#221: A new year of struggle for peace and justice

Submitted by gpja on Mon, 12/31/2007 - 01:19.

GLOBAL PEACE AND JUSTICE AUCKLAND NEWSLETTER #221, December 31, 2007

Website http://www.gpja.org.nz/ Contact details: Forums – John Minto, Work: (09) 845 2132, Home 09 846 3173 jbminto@xtra.co.nz; Newsletter Editor – Mike Treen 0295254744 / 09 845 4027 mike@unite.org.nz; Web page - media@ndu.org.nz Donations can be sent to GPJA, P O Box 7175, Welesley St, Auckland. To subscribe or unsubscribe to this newsletter visit http://www.gpja.org.nz/ or click the unsubscribe link at the bottom of this email.

Dear friends,

CIVIL RIGHTS ORGANISING MEETINGS
AUCKLAND: Starting again January 15. Civil Rights Defence Committee, 6pm, Tuesday Unite House, L12, 300 Queen St

WHAT’S ON IN AUCKLAND

Saturday, 5 January - Rally for Justice And Peace in Palestine / Israel, come and support peace and justice based on an end to the Israeli Occupation of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank including East Jerusalem, the right of return for refugees, sharing Jerusalem, removal of all settlements in occupied Palestine, and stopping construction of Israel's annexation / apartheid wall. The rally is held on the first Saturday of every month, from 2pm in QEII Square, Customs and Queen Streets intersection, outside Downtown Shopping Centre. Organised by the Palestine Human Rights Campaign, for more information contact email wakim.fam@xtra.co.nz or go to http://www.palestine.org.nz

WHAT’S ON IN WELLINGTON

~ Saturday, 22 December - Launch of 'Burn This CD: Responses to October 15': Burn this CD, pass it on, and then let them burn it too. 'Burn This CD' is a double CD which reflects the overwhelming response to the events on and around October 15 from a range of Maori, Pasifika and Pakeha poets, novelists, screenwriters, scholars, musicians and community members. It features the talents of Hinemoana Baker (Raukawa, Toa, Te Ati Awa, Kai Tahu) Maria Bargh (Ngati Awa, Te Arawa) Teurikore Biddle (Ngati Kahungunu, Ngati Awa, Tuhoe), Anituatua Black (Tuhoe), Sopa Enari (Samoa), Alistair Fraser (Pakeha), Whiti Hereaka (Tuwharetoa, Te Arawa), Tony Hopkins (African American, Cherokee), Edwina Hughes (Pakeha), Tame Iti (Waikato, Tuhoe), Moana Jackson (Ngati Kahungunu, Ngati Porou), Selina Tusitala Marsh (Samoa, Tuvalu), Marama Mete (Ngati Kahungunu ki te Wairarapa, Ngati Kahungunu ki te Nuhaka, Ngati Kahungunu ki Mahia) Ngai Tuhoe Mete-Black (Tuhoe), Terese McLeod (Taranaki), Pala Molisa (Vanuatu; Tomatarat, Tahigogona), Darryl Stack (Pakeha), Reverend Mua Strickson Pua (Samoa), Susanna Ounei (Kanaky), Lawrence Pook, Jason Te Kare, Maraea Rakuraku (Ngati Kahungunu, Tuhoe), Hinekura Riini (Tuhoe) Alice Te Punga Somerville (Te Ati Awa), Darryl Stack (Pakeha), Teresia Teaiwa (I-Kiribati, Banaban, African American), Moira Wairama (Pakeha) and Christine White (Kai Tahu). The launch is at 1pm, in the carpark behind the Wellington Arts complex, 61 Abel Smith Street. For more information, including the story of why the CD is being launched in a carpark, go to http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/BurnLaunch.pdf or contact email burnthiscd@windowslive.com

~ Thursday, 17 January - End NZ support for the 'war on terrorism', peace vigil from 5pm to 6pm at the Cenotaph (corner Lambton Quay and Bowen Street). This will be the first vigil for 2008, they will then resume the usual pattern of the first and third Thursdays of each month; for more information contact Peace Movement Aotearoa email pma@xtra.co.nz

