Global Peace And Justice Newsletter

Global Peace And Justice Newsletter

May 14, 2009

HIKOI: NO SUPERCITY WITHOUT US!
E Nga Iwi, Nga Waka, Nga Hau e Wha! Nau mai tautoko mai! The people of Auckland and Aotearoa from all waka and all cultures are invited to hokoi - stand by us Auckland we're making a stand for you. The hikoi will converge at the bottom of Queen Street by 12 noon on May 25 before peacefully walking together to the Town Hall and Aotea Square. Start from your part of Auckland or at Queen Street:

* South Auckland - 8.30am at Manukau City Council, 9.20am leave by car convoy. Parking in the Auckland Domain, leave Domain by foot by 10.30am for Queen Street via Symonds Street and Anzac Ave.

* East/Central Auckland - 8.30am at Bastion Point-Orakei Marae, 9.30am leave by walking along Tamaki Drive to the bottom of Queen Street.

* North Auckland - 10am at Awataha Marae, 58 Akoranga Drive, leave by car convoy; 11am re-group at Victoria Park then walk to bottom of Queen Street. CBD parking details to be announced.

* West Auckland - 9am at Te Piringatahi o Te Maungarongo Marae, 19 Luckens Road, West Harbour; 11am re-group at Victoria Park then walk to bottom of Queen Street. CBD parking details to be announced.

Updates, and contact details for area hikoi coordinator/s if you'd like to get involved, are at http://ihiaotearoa.wordpress.com

WHAT'S ON IN AUCKLAND

Monday, May 18, 7pm, Lynfield Room at the Fickling Centre, Mt Albert
"Green New Deal public meeting": Event: Green New Deal public meeting. "Let's sort out the economy and the climate crisis at the same time". Host: Russel Norman

Tuesday, May 19, 6pm, Old Government House Lecture Theatre, entrance around the back of Old Government House, Cnr Princes Street & Waterloo Quadrant, Auckland Central.
Speaker: Professor Lauren Robel - Professor Robel is a frequent speaker on topics ranging from procedural reform to sovereign immunity and co author of casebooks on the US Federal Courts and the Federal Jurisdiction. She has also been a visiting Faculty member at the Univesite Panetheon-Assas, Paris. Topic: "Lawyers and Torture: Ethics in Extremis"

Tuesday, May 19, 6.30pm, Lecture Theatre Eng140, Engineering Building, 20 Symonds Street, University of Auckland
On the Permanent Elimination of Nuclear Arms and Other Issues Regarding Nuclear Disarmament - Presentation / Forum - Speakers / Panelists: •Phil Twyford, chairperson of the New Zealand Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament and Labour List MP. •Dr Maria Rublee, Political Studies Department, specialising in international security, international relationstheory and international organisations. Her most recent publication, Nonproliferation Norms: Why States Choose Nuclear Restraint, examines why states with the capability of developing nuclear weapons instead opted out of the nuclear arms race. •Lyndon Burford, a Masters student at the University of Canterbury who will be commencing research on NZ's nuclear disarmament voting and advocacyunder the fifth Labour government. •Wilson Chau, LLB/BA student at the University of Auckland and participant of the 2008 Students for a Nuclear Weapons-Free World Conference held in Geneva, Switzerland. Please arrive promptly. Looking forward to seeing you there. There will be an opportunity for interactive dialogue between the audience and panelist speakers on the issue of the permanentelimination of nuclear arms. The ideas and contributions made in the forum will be presented to the National Consultative Committee on Disarmament Conference being held in Wellington on May 25. So we value any contributions to our discussion. All are welcome.

Thursday, May 21, 5-6pm, WE240, Art and Design Building, Gate 3, AUT
PACER - the latest tool for recolonising the Pacific. In her 2001 reports for the Pacific Network on Globalisation, Big Brothers Behaving Badly and A People's Guide to PACER, Jane Kelsey outlined what the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations (PACER) between Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands Countries might mean for Pacific peoples. Australia and NZ are now pushingfor Pacific leaders at the Forum Leaders' meeting in Cairns in August to agree to negotiations for a free trade agreement known as PACER-plus. Jane Kelsey's talk will examine the geopolitical, social and economic implications of a 'trade' treaty that is the latest tool for recolonising the Pacific. Prof. Jane Kelsey is one of New Zealand's best-known critical commentators on issues ofglobalisation, structural adjustment and decolonisation. She is an active member of a number of international coalitions of academics, trade unionists, NGOs and social movements working for social justice. She has written numerous books and articles on the neoliberal restructuring of New Zealand since 1984, including the best-selling 'The New Zealand Experiment. A World Model for StructuralAdjustment?'. Her latest book on globalisation, 'Serving Whose Interests? The Political Economy of Trade in Services Agreements', was published in 2008. WE240, Art and Design Building, Gate 3, Thursday, May 21, 5-6pm, co-hosted by School of Art and Design, Pacific Media Centre, and School of Communication.

