199, August 30, 2007: Day 49 Of Ali Panah's Hunger Strike - Protest This Saturday

Global Peace And Justice Auckland Newsletter #199, August 30, 2007

Dear friends,

ALI PANAH RETURNED TO HOSPITAL - DAY 49 OF HUNGER STRIKE – PROTEST SAT A protest will take place from 1pm to 2pm outside Auckland Hospital in Park Road this Saturday.

GPJA FORUM MONDAY – US/NZ RELATIONSHIP, Monday, September 3, 7.30pm, Trades Hall, 147 Great North Rd, Grey Lynn Speakers: Paul Buchanan, Auckland academic, until recently teaching at Auckland University Omar Hamed will also be speaking about the relationship and the plans of a coalition of groups to organise a protest in Auckland September 10 at the US-NZ Partnership Forum against Corporate control of Aotearoa and the Pacific.

HELP SAVE ALI PANAH Iranian hunger striker Ali Panah was returned to hospital last night from Mt Eden Prison. He is now on Day 49 of his hunger strike and fears are rising for the state of his health. Ali began taking liquid mineral supplements while in hospital last week on the strong advice of doctors but is refusing solid food or a drip. (The mineral supplements, while having little food value will help prevent some of the physical damage from a prolonged period without food). Visitors earlier in the week report Ali as becoming increasingly weak but remaining strong in spirit. We do not want to see anyone lose their life because of an inhumane government policy. GPJA continues to argue alongside Amnesty International for the government to issue a temporary visa to Ali until it is safe for him to return to Iran. Anything less is unacceptable Meanwhile we are all waiting for a response from Minister of Immigration David Cunliffe to submissions made to him by Ali’s legal representative last week. The government claims Ali has had the full benefit of appeals to remain in New Zealand. However this ignores the fact that it is patently unsafe for him to return to Iran. Likewise return to any other country would mean swift return to Iran in any case. The government has also tried to discredit Ali by saying he is not a true Christian convert. This is McCarthyist nonsense. If New Zealand judges people based on their religious beliefs then we are reaching towards the depths of the inquisition. Ali is a committed Christian as attested by his church vicar and parishioners.

BACKGROUND Ali is an Iranian who arrived here several years ago and applied for refugee status. His application was declined and he was arrested over 18 months ago and detained at Mt Eden Prison to be deported. However it is not safe for him to return to Iran so he has refused to sign papers applying for an Iranian passport. As a Christian convert (before he came to NZ) his life would be in danger. Ali has the strong support of his New Zealand employer, his Anglican vicar and fellow parishioners as well as the Iranian community in New Zealand. Amnesty International says that in cases like this the government should issue a temporary visa until it is safe for Ali to return to Iran. Minister of Immigration David Cunliffe has so far refused to use his discretion under the Immigration Act to do this.

HELP SAVE ALI PANAH - Four things you can do to help Ali Panah: (1) Sign the petition initiated by concerned Anglicans [http://justice.anglican.org.nz/action/ali-panah-petition/] (2) Email Minister of Immigration David Cunliffe and the prime minister (with copies to us) to request Ali be given a temporary visa until it is safe for him to return to Iran. David Cunliffe [dcunliffe@ministers.govt.nz] Helen Clark [pm@ministers.govt.nz] (3) Get your union, church or community group to issue a media release in support of Ali Panah (4) Advertise and attend a picket outside Auckland hospital in Park Road at 1pm this Saturday (1 September)

Please act urgently. Mike Treen ([mike@unite.org.nz]) 021 159 3305 John Minto ([john@unite.org.nz]) Phone 0064 9 8463173 or 0064 9 8452132

RECENT MEDIA COMMENT ON ALI PANAH’S HUNGER STRIKE Iranian on hunger strike takes supplements [http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=301&objectid=10459309]

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

“To believe that Americans, with an occupying force that long ago outlived its reluctant welcome, can win over a recalcitrant local population and win this counterinsurgency is far-fetched.” From 7 active duty soldiers with 82nd airborne division in Iraq. [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/19/opinion/19jayamaha.html]

