Showing posts with label baldhead palagi kaka. Show all posts

9/26/07

Climate change biggest security risk, says Australia's top cop

What kind of bald head palagi kaka is this, looks more like calculated political opportunism to me. Hungry and thirsty Pacific Islanders & Asians will be swarming into Australia so we gotta stop the invasion so thats why were are armed to the max and have become a paramilitary police force. If you clowns were listening, Pacific political leaders 10 years ago, and Pacific activists 20-30 years ago where telling ya what we needed to ensure the survival of our people, lands, culture & environment,Then as now you are racist, self interested, imperial slaves to corporate masters.

Hare Atu Poaka-Get Out Of The Pacific

Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty. The big bacon

SYDNEY (AFP) — Climate change poses this century's biggest security threat, possibly forcing the migration of millions of people from countries such as China, Australia's top policeman has warned.
Water and food shortages could send waves of migrants across oceans and borders in the Asia-Pacific region, causing social disruption and unrest, said Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty.
Prime Minister John Howard Tuesday refused to comment on Keelty's unexpected foray into the politics of global warming delivered in a speech in Adelaide on Monday night.
The police chief's comments were seen as diplomatically-sensitive by some local media, with a reference to the possibility of China being unable to feed its population viewed as particularly provocative.
"For China to feed its predicted 2030 population, it needs to increase its food production by about 50 percent above today's levels," Keelty said.
"How does it achieve this, if its available land is dramatically shrinking and millions of people are on the move because of land and water.
"In their millions, people could begin to look for new land and they'll cross oceans and borders to do it."
The mass displacement of people "particularly in the Asia-Pacific region, could create a great deal of social uncertainty and unrest in the region," Keelty said.
"The potential security issues are enormous and should not be underestimated."
Even if only some of the predictions of catastrophic change wrought by global warming materialised, "climate change is going to be the security issue of the 21st century," Keelty said.
His remarks drew immediate criticism from refugee rights activists, who said the prospect of millions of displaced people trying to reach Australia was a humanitarian problem not a matter of border security.
"The issue of displaced people and Australia's obligations to those who need our help has always been a humanitarian issue, invoking our international obligations rather than engaging the issue of border security," said Project SafeCom spokesman Jack Smit.
Australia and the United States are the only two developed countries in the world to have refused to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, the main international treaty on fighting climate change

8/20/07

Institutional Racism Rampant in NZ

Elites can write all the reports they want to, but if there is no will to over turn this whole carry on in the grassroots, then ya'll just making a living off other peoples misery, NZ is, as racist as fuck, they cant build prisons quick enough for our young people, what they fuck did they expect if ya fall out of the system with no education, what options do they really have?

Twenty or more years ago, our communities told the gubbament what we needed to stem the flow of our young people from state 'care', to youth 'facilities' and eventually prisons. They never listen, and make out consultation to be a 'big' thing, when its just another con. Its obvious us to me that our current engagement with the pakeha system will be the death of us alright. The whole lot of this farken system can Haere Atu!!!!!!!!

Courts 'ignoring ethnic factors'

Maori criminals should have their sentences assessed against their ethnic and cultural backgrounds, a United Nations report says.

The recommendation comes as part of a damning assessment of New Zealand's race relations, issued at the weekend by the United Nations committee on the elimination of racial discrimination.

Maori Party co-leader Pita Sharples welcomed the report and said Maori were often the victims of "cultural ignorance" within the criminal justice system.

The report said Maori were over-represented in prisoner statistics and that provisions in the Criminal Justice Act, allowing people to provide "cultural" reasons for their offending, were underutilised.

Under section 16 of the act, relevant cultural information submitted to the court can then be taken into account during sentencing.

The report said only 14 per cent of criminals surveyed were aware of their entitlement and blamed "resistance" among court officials for the low uptake.

Dr Sharples, who has been a vocal critic of the justice system in the past, said he was in total accord with the report's findings. He said the system failed to recognise New Zealand was a multicultural society.