Saturday, May 23, 4pm, Auckland Normal Intermediate School, Porouni Street, Mt. Eden
SEMINAR – STOP GENOCIDE: A study by a team headed by Madeline Albright, former US Secretary of State has enlisted 33 States as practising Genocide at present. Among them 8 have been identified and placed on Red Alert. The civilized world cannot play ostrich and keep aloof any more. The world order, is sadly trekking on a path that is unmindful of democracy, democratic values anddemocratic infrastructures. This has to be stopped. It is time the Int’l role players focus on preventing the re-appearance of barbarism. Please therefore make it a point to be present at the Seminar and make your contribution.. Would you like to make a 10 minute presentation? Please inform if you need a copy of the report by Madeline Albright team, and if so, please inform us your postmail address. Yours Sincerely, A.Theva Rajan, Secretary. TAMILS AGAINST GENOCIDE NZ, 8-115 Blockhouse Bay Road, Avondale, Auckland 1026, New Zealand Email: rajatheva@xtra.co.nz

Sunday, May 24, 9am, Grassy area on the City side by the bridge
"Walk/Cycle over the Auckland Harbour bridge - 1959 and 2009 chance to get across". Host: getacross.org.nz.

Monday, May 25, 7.30pm, The Peace Place, Four Seasons building, 2F 22 Emily Place, Auckland
TAMIL GENOCIDE - Can we believe the media stories? • Evidence shows Government still massacring civilians • Sri Lanka's Government bans independent journalistsRecent Film from Refugee Camps in Sri Lanka. Comment and History from those involved. Phone 3089384 pmopnz@yahoo.com.au (Presented by Pax Christi Aotearoa New Zealand)

Tuesday, May 26, 5pm, Pacific Media Centre, WE240, Art and Design Building, Gate 3, AUT
Burma's citizen journalists and the exiled media. Violet Cho, PMC's Asian Journalism Fellow. Film: BurmaVJ, a combined documentary and seminar about independent news media in Burma under the military junta presented by the Pacific Media Centre's Asian Journalism Fellow, Violet Cho. This 84min film won top prize at the 2008 Amsterdam Documentary Festival last December. It is the story of how agroup of citizen journalists filmed and got their images out of the repression by the military junta to the world's media during the so-called "Safron Revolution" in September 2007. Exiled independent journalist Violet Cho, who writes for Irrawaddy magazine, will present her seminar on Burma and also introduce the film.

Tuesday, May 26, 6.30pm, Room 039, ClockTower Building No. 105, 22 Princes Street
Photojournalism: Telling Stories of Trauma with Jim MacMillan. 1 session, Tuesday 26 May, 6.30 - 9pm. Fee: $35 $10 (student/ unwaged). Award winning Photojournalist Jim MacMillan will discuss the special challenges and responsibilities of covering traumatic events in the news, from urban violence to terrorist attacks and foreign wars. Primary concerns will include the ethical treatment of victimsand survivors, the impact of trauma coverage on news consumers and communities. Issues of accurate and complete reporting under stress, and the psychological hazards of covering traumatic events for the news professionals involved will be addressed. Jim MacMillan is an independent multimedia journalist, university educator and news media consultant based in Philadelphia. He will present his ownwork from the crime beat in Philadelphia, terrorist attacks in the United States and the war in Iraq. To enrol: Continuing Education, email conted@auckland.ac.nz Website: www.cce.auckland.ac.nz

Wednesday, May 27, 8.30am - 5pm, AUT Conference Centre (WA224), Auckland University of Technology, City Campus,55 Wellesley Street East, Auckland
Working Women’s Charter Seminar - For a celebration, a history and action plan - It is now 30 years since the Working Women’s Charter was adopted by the Federation of Labour Conference as policy. It had an immediate effect on conditions of work for women and on women’s participation in unions. Join the Auckland Labour History Group on Wednesday 27 May at a seminar which willestablish an historical record of the Working Women’s Charter 1980s campaign Celebrate that achievement. Take unfinished business from the Charter forward into the economic challenges we are facing. Globally, women are likely to be hard hit by the changes. Anyone is welcome to attend. We are hoping that it will also be a union occasion so that any action plan can be taken forward into thewhole union movement.