ANNOUNCEMENTS

RAJ PATEL, AUTHOR OF ''STUFFED AND STARVED - MARKETS, POWER AND THE HIDDEN BATTLE FOR THE WORLD FOOD SYSTEM'', will be visiting New Zealand September 20-26. He will be giving public talks and leading activist workshops in Christchurch (Friday 21 / Saturday 22), Wellington (Monday 24) and Auckland (Tuesday 25/Wednesday 26). Raj's visit is a unique opportunity to hear and to work with an intellectual and activist from the frontline of the struggle against unjust, unsustainable globalisation. If you are able to publicise Raj's visit to your networks/members please get in touch, and we will send a poster and full programme. Looking forward to hearing from you soon. Christine Dann for Fair World Links. (Raj's visit is organised by Fair World Links and supported by Christian World Service, THE Council for International Development, the Development Resource Centre, Nature's Organics, Oxfam, Trade Aid, and World Vision. So far - if you/your organisation would like to make a donation towards the tour then cheques (made out to Fair World Links) can be posted to P.O. Box 46, Diamond Harbour 8941, or money can be deposited in Kiwibank account Fair World Links 389002 0983080 00 50) Contact: Christine Dann [christine.dann@clear.net.nz]

BASSETT! TROTSKY! From the personal library of the Hon Michael Bassett, Labour cabinet member and historian, lefty in the swinging sixties when he wrote his PhD thesis on the American Socialist Party and was active in the Auckland University Princess St Branch of the Labour Party, eventually a cabinet minister in the notorious 1984-1990 Lange-Douglas government, and then all the way on his right-wing trajectory into the ACT Party — the classic three volume Isaac Deutscher Life of Trotsky (Oxford University Press 1963, hard cover, first edition) signed and annotated by the young rebel Bassett! In immaculate condition! $500! A historical gem and a fund-raiser for Workers’ Charter! Help Michael Bassett and Leon Trotsky fund the workers’ paper! Contact Workers Charter for details: [editor@workerscharter.org.nz]

TAMAKI MAKAURAU DECLARATION AGAINST CORPORATE CONTROL AND FOR GLOBAL JUSTICE Kia ora, Between the 9th and 11th of September, 2007, the Auckland War Memorial Museum will host the second annual United States New Zealand Partnership Forum. This forum is a meeting of US and NZ corporations as well as representatives from both governments to develop closer economic, political and military ties between the two countries. The organising body of the forum, the NZUS Partnership Council was formed around pushing for a neo-liberal free trade agreement between the two nations. In response to this forum, a broad network of activists, union organisers, environmentalists and social justice campaigners have formed the Our World Is Not For Sale campaign. Our campaign aims to raise public awareness about the negative effects of a free trade agreement with the US. On Monday September 10, we intend to march to the forum and protest the selling off of Aotearoa/New Zealand and the world. Below is a declaration for organisations to sign-on to regarding the Our World Is Not For Sale campaign. If you wish to add your organisation or group name to this letter, please send your details to the secretariat of the campaign, the A Space Inside Collective, email: [aspaceinside@gmail.com] - the deadline is 25 August. Thank you. ************************************************** Tamaki Makaurau Declaration against Corporate Control and for Global Justice We, the below signed civil society organisations and peace & justice groups resolve: 1. Aotearoa is not for sale- Free trade agreements only perpetuate unfair and unbalanced trade rules. A free trade deal would mean that US corporations would be able to sue the government for threatening their profits. This could be by not privatising schools or hospitals, by subsidising life-saving medicines, or refusing to allow imports of genetically modified organisms. The government of New Zealand has no right or democratic mandate to sign trade agreements that undermine the ability of New Zealanders to control our economy and further open up our public resources and institutions to corporate control.

