AL GORE TELLS IT LIKE IT IS! >>
EVOLUTION WINS OVER INTELLIGENT DESIGN!
A US court has ruled it was unconstitutional to
teach schoolchildren
the intelligent design theory of life as an
alternative to evolution,
dealing a blow to
religious conservatives.
Source: Al Jazzera
INUIT SUE US OVER CLIMATE POLICY!
People
living in the Arctic have filed a legal petition against the US
government, saying its climate change policies violate human rights.
Source: BBC
NEW SIGNS OF A WORLD IN PERIL
26 November 2008
Rising temperatures trigger a runaway melt of Greenland's ice sheet,
raising sea levels and drowning Pacific islands and cities from New
York to Tokyo.
At present it is still a theory, but disaster scenarios like this
have taken on a new urgency with the release of two studies providing
powerful evidence for global warming because of man's impact on the
Earth.
Source: Stuff > Read More
CIA HAS JOINT OPERATION CENTERS IN MORE THAN 2 DOZEN NATIONS
18 November 2008
The CIA has established joint operation centers in more than two dozen
countries where U.S. and foreign intelligence officers work side by
side to track and capture suspected terrorists and to destroy or
penetrate their networks, according to current and former American and
foreign intelligence officials.
The secret Counterterrorist Intelligence Centers are financed mostly by
the agency and employ some of the best espionage technology the CIA has
to offer, including secure communications gear, computers linked to the
CIA's central databases, and access to highly classified intercepts
once shared only with the nation's closest Western allies.
Source: MSNBC > Read More
173 PRISONERS FOUND BEATEN AND STARVED IN IRAQ GOVERNMENT BUNKER
16 November 2008
The
Iraqi government has begun an investigation into the alleged abuse of
more than 170 prisoners who were found locked in an interior ministry
bunker in Baghdad, many of them beaten and malnourished and some
apparently brutally tortured.
US troops who were searching for a missing teenage boy discovered
the detainees on Sunday night during a raid. They were found in an
underground cell near an interior ministry bunker in Jadiriya, in
middle of the city. "I was informed that there were 173 detainees held
at an interior ministry prison and they appear to be malnourished,"
prime minister Ibrahim Jaafari said. "There is talk that they were
subjected to torture," he said.
Source: The Guardian > Read More
UZBEKISTAN: RIGHTS BODIES CONDEMN ANDIJAN TRIAL UNFAIR
15 November 2008
Human
rights groups have strongly criticised the ruling of an Uzbek court
finding 15 Andijan trial suspects guilty of terrorism and sentencing
them up to 20 years in jail.
"It was expected and some could even have been given the death penalty,
but as the case had received such wide international publicity the
authorities did not dare to give capital sentences," Tolib Yakubov,
head of the Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan (HRSU), a local rights
group, said from the Uzbek capital, Tashkent, on Tuesday. “The trial
was orchestrated,” he maintained.
Source: IRIN News > Read More
A DEADLY INTERROGATION: CAN THE CIA LEGALLY KILL A PRISONER?
11 November 2008
The Republican-led Senate has rejected a Democratic effort this week to
establish an independent commission to investigate the U.S. military
for its interrogation practices. The 55 to 43 vote was split largely
along party lines. The Democrats were trying to set up a panel along
the lines of the 9/11 Commission to investigate how the U.S. has been
treating detainees in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo. The vote came a
week after the Washington Post revealed new details about a network of
secret overseas prisons run by the CIA. And it came two weeks after
Vice President Dick Cheney met with Senator John McCain to urge him to
exempt the CIA from a proposed law to bar cruel and degrading treatment
of prisoners in U.S. custody. The editors of The Washington Post
responded to Cheney’s request by describing him as “Vice President for
Torture.”
Source: Democracy Now > Read More,
Watch
LIBERIA: TEAR GAS FIRED AS WEAH SUPPORTERS TAKE TO STREETS
11 November 2008
United Nations peacekeepers fired tear gas at supporters of Liberian
presidential candidate George Weah, as a protest against the election
results spilled onto the streets of the capital, Monrovia, on Friday.
Hundreds of young Liberians, many wearing ripped T-shirts and
flip-flops, marched from Weah’s party headquarters via the elections
commission and on to the US embassy to voice their anger about a poll
they say was rigged.
