mars 2 earth

nah, the children stay with us

2017-02-07T18:48:00.001+13:00

These proposed changes are the next step in the attempted obliteration of Māori culture

Dame Tariana has spoken at a number of hui recently about her concerns regarding the Children, Young Persons and their families (Oranga Tamariki) legislation currently before Parliament.She is concerned the proposed amendments give Children, Young Persons and their Families (CYPFS) the legal power to determine who will raise tamariki Māori who have been uplifted from whānau. Under current legislation CYPFS must look to the extended whānau and hapū to place these tamariki. She says that will change under the new proposals.At the New Zealand Māori Council’s Waitangi Rua Rautau Annual Forum held recently said the devil is in the detail and concerned with amended Section 5 which includes the qualifier “wherever possible”.

Yep never mind that ANYONE has to be checked and ensured that they are safe to take the children - and that includes all caregivers. The facts are that this legislation is very, very bad for Māori.

Some background from "Hands off our tamariki Ōtaki hui, held 12 October at Te Wānanga o Raukawa and published widely including on He Hōaka

On Wednesday, October 12, a hui in Ōtaki discussed the changes Anne Tolley has proposed to the Children, Young Persons and their Families Act, removing the clauses that consider the effects of decisions on whānau, and that prioritise placing a child within their hapū or iwi.
Those clauses came out of the 1988 report Puao-te-ata-tu. After extensive research around the nation, Puao-te-ata-tu found that ‘institutional racism’ was at the root of Māori social welfare problems, and predicted that the Crown would continue to fail Māori unless this was fixed. The report found that Māori succeed when rangatiratanga is recognised and supported, and recommended that Māori should be resourced to solve the problems Māori are facing...

Removing the clauses from legislation is simply another colonising act of control. The proposed changes are inconsistent with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, to which New Zealand is a signatory. In particular, the changes are inconsistent with article 7.2 which recognises “the collective right to live in freedom, peace and security as distinct peoples and shall not be subjected to any act of genocide or any other act of violence, including forcibly removing children of the group to another group.”

This issue is still there, is still hot.
Scoop

Dame Tariana said the legislation cannot be allowed to proceed and if need be she would march.“If we can walk for our land, (and) if we can walk for our foreshore, we can certainly act for our tamariki”.She is devastated with less than three weeks out from submissions closing the new legislation severely affecting the aspirations and ambitions for all tamariki and mokopuna have barely raised a mention in the media. The Bill has been referred to select committee and the deadline for submissions on the Bill is 15 February.

The time has come - we cannot stay silent or still anymore - we will march and we will fight for our culture and we will win - WE WILL WIN!!!

a glance

2017-02-06T03:00:00.000+13:00

As we approach Waitangi Day I'm going to put some of my poems up - they relate to this day, they relate to me and they relate to today's world.

Waitangi day night

A queen sent emissaries

as I checked the rat trap

for a licker lover of

peanut butter inside the

ceiling of my whare

on Waitangi day night

That wasp stung me inside

my ear, I heard the vibrating

wings notch up but too

late my instinctual alarm

bell rang, too late for me

on Waitangi day night

Their paper home has grown

and my ear has swollen so i

cannot hear their voices

entreating the benefits of

a queen constantly begetting

on Waitangi day night

I huddle inside a fern now,

my old whare adorned with

photos of a queen, a tidal

current I see, head-high as

sweeping so clean, me

on Waitangi day night

a step closer

2017-02-05T12:00:00.000+13:00

As we approach Waitangi Day I'm going to put some of my poems up - they relate to this day, they relate to me and they relate to today's world.

at waitangi once,

when Rangatira didn't

say go! wildeyed,

they wanted their land.

the good had gone,

dead, shot, sick or

sobbing. Breath to

breath they looked

at them, and they

walked away hungry.

approaching the trap

2017-02-04T16:45:00.001+13:00

As we approach Waitangi Day I'm going to put some of my poems up - they relate to this day, they relate to me and they relate to today's world.

Sci fi colonisation

the first one arrived all

sun-spill and screaming

like a God. Somewhere

a parchment of pixels

was signed and they don't

talk to us anymore.

What have we loved?

To make ours into

theirs they came in numbers.

you are the resistance

2017-01-30T17:07:00.003+13:00

Love this one

Thanks Democracy Now and the courageous woman who made the sign.

Thanks also to the various resistance groups forming on social media and in real life. It is important that people know they are not alone, are not forgotten and that together we can fight the oppressors and their malignant agenda.

Now I am not going to put a list up of the various groups forming - basically if you are reading this YOU are the resistance - seek out like minds they are out there.

What would you have done when hitler and his mates were coming to power? Would you have acquiesced or fought knowing you were placing yourself in danger - what would you have done?

What are you doing now? THAT is what you would have done.

Make your loved ones proud and stand up against bigotry and discrimination and hate.

uglytrump

2017-01-30T08:01:00.002+13:00

trump is really showing his true self.

NYTimes

The president’s order, enacted with the stroke of a pen at 4:42 p.m. Friday, suspended entry of all refugees to the United States for 120 days, barred Syrian refugees indefinitely, and blocked entry into the United States for 90 days for citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

Meanwhile, large crowds of protesters turned out at airports around the country to denounce Mr. Trump’s ban on the entry of refugees and people from seven predominantly Muslim countries.

Around the nation, security personnel at major international airports had new rules to follow, though the application of the order appeared chaotic and uneven. Humanitarian organizations delivered the bad news to overseas families that had overcome the bureaucratic hurdles previously in place and were set to travel. And refugees already on flights when the order was signed on Friday found themselves detained upon arrival.

There are many many good people in the States and they will and are opposing this order. The legal eagles and civil rights activists are onto this. Where it ends up who knows but the fight is on.

The VP pence - what a scum

Vice President Mike Pence and Defense Secretary James Mattis stood directly behind their boss Friday (Saturday NZT), one man on each side, as President Donald Trump announced an order that will ban half the world's Shiite Muslims from entering the country for months.

"I'm establishing new vetting measures to keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the United States," Trump said from his podium at the Pentagon. "We don't want 'em here."

Pence nodded along to the words. It was just over a year earlier when he had called Trump's proposal to ban all Muslims from entering the United States "offensive and unconstitutional." That was before Trump picked him as his running mate and won the election.

Don't forget pence believes in the literal bible - that the world was made in 6 days and God rested on the 7th. Why the heck God would rest who knows - a poor understanding of God I think.

Where is it all going? - from a friends fbook feed

"If anyone is really interested in understanding what's happening around us, there's no better place to start than Hannah Arendt's "The Origins of Totalitarianism." A couple of apt quotes:"

“The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.”

“Before mass leaders seize the power to fit reality to their lies, their propaganda is marked by its extreme contempt for facts as such, for in their opinion fact depends entirely on the power of the man who can fabricate it.”

“One of the greatest advantages of the totalitarian elites of the twenties and thirties was to turn any statement of fact into a question of motive.”

“In an ever-changing, incomprehensible world the masses had reached the point where they would, at the same time, believe everything and nothing, think that everything was possible and that nothing was true. ... Mass propaganda discovered that its audience was ready at all times to believe the worst, no matter how absurd, and did not particularly object to being deceived because it held every statement to be a lie anyhow. The totalitarian mass leaders based their propaganda on the correct psychological assumption that, under such conditions, one could make people believe the most fantastic statements one day, and trust that if the next day they were given irrefutable proof of their falsehood, they would take refuge in cynicism; instead of deserting the leaders who had lied to them, they would protest that they had known all along that the statement was a lie and would admire the leaders for their superior tactical cleverness.”

“Before mass leaders seize the power to fit reality to their lies, their propaganda is marked by its extreme contempt for facts as such, for in their opinion fact depends entirely on the power of the man who can fabricate it.”

“One of the greatest advantages of the totalitarian elites of the twenties and thirties was to turn any statement of fact into a question of motive.”

“In an ever-changing, incomprehensible world the masses had reached the point where they would, at the same time, believe everything and nothing, think that everything was possible and that nothing was true. ... Mass propaganda discovered that its audience was ready at all times to believe the worst, no matter how absurd, and did not particularly object to being deceived because it held every statement to be a lie anyhow. The totalitarian mass leaders based their propaganda on the correct psychological assumption that, under such conditions, one could make people believe the most fantastic statements one day, and trust that if the next day they were given irrefutable proof of their falsehood, they would take refuge in cynicism; instead of deserting the leaders who had lied to them, they would protest that they had known all along that the statement was a lie and would admire the leaders for their superior tactical cleverness.”

Yep - be prepared, be knowledgeable, be aware.

the start of the peel

2017-01-28T10:12:00.000+13:00

People really dislike comparing trump to hitler for some reason. The parallels are stark for me. If you can't see it then you aren't looking.

Fascist - tick. Popular - tick. Hateful - tick. Sneaky - tick. Followed and adored by idiots who are only concerned about feathering their own nests - tick. Wrote a book - tick.

