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POPSWant a chat with the Maori King? OK, but make it snappy King Tuheitia's public image has been of a humble man who once turned up to an interview in his favourite fishing vest. A former truck driver who is a rugby league lover and kapa haka fan, he mows his own lawns. "When referring to The King, 'The King' is fine, though if you want to be certain of being polite I would recommend that you say at least once 'Your Majesty'." One Kingitanga source called the guide an "insult" to followers, as Ms Kotua was not raised in the Kingitanga movement.
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POPSAll Blacks to get all-clear to keep performing haka Ngati Toa filed an application to trademark four key phrases of the haka last year, after an earlier bid to gain control of the rights to the entire text of Ka Mate failed. The rugby union had been filing documents of possible opposition to the Intellectual Property Office ever since, to give it time to settle the deal with Ngati Toa. Ngati Toa kaumatua and spokesman Taku Parai said the deal formalised an informal agreement which had existed for some time. It really has always been about ensuring a certain level of protection of the haka from misappropriation, from the misuse of it ... the All Blacks do it in a respectful manner." Ka Mate is said to have been performed first by Ngati Toa chief Te Rauparaha, after a Tuwharetoa woman saved his life by shielding him from enemies. In 2009, the Crown acknowledged Te Rauparaha as the author of Ka Mate, and its significance to Ngati Toa.
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POPSMaori dragged into US union dispute no such thing as a Haka 'tribe. Ex-MP and now Maori commentator John Tamihere was unconcerned. "I think, isn't interesting that the haka, a signature for the All Blacks and a lot of New Zealanders on an OE, is getting this kind of attention," he said. "I can see the type of person who reads the Wall Street Journal will probably Google it. They are opinion makers and shakers." Tamihere added, though, that is was intriguing how people with a little bit of knowledge could still get things wrong. "On the wider scheme of things I am not insulted, but it would have been better to get the facts a tad right."
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POPSBurma Protests Rage On Protests continue on and appear to be heating up with even monks involved in very aggressive acts of resistance. Things are looking like 1988 all over again. And what is perhaps most remarkable is that people do this in spite of a long history of brutal crackdowns, hunts for activists, phone tapping, and all manner of atrocities. Power and respect to the people.
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