Weapons Conference Delagates Cannot Escape Resistance!
New Zealand's annual weapons conference opened this morning at the Duxton Hotel in Wellington. Despite the NZDIA trying to keep all details of the location secret, delegates of the annual New Zealand Defence Industry 'Weapons Conference' were met by resistance when they arrived at the Duxton Hotel this morning.
For the last several years, the conference had been held at Te Papa, but steadily growing public opposition to the arms dealers culminated in the complete shutdown of the museum during the 2006 conference.
This year the warmongers have been forced to retreat entirely to the Duxton, previously used only for their Wednesday evening awards dinners.
Sponsors of last year's conference included L3 Communications - the sixth largest defense company in the United States, providing survelliance
equipment and aircraft maintenance; Serco, a company involved in nuclear weapons; Safe Air Ltd, who've worked on Indonesian war planes; and KBR, the former Halliburton subsidiary which provides logistical support to the US army in Iraq.
Peace Action Wellington is calling on everyone who opposes the warmongers to come to the Duxton Hotel on Wakefield St at 6pm on Wednesday, to tell them they're not welcome in our city.
Wherever the warmongers go, the people will follow!
Related
http://www.peacewellington.org
Comments
Re: Weapons Conference Delagates Cannot Escape Resistance!
kia ora koutou...
great they could not meet at Te Papa! the Duxton is not really a 'secret' location, though. :)
kia kaha!
greetings from Berlin,
Re: Re: Weapons Conference Delagates Cannot Escape Resistance!
It was a secret that it was the venue for the conference.
Re: Weapons Conference Delagates Cannot Escape Resistance!
This evening's demo has been cancelled due to the weather.
Re: Weapons Conference Delagates Cannot Escape Resistance!
see yah there weds goldberg
Interesting ways of remaining anonymous..
What's with the burqa?
http://img.scoop.co.nz/stories/images/0710/02262732729576515382.jpeg
Re: Interesting ways of remaining anonymous..
it's not a burqa and it's to remind people about those who are being tortured and killed in places like Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine by weapons and military systems being promoted and sold at the conference inside.
Re: Re: Interesting ways of remaining anonymous..
Hmm ok, looks like a burqa to me ..
I am all for the demo and all, but you are dressed in something closely resembling the most powerful symbol of islamic fundamentalism. So instead of reminding people* of torture you are reminding them of suicide bombers, oppression of women etc etc.
*Bob and Jane, who get their info from the Sunday Star Times..
Re: Weapons Conference Delagates Cannot Escape Resistance!
I don't see a suicide bomber or an islamic radical. I see someone like me who happens to dress differently. if you think of radical islam and violence when you see people dressed that way then you are a victim of the media's misreporting on palestine, iraq etc., I see an average person. maybe you should stop reading the sunday star times which maintains a manipulated and unrealistic association with fear when you see images of someone a little different from you.
Re: Weapons Conference Delagates Cannot Escape Resistance!
An amazing elephant story...
In 1986, Dan Harrison was on holiday in Kenya after graduating from Northwestern University.
On a hike through the bush, he came across a young bull elephant standing with one leg raised in the air. The elephant seemed distressed, so Dan approached it very carefully.
He got down on one knee and inspected the elephant's foot and found a large piece of wood deeply embedded in it.
As carefully and as gently as he could, Dan worked the wood out with his hunting knife, after which the elephant gingerly put down its foot..
The elephant turned to face the man, and with a rather curious look on its face, stared at him for several tense moments.
Dan stood frozen, thinking of nothing else but being trampled. Eventually the elephant trumpeted loudly, turned, and walked away.
Dan never forgot that elephant or the events of that day.
Twenty years later, Dan was walking through the Chicago Zoo with his teenaged son.
As they approached the elephant enclosure, one of the creatures turned and walked over to near where Dan and his son Dan Jr. were standing.
The large bull elephant stared at Dan, lifted its front foot off the ground, then put it down. The elephant did that several times then trumpeted loudly, all the while staring at the man.
Remembering the encounter in 1986, Dan couldn't help wondering if this was the same elephant.
Dan summoned up his courage, climbed over the railing and made his way into the enclosure. He walked right up to the elephant and stared back in wonder. The elephant trumpeted again, wrapped its trunk around one of Dan's legs and slammed him against the railing, killing him instantly.
Probably wasn't the same elephant.
Re: Weapons Conference Delagates Cannot Escape Resistance!
Well said. It is a fundamental right ,surely, to dress how one pleases. G forbid.
*I* prefer to wear a disguise or else you'l be picked off like a fly.I mite remind some of the more democratic of you that human rights are being eroded all the time and we must be vigilant on holding on to them. I have no beef with Islam. It is the fundamental right of peoples to believe in their own god /religion. BASICS.
Sigh..
Well these are two poorly thought out comments. Hmm.
1. Of course it is fine to dress how you please. I was mearly pointing out the confusing symbolism that the "average nzer" would take from this. Dress as a fucking sea turtle if you want, it will be just as unhelpful (kids might like it I guess..)
2. There are disguises and there are disguises. This is not part of the question. I generally go to most actions as plain and covered as possible.
3. I don't read the Sunday Star Times, I can't even get this paper where I live (hint: really really far away). I really wish, that as soon as one makes a (constructively) critical remark on Indymedia, that people wouldn't pop up with wild assumptions about who they are, or what they do (or don't..).
4. Where I live, in my (old) neighbourhood, women get beaten up for refusing to wear head scarves. Maybe you can talk to them about how they feel about 'dressing differently'. And no, I am not calling for a ban on Islamic dress .. but to simplify it into a fight between poor oppressed muslims and the state/media/everyday-racists plays directly into the hands of the patriarchy.
Re: Re: Weapons Conference Delagates Cannot Escape Resistance!
"It is a fundamental right ,surely, to dress how one pleases".
Of course, but that's hardly the point. We're not talking about what someone wears on the way to the grocery shop. This was on a political protest after all, an occasion at which you *want* everything you do to be seen as a political act. If i wear a black hoody and a balaclava to a demo then that means that i identify with a certain political group and their agenda. If i wear a clown costume it also has a political meaning. So wearing a burqa can justifiably seen as identifying with a political agenda that is associated with islam.
Re: Re: Re: Weapons Conference Delagates Cannot Escape Resistanc
People have the right to dress how they wish. If that means covering up then so be it. And I do agree that Bob and Janes comments were a little off track...that 'Sunday pullout' that comes with the SST is really REALLY shallow. All these so called 'celebs' try and be funny but really,well, their advertising and ho-hum humour is a pit of shame. Anyway if one wishes to cover up, so be it. If I want to dress as they do in Islam or India then so be it. I wouldn't want to look a porn star, like so many pathetic women aim to look like. I think we need to be proud of how we dress. Burqa's (not sure if Ive spelt that right) are really interesting. Sure there have been abuses by people who are covered towards women, but we would be silly to think that all people do that. Bob and Jane I think you are scared of facing new things. The conservative public is scared of new things isn't it, just look at the way they are treating the latest people who stand up for solid human rights and Tino Rangatiratanga.
Re: Weapons Conference Delagates Cannot Escape Resistance!
This is plain dull! www.safe.org.nz is much more important!
Re: Weapons Conference Delagates Cannot Escape Resistance!
Guy Fawkes lives!
Re: Weapons Conference Delagates Cannot Escape Resistance!
Guy Fawkes lives!