Of course trumps book was called - the art of the deal and in it he explained how he diddled so much from so many.
NZH

This is also a very old game for Trump, who has spent more than 40 years extravagantly and publicly lying in order to burnish his reputation, mislead the public about his track record as a businessman, and draw attention to himself as a man-about-town.

Trump partially owned up to this during his early ascent as a national celebrity, when he and his ghostwriter, Tony Schwartz, published "The Art of the Deal" in 1987. Trump described repeated falsehoods, doublespeak and exaggerations as tools he used to get ahead in business and life, and labelled them "truthful hyperbole."

This is where the alternative facts worldview comes from - way back when trump realised the DEAL is the goal not how you get to and close the deal. THE DEAL itself is the be all and end all.

Over the last week, Conway has tried to rebrand "alternative facts" as "alternative information" and "incomplete information." The latter two are unlikely to be the phrases that stick, however. Even so, Conway continues repackaging Trumpisms with brio, telling the Hollywood Reporter this week of her zeal for her role and the power Trump has invested in her. "If you see me on TV, it's because he wants me there," she said.

Spinning takes energy, however, and it requires unpeeling some moral glue to do it day after day - especially in the Trump era, when misdirection and lies are likely to be regular occurrences. For his part, Trump has done this for decades and it hasn't appeared to take much of a toll on him.

But the White House's machinations are likely to take a toll on Conway, Spicer and Trump's other advisers (as it did on some of their predecessors in decades past) if they decide to stay in the presidential arena for long. Proximity to Trump can be corrosive.

yep corrosive indeed - watch these events take place and imagine being way back in the 1930's in Germany - we are all living in history.

anti-trump

2017-01-27T16:01:00.000+13:00

trump - the guy is a self obsessed tool.

This article says it all

The lengthy interview provided a glimpse of the president and his state of mind on his fifth full day in office. It revealed a man who is obsessed with his own popularity and eager to provide evidence of his likeability, even if that information doesn't match reality.

but you know - fuck trump and his minions - we fight dem back

https://youtu.be/niJtpcgtUQs

https://youtu.be/ZvqYabGI6HQ

NO ONE is giving up!!!

sinister confusion

2017-01-23T07:59:00.002+13:00

The 'alternative facts' from the idiot trump's team are starting. Lies are not lies, not falsehoods, not deceptions - no they are alternative facts. And that is the softening up process so that any of the idiot trump's idiot supporters will do any idiot thing - not yet now, but a wee bit later on - based on alternative facts.

NZH

If there is one video clip that describes the new reality for the political media - and for the truth - during the President Trump era, it is the one above.It's a discussion about White House press secretary Sean Spicer, on his first full day in that job, having taken to the podium and made easily disproved claims about the size of President Trump's inauguration crowd."Why put him out there for the very first time, in front of that podium, to utter a provable falsehood? Chuck Todd asked Kellyanne Conway, a senior aide to the president. "It's a small thing, but the first time he confronts the public, it's a falsehood?After some tense back and forth, Conway offered this:"Don't be so overly dramatic about it, Chuck. You're saying it's a falsehood, and they're giving - our press secretary, Sean Spicer, gave alternative facts to that. But the point really is -"

Good write up by Anthony Robins on The Standard about the size of the marches and the deliberate and sinister messing with the facts bullshit from trump and his minions.

donning the fake-copycat-cake

2017-01-22T16:55:00.000+13:00

Idiot trump is in the big house now and he and his team are classic dims. One of the few highlights this year will be watching trump make a bigger fool of himself - it will be a daily event because he really is a self absorbed dickhead. He has no style, he has no class, and his team are worse than him.

The cake episode is a good example

Amid the glitz of President Donald Trump's inaugural festivities, one item stood out in particular late Friday night: a spectacular nine-tier cake that the new president and Vice President Mike Pence cut into with a sword.To pastry chef Duff Goldman, the cake seemed a little too familiar - because it looked almost exactly like one he had made years earlier for Barack Obama's second inauguration as president.

Oh dear - but could it actually be almost exactly the same?

On Saturday morning, Tiffany MacIsaac, owner of Washington's Buttercream Bakeshop, stepped forward to say she had been the one to create the much-talked-about cake.She said that the order came in while she was out of town, and that the client had brought in a photo of the cake from Obama's inauguration asking her to recreate it."They came to us a couple of weeks ago, which is pretty last minute, and said, 'We have a photo that we would like to replicate,'" MacIsaac told The Washington Post by phone. Her bakery tried to encourage the client to use the photo as "inspiration," as they do with many others, she said."They said, 'Nope, they want this exact cake. It's perfect.' And we said, great," MacIsaac said.

EXACTLY the same - why the hell would you do that unless you lack imagination and a few other things - so indicative of trump and his team - just like Melania plagiarised Michelle Obama speech and rick astley's song. Trump is just going through the motions - he is a liar. And he can't take the ridicule he so justly deserved - so that is where some of my fear comes from - as trump is ridiculed he will turn viciously on those who score points off him. And yep I'm talking really nazti. There will be blood on the streets before a month is out imo.

Back to this copycake though - the funniest and most poignant aspect is this

MacIsaac said the attention caught her by surprise partly because, per the order, the Trump cake was intended to be more of a prop: All but a three-inch slice at the bottom was inedible."It's just a Styrofoam cake. It's not for eating," she said. "I wasn't expecting it to be seen on TV."

It is a fake cake for a fake president. So fitting.

get some guts Obama and free Leonard Peltier

2017-01-18T18:37:00.000+13:00

Better late than never Obama in this

President Obama on Tuesday commuted all but four months of the remaining prison sentence of Chelsea Manning, the Army intelligence analyst convicted of a 2010 leak that revealed American military and diplomatic activities across the world, disrupted Mr. Obama’s administration and brought global prominence to WikiLeaks, the recipient of those disclosures.

and this

In addition, Mr. Obama on Tuesday commuted the sentence of Oscar Lopez Rivera, who was part of a Puerto Rican nationalist group that carried out a string of bombings in the late 1970s and early 1980s; the other members of that group had long since been freed. Mr. Obama also granted 63 other pardons and 207 other commutations, mostly for drug offenders.

and one mustn't forget this little gem eh

At the same time that Mr. Obama commuted the sentence of Ms. Manning, a low-ranking enlisted soldier at the time of her leaks, he also pardoned James E. Cartwright, the retired Marine general and former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who pleaded guilty to lying about his conversations with reporters to F.B.I. agents investigating a leak of classified information about cyberattacks on Iran’s nuclear program.

But what about Leonard Peltier the political prisoner held in prison for over 40 years?
What about this man wrongfully imprisoned and held like an animal for over 40 years!!!

Well this is what one of his prosecutors says

A senior US attorney who was involved in the prosecution of Native American activist Leonard Peltier has requested that Barack Obama grant clemency, with a rare plea that has energized the campaign to free the high-profile indigenous prisoner.
James Reynolds, who supervised a key part of the case against Peltier, who claims he was wrongfully convicted of the 1975 murders of two FBI agents, wrote to the president that clemency for the 72-year-old would be “in the best interest of justice in considering the totality of all matters involved”...

Peltier’s request for clemency is not a pardon appeal, but simply asks that Obama reduce the sentence. “If he doesn’t take action before 19 January,” Dunne added, “Mr Peltier will die in jail. He’s too frail and too sick to make it much longer in the prison system.”

Get some guts Obama and make the correct call and let Leonard Peltier go - ffs he has carried the bullshit lies from the government forces for too long. He has been sacrificed, he has been vilified and he has been locked up for 40 years for crimes he did not commit.

the big slack with lies please

2017-01-18T07:40:00.001+13:00

A classic from putin about the bad people who are not nice to trump the chump
NZH

Putin, speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, described a dossier on Trump as part of efforts by President Barack Obama's administration to "undermine the legitimacy of the president-elect" despite his "convincing" victory.Asked about the bombshell dossier which details Trump's alleged sexual activities at a Moscow hotel, Putin dismissed it as "fake" and charged that people who ordered it are "worse than prostitutes."

Yep you read it correct - worse than prostitutes!!!

But what the fuck does that even mean?

A prostitute offers a service in exchange for money. The service is sex. There is another person usually involved. The user of those services and the payer of them. The prostitute deserves no ridicule or judgement - there is no 'worse than prostitutes' - vlad is showing his own weakness and it is a bit of a Freudian slip there.

Meanwhile trump continues to struggle even with twitter

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump wanted to praise his daughter on Twitter - instead he accidentally sent his message to another Ivanka.Trump retweeted a message from a Twitter user that said his daughter was "great, a woman with real character and class."But the user tagged the wrong Ivanka, a mistake repeated by Trump - and the message was directed to a woman named Ivanka Majic in Brighton, southern England.

LOL would be funny if he wasn't sitting on all those nukes.