Friday, May 29, 7.30am, School of Population Health, University of Auckland, Tamaki Campus
Budget 09: Child Poverty – For Better or Worse? Child Poverty Action Group is organising the 9th annual Post – Budget Breakfast. SPEAKERS: Prof Manukau Henare, Dr Steve Poletti, John Minto. MC Prof Innes Asher, Comments A/Prof Susan St John

Wendesday, June 3, 7pm, The Peace Place, 22 Emily Place, Auckland.
THE WORLD MARCH FOR PEACE AND DISARMAMENT: Kia Ora, We all know what happens when violence breaks out- people get hurt. But what happens when peace breaks out? The answer is that lives are healed. You may be thinking that there's no war or violence where you are, that you already gave at the office, in the 60's etc. That people making a global statement asserting the desire to live in peace won'tchange anything. The World March for Peace and Non-violence isn't wishful thinking. I'ts real. It begins here in New Zealand and will travel around the planet. Getting involved can be as simple as going to the New Zealand Website: www.worldmarch.co.nz to see the events and learn about the possibilities for celebrating with us. The attached one page briefexplains what's happening, where and why, and who to contact. We also need volunteers to help in ways that you can even make happen while you're sitting in a chair. Better yet-- Why not join us at our next meeting: Wendesday, June the 3rd @ The Peace Place, 22 Emily Place, Auckland. 7- 8:30 pm. For more information about the meeting, please contact one of the Auckland event coordinators:

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

"None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.": Johann Wolfgang von Goethe - (1749-1832)

"If there is no struggle there is no progress. Those who profess to favour freedom and yet deprecate agitation are men who want crops without plowing up the ground... Power concedes nothing without a demand". -Frederick Douglas

ANNOUNCEMENTS

HIKOI: NO SUPERCITY WITHOUT US!
E Nga Iwi, Nga Waka, Nga Hau e Wha! Nau mai tautoko mai! The people of Auckland and Aotearoa from all waka and all cultures are invited to hokoi - stand by us Auckland we're making a stand for you. The hikoi will converge at the bottom of Queen Street by 12 noon on May 25 before peacefully walking together to the Town Hall and Aotea Square. Start from your part of Auckland or at Queen Street:

* South Auckland - 8.30am at Manukau City Council, 9.20am leave by car convoy. Parking in the Auckland Domain, leave Domain by foot by 10.30am for Queen Street via Symonds Street and Anzac Ave.

* East/Central Auckland - 8.30am at Bastion Point-Orakei Marae, 9.30am leave by walking along Tamaki Drive to the bottom of Queen Street.

* North Auckland - 10am at Awataha Marae, 58 Akoranga Drive, leave by car convoy; 11am re-group at Victoria Park then walk to bottom of Queen Street. CBD parking details to be announced.

* West Auckland - 9am at Te Piringatahi o Te Maungarongo Marae, 19 Luckens Road, West Harbour; 11am re-group at Victoria Park then walk to bottom of Queen Street. CBD parking details to be announced.

Updates, and contact details for area hikoi coordinator/s if you'd like to get involved, are at http://ihiaotearoa.wordpress.com

Background information

Tamaki Herenga Waka – ‘Tamaki, the place many waka are tied to’. The Tangata Whenua, the traditional tribes of Tamaki Herenga Waka – the wider Auckland Region, have lived here for over a thousand years fishing in its harbours, the Manukau, Waitemataa and Kaipara and gardening across its once fertile land. The volcanic cones created by Mataoho, the god of volcanoes,served as thriving pa and villages and are the repositories of tribal histories. The Treaty of Waitangi was signed by Auckland tribes on the Manukau Harbour and Tamaki River. It was the intention of chiefs that their people and their descendants would always have a central role to play in the development of their towns and city and in the management of ancestral resources in their tribaldistrict.