~ Every Saturday - 'Behind the News' produced by Jim Delahunty, from 12.15pm to 12.45pm on Access Radio 783AM. If you would like to contribute to 'Behind the News', please email jimddig@clear.net.nz

WHAT’S ON IN NEW ZEALAND

~ Tuesday, 1 to Friday, 4 January - Tuhoe 2008 celebration at Waikaremoana: with story / information sharing, workshops, waiata, stalls, bands, an art auction featuring works of Tame Iti and others, with money going towards helping the families of those arrested on the 15 October, and lots more; this event is drug, alcohol and smoke free. Powhiri at 10am at the original 'occupation site', adjacent to the Lake Waikaremoana Motor Camp on Tuesday; for more information, including details for contact people, go to http://tuhoe.net/2007/12/12/tuhoe-2008-celebration-at-waikaremoana

~ Friday, 11 to Sunday, 13 January - Parihaka International Peace Festival: "'Tuia te kawe tairanga te kawe oi te kawe o te haere' - Greetings everyone, the proverb invokes a unison of us, like an out stretched sash swaying with the gait of one walk as we move forward towards a new horizon and to our Parihaka 08 festival event. Parihaka 08 will be an enriching cultural, artistic and organic experience, the kaupapa being developed for events at the 2008 festival are eco responsibility, justice and peace [vehicles of dialogue and action]." For more information and to book your ticket/s, follow the link at http://www.parihaka.com

~ Friday, 25 to Sunday, 27 January - Waihopai spybase protest: "The public face of New Zealand's role as an American ally is the NZ military presence in Afghanistan. But New Zealand's most significant contribution to that, and other American wars, including the one in Iraq, is the Waihopai spybase. Waihopai is controlled by the US, with New Zealand (including Parliament and the Prime Minister) having little or no idea what goes on there (let alone any control) ... Waihopai does not operate in the interests of New Zealanders or our neighbours. Basically it is a foreign spybase on NZ soil and directly involves us America's wars. Waihopai must be closed. We invite people from around the country to join us for the weekend of anti-war protest at this spybase" - more information and the registration form for the protest is available at http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/waihopai08.pdf or from email cafca@chch.planet.org.nz

~ Thursday, 31 January - deadline for the return of signatures for the depleted uranium (DU) munitions national petition, which reads: "To the House of Representatives: that the House emulate the Belgian Parliament's decision of 22 March 2007 by prohibiting in New Zealand the manufacture, use, storage, sale, acquisition, supply and transit of inert munitions and armour that contain depleted uranium [DU] or any other industrially manufactured uranium." The printable petition form, with a fact sheet from DUET, is available at http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/dupetition.pdf

~ Saturday, 2 and Sunday, 3 February - Save Happy Valley: occupation celebration - 2 years! "You're invited to the Save Happy Valley Coalition's celebration of our second successful year of occupying Happy Valley. We have been continuously occupying Happy Valley since January 28th 2006 in order to prevent Solid Energy from turning it into an environmentally devastating opencast coal-mine. Despite spies, 6000 snails from Augustus transferred in ice cream containers, the destruction of a nearby mountain, Solid Energy's plans for massive expansion, and the October 15th raids on activists, people have managed to keep Happy Valley safe so far! Yay for train track blockades, film nights, alternatives to minerals forums, demos, radio interviews, everyone's actions, and the occupation! The Save Happy Valley Coalition, and anyone who wishes to join us for the weekend celebration, will be meeting at Les Warren Park, in Westport, at 8am on Saturday, 2 February (the majority of us will travel to Westport from Christchurch on the Friday night, car pooling can be arranged thru the coordinator). We hope you can join us. Please RSVP so we can coordinate easily Please let us know if you have any special needs that are of concern, we will be as accommodating as possible and we can provide you with as much information as you require." For more information, including the list of what you need to take with you if you are planning on going, and to RSVP, contact email frances.feijoa@gmail.com

~ Wednesday, 6 February - Waitangi Day, the 168th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty, details of associated events will be included in the what's on where listings in the new year.