These sayings from the past show us the future

2017-01-17T20:53:00.001+13:00

It is interesting to learn where the terms we use in everyday life come from. Before we get into that a little digression - now, we live in a tiny house - that is 2 adults, a nine and two year old, a dog and cat. In a very tiny house. I often think of my mother in the Catlins living 10 people to a house probably only double the size of our little tiny house.

I believe I am future proofing my children to think outside the square and be able to do what others can only contemplate. It becomes interesting when I consider that I am future proofing them to be able to live in the world that has past and is coming again.

Change is coming - within our lifetimes things are going to get very, very different. When the combined effects of climate change, peak oil, nutter political leaders, obscene widening of the wealth gap, increasing poverty, hardship and homelessness. The lessons of these well known (western) sayings will become a new reality.

littlethings

“They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families used to all pee in a pot. Once a day it was taken and sold to the tannery.If you had to do this to survive, you were ‘piss poor.’But worse than that were the really poor folks who couldn’t even afford to buy a pot. They ‘didn’t have a pot to piss in’ and were considered the lowest of the low.”

“Houses had thatched roofs with thick straw-piled high and no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof.
When it rained, it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying, ‘It’s raining cats and dogs.’

“The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the term, ‘dirt poor.’
The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on the floor to help keep their footing.
As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when you opened the door, it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entrance-way.
Hence, ‘a thresh hold.’”

Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off.
It was a sign of wealth that a man could ‘bring home the bacon.’ They would cut off a little to share with guests, and would all sit around and ‘chew the fat.’”

“In old, small villages, local folks started running out of places to bury people.
So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave.
When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside, and they realized they had been burying people alive.
So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell.
Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (‘the graveyard shift’) to listen for the bell.
Thus, someone could be ‘saved by the bell,’ or was considered a ‘dead ringer.’

Well there we go - recognise those sayings? - now you know the past they came from and the future they promise - don't worry there will be smiles and laughter and happiness as well as simplicity.

lines up

2017-01-17T18:32:00.002+13:00

Good to see some action beginning around the up and coming election this year. Firstly though - Greg O'Connor the retired Police Association president courted by Labour, for Ohariu. Now lets try that sentence again the way I really want to write it. Greg O'Connor? - the retired Police Association spokeperson?? courted by Labour???, for Ohariu????. To me the icing on the shit cake was this

Labour leader Andrew Little has confirmed discussions between the party and former Police Association president Greg O'Connor - saying O'Connor "lines up perfectly" with Labour's calls for better police resourcing.

Yep, well, he wants to arm police

Police Association President Greg O'Connor has long warned that police are dealing with an ever-increasing number of armed offenders and says the latest incident comes as no surprise.The former officer once took an adamant stance against guns, but now acknowledges times have changed.

and this was telling too

"Believe me by next year, I believe it will be an election issue the political parties will be climbing over each other trying to get policies changed."

hmmm nice prophecy greg - looks like with labour you may have an opportunity to "get policies changed".

For me greg has been too hardline, too willing to always back the police. I don't care that he is the cousin of an existing Labour MP, and I don't care that he may get a 'free-ride' against peter dunne if labour's plan to get the Greens to not run against their man works. I do care that O'Connor has extreme 'police' views and ex police officers are not the best MP's in my opinion.

the silo is too small

2017-01-10T18:56:00.002+13:00

I'm interested in what post truth actually means. I'm going to trundle around this - it is only an aspect, a slither, an angle. I'm also using terms that I don't wholly like - like authority - in the learned sense.

In the past authorities and experts were generally accepted as authorities and experts and the knowledge and conclusions they reached were considered accepted. Not all of the time and of course there were always plenty of counter arguments placed. But the reason people get labeled as expert or an authority (knowledge) is generally because they knew a lot about the subject - they had studied and analysed it, they had contemplated and come to some conclusions, they had extrapolated and modeled.

In our new interconnected world it is a lot harder to accept authorities or experts - whoever they are.

The reason is that pretty well anyone with the net can be (pretend or self delusional) an authority and can quote or link to other authorities or experts. You can find anyone who is (in the past) an accepted authority or expert - like a scientist for instance, in any area and saying anything.

we are all Spartacus now...

In effect what these myriad of authorities give us is confusion and uncertainty. The EX prime minister john key showed this quite well a few years ago on HardTalk when he embarrassed himself and us.

Sackur: But he is very well qualified, isn’t he? He’s looked, for example, at the number of species threatened with extinction in New Zealand, he’s looked at the fact that half your lakes, 90% of your lowland rivers, are now classed as polluted.
Key: Look, I’d hate to get into a flaming row with one of our academics, but he’s offering his view. I think any person that goes down to New Zealand ...
Sackur: Yeah but he’s a scientist, it’s based on research, it’s not an opinion he’s plucked from the air.
Key: He’s one academic, and like lawyers, I can provide you with another one that will give you a counterview. Anybody who goes down to New Zealand and looks at our environmental credentials, and looks at New Zealand, then I think for the most part, in comparison with the rest of the world, we are 100% pure – in other words, our air quality is very high, our water quality is very high

Yes another one that will provide a counter-view - this is post truth in action.

This gets very complicated when we consider that, in general, authorities or experts have lost a measure of their authority because of vested interests, money and funding, bogus deliberate falsehoods and outrageous claims, individuals without morals and scruples and so on. Who the hell can we actually trust? In this world of immediacy, of wiki and blogs and commentators and commenters - who can we trust?

I don't think we can trust many.

The reason is that all of us tend to find people that agree with us, authorities that see the same issues and propose solutions that fit well with what we think could work - in other words we get silo-ed. The internet is increasing this trend I think. As more and more voices get added to the mix and as everyone quotes and links to some authority or expert - we are actually listening less, learning less and being reinforced in our views more. We are in a silo.

The answer isn't to listen to other people's experts or authorities, the answer is to be aware of how self referencing or perhaps self authoritating works and to understand how we are affected by it.

Another really sad aspect is that just because someone was an authority or expert about an important subject in the past, or indeed today, doesn't mean they actually are an expert or authority about the burning issue of today. Guess what - humans are human. Leading journalists, scientists and experts are human - they make mistakes, they get things wrong and they have their own bias and self referencing apparatus in play.

We have seen this all in play around global warming and climate change, 911, trump, 1080, the middle east conflicts, the environment, economics, - you name it and we have seen it.

In all of these discussion areas someone's expert is pitted against another person's expert - it is just a competition where repetition and hard headedness are the key and the goal is to win. Of course there is nothing actually to win other than an argument with another anonymous internet user.

The competitive element of expert/authority use is very right wing - the left do it too but the right love it. It destroys debate, lowers the tone, and muddies the waters and these are all 'nice to haves' for the right. The dirtier the water the less people want to swim and the same is true of voting, at least for anyone other than the right.

Post truth means that there is very little that can be pinned down in online debates and even when the pin is in, somehow it gets pulled out and poked somewhere else. It can be frustrating. We have to learn to live in this post truth world and we do that by first knowing ourselves.

the bill for cringing

2017-01-09T20:25:00.001+13:00

So the Prime Minister Bill English is not going to attend Waitangi Day. There is a very simple reason for this - one that he probably wouldn't admit - it is fear.

Fear of Māori, fear of the Treaty, fear of the election coming up, fear of the rednecks haters not voting for him, and a personal fear - which is really just a lack of courage. First the facts

Speaking to media in Auckland, English said he had written to marae officials after being appointed prime minister to determine the conditions on his attendance. He had been told he would not be able to speak at the powhiri, a decision which he did not believe was appropriate for the leader of the country.

Now the truth

HatTip The Standard

and then this so called prime minister bill english says

"The marae committee has decided that the prime minister can't speak on their marae, and that as far as I'm concerned is not respectful of the role."We have the right to decide [whether to attend]...protocol is I don't have to go onto that marae if the arrangements aren't respectful for New Zealand and New Zealanders."While protests at Waitangi had been "nationally relevant" 15 to 20 years ago, that was no longer the case."A lot of New Zealanders cringe a bit on Waitangi Day when they see the way that the ceremonies are being conducted, the ceremonies and welcomes, the type of protest there has been in recent years, and I'm pretty keen that we have a day when they're proud."

So now we get to the real point.

He is playing to his audience and trying to be like johnnyboy key the EX Prime Minister. That is how weak and sad bill english is. And if perchance he isn't doing that then he is disclosing his bigotry. This is the supposed leader of the country where his ancestors got the ability to come here and exploit stuff because of the TREATY, because Māori let them. But oh know - he only cares about REAL NEW ZEALANDERS. That is racist and disgusting and that is why bill english has little mana and the little he had has just gone out the window. Tangata whenua see the weakness from this man and this government and shake their heads and say, "same as it ever was!"

deliberately difficult

2017-01-07T17:53:00.002+13:00

The left in this country (and around the world) have a real problem and that is the game has changed and the right aren't playing by the 'rules' anymore. The right have learned the lessons (get the power) and now use many tactics that are not only anathema to the left but they literally cannot be countered by normal means.

