SOME SAY THE SAME ABOUT JESUS

No ho ho: Italian church apologises over bishop’s claim about Santa Claus

Antonio Stagliano was trying to focus on the story of Saint Nicholas when he told children Santa did not exist, says church in Sicily

A man dressed as Santa Claus rides past a crowd in Rome. An Italian bishop was forced to apologise after telling children there is no Santa.

 Photograph: Matteo Nardone/Pacific Press/REX/Shutterstock


Associated Press
Sat 11 Dec 2021 04.22 GMT

A Roman Catholic diocese in Sicily has publicly apologised to outraged parents after its bishop told a group of children that Santa Claus doesn’t exist.

Bishop Antonio Stagliano didn’t mean the comments, and was trying to underline the true meaning of Christmas and the story of Saint Nicholas, a bishop who gave gifts to the poor and was persecuted by a Roman emperor, said the Rev Alessandro Paolino, the communications director for the diocese of Noto.

Italian news reports quoted Stagliano as saying during a recent religious festival that Santa doesn’t exist and that his red costume was created by Coca-Cola for publicity.

“First of all, on behalf of the bishop, I express my sorrow for this declaration, which has created disappointment in the little ones, and want to specify that Monsignor Stagliano’s intentions were quite different,” Paolino wrote on the diocesan Facebook page on Friday.


Bad SantaCon: how the event went from anti-capitalist protest to day of debauchery

WHY, IS THERE A DIFFERENCE

“We certainly must not demolish the imagination of children, but draw good examples from it that are positive for life,” he continued. “So Santa Claus is an effective image to convey the importance of giving, generosity, sharing. But when this image loses its meaning, you see Santa Claus aka consumerism, the desire to own, buy, buy and buy again, then you have to revalue it by giving it a new meaning.”

But, if the public comments section of the Noto page were any indication, the Sicilian parents weren’t having any of it.

While several welcomed the bishop’s attempt to focus on the Catholic meaning of Christmas, others faulted Stagliano for interfering with family traditions and celebrations, and crushing the spirits of children, whose early years were disrupted by the pandemic.

“You are the demonstration that, when it comes to families, children and family education, you don’t understand a thing,” a commenter, identified as Mary Avola, wrote.

UPDATED

Monkees guitarist Mike Nesmith dead at 78


Michael Nesmith (L), Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork were recruited to star alongside Briton Davy Jones in The Monkees on US television between 1966 and 1968 (AFP/Noel Vasquez)

Fri, December 10, 2021, 2:07 PM·2 min read

Mike Nesmith, one of four members of 1960s television and pop phenomenon The Monkees, has died, fellow band member Micky Dolenz and his family said Friday. He was 78.

The group were a made-for-TV outfit put together in the United States to rival Britain's The Beatles.

Dubbed "The Pre-Fab Four" -- a play on their artifice and The Beatles' nickname -- The Monkees were a commercial smash, whose catchy pop hits remain instantly recognizable more than 50 years on.

"I'm heartbroken. I've lost a dear friend and partner," tweeted Dolenz, the last surviving member of the foursome.

"I'm so grateful that we could spend the last couple of months together doing what we loved best –- singing, laughing, and doing shtick. I'll miss it all so much. Especially the shtick. Rest in peace, Nez."

US media quoted a family statement saying Nesmith had died at home of natural causes.

Nesmith, Dolenz and Peter Tork were recruited to star alongside Briton Davy Jones in the 1966-1968 TV series about an aspiring band looking for their big break.

The four goofed their way through mild capers, accompanied by a laugh track as the fictional band morphed into a real-life group that ultimately sold millions of records.

Their three big hits were "Last Train to Clarksville," "I'm a Believer" and "Daydream Believer." The band became huge stars.

But the four chafed in the format and under management that they felt had too much control over their music.

After the TV show was cancelled, they began to run out of steam. By 1970, the band had split.

There were periodic reunions over the following decades and 2016 saw the release of an album featuring all four, despite Jones' death four years earlier.

Peter Tork died in February 2019.

Nesmith reunited with Dolenz and the pair toured together, with their final gig in Los Angeles last month.

"It is with deep sadness that I mark the passing of Michael Nesmith," manager Andrew Sandoval wrote on Twitter.

"We shared many travels and projects together over the course of 30 years, which culminated in a Monkees farewell tour that wrapped up only a few weeks ago.

"That tour was a true blessing for so many. And in the end I know that Michael was at peace with his legacy which included songwriting, producing, acting, direction and so many innovative ideas and concepts.