All tribes gifted land or made land available for settlement. Some tribes had land confiscated and some taken under the Public Works Act and other legislation leading to great land-loss and its associated devastating social effects. Auckland and NZ has profited greatly from the lands taken or given by the tribes of Auckland. Tribal leaders have always sought a voice in Council. “Let usbe admitted to your councils”, said Paora Tuhaere in the 1860s. Auckland also now hosts many other Maori from different tribal regions making Auckland the largest centre of Maori population in the country. Over 25% of the total Maori population lives in Auckland with approximately 140,000 Maori residents.

The Royal Commission Recommendation on Maori Representation

The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Auckland Governance spent over 18 months consulting with the public before recommending establishing 3 Reserved Maori seats on a proposed 23 seat Auckland ‘Supercity’ Council. The Royal Commission's report is available at http://www.royalcommission.govt.nz/rccms.nsf/CONTENTPAGES/$first?open

Why should there be Maori Seats?

Today there are many issues Tangata Whenua needs a direct say in. How our once pristine harbours and waterways are managed. How our sacred sites are protected and respected. How the history of this land should be part of the proud identity of every Aucklander no matter their origin. How our communities can pay fair water and other rates. How our culture and cultural values can contribute totourism and the major climate change issues facing our City. How Maori can contribute a more diverse view at the top table that includes a manaakitanga and kaitiakitanga perspective honed by living here for 1,000 years.

Maori have struggled to achieve representation in Councils. Less than 5% of councillors in NZ are of Maori descent. First Past the Post is still the voting system of choice at local level and that has always failed Maori. No wonder the majority are locking in their control for another 50 years as the face of Auckland is rapidly changing to a brown one. Maori vote proportionately higher thanany other ethnic group however Maori are still unable to get voted on to Councils. Some call this failure, the ‘tyranny of the majority’. Just as there are guaranteed seats in parliament, so too should there be Maori seats in local government to ensure there is a Maori voice and view being put forward on all matters.

What has the Crown decided?

The Crown ignored the Commission’s recommendation saying there will not be guaranteed Maori seats and that the issue of Maori seats is already provided for in the Local Government Act that allows for a public poll to be undertaken in 2010 on the issue. Maori are only 11% of the population in Auckland. It is unlikely that the wider public would vote for Maori seats and the Crown know thiswell. The Crown has further said that 3 votes out of 23 is a not a voice – but a proposed Maori Advisory Board somehow is. This defies all logic and sense and is simply a lie.

What are Maori Planning to do?

Maori firstly are planning to Hikoi, to march from the 4 corners of Auckland converging at the bottom of Queen Street to then walk in unison up to the Town Hall and Aotea Square. But this is not the end. There will be ongoing activities to keep the pressure on the Crown to reverse their short-sighted decision to exclude Maori from the Super City. Submissions will be made to the selectcommittee and negotiations will continue between iwi leaders and the PM.

You can express yourself too by joining the Hikoi on May 25. If you live outside of the Auckland area you too should be concerned as this model of corporate – rather than democratic governance is coming to a City near you.

I’m not Maori – Can I Hikoi?

Tribal leaders have invited all people no matter what culture to join the Hikoi. The Hikoi’s intent is to show the beauty, diversity and soul of today’s, and tomorrow’s Auckland. To show the Crown that Auckland and NZ have moved past gutter race politics towards an Aotearoa-NZ envisaged by those chiefs that started our City in 1840.

Nau mai haere mai koutou katoa!

JUMPING SUNDAY 09 NEWSLETTER No 1
It's nearly 40 years since the 'Liberation of Albert Park'! The Frank E. Evans Lunchtime Entertainment Band & the "Jumping Sunday '09" network group invites you to join in the 40th anniversary celebrations & concert at the band rotunda in Albert Park from 1pm on SUNDAY 20 SEPTEMBER 2009. (Rain day: Sun 26 Sept) Unlike the stand-off in 1969, this time the Auckland City Council will supportthis grand event as part of the 2009 Auckland Heritage Festival... now doesn't that make you feel ancient! "JUMPING SUNDAY '09" will celebrate the historical events of 1969 when several thousand young Aucklanders defied the City Council bylaws of the day, by marching on to Albert Park & enjoying the 'Jumping Sunday' happenings each week. Before then, Albert Park was reserved for nothinglarger than a quiet family picnic, and public gatherings were mainly confined to Myres Park. Anti-Viet Nam war protests were on nearly every week & growing, with nowhere to rally big crowds... so this became a civil rights issue. These weekly events in Albert Park quickly attracted up to 10,000 people and effectively opened up Albert Park, and subsequently other parks, to broader public usein following years culminating in countless music festivals, concerts, rallies, protest meetings, cultural displays, family entertainment and other popular events. The protest movement went from strength to strength - first we won Albert Park, then we stopped conscription and eventually got the troops out of Vietnam, halted Apartheid tours and nuclear warship visits, the plundering of BastionPoint, upheld women's rights, and green issues etc ... Albert Park was a turning point. The Frank E. Evans Band, Graham Brazier ('Hello Sailor'),'StarFish' with Dave Neumegen (Arif Usmani) and other performers from those days will entertain. Tim Shadbolt will be a key-note speaker. So come along - bring your grandchildren & celebrate one of the major achievements of the 60s.