We have seen the dirty politics with the use of nasty right bloggers to do the character assassinations of those who counter the political right's agenda - but that is almost old news now - it still goes on but it has all become a lot more subtle.

We have fake news. We have repeated repetition of lies and misinformation (any Open Mike should do the trick - even when PROVEN to be lies the right just keep chucking it back up, day in day out - this confuses the gullible and makes left sites unreadable as any left counter just gets ignored and a new lie or an old one is reposted). We have poisoning the well (any cv comment - this shuts down any meaningful discussion from the left). The left really struggle to combat these techniques. It isn't that we aren't nasty enough, or don't recognise them, or we pretend it will all work out - no!

It is simply because those techniques are designed to be very, very hard to combat. Deliberately.

And the left is not the right and to lower to the depths needed to combat the right with the right tactics destroys the ethos of being left.

What is the point of winning if you become like those you have beaten?

What is the point of letting those you oppose win because you cannot fight them the way they need to be fought?

There are no easy answers or solutions - but the left must analyse this, the left must know what the problem actually is before solutions are used. Understanding the problem = 90%, solution = 10%.

This is a 2017 issue just like it was last year. And if it isn't sorted we will get more trumps and more slaters and more colonial vipers.

The left and its suite of ideals and morals and ethos has everything to lose, the people who need a strong left have everything to lose, those disadvantaged in society and those affected by bigotry and inequality have everything to lose.

We must not lose.

another type of global warming

2017-01-06T11:52:00.001+13:00

The new cold war is increasingly warming. This cold war is between the USA, the Russians and the Chinese and there are various smaller nations involved too. Of course the USA leadership cannot conceive of a time when the USA is not the most dominant player, and Russia and China can. With the election of trump the Russians and Chinese will make their plays, and those plays are beginning. A case in point is the Philippines and their authoritarian, scary, murderer leader Rodrigo Duterte.

NZH

Russia's Pacific Fleet is amid a five-day visit to the Philippines of vessels, led by Rear Admiral Eduard Mikhailov.

This marks the third ever visit made by Russian military vessels to the Philippines, according to the Filipino Navy's Commodore Francisco Cabudao.Speaking at the Manila harbour, Mikhailov attempted to pursuade the Philippines to join forces with Russia.

"You can choose to cooperate with United States of America or to cooperate with Russia," Mikhailov said.

"But from our side we can help you in every way that you need. We are sure that in the future we'll have exercises with you. Maybe just maneuvering or maybe use of combat systems and so on."

Currently the Philippines' military remains underequipped and underfunded, leaving the country's defence force struggling to deal with attacks by jihadist terror groups in its south.

"We have an experience in fighting these [threats]," Mikhailov said

"We will share to [sic] you our knowledge on these problems, how to solve piracy and terrorism."

He also indicated that other players in the region, such as China and Malaysia, could coordinate with the potential Russian-Philippine training exercises "in a few years".

The United States did not get a mention.

Meanwhile, Russia's ambassador has confirmed the country is willing to supply the Philippines with sophisticated weapons, including aircraft and submarines, with the aim of becoming a close friend with the traditional US ally.

Russian ambassador Igor Anatolyevich Khovaev held a news conference in which he acknowledged the Philippines' intention to diversify its foreign partners."It's not a choice between these partners and those ones. Diversification means preserving and keeping old traditional partners and getting new ones. So Russia is ready to become a new reliable partner and close friend of the Philippines," he said.

"We don't interfere with your relations with your traditional partners and your traditional partners should respect the interest of the Philippines and Russia."He said Russia had a range of weapons to offer.

"We are ready to supply small arms and light weapons, some aeroplanes, helicopters, submarines and many, many other weapons. Sophisticated weapons. Not the second-hand ones," Khovaev said.

"Russia has a lot to offer but everything will be done in full compliance with international law."

But the move comes as the longstanding close ties between Washington and Manila turn increasingly sour in the wake of Rodrigo Duterte's presidency.In October 2016, the controversial leader drew gasps from the United States after he announced a major shift in alliances.

"In this venue, I announce my separation from the United States," Duterte told a hall of Chinese and Philippine business people. His words were met with applause as he announced "America has lost", and that he has "realigned" himself with China's ideological flow.

He even said he would go to Russia to meet with Vladimir Putin.

"[I will] tell him that there are three of us against the world: China, Philippines and Russia. It's the only way," Duterte told the Beijing audience.

Prior to that, he made global headlines after infamously calling outgoing US President Barack Obama a "son of a wh*re" and told him to "go to hell".

Now I've quoted a lot of that because it really shows how the relationships and positioning is developing. With that idiot trump and his dimwitted accomplishes coming in things will only get worse, much worse. Tensions will rise and the pressure will increase significantly this year. Trump is weak, putin knows this and China is under no illusions either. Trump, over his presidency will not only start wars but he'll lose them. This is my prediction.

the white man's island

2017-01-04T19:35:00.002+13:00

Some think that racism is not here in this country or that we are somehow better than other countries around this area. But they completely forget about colonisation and the severe, utter destruction it brings to indigenous peoples. The following exchange between a meat selling, rugby league loving Knight of this country Sir Peter Leitch aka The Mad Butcher and a young Māori woman on Waiheke Island illustrate so much that is hidden.

Māori Television

Lara Wharepapa Bridger, 23, says she was at a vineyard on Waiheke Island earlier this week with her mother. Leitch, famously known as The Mad Butcher, approached the group about not drinking and driving. He doubted that they were locals, which sparked Bridger to tell him she was born on the island. This promoted Leitch to make the comment – which he describes as light hearted banter but Bridger took as a racist taunt.

The exchange upset Bridger, who posted an emotional video on Facebook last night to express her emotions."He said specifically to me, 'this is a white man's island, you need to go.

Now leitch is not disputing this - he is calling it light hearted banter. And THAT is where the major problem is in my opinion. Leitch has zero idea of the impact of colonisation upon tangata whenua - the losses of so much including the mana of saying, "this is my land". He does not have a clue - why would he? He did make this statement

In a press statement, Letich says he “apologised unreservedly” when he discovered that Bridger was offended by his comment.“There is no way I can ever be accused of being racist,” he says.

Oh dear apology FAIL leitch - you ARE racist for saying that to a young Māori woman. You believe your own hype - "my partner/wife/friend/teammates/aquaintances/workmates and so on are Māori/Pasific Islanders/Asian/Aborigine and so on - I CANNOT BE RACIST!!!

and to top it off we have the sight of michelle boag - a horrible National Party ex pres, stalwart saying

But Letich media spokesperson Michelle Boag, says that his comments can’t be racially targeted because Bridger is “barely coffee coloured” referring to her being a light-skinned Māori. She also claims that Bridger has come forward because she wants to be famous.

what a disgusting piece of work boag is - and notice this - this is how racism and colonisation work - they 'other', they use the results of colonisation against you as in skin colour, they use best intentions against you, they use anything and everything against you - why? Because ANY realisation from indigenous peoples of their rights is considered dangerous, is a threat, and ultimately is a source of shame to them because underneath their racism is the knowledge that their ancestors took, that they take and that as they take others lose, sometimes even their cultural identity.

Newsflash racists - we aren't taking that shit no more - we will call you out every, everywhere and on all media.

the promises will be checked

2017-01-01T18:27:00.000+13:00

I'm going to put this up on this first day of this new western year - so that later on we can reference it and see how trump has gone with keeping his promises.

It is true that I cannot stand this loudmouth, misogynist, racist, self absorbed buffoon. I really expect the shit to hit the fan this year, so before we start my 2 big predictions about trump.
1. He will be involved in a shooting war with China.
2. He will have a big falling out with Putin.
in 2017.

Now onto the promises

Hat tip: Jenna Johnson at Washington Post via NZH

Note - there are hyperlinks to all the promises - thanks Jenna.

JOBS

1) Create at least 25 million jobs and "be the greatest jobs president that God ever created."

2) Bring back manufacturing jobs from China, Mexico, Japan and elsewhere.

States that can expect a rush of jobs include Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Michigan, Ohio, Florida, New Hampshire, Iowa, Nevada, New York and Virginia.

3) Encourage manufacturers to build or grow factories in the United States with tax incentives.

4) Refuse to eat another Oreo until Nabisco fully moves production back to the United States from Mexico.

5) Tell Ford's president that unless he cancels plans to build a massive plant in Mexico, the auto company will face a 35 per cent tax on cars imported back into the United States. Trump is confident he can get this done before taking office. (Trump has twice incorrectly said this has already happened.)

6) "Get Apple to start building their damn computers and things in this country, instead of in other countries."

7) Call the executives at the parent company of Carrier, an air-conditioning manufacturer that is closing a plant in Indiana and moving to Mexico, and threaten to impose a 35 percent tariff on air-conditioners imported back into the United States. Trump predicts the company will say: "Sir, we've decided to stay in the United States."