It was disappointing so few prisoners were aware of their right to present cultural evidence to the court, he said. "People within the justice system have made a decision that (cultural factors) are not that valuable. A lot are just ignorant, they just don't see it as a bona fide suggestion."

Dr Sharples said he wanted to see restorative justice and family group conferences used more widely in sentencing, as they were a more culturally appropriate approach to criminal justice for Maori.

The report also criticised the Government's implementation of the Foreshore and Seabed Act, recommending "renewed dialogue" take place between Maori and the government on the legislation.

It recommended the Treaty of Waitangi be entrenched in a national constitution, in order to have binding powers on the Crown.

Concerns were also raised about a members bill proposing to delete references to the Treaty from legislation and the practice of detaining asylum seekers in prisons.

NZ First leader Winston Peters - whose colleague Doug Woolerton sponsors the bill - dismissed the UN report, saying it was erroneous and meddlesome.

Mr Peters said though the report's authors were experts in their fields, they were not experts on the issues facing New Zealand society.

The chairman of the Treaty Tribes Coalition, Ngahiwi Tomoana, said critical international race relations assessments were becoming an embarrassment for the Government.

"Our identity is as a human rights leader and we are consistently being shown up as having serious problems," he said.

Deputy Prime Minister Michael Cullen said the report put the Government "on notice" to listen to Maori, particularly on foreshore and seabed issues.

Race Relations Commissioner Joris de Bres said the committee had produced a balanced report.

Urgent action was needed to deal with the number of Maori being arrested, convicted and jailed, he said.

"There will be differing views about some of the issues raised, but the recommendations are just that."

8/7/07

VANUATU: Pacific-EU free trade talks back on track

Negotiations for a free trade agreement between islands of the Pacific and the European Union are now back on track. Trade Ministers of the Pacific members of the African Carribean Pacific group of states say they are happy with the EU's clarification of their position on trade negotiations. The Pacific bloc has now withdrawn its threat to suspend trade talks with the EU.

Presenter - Samisoni Pareti

Listen windows media >>>>>

http://www.abc.net.au/ra/asiapac/programs/m1427490.asx

5/24/07

Australia's military spending: The high price of a deputy sheriff's badge

By Bob Briton

Since coming to power in 1996, the Howard Government has increased spending on the military by 46 per cent in real terms. Spending for the current financial year will reach $19.9 billion. Thanks to Costello's 12th Budget, next year it will be $22 billion or around 2 per cent of gross domestic product. By 2016-17 it is expected to rise to $29.9 billion.

These figures do not include the huge sums handed to the Attorney General's Department to maintain its role in the bogus US-lead "War on Terror" or the "Pacific Solution". They do not include the cost of the military-style presence of members of the Australian Federal Police in the region.

The figures DO include:

* $6.6 billion over 13 years to buy, maintain and arm 24 Super Hornet fighter bombers;
* $1.55 billion on operations in Iraq and Afghanistan over the next three years;
* $228 million to "market and brand" the army, navy and air force as "employers of choice";
* $2.1 billion for improved pay and conditions to help stop 11 per cent of personnel leaving the forces every year;
* $864 million for a new defence home ownership scheme.

The list is long. The cost of items for the military dwarfs other, truly urgent, community needs. For comparison, the truly shameful state of Aboriginal health will have just $120 million spent on it over three years. The conservative Australian Medical Association had recommended that $460 million be spent every year to overcome the crisis but its advice was ignored.

What could possibly justify such enormous expenditures on utterly unproductive infrastructure, equipment and expertise? Is Australia facing a threat that in any way justifies the squandering of so much of society's productive capacity? Defence Minister Brendan Nelson, the person in charge of putting the best spin on the scandalous waste, does his best to heighten people's fears. "We face a future shaped largely not by what we know but that which we don't," he told the media last week.

"The big increase in spending was needed to give Defence the resources to deal with the growth of non-state threats, terrorism inspired by Muslim extremists and widespread proliferation of advanced military hardware", as defence correspondent Brendan Nicholson put it in The Age.