~ Monday, 18 to Friday, 22 February (registration deadline is Friday, 18 January) - Wellington Conference on Cluster Munitions, with approximately 350 participants expected from more than 100 governments, as well as around 100 civil society experts in the removal of cluster munitions, assistance to victims, and advocacy. Information for NGOs is available at http://www.stopclusterbombs.org.nz/the-conference If you wish to register for the conference, the registration form is at http://www.stopclusterbombs.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/nzcmc_wlgr... - please note that participants from NGOs in Aotearoa need to register as soon as possible, the absolute deadline is 18 January. There will be public meetings in Auckland and Wellington (and possibly other cities) around the time of the conference; registration is not required for those events. Information about what you can, wherever you are, to support the conference reaching its goals will be available at http://www.stopclusterbombs.org.nz/take-action/ in January; the government's web site for the conference is at http://www.mfat.govt.nz/clustermunitionswellington/index.php

~ Friday, 14 to Sunday, 16 March - 'Promoting peace through active non-violent resistance' is the theme of the 2008 National Peace Workshops - postponed earlier this year, the National Peace Workshops have now been re-scheduled and will be held at the Quaker Settlement, Whanganui, in March. The weekend will include workshops and panel discussions with Maori, Moriori, Pacific and Pakeha contributors who have experience of community and individual non-violent resistance, and/or non-violent direct action in Aotearoa and overseas; as well as workshops on campaigns of our member and other groups. More information and registration details will be available in late January at http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/npw08.htm

~ Ongoing - Help us ban cluster bombs, online petition: "I support the global call to ban cluster bombs", you can add your name at http://www.stopclusterbombs.org.nz/take-action/petition/

ANNOUNCEMENTS

NEW ISSUE OF FOREIGN CONTROL WATCHDOG ONLINE NOW
http://www.converge.org.nz/watchdog/16/index16.htm

CELEBRATE CHILDHOOD WITH CPAG THIS FESTIVE SEASON - with a Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) calendar. "CPAG celebrates the great things being done at a grassroots level to help children succeed. Our 2008 Grassroots Calendar will make a beautiful gift this Christmas. It is also a great way to support CPAG's continuing work to eliminate child poverty. The calendar features a range of stunning artworks by students of Wesley College in South Auckland; the vibrant paintings explore themes of culture and identity, and also reflect the beauty and diversity of the natural world. They come to life in our large format calendar printed on quality stock paper. Proceeds from the calendar will also provide scholarships for Wesley students. Wesley College is a fantastic example of the kind of support kids need to grow into successful adults. It has a wonderful track record of turning around 'at-risk' kids by supporting their learning and social environment. Order a Grassroots calendar now and be inspired by the potential of our children and young people every day next year." The calendar can be viewed online at http://www.cpag.org.nz/news/cpag-news/nr1194319416.pdf (1.34Mb file). You can order yours from email admin@cpag.org.nz for $20 each, $30 for two + $5 postage and packaging; payment is by direct credit to CPAG account 38-9003-0066858-00 or by cheque to CPAG, PO Box 56-150, Auckland.