2. Peace and justice are not for sale- We believe that it is ethically repugnant to seek to negotiate a trade agreement with a government that continues to occupy and terrorise the people of Iraq and Afghanistan. Trade agreements should not be negotiated with governments violating international laws and treaties. The government of New Zealand should not be tightening economic, military or political relations with a nation that continues to flout international law and regularly violates the United Nations Charter by pre-emptive attacks on soveriegn nations. 3. Our world is not for sale- A US-NZ trade agreement is a stepping stone to a fully deregulated global economy where powerful corporations have more power than governments and civil society organisations. The sort of global economy advocated by the USNZ Partnership Forum does not provide for environmental protection, labour rights or even local democracy. The government of New Zealand must end its role in creating, through the World Trade Organisation, free trade agreements and its support for the IMF and World Bank a global economy that perpetuates social injustice, devastating poverty and exploitation. 4. The environment is not for sale- The corporations involved in pushing for a free trade agreement between New Zealand and the US, only seek to open up our unique and fragile ecosystems to destructive industrial development. A free trade agreement will mean that environmental protections could be removed as they constitute "barriers to free trade". The government of New Zealand must ensure that its participation in international treaties does not compromise our ability to manage our environment sustainability and our ability to protect our ecosystems from being spoiled. For global justice and against corporate control,

NOMINATIONS OPEN FOR THE THE ROGER AWARD Nominations are now open for this most prestigious and keenly contested annual Award (won by Progressive Enterprises in 2006; the previous winners are: Westpac/BNZ, Telecom, Juken Nissho, Carter Holt Harvey, TransAlta Monsanto and TranzRail – 3 times). Nominations close on October 31. [http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0706/S00327.htm]

INVITATION TO JOIN THE NEXT AUSTRALIAN SOLIDARITY BRIGADE TO VENEZUELA November 23 - December 3, 2007 - The Australia-Venezuela Solidarity Network’s brigades to Venezuela are a unique opportunity to see first-hand the unfolding revolution in that country. The Venezuelan people, led by George Bush’s arch-enemy, President Hugo Chavez, have taken over more workplaces, set up more cooperatives, established hundreds of free public education and health programs, organised their neighbourhoods and taken big steps towards exercising “popular power” at every level of their society. Participants on the November-December 2007 brigade will meet with a wide range of community organisations involved in transforming Venezuelan society, visit occupied factories and educational institutions, see participatory democracy at work in the communal councils and people’s banks, and speak to government and grassroots organisations about the radical changes being implemented by the Venezuelan people. This brigade will include a special focus on justice for Indigenous people, and will include visits to Indigenous communities and meetings with Indigenous activists and leaders. Accommodation, transport and English translation in Venezuela will be organised for participants, and the AVSN can help you book your travel to and from Australia. The total cost, including return international airfares, is around A$4500. The deadline for registering for the November-December 2007 brigade is August 31. If you are interested in being part of this inspiring and educational experience, please complete the registration form at www.venezuelasolidarity.org [http://www.venezuelasolidarity.org], email [brigades@venezuelasolidarity.org]

VISIT CUBA THIS SUMMER Cuba consistently makes the news: whether it is it’s health care system (see Salud or Sicko), its response to its oil crisis, its environmental programmes, or by remaining a political opponent of US imperialism for forty years. It is also the home of salsa and its music is world renowned. Registrations are open for the 25th Southern Cross Brigade to Cuba. Members of the Brigade, which is made up of Australians and New Zealanders, spend approximately four weeks in Cuba, leaving 27th December and returning 24th January. The all up cost is $5500, including airfare, spending money and all accommodation and meals. Members of the Brigade often stay longer in Cuba as private travelers or move onto other countries in the region. For further enquiries and registration e- mail Ina at [inashina@clear.net.nz] or Paul at [wkcultur@ihug.co.nz] (03 732 4010).

