The Freedom Shop Aotearoa

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.)

  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.

6.30pm at Freedom Shop on Tuesday 29 October, 2024 After decades of neoliberal economic policies, in October 2019 the population of Chile rose up in a series of protests that  grew into amass movement against inequality and for constitutional change. Pablo Abufom has been a student organiser, an activist for pension reform, and was a community organiser during the 2019 popular uprising against neoliberal austerity and inequality. He will talk about his experiences organising during the 2019 protests and the successes and defeats for the ongoing constitutional reform process in Chile. He is also keen to learn about the struggle against neoliberal capitalism in Aotearoa. Facebook Event

It's cold evenings now but there's heaps of events - some online, some in real life - happening in Te Whanganui-A-Tara / Wellington this month. Of particular interest to us are two talks happening at Book Haven / Freedom Shop about street art (Wednesday 10) and Decolonisation (Thursday, 25), but there's lots of others crucial mahi going on around town. Have a read through the events listed below and hope to see you at some.

 Interested in the 'Notebooks for People in Aotearoa Prisons'? Come and meet 5ever and find out more about what and why they're doing it!! Book Haven at 6pm on Rāpare Thursday 21st Mahuru September. We sell the 5ever 'Hot Men for Prison Abolition' fundraising notebooks at the Shop and we often get asked why people inside need paper and notebooks, so many assume paper is a basic necessity and everyone has access to it - but that's not necessarily true! So come along and kōrero with 5ever and find out more more about the campaign. You can also find out more about their September Notebooks for Prisoners Working Bee which is going to be held Rāhoroi Saturday 23rd September at Rebel Press.   The 5ever books community supports incarcerated people through their Notebooks for Prisoners campaign. They repurpose waste paper into blank notebooks with the help of friends. These notebooks are put together by volunteers, delivered free of charge, and then distributed ad hoc...

A talk and discussion about class in today's Aotearoa, and launch of the Freedom Shop's new pamphlet 'Class War in the 21st Century'. 6pm, Wednesday, August 23rd The Freedom Shop/Book Haven 160 Riddiford Street Newtown Whanganui-a-Tara Class was the issue that originally defined 'the left', but the left doesn't talk much about class these days, sometimes addressing class issues using euphemisms, sometimes avoiding it all together. Sam Buchanan, author of the new pamphlet, will talk about how class manifests itself today, and how domination of the left by the Professional-Managerial Class has led to class issues being ignored and other progress being hindered. Snacks and drinks. Grumpiness welcome. No throwing things.

Come and join a discussion about the new Bill The new Immigration (Mass Arrivals) Amendment Bill is before Parliament right now. It includes new detention powers against asylum seekers and also adopts the Australian 'no entry by boat' policy by discriminating against asylum seekers who arrive by sea. Western countries, like New Zealand, use refugees to make them look good but it's the western countries that are the primary drivers of the problems causing people to flee and then the same countries do their best to prevent people from arriving there.  Join us for a discussion about this bill and the bigger picture, the reality of western states policies to refugees and the constant erosion to the right of asylum. Thursday 20 April 6.30pm at Freedom Shop, 160 Riddiford St, Newtown

Join us for a discussion evening with Giacomo Lichtner , Associate Professor of History at Vic Uni. The slogans at the protest at Parliament earlier this year were sometimes frightening. On the one hand a public vaccination campaign was compared to the holocaust, on the other hand Jacinda was labelled ‘a Jew’, resulting in demands for public lynchings. It seems the imagery of Europe’s fascism of the 20th century is fair game for anyone to use. Exactly one hundred years after the Italian establishment allowed Mussolini to become Prime Minister we want to discuss why so few people seem to be worried about the rise of far-right groups. Giacomo Lichtner will give an introduction on the subject, followed by discussion. See Giacomo´s previous article on this subject. Tuesday 1 November, 6:30pm  at Book Haven 160 Riddiford Street Newtown