8) Bring back the steel industry to Pennsylvania and use American-made steel in all federal infrastructure projects.

9) Make the auto industry in Michigan "bigger and better and stronger than ever before". Trump plans to return to the state each time a new factory or auto plant opens.

10) Bring the coal industry back to life in the Appalachian Mountain region.

11) Require employers to recruit "from the unemployment office - not the immigration office."

12) Leave the federal minimum wage at $7.25 per hour, which is already too high.

13) Raise the federal minimum wage to $10 per hour, as $7.25 is too low and "the minimum wage has to go up."

14) Allow states to set their own minimum wage.

15) "Under a Trump presidency, the American worker will finally have a president who will protect them and fight for them."

APPROACH TO THE PRESIDENCY

16) "I'm going to be so presidential, you're going to be so bored." He might also quit tweeting.

17) "I refuse to be politically correct."

18) "My only special interest is you, the American people," not major donors, the party or corporations.

19) "Be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency."

20) Pass on the president's annual salary of $400,000.

21) "I would not be a president who took vacations. I would not be a president that takes time off." Trump will make time for golf but promises to "always play with leaders of countries and people that can help us."

22) "I promise I will never be in a bicycle race. That I can tell you." (Trump has criticised Secretary of State John Kerry, who was injured while riding a bicycle amid the Iran negotiations.)

23) "In negotiation, you must be willing to walk. . . . When the other side knows you're not going to walk, it becomes absolutely impossible to win."

24) "If I draw a line in the sand, I will enforce it."

25) "I don't settle cases. I don't do it." (This month Trump settled a fraud lawsuit against Trump University for $25 million.)

26) Fully focus on the presidency and put his three oldest children - Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump and Eric Trump - in charge of running his company. (Trump has yet to take steps to fully isolate himself from his business, and his three oldest children have played a major role in his transition team. In an interview with the New York Times on Tuesday, Trump noted that he could legally continue running his business.)

TAXES

27) Release his tax returns as soon as an Internal Revenue Service audit is complete.

28) Pass the Middle Class Tax Relief and Simplification Act, which will reduce the number of tax brackets from seven to four and lower income taxes for all. The highest earners would pay a 25 per cent tax. Individuals earning less than $25,000 per year or couples earning less than $50,000 would not be charged income tax, although they will have to file a one-page form with the IRS that states: "I win."

29) Lower the corporate tax rate to 15 per cent and get rid of most corporate tax loopholes or incentives. Allow corporations a one-time window to transfer money being held overseas, charging a much-reduced 10 per cent tax.

30) Eliminate the carried interest loophole for Wall Street, the federal estate tax, the alternative minimum tax and the so-called marriage penalty that affects some high-income earners. Continue to allow taxpayers to deduct mortgage interest and charitable donations from their taxes.

31) "We are going to have the biggest tax cuts since Ronald Reagan."

TRADE

32) Renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement or withdraw from the deal under Article 2205.

33) On the first day in office, pull out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, President Obama's signature trade deal linking countries around the Pacific Rim.

34) Negotiate trade deals with individual countries instead of regions. Trump would gather together the "smartest negotiators in the world" and assign them each a country. Billionaire hedge fund manager Carl Icahn would be in charge of trade negotiations with China and Japan.

35) Identify all foreign trading abuses that affect American workers and "use every tool under American and international law to end those abuses immediately." This would include cracking down on "sweatshops in Mexico that undercut US workers."

36) Impose new taxes on imports into the country from companies that used to be based in the United States. Trump's most frequently cited number is 35 per cent.

37) Impose a 45 per cent tariff on Chinese products imported into the United States.

ECONOMY AND FEDERAL BUDGET

38) "We will double our growth and have the strongest economy anywhere in the world." Grow the nation's economy by at least 4 per cent per year, although Trump has also suggested he will boost growth to at least 6 per cent per year - if not much higher.

39) Eliminate the $19 trillion national debt within eight years by "vigorously eliminating waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government, ending redundant government programs and growing the economy to increase tax revenues."

40) Never default on this debt, as the United States can "print the money" or renegotiate the amount owed with creditors, as the self-described "king of debt" has done with his private businesses.

41) Cut the budget by 20 per cent by simply negotiating better prices or renegotiating existing deals.

42) Implement the "Penny Plan," which each year would reduce net spending by 1 per cent of the previous year's total. Over 10 years, Trump says, this would reduce spending by almost $1 trillion. Defense and public safety spending would be exempt.

43) Immediately institute a hiring freeze on all federal employees to reduce the workforce through attrition. There will be exceptions for those in the military, public safety and public health.

44) Order every federal government department head to "provide a list of wasteful spending projects that we can eliminate in my first 100 days." Review each agency and then decrease the size of the "bloated government," making it "leaner and more responsive to the public."

45) Stop spending money on space exploration until the United States can fix its potholes. Encourage private space-exploration companies to expand.

46) Stop so-called zombie spending, in which the government funds programs that have had their congressional authorization lapse. By cutting 5 per cent of this spending, Trump estimates he could save almost $200 billion over 10 years.

47) Collect unpaid taxes, which Trump says could be as much as $385 billion per year.

48) Crack down on improper government payments, which Trump estimates exceed $135 billion per year.

49) Dismantle the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which aims to prevent the excessive risk-taking that led to the financial crisis and was signed into law by Obama in 2010.

REGULATION

50) Issue a moratorium on new federal regulations that are not compelled by Congress or public safety. For every new regulation that is added, two existing regulations must be eliminated. And those new regulations must pass this test: Is this regulation good for the American worker?

51) Order agency and department heads to identify all "needless job-killing regulations" and then remove them.

HEALTH CARE

52) "Completely repeal" the Affordable Care Act and replace it with something "terrific" that is "so much better, so much better, so much better." Americans will have "great health care at a fraction of the cost." Trump plans to call Congress into a special session to do this, which will likely be unnecessary.

53) Eliminate the individual mandate, as "no person should be required to buy insurance unless he or she wants to."

54) Allow individuals to fully deduct health insurance premium payments from their tax returns.

55) Knock down the regulatory walls between states for health insurance, making plans available nationally instead of regionally. "Insurance costs will go down and consumer satisfaction will go up."

56) Expand use of Health Savings Accounts, which allow workers to save money for medical expenses without having to pay federal income tax on those funds. These payments will be allowed to accumulate and can be passed on to heirs. These funds can be used by any member of a family.

57) Encourage states to establish high-risk pools to cover individuals who have not maintained continuous coverage.

58) Preserve Medicare and Medicaid but encourage states to root out fraud, waste and abuse. Provide states with block grants of Medicaid funds to provide more freedom in designing programs to assist low-income citizens.

59) Reduce the number of individuals on Medicaid and or using the Children's Health Insurance Program. Trump would also cut any health care offered to undocumented immigrants.

60) Make medical marijuana widely available to patients and allow states to decide if they want to fully legalize pot.

61) Push the Food and Drug Administration to more quickly approvee the thousands of drugs it is currently reviewing. Trump also wants to "advance research and development in health care."

62) Bring down drug prices by importing cheaper medications from overseas and allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices.

63) Require price transparency from health care providers so patients can shop for the best prices.

64) "You will be able to choose your own doctor again."

BORDER SECURITY

65) Fully fund the construction of an "impenetrable physical wall" along the southern border with Mexico. The wall will be one foot taller than the Great Wall of China and "artistically beautiful," constructed of hardened concrete, rebar and steel. The wall might only cover about 1,000 miles of the nearly 2,000-mile border because of natural barriers, and Trump is open to using fencing in some places.

66) Make Mexico pay for the wall, "100 per cent." If Mexico refuses, then the United States will impound remittance payments taken from the wages of undocumented immigrants, cut foreign aid, institute tariffs, cancel visas for Mexican business leaders and diplomats, and increase fees for visas, border-crossing cards and port use.

67) "Charge Mexico $100,000 for every illegal that crosses that border because it's trouble."

68) Find and dislocate tunnels along the border.

69) Supplement the wall with "above-and below-ground sensors, towers, aerial surveillance and manpower." Hire an additional 5000 Border Patrol agents and expand the number of Border Patrol stations.

70) End "catch-and-release." Anyone who illegally crosses the border will be detained until they are removed from the country.

IMMIGRATION

71) On the first day in office, terminate President Obama's executive orders related to immigration.

72) Triple the number of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.

73) Cancel federal funding to "sanctuary cities" that choose to not prosecute undocumented immigrants for being in the country illegally.

74) Create a Deportation Task Force.

75) Immediately deport undocumented immigrants who have committed a crime, are a member of a gang or pose a security threat. Trump estimates this is 2 to 3 million people, although experts say the number is much lower.

76) Deport the millions of undocumented immigrants who are in the United States on an expired visa.

77) Deport undocumented immigrants who are benefiting from government assistance programs like food stamps or housing assistance.