ACT NOW: TASER GUN DECISION DUE SOON
The Commissioner of Police, Howard Broad, is currently considering the police's evaluation of the TaserX26 trial, and is expected to make a decision early next year about whether or not the taser, or 'electromuscular incapacitation device' as it is otherwise known, will be issued permanently to frontline police officers around the country. But there are big questions about whether this is a desirable addition to the police arsenal.
Many of these questions were raised in the Campaign Against the Taser (CATT) report 'Stun guns in Aotearoa New Zealand? The shocking trial' published last week. See: http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/tasertrial.pdf
CATT monitored the taser trial throughout and the report points out, among other things, that more than 40% of incidents between just September 2006 and March 2007 were in breach of the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) drawn up to regulate taser use during the trial period. The report also highlights the increasing concern and controversy over the use of tasers overseas as the death toll among those struck by police tasers continues to rise; and the United Nations Committee Against Torture's recent description of the use of TaserX26 weapons as constituting a form of torture which could in certain cases cause death. See: http://www.unog.ch/unog/website/news_media.nsf/(httpNewsByYear_en)/D3DD9DE87B278A87C125739C0054A81C?OpenDocument
Yet the decision about whether or not tasers will be permanently deployed here will be made by the Commissioner of Police alone, based on the police's own evaluation of the trial - there will be no independent evaluation of the trial or effects of taser use. There will be no opportunity for informed public discussion as to whether or not it is desirable or necessary for frontline police officers to be issued with a potentially lethal weapon. Neither will there be public input into whether tasers might be used in certain circumstances, what those circumstances might be, and how such use should be regulated.
This action alert has five sections with information about: 1) the New Zealand Police taser trial, 2) overseas and international concerns, 3) the taser deployment decision, 4) where you can get more information, and 5) what you can do. Please act on it to do what you can to ensure tasers are not issued to frontline police officers before the big questions have been asked and answered satisfactorily. If you do not have time to read the full alert, there is a summary of the main points in section 5.
This message is available online at http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/ta201207.htm with a formatted version at http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/ta201207.pdf

ANNOUNCING THE MAY DAY 2008 BRIGADE TO VENEZUELA
Registration deadline: March 30th, 2008 (including payment). The Australia-Venezuela Solidarity Network’s (AVSN) next solidarity brigade to Venezuela is schedule for May 2008 and will coincide with May Day (May 1st) in Venezuela. The brigade will be a unique opportunity to see first-hand the unfolding revolution in Venezuela. The AVSN has organized five very successful brigades to Venezuela. Venezuela’s poor people, led by George W. Bush’s arch-enemy, President Hugo Chavez, have taken over many workplaces, set up thousands of cooperatives, established thousands of free public education and health programs, organized their neighborhoods and taken big steps towards exercising “popular power” in their country. Participants in the AVSN brigade will meet with a wide range of community organizations involved in transforming Venezuelan society, visit occupied factories and educational institutions, see “popular power” at work in the communal councils and people’s banks, and speak to government and grassroots organizations about the radical changes being implemented by the Venezuelan people. The itinerary will include time in Caracas as well as regional Venezuela, and will incorporate a special focus on meetings with Indigenous activists and communities. Accommodation, transport and English translation in Venezuela will be organized for participants. If you are interested in being part of this inspiring and educational experience, please send the completed registration form to brigades@venezuelasolidarity.org, or phone Lara Pullin on 0439 601 277 or Roberto Jorquera on 0425 289 394.

TOUR FOR NOTED US CIVIL RIGHTS LAWYER LEONARD WEINGLASS
Dear Friend, The Cuba Friendship Society in Auckland invites you to be part of an international campaign calling for the release of five Cubans imprisoned in the United States. Gerardo Hernández, René González, Ramón Labañino, Antonio Guerrero, and Fernando González – the Cuban Five, as they are known – have been in U.S. prisons for nine years. They were convicted in 2001 of conspiracy to commit espionage for the government of Cuba, and related charges.
The five men were monitoring Cuban-American organisations based in Miami in order to uncover plans and activities that posed a threat to the safety of the Cuban people. These organisations have an extensive record of carrying out violent attacks against Cuba from U.S. soil, including assassination attempts on Cuban officials, biological warfare, and bombings.
Leonard Weinglass, one of the U.S.-based attorneys for the Cuban Five, will be touring Australia early April 2008 to raise awareness and build support for this campaign. He will be available to visit Auckland for two days as part of this tour.
Beginning in the 1970s, Leonard Weinglass has defended many political activists, including Angela Davis, Mumia Abu Jamal, and leaders of the American Indian Movement. In 2004, the American Trial Lawyers Association voted to name an annual award, the Leonard I. Weinglass Award, honouring lawyers who contribute to human rights and civil liberties causes.
If you want to help with the tour, need further information, or have ideas on fund-raising or others to approach, please let us know. Email: cubafriendship@xtra.co.nz More information about the Cuban Five can be found at www.freethefive.org