A discussion about what is really needed to avoid climate disaster Currently no political organisation is even advocating for the kind of change required to avoid the effects of catastrophic climate change. Some say that the solutions being put forward by the current government are worse than doing nothing. Yet we all know that drastic change is required. Let's talk about how we can get there. Tuesday, 11 October  2022, 6:30pm at the Freedom Shop, 160 Riddiford St, Newtown For further reading see this interview with Mike Joy . This is the first in a series of talks and discussions we have lined up. Coming up are a talk about the rise of fascism (one hundred years after Mussolini became Prime Minister) and a talk about investigative journalism. Stay tuned.

Come along for a film screening and discussion about 'No Fire Zone' and - The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka Newtown Hall, 71 Daniel Street, Newtown FRIDAY, 29 JULY 2022 FROM 18:30-21:30 The film details the final days of Eelam War IV in 2009 and its aftermath. It helps explain why Eelam Tamils continue to flee the country. The documentary depicts the Government of Sri Lanka's assault on the territory of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in the north of the island. The war followed the end of the Sri Lankan Peace Process which began formally in 2002. A central player in the film is recently deposed Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the then Defence Secretary. The story is told by the people who lived through the war and through dramatic and disturbing video evidence. Following the screening researcher Umesh Perinpanayagam will provide critical comment on the film: does the film hide the British/US role in the killings? what is the relevance of the events depicted i...

Film screening and discussion   In 2015, a boat with refugees from Sri Lanka tried to reach New Zealand, but was intercepted in international waters by the Australian Border Force. They forced the refugees onto another boat and paid the skipper to take them to Indonesia. The boat was shipwrecked on an Indonesian island.  Why did the Australian Navy intercept a boat that was heading for NZ? Is the Australian Navy doing the bidding for the NZ government? Why is NZ still refusing to accept these refugees? Watch the film "Stop the Boats - the lie about saving lives at sea" and join the discussion about the rights of asylum seekers.  Tuesday, 22 June, 7pm at the Newtown Hall, 71 Daniell St, Newtown (near Constable St). Free entry. Organised by the Freedom Shop and Right2AsylumNZ

Join us at 6pm on Friday 8th March at the Newtown Community & Cultural Centre to hear an eyewitness account of events on the frontline in Syria and Kurdistan. Lachlan Spittles, who fought against ISIS as part of the People's Protection Units ( the YPG ) in Syrian Kurdistan, will be talking about the origins of the revolution in Rojava, the current state of the revolution and what we can do to help from here in Aotearoa. A copy of the poster can be downloaded here: Rojava Public Talk .

Join us at 6pm on Friday 8th March at the Newtown Community & Cultural Centre to hear an eyewitness account of events on the frontline in Syria and Kurdistan. Lachlan Spittles, who fought against ISIS as part of the People's Protection Units ( the YPG ) in Syrian Kurdistan, will be talking about the origins of the revolution in Rojava, the current state of the revolution and what we can do to help from here in Aotearoa. A copy of the poster can be downloaded here: Rojava Public Talk .

So you think you're a radical activist. But do you have any idea what your parents were up to when they were your age? "Jenny" finds out, just when the police are closing in on her and her friends. And she discovers that there's more connecting her to the alias she's chosen than she imagines. Join us for a screening of "Codename Jenny" (Deckname Jenny) and a discussion about radical activism in today's world. Friday, 7 December - 7pm at the Aro Valley Community Hall, Aro St. For further info about the film:  http://jenny.in-berlin.de  and for the trailer: CLICK ME

Thursday 21st September 6pm @ 19 Tory St  two films: Hell UnLtd (1936)  &  Remote (2017) War is big business, no matter who's in power the military and surveillance industries ensure that bombs keep dropping. War is not something that just concerns other countries, we are part of the problem. War starts with NZ companies producing technology for drone warfare, it continues with the GCSB supplying satellite information to US drone pilots and it culminates in the world´s largest weapons manufacturers having a conference in Wellington where they openly discuss how they can make more money out of killing people. Come and watch the films, and join us for kai and discussion afterwards. Members of Peace Action Wellington will be present to talk about the annual NZDIA weapons forum happening in Wellington October 10 & 11th.