Source: IRIN News > Read More
OIL IN THE NIGER DELTA: THREATENS LIVES
4 November 2008
Ten years ago, Ken Saro-Wiwa fought against those damaging the
environment creating a "wasteland" that endangers people's health and
livelihoods. Ken and eight others were executed for their activism on
10 November 1995. Today, the exploitation of oil in the Niger Delta
continues to result in injustice, violence and deprivation.
Source: Amnesty International > Read More
RED CROSS PROBES CIA 'SECRET JAILS'
3 November 2008
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has called for
access to all foreign terrorism suspects held by the United States
after a report of a covert CIA prison system for al-Qaida captives.
The Washington Post said on Wednesday the CIA had been hiding and
interrogating inmates at a secret Soviet-era facility in Eastern
Europe.
Source: Al Jazeera > Read More
ARGENTINE SELF MANAGEMENT
3 November 2008
This October I spent a week in Buenos Aires, Argentina learning about Argentina's workers movement to recuperate factories.
During the recent corporate globalization inspired economic downturns
in Argentina, workers confronted disaster when their capitalist
workplaces often went bankrupt. To preserve income and avoid possible
starvation, workers in failing plants in certain cases decided to
recuperate their workplaces back into viable businesses despite the
capitalist owner being unable to make a go of it.
Source: Znet, Michael Albert > Read More
BUSH 'OPERATING SECRET GULAG IN EASTERN EUROPE'
3 November 2008
The Bush administration has been accused of operating secret detention
facilities beyond the reach of the law and outside official oversight
at bases in two eastern European countries. The facilities - said to be
located in Poland and Romania - are part of a larger "gulag" used by
the US to hold prisoners seized in the so-called war on terror.
Using the flight logs of a plane used by the CIA for transporting
prisoners and other unspecified information, a leading human rights
group said it believed the facilities were located in the two former
Soviet bloc countries and first used in 2003.
Source: The Independent > Read More
RUMSFELD SAYS NO U.N. ACCESS TO GUANTANAMO INMATES
1 November 2008
Spurning
a request by U.N. human rights investigators, Defense Secretary Donald
Rumsfeld said on Tuesday the United States will not allow them to meet
with detainees at the Guantanamo prison for foreign terrorism suspects.
Rumsfeld also told a Pentagon news conference that prisoners at
the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, were staging a hunger
strike that began in early August as a successful ploy to attract media
attention.
Source: Reuters > Read More
ROBERT FISK INTERVIEW ON IRAQ
27 October 2008
Real Media Player
War is the "Total Failure of the Human Spirit"
Source: Democracy Now > Click Here
CONGO: SEED FAIRS, DISTRIBUTION BENEFITS THOUSANDS IN POOL REGION
27 October 2008
Tens of thousands of conflict-affected people in the Republic of
Congo's Pool Region - a stronghold of rebels known as the Ninjas - have
benefited from seed distribution and seed fairs organised by the NGO
Caritas Congo in September and October.
In a statement issued on Wednesday from the capital, Brazzaville,
Caritas said it, with its partners, had introduced a system known as
the "Seed and Voucher Fair" approach to help the residents of Pool to
restart agricultural activities.
Source: IRIN > Read More
COLOMBIA’S PARAMILITARIES ‘RECYCLED’ INTO CONFLICT
27 October 2008
Teresa Yarce was shot dead on 6 October 2004 in the street in Las
Independencias, Medellнn, by a paramilitary gunman. She was killed
hours before she was due to testify to judicial authorities against a
local paramilitary leader who had been detained. Only a few weeks
earlier, she had reportedly escaped a paramilitary attempt to abduct
and kill her. Teresa Yarce had condemned the alleged skimming of public
funds to pay two paramilitaries who were appearing on the payroll as
public services workers.
Source: Amnesty International > Read More
CYBER-DISSIDENT WHO DEFENDED WORKERS’ RIGHTS IS DETAINED DURING EU VISIT
27 October 2008
Reporters
Without Borders today condemned the arrest of cyber-dissident Shi
Xiaoyu because of his online reporting on workers’ protests in the
southwestern industrial city of Chongqing. Shi has been held by the
Chongqing authorities since 20 October.