* There will also be a static display in the Auckland Public Library - If you have any archival material from 1969, - photographs, posters, articles etc, please send it in to "Jumping Sunday '09". PO Box 86022, Mangere East, Auckland 2158.

* Catch Sonja Strom's unique colour video of Albert Park on 'youtube' - have a look: you may be there! .. just type in 'Frank E. Evans Band' The band still performs - we have a regular knees-up at the Dogs Bollix bar on the corner of Newton Rd & K Rd from 5pm on the first Sunday for each month. There's no door charge & all are welcome.

Feel free to flick this notice on to anyone you think might be interested... and let us know (by return email) if you have any other ideas to make this event a success, or if you know others who might like to get these newsletters. [If you don't want to receive these newsletters - just let us know]

The "Jumping Sunday '09" net work group includes: John Bower, Roger Fowler, Bob Van Ruyssevelt, Dot Evans, Bob Lack, Don Cooke, Mike Colonna, Barry Lee.

ROGER AWARD REPORTS
One of the highlights of the March 2 Auckland event to announce the winner of the 2008 Roger Award for the Worst Transnational Corporation Operating in Aotearoa/New Zealand was a Powerpoint presentation on the winner, British American Tobacco NZ Ltd, specially prepared and presented on the night by Action on Smoking and Health. ASH has kindly allowed CAFCA to upload it onto our Website, alongwith the Judges’ Report on BAT. The Powerpoint is at http://canterbury.cyberplace.co.nz/community/CAFCA/publications/Roger/ASHpresentation.pdf Be warned that it is a large document, a 1.22 MB PDF. The 2008 Roger Award Judges’ Report is at http://canterbury.cyberplace.co.nz/community/CAFCA/publications/Roger/Roger2008.pdf Murray Horton, Secretary/Organiser

CALL OUT FOR ART WORKS - OCTOBER 15 SOLIDARITY
The October 15th Solidarity group is seeking art works for an upcoming auction and exhibition. The five day event, to be held in Wellington, will be timed to coincide with the second anniversary of the raids (October 15th 2009). Funds raised will go towards legal fees and travel costs for those still facing charges as as a result of the state terror raids in 2007. The group believes in the powerof art as a voice of dissent, and calls for submissions that draw from any of the following: -the October 15th raids; -commentary on the 'war on terrorism'; -surveillance/police/prisons; -colonisation; -kaupapa Maori; -resistance. All artists will be asked to set a reserve price for their work. Please indicate your interest via email or post asap. Contact: Rachel Fabish info@october15thsolidarity.info October15th Solidarity, P O Box 9263, Te Aro, Wellington. More info: october15thsolidarity.info

May legal update

Defendants in the Operation 8 case have been summoned back to the Auckland High Court next Friday, May 15th at 9am. At this hearing, defendants will be required to enter a plea. Changes to bail conditions for the accused will also be argued on that day.

Presently, there are 18 people facing charges as a result of the state terror raids of October 15th 2007. All 18 have been charged with firearms offences. Five of these people have been further charged with 'participation in an organised criminal group'. It is the belief of the October 15th Solidarity group that these further charges have been brought by the Crown in order to save face afterthe disaster of the raids by portraying the accused as some sort of gang.

