Wow folks, no blog posts in 8 months?! Just where have I been? Busy.. that’s where

I got made redundant from my old job, which was actually a great opportunity for me to step out into something new. So I did just that.

I recently became the NZ Director for the Global Poverty Project… a not-for-profit organisation that seeks to invigorate the global movement to take effective concerted action on extreme poverty.

Living off my savings to get the project kick-started, I’ve just finished a 4-month tour of the country, promoting my project and learning about social change from amazing communities around the country.

And now I’ve just returned to Wellington to launch my first ever national campaign… Live Below The Line.

For five days this August, hundreds of Kiwis will be living below the international poverty line of $2.25 a day to cover their food budget. This difficult challenge is part of a new fundraising campaign aimed at combating extreme poverty around the world.

These participants will use their daily experiences to bring extreme poverty to the centre of conversation in homes and workplaces. They will gain a better understanding of the daily challenges faced by those trapped in the cycle of extreme poverty, and at the same time, they will be fundraising for 5 different charities that are fighting poverty in a myriad of different ways. These charities are The Global Poverty Project, Oxfam, Volunteer Service Abroad, P3 Foundation, and Christian World Service.

When I first decided to roll out Live Below The Line in New Zealand, I knew there would be a great response. This is a country after all that is used to punching well above it’s weight when it comes to making statements about things that matter. Nuclear free… the Springbok tour… Women’s Suffrage. Still a month away from the actual challenge, I am already excited to see how many Kiwis are taking this on board.

I’m taking the $2.25 challenge too. Myself and my fellow participants will no doubt struggle without caffeine, and have a faint feeling of being not quite full for the whole week. We’ll pool money with our friends who are taking the challenge to make that $2.25 stretch just a little further.

We’ll do all of this because whilst we choose to struggle to Live Below the Line for one week, there are 1.4 billion people who have no choice other than to do it every day. Think about that figure – 1.4 Billion – that is over 300 times the population of New Zealand – living every day to live in the most abject poverty.

For people who live in extreme poverty that $2.25 has to cover far more than food and drink. It has to cover everything – health, housing, transport, food, education. It is impossible to imagine, but it is the incomprehensible reality for an incredible number of people.

Many might think that $2.25 goes a lot further in developing countries. Unfortunately, this is not the case. The $2.25 figure represents the amount someone living in extreme poverty in New Zealand would have to live on, for all of their needs.

We’d love a lot more people to get involved though. When they ran Live Below The Line in Australia earlier this year they raised AUS$1.4million for crucial anti-poverty initiatives. Wouldn’t it be great if we could match that! The difference it would make for those living in poverty would be immense.

So, now I’m back home, and the ball is really rolling on my new campaign, you can expect to hear a lot more from me again in the future

aroha ki a koutou katoa

Will

p.s. Anyone wanting to take the Live Below The Line Challenge, or support someone who is, can find out more at www.livebelowtheline.co.nz

Now is the time to know

That all that you do is sacred.

Now is the time to understand

That all your ideas of right and wrong

Were just a child’s training wheels

To be laid aside

When you finally live

With veracity

And love.

Now is the time for the world to know

That every thought and action is sacred.

This is the time for you to compute the impossibility

That there is anything

But Grace.

Now is the season to know

That everything you do

Is sacred.

- Hafiz

“For Americans war is a necessity to sustain our belief that we are worthy to be recipients of the sacrifices made on our behalf in past wars. Americans are a people born of and in war – particularly, as I argue in my next article, the Civil War – and only war can sustain our belief that we are a people set apart.”

- Stanley Hauerwas

In 2001 Stanley Hauerwas was named “America’s Best Theologian” by Time magazine, and for me its easy to see why. His deeply considered yet often radical points of view are an appeal to take another honest look at the beliefs and assumptions we often hold as common sense.

In a recent article on Just War theory, Hauerwas (a committed pacifist) explores the origins and true meaning of Just War theory and holds them up against the grim reality of our modern-day conflicts and military operations… and shows that the so-called ‘realists’ are in many ways more unrealistic than the pacifists they love to deride.

Check out the full article here.

Check out this video starring Jeremy Irons, created by the Food and Agriculture Organisation, a United Nations organ. Join the growing mass of voices that are demanding an end to chronic hunger. It’s time to get mad!

Wild Geese

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting -
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

- Mary Oliver

“If you want to build a ship, don’t herd people together to endlessly collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea”

- Antoine de St. Exupery

Care more than others think is wise

Dream more than others think is practical

Expect more than others think is possible

Several strong themes appear to emerging from the summit already, including the importance of empowering women and children, and a surprising amount of support for the Robin Hood Tax.

My favorite bit so far has got to be the speech from the prime minister of Bhutan, Jigme Thinley. He told delegates:

“Since happiness is the ultimate desire of every citizen it must be the purpose of development to create enabling conditions for happiness. As it is likely that the relevance of eight MDGs will remain beyond 2015, my delegation would like to propose that we include happiness as the ninth MDG.”

