Socialist Aotearoa

For many nations today the dominant people within that nation displaced another people so it is only natural that the narrative that is said to have brought the nation into being is set many years after the nation in question first came into being. In the narrative of the New Zealand nation we are first taught about the invasion of Gallipoli where the nation was supposedly brought together by the common struggle (to help the British imperial war machine gain a foothold in the Middle East). Indeed the lives of countless generations. However this is not unique to the New Zealand nation it is not uncommon to hear English historians talk about Agincourt as if the nation were founded due to that common struggle (also on foreign soil and also to the betterment of the English war machine and ruling class).  So why would the ruling class that dominate any given nation state want to distance themselves from the events surrounding the founding of the nation states that they dominate. now while

I was at a conference last year just outside Sydney that was hosted in a sports club. I never quite worked out whether any sport was played there, but what was clear was there was a hell of a lot of gambling going on. Pokie machines took up a huge section of the ground floor, and in a few months’ time, the extension would be finished, accommodating hundreds more. It had a couple of TABs onsite: indoors and outdoors so you can carry on smoking while you gamble. Nice friendly family feel too: they even have free bingo for the kids on Wednesdays and Thursdays, so the younger generation don’t have to miss out. Lots of people from the local community go there because all that gambling subsidises the bars and the food - we paid something like $10 a head for a three course meal with drinks. It’s a great community asset, just so long as you don’t think about the faces of the people glued to the slot machines, gambling away their wages and their lives for hours on end, the children wh

Boots Riley talks about working class resistance and radical parties in American history to a packed gathering of Mana in South Auckland. by Nico, SA Tuesday the 15th saw Revolutionary hip hop music come to Mangere by way of Oakland California. Boots Riley of the Coup and the street sweeper social club, along with his guitarist Grego Simmons put on an acoustic show for the Mana movement at the historic Metro theatre in Mangere.  Listen HERE Packed with Mana supporters and fans of Boot's music and politics, Boots Riley talked about his experiences as part of Occupy Oakland and the lessons learned in that movement. He talked candidly about how when you are trying to build a mass movement, you need to work with other people who aren't revolutionaries. But that this can be plagued with infighting and disagreements if people stick to their little ideological cliques and refuse to work with those who hold different politics to you. As comfortable answering quest