GPJA Forum Reminder And A Few Updates

A reminder that tonight, 7.30pm, at Trades Hall, there is a GPJA forum on the Bougainville peoples struggle through the eyes of the aboriginal women of Bougainville. Earlier the same day there is a book launch at AUT

WHAT'S ON IN AUCKLAND - UPDATE

Monday, April 5, 9.30am, AUT Conference Room, WA Block, Wellesley Street Campus. BOOK LAUNCH "as Mothers of the Land" The birth of the Bougainville Women for Peace and Freedom, edited by Josephine Sirivi and Marilyn Havini. Speakers Josephine Sirivi and Sam Kauona. "as Mothers of the Land tells the story of one of the deadliest crises of the last decades - the Bougainville conflict-and the peace process that followed. Not through the eyes of politicians or military leaders, but through the personal accounts of Bougainville aboriginal women whose commitment and determination played a crucial part in the resolution of the conflict. AUT Office for Pasifika Advancement and WILPF Contact Joan Macdonald joanmac@pl.net ph (09) 360 8001

Monday, April 5, 7.30pm, Trades Hall, 147 Great North Road, Grey Lynn. Global Peace and Justice Auckland Public Meeting Speakers Josephine Sirivi and Sam Kauona about the book "as Mothers of the Land" and the situation in Bougainville. Contact gpja@xtra.co.nz ph John Minto (09) 846 3173

MESSAGES

ARC chair Gwen Bull meets RAM, 7.30pm on Tuesday, 6 April, Trades Hall, 147 Great North Rd, Grey Lynn OPEN TO THE PUBLIC & MEDIA. This will be a riveting debate between the driving force of ARC rate rises and the political voice of the Rates Revolt. There's a three-point agenda: Rates, Transport, Democracy.

COME EARLY - MAKE SURE YOU GET IN.

We want RAM supporters from across greater Auckland there to show that we care - and we're going to change things. A packed hall will make a big impact on the media - which will really help our cause. So please come along. Small advertising leaflets are available for those wishing to letterbox their suburb. Just email back or give me a bell, and a bundle can be posted out to you. Thank you. Grant Morgan, RAM spokesperson, 634 4432 (days & evenings) gcm@actrix.gen.nz

Feature article on the SIS and its performance in the Zaoui case. http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0403/S00318.htm

CUBAN FIVE LAWYER INTERVIEWED.

A lawyer representing one of the five Cubans sentenced to long terms in prison in the US for OPPOSING terrorism was interviewed by Linda Clark on National Radio last week. For more information check out the "Analysis: of the Case" piece http://www.freethefive.org/media.cfm and read the latest media coverage at: http://www.freethefive.org/updates.cfm#uspress. Check the latest AP story at: http://ap.tbo.com/ap/florida/MGAJAE23IRD.html

Rally in Auckland condemns Yassin killing http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=3557394&thesection=news&t hesubsection=general

The Jerusalem Quartet is performing at the Auckland Town Hall at 8 pm on 21 April. Palestine Human Rights Campaign has written to their agent seeking confirmation that they do not support the policies of the Sharon government and asking them to speak out against the occupation of Palestine. As they disregarded this request, PHRC wrote to the NZ Chamber Music Society (including the letter to agent). It is evident they are a group who are proud of supporting the occupation of Palestine as evidenced by a statement of three of them " a rifle in one hand and a violin in the other " being the ultimate Zionist statement. See http://www.jewishaz.com/jewishnews/980619/musician.shtml Is there someone who might like to coordinate a public aprotest outside the Town Hall on that evening. Please let us know. Isolating Israel culturally,economically , academically and in sport is now needed,as N.Z. did against Apartheid South Africa.

PALESTINIAN GIFT STORE

Starting Saturday 10th April, an exhibition of fine hand crafted garments by Beth Read ( some made from my Damascus fabrics ) will be on display at Kaan Zamaan. Check my website for pictures of some of the garments and more details. Hope to see you soon, Julia www.kaanzamaan.co.nz http://netlist.co.nz/communities/Kerikeri/Feature.cfm?wpid=2838

REGISTER AS A VOLUNTEER FOR FAST FOOD UNIONISATION CAMPAIGN

Recently Unite Workers Union launched a "fast food campaign" which aims to unionise workers in the fast food industry in New Zealand. We have been signing up workers at Restaurant Brands (Call Centre, KFC, Pizza Hut) and Burger King. On the weekend of Friday April 24 to Sunday April 26 we hope to mobilise a large group of volunteers across the country to visit as many of the 62 Burger King Stores as possible (although some centres will be starting earlier than that). Volunteers can also "adopt" a local store to visit several times and talk to the workers about joining. PLEASE REGISTER AS A VOLUNTEER BY EMAILING help@unite.org.nz or phoning the Unite office 0800 2 UNITE or (09) 361 6990. We will contact you discuss how you can help. Every little bit helps.

BEST ON THE WEB

Never mind the torture and political prisoners, he's Bush's man http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/story.jsp?story=506773

The Shape of Violence to Come: Sharon Has a Plan, But It Doesn't Involve Peace or Palestinian Hopes http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A28756-2004Mar27?language=printer

Eating Fossil Fuels by Dale Allen Pfeiffer, From the Wilderness. The need to expand agricultural production was one of the motive causes behind most of the wars in recorded history, along with expansion of the energy base(and agricultural production is truly an essential portion of the energy base). http://www.altpr.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=70&mo de=thread&order=0&thold=0

Global Warming Spirals Upwards http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0328-08.htm

"Guantanamo on steroids": Abu Ghraib was an infamous prison under Saddam. Now, for Iraqis seeking relatives detained by the U.S. military, it is still a place where men disappear. http://fairuse.1accesshost.com/news1/banbury.html

Middle East: 'A child who lives in hell will die for a chance of paradise' http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=505786

Robert Fisk: "Most Of The People Dying In Iraq Are Iraqis": Veteran Middle East correspondent Robert Fisk reports live from Baghdad. Fisk describes the "grotesque, gruesome, terrible" attacks in Fallujah. Real Audio http://informationclearinghouse.info/article5969.htm

Mike

© Scoop Media

Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>