Register now for the LATIN AMERICA AND ASIA PACIFIC INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY FORUM - OCT 11-14, 2007 "Fighting and organising globally against neo-liberalism" Trades Hall & RMIT Storey Hall. Melbourne, Australia. Trade unionists, social movement activists, academics, students, progressive political parties and all interested members of the community are invited to participate in the Latin American & Asia Pacific International Solidarity Forum. The four-day forum aims to strengthen international coordination and solidarity with those fighting neoliberalism. More than 30 representatives from progressive organisations and campaigns in 22 countries will address the forum. (see list below). Feature sessions include: * Resisting war and neo-liberalism * Che Guevara 40 years on: the influence of his example and ideas today * Alternatives to neo-liberalism * Indigenous struggles and resistance * Workers' struggle, global fight * The global influence of the Zapatista struggle * Confronting the new colonialism in the Pacific * Strategies for ecological & human survival * Movements of resistance in the Asia Pacific * The Venezuelan revolution and its global impact * Rebellion in Latin America * Building links, strengthening international solidarity" Register early and help fund the forum. You can register and pay online using PAYPAL (a secure third-party payment site). PLEASE CLICK HERE TO REGISTER ONLINE. [http://solidarityforum2007.org/?q=node/8] Or you can Download a registration form [http://solidarityforum2007.org/?q=node/8] and send the completed form with your payment attached to LAAPISF, PO Box 813, North Melbourne 3051. Make cheques/money orders payable to Latin America & Asia Pacific International Solidarity Forum. Or you can deposit registration fees directly into the forum bank account. Please then email [info@solidarityforum.org] to confirm and identify the payment. Bendigo Bank; BSB: 633000 Account number: 130716889 Submit a workshop proposal: Conference organisers are inviting all interested groups and individuals to submit workshop proposals. You can submit your proposal online [http://solidarityforum2007.org/?q=node/5] DOWN LOAD THE LEAFLET http://venezuelasolidarity.org/?q=/files/images/LAAPISF_Leaflet_FINAL2.p... [http://venezuelasolidarity.org/?q=/files/images/LAAPISF_Leaflet_FINAL2.pdf] Visit the October Forum website [http://solidarityforum2007.org] Further Information: Email [solidarityforum2007@yahoo.com] INTERNATIONAL PARTICIPANTS AOTEAROA / NEW ZEALAND * Sina Brown Davis, Maori/Pasifikan activist * Vaughan Gunson, Socialist Worker NZ BANGLADESH * Abul Hossain, President, United Labour Federation BOLIVIA * An activist from the life and water social movements coalition CANADA * Roger Annis, Canada Haiti Action Network * John Riddell, Socialist Voice * Suzanne Weiss, Venezuela We are With You COLOMBIA * A representative of the National Federation of Agricultural Farming Unions (Fensuagro) CUBA * Nélida Hernández Carmona & Ifrahim Miranda León, Cuban Consul-General & Consul in Australia EAST TIMOR * Avelino Coelho, General Secretary, Socialist Party of Timor EUCADOR * Efren Calapucha, Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) EL SALVADOR * Sigfrido Reyes Morales, Member of Parliament, FMLN Political Commission. INDONESIA * Dita Sari, Founding chairperson of Centre for Indonesian Workers Struggle (FNPBI) * Agus Priono, Chairperson, National Liberation Party of Unity (PAPERNAS) KOREA * Reverend Jang Chang Weon, Osan Laborers and Migrants Shelter, Reconciliation and Unification Mission Center MALAYSIA * Irene Xavier, Coordinator, Transnational Information Exchange Asia PHILIPPINES * Franciso Nemenzo, Chairperson, Laban ng Masa PAKISTAN * Farooq Tariq, General Secretary, Labour Party Pakistan PAPUA NEW GUINEA * John Chitoa and Rosa Koian, Bismarck Ramu Group VENEZUELA * Eva Golinger, author of The Chavez Code and Bush vs Chavez: Washington¹s War on Venezuela * Vladimir Villegas, Vice-Minister for Asia, Middle East and Oceania. * Sandino Carrizales, Youth activist and Communal Councils organiser. * Nelson Davila, Venezuela's Charge d'Affairs in Australia VIETNAM * Tran Quoc Khanh, Vietnam's Deputy Consul General in Australia WEST PAPUA * Anak Jehudi, Patron, West Papua Students Association, Port Morseby.

WHAT’S ON IN AUCKLAND

Saturday, September 1, 1pm, Auckland Hospital, Park Rd RALLY TO SAVE HUNGER STRIKER ALI PANAH

Saturday, September 1, 2pm, QEII Square, Outside Downtown Shopping Centre RALLY FOR JUSTICE AND PEACE IN PALESTINE . Come support JUSTICE and PEACE based on: 1. End 40 years of Israeli Occupation of the West Bank & Gaza Strip (including East Jerusalem); 2. Right of Return for Palestinian Refugees; 3. Share Jerusalem; 4.Vacate all settlement colonies in Israeli occupied Palestine; 5. Stop Israel's annexation / apartheid wall in occupied Palestine

