Neoliberalism, resistance and the rise of the Far Right
Andrew Tait gave this talk to a forum on ‘Neoliberalism, Resistance and the Rise of the Far Right’ on behalf of the International Socialists in Christchurch on 3rd August. Ki te whare e tu nei, tena koeKi te marae e takoto nei, tena koeKi te takata whenua, Ngati Wheke, Koukourarata, Onuku, Wairewa, Taumutu, tena koutou, […]
Demand Justice for Trayvon Martin
“Open season […] after a verdict like this”: that’s how Gary Younge describes the situation. “Let it be noted that on this day, Saturday 13 July 2013, it was still deemed legal in the US to chase and then shoot dead an unarmed young black man on his way home from the store because you […]
‘Pakeha Party’ page: Racist backlash against the Mana movement
A Facebook page – The Pakeha Party – has been launched in response to the Mana Movement’s Maori housing policy announcement during the Ikaroa-Rawhiti by election. This is the second racist backlash in as many months, the first being the cartoon in the Marlborough Times attacking Mana’s ‘Feed the Kids’ campaign. The rhetoric of the ‘Pakeha Party’ contains the same […]
To Nelson Mandela
Dear Madiba, I know this letter will reach you too late. Even as I write you might be passing away from us – to Jesus or your Xhosa tupuna or simply back to the warm earth of Africa, from which we all came. In some ways, like saints in the old days, dying brings you […]
Auckland Palestine Conference a Success: BDS movement gathers momentum
The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement took a step towards building a united, nationwide campaign last weekend when Palestine solidarity activists from around the country gathered in Auckland for a “Conference on Palestine”. BDS is a global movement started in 2005 by Palestinian civil society organisations that calls for “international civil society organizations and […]
Racism – Alive and Dangerous
The past couple of days have made me sick to the very core. First a racist cartoon blaming individuals for poverty and a widespread response which claimed ‘it’s just a joke’ and now the news that a neo-nazi group ‘Right Wing Resistance’ is trying to set up branches around the country. As times get more […]
What’s behind the tensions on the Korean peninsula?
North Korea is a state many commentators – even on the left – feel they do not have to take seriously: the funny hairstyles, the platform shoes; the bombast and hyperbole of the state media. If there is not belittling humour, extreme moralism obscures any political analysis. The same phrases are swapped between left and […]
The Criminal Injustice System: from Aotearoa to the USA
Michelle Alexander’s book The New Jim Crow (2011) has caused a huge storm of discussion, debate and controversy in the United States. It may well be a book that sparks a new social movement. Alexander documents the rise of mass incarceration in the USA, and link this to entrenched racism, poverty and injustice. The privatising […]
The horror we feel today
Khury Petersen-Smith and Sofia Arias attended the Boston Marathon as spectators. They had left the finish line area only an hour before two explosions ripped through the crowd. Today, the death toll stands at three, with more than 100 people injured, a number of them very seriously. Here, Khury and Sofia talk about their response to […]
Rally Against Racism in Christchurch a Success
Around 160 people rallied in Christchurch yesterday against the fascist Right-Wing Resistance’s “White Pride” day. Like maggots in an open wound, the racists of Right-Wing Resistance are trying again to infect a shattered city with their toxic hate. Two years of broken roads, cracked windows, and sky-high rents are bound to piss people off. Working […]