"I am positive the brilliance he captured will resonate and offer the love and light towards which he always moved."

R.I.P. Michael Nesmith, Co-Founder of The Monkees Dead at 78

Alex Young and Wren Graves
Fri, December 10, 2021, 


The post R.I.P. Michael Nesmith, Co-Founder of The Monkees Dead at 78 appeared first on Consequence.

Michael Nesmith, co-founding member, vocalist, and guitarist of The Monkees, has died at the age of 78.

“With Infinite Love we announce that Michael Nesmith has passed away this morning in his home, surrounded by family, peacefully and of natural causes,” his family said in a statement. “We ask that you respect our privacy at this time and we thank you for the love and light that all of you have shown him and us.”

The Monkees formed in 1965 when television producers Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider recruited Nesmith, Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork, and Davy Jones to be in a sitcom of the same name. As Dolenz recalled, “The Monkees was a TV show about an imaginary band, a band that wanted to be The Beatles. Bands all over the country wanted to be The Beatles. We were a band (as portrayed on the TV show) that was never successful.”

However, the band quickly became a hit in real life. Initially, the producers recruited songwriter duo Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart to write music for the show, as well as for the band’s 1966 debut, The Monkees. The Monkees themselves were not allowed to play instruments on this album, but instead only sang. While the 1967 follow-up More of The Monkees contained more original songs written by Nesmith, including the hit “Mary, Mary,” the band still had little creative input.

That changed with 1967’s Headquarters, which saw The Monkees assume control of their musical expression. From 1967 to 1970, Nesmith emerged as a pop-rock visionary, penning several of The Monkees’ most iconic tracks, including “Circle Sky,” “Listen to the Band,” and “The Girl I Knew Somewhere.”

Following the group’s breakup in 1970, Nesmith briefly led the First National Band, which pioneered the emerging genre of country rock. Nesmith and his bandmates put out three albums between 1970 and 1971, including the hits, “Joanne” and “Silver Moon.”

Nesmith briefly worked on a project called the Second National Band, but as the 1970s progressed, he began to focus more on production. Starting in 1979, he served as an executive producer on PopClips, a music video television program that aired on the cable channel Nickelodeon in 1980 and 1981. The show pioneered the use of Veejays, and is often cited as a direct predecessor to MTV.

Earlier this year, Nesmith embarked on a farewell tour alongside Micky Dolenz, who is now the sole surviving member of the Monkees. His final performance took place at The Greek Theater in November 2021. Check out footage of that performance, as well as a sample of some of his best-known songs, below.

 

 

 

Michael Nesmith, the Monkee for all seasons, dies at 78

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Michael Nesmith, the singer-songwriter, author, actor-director and entrepreneur who will likely be best remembered as the wool-hatted, guitar-strumming member of the made-for-television rock band The Monkees, has died at 78.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

Nesmith, who had undergone quadruple bypass surgery in 2018, died of natural causes at his Carmel Valley home near California's Central Coast, his family said in a statement.

Nesmith was a struggling singer-songwriter in September 1966 when “The Monkees” television debut turned him and fellow band members Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork and David Jones into overnight rock stars.

Dolenz, the last surviving member of the band who completed a farewell tour with Nesmith last month, said on Instagram that he'd lost a dear friend and partner.

“I’m so grateful that we could spend the last couple of months together doing what we loved best – singing, laughing, and doing shtick," Dolenz said. "I’ll miss it all so much. Especially the shtick.”

After the group broke up in 1970, Nesmith moved on to a long and creative career, not only as a musician but as a writer, producer and director of films, author of several books, head of a media arts company and creator of a music video format that led to the creation of MTV.

Nesmith was running “hoot nights” at the popular West Hollywood nightclub The Troubadour when he saw a trade publication ad seeking “four insane boys” to play rock musicians in a band modeled after the Beatles.

The show created by Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider featured the comical misadventures of a quartet that tooled around Los Angeles in a tricked-out Pontiac GTO called the MonkeeMobile and, when they weren’t chasing girls, pursued music stardom.

Each episode rolled out two or three new Monkees songs, six of which became Top 10 Billboard hits during the show’s two-year run. Three others, “I’m a Believer,” ″Daydream Believer” and “Last Train to Clarksville,” reached No. 1. They had four No. 1 albums in 1967 alone.