The Australian Defence Forces (ADF) recently weighed into the battle for ideas with a report entitled Joint Operations for the 21st Century. It foreshadows "deepening interdependence with the forces of our allies" (increased subjugation to the military command of the US) and anticipates that Australia's military might be involved in a variety of roles including conventional war fighting. We can expect bigger outlays on "joint" spy facilities and other US bases in Australia and further expensive and environmentally destructive war games with American forces.

But the report's main thrust is that Australia's military should undergo a transition from a force designed to tackle a conventional external threat to a more agile one; able to deal with terrorism and the consequences of "climate change and the impacts of global demography", as Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston explained at the launch of the document.

The military has tapped into the community's justified concerns about climate change and come up with a nightmare scenario involving the collapse of fragile governments in the region, the sinking of Pacific islands, the destruction of productive land, the loss of reliable water supplies and the outbreak of pandemics and civil strife. The clear implication is that it will be all hands on deck to defend Fortress Australia from a wave of environmental refugees.

Furthermore, "The ADF should expect to be involved in a larger number of low-intensity operations, particularly stabilisation operations." This will require the best intelligence and stealth and precision weaponry. Even with this high tech advantage, more personnel will be required and the government has already agreed to boost the number of forces personnel from the current 51,000 to 57,000 by 2016.

Having lost the non-existent Communist threat, having been caught out on equally non-existent Weapons of Mass Destruction and having just about exhausted the credibility of the threat of "Islamic Terrorism", the military in imperialist countries is on the hunt for a plausible excuse for the huge amounts paid by working people for their upkeep. The real reasons, like the growth of the prestige and influence of emerging economies like China and the threat that peaceful competition poses to the longstanding economic dominance of the US, would not work.

Workers the world over have the same interest in peaceful relations, fair trade and environmental sustainability.

4/17/07

Hard line on youth crims floated

By MARTIN KAY - The Dominion Post | Tuesday, 17 April 2007

The age of criminal prosecution could be lowered to 12 for serious and repeat offenders as the Government floats suggestions of a harder line.

The most serious young offenders could also face longer custodial and supervision sentences and be subjected to home detention and electronically monitored parole.

This follows calls from many youth justice professionals for tougher measures against those who persistently break the law or have underlying drug or alcohol problems.

The suggestions are included in a Social Development Ministry discussion document on the 1989 Children, Young Persons and their Families Act.

The ministry stressed the document was not government policy, but the paper notes widespread concern about "a small number" of children under 14 who are falling into "sustained patterns of offending".

The age of criminal responsibility is 10, but at present children under 14 can be prosecuted only for murder or manslaughter.

The discussion document says there is widespread support for the present system, but also concern that a tougher line is needed for children of 12 and 13 who consistently offend.

The suggestions were based on consultation with people including the principal judges of the Youth and Family courts, the children's commissioner and youth justice workers.

Suggested changes include lowering the age of criminal prosecution to 12 for persistent and serious offenders, allowing them to be dealt with in the Youth Court, which can make a greater range of orders.

There was also a suggestion to allow purely indictable offences - such as rape, arson and supply of class A drugs - committed by 12 and 13-year-olds to be dealt with in the Youth Court, rather than the Family Court.

The document says the Government is already investigating increasing the period of youth justice custody for 14 to 16-year-olds from three months to six, with a further six months' supervision and possible electronic parole for those released early.

It is also considering increasing non-custodial supervision orders from three to six months, with six months' monitoring.

Home detention could also be an option.

Any move to allow 12-year-olds to be prosecuted for crimes other than murder and manslaughter would be a direction change for the Government, which has consistently argued that youth crime rates are stable and resisted calls for tougher measures.

Though Labour allowed a bill from NZ First MP Ron Mark to lower the age of prosecution to 12 to go a select committee, its support is not guaranteed further.

Mr Mark said yesterday that the discussion document flew in the face of criticisms of his bill.

"This is the final admission of two things. One, youth crime is a serious problem - recidivist serious youth crime is a huge and growing problem - and the systems that they've been running for the last 30 years that they've hailed as leading the world are fundamentally flawed."