Thursday 21st September 6pm @ 19 Tory St  two films: Hell UnLtd (1936)  &  Remote (2017) War is big business, no matter who's in power the military and surveillance industries ensure that bombs keep dropping. War is not something that just concerns other countries, we are part of the problem. War starts with NZ companies producing technology for drone warfare, it continues with the GCSB supplying satellite information to US drone pilots and it culminates in the world´s largest weapons manufacturers having a conference in Wellington where they openly discuss how they can make more money out of killing people. Come and watch the films, and join us for kai and discussion afterwards. Members of Peace Action Wellington will be present to talk about the annual NZDIA weapons forum happening in Wellington October 10 & 11th.

Thursday,  21 September,  6pm  @ 19 Tory St The Freedom Shop is screening two anti-war films: Hell UnLtd (19min)  Remote (33min) Hell UnLtd is a 1936 film made as a protest against profits in armaments during a period when fascism was growing throughout Europe. The film is political in nature but, unlike many political films of the period, also heavily experimental, mixing puppets, diagrams, animation, and archival footage at an extremely rapid tempo. It's a classic anti-war /anti-arms trade film calling on people to do something rather than sit dumbly and say 'I can't change anything'.  Remote is extremely recent. It's a June 2017 film about drone warfare, war,  surveillance, big business and people. The title 'Remote' deliberately plays on the the ideas of remote violence and the  remote society that allows this violence to happen.  Both films leave us thinking about how we allow the military & surveillance industrial complex to continue....

Thursday,  21 September,  6pm  @ 19 Tory St The Freedom Shop is screening two anti-war films: Hell UnLtd (19min)  Remote (33min) Hell UnLtd is a 1936 film made as a protest against profits in armaments during a period when fascism was growing throughout Europe. The film is political in nature but, unlike many political films of the period, also heavily experimental, mixing puppets, diagrams, animation, and archival footage at an extremely rapid tempo. It's a classic anti-war /anti-arms trade film calling on people to do something rather than sit dumbly and say 'I can't change anything'.  Remote is extremely recent. It's a June 2017 film about drone warfare, war,  surveillance, big business and people. The title 'Remote' deliberately plays on the the ideas of remote violence and the  remote society that allows this violence to happen.  Both films leave us thinking about how we allow the military & surveillance industrial complex to continue....

The Valley Rebels What happens to young refugees?   If on your drive home from work you encountered a group of lost teenage kids, would you stop and help them? That’s what the people from a valley in the French Alps do, and they are being prosecuted for it. Because the kids are “unaccompanied minor” refugees and the authorities don’t know what to do with them. Amongst the daily news about the “refugee crisis” in Europe, the situation of children is often overlooked. And closer to home, there are about 45 children held in the Australian detention centre on Nauru. Come and watch the film The Valley Rebels and join a discussion about young refugees and what happens to them. When: Thursday, 15 June 2017, 6 pm Where: 17 Tory St, Te Aro Hosted by the Freedom Shop

The Valley Rebels What happens to young refugees?   If on your drive home from work you encountered a group of lost teenage kids, would you stop and help them? That’s what the people from a valley in the French Alps do, and they are being prosecuted for it. Because the kids are “unaccompanied minor” refugees and the authorities don’t know what to do with them. Amongst the daily news about the “refugee crisis” in Europe, the situation of children is often overlooked. And closer to home, there are about 45 children held in the Australian detention centre on Nauru. Come and watch the film The Valley Rebels and join a discussion about young refugees and what happens to them. When: Thursday, 15 June 2017, 6 pm Where: 17 Tory St, Te Aro Hosted by the Freedom Shop