See his full speech here.

“Dear Teacher,

I am a survivor of a concentration camp. My eyes saw what no man should witness:

Gas chambers built by learned engineers.

Children poisoned by educated physicians.

Infants killed by trained nurses.

Women and babies shot and burned by high school and college graduates.

So I am suspicious of education. My request is: Help your students become human. Your efforts must never produce learned monsters, skilled psychopaths, educated Eichmanns.

Reading, writing, arithmetic are important only if they serve to make our children more human.”

- Haim Ginot, 1972

“I
Have
Learned
So much from God
That I can no longer
Call
Myself

A Christian, a Hindu, a Muslim,
A Buddhist, A Jew.

The Truth has shared so much of Itself
With me

That I can no longer call myself
A man, a woman, an angel,
Or even pure
Soul.

Love has
Befriended Hafiz so completely
It has turned to ash
And freed
Me

Of every concept and image
My mind has even known.”

- Hafiz

Last month the representatives of youth from 66 countries gathered in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, to build solidarity and discuss the importance of biodiversity, vital for survival of the next generation.

Building on the youth conferences on biodiversity held in 2008 in Germany and 2009 in Aichi, Japan, the conference aimed to provide an opportunity for motivated youth from all over the world to learn more about biodiversity, discuss inputs for the upcoming meeting of the and establish a network for future actions.

On the last day, the youth group presented the statement on biodiversity, which expressed serious concern for the continuing loss of biodiversity occurring worldwide, and called the global leaders to act on reducing pressures, promote sustainable use of biodiversity and protect associated traditional cultures. The statement also underlined the importance of awareness-raising and engagement of citizens and general public.

More here.

Like the proposal to open our best conservation land for mining, new oil exploration is a move in the wrong direction for New Zealand. Expansion of oil and coal extraction threatens our unique environment, the climate and the clean and green reputation that underpins New Zealand’s economy. Our Government is struggling to understand the urgent need for a new economic vision. New Zealand deserves a clean energy vision from our Government.

Things you can do:

• Join the Facebook group here, and be part of the discussion and ongoing protest
• Sign the Greenpeace petition
• Sign the Green Party petition

“In this awful world where the efforts of caring people often pale in comparison to what is done by those who have power, how do I manage to stay involved and seemingly happy? I am totally confident not that the world will get better, but that we should not give up the game before all the cards have been played … There is a tendency to think that what we see in the present moment will continue. We forget how often we have been astonished by the sudden crumbling of institutions, by extraordinary changes in people’s thoughts, by unexpected eruptions of rebellion against tyrannies, by the quick collapse of systems of power that seemed invincible.”

- Howard Zinn (RIP)

A few of my thoughts on the news piece and why I think their schools are so successful…

I noticed that the schools in Finland go to a deliberate effort to build a culture of community. Whatever diversity was present in the schools, they embraced it fully with their commitment to keeping students of all levels, skills and backgrounds together. The relaxed atmosphere, the long-term relationships with other students and teachers… brilliant. They have clued onto the important fact.. that learning isn’t just a personal phenomenon… it is a communal phenomenon as well. We progress fastest in ‘learning communities’ where everyone is supporting everyone else. Just look at how indigenous people’s educate their young people.. it’s a community job. By the time they hit puberty they’re usually fully functioning adults.

They really value their teachers, and in return, the teachers do a freaking awesome job. Finnish society in general really values education.. evidence by mums/dads making the effort to stay home teaching their kids till they turn 7!

I noticed they made a deliberate effort to create a system that worked for Finns… and they admitted it wouldn’t necessarily work well elsewhere. What’s to stop us, an even smaller country, trying to create systems that work for NZ? Or, break it down even smaller. Schumacher was right.. small is beautiful. Let districts/communities/municipalities create systems that work for them. I loved the fact that schools went to the effort of creating their own particular culture (this is a common practice in youth work as well) where people could feel un-pressured, supported and understood. Nice one Finland!

I’ve been here sınce frıday nıght, after a brıef stopover ın Seoul, Korea, nıcely paıd for by Korean aırlınes. After somehow navıgatıng the ıstanbul metro system by myself, I fınally arrıved at the venue of the World Youth Congress… a huge unıversıty campus on the european sıde of ıstanbul.

My fırst ımpressıons of the Congress were that ıt was extremely dısorganısed. Our accomodatıon was (ıs) unfınıshed, meanıng the lıghts only work sometımes and the shower goes from freezıng to scaldıng every few seconds. On top of the that the organısers don’t really seem to have too much of a clue.. everythıng ıs last mınute, and for a conference for future ’world leaders’, they make more than theır faır share of ethıcal faux pas, ıncludıng provıdıng drınkıng water ın the form of mıllıons of tıny sealed plastıc cups (whıch end up lıtterıng the ground everywhere..ıncudıng the ground outsıde my clımate change workshop today), and dodgy corporate sponsorshıp (the youth actıon project I am vısıng over the weekend ıs fully funded by Coca Cola.. sorry Jennıe!)

