GPJA 497 (1 of 3): Sat – Cuban solidarity evening / Action against poverty block party

GLOBAL PEACE AND JUSTICE AUCKLAND NEWSLETTER No. 497, April 4, 2014

WHAT’S ON IN AOTEAROA/NEW ZEALAND

Saturday, April 5, 5-7pm, Art Station, 1 Ponsonby Rd, Auckland
“I will die the way I lived” is an exhibition of 15 paintings by Antonio Guerrero, one of the Cuban Five, who is unjustly imprisoned in the United States. The opening event is on Saturday, April 5 from 5-7pm, at Artstation, 1 Ponsonby Road, central Auckland. The exhibition runs until April 24. The April 5 event will begin with Cuban food and mojitos. The Cuban ambassador, Maria del Carmen Herrera, will open the exhibit. There will be dance and music performances by Tupua Tigafua, Peter Leupolu, and Harry Jones and friends. The Cuba Friendship Society in Auckland is organising this exhibition to build support for the international campaign to free the Cuban Five. Please come along and bring others. Attached is a leaflet that can be used to tell others about the opening event and exhibition. If you want to offer your assistance in any way, please reply to this email or phone Ina (09) 303-1755 or Malcolm 021-151-7887.

Saturday, April 5, 6.30pm, cnr Vincent St & Mayoral Drive, Auckland
AAP Block Party against poverty

Monday, April 7, 5:00 – 6:30pm, 766 Sandringham Road Extension, Mt Roskill, Auckland
The Auckland Refugee Community Coalition (ARCC), the Refugee Council of NZ and the New Zealand National Refugee Network (NZNRN) Warmly invites you to attend a presentation by: Paul Power, CEO of the Refugee Council of Australia, Deputy Chair of the Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific geographic working group of Asia-Pacific Refugee Rights Network (APRRN. aul’s presentation will cover: – What is happening with refugees in Australia? – The importance of collaboration between refugees, NGOs and government – Asia Pacific Refugee Rights. Some finger food will be provided. RSVP: Kafeba96 ajakoabann / arif / 0212548776

Wednesday, April 9, 4-7pm, 35 George St, Kingsland, AucklandLiving Wage Campaign Auckland network planning. It’s election year and we have a strategy to develop to put public pressure on politicians to make the Living Wage a reality. Join us at for our planning workshop.

Saturday, April 12, 11am-1pm, Westpac Newmarket, 298 Broadway, Newmarket, Auckland
After 4 months of asking Westpac to stop financing climate change and the destruction of the Denniston Plateau – one of New Zealand’s most special places, Auckland Coal Action, Coal Action Network Aotearoa and 350.org are asking Westpac customers to join us and Make The Switch to another bank. Come join us and close your Westpac account on Saturday. www.aucklandcoalaction.org

Tuesday, April 15th, 7pm, The Wine Cellar, St Kevin’s Arcade, Auckland
Boots Riley of The Coup! Tickets $25 pre-sale or $30 on the door. Doors 7pm. Boots will be doing a political discussion and q an a, followed by an acoustic performance. Since 1991, Boots Riley has been the dynamic lyricist behind hip hop group THE COUP, whose albums have been lauded by everyone from Rolling Stone to Village Voice, but most importantly, by the fans who have been inspired by the message and launched positive social change through such projects as The Young Comrades, and Guerilla Hip-Hop Concerts”. His collaborations have included the likes of Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine, Dead Prez, and E-40 and Spice-1.
http://www.undertheradar.co.nz/gig/38235/Boots-Riley.utr
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Boots-Riley/109295882423679

Thursday, April 24, 4-6pm, AUT Library Foyer, Level 4, WA Building, City Campus, Auckland
BOOK LAUNCH: Don’t Spoil My Beautiful Face: Media, Mayhem and Human Rights in the Pacific Publisher: Little Island Press. Pacific Media Centre supporters are invited to the launch of PMC director Professor David Robie’s new book on the media, politics and the Pacific, with a foreword by Kalafi Moala. Guest speakers: Dr Sitiveni Ratuva and TVNZ Pacific affairs correspondent Barbara Dreaver, who will launch the book. http://www.pmc.aut.ac.nz/events/book-launch-dont-spoil-my-beautiful-face-media-mayhem-and-human-rights-pacific

April 25-27, Sir Paul Reeves Building, AUT city campus, Auckland
Militarisation in the Pacific: Women, Peace and Security. A regional meeting convened by WILPF Aotearoa. The meeting will comprise two days of information sharing through panels, workshops and presentations, and one day of work on WILPF activity in the region. Women from around the Pacific will be coming to the meeting to share information about issues, such as foreign military bases, being under military occupation, the links between globalization and militarization. It will be a great opportunity to meet our sisters from around the region and learn firsthand about issues of peace and security in the Pacific.
The programme:
Friday 25 April: 12 noon – a welcome followed by lunch. 2.00pm – an informal information sharing session for WILPF women to speak about the situation in their country. In the evening there will be a public screening of the documentary, Noho Hewa by film maker Anne Keala Kelly. The film is about the effects of militarization and historical and ongoing colonization on Kanaka Maoli, the indigenous people of Hawaii.
Saturday 26 April 9.00am – 5.00pm. There will be a mixture of workshops, plenary presentations and panel discussions.
Sunday 27 April will focus on WILPF business, in particular, the 100th birthday in 2015 and the possibility of the Asia-Pacific WILPF sections working together as a regional grouping within International WILPF.
For further detail go to www.wilpf.org.nz (The site is being regularly updated).
Registration now open via wilpfaotearoa