The struggle against all of these politically motivated charges continues. If you are in Auckland on 15 May, come down to the court to show your solidarity and support. If you would like more information about the case or the October 15th Solidarity group, please email us on: info@October15thSolidarity.info

MAY 14-22 - HUMAN RIGHTS FILM FESTIVAL, RIALTO, NEWMARKET
From May 14-22 this year, the Human Rights Network (www.humanrights.net.nz) is hosting the fifth Human Rights Film Festival (www.humanrightsfilmfest.net.nz). Over the last four years, the Festival has been a great success locally, as well as attracting interest from overseas film-makers and others involved in human rights film festivals. As a result, this year there is an impressiveselection of high quality human rights related films. One of the distinctive and popular features of the festival is a 20 minute discussion after each session, with two panellists who have thematic or regional expertise relating to the film. This is a chance for audience members to question experts on their take and also give their opinion on the context of the film. Film synopsis and tickets arenow available at: http://www.rialto.co.nz/callcentre/village/Default.aspx?Control=sites/Rialto/HumanRights We look forward to seeing you at the Festival!! - Nirupa George, Auckland Co-coordinator, Human Rights Film Festival, (021) 0512656, vyjp.info@gmail.com www.humanrightsfilmfest.net.nz

TREATY CONFERENCE3 - 4 July 2009 Manukau City
A Tangata Tiriti initiative open to all. We invite you and members of your community to Treaty in the 21st Century. This conference is for people with an interest in applying the Treaty of Waitangi in the not for profit, public and private sectors, in local communities and in their own lives. The focus is on past, present and future work: looking at what's been going on, what's happeningnow and what the future possibilities might be for the Treaty. The conference will include keynote presentations, over 30 workshops, and informal networking time. It will provide an opportunity to reflect, share learning, and support action on strengthening the role of the Treaty in our society. Go to http://www.trc.org.nz/conference09 for moreinformation. Go to http://www.trc.org.nz/onlineregistration for a registration form. Go to o http://www.trc.org.nz/workshopproposal for a workshop proposal form. A pre-conference event is planned for 2 July, 7 - 9pm: details to be confirmed. If you cannot access the website please contactthe conference administrator Traci Mangu, Email: admin@awea.org.nz Phone: 09 274 4270 If you would like to talk about an idea for a workshop contact the conference organiser Jen Margaret Email: jen@awea.org.nz Organised by the Treaty Resource Centre and Tamaki Treaty Workers. Please pass this invitation on to yournetworks.

40TH ANNIVERSARY OF LIBERATION OF ALBERT PARK
Plans are under way to mark the 40th anniversary of the liberation of Albert Park in September 1969. An event is being planned for the afternoon of Sunday September 20, 2009, at Albert Park. The liberation of Albert Park, which forced the Auckland City Council to allow Albert Park to be a free speech area, involved thousands of people from a wide variety of groups and the public at largein a mass civil disobedience action. Initially the Council threatened legal action, but retreated as numbers attending continue to grow. At roughly the same time the ACC move to ban Friday night marches down Queen Street was also defeated by mass action. Similarly, the ACC bylaw requiring a permit to be gained before leaflets were publicly distributed was defeated a year later by a mass civildisobedience action. Please circulate this information as widely as possible, so all those thousands of people who supported the liberation of Albert Park can take part in a celebration of the anniversary of that victory. Watch this space. More details will follow later. Thanks, Barry Lee, lee.abms@ihug.co.nz

BEST ON THE WEB

NEW ZEALAND

The facts about the Super City http://www.stopthesupercity.org.nz/

Photo-Essay: John Minto Visits South Africa http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0905/S00088.htm

Chch Press column on trip at http://johnminto.org.nz/

Zeal 320 worker explains why she is taking action - This is a youtube clip of one of our members at Zeal 320, Rachel, explaining why she and her workmates are taking action at Air New Zealand. It was taken at the picket in Wellington yesterday and was completely unscripted. http://wwwyoutube.com/watch?v=cJbfLlZ0C2E

Air NZ claims are false - EPMU http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0905/S00189.htm

Universal Periodic Review of the NZ government - Submissions, reports, and resources http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/nzupr09r.htm

Seumas Milne: What credibility is there in Geneva's all-white boycott? What do the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Italy and Israel have in common? They are all either European or European-settler states. They all boycotted this week's UN conference against racism in Geneva – even before Monday's speech by the Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejadwhich triggered a further white-flight walkout by representatives of another 23 European states. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/apr/23/un-race-conference-walkout-ahmadinejad

McCully’s oversell of changes to our foreign aid programme http://gordoncampbell.scoop.co.nz/2009/05/08/campbell-mccully%E2%80%99s-oversell-of-aid-changes/

