title: Beyond Terror: the truth about real threats to our world (Book Review)

authors: Smith, Ron C.

subjects: terrorism

abstract: The central thesis of the book reviewed here is that the threat of terrorism is not as great as prominent proponents of the ‘war on terror’ are apt to claim.  By contrast, the ‘real threats’ (climate change, marginalisation of the world’s poor, militarisation, etc.) are neglected.  This thesis, and the rather naked advocacy of left-wing activism, is subjected to scrutiny, and reasons for governments to continue to accord the security of their citizens some priority are advanced.

text: Beyond Terror: the truth about real threats to our world (Book Review) The central thesis of the book reviewed here is that the threat of terrorism is not as great as prominent proponents of the ‘war on terror’ are apt to claim.  By contrast, the ‘real threats’ (climate change, marginalisation of the world’s poor, militarisation, etc.) are neglected.  This thesis, and the rather naked advocacy of left-wing activism, is subjected to scrutiny, and reasons for governments to continue to accord the security of their citizens some priority are advanced.

year: 2008

title: Distribution of mine waste along the Waihou River flood plains

authors: Ahmed, Tofeeq

abstract: Solid waste production, in the form of mine tailings, is the result of mining of natural mineral resources. The Ohinemuri River tributary of the Waihou River was designated as an official sludge channel during the period of mining operations in the catchment as an official sludge channel during the mining period for mining operations in the catchment in 1895. The 1910 Commission recommended it be revoked and only “slimes” be discharged under a range of restrictions. Essentially processing technology had changed by 1910 and it was no longer necessary to discharge most of the waste. However, the designation remained in place as an official sludge channel during the mining period for mining operations in the catchment. Mine waste included metals such as: copper (Cu), Zinc (Zn), Manganese (Mn), Lead (Pb) and Arsenic (As). Regular flooding of the Ohinemuri and Waihou Rivers resulted in the rivers overtopping their banks and dispersing mine waste into the floodplain areas. The result was dispersion of metal contaminants in the Waihou River catchment area. The effects of this regular flooding had an adverse effect on stocks. The flooding destroyed the crops, the slimes and sludge from flood damaged grass paddocks. The cyanide sludge destroyed the fish stock in the lower Ohinemuri River and upper Waihou River. This continued until stop-banks were installed to reduce the occurrence of overbank flooding, mostly long after any mining disposal had ceased. It was assumed that the heavy metals were migrating downstream. However, recent studies show no strong evidence of downstream migration of contaminated sediments in the Waihou River to the Firth of Thames. This research will investigate the heavy metal concentration along the Waihou River floodplain by mapping metal concentrations from mine waste.
Field sampling has found that the mine waste has not travelled far beyond Paeroa and is concentrated on the flood plains. Some sample sites have levels of contaminants that exceed the thresholds for chronic toxicity. These results are consistent with research limited to the immediate vicinity of the river channel.
Key words: Waihou River, Ohinemuri River, mine tailings, heavy metals, contaminated sediments.

text: Distribution of mine waste along the Waihou River flood plains Solid waste production, in the form of mine tailings, is the result of mining of natural mineral resources. The Ohinemuri River tributary of the Waihou River was designated as an official sludge channel during the period of mining operations in the catchment as an official sludge channel during the mining period for mining operations in the catchment in 1895. The 1910 Commission recommended it be revoked and only “slimes” be discharged under a range of restrictions. Essentially processing technology had changed by 1910 and it was no longer necessary to discharge most of the waste. However, the designation remained in place as an official sludge channel during the mining period for mining operations in the catchment. Mine waste included metals such as: copper (Cu), Zinc (Zn), Manganese (Mn), Lead (Pb) and Arsenic (As). Regular flooding of the Ohinemuri and Waihou Rivers resulted in the rivers overtopping their banks and dispersing mine waste into the floodplain areas. The result was dispersion of metal contaminants in the Waihou River catchment area. The effects of this regular flooding had an adverse effect on stocks. The flooding destroyed the crops, the slimes and sludge from flood damaged grass paddocks. The cyanide sludge destroyed the fish stock in the lower Ohinemuri River and upper Waihou River. This continued until stop-banks were installed to reduce the occurrence of overbank flooding, mostly long after any mining disposal had ceased. It was assumed that the heavy metals were migrating downstream. However, recent studies show no strong evidence of downstream migration of contaminated sediments in the Waihou River to the Firth of Thames. This research will investigate the heavy metal concentration along the Waihou River floodplain by mapping metal concentrations from mine waste.
Field sampling has found that the mine waste has not travelled far beyond Paeroa and is concentrated on the flood plains. Some sample sites have levels of contaminants that exceed the thresholds for chronic toxicity. These results are consistent with research limited to the immediate vicinity of the river channel.
Key words: Waihou River, Ohinemuri River, mine tailings, heavy metals, contaminated sediments.

year: 2019

title: Marine inequality, borderization, and the radical potential of kinship

authors: McCormack, Fiona

subjects: Aquaculture

abstract: This article utilizes scholarship on borders to interpret the persistence of inequality in Indigenous seascapes, irrespective of moves to redress colonial wrongs or the growing anthropocenic recognition of human-nature interconnectedness. I examine border politics in the context of Māori claims for marine title and rights and the post-settlement development of aquaculture. Drawing on Harsha Walia’s concept of “border imperialism” and Achille Mbembe’s thesis on “borderization,” the article highlights the endurance of colonial forms alongside their neoliberal transformation into the enclosures and entrapments arising in the context of accelerated marine industrialization. By holding in tension the interconnection between marine environments and kinship, on one hand, and scholarship on borders, on the other, the article suggests that Indigenous Māori kinship, expanding through multiple layers of difference, constitutes a site of resistance that has the potential to refute the logic of borderization.

text: Marine inequality, borderization, and the radical potential of kinship This article utilizes scholarship on borders to interpret the persistence of inequality in Indigenous seascapes, irrespective of moves to redress colonial wrongs or the growing anthropocenic recognition of human-nature interconnectedness. I examine border politics in the context of Māori claims for marine title and rights and the post-settlement development of aquaculture. Drawing on Harsha Walia’s concept of “border imperialism” and Achille Mbembe’s thesis on “borderization,” the article highlights the endurance of colonial forms alongside their neoliberal transformation into the enclosures and entrapments arising in the context of accelerated marine industrialization. By holding in tension the interconnection between marine environments and kinship, on one hand, and scholarship on borders, on the other, the article suggests that Indigenous Māori kinship, expanding through multiple layers of difference, constitutes a site of resistance that has the potential to refute the logic of borderization.

year: 2025