Sunday, April 27, 2-4pm, Thorndon School Hall, Wellington
Memorial Service. Part of the Workers Memorial Day events. We are having three events – the forestry memorial service on 27 April and the collection and procession to Parliament on 28 April to remember all workers killed at work. Plans are shaping up well for the three events to mark workers memorial day but we need some assistance from affiliates to ensure that these Wellington events are great for members from all unions.

Monday, April 28, 2 noon, Midland Park to Parliament
Workers Memorial Day procession

GPJA Special Forum: Monday 5th May 7.30pm at Trades Hall, 147 Great North Road Grey Lynn.
Guest Speaker Murray Horton from the Christchurch-based CAFCA (Campaign against Foreign Control of Aotearoa) and the ABC (Anti Bases Campaign) Murray will be speaking on: “Who’s running the show and in whose interests?” and focusing on: People’s Rights before Corporate Profit; Public service, not private profit; An independent foreign policy; No unjust secret treaties. Murray’s GPJA forum is part of a nationwide tour. We don’t see him often in Auckland so we welcome everyone to what will be an entertaining, amusing and politically important presentation.

Friday, May 9, 4-6pm, Room WG808 (Level 8), Sir Paul Reeves Building, AUT University
WHAT THE MEDIA DON’T TELL YOU: WHO’S RUNNING THE SHOW? AND IN WHOSE INTEREST? "We want an independent Aotearoa, based on policies of economic, military and political self-reliance, using Aotearoa’s resources for the benefit of the people of Aotearoa. "This country needs people power to let the world know that Aotearoa is not for sale." – Murray Horton, spokesperson for the Campaign Against Foreign Control of Aotearoa (CAFCA) and the Anti-Bases Campaign (ABC).

Saturday, May 10, 7.30pm, Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington.
DREAMS LIE DEEPER – A CONCERT COMMEMORATING MINERS EVERYWHERE. The Orpheus Choir of Wellington, the city’s much-acclaimed symphonic choir, has programmed a major concert entitled Dreams Lie Deeper, as a tribute to miners the world over. It brings together three premières of choral music dedicated to miners, inspired by historical events that recall the tragedies, the struggles and also the rejoicing when rescue from a mining disaster was achieved. The theme of the evening will be dedicated to mining communities and a commemoration of events that have irrevocably changed the course of their lives.
The major work in the programme is the New Zealand première of 17 Days, by young UK composer James McCarthy. He was commissioned to compose a piece by Crouch End Festival Chorus, dedicated to the dramatic rescue of the Chilean miners in 2010. The work was premiered in the Barbican Theatre London in 2011 and received a standing ovation; a second performance last year was received with the same acclamation. It is a very moving expression of the tremendous emotion the whole world felt during those 17 days when the miners were underground and no word had yet been heard from them.
At our concert, the award-winning Wellington Brass Band and Wellington Young Voices, a recently established children’s choir in the city, join us in this very powerful presentation.
The second première is If Blood Be the Price, a work by New Zealand composer Ross Harris, inspired by the 1912 Waihi Miners’ Strike, and is set to a poem by NZ Poet Laureate Vincent O’Sullivan. The significance of the tragic consequence of the industrial action by those Waihi workers is indelibly written into mining history in this country, and the performance will be an evocative reminder of the working life of those who work under the ground.
The final focus of "Dreams Lie Deeper" will be on the tragedy that threw a whole community into turmoil and brought their plight into every New Zealand household overnight – the Pike River Mine disaster. The concert will showcase a new work by high profile and well-loved singer/songwriter, Dave Dobbyn, who has been commissioned to write both the lyrics and music for a tribute to the miners who lost their lives in the tragedy of 2011.

Saturday, May 24, 9:45am – 5:30pm, Cityside Baptist, 8 Mt Eden Road, Newton, Auckland
Amnesty International Annual Meeting & Skillshare 2014. The date is set and the venue booked! Amnesty International is holding its Annual Meeting to celebrate human rights heroes, tell you about our priority campaigns and give you a say on important Amnesty matters. This year’s meeting will take place on 24 May and gives you the chance to participate in the direction and decision making your organisation. oin us the following day for a Skillshare where you’ll get the opportunity to exchange skills and knowledge with activists from around New Zealand. The day also includes training and more in-depth workshops on our current campaigns. Where: Auckland Venue: TBC. When: 25 May 2014, 10am – 3pm. http://www.amnesty.org.nz/get-involved/annual-meeting-2014

