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Dedicated to interviewing leading edge experts, practitioners in their field, and people who are living examples of sustainability. Covers environmental subject matter that is not readily discussed in depth in mainstream media.
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Now displaying: September, 2017
Sep 27, 2017

Māori were living in Aotearoa, New Zealand when Abel Tasman from Holland in 1642 but especially English navigator James Cook in 1769 - put NZ on the map - that’s when the British and Europeans took notice with the early arrivals introducing many different ways of life. This included firearms, alcohol, the bible and private ownership.  

Loss of Connection

This progressively diminished Māori connection especially with the natural elements and within their own Māori peoples - that upon the colonialisation of NZ - this was not what Māori thought was going to be the end result of the ‘te Tiriti o Waitangi' - (the English version of which is known as the ‘Treaty of Waitangi') an agreement between two sovereign parties: the British Crown and the Māori .

Misinterpretations and violations of the ‘Spirit of the Treaty’ led to break down and huge personal loss which were basically ignored - and Māori grievances becoming prominent as a result, marginalising many in their own country. Wars over land and confiscation by the new Government were widespread. But this was no different from European conquest in Africa, the Americas, Australia etc.the original inhabitants became tenants in their county of birth.

Whakapapa - Genealogy - Bloodlines (and more)

Overriding Māori connection is the central theme of Māoridom being whakapapa …  and papa   pa and pa  - two words - Catherine’s understanding is that - pa - denotes the idea of touching something - and when it is doubled - one can literally say that it doubles the original idea.  If pa is touch, what is double that? Imagining when we see a double word like that - it is a transcendent idea of the original idea …. In this example it’s “connection”, which is central to Papatuanuku - Mother Earth - that connection - that is sacred - integral  - so whakapapa is a core essence of who you are - because it’s our bloodlines, but more than that - it is that Māori belief is that they descend from God.  That we´are children of God.   

Catherine’s learning comes from her Kaumātua and Kuia - her male and female elders.

Kaupapa  purpose (and more)

Kaupapa   kau means  - two parts - ka and u - ka is like an activator - it sets you in space and time -  u - is like the idea to grasp something  … kaupapa and - the papa part reminds you of your whakapapa - which reminds you of your connection to Papatuanku - the Earth Mother - the deity - the divine personality which is our Earth  - and she then connects us back to Io-matua-kore  - our parentless one - who was the first child if you like of pure potential energy …  that Māori track back to the source energy - the source of everything.

She said that we need to fundamentally realise that from way back up until now that we need to grasp the idea that we are a divine spark  - so  from that awareness, what are we to do? What is our kaupapa?

Catherine says that upon this spark realisation - she is not going to be small … she is not here to waste time :)  It's just “pono”: Truth.

Listen to her passion and power!

Realising our Potential

Catherine decodes for us the divine art within all people - and that we can grow into the light of our own true selves - when we are fortified with this deeply acquired knowingness - coupled to Aroha (compassion).

This is where Catherine vibrantly expresses herself in a very big way - that she wishes to leave a legacy - and change the world - and she is acutely aware that this is possible. We can make truly glorious transformations in this world.

A river being recognised as a living being

This lively interview covers the Whanganui (awa) river here in New Zealand with a catchment area of over 7,000 square kilometres as finally being legally recognised as a living entity in its own right - that under Maori auspices ‘ the river owns itself’ - and that it can now be revered as a living extension of Papatuanku - Mother Earth that is in itself heralding a paradigm shift to one where we recognise the sacredness of life and that we exist in a living pulsing universe.

Same for the Te Urewera park being over 2,000 square kilometres being the historical home of Tūhoe. Part of their traditional territory.

This interview introduces Bolivia and Ecuador and ‘ the rights of nature’ under the umbrella of Pachamama  - that the world is waking up on a planetary scale that within the the atmospheric bubble of the biosphere we are far more intimately connected than we realise. Through air, water and minerals.  Plus an essence as well.

That things within nature are our relatives - we are all connected through the web of life - that all biota share breath - be it animals, trees and vegetation plus humans all breathing in air and like other animals we humans breathe in oxygen and breath out CO2 whilst other more fixed biota - trees and vegetation breath out O2 and breathe in CO2 - in a profound symphony of interconnectedness and homeostasis.

And she says why should only humans get rights? Nature needs them too, which then brings up the intrusion into the natural world of Corporations declaring themselves as having legal personalities and in the US where it is entrenched and they are really pushing this agenda of Corporations having human rights. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_personhood

Where Corporations are saying they are equal to humans in having human rights and even superior to humans and natural persons and environmental rights and she sees this as just an abomination - that the judiciary and the legislature of countries are going down that road and have abused and corrupted such a critical idea. That as she has a Law degree, she carries more weight in her knowingness.

The interview continues around a statement that Tim poses to Catherine, who deftly answers it in a diplomatic matter and from a higher level of consciousness.

Tim states: That because the Māori acknowledge and revere their ancestors and their past, whereas the Pakeha or white man especially in NZ, Australia, Canada and the USA, who as recent immigrants to these countries have all left their origins of Britain or Europe in the 17 and 18th century - have in many ways separated from their roots and in not honouring the past, instead consume the future - which we see as Corporations extracting from mother earth at an increasingly furious rate and leaving environmental desecration behind them - including major social purples for the localised inhabitants.