Jones, with his British accent and boyish good looks, was the group’s cute lead singer. Dolenz became the wacky drummer, although he had to learn to play the drums as the show went along. Tork, a folk-rock musician, portrayed the comically clueless bass player. Nesmith, with his twangy Texas accent and the wool hat he’d worn to his audition, became the serious but naive lead guitarist.

A prankster by nature, he’d arrived at the audition carrying a guitar and bag of dirty laundry he said he planned to wash immediately afterward. With a harmonica around his neck, he stormed into a casting office, banging the door loudly. After pausing to gaze at a painting as if it were a mirror, he sat down and immediately put his feet up on a desk.

He got the job.

But he rebelled almost immediately when producers told him they were going to call his character “Wool Hat.” He demanded they use his real name, as they did with the other actors.

It would be the first of many confrontations Nesmith would have with producers during a tumultuous two-year run in which “The Monkees” won the 1967 Emmy for best comedy series.

Nesmith and Tork, the group’s two most accomplished musicians, railed against the program’s refusal to allow them to play their own instruments at recording sessions. But when Nesmith revealed that fact to reporters, music critics quickly turned on “The Monkees,” dismissing the show as a fraud and the band as the “Prefab Four,” a mocking reference to the Beatles’ nickname, Fab Four.

Nesmith, meanwhile, had written several songs he hoped to debut on the show, but almost all were dismissed by music producer Don Kirshner, as sounding too country.

Among them was “Different Drum,” a breakthrough hit for Linda Ronstadt in 1967 that validated Nesmith's opinion that Kirshner, hailed by the pop music industry as “The Man With The Golden Ear,” didn’t know what he was talking about.

Things came to a head when all four Monkees demanded they take control of the music. They were warned they would be sued for breach of contract.

At that, Nesmith rose from his seat and smashed his fist through a wall, telling Kirshner it could have been his face.

For years Nesmith would refuse to confirm or deny the incident, even as the other three gleefully recounted it to reporters. In his 2017 memoir, “Infinite Tuesday,” he did acknowledge it, saying he’d lost his temper when he felt his integrity was being questioned.

“It was an absurd moment in so many ways,” he wrote.

It did give the Monkees control over their music, however, beginning with the group’s third album, “Headquarters.”

After the show concluded in 1968 the band embarked on a lengthy concert tour where members sang many of their own songs and played their own instruments before crowds of adoring fans. Jimi Hendrix was sometimes their opening act.

Following the band’s breakup Nesmith rarely rejoined the others for reunion tours, leading many to believe he disliked the band and the show, something he steadfastly denied.

“I really enjoyed being in the show. I really enjoyed working with Davy and Micky and Peter,” he told Australian Musician magazine in 2019.

It was, he would often say, that he was simply too busy doing other things.

Over the years he recorded more than a dozen albums and toured with the First National Band, the country-rock-folk group he assembled.

He wrote scores of songs, including “Some of Shelly’s Blues,” “Papa Gene’s Blues,” You Just May Be the One” and “The Girl That I knew Somewhere” that he performed with the Monkees. Others, performed with the First National Band, included “Joanne,” “Propinquity (I’ve Just Begun to Care)” and “Different Drum.”

For the Monkees’ 30th anniversary he induced the others to reunite to record a new album, “Justus,” for which all four composed the songs and played the instruments. He also rejoined the others for a brief tour and wrote and directed their 1997 TV reunion film, “Hey, Hey, It’s the Monkees.”

Nesmith also wrote and produced the 1982 science-fiction film “Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann” and earned executive producer credits on “Repo Man,” “Tape Heads” and other films.

His 1981 comedy-music video “Elephant Parts” won a Grammy and led to “PopClips,” a series of music videos broadcast on the Nickelodeon cable network that in turn led to the creation of MTV.

Nesmith even published two well received novels, 1998’s “The Long Sandy Hair of Neftoon Zamora” and 2009’s “The America Gene.”

In 1999 he prevailed in a bitter courtroom battle with the Public Broadcasting System over royalties from a home-video deal his media company, Pacific Arts, had struck with PBS. A federal jury awarded him $48 million, concluding the popular purveyor of children’s shows and documentaries had defrauded him.

Nesmith, showing he hadn’t lost his Monkees sense of humor, said afterward: “It’s like catching your grandmother stealing your stereo. You’re glad to get your stereo back, but you’re sad to find out that Grandma’s a thief.”

Both sides agreed on an undisclosed settlement and Nesmith founded another company, Videoranch.

After Jones died in 2012 he began to rejoin the Monkees more frequently, their concerts now earning glowing reviews from critics. He attributed that to most of the group’s original critics having died or retired.