Saturday, September 1, 10.30am, SkyCity, Victoria St, City GAMBLE FREE DAY: Along with other community organisations the Problem Gambling Foundation has organised a number of events for Gamble Free Day. Picket at Skycity. Show your dislike of Auckland’s number one purveyor of misery. The picket will be joined by a motorbike parade and a street theatre performance will highlight the damage done by pokies. Contact Bill Bradford 09 369 0610 [bill.bradford@pgfnz.org.nz] For information on other events outside Auckland visit our website www.pgfnz.co.nz [http://www.pgfnz.co.nz]

Monday, September 3, 7.30pm, Trades Hall, 147 Great North Rd, Grey Lynn GPJA FORUM MONDAY – US/NZ RELATIONSHIP, Speakers: Paul Buchanan, Auckland academic, until recently teaching at Auckland University Omar Hamid will also be speaking about the relationship and the plans of a coalition of groups to organise a protest in Auckland September 10 at the US-NZ Partnership Forum against Corporate control of Aotearoa and the Pacific.

Monday, September 10, 12 noon, Aotea Square, Queen St PROTEST MARCH TO THE US-NZ PARTNERSHIP FORUM – Tell Helen Clark: - Don’t support the US wars of terror in Iraq and Afghanistan; - Don’t sign trade agreements that give away our right to control our own economy; - Justice and human rights in the Pacific is not for sale. Contact A Space Inside Collective [aspaceinside@gmail.com] Ph 021 150 3597 [http://ourworldisnotforsale.wordpress.com/]

Thursday, September 13, 7.30pm, Auckland Centre University of Otago House 385 Queen Street (Free Parking ) PROF WILLIAM HARRIS - POLITICAL STUDIES - MIDDLE EASTERN SCENARIOS IN THE 21ST CENTURY Part of a series of free public lectures starting May 10 at the University of Otago Auckland Centre. [http://www.otago.ac.nz/aucklandcentre/whatson/index.html]

Sunday, September 23, 3pm, St. Matthew-in-the-City, crn. Hobson and Wellesley Streets United Nations International Day of Peace –Celebrates the declaration of Auckland Peace City and the 20th Anniversary of Nuclear Free New Zealand legislation. Also, SGI Exhibition launch for ‘Creating a Culture of Peace: The Right to Human Security’. The event includes Interfaith Choirs, music and youth readings, plus Mayor Dick Hubbard and local MPs. Event organised by UNANZ, Ak. Interfaith Council and Soka Gakkai International. More info. contact Laurie Ross on 811 8696 [laurie-ross@xtra.co.nz]

24th Sept. – 5th Oct. – Exhibition ‘Creating a Culture of Peace: The Right to Human Security’ produced by Soka Gakkai International as part of the United Nations Decade for Peace. Available for public viewing at AUT Library foyer in Wellesley Street.

Wednesday, September 26, 12-2pm, AUT Student Quad Special lunchtime event to mark the annual U.N. International Day of Peace. Speakers, music, information stalls. More info. contact Laurie 811 8696

