Screening of Earth’s Greatest Enemy by Abby Martin

Earth’s Greatest Enemy is the second feature documentary from journalist and filmmaker Abby Martin (Gaza Fights For Freedom), co-directed with her husband, Iraq War Veteran Mike Prysner. The film investigates the planetary and human cost of the US military which operates 800 military bases around the world. Despite being the largest institutional polluter on the planet, the US military is exempt from international climate agreements.

With testimonies from veterans, scientists and front-line communities, the documentary traces the connections between colonialism, US imperialism and the military-industrial complex as fundamental drivers of the global climate crisis.

Provocative, urgent and eye-opening, this is a documentary that will change how you see both the military and environmentalism.

For local context, New Zealand plays a strategic role and is integrated into the US military and intelligence supply chain. Our participation in the Five Eyes, RIMPAC (six weeks of war games in Hawaiian waters), Rocket Lab and Taranaki Alliance are just a few examples.

We do not intend to despair you or make you feel helpless. Rather, the goals of our event are:

·         People waking up (gently and firmly) to global reality

·         Awareness of NZ involvement in this whole context

·         Making linkages between climate change and military activity

·         Finding strength in unity / being together

·         People leaving empowered to feel we can do something

The program

12:00  Light lunch

12:30  Film

14:30 Afternoon tea

14:40 Reflections with panelists and Q&A

15:30  Closing

The Panelists

Jay Ruka, Taranaki Cathedral Dean

Ruakere Hond, Parihaka rangatira

Teanau Tuiono, Green Party spokesperson for Defence and Disarmament

Kate Cole, Palestinian Solidarity Taranaki and Climate Justice Taranaki

Liz Remmerswaal, World Beyond War Aotearoa

This event is jointly hosted by Taranaki Cathedral, Climate Justice Taranaki, Palestinian Solidarity Taranaki, Taranaki Quakers and World Beyond Wars Aotearoa.

Entry is free. Koha / donations are appreciated.   

Please register. It helps us with planning and logistics.

Watch this short interview with Abby Martin on what gives her hope when so much feels broken, when war and genocide have been normalised, and we’re told that nothing can change. Her answer was clear-eyed. Hope is not optimism. It comes from what she’s witnessing around the world: sustained activism, communities refusing to be divided, and a growing understanding that our struggles are connected — and that ordinary people, organised, have changed history before and can do so again.

This 20 minutes ABC interview gives more background about Abby and Mike’s journey from awakening to activism.

Explore the Empire Files by Abby Martin and Mike Prysner.