te ao maohi

les blogs

2005-07-23T08:29:00.000-07:00

LINKS TO your BLOGGING REVOLUTION

not sure what blogs are?

here are a list of polynesian specific blogsites i have put together, three of them in the last week. don't try and make sense of it all yet. just have a look around and start getting a feel for things. or you can jump right in and go straight to blogger.

or you can take a look at les blogs.

les blogs | web logging | en française

Blogger Help : How do I use Blogger in my own language?

Blogger Help : All About Blogger Internationalization

Blogger Help

avaiki | cook islands |
http://avaiki.nu

http://avaikinius.blogspot.com

tahiti | te ao maohi | polynésie française

Polynésie française - Wikipédia, l'encyclopédie libre et gratui..

http://teaomaohi.blogspot.com

http://toere.blogspot.com

http://jpk.blogspot.com

other interesting links | introduction to wikipedia

French Polynesia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Université de la Polynésie Française - Wikipedia, the free en..

Oscar Temaru - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

editor@avaiki.nu

rest of the world | for fun

avaiki pick: drumlines movie @ www.google.com for an update on american abilities in school drumming. not new we know but diverting culture from the heartlands of coca-cola country.

headlines from today

2005-07-21T18:07:00.000-07:00

tahiti today
temaru proposes "pacific passport"
greens urge govt to consider temaru's pacific passport idea
maori offer temaru advice
french polynesian leader discusses 'pact of confidence' with paris
french polynesia pull out of mini games

hawaii special
rebuilding a hawaiian kingdom - and a role for oscar temaru
national briefing
hawaiians grapple with self-government bill
"just say no to the creation of racial enclaves in Hawaii"
inouye stumbles over the akaka bill
group speaks out against akaka bill
congress places more holds on akaka

nuclear issues
author condemns hypocrisy over rainbow warrior bombing
greenpeace looks back in anguish at the loss of the rainbow
pacific lives with legacy of nuclear tests
le monde: mitterrand ordered sabotage of Greenpeace ship

ancient history
student success at young scientist awards
40,000-year-old footprint of first americans
polynesians came from taiwan says new study
studies prove people of madagascar came from borneo and africa
maori ancestry traced back to taiwan
research links settlers of polynesia to taiwan

polynesia around the world
polynesian festival draws thousands
ISLAND REUNION

temaru tour: headlines from aotearoa

2005-07-18T13:12:00.000-07:00

EU-style passport mooted
French Polynesian leader moots Pacific passport
Pacific passport concept proposed
French Polynesia PM calls for Pacific passport
Hypocrisy in war on terror - Rainbow Warrior author

2005-07-18T12:43:00.000-07:00

AVAIKI
A new logo has been chosen for avaiki, your world's most transparent company.
It is the tiare maori, a native flower of polynesian countries including Cook Islands and French Polynesia.

temaru: aotearoa should balance trade

2005-07-18T12:12:00.000-07:00

SPEECH NOTES
draft oscar temaru speech to pacific cooperation foundation
monday 17th july 2005
wellington, aotearoa

It is indeed a great honour for me to address such a prestigious assembly of Pacific leaders, diplomats and distinguished experts on Pacific issues.

I am pleased to be able to share these valuable moments with you.

As I am looking at all of you, assembled here, I feel assured that I will be learning a lot today. Maybe more than I have learned in my entire political career!

The Pacific region has seen some difficult times.

However with the determination of some of our Pacific leaders, such as the late and treasured Ratu Sir Kamasese Mara, as well as organisations like the Pacific Forum in Suva and the South Pacific Commission in Noumea - we have made it through.

I am firmly convinced that the next 20 years will be extremely important for the Pacific region.

Let us not forget the importance of the Pacific triangle and of the cultural heritage that binds us today. We have the responsibility to cherish and even jealously protect our resources, physical and cultural. We must pursue the course set by our forefathers and retain our values and our way of life. At the same time, we need to face the challenges presented to us by a rapidly changing world, the dangers and advantages of globalisation and technological advances.

There are, obviously, many challenges.