However, most of the partıcıpants here are fantastıc. I’ve already made some great frıends, ıncludıng a swedısh-chınese journalıst,  a kazak youth actıvıst (who accompanıes me on my mornıg runs… yes Davıd, I am runnıng every day.. ha!), and an entrepeneur from Iraq who can’t stop crackıng jokes. By the end of the congress I can tell I wıll have some dear new frıends. If the congress organısers don’t meet the mark ın ıntegrıty or organısatıon, many of the partıcıpants make up for ıt. I’m learnıng a lot from them, and takıng a lot of notes on ıdeas for future projects.

I’m also learnıng a lot about turkısh culture… they love to dance (ın a slow, tasteful way that I can actually pull off, for a change),they love food, chıldren, and they love theır rıch hıstory. I’m lookıng forward to gettıng out more ınto Istnbul thıs week and also ınto the more tradıtıonal vıllages later thıs month.

Yesterday I ran my workshop on ‘Storytellıng for Change’, and about 35 people attended before I had to start turnıng people away (we were ın a room made for 10-15 people..a mıracle I crammed so many ın, ın 30 degree heat as well.. there’s no aır con eıther, dıd I mentıon that?). The workshop went really well..far better than I expected actually.I even had a few people tell me I’d changed theır lıves!?  Whoases.. Put that ın your monıtorıng and evaluatıon, Global Focus! Many people are askıng me to run the workshop agaın, but I’d rather relax and enjoy other people’s workshops.

So far I’ve seen very lıttle of ıstanbul..they’ve kept us busy wıth workshops and cultural events..but that all changes tonıght, as we’re off for a boat trıp along the amazıng Bosphorus rıver, whıch separates europe and asıa. We have a tour of ıstanbul later thıs week, but I’m hopıng my new turkısh frıends wıll take me out on the town sooner than that =) The workshops at the congress are great, but I’m ıtchıng to see more of thıs crazy cıty.

Suprısıngly the jet lag stıll hasn’t hıt, despıte the almost opposıte tıme dıfference. It’s day 5 and I’m feelıng pretty good.. averagıng 7 hours sleep a nıght (usually mıdnıght to 7am) , drınkıng lots of water, tryıng to eat well, and not drınkıng too much turkısh coffee.. whıch ıs absolutely delıcıous by the way, for all you Wellıngtonıan coffee lovers!

Later thıs week I’m headıng off wıth my congress ‘aıle’ (small ‘famıly’ group) to a coastal town 10 hours of ıstanbul, where I’ll be paıntıng a mural, platıng turkısh gum trees, and hopefully gettıng some swımmıng done. For those of you who don’t know, I cut about 10 ınches off my dreads the nıght before I left wellıngton, so wıth a much lıghter head I am greatly lookıng forward to many a medıterranean dunk =) At the moment I’m averagıng 3 showers  day, because the humıdıty ıs through the roof and the 35 degree sun ıs unrelentıng.

Ok thats me for now. More on my turkısh adventures at another tıme.

Love and blessıngs to you all,

Wıllıam

Non-violent alternatives to war exist, and in fact are very successful.  Some of the 20th century’s harshest oppressors were removed through nonviolent conflicts.

Currently, groups are using civil resistance to obtain rights in nations such as Azerbaijan, Belarus, Burma, China, Cuba, Egypt, Honduras, Iran, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe, and other places. In places such as Tibet, West Papua, Western Sahara and the Palestinian Territories, groups are fighting nonviolently for self-determination. You can learn more from an excellent website here:

http://bit.ly/cOBx3c

In connection to my previous article,  alternatives to war in Afghanistan and Iraq were then, and are now, plentiful, workable, well-founded and well-researched. I perhaps wrongly assumed that these were common knowledge, and so did not focus on them in my article.

Examples can be found here for Afghanistan:

http://bit.ly/ddzoQm

(Chomsky’s and Dodge’s are two of my favourites)

And here for Iraq:

http://bit.ly/9EQTnJ

(The seattlepi is nice quick intro)

As a New Zealander, I was both delighted and concerned to discover that my country is considered the most peaceful in the world by the 2010 Global Peace Index (GPI), a publication developed by an international panel of peace experts in collaboration with the Economist Intelligence Unit and published by the Institute for Economics and Peace.

On one hand, I think the world needs initiatives like this. The study’s founder, Steve Killelea calls the GPI “a wake-up call for leaders around the globe”, and I hope he is right. But, given the factors it examines—such as levels of violence and crime within a country, plus military expenditure and wars—the GPI unfortunately glosses over some interesting realities.

