A poem by Epeli Hau’ofa that is both pastoral and speaks to the effects of colonialism in the Pacific. Our Father Bent the Winds Only yesterday The Sands of Sopu brightened the shores of Nuku’alofa, Horse-drawn carts crawled half-awake the green roads, And we sent men and money to Missions abroad. Our fathers bent...
We are Rapanui, Rapa Nui is Moana Nui. The recent success of the Hitorangi clan in Rapa Nui over the Scheiss family and Transoceanica Holding, the corporation that recently and forcefully evicted the Hitorangi family for reoccupying their land is good news. It is just a skirmish in the big picture, however, and not...
http://china.usc.edu/ On February 25-26, 2011 at the Millenium Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, the USC US-China Institute hosted a timely event, “The State of the Chinese Economy.” Needless to say, this was a very informative event and I was surprised that more people were not in attendance. These experts were primarily US based, but...
Middle East, North Africa uprisings and Free Trade Agreements The discussion over the uprisings in the Middle-East have been framed as Islam meets pro-democracy vs. dictatorships. Although it’s an accessible way for those in the Muslim-fearing West to discuss revolution in tolerant and civil terms, I’m not certain that these discussions frame a comprehensive...
There has been some discussion recently on the value of money and whether it is fundamentally essential for future economies. Whether a country is subsistent, independent, regionally integrated, or globally integrated, the value of money, rather, money’s value is complicated. From one perspective, money is often seen as a personal asset that we associate...
In response to the upcoming Trans-Pacific Trade Agreement, we should remember that the U.S. only signs one kind of trade agreement, and that is the NAFTA-style agreements that do really well for transnational corporations, intellectual property and patents, while it has mostly caused misery for local farmers, home-grown industries and environmental protections. This video...