/12/31/the-world-economy-prospects-for-2013/

LAND, LABOUR AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Solutions exist to avoid climate disaster http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/53008

Pablo Solon: Strike four for climate change negotiations — rethinking our strategies http://links.org.au/node/3160

CULTURAL DISSENT

The Truth About Zero Dark Thirty By Alex Gibney [2] http://www.alternet.org/print/news-amp-politics/truth-about-zero-dark-thirty

Untold History: Early US Imperialism, Hitler, Roosevelt, The Spanish Civil War

Springsteen’s Wrecking Ball and the Plague of the 99% http://monthlyreview.org/2012/12/01/springsteens-wrecking-ball-and-the-plague-of-the-99

A flawed project by Vijay Prashad – The book both stimulates and obfuscates a discussion on Indian nationalism. Review of Perry Anderson’s The Indian Ideology http://www.frontlineonnet.com/stories/20130111292607700.htm

AFGANISTAN

U.S. Military Needs to Leave Afghanistan and Stop Widening Drone Strikes http://www.cepr.net/index.php/op-eds-&-columns/op-eds-&-columns/us-military-needs-to-leave-afghanistan-and-stop-widening-drone-strikes

AUSTRALIA

How much tax does big business in Australia pay? http://enpassant.com.au/2012/12/23/how-much-tax-does-big-business-in-australia-pay/

BOLIVIA

Bolivian president predicts era of peace and love instead of apocalypse http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/dec/20/evo-morales-bolivia-mayan-apocalypse

Bolivia Set To Banish Coca-Cola To Mark Mayan End Of Capitalism http://www.forbes.com/sites/andersonantunes/2012/08/01/bolivia-set-to-banish-coca-cola-to-mark-mayan-end-of-capitalism/

Bolivia nationalizes Spanish-owned electrical utilities http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/business/a/-/world/15734886/bolivia-nationalizes-spanish-owned-electrical-utilities/

CANADA

Idle No More: Indigenous-Led Protests Sweep Canada for Native Sovereignty and Environmental Justice http://www.democracynow.org/2012/12/26/idle_no_more_indigenous_led_protests

National chief urges Canadians to ‘stand with us’ http://news.ca.msn.com/top-stories/national-chief-urges-canadians-to-stand-with-us-2

Canada’s First Nations protest heralds a new alliance – The grassroots IdleNoMore movement of aboriginal people offers a more sustainable future for all Canadians http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/dec/20/canada-first-nations-new-alliance

Canada’s indigenous movement gains momentum – Are the country’s First Nations groups being denied their rights and being targeted by the government? http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/insidestoryamericas/2013/01/20131282718188634.html

Canada’s “Maple Spring” – From the Quebec Student Strike to the Movement Against Neoliberalism http://www.socialistproject.ca/bullet/752.php

CHILE

Student Movement Marks Radical Shift in Chilean Politics

Eight Are Charged With Chilean Singer’s 1973 Murder After Military Coup http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/29/world/americas/eight-charged-with-victor-jaras-1973-murder-in-chile.html

CHINA

Defying Mao, Rich Chinese Crash the Communist Party http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323723104578187360101389762.html

CONGO

Under The Tree Of Talking | Congo: The Unpopular Struggle – As the crisis in Congo creeps into the headlines, JJ Bola provides an account of the recent developments, international involvement and the immense suffering the world continues to ignore. http://ceasefiremagazine.co.uk/congo-unpopular-struggle/

CUBA

An Extraordinary Success – Medical Internationalism in Cuba http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/12/14/medical-internationalism-in-cuba/

EGYPT

First Fighting Islamists, Now the Free Market http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/world/first-fighting-islamists-now-the-free-market-667906/

INDIA

‘Defend women’s right to freedom without fear! Ensure swift and sure punishment for rape!’ http://links.org.au/node/3158

Crimes against women increase in India – As anti-rape protests continue in Delhi, statistics paint a bleak and worsening picture of gender-based violence. http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2012/12/2012122991735307545.html

INDONESIA

Indonesia’s killing fields – 101 East speaks exclusively to some of the Indonesians who participated in the systematic murder of millions. http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/101east/2012/12/2012121874846805636.html

In Indonesia, Human Rights Body Lacks Teeth http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/328218/asean-human-rights-body-lacks-teeth

IRAQ

A decade on from the failure of the Iraq War, are we any wiser about when, and when not, to intervene? http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/a-decade-on-from-the-failure-of-the-iraq-war-are-we-any-wiser-about-when-and-when-not-to-intervene-8431088.html

IRELAND

People & Power : Collapse of the Celtic Tiger

MEXICO

2012: Year of Indigenous Resistance in Mexico http://www.cipamericas.org/archives/8769

PACIFIC

Protests Continue on Nauru and Manus Island http://www.indymedia.org.nz/articles/569