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“I was called a terrorist yesterday, but when I came out of jail, many people embraced me, including my enemies, and that is what I normally tell other people who say those who are struggling for liberation in their country are terrorists. I tell them that I was also a terrorist yesterday, but, today, I am admired by the very people who said I was one”: Nelson Mandela - Larry King Live, May 16, 2000

BEST ON THE WEB

NEW ZEALAND
John Minto: University decision will hit those with most to gain – and lose
http://www.stuff.co.nz/thepress/4326534a16155.html
Casinos Losing Sleaze Competition - Problem Gambling Foundation - New Zealand's casinos are losing a battle for the bottom end of the gambling market says the Problem Gambling Foundation.
CEO John Stansfield says that figures released by the Department of Internal Affairs today ...
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0712/S00228.htm
Policing: CATT releases report on Taser Trial - The Campaign Against the Taser (CATT) has today released its report on the police Taser trial... "A shocking forty percent of incidents were in breach of the Standard Operating Procedures." More >> [1] EARLIER:Amnesty International - AI calls for moratorium on Taser decision
[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0712/S00191.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0712/S00125.htm
Workers Protest At Port Of Napier - Maritime Union of New Zealand Over 100 workers have gathered outside the gates of the Port of Napier today to protest the loss of secure jobs this morning from 6am.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0712/S00276.htm
Political Storm Brews Over Auckland Housing
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0712/S00177.htm
Matt McCarten: Votes matter, but it's coalition partners who will count in 2008
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10484653
John Minto: A taste of economic democracy
http://www.stuff.co.nz/thepress/4318178a16155.html

REVIEWS
John Hammond: “Life is no secret” — living the American blues
http://www.greenleft.org.au/2007/735/38065
ZION’S REBEL DAUGHTER - Hannah Arendt on Palestine and Jewish Politics
http://www.newleftreview.org/?page=article&view=2696

WAR ON FREEDOM
The torture tape fingering Bush as a war criminal
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article30869...
Guantanamo Detainee Near Suicide After Years Of Torture, Doctors Warn - A British resident being held in Guantanamo Bay may be close to suicide after five years of captivity and torture at the hands of the Americans, the Foreign Secretary David Miliband has been warned in a medical report sent to the Government this week.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18921.htm
A movie by John Pilger entitled, "The War on Democracy," features the U.S. role in the decimation of Latin America with special attention to Venezuela and Bolivia. This 90-minute movie is well worth watching and is appropriate for educational events.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3739500579629840148
A great victory was delivered by Copenhagen’s City Court for those who fight for their liberation and sovereignty and for those who act in solidarity. One juridical judge and two lay judges found the seven accused Danish solidarity activists, “Fighter and Lovers”, innocent of the Justice Ministry’s charge that they had materially supported “terror groups” FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) and PFLP (Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine).
http://axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/printer_25647.shtml
Italy seeks Condor plot suspects - Prosecutors in Italy have issued arrest warrants for 140 people over a decades-old plot by South American dictatorships called Operation Condor.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7159666.stm
Wars Cost $15 Billion a Month, GOP Senator Says: The latest estimate of the growing costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the worldwide battle against terrorism -- nearly $15 billion a month --
http://snipurl.com/1vw8c