We are all Consciousness

Catherine, answers by stating - we could look at this and possibly get bogged down  - instead she ramps this thread to a higher level, saying before we start looking at us based on colour or culture - that we are consciousness first - that she is ‘wairua’ in spirit and that we are humans first - then our other identities follow - that she is a woman - and then you can say she is Māori and that she does not want to get into separation an us and them thing - it is a ‘we’ thing - that’s what we are - humans living on a planet.

That there are so many crises on earth today and we have to address them together and we all have value and we all have something to offer to find the solution and she implores us to come together in the spirit of cooperation and solve that which is surrounding us and coming up over the horizon.

Unity of Purpose

So this is both our opportunity as well as our challenge - this she says ‘is the holy grail of where we must go’ - so can we come together and collaborate more and see the commonalities and not go to the differences - first - that just our reaction to go to these differences first when the true answer is the coming of unity of purpose and embracing goodwill in our individual and collective journey.

Catherine says we are here to experience diversity but in peaceful accord or words to that effect.

Listen … She is a superb communicator   

The Journey is the Reward

It’s not about the destination - it's about the journey - and the discovery during this process / unfoldment.

She talks about some of her friends that have been given over to their grand parents for their upbringing - and they are a different breed of people - and it is clear as night and day - and it's lovely - that the children have a reverence and a respect as well as a calmness about them - that they are more grounded. She notices that in most cases their perspective is more expansive. Catherine would like to see this happen more, because Māori have done this before, but through the colonisation of NZ many old Māori traditions have been diluted and changed and many lost.

Children and Education - Knowledge of your Surroundings.

Knowing the bird life in their local area, their sounds, plus how many grasses does a child know? - and insects? - the difference between benevolent insects in comparison to honey bees and wasps and hornets. Plus trees and herbs, especially for their health giving properties. Fish names and whereabouts also.

Catherine covers earthing - getting outside on the lawn or in a field and lying in the grass and connecting barefoot. Or tree hugging and the electromagnetic science of feeling the electromagnetic field - that we can become in-balance if we are sensitive to be a ‘body whisperer’ in being receptive to what the environment and nature itself is whispering and breathing into us.

People say knowledge is power and Catherine jumps in saying ‘nah nah nah’ - acting on knowledge - is power …

She talks about academic associates who keep adding degrees to their name and continuing to educate themselves but possibly not having the time to share this new knowledge as in receiving and then giving. The same goes for our body and spirit - we need both a healthy spirit - wairua and a healthy body ‘temple' - it’s all about balance and combining all the parts of ourselves to become a full whole being. And she says that we have to be our best at the same time communing with nature to grow into the light of our own true selves.

Covering James Cameron’s movie Avatar that all the roots of trees were interconnected into one vast neural network right around Pandora the moon - and that the indigenous Na’vi could also connect through their hair to both trees and animals that were part of the natural order of that whole ecosystem. That there was in fact no separation - all living beings, Na’vi, animals and trees were interconnected. We humans are too -with the sharing of breath.

Chaos theory that has ended in it order

Catherine mentions chaos theory and eventual order out of chaos as in Mandelbrot theory - where all the parts are reflections of the whole - like the Russian dolls one inside the other - inside the other - inside the other - of nesting dolls Matryoshka - matry for matriarchal - motherly.

The ubiquitous Bruce Lipton comes up in Catherine’s conversation that we as a humanity ‘the human race’ are an evolving giant organism’ in our own right - as well as our planet being a super organism as well - that within the universal context that God is flowing to evolve what she is (she laughs) - universal consciousness or whatever we want to call it - Io (in Māori) and that the whole shebang - God is continually expanding and refining and finding new ways to experience itself - and so it is never ending … being eternal.

That we need to recognise this and that we are a part of that which surrounds us as we shift our consciousness to another higher level. Catherine excitedly states that she really wants to lean into this as she feels like it is being on the fringe of something new - where we can break out of our skin encapsulated ego and awaken to the true brilliance of who we really are.

Involving Everyone and Looking Within.

Then the question how do we assist in engaging people to encourage them into the realisation that we are all on a profound spiritual unfoldment, if we only shined our focus into our inner life and illuminated our shadow and our ego, that actually holds us back when we are here to release ourselves of our darker limitations.  That the fear of ‘change’ being one of our barriers to engaging …  We tend to make sure we avoid pain and seek out all kinds of pleasure …  as people like and prefer certainty and dislike uncertainty intensely and that is why people fear change. Thus our society remains conservative.

Catherine talks about the ego looking back to the pleasures of the past or the future - when in fact the goal for us all is to be in the present - because that is where all the gifts are.

Cosmologies.

That the universe is both Yin and Yang it is both Tapu and Noa from a Māori perspective

The breath of Life -  the Ha - comes into Catherine’s - discourse  - including change and chaos.

Tim throws this into the conversation:

Ourplanet.org - is the Mothership of GreenplanetFM.com  - his key quip - it’s more than a revolution it is a paradigm shift.’

