Where have all the flowers gone....

Kia ora koutou,
I remember a record in Mum and Dad's record collection by The Howard Morrison Quartet, 'Greatest Hits' or something like that. Some great songs - songs to croon to - and one that stood out was 'Where have all the flowers gone'. A sad song that I 'got, even as a kid, but see as more poignant now that I have children of my own.

Our whanau is like a lot of other whanau - we have a strong and proud military history (my cousin Tuhoe spoke of this when interviewed about the Urewera 'terrorism' raids; Tuhoe was a Vietnam vet). That young Maori and Pakeha are still being killed overseas must give us pause to reflect. To that end, a picture taken inside the lobby of Lincoln University's library. The two paintings on the wall are titled 'Mt Casino', the scene of some horrific battles in World War 2 in which the 28th Maori Battalion had a role.

This is what it's come to: Greek Neo-Nazi's in parliament in the home of democracy...

The first action for the 28th Maori battalion in WW2 was in the Petra Pass on Mt Olympus against the advancing German army invading Greece. While this action (and most of the next two years!) resulted in retreat and regular hidings for 28MB, the NZ 2nd Division, and the British army, eventually we all kicked them back to where they came from and - we thought - ended all that fascists nonsense.

But fascism never seems to die. It just smells that way.

Greece was the second country I ever visited. A wonderful place, great people, very similar to Maori actually. To think that my children - 2 boys aged 10 and 9, and a girl aged 3 - might have to suit up and help Greece kick up some more fascists chills me.

Ake ake kia kaha e