Following Tork’s death in 2019, Nesmith and Dolenz took on the name The Monkees Mike & Micky.

Nesmith and Dolenz wrapped up “The Monkees Farewell Tour” at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles after a U.S. tour.

Dolenz told the crowd that “Nez” once encouraged him to write songs, saying, “that’s where the money is.”

“Boy, I wished I had listened,” Dolenz said.

Nesmith, who wore a white suit and shuffled off stage a couple times during the show, said “God bless all of you,” during a standing ovation for “I’m a Believer,” the closing number.

“That tour was a true blessing for so many,” Monkees manager, Andrew Sandoval, said on Facebook. “In the end I know that Michael was at peace with his legacy.”

Robert Michael Nesmith was born Dec. 30, 1942, in Houston, Texas, the only child of Warren and Bette Nesmith.

His parents divorced when he was 4 and his mother often worked two jobs, as a secretary and painter, to support her son and herself. It was that latter job that inspired her to whip up a typewriter correction fluid called Liquid Paper in her kitchen blender. By the mid-1970s it had made her a fortune, which she eventually left to her son and to nonprofit foundations she endowed to promote women in business and the arts.

Her son, who was married and divorced three times, is survived by four children, Christian, Jason, Jessica and Jonathan.

___

Former Associated Press writer John Rogers was the main writer on the story.

John Rogers And Brian Melley, The Associated Press

Top court upholds billionaire's right to sue Twitter in B.C.

Derrick Penner 

The B.C. Court of Appeal has upheld a lower-court ruling that determined billionaire financier Frank Giustra has the right to sue social-media giant Twitter in this province.

© Provided by Vancouver Sun Businessman and philanthropist Frank Giustra in Vancouver.

Twitter appealed the Jan. 15 decision of B.C. Supreme Court Justice Elliot Myers that B.C. courts had a “presumptive jurisdiction” to hear Giustra’s defamation claim against Twitter owing to his substantial connection to and reputation in the province.

Giustra filed suit against Twitter in April, 2019, claiming he had faced a targeted attack on the company’s platform by a group that sought to vilify him for political purposes starting around February, 2015, and which escalated during the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Meyers did not weigh in on the merits of Giustra’s claims, but determined the executive had demonstrated damage to his reputation in Canada, for the purposes of determining jurisdiction.

Twitter maintained that California, where it is headquartered and Giustra also owns a home, was a more appropriate jurisdiction considering most of the tweets in the executive’s claim appear to have originated in the U.S.

In its appeal, the social-media giant argued that Meyers erred in principle by giving too much weight to the fact that Giustra faced a disadvantage in U.S. courts because his case would be unlikely to succeed under constitutionally protected freedom of speech.

The Court of Appeal, however, dismissed that argument, finding that “the judge was correct in concluding that Twitter had failed to rebut that presumption (of jurisdiction),” Justice Christopher Grauer wrote on behalf of the three-judge panel that was unanimous in its decision.

“In these circumstances, I am not persuaded that the judge gave undue weight to the factor of juridical advantage arising from Twitter’s immunity in the United States, or otherwise erred in his analysis of this aspect of the forum non conveniens analysis,” Grauer wrote, using the Latin term that means “inconvenient forum”.

Quebec politicians divided, federal MPs outraged after teacher removed for wearing hijab

HAVE THEY REMOVED THE CROSS FROM THE QUEBEC LEGISLATURE YET?

Sabrina Jonas

© Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press People take part in a demonstration following a Superior Court ruling on Bill 21, Quebec's secularism law, in Montreal on Tuesday, April 20, 2021.

A Quebec elementary school teacher who was recently forced out of her teaching position for wearing a hijab has multiple federal members of Parliament speaking out and the province's political parties on opposing ends of the sympathy spectrum.

Until now, many Liberal and Conservative federal politicians have shied away from taking a stance against Quebec's secularist law. But now, some say they can no longer stay quiet.

"I cannot in good conscience keep silent on this anymore," said Ontario Conservative MP Kyle Seeback in a tweet Thursday.

"This is an absolute disgrace."

The law, known as Bill 21, was passed in June 2019 and prohibits some public servants, including teachers and other government employees deemed to be in positions of authority, from wearing religious symbols on the job.

On Thursday, the Parti Québécois's critic on secularism, Pascal Bérubé, confirmed the party's support for the bill, calling it necessary.

"The reason why this teacher doesn't have a job ... is because she doesn't respect the law," he said. "The law is for everyone ... She tried to make a statement wearing a hijab."