78) Issue detainers for undocumented immigrants who are arrested for any crime and immediately begin removal proceedings.

79) Do not grant amnesty to immigrants who are in the country illegally. "Anyone who has entered the United States illegally is subject to deportation," and those wanting legal status will have to return to their home country and apply for re-entry.

80) Restore the Secure Communities deportation program, which was ended by the Obama administration in 2014. The program was a partnership among federal, state and local law enforcement agencies that worked together to identify and deport undocumented immigrants.

81) "Expand and revitalize" use of Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which allows the Department of Homeland Security to deputize state and local law enforcement officers to perform the functions of federal immigration agents.

82) On the first day in office, ask Congress to pass "Kate's Law" - named for Kate Steinle, who was killed by an undocumented immigrant in San Francisco last summer - to "ensure that criminal aliens convicted of illegal reentry face receive strong mandatory minimum sentences."

83) Introduce legislation named for Michael Davis Jr. and Danny Oliver, law enforcement officers in California who were killed by an undocumented immigrant in 2014. Such legislation would hasten the removal of "criminal immigrants and terrorists." (Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama introduced the Davis-Oliver Act in June 2015, but it did not go anywhere.)

84) Stop issuing visas to countries that refuse to take back citizens who immigrated illegally to the United States.

85) Allow "tremendous numbers" of legal immigrants based on a "merit system," selecting immigrants who will help grow the country's economy.

86) Reduce the number of legal immigrants because it is "simply too large to perform adequate screening," and these immigrants could be taking jobs away from American workers.

87) Expand the number of H-1B visas for highly skilled workers so that more of the "talented people" who graduate from Ivy League institutions can stay in the United States and work in Silicon Valley.

88) Get rid of the H-1B visa program because it's "very, very bad" for American workers.

89) Continue to allow lowly paid foreign workers to come to the United States on temporary work visas to pick grapes and work in seasonal resorts.

90) Institute "extreme vetting" of all immigrants.

91) End birthright citizenship, only granting citizenship to babies whose parents are legally in the country.

92) Sunset visa laws, forcing Congress to periodically review and revise them.

93) Strongly enforce visa expiration dates. Complete the biometric entry-exit visa tracking system, which has been authorised by Congress but has yet to be completed.

94) Strengthen and expand the use of E-Verify, which allows employers to check an employee's eligibility to work.

95) Urge assimilation because "our system of government, and our American culture, is the best in the world and will produce the best outcomes for all who adopt it."

96) Accomplish more immigration reforms in a few months than politicians have accomplished in the past 50 years. With these reforms, Trump promises: "Crime will go down, border crossings will plummet, gangs will disappear, and welfare use will decrease."

97) Make illegal immigration a "memory of the past."

NATIONAL DEFENSE AND SECURITY

98) Be unpredictable and keep all military strategy a secret. "No one is going to touch us, because I'm so unpredictable."

99) Put "different generals" in place because "under the leadership of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, I think the generals have been reduced to rubble." Trim military bureaucracy.

100) Find great generals - like the next Gen. George Patton or Gen. Douglas MacArthur - and do not allow them to go on television news shows to explain their military strategy. Trump prefers generals who are rough, foul-mouthed and beloved by their troops.

101) As soon as he takes office, ask Congress to repeal the defense sequester that limited the military's budget.

102) Strengthen the military so that it's "so big and so strong and so great" that "nobody's going to mess with us."

103) Equip troops with the "best equipment known to mankind."

104) Modernize and renew the nuclear weapons arsenal.

105) Grow the Army from its current size of 470,000 active-duty soldiers to 540,000.

106) Modernise and grow the Navy fleet to 350 surface ships and submarines. The Navy currently has 272 deployable battle-force ships.

107) Grow the Air Force to 1200 fighter aircraft.

108) Grow the Marine Corps to 36 battalions, growing the active-duty force from its current target of 182,000 to 200,000.

109) Involve all 50 states in rebuilding the military and developing new technologies. Create thousands of jobs building these new ships in Philadelphia, Portsmouth, N.H., and Hampton Roads, Va. North Carolina's Research Triangle will also play a key role.

110) Develop a "state of the art" missile defense system and modernise naval cruisers to provide Ballistic Missile Defense capabilities. It will cost $220 million per modernisation.

111) Leave troops in Afghanistan because it's such "a mess."

112) Increase US military presence in the East and South China Seas.

113) Keep Guantanamo Bay open.

114) Continue use of drone strikes but put a renewed emphasis on human intelligence in information gathering and also utilise technology like "3-D printing, artificial intelligence and cyberwarfare."

115) Drop that "dirty, rotten traitor" Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl out of an airplane into desolate Afghanistan without a parachute. Trump has also suggested that Bergdahl be shot.

116) "I will not hesitate to deploy military force when there is no alternative. But if America fights, it must fight to win."

CYBERSECURITY

117) Assemble a "cyber review team" of the best military, civilian and private sector cybersecurity experts to comprehensively review all systems and technology, starting with the most sensitive ones. The team will also remain current on new methods of attack and set up protocols for each agency and government officials.

118) Establish a training program for government employees to make certain they understand what defenses are available and utilise them. Punish those who violate classification rules, holding them responsible to the fullest extent of the law.

119) Solicit recommendations from the secretary of defense and Joint Chiefs of Staff for strengthening and augmenting the country's Cyber Command.

120) Order the Department of Justice to create joint task forces to coordinate responses to cyberthreats. (The FBI already runs "cyber task forces" in each one of its 56 field offices.)

121) Develop better cyberweapons.

VETERANS AFFAIRS

122) Appoint a Department of Veterans Affairs secretary whose "sole purpose will be to serve veterans."

123) Dramatically reform the agency. Fire "the corrupt and incompetent" leaders and make it easier for the secretary to fire people. Trump promises to protect and promote "honest employees" who highlight wrongdoing. These employees will also receive bonuses.

124) Create a commission to investigate "all the fraud, cover-ups and wrongdoing that has taken place in the VA." Present these findings to Congress to spur legislative reform.

125) Create a White House hotline that is active 24-hours-a-day and is answered by a real person who will handle veterans' complaints of wrongdoing at the VA and "ensure no complaints fall through the cracks."

126) Allow veterans to take their military identification card to any medical facility that accepts Medicaid patients to receive care. Veterans can also seek care "at a private service provider of their own choice." Trump promises that: "Under a Trump administration, no veteran will die waiting for service. These days are over starting January 2017."

127) Embed satellite VA clinics in rural hospitals and underserved areas, and ensure that every VA hospital is permanently staffed with obstetrics and gynecology doctors.

128) Increase funding for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injuries and mental health issues. Increase the number of mental health professionals.

129) Ensure that undocumented immigrants do not receive better health services than veterans.

130) Veterans who apply for a job at a VA facility will have five points added to their qualifying scores. For all jobs across the country, employers should consider veterans ahead of immigrants.

131) Invest more heavily in programs that help military veterans transition back to civilian life, including job training and placement services.

132) "Ensure our veterans get the care they need wherever and whenever they need it. No more long drives. No more waiting backlogs. No more excessive red tape."

FOREIGN POLICY

133) "A Trump administration will never ever put the interest of a foreign country before the interest of our country. From now on, it's going to be America first."

134) Force other NATO countries to pay for more of their defense, and only come to the aid of other countries if those nations have "fulfilled their obligations to us." In particular, Trump expects Germany, Japan, South Korea and Saudi Arabia to pay more for the security the United States provides.

135) Call a summit with NATO allies and a separate summit with Asian allies to discuss "a rebalancing of financial commitments" and adopting new strategies, such as upgrading "NATO's outdated mission and structure."

136) Get along with Russian President Vladimir Putin. "I hope that we get along great with Putin because it would be great to have Russia with a good relationship." Trump would also look into lifting the sanctions imposed on Russia after its annexation of Crimea.

137) Communicate with North Korea's Kim Jong Un about his nuclear program, which would mark a major shift in US policy toward the isolated nation. "I would speak to him, I would have no problem speaking to him."

138) Stay out of the Syrian civil war. Although Trump considers Syrian President Bashar al-Assad "bad," he has said the United States has higher priorities. Around the world, Trump has said, he prefers stability over regime changes.

139) Reverse Obama's executive orders and "concessions towards Cuba until freedoms are restored." Trump has pledged to "demand political and religious freedom for the people of Cuba."

140) "Stand with the oppressed people of Venezuela yearning to be free."

141) Help Haiti and its "incredible people" rebuild their country.

142) Be a "true friend to Israel." Trump says the United States will "be working with Israel very closely, very, very closely."

143) Do not throw a lavish state dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping, as Obama did last year, and instead buy Jinping a "double-size Big Mac" and tell him "we gotta get down to work."

144) If not properly welcomed into a foreign country, turn around and leave.

145) "It is time to shake the rust off of America's foreign policy. It's time to invite new voices and new visions into the fold." Trump wants to "establish a foreign policy that will endure for several generations."

