the truth from Russell

This is spinning through social media at the moment and it is brilliant - thanks for being so articulate Russell

be part of history

Hone is happy to be free and I am happy for him too. I support Hone and this new movement 100% because i believe that what is good for Māori is good for all people of this country. This IS the historic beginnings of a movement that will empower Māori and move us toward tino rangatiratanga and this movement will bring people together to promote fairness and equality. Go for it Hone and deliver the mandate of leadership that the people are bestowing - that is the mark of a rangatira and that is mana.

TangataWhenua.com

... being independent means I am no longer constrained by a party that got a bit lost at the first sniff of power, I’m no longer shackled to dull, boring policies written by bureaucrats to please the Nats rather than promote the hopes and aspirations of our people, and I no longer have to accept crumbs and the continued theft of the foreshore and seabed as the price of coalition.

And more importantly, being independent means that I am free -

Free to speak out against government policies that focus on the rich get richer while the poor get shafted and the lives of ordinary Kiwis get destroyed in the process;

Free to develop the argument that “what is good for Maori is good for the country” and that spending real money on getting rid of the Maori underclass, makes good economic and political sense for everyone;

Free to highlight the state of inequality that Maori people face in their homeland, to propose new ways of dealing with those issues and to work with any other MP or political party that is courageous enough to say why not;

Free to speak of bold new ideas, to develop the political will to grow those ideas, and to help define the goals, the teams and the structures required to turn those ideas into a genuine reality rather than the jaded, faded bureaucratic washouts that government departments thrive on and ordinary people hate;

Free to travel the north to build on the support that the people have always given me to raise the issues as openly and as honestly as I can;

Free to road-test those messages in a national tour over the next few weeks;

And free to talk to all the well-meaning people, Maori, Pasifika, Pakeha and others as well who have given me truckloads of support over the past few weeks about what it is they want to see in parliament.

Yes bring people together - that is the answer. We are in this waka together and this movement, led by Hone, and devoted to tino rangatiratanga is a movement we can all support and we must support it because look around at the alternatives - notwithstanding the greens, what options are out there - not many, if any.

chained by your insensitivity

Sometimes i get accused of being too sensitive, of finding offense when none is intended. That may have some truth - who knows. I do believe that too often some people just do not consider others or the ramifications of what they say or do. This example is from where I live. Needless to say the use of these effigies is disgusting to me but the symbolism with this one takes insensitivity to a new level. Am I too precious?

kia kaha Egyptian people

I don't pretend to understand the middle east - the countries, the people, the politics. But I do recognise the historic events in Egypt. Mubarak has gone - the 18 days of street protest have toppled this dictator - people power has won - but there is so much to do to protect the people and support freedom.

Good analysis and information  here and here and here and here.

kia kaha Egyptian people

star bright moon night

I am celebrating tonight - the summer solstice and a lunar eclipse. Here in Mohua the clouds are lifting and I believe the view will be awesome. Perfect for me and a mate to drum, and drink and chat. Catching up with friends and sharing experiences - that is so important and at this time of year we have the perfect excuse, if we need one, and i don't. :)

and hope

I hope these news items are signals of real change.

The release of Aung San Suu Kyi is wonderful news.


and Canada has finally endorsed the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Both items are concerned with truth and people power and they offer hope.

Message from Leonard Peltier - 34 years of wrongful imprisonment

Feb 6 - Waitangi day and Bob Marley's birthday and also the anniversary of Leonard Peltier's wrongful imprisonment - 34 years - just think about being locked away from your people and family for 34 years.

Freedom will come for Leonard - this is a message from him

"Greetings to everyone,

34 years. It doesn’t even sound like a real number to me. Not when one really thinks about being in a jail cell for that long. All these years and I swear, I still think sometimes I’ll wake up from this nightmare in my own bed, in my own home, with my family in the next room. I would never have imagined such a thing. Surely the only place people are unjustly imprisoned for 34 years is in far away lands, books or fairy tales.

It’s been that long since I woke up when I needed to, worked where I wanted to, loved who I was supposed to love, or did what I was compelled to do. It’s been that long-long enough to see my children have grandchildren. Long enough to have many of my friends and loved ones die in the course of a normal life, while I was here unable to know them in their final days.

So often in my daily life, the thought creeps in-“I don’t deserve this”. It lingers like acid in my mouth. But I have to push those types of thoughts away. I made a commitment long ago, many of us did. Some didn’t live up to their commitments, and some of us didn’t have a choice. Joe Stuntz didn’t have a choice. Neither did Buddy Lamont. I never thought my commitment would mean sacrificing like this, but I was willing to do so nonetheless. And really, if necessary, I’d do it all over again, because it was the right thing to do. We didn’t go to ceremony and say “I’ll fight for the people as long as it doesn’t cost too much”. We prayed, and we gave. Like I say, some of us didn’t have a choice. Our only other option was to run away, and we couldn’t even do that. Back then, we had no where left to run to.

I have cried so many tears over these three plus decades. Like the many families directly affected by this whole series of events, my family’s tears have not been in short supply. Our tears have joined all the tears from over 500 years of oppression. Together our tears come together and form a giant river of suffering and I hope, cleansing. Injustice is never final, I keep telling myself. I pray this is true for all of us.

To those who know I am innocent, thank you for your faith. And I hope you continue working for my release. That is, to work towards truth and justice. To those who think me guilty, I ask you to believe in and work for the rule of law. Even the law says I should be free by now, regardless of guilt. What has happened to me isn’t justice, it isn’t the law, it isn’t fair, it isn’t right. This has been a long battle in an even longer war. But we have to remain vigilant, as we have a righteous cause. After all this time, I can only ask this: Don’t give up. Not ever. Stay in this fight with me. Suffer with me. Grieve with me. Endure with me. Believe with me. Outlast with me. And one day, celebrate freedom with me. Hoka hey!

In the Spirit of Crazy Horse,

Leonard Peltier

Kia kaha Leonard