First, if you do believe peace can be achieved at the end of a gun, it unfairly vilifies countries like the United States who, though they account for 54 percent of global military spending, tend to use this spending to ensure the “peace” of their allies and neighbors. So countries sheltering under the military wings of a world power can happily slide up the index by letting the US (and the other top spenders like Russia, the UK, France and China) slide down.

Being a strong believer in nonviolent solutions to conflict resolution, I commend the GPI for bringing people’s attention to the scale of military spending by these countries. Most of the time I think what the US would call “ensuring peace, freedom and stability,” is just another name for exploitation and empire-building. Unfortunately, the beneficiaries of this so-called “peace” are never challenged about their complicity in global conflict.

And complicit we are.

The New Zealand government sent troops to support the US-led invasion of Afghanistan immediately after the September 11, 2001 attacks. They have been there ever since. According to Jonathan Steele of The Guardian between 20,000 and 49,600 people may have died of the consequences of the invasion. It is estimated that in Afghanistan there are 1.5 million suffering from immediate starvation, as well as 7.5 million suffering as a result of the country’s dire situation.

No matter. The NZ government uses rhetoric about “security” and “fighting terrorism” as a justification for the continued involvement of the NZDF (Defense Force). The language used by the government creates the image of altruistic action by the military. Soldiers are “peacekeepers” sent to do “reconstruction”—which obscures the reality that the Afghani government was installed by the US for economic reasons. It was only after the media revealed that the NZSAS (Special Air Service) was there that the government admitted to their involvement. They loudly trumpet the “reconstruction team” as “humanitarian aid” when in fact they are there to prop up the US military occupation.

A few years later, many of the New Zealand public watched in horror as the US invaded Iraq alongside the United Kingdom and smaller contingents from Australia and Poland. When this invasion first occurred, Kiwi activists organized some colorful protests and marches to raise awareness, which further bolstered the general anti-US sentiment in the country. Our Government at the time assured us we wouldn’t be involved in the war, and reassured by that fact, we allowed ourselves to sit back and busy ourselves again with the important business of disliking everything American.

How wrong we were. Research by investigative journalist Nicky Hager makes it clear that our very own Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) have been heavily focused on supporting the US War on Terror since September 11, 2001. When the US switched it’s attention to Iraq, so did we. It seems while New Zealand sits happy at number one on the GPI, our own tax dollars are funding an intelligence operation that supports the very same wars we once condemned. We have become, unwittingly, a vital cog in the intelligence grabbing that so erroneously frames the crimes against humanity being perpetrated in Iraq and Afghanistan and elsewhere by the United States of America.

And that’s only the wars we are involved in. Internal conflicts are happening all around the world and they are causing death and poverty on a massive scale. In Sudan for instance, 4.9 million people are now displaced. Poverty fuels conflict. Conflict exacerbates poverty. In fact, the same researchers that produce the GPI estimate that violence costs the global economy $10.5 trillion a year. That sure puts our measly Aid spending (currently somewhere around $119.6 billion) in perspective huh?

As the famous economist Jeffrey Sachs once said, “aid for the poor guarantees security for the rich”. What a no-brainer, right? Instability will grow where poverty festers. Yet economically rich countries continue, for the most part, to fail dismally in their commitments to overseas aid and development.

New Zealand’s track record is particularly dismal. We committed to a United Nations target that all developed countries should give 0.7 percent of Gross National Income (GNI) as Official Development Assistance (ODA) by 2015. The 0.7 percent figure may sound complicated, but it is actually quite simple. For every $100 earned in the country, the country gives 70 cents in aid.

Currently however, New Zealand gives only 0.3% of GNI as ODA, despite repeated campaigning by the NGO sector and NZ public. That puts us roughly 18^th in the OECD, behind big military spenders like the UK and France, and behind the Aussies whom we love to criticize for their involvement in Iraq. And since the 0.7 percent that we promised to give is (obviously) a percentage, not a figure in absolute terms, the actual amount rises and falls as our GDP rises and falls. Our commitment to ODA is more of a moral statement than a financial one, and we can be doing a lot better.

Finally, does the GPI really pick up on what’s going on at home here in New Zealand? We might be the world’s safest nation for some, but not if you’re a child or a woman.

Looking at UNICEF and OECD reports on Child Poverty in “developed” countries, New Zealand has a poor record of standards in caring for its children on just about every index. One in six New Zealand children lives in poverty, meaning they are more likely to live in poverty than any other group. A third of children live in overcrowded conditions, and we have the highest rates of youth suicide in the entire OECD. This is unacceptable in a country as wealthy as New Zealand.