Source: RWB > Read More
U.S. OPERATIVES KILLED DETAINEES DURING INTERROGATIONS IN AFGHANISTAN AND IRAQ
24 October 2008
NEW YORK - The American Civil Liberties Union today made public an
analysis of new and previously released autopsy and death reports of
detainees held in U.S. facilities in Iraq and Afghanistan, many of whom
died while being interrogated. The documents show that detainees were
hooded, gagged, strangled, beaten with blunt objects, subjected to
sleep deprivation and to hot and cold environmental conditions.
“There is no question that U.S. interrogations have resulted in
deaths,” said Anthony D. Romero, Executive Director of the ACLU.
“High-ranking officials who knew about the torture and sat on their
hands and those who created and endorsed these policies must be held
accountable. America must stop putting its head in the sand and deal
with the torture scandal that has rocked our military.”
Source: ACLU > Read More
EDITOR ALI MOHAQIQ NASAB GETS TWO YEARS IN PRISON FOR BLASPHEMY
24 October 2008
Reporters Without Borders today called on President Hamid Karzai to
intercede after a Kabul court sentenced Ali Mohaqiq Nasab, the editor
of the monthly publication Haqoq-e-Zan (Women’s Rights), to two years
in prison at the end of a summary trial on blasphemy charges on 22
October.
“A journalist has been given a stiff prison sentence for a press
offence in violation of international treaties signed by Afghanistan,”
the press freedom organisation said. “It is extremely disturbing to see
a man sentenced to prison simply for reprinting articles condemning
such archaic practices as stoning and corporal punishments.”
Source: Reporters Without Borders > Read More
THE CATCH
23 october 2008
On a dank, cold morning this past March, full of wind and the gloom of
the sub-Antarctic autumn, I stepped off the customs pier in the
Falkland Islands port of Stanley and tried to board a pirate ship. The
Elqui, a rusted-out heap flying the Guinean flag, sat impounded at the
dock, her captain awaiting charges from the British territorial
government of South Georgia Island. What had brought the Elqui and its
30-odd Indonesian, African and South American crew members to this
remote harbor at the bottom of the world were Chilean sea bass, 13 tons
of which now lay frozen below the ship's deck.
Source: New York Times > Read More
RIOTING ERUPTS ON BIRMINGHAM STREETS
23 October 2008
One man was killed and a police officer was injured in clashes in the
Lozells area of Birmingham last night. The riot, between Asian and
black youths, broke out after a public meeting was held about an
alleged sex attack on a teenage girl.
Tensions have been high in the area since the alleged attack took place
several days ago. It is claimed the girl - an illegal immigrant - had
been kidnapped and raped by three men.
Source: The Guardian > Read More
C.I.A. TO AVOID CHARGES IN MOST PRISONER DEATHS
October 23 2008
WASHINGTON,
Oct. 22 - Despite indications of C.I.A. involvement in the deaths of at
least four prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan, C.I.A. employees now
appear likely to escape criminal charges in all but one of those
incidents, according to current and former intelligence and law
enforcement officials.
Source: NYTimes > Read More
LOGGING THREAT TO AMAZON MUCH GREATER THAN THOUGHT
21 October 2008
The Brazilian rainforest is being destroyed by human logging at more
than twice the rate previously thought, a new satellite analysis
reveals. The findings reinforce many ecologists’ belief that this type
of forest destruction might be contributing to the area’s worst drought
in 40 years.
Source: New Scientist > Read More
US SOLDIERS 'DESECRATED TALIBAN BODIES'
20 October 2008
Senior US military officials launched an investigation today into
claims that US soldiers desecrated the bodies of Taliban fighters in
Afghanistan as part of a propaganda campaign.
Australian investigative news programme Dateline broadcast a film which
appeared to show US soldiers burning the bodies of two fighters and
using their charred and smoking corpses as a taunt to nearby Islamic
militants.
Source: The Guardian > Read More,
Read More > Transcript of Dateline show
Updates 21 October 2008
Stench Prompted U.S. Troops to Burn Corpses
Karzai Condemns Alleged Body Desecration
Update - 23 October 2008
Rumsfeld: Hasten body-burning probe
LIBERIA: FIGURES FROM COUNTRY’S VIOLENT PAST CRUISING TO LEGISLATIVE POSTS
21 October 2008
Ex-combatants accused of grisly war crimes could soon be answering to
“Honorable Member,” after Liberians voted overwhelmingly to hand them
seats in the country’s new parliament.
Ex-warlord “General Peanut Butter” might be known as a brutal militia
leader under notorious former president Charles Taylor, but to youth in
Nimba County he is the right man for the job.