New and Larger Concepts

That we are co creators - if we are born of the Divine and we are divine sparks we must … have some of the characteristics and attributes of God - or universal wisdom and energies … which is creative power and being co creators

    * She thinks that the young and the millennial are moving fast and awakening to many empowering possibilities

    * Science and spirituality is converging - quantum mechanics and unified field understandings and wholeness

    * Science is also saying that most indigenous people have been right all along - that our body has another energy field or soul/spirit and that our planet is a super organism.  That everything is an illusion - that we are all just energy fields - same for all matter

    * That the Golden Rule for Māori is tika, what is right and correct - Pono truth and integrity -  and Aroha is compassion - and more … Love

    * If we are just mindful to the best of our abilities - (as above) we will go far and create miracles  

    * It’s about values and your 'wairua' - spirit

She talked about consequences when violating natural law = Cause and Effect

Teaching Children - Tamariki (children) and Mokupuna (grandchildren)   that acting too proud has consequences

Wants the study of ‘Civics’ to be in the curriculum into schools as most young people are disempowered and lack real connection to one’s local community

Civic - relating to the duties or activities of people in relation to their town, city, or local area and iwi - Māori peoples.

Plus more science into schools - the study of basic consciousness and basic quantum physics as she thinks the cart (focus on the molecular world) is currently before the horse (understanding consciousness).

Then at the end I belatedly ask her about her moko - her chin tattoo - and an interesting exchange happens. First Nation Peoples in the South West of the USA have them too.

This was a very insightful energised interview and sharing that is very compelling for all who wish to deepen their inquiry into indigenous matters.

The ‘kaupapa' (purpose) of Catherine's website is to share knowledge and wisdom that expands the collective consciousness, and contributes to the empowerment of people everywhere to be happy and free.  

This kaupapa is underpinned by her desire to progressively realize her own personal happiness and freedom.  But, as often said, one cannot be truly happy and free unless ALL are happy and free - so, I guess this will be an ever-evolving journey rather than a destination.

https://www.catherinem-ikenn.com

Catherine (Bl/B.Soc.Sci, LLM) hails from the two Māori peoples of Ngāti Kuri and Te Rarawa whose traditional territories are located in the Far North of the North Island of Aotearoa, New Zealand.  Married with one son, she has a strong passion for indigenous human rights, environmental protection and lifelong education.

In the mid 90's she worked as a Government Policy Analyst and as a solicitor in Wellington. Since 2000, she project managed her Te Rarawa peoples’ historical Treaty claims settlement negotiations with the Crown, and later became a negotiator herself for her Ngāti Kuri peoples' settlement negotiations - both settlements of which were legislated in 2015.

In 2005 Catherine was awarded the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Indigenous Fellowship (representing the Pacific), and continues to represent her peoples in different UN work, as well as on two technical working groups (regarding climate change, and the Monitoring Mechanism for the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples) affiliated with the National Iwi Chairs Forum. She has also held several trustee positions for her peoples’ governing boards, and local schools (she's currently on the Board for Kaitaia College).

Sep 20, 2017

Womens Rights are Human Rights, but do we live in a society of sexism, patriarchy and unconscious bias? As Chinese Leader Mao Tse Tung said, “Women hold up half the sky.” In fact in New Zealand women make up 52% of the population and so hold up just a bit more than half!

EMANCIPATION


Kate Sheppard and her fellow suffragists gathered the signatures of nearly 32,000 women to demonstrate the groundswell of support for their cause. The result of this was that the Electoral Act 1893 was passed by both houses of Parliament and became law on 19 September 1983. 

New Zealand women gained the right to stand for election in 1919. The first female MP, Elizabeth McCombs, was not elected until 1933.

It took until 1984 for the number of women in Parliament to reach double figures. 
In 2014 there were 69 males in parliament and 31 women!

 Should we rest without full emancipation of women being implemented in our society? Since the women’s liberation movement quietened in the eighties society has landed up with wide and worsening inequalities, and women suffer most in this type of society, directly and indirectly.

One hundred and twenty four years since women got the right to vote, the journey is far from over! “The gender pay gap in this country is symptomatic of a bigger problem”, says Angela McLeod in this interview.

New Zealand ranked tenth in the Global Gender Gap Index 2015 after countries such as, and surprisingly, Rwanda and the Philippines! New Zealand climbed one rank to ninth last year owing to improving its position on the Economic Participation and Opportunity sub-index, with higher female labour force participation. Since we were the first to give women the vote, we should expect to be first!

New Zealander, Sandra Coney gave an excellent speech at International Women’s Day this year. She says, “I want to raise here a precept of the early women’s liberation movement that is still highly relevant. That is, you measure women’s progress not by how women are doing at the top but how they are doing at the bottom.


A LIVING WAGE


In some circumstances women still get paid less for doing the same job as men.
 There is a 9.4% gender pay gap in New Zealand. This is ridiculous, and often low paid women workers are exploited, yes in this day and age.

 The minimum wage needs to increase as many women are trapped in low paid work. Benefits then can rise and that will help the many solo parents, mostly women, who are struggling to survive and are sometimes in abject poverty.
It is from that background that exploitation of women and violence against women can appear.