Violence against women is another issue that continues to persist as one of the most heinous, systematic and prevalent human rights abuses in the world. The GPI has been criticized for not including indicators specifically relating to violence against women and children. If it did, New Zealand might not enjoy its celebrated status. In one national survey, 35 percent of the women interviewed reported being physically assaulted by an intimate partner.

I’m not trying to be overly critical of New Zealand. We have our issues, but we have plenty to be proud of as well. We enjoy a heritage of peacemakers and heroes, like Te Whiti and Tohu, Kate Sheppard, and Sir Edmund Hillary, and strong stands on issues like Apartheid and Nuclear Power. But that is no license to rest on our laurels. If we are to be true to our heroes, we must continually strive ever upwards and onwards. If we are truly to be ranked as peaceful, we should follow in the philosophy and footsteps of our pioneering peacemakers from Parihaka, when they reminded us:

“No good thing has ever been wrought by force …

there is no reason why force should continue to have power over us.”

My background is in Youth Work, and here in New Zealand we use a Lakota model of human development, called the ‘Circle of Courage’, as a framework for understanding and responding to young people’s needs. The Circle teaches that there are four key developmental needs for any person, and one of those four is Generosity/Empathy. If we are unable to feel for others and give of ourselves, we diminish as a human being and our inner world diminishes along with us.

Rather than blaming technology, political messages or media though, I would put today’s lack of empathy down to the breakdown of community.

Beginning with the agricultural revolution, and greatly spurred by the industrial revolution, mankind has been on a journey that is taking us further and further away from co-operative social structures (tribes) to hierarchical structures (city/states/’empire’). Anthropological studies show what tribal groups and intentional communities have always known.. that human beings are designed to live in groups/tribes of no more than 150 (called Dunbar’s number). Beyond this, empathy begins to be stretched too thin, and co-operation as a way of getting things done must give way to coercion.

Bolstered by an almost religious commitment to growth economics (‘more’ and ‘bigger’ is better), our city/states (‘empire’) have become characterized more and more by extreme social fragmentation, disconnection from the natural world/creation, and a loss of the sense of the ‘sacred’. Divorce, mental health issues and suicide, the breakdown of the family unit sit alongside issues like massive species extinction, climate change and pollution. All these things are interconnected.

But there is hope, I think. We see evidence of it in the emergence of more and more intentional communities, local and ‘slow’ food movements, alternative trading systems, social justice groups (just look at 350.org, a relatively new group that organized the planets most widespread day of political action in history). And G-d, far from dead as Nietzsche proclaimed, is enjoying a renewed interest in the West, as people begin to realize how crucial a sense of the ‘sacred’ is to being fully human.

(This paragraph is extracted from The Standard, a political commentary blog)

“Murray McCully is still smarting from the Aid community so strongly (and correctly) objecting to his destruction of our world leading NZAID program, that he continues to kick them. Not content with last year’s 75% cut to the funding of the NGOs umbrella group The Council for Development, he has now suspended $26 million paid to NGOs like World Vision, Oxfam and Save the Children.”

Check out the full article here.

A provocative title, definitely, especially for those of you who know my faith background.. but seriously, this guy has some issues he needs to work through. He’s on a one-man mission to thoroughly scuttle what is one of the highest quality and forward thinking Aid and Development sectors in the world. I hope he slips up soon so his Cabinet can see him for the egotistical prat he is. As a Christian, I know I have to love the guy, take the plank out of my own eye, etc. Seriously though, this guys eyes could put New Zealand’s sawmills out of business.

Count to ten, Will.

Past the beggar and the suffering walk he who asks, ‘Why, oh God, do you not do something for these people?’ To which God replied, ‘I did do something, I made you.’
-Old Sufi Saying

I’m excited about the release of this documentary!

Exploring our reliance on technology, disconnection with nature, excessive consumption and loss of history, the new documentary film ReGeneration calls out the widespread cynicism and apathy gripping this generation.

Featuring interviews with Howard Zinn, Noam Chomsky, Amy Goodman and Adbusters founder Kalle Lasn, ReGeneration premieres at the Seattle International Film Festival on Monday, May 24.

Check out the trailer here.

from www.jesusmanifesto.com

I thoroughly enjoyed this four-part series by Mark Van Steenwyk from the Jesus Manifesto, which explores whether or not Christianity is intrinsically oppressive. Mark explores the history of what we know as ‘Christianity’ with unflinching honesty, but also searches his own soul for a way forward in following the radical Jesus. Very good stuff… make sure you read Mark’s final thoughts though in part 4.

My thoughts around global issues and the future of our planet have again and again led me to the wisdom of indigenous and tribal peoples.  Of particular interest to me was the book Ishmael, which I read this year. Warning.. it will mess with your head. More on this later.

Here are the links to each part, since they’re hard to find by themselves.

Part 1 – An introduction

Part 2 – Subjugating Creation

Part 3 – Christian supremacy

Part 4 – Evangelism and Conquest

Most people have seen James Cameron’s Avatar by now. Even if you haven’t, here’s my two cents.

