Now for an update on this petition which I mentioned before. They are now up to 37608 signatures! I don't really know if anything will come of it, but we'll keep you informed...
(By the way, it's now the number one petition on the site)
Monday, October 23, 2006
LDS Church Reaffirms Political Neutrality
The LDS Church politically neutral? Yeah right!
The Boston Globe reported that the church was supporting Mitt Romney's (Republican governor of Massachusetts) bid for president. The church has come out and said the church remains politically neutral (http://www.lds.org/newsroom/mistakes/0,15331,3885-1,00.html).
Of course we hope that this is true, that the church stays out of politics, but then how come 72% of Utah voted for Bush in the 2004 presidential election? Mmmmmm...
The Boston Globe reported that the church was supporting Mitt Romney's (Republican governor of Massachusetts) bid for president. The church has come out and said the church remains politically neutral (http://www.lds.org/newsroom/mistakes/0,15331,3885-1,00.html).
Of course we hope that this is true, that the church stays out of politics, but then how come 72% of Utah voted for Bush in the 2004 presidential election? Mmmmmm...
Thursday, October 19, 2006
More about this petition
Since my last post there are now 14719 signatures!! That's over 500 signatures in 3/4 hour! New Zealanders must really want the Governor General to block this legislation.
For more about it check out: http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/newsdetail1.asp?storyID=105913
And find out what Royal Assent means at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Assent
By the way, it's now up to 14750 signatures!!
For more about it check out: http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/newsdetail1.asp?storyID=105913
And find out what Royal Assent means at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Assent
By the way, it's now up to 14750 signatures!!
Petition to the New Zealand Governor General
Go sign this petition at: http://www.election.co.nz/
There's currently 14215 signatures
We, the undersigned, being gravely concerned that the New Zealand House of Representatives intends to retrospectively legalise previous violations of the Electoral Act and thus usurp the Constitution of New Zealand and its democratic processes, earnestly petition Your Excellency, as representative of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, Queen of New Zealand, that Your Excellency withhold the Royal Assent from any such legislation as an assertation that Members of Parliament govern subject to the will of the people of New Zealand at Her Majesty's pleasure and not at their own.
There's currently 14215 signatures
We, the undersigned, being gravely concerned that the New Zealand House of Representatives intends to retrospectively legalise previous violations of the Electoral Act and thus usurp the Constitution of New Zealand and its democratic processes, earnestly petition Your Excellency, as representative of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, Queen of New Zealand, that Your Excellency withhold the Royal Assent from any such legislation as an assertation that Members of Parliament govern subject to the will of the people of New Zealand at Her Majesty's pleasure and not at their own.
I get rear ended in Te Awamutu - twice!
We've only been living in Te Awamutu for a couple of weeks and I can't believe that I have been rear ended in my car twice! What is it with drivers in this town?? And I particularly mind because we've had our car for only just over a year, and it's a particularly nice car (a 1998 Nissan Sentra). If it was our last car I wouldn't have minded so much (in fact I might have not noticed).
One good thing though is that the driver behind me in both instances gave me their contact details and paid for repairs. So I am very glad that they didn't just drive off as this has happened to me before!
While I'm at it I'll give a plug for Oliver's Panel & Paint on Alexandra Street in Te Awamutu. They did an excellent job on our first ding and I'm sure they'll do an excellent job on the second one! (I just didn't know that I'd be visiting them twice in as many weeks...)
One good thing though is that the driver behind me in both instances gave me their contact details and paid for repairs. So I am very glad that they didn't just drive off as this has happened to me before!
While I'm at it I'll give a plug for Oliver's Panel & Paint on Alexandra Street in Te Awamutu. They did an excellent job on our first ding and I'm sure they'll do an excellent job on the second one! (I just didn't know that I'd be visiting them twice in as many weeks...)
Sunday, October 08, 2006
What is a Maori?