IRAN

146) Tear up the Iran deal and then "totally" renegotiate the whole thing.

147) Negotiate the release of all US prisoners held in Iran before taking office. (Five Americans were released during the campaign, including Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian; Trump has claimed some credit for this.)

148) Refuse to call Iran's leader by his preferred title. "I'll say, 'Hey baby, how ya doing?' I will never call him the Supreme Leader."

149) "Iran cannot be allowed to have a nuclear weapon and, under a Trump administration, will never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon."

CHINA

150) "We can't continue to allow China to rape our country, and that's what they're doing."

151) Direct the secretary of the treasury to label China a currency manipulator.

152) Instruct the US trade representative to bring trade cases against China, both here and at the World Trade Organisation. If necessary, apply tariffs against China consistent with Section 201 and 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 and Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962.

153) Adopt a "zero tolerance policy" for Chinese hackers and those who steal American intellectual property and ideas.

154) Crack down on China's "lax labour and environmental standards."

FIGHTING THE ISLAMIC STATE

155) Immediately ask the generals to present a plan within 30 days to defeat and destroy the Islamic State.

156) Frequently use the term "radical Islamic terrorism."

157) Call an international conference focused on how to halt the spread of the "hateful ideology of Radical Islam. "

158) Allow Russia to deal with the Islamic State in Syria and/or work with Putin to wipe out shared enemies.

159) Work with allies to cut off funding to the Islamic State, expand intelligence sharing and use cyberwarfare to disrupt and disable their propaganda and recruiting. Work closely with NATO and "our Arab allies and friends in the Middle East." Partner with Israel, King Abdullah II of Jordan, and Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi and "all others who recognise this ideology of death that must be extinguished."

160) "Bomb the s--- out of ISIS" and "knock them out." Also bomb oil fields controlled by the Islamic State, then seize the oil and give the profits to military veterans who were wounded while fighting.

161) Target and kill the relatives of suspected terrorists, a violation of international law.

162) Shut down parts of the Internet so that Islamic State terrorists cannot use it to recruit American children.

163) Bring back waterboarding, which is widely considered torture, and use interrogation techniques that are "a hell of a lot worse than waterboarding." Even if such tactics don't work, Trump says, suspected terrorists "deserve it anyway, for what they're doing." (Trump suggested after the election, however, that he was reconsidering his position because of a conversation with a general who opposed the tactic.)

164) Establish a Commission on Radical Islam that will include "reformist voices in the Muslim community" and will identify the warning signs of radicalization, educate the American public and develop protocol for police officers, federal investigators and immigration screeners.

165) Temporarily ban most foreign Muslims from entering the United States "until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on." Trump would allow exceptions for dignitaries, business people, athletes and others who have "proven" themselves. Although Trump's aides, surrogates and running mate insist he no longer wants this so-called Muslim ban, Trump himself has yet to fully disavow the idea and it is still posted on his campaign website.

166) Temporarily suspend "immigration from some of the most dangerous and volatile regions of the world that have a history of exporting terrorism." Order the Department of State, Homeland Security and the Department of Justice to develop a list of regions and countries to include. The list will likely include Syria and Libya.

167) Create an ideological screening test for all immigration applicants with the goal of keeping "radical Islamic terrorists the hell out of our country." For example, immigrants from Iraq and Afghanistan would be asked for their views on honor killings and Sharia law, along with their opinions of women, gays and minorities.

168) Heavily surveil mosques in the United States. Trump has said he would "strongly consider" closing some mosques.

169) Encourage Muslim communities to "cooperate with law enforcement and turn in the people who they know are bad - and they do know where they are."

170) Deport those "who are guests in our country that are preaching hate."

171) Aggressively investigate and charge anyone who lends material support to terrorism.

172) "Our administration will be a friend to all moderate Muslim reformers in the Middle East, and will amplify their voices. This includes speaking out against the horrible practice of honor killings."

173) "If and when the Vatican is attacked by ISIS, which as everyone knows is ISIS's ultimate trophy, I can promise you that the pope would have only wished and prayed that Donald Trump would have been president because this would not have happened."

REFUGEES

174) Bar Syrian refugees from entering the country and kick out any who are already living here, as they might be "the ultimate Trojan horse."

175) Create a database of Syrian refugees. Trump has also seemed open to the idea of creating a database of Muslims in the country, although his aides say that is not true.

176) Set up safe zones in Syria and then force wealthy Persian Gulf nations like Saudi Arabia to pick up the bill. "They're gonna put up all the money. We're not gonna put up money. We're gonna lead it and we'll do a great a job. But we're gonna get the Gulf states to put up the money."

177) Do not admit any refugees without the support of the local community where they will be placed.

ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

178) Gut, if not eliminate, the Environmental Protection Agency, which Trump has called a "disgrace."

179) Rescind all environmental executive actions signed by Obama.

180) Eliminate "intrusive" regulations, along with "any regulation that is outdated, unnecessary, bad for workers, or contrary to the national interest." Eliminate duplication in regulations, deferring to local officials and residents. Remove the "draconian barriers" to allow energy infrastructure projects and development to proceed.

181) Eliminate the Clean Water Rule that defines the "waters of the United States" and gives added protection to tributaries that impact the health of downstream waters.

182) Scrap the Clean Power Plan, which reduces the amount of carbon pollution from power plants. Trump says this could save the country $7.2 billion per year.

183) Oppose a carbon tax on fossil fuels use that could be used to reverse damage to the environment caused by the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

184) Revoke restrictions on new drilling technologies and support "safe hydraulic fracturing" to create "millions of jobs." Lease more federal land for drilling, including "vast areas of our offshore energy resources."

185) Ease federal regulations on coal mining to revive the industry. Eliminate Obama's moratorium on new leases for coal mined from federal lands.

186) Treat climate change like the "hoax" that Trump has said it is. (In a recent interview with the New York Times, Trump seemed to soften that position.)

187) Cancel all funding for domestic and international climate change programs, which he estimates would total $100 billion over two terms. Trump would instead spend that money on domestic infrastructure projects.

188) Pull out of the Paris Agreement, which was recently signed by 196 countries pledging to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

189) Become the world's dominant leader in energy production. Attain "complete American energy independence" so that the United States is no longer dependent on foreign oil.

190) Lower energy prices for consumers.

191) Ask TransCanada to renew its permit application for the Keystone XL pipeline so that it can be approved.

192) "Unleash an energy revolution that will bring vast new wealth to our country." Create at least a half million jobs a year, prompting a more than $30 billion increase in annual wages over seven years. This will increase the GDP by more than $100 billion annually. Use the revenue from energy production to rebuild roads, schools, bridges and public infrastructure.

193) Restore and protect the Florida Everglades, even though it's a "rough-looking sight down there."

194) Ensure the country has "absolutely crystal clear and clean water" and "beautiful, immaculate air."

INFRASTRUCTURE

195) Spur the spending of $1 trillion in public and private dollars on infrastructure projects over 10 years. Invest in "transportation, clean water, a modern and reliable electricity grid, telecommunications, security infrastructure, and other pressing domestic infrastructure needs" without adding to the national debt.

196) Negotiate rates for these projects that are one-third of what the United States is currently paying. "Cut wasteful spending on boondoggles" by streamlining the permit and approval processes.

197) Provide tax incentives to encourage public-private partnerships.

198) Employ Email

a wave of emotion

2016-06-24T15:43:00.002+12:00

I like this homecoming, this connecting of the past, present and the future. The emotion, the tears, the joy, the sorrow. Welcome home Hine Muka.

NZH

Tears of joy and jubilation were shed at the welcoming of a historic Maori cloak back home to Wairarapa yesterday afternoon.The 19th century woven cloak, or korowai, originally belonged to Wairarapa iwi and had been stored in the Rochester Historical Society collection in the United States for more than 100 years.

To have waited for the people for so long and now together again!!!

"It's absolutely overwhelming and almost indescribable the value that this has to our people," Wairarapa List MP Ms Fox said."The greatest thing we have is the reconnection with our ancestors who are definitely here in spirit and here today to see her come home."

I can feel the emotion from here - the tears fall, the tears of joy and time and space tear and we are here together again.

Ms Fox said the korowai, which was shaped to the shoulder with darting, was a priceless example of expert weaving which is not seen today.She said korowai made today are usually square and that this korowai was "a bit wider in the hips so it must be made for me"."The effort and the time and the amount of harakeke that is involved in making her will be a beacon and example for the future," she said."It will connect us with our whenua and it will connect us with our ancestors and be an example for our young people to restore and revive these traditions."Wairarapa iwi representatives, who collected the korowai from the Nelson Provincial Museum where it was being cared for before its return, lovingly named the cloak Hine Muka.

The Mana that this brings and the impetus for knowledge and even more connection.

Aratoi Museum of Art and History director Alice Hutchison said when Wairarapa iwi were reunited with the korowai in Nelson earlier this week, the feeling in the room, was "so intense and so strong for everybody"."It was like a wave of incredible love and I've never felt anything like it."