BEST ON THE WEB

NEW ZEALAND Loan sharks don’t fear Judith Tizard [http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK0708/S00262.htm] Pou Korero: a journalists' guide to Maori and current affairs by Carol Archie. Published by the NZ Journalists Training Organisation (NZJTO) ISBN 0-9582058-7-6. While written primarily as a guide for journalists, 'Pou Korero' is an excellent resource for anyone with an interest in how Maori are portrayed by the Pakeha media and how this affects the way Maori are perceived by other New Zealanders - and, most importantly, how this can be improved. 'Pou Korero' was launched by Auckland University of Technology Chancellor Sir Paul Reeves on Monday, 27 August, at Nga Wai O Horotiu marae (AUT); and discussed by a panel including Sir Paul, Whai Ngata (TVNZ), Wena Harawira (Maori TV), Carol Archie, and Jim Tucker (NZJTO) - links to coverage of the launch and interviews with Carol are available at [http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/poukorero.htm] 'Pou Korero' can be purchased from the NZ Journalists Training Organisation: $56.25 to NZJTO members and currently enrolled journalism students (plus postage $3 for each copy), $67.50 to non-members (plus postage $3 for each copy) - the order form is available at [http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/poukorero.htm] If you are in Wellington and would like to pick up your order from the NZJTO Wellington office, please contact [Bronwyn@npa.co.nz] Copies of Carol Archie's previous book 'Skin to Skin: Intimate true stories of Maori-Pakeha inter-marriage' are now available at a special reduced rate, see [http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/skin2skin.htm] for details. University of Waikato calls for sweeping changes University of WaikatoUniversity of Waikato researchers into domestic violence have called for sweeping changes in the treatment of battered women by the courts and government agencies coupled with amendments to the laws designed to protect them and their children. [http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/ED0708/S00083.htm] Woolies tissues from illegally logged rainforests? Green Party The Green Party is calling on Woolworths to reveal whether their "Select" brand of tissues and paper products, which are marketed as from sustainable forests, are actually sourced from illegal and unsustainable rainforest clearing in Indonesia. [http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0708/S00442.htm] Dairy farming putting water quality at risk Green PartyThe Government today acknowledged that continued intensification of dairy farming like that in Canterbury is posing a threat to public health through its effect on drinking water. [http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0708/S00385.htm]

REVIEW Sicko: As art and as political commentary, “Sicko” marks a giant leap forward for Michael Moore. Dispensing with a lot of the customary gimmicks of his previous films–including trademark confrontations with greedy corporate heads on their own turf–it focuses more on the stories of individuals who have been victimized in one fashion or another by the lack of decent health care in the richest country in the world. [http://louisproyect.wordpress.com/2007/08/28/sicko/] Dont Miss This Video: John Pilger: 'The War on Democracy' Must Watch Documentary Film - "The film tells a universal story," says Pilger, "analysing and revealing, through vivid testimony, the story of great power behind its venerable myths. It allows us to understand the true nature of the so-called war on terror". [http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18236.htm]

ENVIRONMENT The looming food crisis - Land that was once used to grow food is increasingly being turned over to biofuels. This may help us to fight global warming - but it is driving up food prices throughout the world and making life increasingly hard in developing countries. Add in water shortages, natural disasters and an ever-rising population, and what you have is a recipe for disaster. John Vidal reports [http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2007/aug/29/food.g2] Global Warning: Brutal lessons from an Antarctic summer: Here is climate change in action, Antarctica as a living experiment [http://environment.independent.co.uk/climate_change/article2876800.ece=]

GLOBAL Rising powers have the US in their sights [http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/IH22Ak01.html] The Promise of real news [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAXtLgMedyI] Options On The Table By Noam Chomsky - The sabre-rattling rhetoric about "containing Iran" has escalated to the point where both political parties and practically the whole US Press corps accept it as legitimate and, in fact, honourable, that "all options are on the table," to quote the leading presidential candidates - possibly even nuclear weapons. [http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18263.htm] Credit Derivative Orgy is Behind Liquidity Crisis by Martha Rosenberg Financial Times warned against them. So did Warren Buffet, Alan Greenspan, Jim Sinclair and the chief economist at Morgan Stanley. Derivatives they said could facilitate a global financial collapse like what sunk Barings Bank, Orange County and the Long-Term ... [http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0708/S00281.htm] Corporate Capitalists: Government Comes To The Rescue By Ralph Nader - The corporate capitalists’ knees are shaking a bit. Their manipulation of the sub-prime housing market has led to a spreading credit crunch and liquidity crisis. So it is time for them to call on Uncle Sam – the all purpose bailout man.Only don’t call it a bailout yet. It is just an injection of over $200 billion in the past week to stabilize the heaving financial markets by the European Central Bank and our Federal Reserve. Governments to the rescue – again. [http://www.countercurrents.org/nader190807.htm]

PACIFIC Pacific must stand strong on cutting fishing - Greenpeace New Zealand - As the 3rd Regular Session Scientific Committee of the Western Central Pacific Commission (WCPFC) wrapped up its meeting yesterday in Honolulu, Hawaii, Greenpeace backed the need for Pacific solidarity to save the Pacific tuna stocks from commercial extinction. ... [http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0708/S00623.htm] Violence Erupts Between Landowners and Korindo - (the Korean Indonesian) Timber and Oil Palm Company Reports of military violence and an attack by traditional landowners on the personnel and property of ... [http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0708/S00624.htm]