TRADITIONAL ROLES
We all know the historical role of women in the kitchen, as caregivers and nurturers and there is nothing wrong with that. However women must have the choice to be all that they can be. Some enjoy the home environment, although in the current financial environment many are forced out to work for financial reasons. Even then many women are the primary cooks and cleaners at home and jobs are not shared equally between partners. (I for one, would prefer to cook a meal than mow the lawns!) However only 3% of firemen (FireMEN) are women. And as a man just pointed out recently, there are not too many male midwives around. So traditional roles still play a part in our society. Many people refer to doctors as HE and nurses as SHE for example. However we must be sure that these differences occur because of choice and not from patriarchy.

UNCONSCIOUS BIAS
More insidious than individual issues is the promotion of bias in the media, and retail areas. Try going shopping for young children and find non gender specific clothing. It is not easy. Pink for girls and blue for boys is very prevalent along with violent hero pictures on boy’s t-shirts and pink fairy dresses for girls. Toys are similarly categorised. This gender bias is much more evident, as I buy for my grandchildren, than it was in the eighties when my own children were young.

Watching the sports news on TV is another area of bias. Male sport dominates and so you may be unaware that our NZ women’s rugby team, for example, has won five World Cups and the men have only won three!
It is very clear that there is gender bias in the workplace.
 The government has reached its target to have 45% of women on State Sector Boards, but the private sector is quite different, with only one business leader, Kate McKenzie CEO of Chorus, in the top NZX 50 business leaders.


EMPOWERING WOMEN
In an attempt to overcome bias in employment, the New Zealand Law Society released a draft Gender Diversity and Inclusion Charter for comment by lawyers.
“The voluntary charter is an initiative of the Law Society’s Women’s Advisory Panel that was set up to look at ways to support the retention and advancement of women in the legal profession. It also aims to address pay equity and encourage the implementation of unconscious bias training for all lawyers and key staff.”
As well as the law society driving reform within its ranks, we need government legislation to drive a more equal society.
Empowering women is the most important thing we can do to build a better society.

The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality on which Angela McLeod is a member of the New Zealand committee seeks to:

Establish high-level corporate leadership for gender equality.
Treat all women and men fairly at work – respect and support human rights and non-discrimination.
Ensure the health, safety and well-being of all women and men workers.
Promote education, training and professional development for women.
Implement enterprise development, supply chain and marketing practices that empower women.
Promote equality through community initiatives and advocacy.
Measure and publicly report on progress to achieve gender equality

.

To hear more on women’s rights, please listen to Angela McLeod in this interview.

Angela McLeod is the past president of the Federation of Business and Professional Women, New Zealand, and a  UN Women National Committee Aotearoa New Zealand Councillor, 
Upper Hutt City Council Chair, and is on Wellington Region’s Waste Forum.
She says:
“I have lived in Upper Hutt all my life and I’m passionate about our city and environment.  I want to: put our interests first; fight to keep us out of a Super city; strengthen our local economy and community; upgrade all our train stations; keep our water publicly owned, from source to tap; clean up the Hutt River and build an effective rural strategy.  
My husband (Mac) and I live on a lifestyle block in Whiteman’s Valley and we own a local retail business.
I have been and continue to be, involved with local and national civil society groups.”
Angela has much to say on women’s issues including the upcoming election.

This interview is sponsored by: The Awareness Party
www.theawarenessparty.com

Sep 14, 2017

In 1973 the North Koreans realising that they were not making any progress with South Korea on formalising Peace, wrote a letter to the US House of Representatives and the US Senate asking for a Peace Treaty and they have never received a reply, so here we are today - why no reply?

Well the answer is quite simple - it has nothing to do with North Korea - and Peter gives a documented quote from Condoleezza Rice. US Secretary of State 2005–09.

Saying what it does do, is expose the extreme cynicism of the situation and the complete lack of respect for other human life if you are not American.   

Quote - “the North Koreans are like some sort of road kill on the highway of history …”

What is really going on is about America - and the US containment of China - policy.

Most people do not know that there was no peace treaty signed by North Korea and the USA - so a ceasefire was arranged - as both sides knew that they could not prevail. Evidently this still irks the US military.  

Peter still reckons that up until 1971 - they were still keen to have a go at ousting the other - but US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger went to China and President Nixon a year later, changed the geopolitical map - and North Korea suddenly realised that if another war happened that they may not now be able to rely on China  so - after weighing this US China dialogue - they decided to ask South Korea to have a peace treaty and get closer together again. - and though they had some talks and it was thought a good idea - nothing really happened (and every year up until today - the successive Kim’s have in their New Year speech proposed and asked for a Peace Treaty.)   Hence the above overture to the USA.

Peter Wilson of the NZ DPRK Society   - New Zealand - Democratic People’s Republic of Korea  Society - (Also known as North Korea.)

Backgrounder

Peter Wilson is a freelance consultant who worked for the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the Food and Agricultural Organisation, including alongside the UN in the UN Development Program - where previously he had worked for long term projects like 2 years in Papua New Guinea and 4 years in the Philippines - implementing long term projects and that eventually morphed into short term projects - like project planning and supervising and troubleshooting. He ended up working twice for the UN in North Korea the first time being in 1997.

Media Programing

For decades North Korea is a country that the media has always portrayed as an: impoverished rogue state; secretive state; the world’s most isolated and Orwellian state; the whole rotten carcass of the North Korean state; a nuclear weapons state; instability within the rogue state; Stalinist state/the last Stalinist state; a failed state with nuclear weapons/ nuclear weapons state; the state as a religious cult; the world’s most closed state; police state; failed state.