Avatar is the story of an ex-Marine who finds himself thrust into hostilities on an alien planet filled with exotic life forms. As an Avatar, a human mind in an alien body, he finds himself torn…Avatar is the story of Jake Sully – an ex-Marine who finds himself thrust into hostilities on an alien planet filled with exotic life forms. As an Avatar, a human mind in an alien body, he finds himself torn between two worlds, in a desperate fight for his own survival and that of the indigenous people, the Na’vi.

Avatar is an enthralling experience. It is one of the most visually stunning films I’ve ever seen, and the plot, though clichéd, still holds some very important messages. By making the story about the interactions between ‘humans’ and ‘aliens’, Avatar imaginatively revisits the acts of genocide that were the foundation of European and American empires, in which entire native tribes and civilizations were wiped out by white immigrants to the Americas, Africa, and the Pacific. With its futuristic focus and allusions to a polluted and overpopulated earth, it is a film that reminds us of our past whilst raising alarm bells about the future we face if we remain on our path of environmental destruction and unhindered growth. These issues are more important today than ever before, and I salute Cameron for packing them in a pill that the general public are able to swallow.

However, once you get past the special effects and emotive storyline, the film doesn’t stand up to critical scrutiny. The plot is simple and formulaic and has been likened to Dances with Wolves or The Last Samurai, where the hero is a white male with a military background from a technologically advanced culture who arrives to subjugate native people, but ends up going to battle on their behalf.  While I’m sure indigenous groups are grateful for help from non-native people who empathize with their issues or causes, it would be nice to see a movie where these issues are resolved by the tribe themselves, not some white guy ‘gone native’ who leads the tribe from the inside rather than from the outside – a kind of inverted colonialism. I also didn’t like the way the movie valorized military action as a solution to these issues, and it certainly didn’t offer any new ideas or alternatives. But then I don’t suppose most people go to the movie to watch drawn out scenes of diplomacy, dialogue and reconciliation in action. You can’t eat popcorn to that.

Ultimately though, the movie is a grand sweeping experience that should inspire a legion of viewers to recognise the dangers of imperialism, both historic and contemporary, and understand the holism and fragility of our planets environmental systems. Definitely worth seeing… especially in 3D!

I was delighted to witness the jury’s unexpected ‘not-guilty’ verdict in the trial of the three Ploughshares activists in Wellington District Court last week. Adrian Leason, Father Peter Murnane and Sam Land—the three men who were charged with intentional damage and unlawful entry at Waihopai spy base in Blenheim, New Zealand—were acquitted of all charges against them.

The climax of the trial was an intense moment. I sat in the courtroom with a large group of supporters from all over New Zealand as the jury filed in, and the 9 seperate verdicts ( 3 charges for each of the men) were read out. We’d been told by the judge to be as quiet as possible, but that didn’t stop the increasingly loud gasps of amazement that escaped our mouths with every single ‘not-guilty’ verdict.

At the conclusion of the trial, Father Peter, Sam and Adrian said they felt privileged to have helped uncover the true nature of the spy base. “Our actions in disabling the spy base and stopping the flow of information helped save lives in Iraq,” added Adrian.

“What has been humbling for us to realize is how our witness has impacted on so many people around the world and at home,” said Sam.

“We did not try to avoid the consequences of our actions, because we respect the rule of law although we do believe we are ultimately accountable to a higher authority. We damaged property at the spy base in order to save victims of war and torture. It’s all about Jesus’ command for us to treat all people as our brothers and sisters,” said Father Peter.

Father Peter Murnane talks to press immediately after the verdict

Commenting at the conclusion of the trial Waihopai Ploughshares media spokesperson Graham Bidois Cameron said this Ploughshares action is part of an ongoing tradition: “The practice of non-violent resistance and direct action in the cause of peace has a long history in this country—the peaceful resistance to the invasion of Parihaka, and non-violent direct action against nuclear armed warships entering our harbors being just two examples.”

“The actions of Waihopai Ploughshares also need to be understood in relation to an international movement for disarmament and peace,” said lawyer Moana Cole, herself a Ploughshares activist. “Adrian, Sam and Father Peter are part of a rich history of activism in support of those without a voice and the movement is certainly growing.”

Not everyone share’s Moana’s enthusiasm. A cursory glance at most New Zealand mainstream media websites at the moment will highlight the diverse reactions of people across our country to the Ploughshares “not guilty” verdict. Articles, interviews, statements and blog posts expressing everything from great joy, to bafflement, to total outrage are abundant. Supporters of the Ploughshares action see this verdict as a great victory for the global peace movement and a step towards pushing for greater awareness around New Zealand’s complicity in US-led illegal wars. Detractors of the Ploughshares action are mostly either worried that this verdict will set a precedent for other activists to perform similar actions, using the same “greater good” legal defense, or are angry that the men caused more than $1 million worth of damage to government property and “got away with it.”