Bérubé added the ousted teacher in Chelsea, Que., "has a choice to make: her job or religion."

Recently, the removal of Fatemeh Anvari, a new Grade 3 teacher at Chelsea Elementary School, gained national attention after she was told by her school's principal that she had to move to a position outside the classroom because she wears a hijab.

Anvari says the religious headscarf is part of her identity.

"Yes, I am Muslim, but for me, [the hijab] holds other meanings of just my identity and how I've chosen to represent myself as a strong person in a world that may not want me to be myself," she told CBC on Thursday.

The law is facing several court challenges, which could last years and eventually make their way to the Supreme Court.

Quebec Liberal Leader Dominique Anglade did not comment on Anvari's specific case, but said her party voted against Bill 21 because members thought the law "went too far."

"We cannot be in favour of a situation like this; there's no question about that," she said.

Anglade said it's not a matter of the labour shortage that is plaguing Quebec. "It aggravates the situation, but fundamentally, we don't think it's right."

Removal of teacher is 'cowardly,' minister says

A flood of fiery tweets came pouring in from MPs across the country in condemnation of the Quebec law.

Chris Warkentin, an Alberta Conservative MP, said, "If government is free to limit religious freedom, it will take liberties to restrict other freedoms."

Liberal MP for Montreal's Notre-Dame-de-Grâce–Westmount Marc Garneau argued, "Nobody in Canada should ever lose their job because of what they wear or their religious beliefs."

Ontario Liberal MP Iqra Khalid said the Quebec law is "deeply concerning" in regard to the "resounding impact" it could have on "who we celebrate, accept, tolerate and isolate."

Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister and Montreal-area MP Marc Miller denounced the treatment of the teacher on Thursday, telling journalists ahead of question period in the House of Commons that the move was "cowardly."

"I think we've been quite clear that this type of discrimination isn't reflective of the Quebec society I want to live in."

Federal leaders react

At a news conference Thursday on Parliament Hill, Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole said Bill 21 must be dealt with by the province alone, adding he has no desire to step on any provincial toes.

He characterized his position as being the "exact same" as that of NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh as well as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who has expressed his disagreement with the law and hasn't ruled out the idea of federal intervention.

So far, Ottawa hasn't made any effort to challenge the law.

In Ottawa, Singh said Anvari's situation illustrates why he's been opposed to Bill 21 all along.

"There are no concerns about her capacity and ability to teach, no concerns about whether she's providing good education to kids," Singh said in Ottawa.

"Simply because of the way she looked and they way she dressed, she's no longer able to teach these kids. That is everything that is wrong with this bill."

The teacher's removal came after the Quebec Court of Appeal ruled Nov. 9 that the province's English school boards have to enforce Bill 21 until challenges to the law can be heard in court, a process that could take years.
'We live in a secular society' Quebec says

Amid the backlash, the Quebec government defended Anvari's reassignment.

Speaking to reporters Friday, Premier François Legault said Anvari's school board should not have hired her in the first place given Bill 21, which he emphasized was passed democratically in the National Assembly in June 2019.

"I think it's a reasonable law, a balanced law," he said.

"Quebec has made the choice of secularism and I think it must be respected."

According to Christopher Skeete, parliamentary assistant to the minister responsible for fighting racism for the governing party, the Coalition Avenir Québec, Anvari wasn't removed for wearing a hijab, in his view, but rather for being asked to remove a religious symbol and refusing to do so, which contravenes the secularist law.

"Everyone knew this was the case, and we're proud to say we live in a secular society here in Quebec."

On Friday, Québec Solidaire parliamentary leader Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois blamed the CAQ for Anvari's "very sad," situation, adding that the importance of secularism in public institutions should not come at the price of excluding "passionate people" who want to work in the public sector, especially amid a crippling labour shortage. 

  © Jean Delisle/CBC A hand-drawn picture sits surrounded by green ribbons on the chain link fence outside Chelsea Elementary School and says, 'We heart you Ms. Fatemeh!!!.'

Meanwhile, Anvari's school community has rallied around her and organized a letter-writing campaign to denounce the situation to the school board and provincial officials, including Premier François Legault and CAQ MNA Robert Bussière, who represents the area.

Aotearoa New Zealand 

A MAORI TALE

Kāhu ki Rotorua: Hatupatu me Kurungaituku - Hatupatu and the Birdwoman

The track to Hatupatu's rock in Atiamuri. Photo / Supplied

 One story that is still widely circulated amongst the Arawa people and those of Ngāti Whāita is that of Hatupatu and Kurungaituku.