Source: IRIN News > Read More
DRUNK SANTAS ON THE RAMPAGE IN AUCKLAND!
It may be the season for Ho, ho ho!, but a group of 40 people dressed
up as Santa Claus has got police in New Zealand saying: "No! No! No!"
The Santas, many of them apparently drunk, went on a rampage through
Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, raiding stores, assaulting
security guards and urinating from highway overpasses, police said on
Sunday.
Source: Al Jazzera
GREENS CO-LEADER ROD DONALD DIES
06 November 2008
Green Party co-leader Rod Donald, 48, has died.
A Green Party spokeswoman said Mr Donald died overnight at his home in
Banks Peninsula. It is understood he suffered a heart attack.
Source: Stuff > Read More,
Tribute on Frogblog
FAWKES AND TE WHITI
01 November 2008
Saturday November the 5th marks the 400th anniversary of the arrest of
Guy Fawkes, popularly known as the only person to enter parliament with
honest intentions.
Fawkes’ failed attempt to blow up the English parliament led to a
longstanding British festive tradition of fireworks, bonfires,
anti-Catholicism and burning of Fawkes and the Pope in effigy which, in
a more secular form, even managed to take root in far-off New Zealand.
Source: Snap > Read More
NZ PASSPORTS TO CONTAIN SECURITY CHIP
3 November 2008
Internal Affairs Minister Rick Barker announced today the introduction
of a new “e-passport”, which contains an electronic chip for holding
information about the passport holder.
From tomorrow passports issued by the Department of Internal Affairs
will contain the security chip. All existing passports remain valid
until their expiry date and applicants will automatically receive a new
e-passport when they reapply.
Source: Scoop > Read More
HIGH LEVELS OF RADIOACTIVE CONTAMINATION IN FRENCH POLYNESIA
29 October 2008
Unexpectedly high levels of radioactive contamination are being
discovered in French Polynesia nearly a decade after nuclear testing
ended on Mururoa Atoll.
Up to five people a day are being sent to private hospitals in Auckland
for diagnosis and treatment for what may be radiation-related
illnesses, officials say.
Source: NZ Herald > Read More,
Wise > Read More
PILGER ON THE NZ REFUSENIK
28 October 2008
A Royal Air Force officer is about to be tried before a military court
for refusing to return to Iraq because the war is illegal. Malcolm
Kendall-Smith is the first British officer to face criminal charges for
challenging the legality of the invasion and occupation. He is not a
conscientious objector; he has completed two tours in Iraq. When he
came home the last time, he studied the reasons given for attacking
Iraq and concluded he was breaking the law. His position is supported
by international lawyers all over the world, not least by Kofi Annan,
the UN secretary-general, who said in September last year: "The
U.S.-led invasion of Iraq was an illegal act that contravened the UN
Charter."
Source: Antiwar > Read More
HOWARD BULLIES NZ AND PIF INTO TAKING WEST PAPUA OFF AGENDA
27 October 2008
According to NZ Prime Minister Helen Clark The Pacific Forum leaders
did not discuss the controversial issue of West Papua at their summit
in Madang, in spite of an expectation before the forum by both herself
and the Secretary General that they would do so. The news will be a
blow to the Free West Papua movement who are staging a rally today
outside on Ella Beach near the conference venue.
Source: Scoop > Read More,
Neo-colonialism ratified at Pacific Islands Forum
> Read More
INMATES KEPT IN VANS ON STREETS
25 October 2008
Prison inmates are being held in vans parked on public streets as New
Zealand's jail population hits an all-time high, guards say.
The practice – introduced at Auckland's Mt Eden Prison on Friday –
comes after official predictions of a pre-Christmas drop in inmates has
failed to eventuate.
Source: Stuff > Read More
READ UP ON RECYCLING AND SAVING ENERGY
Links for sustainable technologies
Source: Aotearoa Indymedia
KIWIS GO TO WAR ON IRAQ
23 October 2008
Dunedin trained Royal Air Force doctor Malcolm Kendall-Smith and his
Christchurch educated Queen's Counsel, Philip Sapsford, are challenging
the British defence force and government over the legality of the war
on Iraq.
Flight Lieutenant Kendall-Smith, 37, is the first officer to face a
court martial for refusing to return to Iraq because he believes it is
illegal. His defence team will be lead by Sapsford, 57, a specialist in
international human rights law who grew up in Christchurch and was
educated at St Andrew's College.