PAKISTAN

New Report Sheds Light on Bin Laden Murder, as Pakistan Faces Fallout from U.S.-Led Vaccination Plot http://www.democracynow.org/2012/12/21/new_report_sheds_light_on_bin

PALESTINE

As the ANC Votes to Support BDS, a New Film Compares Life in Palestine to Apartheid South Africa http://www.democracynow.org/2012/12/21/as_the_anc_votes_to_support

Survivors of Israeli offensive on Gaza give heartbreaking testimonies in new video http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/adri-nieuwhof/survivors-israeli-offensive-gaza-give-heartbreaking-testimonies-new-video

Gaza Interview #21: Wafaa H. Aburahma, Translator and English teacher at the British Academy of Languages http://kiaoragaza.wordpress.com/2012/12/26/gaza-interview-21-wafaa-h-aburahma-translator-and-english-teacher-at-the-british-academy-of-languages/

How The New York Times erases Israel’s crimes http://electronicintifada.net/content/how-new-york-times-erases-israels-crimes/12042

Nakba Revisited: Tragedy of Syria’s Palestinians and Centrality of Right of Return http://palestinechronicle.com/nakba-revisited-tragedy-of-syrias-palestinians-and-centrality-of-right-of-return/

Video: The General’s Son – Miko Peled is a peace activist. Born in Jerusalem in 1961 into a well-known Zionist family, his grandfather, Dr. Avraham Katsnelson was a Zionist leader and signer of the Israeli Declaration of Independence. http://palestinechronicle.com/video-the-generals-son/

Why is cosmetics brand “Yes to Carrots” trying to hide its ties to Israel? http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/why-cosmetics-brand-yes-carrots-trying-hide-its-ties-israel

PHILIPPINES

2012: Where is the Aquino presidency heading to? http://bulatlat.com/main/2012/12/30/2012-where-is-aquino-presidency-heading-to/

SINGAPORE

Singapore strikes shed light on workers’ woes – Strikes by migrant workers in the Southeast Asian nation are exposing fault lines in the country’s social fabric. http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2012/12/20121219101942542403.html

SOUTH AFRICA

Politics, Profits And Policing After The Marikana Massacre By Patrick Bond http://www.zcommunications.org/politics-profits-and-policing-after-the-marikana-massacre-by-patrick-bond

ANC endorses ‘boycott Israel’ campaign http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/53062

Cyril Ramaphosa http://www.forbes.com/profile/cyril-ramaphosa/

South Africa’s ANC vetoes plan to nationalize mining http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-business/african-and-mideast-business/south-africas-anc-vetoes-plan-to-nationalize-mining/article6611394/

Terry Bell: The tortuous road from 1996 to Mangaung http://links.org.au/node/3143

The ‘Secrecy Act’ is coming http://terrybellwrites.com/2012/12/28/the-secrecy-act-is-coming/

SYRIA

Robert Fisk: A word of advice about the Middle East – we’ve reached the ‘tipping point’ with cliches – You’ve got to be careful when Syria’s rebels are perpetually “closing in” http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/a-word-of-advice-about-the-middle-east–weve-reached-the-tipping-point-with-cliches-8430495.html

How Syria is Being Ripped Apart by Foreign Meddling and Sectarian War http://www.alternet.org/world/unmaking-syria-how-country-being-ripped-apart-foreign-meddling-and-sectarian-war

Syrian rebels sidetracked by scramble for spoils of war – Looting, feuds and divided loyalties threaten to destroy unity of fighters as war enters new phase http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/dec/27/syrian-rebels-scramble-spoils-war

TUNISIA

Siliana uprising wins demands http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/53015

USA

 

The Connecticut massacre and America’s estrangement from reality http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/12/2012121713401092628.html

Was the 2012 election really a referendum? A response to Bill Fletcher Jr. and Carl Davidson http://louisproyect.wordpress.com/2012/12/25/was-the-2012-election-really-a-referendum-a-response-to-bill-fletcher-jr-and-carl-davidson/

Dockworkers Strike Threatens to Close East Coast Port http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/27/business/dockworkers-strike-threatens-to-close-east-coast-ports.html

The 12 Biggest Labor Stories of 2012 (PHOTOS) http://inthesetimes.com/article/14371/the_top_12_labor_stories_of_2012_slideshow

As Walmart Makes Safety Vows, It’s Seen as Obstacle to Change http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/29/world/asia/despite-vows-for-safety-walmart-seen-as-obstacle-to-change.html?_r=0

VENEZUELA

21st Century Eco-Socialism? Struggles over Nature in Venezuela – An interview with Santiago Arconada http://www.socialistproject.ca/bullet/749.php

Washington Post Predicts Disaster for Venezuela, So What if They Turn Out Wrong for the 19th Time? http://tinyurl.com/autuuu4