If we want to elaborate on development strategies most needed by our region, we must consider, first, the interests of our peoples and, especially, the needs of our youth, and, the kind of legacy we would like to leave for them.

We, therefore, have come together to discuss, consult, examine our strengths and weaknesses, and measure our resources and capacities, in order to decide together on actions that bring consensus.

Not forgetting the interests of smaller and weaker island nations! We can focus on existing relations as well as future potentials. For example, my country imports NZ$190 million from your country but exports just $3 million in return. These kinds of imbalances must be addressed today by encouraging greater two way trade.

In particular, we need to reflect on our marine resources: what they consist of, and how to manage them and protect them in the best way possible. I cannot help but think of the fishing industry, a resource so important for our island nations, and coveted by international conglomerates. It is essential for us to unite our efforts in order to protect our fish stock, which is being depleted year after year. To achieve this, we should share our knowledge and techniques in ocean stocks management.

We also need to ponder the subject of renewable energies, so vital for isolated islands. The cost of energy is getting higher by the minute.

Imagine: $60 US dollars a barrel today, and perhaps 70 soon! Just imagine the consequences on the cost of plane tickets, and on the cost of transport in general. Just imagine the repercussions on the economies of small island nations. We must start using alternatives to the use of fossil fuels.

Beyond all this, we also have the responsibility of leading our children in the future in the best way possible. We need to prepare them for the challenges ahead. The world is changing, and we need to keep abreast of the wave.

I am certain that you have already reflected on those vital questions. I would like to ask you to share with us some of the main points of concern that you have found answers for.

Mr Chairman, ladies and gentleman, thank you for giving me this opportunity to share these few moments with you.

Maururu roa - thank you very much - for your attention.

LINKS
Oscar Temaru en visite officielle en Nouvelle Zélande à la tête d'une délégation polynésienne

temaru denies snub of bastille

2005-07-17T14:01:00.000-07:00

NEWS
French Polynesia president Oscar Temaru is denying a "snub" of highly symbolic Bastille Day celebrations on 14th July.
He turned up hours after the beginning of formal ceremonies instead visiting a shanty town scheduled for state rehabilitation on the west coast of Tahiti.
Temaru jokingly dismissed local controversy.
"That was a whole media hype," Temaru told avaiki nius agency.
He had already attended commemorative ceremonies yesterday and the day before, he said.
Temaru said people were "surprised" to see him show up at Bastille Day after some local media said he would boycott.
"There was a lot of people there and they were so happy to see me there."
Temaru says he accepted some people were upset at his late arrival.
He asked critics to put this in perspective.
"Bastille is a symbolic celebration of something that happened over 200 years ago."
Other priorities might include those who have suffered under the French republic, including the poor and disadvantaged, he said.
French-owned dailies Les Nouvelles and La Depeche printed full front page stories on Temaru's Bastille Day attendance for days before and after, as well as several inside pages.
On local television, Temaru accused some local media of lacking "objectivity" in their reporting of his Bastille day participation.

LINKS
Oscar Temaru won't celebrate 14th of July
A large audience and Oscar Temaru attended Bastille day
IN FRENCH
Oscar Temaru ne fêtera pas le 14 juillet
Cérémonie du 14-Juillet: public nombreux, Oscar Temaru présent
Oscar Temaru visite les quartiers insalubres de Punaauia

temaru calls for global nuclear vets to unite

2005-07-17T12:34:00.000-07:00

NEWS

Nuclear compensation payments "may be" coming up as a topic of discussion when French Polynesia president Oscar Temaru meets with his New Zealand counterpart Helen Clark today.

Temaru says his delegation's main focus is trade.

He agrees nuclear compensation payments are beginning to emerge as an issue around the world for former nuclear testers in the region, France, the United States and the United Kingdom.

He also agrees the matter should eventually be taken up further with an independent authority like the United Nations.

First priority among nuclear test veterans around the world - civil and military - should be uniting into some kind of global organisation to present a united front.

Such a priority would mean difficult choices for nuclear powers and their allies including New Zealand.

Aotearoa was the voice of the Pacific when nuclear testing became a hot political issue during the 70's.

