On 16 & 17 November this year, a weapons and military expo of 500 of the world’s largest arms dealers will converge on Auckland’s Viaduct Harbour.  Alongside this, the NZ Navy has invited warships and war-makers from across the globe to “celebrate” its 75th birthday. War is nothing to celebrate in our view.

We now live in an age of unparalleled human calamity caused by war — fueled in numerous direct and indirect ways by the arms industries. As many of us know first hand, wars are no longer an isolated offshore phenomenon: we all are, and will, pay for this wholesale destruction of human life one way or another.

Do spread the word once you’ve soaked in this appalling news yourself. While not all of us may regard ourselves as the stereotyped marching protester, there are many ways to make your own ethical stand against the celebration of this phenomenon of war for profit.

For some of us that may include greater awareness of the extent of this reality.

Peace Week is coming up & Parihaka is here!! These events relate directly to the integrity of our nation. Your spirit to meet all the goodwill behind them is much needed!!

Writing today from a beautiful day in peaceful Warkworth, home to the Warkworth Museum which offers a wonderful step back in time to traditions like working machinery, as well as featuring US marine huts from its assistance to NZ during the Japanese invasion of Pacific islands…but…fast-forwarding to 2016:

As you’d have heard, super-war-machines have started hitting (pardon the pun) our shores today — a celebration by the modern super-machines of war, which in this age virtually means sanitised officialised mass destruction — in disregard of international laws principles. See “War or Peace? You decide!”

SO: below is your Kiwi response: a full smorgasbord of Peace initiatives in response to the week of upcoming war celebrations — just check it all out!!!