When you feel it, you know. It is the most unbelievable feeling, so intense - a different dimension.

And so I want EVERYTHING returned so that all Māori can experience these feelings, these gifts. And I want other cultures to feel the same - so museums send it all back to where it came from, send it back to the people, their people. Stop this hoarding - stop this paternalistic attitude that people cannot look after their own.

I have been and seen some of the taonga under Te Papa - they cry out for return, their voices deafening. This is a poem I wrote after visiting Te Papa

Longing for a breeze

the floor was polished

and clacked

with footfall and they lay

quietly disemboweled,

and were viewed.

a card explained: revered once, then dis

repair, now look

their mauri is strong. so they

say breezelessly.

A whare tūpuna

will say what to that?

Pita Sharple's taiaha watches

through glass.

They are alone at night.

No, no, and no again

2016-06-18T14:47:00.001+12:00

Sorry but this is a difficult story - a story of loss, of disrespect, of money and of our current state of affairs. It does finish on a slightly positive note though

NZH

A protest campaign has erupted against a Fletchers proposal to build up to 480 homes near Auckland Airport on land that includes lava caves that were used as Maori burial sites for generations.
The 32ha site valued at $11.85 million has been designated a special housing area, which means the project is likely to be notified only to adjacent landowners.

Now we know that this government and especially nick smith and paula bennett are in trouble because of their inaction to our homeless and their uncaring attitude to those trying to help. So smith has made special housing areas.

About 100 people attended a protest meeting on Wednesday night called by a group of young cousins at the nearby Makaurau Marae, the ancestral home of the Te Waiohua people who gave Auckland its original name of Tamaki Makaurau.
But their tribal leader, Te Warena Taua, who chairs the marae committee, says he accepts the development because he could not stop it.
He led a tribal challenge in the Environment Court against extending the metropolitan urban limit outwards to include the property in 2012, but lost.

yep they lost, but that does not mean the fight is over.

Fletchers' application to the Overseas Investment Office, which was required to approve the deal because 56 per cent of the company's shares are foreign-owned, shows that it plans to vest almost half the land (16.2ha) in Auckland Council for "roads, reserves, walkways and other public amenities", including an area to be added to the historic reserve.
It says the other 16.6ha will be used to build 350-480 homes over the next eight years, including terrace, duplex and stand-alone houses.

Get that? fletchers are 56% foreign owned and this development is for one reason - to make money! Don't be fooled into thinking it is for parks or reserves or even housing NO it is to make money!

The land was confiscated by the Crown in 1863 and has been owned by the Wallace family since 1866.

Illegal and immoral - confiscated for what? because they wanted it that is why.

A Wallace descendant who grew up on the land and still lives there at age 87, Ailsa Blackwell, said she helped a friend gather "a sugar-bag full" of human bones from a cave on the farm for a school talk at Mangere Central School in about 1940.
"It was my job to hold them up at the school for the talk," she said. "The headmistress was shocked. She took them straight up to Pukaki Pa."

yep desecration of those sites over the years too

Another member of the protest group, journalist Qiane Matata-Sipu, said the group would not be satisfied even if Fletchers protected the caves.
"Look at it," she said, surveying the farmland stretching downhill from the caves. "This is all that's left. We don't want to be left with this little box [a small protected area]."

Give it back, all of it.

And to end on a positive note

Heritage NZ Maori manager Te Kenehi Teira said the development would need an archaeological authority. "It will end up on my desk at some stage. I will take it straight to the Maori Heritage Council for a decision because of the magnitude of the place," he said.

Perhaps that will protect the sites but more is needed - the area must be given back and that will protect the site and the ancestors.

hikoi for peace

2016-06-16T11:24:00.003+12:00

Hundreds join a march for peace, reconciliation, building better relationships, and racial inclusion - and this all happened in Taranaki. This hikoi will arrive at Parihaka on Friday.

This is the way to do it, this is the way of the past and the way of the future and THIS is the country I want my kids to grow up in - not the dismal, emotionally dried up, uncaring society loved by john key and paula bennett.

Stuff

Some in the crowd for the first leg of the walk had come from outside of the region to support the peace project.Wellington law student Indiana Shewen, 21, said the debate around Judd's stance on a Maori ward in New Plymouth and the subsequent abuse he copped, led her and other Maori law students to set up a committee that now makes submissions to Parliament on issues affecting tangata whenua.She said she had been upset by her home town of New Plymouth being called by some the "racist capital of New Zealand" and wanted to be part of attempts to turn that negative reputation around."It's important for people to understand it's not just New Plymouth, it's everywhere," Shewen said.

Brilliant - so great that they have not just felt it but done something about it - this will help so many people. And yep it IS everywhere and we will fight it EVERYWHERE!!!

Alistair Preese, who travelled from the Bay of Plenty for the hikoi, said he was a fan of Judd and the peace walk's goal.
"I look at reconciliation as a giant jigsaw puzzle and this is a lovely little piece of that," he said.
Preese, who has strong ties to Parihaka, said while Judd's "depth of conviction" struck a chord with him, it was the support he had seen from schoolchildren, some of whom walked or otherwise watched from the sidelines, which he took most heart from.
"Those are the seeds aren't they. We're ploughing the ground here," Preese said.

Yes the seeds that will grow and it is so important that all ages are involved - young, old and in between - this is how you build relationships, this is how we walk to the future together!

Peace Movement Aotearoa's Edwina Hughes said the organisation backed any initiative designed to promote a better understanding of issues related to Maori and Pakeha relationships and the Treaty of Waitangi.
"The injustices against Maori, against hapu and iwi goes on everyday, it is not a historical issue," she said
She said the community forums, which are a key part of the peace walk, were a perfect place for people to come together and share their stories.

Yep - not historical (as in the past so we don't have to worry about it) but real today, in people's lives today. And community forums are awesome - this gives the community the ability to have input, to feel heard and to listen.

So many positives from this - thank you to the organisers and participants - I am proud to support this hikoi.

time for radical change

2016-06-10T10:35:00.001+12:00

Sleeping rough - there is no glamour in this, it isn't cool or street - it is difficult, lonely, cold, wet, dangerous, intimidating, isolating, destructive and for many a final destination after choices are gone.

Waatea News

As winter bites, the Auckland City Mission says it has identified a record 200-plus rough sleepers around the central city, more than half of them Maori.

Yep HALF of them are Māori!!! Homeless in their own land. Discarded by many. Literally hand to mouth survival.

The new Auckland city missioner, Chris Farelly says the figure stands as further evidence that not only is Auckland experiencing a housing crisis, but that those living at the furthest extremes of poverty are suffering the most.

He says the longer someone sleeps rough, the harder it can be to transition into living a normal life.

Yep the normal ain't normal anymore. And we have also had the news that

New statistics reveal Māori home ownership has plummeted in the past 27 years, with the rate in some parts of the North Island dropping by as much as 40 percent.
The report from Statistics New Zealand said, since 1986, the average drop in the ownership rate was 20 percent for Māori, compared with 15 percent for the total population.
"In the worst hit areas for Māori, declines in home ownership were close to 40 percent and that was in the Whangarei, southern Auckland, Tauranga, Rotorua and Hastings urban areas."
The number of Māori having to rent privately had risen dramatically, she said.
"It's increased by 88.3 percent since 1986, so we know that there's been that large increase in Māori living in private rentals as well as a fall in people living in owner-occupied dwellings and that compares with a fall for the total population of 42.7 percent."

The minister nick smith says

"The fact that our Maori and Pacific people have lower rates of home ownership is just a broader reflection of the fact that they tend to have lower educational achievement, that they have lower incomes, and that translates itself into housing."

Yep cos uz Maaori r dum eh - what an dickhead smith is - a person who is pretending there are no housing issues, a minister so out of touch that every time he comes on the telly he reminds us of how inadequate, out of his league, and useless he is. He isn't helping to solve any housing problems - he is just trying to protect his very exposed arse, and it is exposed because he is ineffectual.

We DO NOT deserve this useless government with its apathetic ministers, we deserve better.

true bennett

2016-06-09T09:57:00.001+12:00

So Paula Bennett the minister just made up the 'Flying squads' going around tapping on car windows to try and help the many homeless people living in their cars. She told the useless john key, he repeated it to show how useless the homeless were - didn't even bloody WANT help. Now the truth has come out that it was all bullshit. What an absolute disgrace of a person and if you want to see her real side watch this video - nasty, nasty, nasty!!!

The truth is many people are really struggling with the situation of no place to live - only very desperate people live in cars or vans. Māori are over-represented and everyone is suffering. Listen to this interview to hear the resilience and strength of some of our people.

People are helping as best they can but this is a structural issue that has to be fixed from top to bottom.

Does this government and its ministers care and are they going to do something? Nah better to have some more guns ($20b - yep that is billions) to shoot the desperate climate refugees soon to show up on our coastline...