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Could we give this new arms race a miss? By Sam Buchanan

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The presence of Chinese warships in the Tasman Sea has been a great boost to cheerleaders for the new arms race. Globally and locally, there have been calls for increased military spending from the whole range of the commentariat spectrum, from academics to Donald Trump. The British Labour government just slashed its overseas aid budget in order to have money to buy more guns.    Locally we are being told to increase our defence spending to two percent of GDP. We are told we’ve ‘underinvested’ in defence, and that a response is needed to the worsening ‘security situation’.   Defence minister Judith Collins recently said we have to “make up for the 35 years of feeling that we’re living in this wonderful world where nothing bad could happen”.   Contrary to the minister’s suggestion that we’ve been sitting on our hands, in the last 35 years we have splurged on new military gear including, but not limited to, two ANZAC frigates, a new amphibious and mi...
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Cancelation of Film Screening - attend instead the Right to Protest mtg

We have decided to cancel the film screening on Tuesday 25th as there is a much more urgent meeting to attend - Peace Action Wellington have called a public meeting in response to the call by the Independent Police Conduct Authority for new standalone legislation directed at pre-emptively policing protest.   The IPCA want a law that people should have to apply to the government for permission before protesting, and they also recommend that it should be a criminal offence to protest without permission. This is apparently to make the job of the NZ Police easier. We need to fight back against this! So please come along to the public meeting: 6.30pm Tuesday 25/2 Two/Fiftyseven -  level 2  57 Willis St in the city. Further information here:  https://peaceactionwellington.wordpress.com/ (And apologies for the cancellation of 'The Coconut Revolution' - we shall show it at a future date.)
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'The Coconut Revolution' - Film & Chat at Whatever Palace

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CANCELLED CANCELLED Attend instead the 'Right to Protest' meeting same day - 6pm at Two/Fiftyseven   115 Taranaki St, Te Aro, Wellington 6011, New Zealand  7pm Tuesday 25th February  There's a lot of talk about mining at the moment, so the Freedom Shop thought it's time to show 'The Coconut Revolution' again. This is the story of an eco-revolution: the struggle and win against mining and victory over Western colonial power. When multi-national mining first went to Bougainville in the 1960s, locals were told that the mine would bring development. They soon realised that this was not true. In 1988 people of Bougainville rose up in arms against giant mining corporation Rio Tinto Zinc - and forcibly closed down the mine. The Papua New Guinea Army were mobilized to put down the rebellion and the newly formed Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA) fought back - at first with bows & arrows and sticks & stones, and managed to retain control of most of their islan...
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Toitū Te Tiriti

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  Terrific tangle of 'Toitū Te Tiriti'  shi rts and totes at the shop, along with stickers and badges.
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Discussion on Prison and Police Abolition

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  Chat about Prison and Police Abolition 13 January - 6pm at Whatever palace, 113 Taranaki Street. Want to exchange perspectives on prison and policing from different sides of the hemisphere?  Organizers, activists, and all interested people are invited to talk about the current state of prison and policing in their contexts focusing on how activists organize solidarity and resistance.  The aim is to learn from each other for the shared goal of a world without cages and care instead of cops.
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