Source: Stuff > Read More,
Iraq war objector a thinker, say friends
DEAF GIRL DIES AFTER RESIDENCY CHALLENGE
23 October 2008
The parents of a deaf South African girl allegedly murdered by her
father in Auckland were told by the Immigration Service the child and
her deaf sister were a potential "burden on the state".
The Sunday Star-Times has learned that shortly before the girl's
death, the parents received a letter from the Immigration Service
indicating they might be denied New Zealand residency because the child
and her deaf sister would be a drain on health services.
Source: Stuff > Read More
DIDYMO CELLS FOUND IN VON RIVER MOUTH, BUT FURTHER INVESTIGATION NEEDED.
21 October 2008
A sample from the mouth of the Von River near Queenstown has been found
to contain Didymo cells, but further work is required to determine the
extent of its presence in the river, Biosecurity New Zealand announced
today.
Biosecurity New Zealand Manager Surveillance and Incursion
Response David Hayes said the sample, taken earlier this week during
the nationwide Didymo survey, detected three live and one dead Didymo
cell. The sample was analysed yesterday.
Source: Biosecurity NZ > Read More
MASS-ARRESTS AT TE PAPA MILITARY INDUSTRY CONFERENCE
18 October 2008
Reports of many people arrested at Aotearoa Revolutionary Clown Army
demonstration against the 'Defence Industry' Association annual
conference.
Over 15 people have been arrested at Te Papa during protests against
the weapons trade conference today at Te Papa in Wellington.
Source: Aotearoa Indy Media > Read More
Update - 19 October 2008
Weapons Conference a Battleground for Protesters
About
70 protesters in Wellington, including members of the Aotearoa
Revolutionary Clown Army, took on Te Papa and a tank on Tuesday as part
of protests against the New Zealand Defence Industry Association. The
Te Papa entrance was blockaded for two and a half hours and a tank was
stopped from leaving the area by a second blockade. 20 people in all
were arrested, 7 of whom have been charged
FIND YOUR PLACE ON THE POLITICAL SPECTRUM
18 October 2008
The Political Compass provides an interesting take on the New Zealand
political spectrum and illuminates how the four parties forming the new
Government are relatively closely aligned, particularly the key players
Labour and NZ First.
For those who haven’t visited this amusing wee site, the positions on
the compass are found through answering a questionnaire. I would be
interested to see where you lot land up, so feel free to post your
coordinates after you take the test.
Source: Frogblog > Read More,
Take the Test
LABOUR WENT BACK ON WORD - GREENS
18 October 2008
Labour went back on its word in negotiations, but had no choice because
United Future and New Zealand First "held a gun to its head", Greens co
leader Rod Donald says.
The Greens had expected to be integral to the Labour-led government,
but will instead abstain on confidence and supply after NZ First and
United Future vetoed them holding cabinet positions, while taking up
ministerial positions themselves.
Source: Stuff > Read More
WIDENING GAP BETWEEN THE MONEY EARNED BY MEN AND WOMEN
13 October 2008
Girls can do anything - except get paid the same as men.
The latest Statistics New Zealand figures show there is a widening gap between the money earned by men and women.
Full-time pay for men rose just over six percent in the 12 months
ending in June. The increase for women was only about half that, at
just over three percent.
Source: Frogblog > Read More
AOTEAROA REVOLUTIONARY CLOWN ARMY STARTS MAJOR OFFENSIVE AGAINST ENEMY
10 October 2008
Revolutionary
Clowns took to the streets of Wellington to raise awareness of the
upcoming weapons conference being hosted at Te Papa Tongarewa "Our
Place" on Tuesday and Wednesday, October 18 and 19.
Source: Aotearoa Indymedia > Read More
OTAGO REGIONAL COUNCIL MAY TAKE LEAD ON DIDYMO
08 October 2008
The Otago Regional Council may step in to close rivers in Otago, and
says it is disappointed with the actions of Biosecurity New Zealand.
Council chairman Stephen Cairns said the council was taking the lead in Otago in the fight against Didymosphenia geminata.
Source: Otago Daily Times > Read More
MASSY UNIVERSTIY LECTURER WINS IGNOBLE PRIZE FOR "THE SIGNIFICANCE OF MR. RICHARD BUCKLEY’S EXPLODING TROUSERS"
08 October 2008
AGRICULTURAL
HISTORY: James Watson of Massey University, New Zealand, for his
scholarly study, "The Significance of Mr. Richard Buckley’s Exploding
Trousers."