Peter says that in the study of the media’s description of North Korea’s state of well being - that every different adjective is used as a prefix before ending in the words ‘North Korea’ and when compared with South Korea there is no such prefix used in front of the words South Korea.  Which shows huge amounts of bias. So that we have all been conditioned to see North Korea in a decidedly negative way.  However when he looks at where the articles in the media come from they are Bloomberg, Reuters (head office New York) Time New York Times, Washington Post - they are all American sources and reflects the Washington line - And Peter states that Washington looks at the world through a different type of prism from what we in NZ look through. And it is true.

(Yet, the fact that Donald Trump calls these above publications (that include CNN) being fake news agencies - brings Peter to laugh about the ironies of existence).

The situation of North Korea

Having worked for a small UN Agency 20 years ago in Pyongyang called the International Fund for Agricultural Development - Peter had access to virtually the whole of North Korea in 1997 - where he witnessed first hand the plight of the famine at that time. Though it was bad - it was nowhere as near as horrendous as the Western media portrayed and that the reason why this drought lead famine was due to continuous bad weather and climatic conditions and the fact that North Korea was kept out of the international system - due to the USA locking them out of the International Monetary Fund - which meant they could not belong to the World Bank - or to the regional development banks like the Asian Development Bank  - That Peter says that the Americans one day, must have blinked and North Korea became a member of the International Fund for Development - which is just a tiny extension, as a multilateral financial institution.

Peter has spent the last 40 years of his entire professional career having worked in 21 different Asian countries especially in all the poorest and problem areas which in 1997 took him to North Korea - because they were at the height of their food crisis. It was a US$50 million project dealing in fertiliser and improved crop production of which Peter was involved in $13 million of that - for increasing production of small livestock such as ducks, geese, sheep and goats. When he first went there he had little knowledge about that country - probably less that the average person today knows - mainly because today we are getting more news coverage.

However what little he didn’t know really did not stand upon to that he really saw on the ground. That life in North Korea is very different as to what is portrayed by the media - in this case the US media.

His most recent visit was last month, August 2017 having worked there on two occasions and on the 5 other occasions he has visited he has represented the NZ DPRK society.  This time he came back a little bit staggered.

The Economy is Growing Fast

He said the economy was booming!

He estimated at least three times the numbers of cars on Pyongyang streets since he was last there exactly two years ago. The shops are bursting with consumer goods. Their military deterrence missile/nuclear programme has accelerated.

It was brought home to him that sanctions are totally farcical. They just don't work!

From all we are told by the media, North Korea is an aggressive threat to the world. They are not. North Korea's crime is to stand up to the United States and not allow US Corporations to trade there!

The South Korean Central Bank’s latest study maintains the North Korean economy grew at least 3.9% last year - However Peter thinks that the growth could be a lot more than this 3.9%, due to the way the GNP is assessed by the South Koreans.

Peter says that over his numerous times of visiting that he can easily see that the standards of living are increasing and it is quite different from what is portrayed in our media i.e they are not having to eat grass!

As Peter has been working in a large number of Asian countries for 40 years, that to be effective he said you have to understand the system - where the power is - who is up who - and if you don’t understand that political context - plus the social context you will not get what’s going on in these countries. So in having to visit many strange situations, assess them all and then be productive -  that was the factors that he dealt with.

This interview covers:

US Black Basketball player Dennis Rodman and his frequent visits to North Korea to assist in sporting skills and opening more understanding. That Rodman wants to play peace-keeper between Trump and Kim

That Peter in 1997 was asked to be on the ground to see exactly what the drought was like and the famine that the Western media told us about. He says it was a privilege to be selected for this UN assessment trip which as an extension of the World Food Program and Food and Agricultural Organisation. They were awake to this as there definitely, was a problem. So this team - possibly the first Western team ever was able to travel extensively right through the country because for the aid money to go to North Korea, the United Nations had to know the seriousness of this event.

But what they were looking at didn’t actually gel with what North Korea was telling the world -because people were not dying by the thousands (or eating grass) and though there was hunger there were not nearly as serious - a problem as we had heard from the Western media - and Peter was able to see that there was not a huge increase in the deaths of elderly and children.

Climate: the ground in North Korea is frozen hard for 6 months a year and that only 15% of the land can be used for arable farming.

The North Koreans say they have 172 frost free days a year - they don’t say that they have so many sunshine days a year, or so many rainy days like we do in NZ. So for 6 months of the year they have to work really hard through this time to grow enough food - but as North Korea is a very mountainous country with only 15% arable land they just can not produce enough food in that small area - and they utilise whatever space they can. Peter says that historically they have to work really diligently, and though their agriculture is technically very good - he says they have to make sure that they have enough food for the coming winter.

The Failure of the Soviet Economy affected North Korea

This is where the deconstruction of the Soviet Union comes in, in the early 1990’s - for when it deconstructed the USSR - North Korea and also Cuba had always been subsidised by the Soviets, and as they were going broke - they were not able to give food to their ex client states (like Cuba too).  That when the bad weather hit North Korea - there was a major shortfall. Because they could not source cheap diesel and fertiliser and when it came to food - especially grain, it all stopped because they had no trading system with the West at all.  