Pacific Brands announces first redundancies http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0904/S00405.htm

John Minto Meets Abahlali baseMjondolo at the Kennedy Road Settlement, 17 April 2009 http://www.abahlali.org/node/5042

WINZ and food banks, and Fiji http://gordoncampbell.scoop.co.nz/2009/04/14/gordon-campbell-on-winz-and-food-banks-fiji/#fiji

UN Recommends Better Protection of the Human Rights of Maori - The UN Human Rights Council last night issued its report on New Zealand's compliance with human rights. Members recommended that New Zealand consider the possibility of constitutional entrenchment of international human rights instruments and the Treaty of Waitangi to better protect human rights says Claire Charters, of AotearoaIndigenous Rights Trust, who has been in Geneva monitoring the review of New Zealand. http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/nzupr0509.pdf

More information: about the Human Rights Council's review of New Zealand can be found at http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/nzupr09r.htm See in particular the Joint NGO submission on indigenous peoples' rights and the Treaty, Aotearoa Indigenous Rights Trust and Peace Movement Aotearoa et al, at http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/towupr09.pdf and Annex A at http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/towupr09a.pdf as well as the Combined NGO feedback on the government's draft report at http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/fbtow09.pdf The UNHuman Rights Council's Report can be found at http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/nzupr-report.pdf

ECONOMIC CRISIS

A G20 meeting for naught by IIRE Fellow Eric Toussaint and Damien Millet - The G20 summit meeting in London from April 1st onward was loudly announced and publicized. Those 20 industrialized and emergent countries (G20) are meeting to find solutions to the crisis. But long before the end of the summit, it is clear that they will not rise to the challenge. http://www.iire.org/content/view/164/1/lang,en/

'Deeper' recession ahead says IMF: The IMF says this represents "by far the deepest post-World War II recession" with an actual decline in output in countries making up 75% of the world economy. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8011907.stm

Meltdown - The FACTS - How free-market fundamentalism brought the world to its knees http://www.newint.org/features/2009/04/01/meltdown-facts/

ENVIRONMENT

23 Years After Chernobyl, Nuclear Power Is Still A Threat By Mary Shaw: Proponents of nuclear power are using the movement away from dependence on foreign oil as an excuse to ramp up nuclear power development. But there are safer alternatives out there, such as wind power and solar energy. We should be putting our time and money into the safer alternatives http://www.countercurrents.org/shaw270409.htm

FILM

Nicaragua - A Nations Right To Survive - A Documentary Film By John Pilger: John Pilger's 1983 film about the small nation of Nicaragua and its right to survive investigates the corruption in Central America. Pilger describes the achievements of the Sandinistas and their "threat of a good example". http://informationclearinghouse.info/article15435.htm

AFGHANISTAN

Afghans Riot Over Air-strike Atrocity By Patrick Cockburn - Shouting "Death to America" and "Death to the Government", thousands of Afghan villagers hurled stones at police yesterday as they vented their fury at American air strikes that local officials claim killed 147 civilians. http://informationclearinghouse.info/article22572.htm

Why We Fight - U.S. Troops Die For Rapists By Ted Rall: American soldiers serving in Vietnam wondered what they were fighting for. U.S. troops in Afghanistan don't have that problem. They know exactly what they're fighting for: rapists. http://informationclearinghouse.info/article22574.htm

BOLIVIA

Bolivia: National revolution and ‘communitarian socialism’ http://www.socialistvoice.ca/?p=384

To save planet, end capitalism, Morales says http://www.greenleft.org.au/2009/794/40905

CUBA

Why the US still hates Cuba By Federico Fuentes: "Defeating the U.S. Bay of Pigs invasion [in 1961] while remaining fiercely independent in a region dominated by U.S. corporations and past government interventions has made Cuba an inspiration to millions of Latin Americans. This profound break from U.S. dominance - in its 'own backyard' no less - is not so easily forgiven. http://informationclearinghouse.info/article22512.htm

A Green's view of Cuba: Reflections on the 50th anniversary of the revolution http://links.org.au/node/1030