REFERENCE: "The Significance of Mr. Richard Buckley’s Exploding
Trousers: Reflections on an Aspect of Technological Change in New
Zealand Dairy-Farming between the World Wars," James Watson,
Agricultural History, vol. 78, no. 3, Summer 2004, pp. 346-60.
Source: Ignoble Prize Winners,
Biography of James Watson
AUCKLAND STUDENTS RUN DIESEL ENGINES ON COCONUT OIL
08 October 2008
Two Auckland University students say coconut oil could be a way to cut fuel prices in the future.
Samoan Dominic Schwalger and Fijian Penaia Rogoiumari yesterday showed
the university's Faculty of Engineering how diesel engines could be run
on coconut oil.
Source: Read More
SALIENT INJUNCTION LIFTED
Victoria University students can finally get their hands on a banned edition of Salient to see what all the fuss is about.
And The Dominion Post can now reveal that vice-chancellor Pat Walsh has pitched fee rises of 5 to 10 per cent next year in secret papers which formed the basis of an article in the campus magazine.
Till yesterday, the magazine's release was banned by a High Court injunction. A 10 per cent increase, which must be approved by the Tertiary Education Commission, would raise fees by up to $400 a year for fulltime undergraduate students and up to $500 a year for postgraduates, Salient said.
Even so, Victoria would still be among the cheapest for
humanities, mid-range for law, science, architecture and design but
high-end for commerce. The papers show one dean was worried about being
too cheap, as low fees implied low quality.
Source: Read More
WOULD YOU LIKE A TAX CUT?
Just put in your income (or someone else's if you're shy), and choose the tax rate you want.
The Tax Cutter will tell you how much extra money you can look forward to hanging on to each week.
Also built in is a costing mechanism. You'll get to see what your tax
cut will cost the New Zealand government, and how they might go about
cutting spending to make up the shortfall.
Source: The online automatic TAX CUTTER>>>,
Created by David Slack
PETONE RESIDENTS FIGHT EXIDE LEAD POLLUTION!
A group of Petone residents near Exide Technologies, a lead battery recycling plant in Waione
Street have formed the Exide Pollution Action Group (EPAG). They want Exide Batteries to cease
operations until it can prove that there are no more fugitive lead emissions.
‘Residents near the site were horrified to receive a letter from Regional Health telling people
how to protect themselves,” spokesperson from EPAG, Frances Cherry said. “I couldn’t believe it
when I discovered that the fugitive LEAD emissions far exceeded the World Health standards –
30 times over the limit! This can cause elevated blood levels in humans, lower IQ in children
and also cause liver, kidney and brain disease - and is a probable cause of cancer”.
Source: SIGN THE PETITION!,
MAKE A SUBMISSION!
ENVIRONMENTALISTS VOW TO FIGHT MINE!
State-owned Solid Energy New Zealand Ltd is creating an opencast coal
mine at Happy Valley on the West Coast, about 25km northeast of
Westport. This mine must be stopped from going ahead!
Coal is a filthy source of energy. Burning it creates carbon dioxide,
the worst of the greenhouse gases, which are already causing global
warming, climate change, and weather chaos. This is only going to get
worse if the use of fossil fuels does not come to an end. Coal mining
is also environmentally damaging in many other ways, causing acid mine
drainage, polluting rivers and other waterways, destroying habitats and
causing loss of biodiversity. The proposed coal mine at Happy Valley
will destroy the habitat of the great spotted kiwi (roa) and
Powelliphanta “patrickensis” snails, as well as other threatened
species. And as if all of this weren’t enough, Solid Energy has an
atrocious environmental record and is already guilty of destroying
clean and beautiful waterways on the West Coast with its horrendous
levels of pollution.
Source: Save Happy Valley!
PACIFIST NEW ZEALAND ADDS MUSCLE TO ITS MILITARY!
Until recently, Australia's independent-minded neighbor across the
Tasman Sea chose to ignore grumblings from Canberra that it wasn't
pulling its weight in defense spending. But earlier this month, New
Zealand started listening, announcing plans to boost its defense
spending by $3.2 billion over the next 10 years to modernize equipment
and add hundreds more ground troops.