I can definitely sympathize with the Ploughshares’ detractors. The law plays a very important role in ensuring peace and security for New Zealand citizens, and Father Peter was right to mention that he and the other Ploughshares activists ultimately respected the rule of law.

However… I’m still firmly in the supporters camp – for main two reasons.

First of all, the trial was held in a district court and the verdict was reached by jury. To my understanding, in terms of setting a legal precedent in New Zealand, the trial has almost nil value (there are plenty of statements from legal professionals on NZ media websites regarding this matter). The main impact of this trial for New Zealand will hopefully be to throw a great deal of fuel on the fire of public debate around the Waihopai spy base, and that can only be a good thing.

Secondly, why would everyday New Zealanders get angry about damage to a base that very few of them have even heard of, and even fewer know anything about? The people I’ve heard talk about it seem to be getting angry simply on principle (“no-one is above the law” etc), with very little knowledge of the specifics around the case. I think this is a mistake, and the judge during the trial rightly reminded the jury that when considering the Ploughshares’ actions, they were to ignore concerns about setting any legal precedent and focus on the particular circumstances that were relevant to this case.

Well, lets look at those circumstances. Waihopai is a mystery to most New Zealanders, and it is this mystery that Adi, Sam and Peter are attempting to shed some light on. Even David Lange, who was acting Prime Minister at the time the base was built, didn’t know what it was really for. Lange says in the foreword to Nicky Hager’s 1996 book on Waihopai, Secret Power, “…it was not until I read this book that I had any idea that we had been committed to an international integrated electronic network”.

Hager’s research, which as far as I’m aware has never been refuted, reveals that Waihopai is part of an international spy network called ECHELON, and is our greatest contribution to US global strategies and ties us firmly into the US war machine. We New Zealanders unknowingly fund this base with our tax dollars to the tune of $50 million a year. That money funds activities which threaten lives around the world. How many innocent people have been killed through the US invasion and occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan which Waihopai assisted? The ongoing war has resulted in horrific war crimes, including more than one million dead Iraqi civilians, torture, and permanent poisoning of parts of Iraq by the use of depleted uranium munitions. Again, we pay for this with our tax dollars. Puts the $1 million damage that the Ploughshares did in perspective, doesn’t it?

This was the case that the Ploughshares presented to the jury. “Evidence presented in the court confirmed that the ongoing war in Iraq is illegal, and causing massive human suffering”, said Adrian Leason. “As an outcome of this trial, we hope that New Zealanders will insist on an inquiry into the activities of the spy base and its links to US-led illegal wars”.

I hope so too.

I found out this week that Gene Stoltzfus (former director of the Christian Peacemaker Teams) passed away last Wednesday. He had a heart attack while riding his bike near International Falls, Minnesota.

Rather than fumble for the right words to reflect on the life work of this humble and amazing man, I refer to the article which was recently posted on the CPT website (big ups to the Jesus Manifesto website for putting me onto this):

Gene Stoltzfus (1940-2010) was the Director of the Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) from its founding in 1988 until 2004.

Gene traveled to Iraq immediately before the first Gulf War in 1991 and spent time with the Iraq CPT Team in 2003 to facilitate consultation with Muslim and Christian clerics, Iraqi human rights leaders, families of Iraqi detainees and talking with American administrators and soldiers. The Team’s work contributed to the disclosures around Abu Ghraib that gave impetus to the still tentative, worldwide movement for military forces to attend to the rights and protection of civilians.

From mid-December 2001 to mid-January 2002, Gene and current CPT Co-Director, Doug Pritchard, were in Pakistan and Afghanistan listening to the victims of bombing and observing the effects of 23 years of violence — much of it fed by forces from outside Afghanistan. “Where have you been all these years?” asked an Afghan leader who articulated the voices of others around the globe.

Gene’s commitment to peacemaking was rooted in his Christian faith and experience in Vietnam as a conscientious objector with International Voluntary Services during the US military escalation (1963-68). He recalled watching the helicopters personnel unload their cargo of bloodied bodies. This experience set him “on the search to make sense of life and death where the terms of survival, meaning and culture approve and even train for killing.” Gene had to ask himself: Was I willing to die for my conviction of enemy loving just as Vietnamese and American soldiers all around me were being asked to give their lives in order to achieve peace and security?

In the early 1970’s Stoltzfus directed a domestic Mennonite Voluntary Service program with a view to engaging with the social justice and peacemaking needs of that day and recognized then the enormous importance of local, disciplined, trained community and congregationally based peacemaking efforts. In the late 1970’s, he and his wife co-directed the Mennonite Central Committee program in the Philippines during President Marcos’ martial law era focusing it on human rights and economic justice; and then they went on to help establish Synapses, a grassroots international peace and justice organization in Chicago to connect the United States and people in the developing world.

