Socialist Aotearoa

Sport, especially football, is one of the few places that can provide shelter to those who have no place in the world. - Eduardo Galeano As New Zealand and Paraguay prepare for a showdown tonight, it’s worth remembering that football is a game that has done more than most to bring people together. As we hunker down early on Friday morning and cheer on Rory Fallon or Mark Paston, it’s worth remembering those other football players who over the years have made headlines, not just for playing fair on the field, but for standing up for fairness and justice off the pitch. Just last week the Argentinian team appeared on the field with a banner calling for the Nobel Peace Prize to be awarded to the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo , the group of women who campaigned against the disappearance of their children during the dictatorship years in Argentina. Maps gives this as one of the reasons we should support the Argentinian team . With that in mind, Socialist Aotearoa offers up our top five footba

COMMENTARY- JOHN MINTO The Soccer World Cup in South Africa is underway but aside from the enjoyment of the games (Bravo the All Whites!) there is little else to celebrate as the full economic and social cost to the host country is becoming apparent while the predicted long-term benefits are evaporating. The notoriously ruthless Fifa (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) are calling the shots. They expect to make a profit of over $4 billion while loading the costs onto the South African economy. 10 new or revamped stadiums are being used at a cost of $4.5 billion – much of it wasted. Fifa insisted on a new $400 million stadium for Cape Town instead of upgrading the existing stadium in the so-called coloured township of Athlone because it wanted TV views of Table Mountain, not squatters. The new Durban stadium – dubbed the “alien’s handbag” tells a similar story. Trevor Phillips, former director of the South African Premier Soccer League asks “what the hell

"I believe I am a role model for children and I did this to show my kids this type of behaviour is wrong. This isn't about me or Andrew Johns, it's about arresting racism and standing up for my beliefs,” said Parramatta Eels rugby league star Timana Tahu in a homemade video posted up a few day ago . Tahu, a rugby league player with a Aboriginal mother, a Maori father and a lot of courage, walked out of the camp of the New South Wales State of Origin team last week after the Assistant Coach Andrew Johns thought it ok to be “using several offensive racist slurs including "coon", "Abbo", "nigger" and "monkey" at a boozy Blues bonding session last week”. Tahu is back with the team this week, but his stand against racist dickheads like Johns should be applauded. A few other recent incidences suggest that the locker room racism that Tahu tackled is widespread. In May NZ Rugby World Cup Ambassador and former All Black Andy Haden claimed on

38 years ago, the British Army murdered 14 unarmed Civil Rights marchers on the streets of Derry. The Paratroopers who butchered the innocent were awarded medals and protected by the State. Now, the British government has admitted the massacre was "unjustfied and unjustifiable". Justice must be done- the soldiers and their commanding officers should now stand trial for murder. The Connolly Club of Auckland invites you to a screening of the acclaimed film "Bloody Sunday", and a discussion afterwards. This Sunday, 2pm, 6a Western Springs Road, Morningside, Auckland. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/weekend/2010/0612/1224272334779.html http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=21554 Bloody Sunday- screening and discussion Date: Sunday, 20 June 2010 Time: 14:00 - 17:30 Location: Unite union, 6a Western Springs Road, Morningside

video of striking Honda workers HERE and HERE The recent wave of struggles in China shows a new militancy that is challenging the bosses and the state’s authority A sleeping giant is stirring in China—the working class. High-profile strikes have spread through China’s Honda car plants over the past few weeks. These strikes have shown a new confidence and militancy among workers. Unlike in previous disputes, the strikers don’t wear masks to avoid retribution. And they are challenging the official state-run “unions” by demanding the right to independent organisation. Workers at Honda Lock in Guangdong province marched out of their factory on Friday of last week demanding a 70 percent pay increase and the right to elect their own representatives. They are mostly in their early 20s and over half are women. The 1,700 workers elected their own factory committee, with one member from each workshop, to negotiate with management. The only “trade union” the Chinese state allow

Preparations for the World Cup that began last week have exposed the South African government's primary concern--putting profit over the needs of ordinary South Africans. AT LONG last, soccer fans, the moment is here. On Saturday, when South Africa took the field against Mexico, the World Cup was officially underway. Nothing attracts the global gaze quite like it. Nothing creates such an undeniably electric atmosphere with enough energy to put British Petroleum, Exxon/Mobil and Chevron out of business for good. And finally, after 80 years, the World Cup has come to Africa. We should take a moment to celebrate that this most global of sports has finally made its way to the African continent, nesting in the bucolic country of South Africa. And yet as we celebrate the Cup's long awaited arrival in the cradle of civilization, there are realities on the ground that would be insane to ignore. To paraphrase an old African saying, "When the el

Described as "NZ's most polished novel," Man Alone holds within it themes of depression, alienation and struggle. This essay examines Man Alone through the lens of the Marxist theory of alienation and continues a discussion on suicide and anti-capitalist politics which has engaged left Kiwi blogs. “...I find one satisfaction knowing Johnson is still alive. There are some men, this fellow said, you can’t kill.” And with these lines ends one of Aotearoa’s classic novels, John Mulgan’s saga Man Alone . (Watch Finlay MacDonald's segment on the book on TVNZ's The Good Word (part 3) ) Man Alone follows the protagonist Johnson, a British Great War soldier attempting to settle down in the New Zealand of the 1920s and 1930s. Along the way he rubs shoulders with the workers, farmers and wives of the country. The novel is part social realism, part wilderness adventure, shot through with a down and out in the North Island feel, and a dash of despe

Anger at the Government's decision to abolish Christchurch's local council because of its opposition to Big Dairy's desire to consume all Canterbury's water boiled over, and one protester sticks it to John Key's car. Good on ye, comrade!

Around the country hundreds marched against the siege in Gaza. One hundred marched in Dunedin from the university to the Octagon, 400 marched in Wellington chanting "Close down the Embassy, Open up Gaza". In Auckland over 1000 marched to the US consulate and pelted it with shoes. 700 copies of the special Palestine issue were distributed around the country, calling for people to continue the Palestine solidarity struggle and focus on the very real links between New Zealand and apartheid Israel. Download it by clicking here .

TVNZ 7 News interview HERE Bfm interview on Auckland boycott plans HERE By Joshua Gale ⋅ June 4, 2010 for Te Waha Nui, AUT. Local peace and human rights activists are taking action against Veolia Transport, the French multi-national running the Auckland passenger rail network, because of its activities in Israel’s occupied territories. Outraged at Israel’s attack on the humanitarian aid flotilla off the coast of Gaza this week, activists are calling for Auckland councillors to follow the example of three councils in Ireland and cancel the contract of Veolia Transport Auckland. The company is a division of the global corporation Veolia Environnement, which operates in 25 countries and has more than 65,000 employees. Galway City Council and Sligo County Council cut their links with Veolia last year and May this year Dublin City Council passed a resolution to stop future contracts with Ve

Photographs- much respect to Comrade Paul Rees TVNZ One News lead story HERE TV3 News lead story HERE NZ Herald article HERE