ENVIRONMENT
George Monbiot: We've been suckered again by the US. - America will keep on wrecking climate talks as long as those with vested interests in oil and gas fund its political system
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,2228527,00.html
Beyond the point of no return - It's too late to stop climate change, argues Ross Gelbspan -- so what do we do now?
http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2007/12/10/165845/92
Food Shortages, Price Spikes Threaten World Population - Worldwide food prices have risen sharply and supplies have dropped this year, according to the latest food outlook of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. The agency warned December 17 that the changes represent an “unforeseen and unprecedented” shift in the global food system, threatening billions with hunger and decreased access to food
http://www.countercurrents.org/spencer221207.htm
The Post-Oil Economy: After The Techno-Fix - The path beyond petroleum begins by considering five principles: that alternative sources of energy are insufficient; that hydrocarbons, metals, and electricity are inseparable; that advanced technology is part of the problem, not part of the solution; that post-oil agriculture means a smaller population; and that the basis of the problem is psychological, not technological
http://www.countercurrents.org/goodchild221207.htm

WORLD ECONOMY
Subprime mortgage meltdown - Doug Henwood: Poor regulation, risky securitized loans and greed have led to a very high-risk situation
http://therealnews.com/web/index.php?thisdataswitch=0&thisid=676&thisvie...
Sub-prime debt, options, futures, collateralized debt obligations and other derivatives -- the major ingredients in the developing liquidity crisis -- all explained in a popular, comprehensible (and often amusing) way. A useful insight into the nature of today's casino capitalism and the "rationality" of its operations. As Keynes said, there is nothing so disastrous as a rational policy in an irrational world.
http://www.lrb.co.uk/v30/n01/lanc01_.html
Blame abounds for housing bust
http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071226/BUSIN...
December 18: International Migrants Day and Union Action
http://www.iuf.org/cgi-bin/editorials/db.cgi?db=default&uid=default&ID=5...

AFGHANISTAN
RAWA communiqué on Universal Human Rights Day, Dec.10, 2007: The US and Her Fundamentalist Stooges are the Main Human Rights Violators in Afghanistan
http://www.rawa.org/events/dec10-07_e.htm
British 'success' under siege in Afghanistan
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/IL15Df03.html

ARGENTINA
Jail for Argentina 'dirty war' men
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/7AE3C301-D170-44C6-8C93-B8DE1211B...

AUSTRALIA
Making a meal of human rights - An African invasion has repercussion in Australia, writes Ben Cubby.
Almost every time Australians sit down at the dinner table, they are eating the fruits of Morocco's illegal invasion of Western Sahara
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/making-a-meal-of-human-rights/2007/12/2...

BOLIVIA
Morales faces challenge from Bolivian states
http://www.boston.com/news/world/latinamerica/articles/2007/12/16/morale...

CHINA
CLB launches new website - China Labour Bulletin's new English language website launched last Friday with a new format and new features. One of the new features is our magazine, a digest of new articles from the website that is designed to keep readers up to date with CLB's labour rights protection work in China.
http://www.clb.org.hk/en/

CUBA
Halfway of a hundred roads, a brief voice – Interview with Abel Prieto, Cuban Culture Minister
http://www.walterlippmann.com/docs1614.html
Cuba’s official homophobia of days gone by “a mistake”, says Mariela Castro Espín.
http://www.walterlippmann.com/docs1682.html
Conserving Cuba, After the Embargo
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/25/science/25cuba.html?_r=1&pagewanted=al...
Interview with Miguel Barnet - Miguel Barnet Lanza was born in Havana, Cuba, on January 28, 1940. He is a Cuban writer and ethnologist. He is known mostly for his novel-testimony Biografía de un cimarrón (1966). He is one of the Cuban writers with greater international renown and his work has been translated into several languages. In 1994 he obtained the Cuban National Award of Literature.
http://www.walterlippmann.com/docs1700-e.html

EUROPE
In Europe, Where's the Hate?
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080107/younge

INDIA
Empowering The Small Farmer: Key To Finding A Way Out Of The Current Agrarian Distress - The small farmer might be the solution to the ongoing crisis in the farming sector in India. Policies need to be geared towards helping small farmers perform agricultural operations and marketing their products with greater efficiency. Instead current policies are hoping to dispossess farmers of their livelihood and push them into some hitherto non-existent industrial gulag By Meeta & Rajivlochan
http://www.countercurrents.org/meeta191207.htm