ANNOUNCEMENTS

PEACE MOVEMENT AOTEAROA
White poppies, Hawaiian & UN visitors, Global Day of Action on Military Spending, WWI anniversary and the 2014 National Peace Workshops.
Greetings, this message has updates and information on:
1) the 2014 White Poppies for Peace Appeal;
2) the 2014 Global Day of Action on Military Spending;
3) the visit of Native Hawaiian filmmaker Anne Keala Kelly;
4) the visit of the UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Angela Kane; and
5) the consultation on alternatives to the government’s WWI anniversary programme and the 2014 National Peace Workshops.
This information is available online at https://www.facebook.com/PeaceMovementAotearoa/notes and the formatted version is at http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/update0314.pdf

CPAG: SAVE THE DATE: FRIDAY 16 MAY
Please save the date for CPAG’s annual post budget breakfasts on Friday, May 16. What will the 2014 budget hold for children? Join us for breakfast to hear our analysis of how the 2014 budget affects children and young people. We’re holding breakfasts in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch with the possibility of extending events to Whangarei, Hamilton and Dunedin! Watch out for more details soon. http://tinyurl.com/mqakeww

A NEW INTRODUCTION TO INEQUALITY IN NEW ZEALAND
Bridget Williams Books has just launched a new short work, ‘The Inequality Debate: An Introduction’, which is drawn from the opening chapters of Inequality: A New Zealand Crisis. http://www.bwb.co.nz/books/the-inequality-debate Available in paperback for $14.99 and as an e-book for just $4.99, it sets out the basic facts about how inequality has grown in New Zealand, and brings the figures in the original work right up to date.
I’m excited about this publication – it’s an ideal ‘way in’ for people not yet familiar with the issue. So if you know anyone who’s curious to know more but who wouldn’t immediately pick up the longer work, this could be the book for them. It’s available to purchase here and in selected bookshops. Thanks, Max Rashbrooke

GCSB RADIO PLAY – 3PM, SUNDAY, APRIL 6, NATIONAL RADIO
On February 10 of this year Prime Minister John Key revealed a small number of New Zealand citizens had joined rebel groups in Syria, “some of which have ties to Al Qaeda.” He said the Government had “pretty good” intelligence on rebel supporters in New Zealand. Two weeks later Radio New Zealand recorded GCSB, a 60-min radio drama looking at a surveillance operation mounted by the Government Communications Security Bureau.

Chad Huber sits with Rory McGrath. “Syria’s on our agenda, Rory. We monitor everyone connected to it, everyone going to it, coming from it. People get—” Chad pauses, searching for the word “—radicalised by what’s going on there. Doesn’t mean anyone would seek out targets here, but it’s sensible to take precautions.”

A Syrian refugee, Yana Walid, has enrolled in Dr Rory McGrath’s course in security studies at Auckland University.

Why? Something to shove on the CV? Something more sinister?

An agent attached to the GCSB, Chad Huber, seeks out Rory for information.

Rory’s an old friend, a defender of the New Zealand intelligence network. He’s appeared before Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee and spoken in favour of the Government Communications Security Bureau Amendment Act, allowing for increased intelligence internet surveillance.

He’s happy to help Chad out.

He questions Yana, reports back to Chad that Yana’s family background is that of support for the regime there and she’s here simply as a refugee from a never-ending civil war.

Rory thinks that’s the end of the matter—until his teenage son tells him Rory’s computer is running slow. Why is it running slow? Because all Rory’s incoming internet and email data is being re-routed and copied elsewhere.

Rory is being monitored…

Two weeks after GCSB was recorded, NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden claimed the United States’ spy agency helped find or create loopholes in New Zealand law to enable widespread spying.

GCSB, National Radio, 3pm, Sunday April 6.

MURRAY HORTON SPEAKING TOUR: MARCH 31-MAY 29, 2014 – WHO’S RUNNING THE SHOW? AND IN WHOSE INTERESTS?
Murray Horton is the long serving Organiser and spokesperson for two Christchurch-based groups, the Campaign Against Foreign Control of Aotearoa (CAFCA) and the Anti-Bases Campaign (ABC). He has been a political activist since the late 1960s and has a national profile as a campaigner, writer, speaker, organiser and researcher.
Between the end of March and the end of May he is undertaking an election year national speaking tour, from Dunedin to Kaitaia, and many places inbetween (he has been doing these election year tours for a couple of decades, most recently in 2011).
The full itinerary is at http://2014cafcatour.blogspot.co.nz/p/blog-page.html
Murray will be speaking on four broad topics, which are central to both CAFCA and ABC: People’s Rights Before Corporate Profit; Public Service Not Private Profit; An Independent Foreign Policy; No Unjust Secret Treaties. These topics include subjects such: as transnational corporations’ tax avoidance; corporate welfare; asset sales; spying abuses by the GCSB/NSA; the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) and Five Eyes, plus plenty more. The speech concentrates on the big picture and is accompanied by a wealth of corroborating material which provides the detail.

JOIN THIS YEAR’S AUSTRALIAN SOLIDARITY DELEGATION TO VENEZUELA DECEMBER 2 – 13, 2014
Australia-Venezuela Solidarity Network. Registrations are now open for the Australia-Venezuela Solidarity Network’s 2014 solidarity tour to revolutionary Venezuela. http://links.org.au/node/3700