AUSTRALIA The following is an open letter to the leaders of the Australian Labor Party, Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard. It was written by Michele O’Neil who is the Victorian State Secretary of the Textile Clothing and Footwear Union of Australia (TCFUA). [http://www.unite.org.au/2007/08/28/an-open-letter-to-rudd-and-gillard/]

EAST TIMOR East Timor: Fretilin leader calls for Australian troops’ withdrawal [http://www.greenleft.org.au/2007/722/37475]

LATIN AMERICA Hugo Blanco: The Epic Struggle of Indigenous Andean-Amazonian Culture [http://www.socialistvoice.ca/Soc-Voice/Soc-Voice-135.htm] The Latin American Revolt [http://www.monthlyreview.org/0707foster.htm] The Washington Post’s Bias Against Democracy in Latin America [http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?ItemID=13578] The Center for the Study of the Americas (CENSA) is launching its new, revised web site, [http://globalalternatives.org] Among its features is a new series of in depth reports called Strategic Studies. The first Strategic Study is on the popular movements in Ecuador and their revolt against neoliberalism. See: [http://globalalternatives.org/strategicstudies] It provides an historic context for a NACLA article by Roger Burbach that will be published in September-October. To read the article in the NACLA Report on the Americas when it is released see www.nacla.org [http://www.nacla.org] “Ecuador’s Popular Revolt: Forging a New Nation.” Also check out the books by CENSA Associates at: [http://globalalternatives.org/books] CENSA is carrying videos on its new web site. See our first video, a lecture by Roger Burbach at the Institute of International Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, titled: “The Radical Challenge to the US: Bolivia, Ecuador and Venezuela.” See: [http://globalalternatives.org/video/lectures]

VENEZUELA Chávez Proposes International of Left Parties [http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/chavez270807.html] Differences among Chavez Supporters over Venezuelan Constitutional Reforms [http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news.php?newsno=2395] Watch "No Volveran - The Venezuelan Revolution Now" online and get your own copy! [http://www.handsoffvenezuela.org/venezuela_dvd_no_volveran_3.htm] Hugo!: The Hugo Chavez Story from Mud Hut to Perpetual Revolution (Hardcover) by Bart Jones (Author) List Price: $30.00 Price: $19.80 from AMAZON: [http://tinyurl.com/yw8fge] Proposed constitutional changes to extend democracy in Venezuela [http://www.venezuelasolidarity.org/?q=node/944] A Good Example of the Bad Left of Latin America by Michael A. Lebowitz [http://www.monthlyreview.org/0707lebowitz.htm]

CHILE Chile: Crisis in the Neoliberal Paradise [http://www.bolivariancircle.org/?q=node/306]

PERU The earthquake and the vultures by Hugo Blanco [http://www.walterlippmann.com/docs1472.html]

BOLIVIA The Struggle for Bolivia's Future by Federico Fuentes [http://www.monthlyreview.org/0707fuentes.htm] The Opposition Tried to Stop the Government From Imposing Its Majority: Fights in the Bolivian Congress Over a Political Judgement Pablo Stefanoni, Clarín, August 23 (plus video) http://boliviarising.blogspot.com/2007/08/opposition-tried-to-stop-gover... [http://boliviarising.blogspot.com/2007/08/opposition-tried-to-stop-government.html] Bolivia's Constitutional Assembly Temporarily Suspended: Conflict Trumps Compromise http://boliviarising.blogspot.com/2007/08/bolivias-constitutional-assemb... [http://boliviarising.blogspot.com/2007/08/bolivias-constitutional-assembly.html] "We will defend the constituent assembly with our lives" http://boliviarising.blogspot.com/2007/08/we-will-defend-constituent-ass... [http://boliviarising.blogspot.com/2007/08/we-will-defend-constituent-assembly.html] Garcia Linera calls on the people to defend the process of democratic change http://boliviarising.blogspot.com/2007/08/garcia-linera-calls-on-people-... [http://boliviarising.blogspot.com/2007/08/garcia-linera-calls-on-people-to-defend.html]