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4028360a10.html

Maori youth offending

Paper Addressing Some Introductory Issues By
His Honour Judge A J Becroft
Principal Youth Court Judge
Te Kaiwhakawa Matua o Te Kooti Taiohi

8-10 November 2005, Nelson

I. Introduction ¹

Maori youth offenders make up around 50% of all youth offenders but in some Youth Courts the figure is as high as 80% or 90% - despite Maori encompassing only about a quarter of the New Zealand population under 17 years of age.² This situation is deeply concerning to everyone involved in youth justice.

Of further concern is problematic research into the experiences of young Maori within the criminal justice system. This research published by the Ministry of Social Development reveals that young Maori are more likely than other racial groups to receive severe outcomes such as orders for supervision either in the community or a youth justice residence. Researchers concluded these more severe outcomes were due to "increased vigilance" by the public and the police with regard to Maori youth. Further, Maori youth are more likely to be dealt with in the Youth Court, where more severe sentences are meted out, than by Family Group Conference.³ These more severe outcomes may result from Maori being brought to the attention of the youth justice system more frequently.

This raises the question of whether our legal system demonstrates a "systemic bias" against Maori young people. Weatherburn, Fitzgerald and Hua (2003) argue, in relation to Australia, that although systemic bias has existed historically in the Australian criminal justice system, the fact that a high percentage of Aboriginal people are in custody is simply due to the fact that relatively more Aboriginal people commit crime, especially more serious crime.⁴ Weatherburn et al argue that responses to the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody have tended to focus on changing Police and Court processes rather than attacking underlying societal and economic causes of crime.
http://www.police.govt.nz/events/2005/ngakia-kia-puawai/becroft-on-maori-youth-offending.html

4/5/07

Pacific has 'lowest ratification rates'

This from a prick whose govt voted against the passage of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples through the UN, who is part of a settler govt that practices the worst form of apartheid & genocide on its indigenous peoples-Aboriginal nations, whose govt interns refugees on island based concentration camps, the Pacific plan want us in the Pacific to abandon our custom and our collective rights on our collective lands, he can wrap it human rights but he cant hide the stink. Our custom, our culture our collective rights and obligations to our lands, people and environment is what we are all about, don't talk human rights to me Mr Gubbament man. Haere atu get out of the Pacific.

Thursday, April 05, 2007

THE Pacific region has the lowest ratification rates of international human rights in the world, says Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat secretary general Greg Urwin.

Speaking at the Commonwealth Pacific Regional workshop on the Ratification and Implementation of International and Regional Human Rights Instruments under the Pacific Plan in Port Moresby yesterday, he said a large part of this had to do with the perceived incompatibility of human rights and custom.

"Human rights are often referred to as individual rights a concept that runs contrary to the inherently communal nature of all our cultures in this region. I do not believe that human rights and Pacific cultures are different," Mr Urwin said.

He said unfortunately, because of resource constraints, the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat could not do as much as it wanted to help members ratify and keep up with reporting requirements of international human rights instruments.

Mr Urwin said he found more overlaps between Pacific customs and human rights.

http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=60188

3/31/07

baldhead palagi kaka

Ewww worst piece of baldhead palagi kaka I’ve read in a while. , obviously he didn’t eat enough taro and palusami, or drink enough Valima whilst in Samoa and this clown gives security advice and wants to polices us natives in the pacific. 45% of Samoans live in poverty.

Go figure.

Found this article in a nominally right wing pakeha view of the Pacific, blog.

Samoa a vulnerable Paradise.

Eric is a member of AIPIO (Australian Institute of Professional Intelligence Officers) and is currently studying for his Post Graduate Diploma in Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism. Eric can be contacted at intellisec(@)hushmail dot com.

http://pacificempire.org.nz/?p=247

http://www.aipio.asn.au/about.html

Introduction

Samoa, like most other countries in the South Pacific region, will not face security issues posed by the militaries of neighbouring countries. Instead, the threats Samoa will face will come from various other aspects of security such as local and organized crime, especially in the areas of off shore banking and possible money laundering and drugs, illegal economies such as counterfeit goods and corruption within government among others.