Don Brash recently made comments about whether there is a distinct Maori race at all. (See: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/organisation/story.cfm?o_id=266&ObjectID=10402806) He said about the high court judge: "He continues to talk as if the Maori remain a distinct indigenous people. There are clearly many New Zealanders who do see themselves as distinctly and distinctively Maori - but it is also clear there are few, if any, fully Maori left here. Through six or seven generations of inter-marriage there are few if any people in New Zealand who have only Maori ancestors. That is not to deny that many New Zealanders choose to identify strongly with the Maori part of their ancestry, and with Maori culture. That is absolutely their right…"
He's partially right in a way. I was told by my high school Maori teacher that there are no full blooded Maori left, and I beleive that would be correct. So then what is a Maori? Is it half-cast (50%), quarter-cast (25%), or even less. If you have one Maori ancestor 3 or 4 generations back are you then Maori?
Winston Peters has claimed it would be ridiculous for those with a "few drops" of Maori blood to be able to go on the Maori roll. In a September 2000 speech he said: "The way ahead - one country, one electoral franchise. We must end a dual electoral system in which the only qualification to vote is based on race - in some cases as diluted as one part in 512. Under the Electoral Act, anybody of Maori descent or [who] claims to be a Maori can apply for registration on the Maori Roll. In 1993 there were four Maori seats - in 1999 there were six. It has been estimated that over the next 40 years or so, up to 30 per cent of the population will have some Maori blood - in many cases only a few drops. What is to be feared is the prospect of demands for 30 or 40 Maori seats. That would be plainly ridiculous. And it is just as ridiculous to look at some of these benefactors of Treaty [of Waitangi] claims who are of mixed descent. Ask yourself, if a claimant is one-eighth Maori, does he or she get one-eighth of the amount they would have received from the claim if they had been of full Maori blood. Or does the seven-eighths European part of that person pay?"
Is what Winston Peters saying correct? Is it going to get rediculous like this in the near future? With all the inter-marriage should there be a distinct Maori race anymore? Apparently some Native American tribes require a certain percentage of blood ancestry to qualify for certain rights. Will that be applyed in NZ to Maori, because there's going to be a lot of people of Maori decent soon. (There are a lot of white looking people in the Maori All Blacks team - probably why they are sometimes called the "All Sorts"!)
Of course we need to retain and celebrate the Maori culture and language, but perhaps maybe it is time that we define who is Maori and who is not.
He's partially right in a way. I was told by my high school Maori teacher that there are no full blooded Maori left, and I beleive that would be correct. So then what is a Maori? Is it half-cast (50%), quarter-cast (25%), or even less. If you have one Maori ancestor 3 or 4 generations back are you then Maori?
Winston Peters has claimed it would be ridiculous for those with a "few drops" of Maori blood to be able to go on the Maori roll. In a September 2000 speech he said: "The way ahead - one country, one electoral franchise. We must end a dual electoral system in which the only qualification to vote is based on race - in some cases as diluted as one part in 512. Under the Electoral Act, anybody of Maori descent or [who] claims to be a Maori can apply for registration on the Maori Roll. In 1993 there were four Maori seats - in 1999 there were six. It has been estimated that over the next 40 years or so, up to 30 per cent of the population will have some Maori blood - in many cases only a few drops. What is to be feared is the prospect of demands for 30 or 40 Maori seats. That would be plainly ridiculous. And it is just as ridiculous to look at some of these benefactors of Treaty [of Waitangi] claims who are of mixed descent. Ask yourself, if a claimant is one-eighth Maori, does he or she get one-eighth of the amount they would have received from the claim if they had been of full Maori blood. Or does the seven-eighths European part of that person pay?"
Is what Winston Peters saying correct? Is it going to get rediculous like this in the near future? With all the inter-marriage should there be a distinct Maori race anymore? Apparently some Native American tribes require a certain percentage of blood ancestry to qualify for certain rights. Will that be applyed in NZ to Maori, because there's going to be a lot of people of Maori decent soon. (There are a lot of white looking people in the Maori All Blacks team - probably why they are sometimes called the "All Sorts"!)
Of course we need to retain and celebrate the Maori culture and language, but perhaps maybe it is time that we define who is Maori and who is not.
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