May Peace Prevail

May Peace Prevail

A new change-agent workforce in the making; pro social multi-gang meetings in Mangere at a time of raised activity; New Zealand as a Jansenist society; a bevy of social development bureaucrats but little progress and much procrastination; National Radio relying on television media personalities with ‘make-up deep’ analyses; mourning the dead and paying respects to our living treasures; Rick Bryant’s Jubilation Choir in the Old Church restaurant, “one host and a chalice of wine please”; Christmas Blessings.

“Pull up, pull up”: The Psychology of Colonisation

“Pull up, pull up”: The Psychology of Colonisation

Let's deal with the alleged terrorism and Tuhoe issue. The last sounds heard by those at the controls immediately prior to the airship tragedy at Mt Erebus reportedly were "Whoop whoop, pull up, pull up". Erebus was in part due to 'white out' and the same phenomenon - this time 'white out' manifest as the prevalence of a dominant world view rather than as a meteorological circumstance - seems to have metaphorically propelled New Zealand's 'ship of state' into another mountain, Maungapohatu... (2,577 words)

How to Break Out

How to Break Out

A headline from gangland: better employment and health; Managing crime and punishment in New Zealand; restorative justice vs the Maricopa Country chain-gang method; the passing of Joseph Roberts, mentor, coach and American Eagle; gang policies in NY (community development) vs LA (suppressive policing); recognition for Ecuador’s Latin Kings Tigilau Ness documentary From Street to Sky; Robert Muldoon and Rastafarianism; social rage directed into art; “music speaks louder than words”; The coronation of Kingi Tuheitia; Bishop Paraone Turei’s sermon affirming “whakakotahi (collective unity) and the desirability of enabling Maori to be unique Papakainga: architecture, whanau housing and the Hawkes Bay village settlement project.

Looking through a kaleidoscope

Looking through a kaleidoscope

Tangis and tributes to two mates; “Maori rhythm”; the edge of thinking and the brink of disobedience; abandoning the drive to criminalize and imprison; Angela Davis visits Aotearoa and finds a faithful following; social activism, and a call to an earlier way of thinking and doing; looking through a kaleidoscope – suppression and wasted human assets, or a criminal conspiracy?; intelligent “Kiwi” policing, no legislation or local by-law needed; loose thinking and moral panic; Zeppelin sightings in the South Island; the need for an inclusive future vision; a good reason to get upset – the grand denial of potential; gratitude, respect and admiration: a ‘celebration of life’ party for Kaylene; prayers, rice and saki to fire up the new kiln at Waiohiki; planting at Mataariki and the promise of a clear sky.

“Those that have ears let them hear”

“Those that have ears let them hear”

Fire-fighting the gang issue in the wake of tumult and tragedy: resolving a problem not mounting an apologia; a stabbing at the courthouse sends scorched emotions tinder dry; warriors gather, tears on tattooed faces, long nights of prayers and necessary korero as baby Jhia is laid to rest in Te Rau o te Aroha urupa; Tipi Wehipeihana's haka calls us to gather and return: "hold firm, hold firm"; MSD's Wannabes report, Spergel's strategy and Baxter's philosophy provide the strategic action headings for our collective action in Aotearoa; "Still want terrorist legislation?" how 'bout: Divert, Contain, Redirect; settler malaise, fear of the natives, indiscriminate spraying of political bullets and the extinction of personal rights; Hori, Hemi, David and Goliath, Utu, terrorism, metaphysical forces and swirling spirits: "We are at a tipping point."

Nga mea o te ora (“The stuff of life”)

Nga mea o te ora (“The stuff of life”)

Hui & Huilli: Respect to the twin steams that contribute to the cultural flow of our land at Waiohiki for the global phenomenon of St. Patrick's Day; a sparse church service and the Hamuera Ratana Silver Band; Sir Tipene O'Regan's long and hilarious account of an historic whanau liaison; the Governor General offers nation building words and lays down a wero; a Maori Celtic Art Auction; Guinness, music, whiskey, Ceili, Kai and cultural synergy; toasts "To who we are", a call to party and an exchange full of wit and wisdom; hard news at Wellington hospital; the tohunga and the priest; it's and/and Father, not either/or; a hui in Jerusalem at Easter, a gathering of apostles and "a sense of intergenerational transfer".

Arohamai (Forgive Me)

Arohamai (Forgive Me)

Feeding the soul at Parihaka a century since the passing of Tohu Kakahi and Te Whiti o Rongomai, "the human pillars of passive resistance in New Zealand"; a Festival with 7000 people clustered in campsites; the formalities of powhiri and the beauty of korero and waiata; remembrances of confiscation of land, imprisonment of people, rape of women, looting, invasion, forcible ejection and illegal arrest in 1881; postering about P ("beware of P and seek help if hooked"); "start with bringing peace to your house, to your street and onward"; meeting up with Te Ringa Mangu Dun Mihaka; Unity Pacific, Batacuda Sound Machine and Kora; and the St Patrick's Day Maori/Celtic Hui & Huilli at Waiohiki Marae Napier with Governor General Anand Satyanand, Lady Thea Muldoon and Sir Tipene O'Regan in attendance for long festivities.