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 […]
Maori teacher brutalised by police
We are sharing this story of police brutality from tangatawhenua.com . Without their pioneering work sharing this it would not have got the further media attention that has come in recent days. TangataWhenua.com was asked to share this story as few other mainstream media outlets felt it was “newsworthy” enough. What follows is provided verbatium, […]
Euchred; eclipsed: Ralph Hotere (1931 – 2013)
Ralph Hotere – painter, sculptor, collaborator – is a hugely important figure in the art and culture of Aotearoa. His death, as well as being a great and personal loss to his whanau, fellow artists, and community, has historical significance for us all. He was, with his close friend and comrade Hone Tuwhare, one of […]
Anti-Chinese rants won’t stop asset sales
There was an evening rally against asset sales in Wellington on February 13. As a gathering of the committed the attendance was quite good. Estimates vary, but 400 would be about right I think. The unions – which could potentially turnout thousands of members against privatization – are not able to do so in their […]
Treaty hides racist rip-off
For many New Zealanders, Waitangi Day is a time to celebrate the founding of New Zealand, a nation which we are taught to believe is born of a union of two peoples, Maori and Pakeha – “He iwi tahi tatou”. This national myth serves to obscure the true character of the treaty and the colonial […]
The real invasion of Africa is not news
A full-scale invasion of Africa is under way. The United States is deploying troops in 35 African countries, beginning with Libya, Sudan, Algeria and Niger. Reported by Associated Press on Christmas Day, this was missing from most Anglo-American media. The invasion has almost nothing to do with “Islamism”, and almost everything to do with the […]