In addition to frustrating Australia, New Zealand's antinuclear,
pacifist stance has troubled its own generals and affected the morale
of the armed forces in recent years. As the government moves to respond
to these concerns with new money, it is also shifting strategy by
concentrating on peacekeeping skills that it has developed in East
Timor, Afghanistan, and the Solomon Islands.
Source: Christian Science Monitor
1981: SHOOTING BACK!
For many New Zealanders, the year 1981 is synonymous with the Springbok
Tour. From July to September that year the South African national rugby
team, the Springboks, toured New Zealand.
Patu! - The documentary would eventually become 110 minutes long and
involve more than 16 field camera operators. Completed, the film
documented how thousands of everyday New Zealanders – Maori and Pakeha,
children and grandparents, clergymen and gang members – demonstrated
their disgust at apartheid and their dissatisfaction with New Zealand’s
race relations. At first peaceful, the protests became increasingly
violent as hundreds of police and army personnel were mobilised to
ensure the tour went on.
Source: NZ Film Archive
GET INVOLVED!
The Green Pages
is a comprehensive and dynamic directory of [167] non-profit
organisations active in the areas of conservation and environmental
protection, education, and restoration in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Get involved with an issue that concerns you!
Source: Coordinating Environmental Volunteering in Auckland
WHY ARE MORE PEOPLE CHOOSING MEDIATION AS A BETTER WAY TO RESOLVE CONFLICT?
Do you have a problem?
Are you in a conflict?
Do you need help to resolve it?
Then mediation or another form of conflict resolution could be for you.
Mediation is a constructive way to resolve conflicts. It is a
voluntary, confidential process with the mediator acting as a neutral
third party to help the the people in dispute/conflict to work out
their own settlement and reach an agreement for the future. The
mediator's role is to provide a safe environment for the discussion,
without taking sides, giving advice or controlling the outcome.
Source: The Peace Foundation
ANTI-U.S. OCCUPATION PROTEST FACES OFF WITH POLICE!
A march against the United States' occupation of Iraq (and ANZ bank's
involvement in Iraq banking) led to a stand off between several hundred
protesters and police in Auckland on Saturday (March 19 05). Three
people were arrested by police for allegedly blocking Queen Street.
Source: Scoop,
Global Peace and Justice Auckland
N.Z. GREEN PARTY: LISTEN TO THE ARABS!
Following Saudi Arabian oil minister Ali al-Naimi's admission yesterday that
OPEC has lost control of oil prices
because they are already pumping as fast as they can, crude oil for
April delivery rose to US$56.46 a barrel, the highest price on the New
York exchange since crude oil futures trading began in March 1983.
Meanwhile, a Green Party press release notes that Reserve Bank Governor
Allan Bollard yesterday predicted that "oil prices will settle back to
US$30 a barrel". And a month ago Finance Minister Michael Cullen
predicted oil prices will fall to around $35 a barrel.
Green Party co-leader, MP Rod Donald: "It's time we started listening
to the Arabs and the analysts... The Government still has a small
window of opportunity to reduce New Zealand's dependence on oil before
price rises really start to hurt."
The Green Party is the first national political party to make 'Peak Oil' a
campaign issue.
Source: Green Party press release
PEOPLE POISONED DAILY!
Greenpeace together with the Sawmill Workers Against Poisons (SWAP),
Vietnam Veterans of Aotearoa, Paritutu Dioxin Investigation Action
Group and Te Waka Kai Ora (Maori organics group) have organised the
Hohou te Rongo - People Poisoned Daily '05 Speaking Tour.
The tour's focus will be on dioxin poisoning. Urgent action is needed
to stop the dumping of lethal toxic waste which is produced daily by
industries throughout the country. Dioxins are banned by international
laws, but industries are still pumping them into our air, water and
soil.
Industry's dumping of deadly waste on people goes beyond the pollution
of the environment. Over the past fifty years, hazardous by-products of
industrial society have been dumped into our waters and soils,
endangering the health of millions of New Zealanders. People have been
poisoned daily.
Every event on this five-stop tour will be led by communities impacted
by toxic chemicals.
Source: Greenpeace Aotearoa/New Zealand>>
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An
Ethiopian soldier takes position inside a trench dug on a hilltop
overlooking the northern Ethiopian town of Badme. (AFP/File/Marco
Longari)
A digital dump in Nigeria
See more photos here
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