PACIFIC

Jared Diamond, the New Yorker Magazine, and blood feuds in PNG: part 1 - When news about the New Yorker Magazine being sued by a Papuan New Guinean for $10 million broke on April 22nd, I was ecstatic. A year earlier the magazine had published an article by Jared Diamond about blood feuds in PNG (Papua New Guinea) that had identified Daniel Wemp, his main interviewee and former driver, as aself-confessed rapist and murderer. Wemp was not informed in advance that the magazine would identify him by name. But, more to the point, the crimes he supposedly confessed to in the article never happened. http://louisproyect.wordpress.com/2009/05/07/jared-diamond-the-new-yorker-magazine-and-blood-feuds-in-png-part-1/
http://louisproyect.wordpress.com/2009/05/08/jared-diamond-the-new-yorker-magazine-and-blood-feuds-in-png-part-2/

David Robie: 'Sulu Censors' Stifle Fiji News Media in Regime Crackdown Reeling from four coups in two decades, journalists in the Pacific nation of Fiji bravely contesting draconian pressure from a military government are now taking no chances. After a flurry of creative challenges to the military backed regime as it entrenched its power in the Pacific Islands nation of Fiji, the news mediaare now facing the harsh reality of life after the censorship crackdown. http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0904/S00263.htm

Veteran media freedom champions speak out http://pacificmediacentre.blogspot.com/2009/05/veteran-media-freedom-champions-speak.html

Courage under fire - the Fiji Times experience http://pacificmediacentre.blogspot.com/2009/05/courage-under-fire-fiji-experience.html

'Gangsta paradise' story and the Samoan media vendetta http://cafepacific.blogspot.com/2009/05/gangsta-paradise-story-and-samoan-media.htmlp

PALESTINE

Stephen Hawkings, stating the simple truth about Israel and Gaza http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1jjLRXmIck

Applicability of the Crime of Apartheid to Israel http://www.odsg.org/co/index.php/reports/35-reports/1307-applicability-of-the-crime-of-apartheid-to-israel.html

PHILIPPINES

Ka Bel Special Issue Of "Kapatiran" Online http://www.converge.org.nz/psna/Kapatiran/KapNo31/Kap31List.htm

KOREA

The West’s Hysterical Reaction To North Korea By Scott Ritter: Although North Korea declared the vehicle to be intended for launching a satellite, the launch was condemned even before it occurred as “dangerous” and “provocative,” unlike Japan’s similar efforts http://www.countercurrents.org/ritter210409.htm

MALAYSIA

Malaysia massacre 'under review': The UK government is to review evidence about a 1948 massacre of unarmed Malaysian villagers by British troops, the BBC learns. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/default.stm

NEPAL

Video of protests against coup http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjvvwsUU-v0

PALESTINE / ISRAEL

A Letter from Nelson Mandela to Thomas Friedman: "I know that you and I long for peace in the Middle East, but before you continue to talk about necessary conditions from an Israeli perspective, you need to know what's on my mind. Where to begin? How about 1964. Let me quote my own words during my trial. They are true today as they were then: http://www.bintjbeil.com/E/occupation/mandella.html

Not an Analogy: Israel and the Crime of Apartheid http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/03/31-15

The Israel boycott is biting http://palsolidarity.org/2009/05/6433

Shulamit Aloni / Sadly, Israel is no longer democratic http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1082174.html

World Bank finds Israel’s water policy hard to swallow http://www.thenational.ae/article/20090428/BUSINESS/704289954/-1/ART

U.N. Seeks End to Razing of Homes in East Jerusalem http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/01/world/middleeast/01jerusalem.html?_r=1

Abbas: I won't recognize Israel as a Jewish state: "I do not accept it," the Western-backed Abbas said. "It is not my job to give a description of the state. Name yourself the Hebrew Socialist Republic - it is none of my business." http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1081534.html

Israel's secret plan for West Bank expansion: Palestinians condemn 'extremely dangerous' scheme to grow illegal settlement. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israels-secret-plan-for-west-bank-expansion-1674759.html

USA

Obama's 100 Days - The Mad Men Did Well By John Pilger: In advertising terms, Bush was a "brand collapse" whereas Obama, with his toothpaste advertisement smile and righteous cliches, is a godsend. At a stroke, he has seen off serious domestic dissent to war, and he brings tears to the eyes, from Washington to Whitehall. http://informationclearinghouse.info/article22514.htm

VENEZUELA

Venezuelan workers march in march in ‘battle for socialism’ http://www.greenleft.org.au/2009/794/40888

Venezuela's labour movement at the crossroads http://links.org.au/node/388

ends

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