IRAQ WAR
Dave Riley, on his excellent blog LeftClick, draws our attention to a fascinating account of a revolt by a U.S. army unit in Iraq who refused to carry out orders. War resisters within the military. Could this be the beginning of something bigger?
http://leftclickblog.blogspot.com/2007/12/us-soldiers-stage-mutiny-refus...
Also, don't miss the four-part series in the U.S. publication Military Times: http://www.militarytimes.com/projects/flash/bloodbrothers/
Iraq Progresses To Some Of Its Worst - Despite all the claims of improvements, 2007 has been the worst year yet in Iraq
http://www.countercurrents.org/jamail301207.htm

KOREA
Korean Migrants Union Leaders Deported! The three arrested leaders of the Korean Migrant Workers Union (MTU) picked up in coordinated police actions on November 27 were deported from Korea to their home countries of Bangladesh and Nepal on the morning of December 13.
http://www.iuf.org/den4745

MEXICO
Zapatista Code Red by Naomi Klein
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080107/klein
10 Years Later, Chiapas Massacre Still Haunts Mexico
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/23/world/americas/23acteal.html?ref=ameri...

NEPAL
Nepal to End Its Monarchy in a Deal With Ex-Rebels
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/24/world/asia/24nepal.html?ref=world

NICARAGUA
Opposition Heartened by Chávez Loss
http://www.nicatimes.net/nicaarchive/121407.htm

PALESTINE
Bethlehem Christmas cancelled: The Wall must fall
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMyjywN-8Ac
Catholic leader rejects Israel's Jewish identity
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3484608,00.html
The Strategic Aim of Israel in Gaza is to Break Hamas - Help! A Ceasefire! By URI AVNERY
http://www.counterpunch.com/avnery12242007.html
Israel's Palestinians Speak Out
http://www.countercurrents.org/rouhana161207.htm

PAKISTAN
A tragedy born of military despotism and anarchy - The assassination of Benazir Bhutto heaps despair upon Pakistan. Now her party must be democratically rebuilt
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,2232700,00.html
Daughter of the West - Tariq Ali on the Bhuttos
http://www.lrb.co.uk/v29/n24/ali_01_.html
John Chuckman: Bhutto, Bush, And Musharraf - With the assassination of Ms. Bhutto, we are given to understand that anti-democratic religious zealots killed Pakistan's last hope for democracy. But her assassination was a far more complex event than such simplistic claims.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0712/S00327.htm

SOUTH AFRICA
Zuma, the Centre-Left and the Left-Left
http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/bond221207.html

UK
Left for dead by New Labour, liberal Britain must urgently fight back by John Pilger
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,2229166,00.html
In London, the world gathers against war
http://rabble.ca/in_his_own_words.shtml?sh_itm=4b755955e7620c7f33255b8df...
Conference videos of speakers
http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/waw151207.html

USA
Report Says That the Rich Are Getting Richer Faster, Much Faster
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/15/business/15rich.html?ex=1355374800&en=...
Penny a Basket for Tomato Pickers Too Much for PE-Owned Burger King - Private-equity owned Burger King, the world's second largest restaurant chain (over 11,200 units in 65 countries), adamantly opposes an agreement which would see Florida farm workers receive one extra US cent for every pound of tomatoes purchased by the fast food giant.
http://tinyurl.com/2qspj9
Slave labour that shames America - Migrant workers chained beaten and forced into debt, exposing the human cost of producing cheap food
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article3263500.ece
The Shock Doctrine in Action in New Orleans By Naomi Klein
http://www.naomiklein.org/articles/2007/12/shock-doctrine-action-new-orl...
State of the Unions By PAUL KRUGMAN
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/24/opinion/24krugman.html?ref=opinion&pag...
Lakota group pushes for new nation
http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071220/NEWS/7122...