In terms of drug trafficking there have been a number of drug seizures. Several were made on the ferry that runs between Samoa and American Samoa. There have also been recent arrests made in relation to methamphetamine (Samoa Observer, 2005).

There has also been an increase in the number of people using marijuana. I have witnessed the dealing in marijuana being conducted quite openly at the markets and was approached by a dealer on my first day living in Samoa.

Samoa is also very vulnerable to natural disasters and climate change. Samoa has endured two devastating cyclones in 1990 and 1991 respectively. These caused widespread devastation and a total of 32 people were killed, 16 in each cyclone.

This paper however will focus on Samoa’s economic vulnerability and Samoa’s vulnerability to pandemics such as Bird Flu, both of which are equally devastating to a small developing nation such as Samoa.

Having lived and worked in Samoa these subjects as well as the country are close to my heart and I have witnessed some of these vulnerabilities first hand.

Overview

At the outbreak of World War I, Samoa was a German protectorate occupied by New Zealand. New Zealand continued to administer Samoa as a mandate until 1962 when Samoa became the first Polynesian nation to re-establish its independence in the 21st Century.

Samoa was known formerly known as Western Samoa but dropped Western from its name in 1997.

Samoa is part of Oceania and is located in the South Pacific Ocean about half way between New Zealand and Hawaii. Samoa lies at the heart of Polynesia.

Ethnically Samoa comprises 92.6% Samoan, 7% Euronesians (people of Polynesian and European decent) and Europeans 0.4% (CIA World Fact Book, 2005). These figures however do not seem to take into account the number of Asians, particularly Japanese and Chinese that call Samoa home. This link with Japan and China will be important later on in this paper and so I wanted to highlight this fact.

Samoa has no military force of its own; it has arrangements with New Zealand under the 1962 Treaty of Friendship, which would require New Zealand to consider any military assistance requested by Samoa.

Samoa comprises two major islands and several smaller ones. Apia the capital is located on Upolu, while Savai’i is the third biggest island in Polynesia and also the more traditional of the two main islands.

A tribal system is still in place and the family unit or Aiga is represented by a Matai or chief who sit on a village fono (council) to enforce rules within the villages.

Samoa is headed by a Prime Minister, currently Tuila’epa Sailele Malielegaoi.

Economic Perspective

Samoa has a market based economy and is heavily reliant on development aid, family remittances from relatives living overseas, agriculture and fishing.

Agriculture accounts for about two thirds of the work force, it accounts for 90% of exports, such as coconut cream, coconut oil and copra. Samoa’s main natural resources are hardwood forests, fish (especially tuna) and hydropower (CIA World Fact Book, 2005).

There is a small manufacturing sector which mainly focuses around the agricultural industry. The largest manufacturing business produces electrical harnesses for the automotive industry in Australia. This plant employs approximately 3,000 people, a significant amount given the population of Samoa which at last census was about 199,000 people (Samoa - Country Reports on Human Rights Practices; US Department of State, 2003).

There is also a large number of Samoan’s living overseas, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii and California would account for the most significant populations.

In terms of economic vulnerability one only needs to look at Samoa’s major industries, for example fishing and logging of hardwood. Neither of these are sustainable on a large scale over the long term.

Over fishing is a great concern and there has been a decline in fish stocks, especially tuna. In terms of the scale of the tuna industry in Samoa, it is not as large as the industry in American Samoa, which has several major canneries located in and around it’s capital - Pago Pago.

The majority of fishing is rather for subsistence, with catches being sold on the local market, although some are sold on the overseas market, such as Japan. A 10 kilo Yellow Fin Tuna sells at the local market for about $30.00WS (approximately $15.00 Australian).

Over fishing in Samoan waters and surrounding areas is a great concern, this would devastate the industry and the livelihood of many thousands of people, not just in Samoa and American Samoa but other island countries, such as Tonga which also has a great many people working in the tuna industry in Pago Pago.

The local fishermen are already experiencing a decline in tuna numbers, some days there are no tuna at the local markets.