Anti-nuclear sentiment remains strong with an opposition party forced to deny it would overturn anti-nuclear laws if it became government.

New Zealand has an impressive anti-nuclear record, passing the world's first such legislation, successfully pushing for a nuclear-free zone across the Pacific, taking on France and losing admirably after the Rainbow Warrior bombing. Most memorably; sending a frigate to protest nuclear testing at Moruroa in 1973.

One blot remains.

Nuclear test veterans allege the New Zealand government has been no different from nuclear powers avoiding full disclosure over effects on servicemen exposed to British tests from 1957 on Christmas and Malden islands.

Last year, Prime Minister Clarke responded to these long term criticisms by seeking cabinet authorisation for a NZ$100,000 payment to the New Zealand Test Veterans Association to look into the link between test exposure and illnesses among fifties servicemen.

avaiki: dawn of the nuclear age

avaiki: letter exposes 1957 hydrogen bomb tests

avaiki: 20050524 reporter's notebook

avaiki: wong dismisses nuclear fallout concerns

avaiki: ground zero: nuclear terrorism? editorial

tahiti delegation wants more trade

2005-07-17T12:33:00.000-07:00

NEWS

French Polynesia president Oscar Temaru meets with his New Zealand counterpart, prime minister Helen Clark today in the Aotearoa capital, Wellington, to discuss trade.
Temaru says there is a serious trade imbalance between the two countries.
Tahiti imports ten times more product from New Zealand than it exports back.
President Temaru wants the New Zealand government to take a closer look at what Tahiti has to offer.
Temaru also wants agricultural protocols established between the two nations.
Accompanying Temaru is a high level trade delegation from the government of French Polynesia, including Ministre de la Mer, Keitapu Maamaatuaiahutapu, the minister of the Sea.

| full draft notes from Temaru speech to Pacific Cooperation Foundation later today

2005-07-14T14:19:00.000-07:00

FOUNDING EDITORIAL TE AO MAOHI

te ao maohi means the world of the maohi - the natural world.
some people claim this name is used only by supporters of political independence from france.
if this is true, then it is also true that the official name of polynésie française is increasingly used only by those who support continued dependence.
in this context, "La Polynésie française" is no more politically neutral than "Te Ao Maohi" as a name for national identity.
like it or not, france has abused its colonial powers.
let's not even start with the nuclear debate.
or evidence of deep and historic levels of corruption reaching 12,000 kilometres, all the way back to the highest powers in paris.
just the fact france avoided proper due process under united nations programmes for self-determination is self-evident of power and its abuse.
no different from other metropolitan powers like the united states and the united kingdom abusing their vassal territories during the 1950's and 60's.
"french" polynesia however is almost alone in the pacific as one of the last 'significant' territory of any size to remain one. only papua to the west of new guinea looms larger on the united nations shame-0-meter and members states handling of self-determination in the region.
part of the problem over the decades is that english speaking media regard french polynesia as foreign, to be paid even less attention than hurricanes and coups across the rest of the region.
in fact, tahiti is something of a news hole.
agence france presse - made famous in the region by stalwart freelancer michael field - refused to accept english stories about tahiti, saying they had their own correspondents.
however those reporters were all french language journalists, employed in newspapers, radio and television stations closely allied with government.
safe to say, very little reached the english parts of the pacific about what was really going on in papeete.
and that is where this news blog comes in.
avaiki news agency aims at providing comprehensive links in french and english to news of the day in tahiti, from ngos as well as established news sources.
naming this news blog te ao maohi might be evidence, if any is needed, that this blog is anti-flosse, anti-french and pro-independence. certainly, the former president personifies much that is wrong with french politics.
however the funny thing about corruption is that those who expose it are often no more immune to its charms.
as former judge eric halphen noted after being booted from a top level investigation into corruption, "corruption has no colour." or, in this case, name.
he also said justice does not exist in france.
disturbing indeed.
as an independent news agency, avaiki will do its job to ensure that corruption in the political workings of this fascinating and utterly delightful archipelago are exposed.
under any name.