Gene Stoltzfus grew up in Aurora, then a rural town in Northeast Ohio where his parents gave leadership in a Mennonite Church and his father was the pastor. He graduated in Sociology from Goshen College in Indiana and held an M.A. in South and Southeast Asian Studies from American University (Washington D. C.) and a Master of Divinity from Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminaries in Elkhart, Indiana.

He was married to Dorothy Friesen of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. They lived in Chicago for 25 years until his retirement to Fort Frances, Ontario, Canada. After retiring from CPT, he traveled widely to speaking engagements, blogged regularly at Peace Probe at http://peaceprobe.wordpress.com/ and made twig furniture and jewelry as a contribution to the greening world.

Gene passed away on March 10, 2010.

Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) arose from a call in 1984 for Christians to devote the same discipline and self-sacrifice to nonviolent peacemaking that armies devote to war. To find out more, check out their website here.

The jury trial of three Ploughshares peace activists, Adrian (Adi) Leason, Peter Murnane and Sam Land is being held in Wellington, New Zealand this week. I is as a friend to Adi Leason and as a supporter of the Ploughshares movement that I feel compelled to write this uncharacteristically long blog post

People are coming from around New Zealand and Australia to support the three men, and to give voice to the issue behind their trial—the need to close the Waihopai Spy Base and end New Zealand’s links with the US war machine.

Waihopai is New Zealand’s most important contribution to that war machine, far more so than any Special Air Service presence in Afghanistan, and has been operating as an outpost of US intelligence 24/7.

Lets rewind, to 6 a.m. the morning of the April 30, 2008. Adrian, Peter and Sam have entered the Waihopai Spy Base in Blenheim, New Zealand, and used a sickle to deflate one of the two 30 meter domes covering satellite interception dishes. The group then build a shrine and pray for the victims of the war with no end—the so-called “War on Terror” led by the United States, a war that has resulted in illegal military invasions, illegal detention and torture and an unprecedented attack on civil liberties in all Western democracies.

The use of the sickle in deflating the dome was significant. It is taken from the vision of the prophet Isaiah in the Hebrew scriptures:

“They shall beat their swords into ploughshares, their spears into sickles; nation shall not lift sword against nation; and there shall be no more training for war” (Isaiah 2:4).

Ploughshares is not an organization or even an organized movement—it is simply a name invoked by different groups of people who are committed to peace and disarmament and who nonviolently, safely, openly and accountably disable a war machine or system so that it can no longer harm people.

Ploughshares actions started in 1980 in the US and have taken place in many different countries with weapons as diverse as rifles, warships, missiles, submarines and aircraft being dismantled or damaged. Most people involved with Ploughshares actions would say they are people of faith and followers of Jesus, but supporters come from a wide range of backgrounds and worldviews.

Sam, Adi and Peter took this action because they felt compelled to nonviolently respond to the Bush Administration’s admission that intelligence gathering is the most important tool of the “War on Terror.”

The ECHELON spy network, including Waihopai, is an important part of the US government’s global spy network. Despite New Zealand’s opposition to the US-led invasion of Iraq, Waihopai is funded by New Zealand taxpayers and its activities are shrouded in secrecy. All that is needed for Waihopai’s continued operation and our subsequent complicity to the “War on Terror” is our silence.

Since this action hundreds of people have been asking to join the list of Ploughshares supporters. While personal, prayerful, logistical and financial support for Ploughshares is essential and encouraged, the three individuals involved have expressed hope that many others are inspired to undertake even more creative and courageous actions in Aotearoa New Zealand, and across the world.

For more information, try the following links:

Profiles of the ‘Waihopai three’ here.

For a quick explanation of what happened and why, see the original press release by the Waihopai ploughshares here.

For a more in-depth ( but still short) explanation of the ‘why’ of this action, see Peter Murnane’s response to an article condemning the action.

For an explanation of what non-violence is, and wide variety of approaches to ‘enacting’ or living out non-violence, go here.

If you wish to know how to support the Waihopai Ploughshares, there are some ideas on their website.

For up-to-date information on the trial as it unfolds this week, check out Bryan Law’s blog.

And for a concise description of the issues surrounding Waihopai check out the Anti-Bases Campaign website, as well as this extensive statement by Waihopai researcher Nicky Hager.

Kia tau te rangimarie ki a tatou katoa (peace alight upon us all).

ps Another version of this article is featured on the website WagingNonViolence here.

The Charter, organised by the education charity DEA, supports the idea that learning can help tackle some of the global issues that the world collectively faces, such as climate change, poverty and religious conflict.

The Charter is well written and articulate. I would recommend checking it out in its entirety here and getting some background on it here.

I wouldn’t mind drafting a NZ version of this and getting our NGOs and schools to sign-on!