This industry is also prone to environmental factors such as cyclones with even bad storms affecting the fishing industry. If there is a bad storm or cyclone the fishing boats may not be able to go out for days on end. This has a flow on effect across not just Samoa’s economy but other countries that are linked to the tuna industry in Samoa.

As with the fishing industry, logging of Samoa’s hardwood is not sustainable over the long term. The native Ifilele trees are already becoming rare when once they were abundant. While working as a Resort Manager in Savai’i we commissioned an artist to carve a sculpture for the restaurant. We invited him to the resort as we wanted the work to reflect our resorts setting. We had a number of Ifilele tree’s on the resort property. As it turned out the artist had never seen an Ifilele tree in his life. I was both surprised and sad as the Ifilele tree features heavily in Samoan culture.

If we look at bigger countries that have logging industries and the issues with sustainability they have it does not bode well for a small country like Samoa.

The tourism industry is a burgeoning sector within Samoa. With airlines now offering direct flights and money being spent on advertising there will be an increase in the numbers of tourists traveling to Samoa.

However there are several factors which could have a negative impact on the tourism sector.

Firstly, skilled labour to both manage and staff resorts for example, is very hard to come by locally. A lot of Samoa’s skilled labour leaves Samoa to work over seas such as in New Zealand and Australia as they are able to earn a higher wage. This means foreign skilled workers must be imported to fill these positions. It also means most of these foreign workers will be seeking higher salaries than that of local workers. Again, this situation is not sustainable.

The minimum hourly rate in Samoa is $1.70WS ($0.85 Australian). This low hourly rate of pay leads to other problems such as petty crimes. The theft of food and other small items is fairly prevalent, this is something I have witnessed first hand while running the resort and talking with other local business owners.

Secondly, factors outside of Samoa can impact the tourism industry in a negative fashion.

The age of terrorism and high oil prices affects the numbers that may travel overseas due to the high cost of air travel, which in turn will affect Samoa’s economy.

These are factors which could also increase the cost of living in countries where Samoan’s live and as a result this would affect the amount of money they would normally send home for relatives. As mentioned before, remittances from family members living overseas is a major part of Samoa’s economy.

In any country where there is a low income issue various types of crimes appear. These range from petty theft as mentioned previously, through to high level corruption.

There have been multi-million dollar passport scams uncovered in Samoa (Security in Oceania in the 21st Century, 2005, Asia Pacific Centre for Security Studies). The investigations went nowhere as it is seen as disrespectful to persons of high rank, for example Matai and government officials, to be accused of criminal acts.

Again, countries, especially developing nations are open to corruption and manipulation not just from within but from other countries and their governments.

Japan for example donated all the ferries that are currently used throughout Samoa. It is not known what Samoa gave to Japan, if anything, but fishing rights would top that list in my eyes. For example, in 2005 Japan awarded millions of Yen in “grant aid” to several countries, including Samoa, in an attempt to buy votes at the International Whaling Commission (McNeil, 2006). So, it would not be the first time something like this occurred.

This could have a very significant impact on fish stocks in Samoa’s territorial waters. That is having large industrialized nation fishing on a large scale in its territorial waters.

After the Tiananmen Square Massacre in Beijing, the Samoan Prime Minister was the first politician to visit China. In return, China built the new Samoa Government Building.

China is now one of the top three donors of aid to the region; it offers aid with no strings attached, or so it seems, unlike Australia and others which ask for good governance of the country. This is seen as China planting the seeds to exert greater influence in the region (Windybank, 2005).

One could argue that this is a war of influence rather than an armed conflict with the prize being greater influence when it come to natural resources.

This type of activity leads to countries or governments at least of developing nations, such as Samoa, being placed in a compromised position, both politically and economically.

Economic Perspective

Samoa has a market based economy and is heavily reliant on development aid, family remittances from relatives living overseas, agriculture and fishing.

There is also a large number of Samoan’s living overseas, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii and California would account for the most significant populations.

In terms of economic vulnerability one only needs to look at Samo

a’s major industries, for example fishing and logging of hardwood. Neither of these are sustainable on a large scale over the long term.