CUBA The Cuban Five -- victims of national security justice By Saul Landau http://progreso-weekly.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=108... [http://progreso-weekly.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=108&Itemid=1]

USA Home Prices: Steepest Drop in 20 Year: U.S. home prices fell 3.2 percent in the second quarter, the steepest rate of decline since Standard & Poor's began its nationwide housing index in 1987, the research group said Tuesday. [http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070828/home_price_index.html?.v=7] Brace yourself for the insolvency crunch: The liquidity crunch is not yet over: the insolvency crunch has hardly begun. [http://snipurl.com/1q24j] Two Years After Katrina, Billions in Relief Funds Are Missing By Jeffrey Buchanan and Chris Kromm, AlterNet [http://www.alternet.org/story/60494/] Robert Fisk: Even I question the 'truth' about 9/11 [http://news.independent.co.uk/fisk/article2893860.ece] The Great Iraq Swindle By Rolling Stone Magazine - How is it done? How do you screw the taxpayer for millions, get away with it and then ride off into the sunset with one middle finger extended, the other wrapped around a chilled martini? Ask Earnest O. Robbins -- he knows all about being a successful contractor in Iraq. [http://www.countercurrents.org/rollingstone280807.htm] Governor's Call For U.S. Withdrawal From Iraq Greeted With Standing Ovation At National Guard Conference [http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18258.htm]

UK The boardroom bonanza - Directors' pay up 37% - Bosses earn almost 100 times more than staff - Average CEO received £2.9m [http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2157974,00.html]

MYANMAR Myanmar quashes democracy protests http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/08/23/myanmar.protest.ap/index.htm... [http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/08/23/myanmar.protest.ap/index.html] More Demonstrations Against Burmese Junta by Terry Evans - Today was such a tense day!!! More demonstrations were reportedly taken place in different areas in Rangoon following this morning peaceful march led by women activists. [http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0708/S00618.htm]

IRAQ Margolis says TV news hiding truth about Iraq civil war [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNDubPTrnG0]

PALESTINE JOHN PILGER: In a column for the New Statesman, John Pilger describes his first encounter with a Palestinian refugee camp and what Neldon Mandela has called "the greatest moral issue of our age" - justice for the Palestinians. 'Something has changed', he writes, referring to the world view of sanctions and a boycott against Israel. [http://www.johnpilger.com/page.asp?partid=451]

SRI LANKA Western media ignores Sri Lanka State Terror- Aussie doctor [http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=79&artid=23101]

NIGERIA The Niger Delta Crisis: Cultural Solidarity vs. Corporate Interests By Jessica Long - President Bush has dispatched armed attack boats to aid President Obasanjo in his aggressive in his aggressive police-state tactics. It is such bi-lateral corporate endeavors that have led the rebels of the Niger Delta region to drastic and desperate measures. [http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18254.htm]

KASHMIR Kashmir: Struggle For Independence Or A Proxy War? It was never our struggle. We people of Jammu and Kashmir never had any control or say over it. Be it talks with India or militancy, control has always been in hands of Pakistan; and this causes anger and frustration in minds of even most pro Pakistan Kashmiris.Evidence shows that it was a proxy war and not a war of liberation; and lesson from history is that you cannot win a war of liberation by becoming a proxy for another country, especially when that country also has territorial interest in that state [http://www.countercurrents.org/choudhry260807.htm]

KOREA Workers occupy supermarkets and defy riot police - Carrefour is the second largest retail chain in the world (Wal-Mart is the first). Carrefour Korea is now called E.Land (Carrefour is no longer the owner) and it's a chain of giant hyper-markets. In an attempt to cut costs, E.Land sacked hundreds of its employees recently. They then embarked on an amazing struggle to keep their jobs, occupying eleven of the stores six weeks ago. They were met with arrests and the intervention of riot police, who attacked one demonstration with water cannon. http://www.union-network.org/UNIsite/Sectors/Commerce/Index_Korea_Eland_... [http://www.union-network.org/UNIsite/Sectors/Commerce/Index_Korea_Eland_strike.htm] Labour news from Korea [http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/show_news.pl?country=Korea]

ends

© Scoop Media