So that when Russia finally emerged out of the USSR it was broke - and needing hard currency themselves wanted payments for goods in hard currency  e.g US$ - but North Korea had none of that either.

So the North Koreans actually exaggerated their circumstances a little and they were able to receive free food from Oxfam and the other charity agencies. Which he said was quite clever of them.

Peter then states that to this day - certain overseas mouth pieces state that two to three million people died - but he says - that’s not true - and that sure, there were some deaths - maybe 250,000 over many years maybe up to 750,000 people, Peter says that there may have been 3 to 400,000 premature deaths that happened.  Note NZ contributed aid at that time

However when George Bush 2 came to power he swapped the game plan and instead sent food to Africa. So the North Koreans still need to now top up their food requirements - grain wise and they they have been able to buy this on the international market as they have the cash. What is not known is that the US put the first sanctions on North Korea in 1950 and they are proposing to do it even more. - but it is clearly not working … as the North Koreans are making their own consumer goods as well.

Consumers Goods & Military development is accelerating

So North Korea’s military development has accelerated and so has their standard of living and the economy is growing and the sanctions just don’t work.

Nuclear Tests, Missile tests ands Satellite systems

Containment of China
The reason why America does not want a peace treaty of any sort is, because it's all to do the US containment policy of China. The US wants forward defence in South Korea and Japan, and as far away from the United States of America, however Kim is bringing home to the Pentagon and the State Department - that he has the technology to build missiles that will one day be able to reach the heartland of the US, but North Korea is yet not in the arena of placing a nuclear warhead on a missile.

Meanwhile across the radio waves, TV, satellite systems and the internet the US is ramping up North Korea as the bandit nation that will definitely send an intercontinental missile to America or any of its allies - and this story has been fanned by the US corporate media - and the South Korean people have bought it - plus the Japanese public and 99.5% of the whole world - have been taken in by this continuous rhetoric.

US wanting to be the Dominant Country on Earth

(With hundreds of bases globally the US wants to be the only dominant player on planet earth. They are not looking for partners other than the Anglo American alliance, with Israel somehow inserting itself into the equation as well. China is still in the ascendancy and is overtaking America in most areas of production and trade and modernising its military very rapidly. Thus China is seen as the greatest threat).

General Wesley Clark Youtube  (Mentioned in this interview by Tim)

The reason the refugee crises came to Europe over the last number of years was given by General Wesley Clark about 10 days after 911 when he went to the Pentagon and was told by another General that the US was going to take down about 7 Middle Eastern countries. And this has basically happened and is still happening under cover of the Arab Spring revolutions. Syria being the latest and then - on to Iran. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RC1Mepk_Sw     

The Neo Cons in the US are the ones directing these actions. Plus, an unconscious humanity not taking any responsibility throughout the West to address the Neo-Con agenda.

Peter mentions William Blum - ex CIA agent who tells about the list of 57 countries since WW2 that the USA has been involved in attempting and in most cases changing a regime to whom they wanted . https://williamblum.org/

The fact that is: of all the countries that have stood up to the USA - it is North Korea. Which regrettably makes them more hated by Uncle Sam who uses all means of propaganda that can be trained on them by US corporations to constantly demonise this country.  Note NZ was demonised when it became Nuclear Free and thus was ejected out of ANZUS, by the US.

Rejection by the US Government - again.

In January last year - the North Koreans made a proposal to the United States - and said that if you halt your war-games with South Korea - they will freeze their nuclear development program - and this will give us the space to talk - Washington said NO.   

Because of the US military controlled Governmental intransigence - this has driven China and Russia even more closer together. Plus, Putin has come out supporting this freeze - but to no avail.

New Zealand's Role  
The Helen Clark Labour Government many years ago opened up diplomatic contact with North Korea and was consistent in remaining in contact - however the National Government under Sir John Key has cut this link  - and there has been no contact for 3 years and Peter states that it is Wellington’s fault, because Pyongyang wants to talk.

Being  Shunned
At the time of Nobel Peace Prize winner, Barack Obama’s 2nd Presidential election the North Koreans sent a letter to him asking for the cessation of hostilities stating that they wanted a Peace Treaty.

Asking for:

Recognition of their  sovereignty -

Wanting the lifting of sanctions -

Wanting all foreign troops out of the Korean Peninsular -

Finally asking to talk about an implemented and Internationally agreed upon Nuclear Free Korean Peninsular -

The answer from Obama - nothing ….

Peter states that today this is still the North Korean Policy of wanting a Peace treaty

Finding Neutral Nations to broker an agreement (Where is NZ?)

Norway is seen as a country with the courage and the vision to get out into the world and forge peace and bring people to the table - whereas NZ shies away from any ‘major global engagement’ and for reason we do not understand.

Ache in Indonesia, Palestine, Sri Lanka are mentioned as having Norwegian involvement and Peter tells of meeting a diplomat from Norway by chance in Pyongyang and asking him why not North Korea seeing Norway's has been so worldly active? With the diplomat saying the reason there is no action on the Korean peninsular is because the USA would not be happy.

Other Subject Matter Covered.

The North Korean Voting System

Covering of the Leadership of the three Kim's since the 1950’s and why only them? Peter stating that they are following a Confucian model and it is not really that different from China or Vietnam and or Laos.  That North Korea, also sees flaws in these systems - saying that the rural people in both China and Vietnam are being left out of the equation.

The North Korean’s are making their own business model and not following exactly what China or Vietnam are doing - they are doing their own version of business - because they know that the people in the cities in China are doing well but as above the people in the countryside are not and the North Korean Government want to even the playing field. They are conscious of this inequality in Vietnam as they see it as worse than that of China - and Peter says they look him straight in the eye and they’ll tell him “it is no better in the West - where the rich are getting richer and the poor remain poor.”

They say that they are still looking for a better way - whilst still holding to their socialist ideals being egalitarian and they are modernising and getting ready to interact with the global economy and have a fairer society for their people.

Listen to Peter …

Education

English is now being taught in Primary, Secondary & Universities Whereas in 1997, it was only being taught in universities so as to teach diplomats and so forth..

Agricultural food production

30% of food is now traded by sole traders - where as many years ago it was all run by the state.

Health and Medicine

hospitals are very good - well trained personnel.

They were using interactive TV technologies communicating with other doctors and nurses in the other towns and cities.

Housing

in the last 20 years - Peter surmises that nearly the whole country has rebuilt or modernised all it’s housing and apartment blocks, in the 20 years he has been visiting the country - where in 1997 it was just a country of square concrete grey block houses - but today huge changes and now there are some architecturally stunning apartment blocks been built.

Peter encourages whatever new New Zealand Government that gets elected to restore relations with North Korea, just like Helens Clark’s Labour Government did prior to this previous National administration.

Notes:

There was only 54 minutes to cram as much as we could into this interview.

US Activist Gloria Steinem and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maireed  Maguire  an Irish Peace Activist - Marched  for  Peace in  Pyongyang  23rd May 2015

Peter Wilson  

NZ DPRK Society

 

http://asaa.asn.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/asian-currents-13-08.pdf

The article entitled "The Demonisation of North Korea."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QaNA9eSQVE      18 minute video ( with Anchor NZ butter)

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=387&v=yPYxrmxOvcQ   fly over better than thought   

 

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/92073468/terence-obrien-baptism-of-fire-for-brownlee


The orchestrated “Korean crisis” is not about North Korea. It is an orchestration that lets Washington put nuclear missile bases on China’s border, just as the orchestrated “Iranian crisis” was the excuse for putting nuclear missile bases on Russia’s borders.  
Paul Craig Roberts: Assistant Secretary of the US Treasury for Economic Policy and ex Associate Editor of the Wall St Journal.

http://www.paulcraigroberts.org

Sep 7, 2017

Steve Papps is here in conversation with Liz Gunn who admits from the outset that Steve was a valuable mentor to her when she was going through a divorce, short on funds and even shorter on self confidence.

From those days, they have cemented a firm friendship. Steve has helped many people who are in challenging life situations and unsure about how to find a way through, and how to blossom again as people.

A very harsh childhood

Steve Papps has three businesses - Papps Nutrition, Papps Consultancy, and LifeForce Water. All of this from a man who grew up in a home that by his own admission was a “Once Were Warriors” household.

Liz asks him about the early challenges he faced- an unavailable father, an alcoholic mother and a house where parties, violence, police being called in the night, and dire poverty, were the norm. Yet he found bright spots - the good foster families who took him and his brother in at times, a love of learning and of his schooling in Remuera thanks to the state housing in which they were lucky enough to live.

Steve talks of having to have a pillow over his face and ears as a boy ( and he still does this) to be able to go to sleep. With that pillow over his face, he would make internal resolutions that he would be a father who hugged his children and was connected with them, and also a man rich enough to provide for his children so he could give them the kind of  childhood he was not enjoying . These were the early days of his unknowingly developing his ability to create a different reality for himself.

Determined to excel at school and in sport

Steve was determined to excel at school in sport. With his bright mind,  he also soaked in the good learning. But at 13, that state house was pulled down and the family were moved to a much rougher area and to a school in Penrose. From there, the two brothers started getting involved in drugs and alcohol and his schooling suffered.

When he was 16, he found out he was to become a father. He had an innate sense of what is right. He chose to stay with the mother of his child and sought out work. By 19, he was the father of three children .

Being responsible as a young 17 year old

At 17 he took on a commission job. He realised he could make in one day, what he was making in a week in his other job. He followed the advice of his Maori mentor exactly- “ I didn’t out think it. I did exactly what he said “ . He had to keep a positive mental attitude and never give up. He simply never gave his attention to the negative thoughts. His first day’s sales were a record. “ You see Liz, I had to sell ( or ) my son didn’t eat “. By 18, he had risen to assistant manager of NZ for the company, and he was running a whole team.

Steve then alluded to the second company he began - a security company which became extremely successful for him.

Using certain Principles to focus on Success

Liz and Steve discuss the principles behind success, by looking at Papps Consultancy’s aim-to help people with their consciousness, to help people understand how the Universe really operates . Everything is a reflection of the internal world, the internal thoughts.

He took these understandings in to Papps Nutrition and into body building. From coming last in his first competition, after studying the nutrition to help him win, he ended up representing NZ at the most prestigious amateur championship  Mr Universe . “ I became passionate - I outsmarted the bigger guys in nutrition and I studied how my mind works “

Steve now gets up at 4.30 am and does a 12 to 14 hour day at work plus his workout . By the end of the day, he still has the same level of energy as at 4.30, and he says it’s because he knows how to eat, how to drink water, how to think and how to breathe .

Combatting poor health and eating choices.

Steve talks of the growing levels of poor health in society . One example is the epidemic levels of diabetes - 9 people a week in NZ losing a limb because of diabetes - and yet he has seen evidence that it is able to be healed. “ Obviously there’s evidence that as a population,  we’re doing something wrong . And it’s the way that we’re shopping, the way that we’re eating “

He says that most people are overfed and at the same time are starving-  starving of nutrients.

Steve tells the story of a client, Colin, who had Type 2 diabetes. He was addicted to drugs and alcohol when he met Steve. He was very depressed. Steve did a nutrition plan for him . 8  weeks later, he had an appointment with the doctor and he was off all medication. His own doctor said to him “ Whatever you’re doing, just keep doing it” . The doctor added a follow up comment to that, which may surprise you when you listen to this interview.  Steve was bemused- and he and Colin were both confused by the doctor’s comment. Colin’s life story completely changed with his better health, his diabetes healing, his drug free life, his weight loss from 124 kg to 82 kg, his fitness programme, but most of all , with the different thinking patterns he developed through his talks with Steve,  and the coaching he received.  Thanks to the shifts from that different perspective which Colin developed, he is now in a happy relationship, has a young child, travels around the world , and is on his way to getting his own home.

“Discipline gets you started, it’s just like turning the key in the ignition. What is required is awareness. Discipline will get you started but awareness keeps the change”

Discipline but more-so - it’s Awareness  

Steve and Liz discuss the idea of awareness, and the difference of that from just positive thinking. He tells the story of Rene, his friend who now runs a successful business . But he used to have a false sense of “ NEXT week I’ll get my business started” ( and Steve talks about how people do that with fitness too - and in many other areas - “NEXT week I’ll get around to that “) . Steve tells the story of how he challenged Rene’s desire to stay within his comfort zone. Liz asks what happens when that human being takes that leap off the cliff.

Steve says every successful person will tell you about the failures they have had. It’s part of the process towards success. You can’t succeed without failures. And they’re not even really failures. They’re part of the refining of your consciousness.

Consciousness and Energy

Everything is energy, vibrating - protons , neutrons, electrons… but in their most refined form, it’s just one energy expressing itself in many forms. There’s actually only one energy vibrating on different frequencies.

When it comes to money, it’s all about the vibration we hold - it’s nothing to do with how smart we are, how many hours we work , or even the product itself!  It’s as if there is a mirror. The mirror will reflect back to you the essence of the energy at which you vibrate. Ask -for example-  how do I truly feel about money today ??  Steve has found that every wealthy person has one thing in common: they truly expected to be wealthy.

He takes a further common example- the woman who grew up in a home seeing her mother abused and now, as an adult, set at that frequency, she will tune in to an abuser, just as an abuser will tune in to a victim. It’s not from her conscious thoughts. What she needs is an awareness of deep subconscious energy ." Everything in your external world is a reflection of your internal world “

That person - that behaviour- can only stay in your life by you giving it attention.

Tuning in and becoming focused

Steve gives a powerful metaphor for tuning your energy,  by likening the 'tuning in' to changing the frequency of a radio.

Reality is happening inside of you. It’s only your attention to something that makes it ‘exist' outside you.

Changing from within

Everyone is trying to change their external world, not their internal thinking patterns and beliefs. That is where the misunderstanding lies.

These are shifts in fundamental understandings. "Reality happens on the inside and the story we’re playing out on the inside, we’ll see hardened into physical form on the outside. But that’s not reality “ .

It all starts from within. Someone who is vibrating from frustration will manifest frustration around her effortlessly .

Our bodies consist of trillions of cells with their own intelligence  

In each of our bodies are 37.2 trillion cells. That’s 37.2 reactions per second ! That’s an incredible intelligence flowing through us every second. Life flowing effortlessly. There are laws that operate this universe. The influence you have is tremendous and these laws of the universe are exact. The laws of the Universe. You can apply them in each area of your life. You can have a totally different life . But if you don’t even understand them, it won’t open up for you .

Awakening to possibilities

Liz asks Steve about that little boy with his head under the pillow, daydreaming of a different life. Living it in his imagination. Steve talks of Einstein saying that imagination is more powerful than knowledge. Imagination is Image- in-action.

Liz refers to that third company - LifeForce Water - and the book on water which Steve has written. And she asks him about his successes making millions in a security company. And how he also misapplied the principles which had helped him build up wealth and success, by saying to himself “Don’t you mess this up”. Liz says she will discuss this with Steve in greater detail in their next programme.

Learning from mistakes :)

And Tim Lynch, who was sitting in the studio waiting to edit the interview, later edited in the reaction of Liz when she thought they were all off air! It’s a spontaneous, heartfelt reaction to a man Steve Papps,  who helps others from his own heart.

 

Papps Nutrition - YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oil6YUKk3Hs

https://www.pappsnutrition.com

 

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