For a very long time it has been said that Kurungaituku was an unattractive, almost goblin like being.

Little do many people know that Kurungaituku was also known as Hineingoingo. Hineingoingo the pale skinned being, Hineingoingo the mythical being of human form.

The rock where Hatupatu hid. Photo / Supplied

Not of this world and possessed with great skill and knowledge.

It is through this talented woman that the art of finger weaving and weaving become a part of the Arawa culture in acknowledgement of this extraordinary talent she was named Kurungaituku. Upon the lands of Atiamuri sits here private cave named Uruwhenua.

Here were seen the many types of cloaks and garments of the old Māori, here also flittered the many birds and insects of the forest. Kurungaituku was a humble woman who was greatly loved by her people.

Hatupatu was a great warrior, an inquisitive person who avenged the burning of Te Arawa waka destroyed by chief Raumati. Hatupatu, the youngest son of Tamateahirau and Hinekarika.

Whilst out on a hunting expedition upon the Atiamuri lands, Hatupatu was injured and eventually discovered by Kurungaituku.

She cared for Hatupatu and restored him to health and eventually feel in love with him.

Whilst Kurungaituku was out one day searching for food , Hatupatu could not control his deep hunger – immediately he turned on the birds that were in the cave, killing them and then feasting upon them.

Though his hunger was now satisfied, he became aware of his crime, immediately

Hatupatu gathered as many cloaks as he could carry before the return of Kurungaituku.

The tiny Riroriro bird was one fortunate survivor who after a journey found Kurungaituku and promptly told her what had happened. Kurungaituku was fast on the trail of Hatupatu who near exhausted sought sanctuary within this very rock – here he chanted, " E te kōwhatu e mātatī, mātatā" – Oh proud rock open up and let me in!

Due to the strength of his karakia the rock opened and Hatupatu was able to climb in side his sanctuary. Finding safety within the belly of the rock it was now only a matter time where he would need to gauge when to break out of his hiding place and continue with his escape.

Eventually he left the rock and bolted for the geothermal fields of Rotorua, turning only to find Kurungaituku had again taken up the hunt. It was not long before Hatupatu found himself safely amongst the fields of hotsprings and boiling mudpool.

The rock where Hatupatu hid. Photo / Supplied

Thanks to his knowledge of the area he managed to evade capture but also lured Kurungaituku to an area that would end with her death. Not knowing the territory made her clumsy and into the belly of Whangapipiro she fell.

Today Kurungaituku and Hatupatu can still be seen throughout the many carvings that stand within the region a tribute to the origin of weaving for it is said by the elders of the tribe, had it not been for the actions of Hatupatu the art of weaving may have evaded the Arawa tribe.

Kāhu ki Rotorua: Hatupatu me Kurungaituku - Hatupatu and the Birdwoman - NZ Herald

NZ Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta announces indigenous peoples trade arrangement
10 Dec, 2021 

Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Māori Television

Originally published by Māori Television

A new initiative to "strengthen economic empowerment" for indigenous peoples has been announced by Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta and Trade Minister Damien O'Connor.

"Aotearoa New Zealand remains committed to inclusive trade and economic growth for all, including indigenous peoples," Mahuta said in a statement on Friday.

"The Indigenous Peoples Economic and Trade Cooperation Arrangement (IPETCA) is a first of its kind plurilateral arrangement that will enable economies and indigenous peoples to work effectively together."

The announcement follows the Foreign Minister's recent 17-day world trip, which included discussions about "deepening links" between Māori and Canada's indigenous peoples.

"This arrangement is an important step towards harnessing the unique potential of indigenous peoples and creating connections amongst these communities," Mahuta said.

Economies who join the initiative will commit to supporting "critical areas of importance to indigenous people". These include "growing economic prosperity and preserving Indigenous values and cultural knowledge".

O'Connor added that the initiative would "unlock" indigenous potential.

"Indigenous peoples have a long and rich history of trading and commerce, which this arrangement will build upon," he said.

"Unlocking the economic potential of indigenous economies to enable more effective trade and addressing some of the key challenges that indigenous peoples face, will be a focus of the IPETCA."

GIG SCROOGE

Better.com execs resign from company after CEO’s controversial mass layoffs over Zoom
By Will Feuer
December 7, 2021 

Three of Better.com’s top executives have reportedly resigned from the company after the online mortgage lender was hit by a wave of backlash over a leaked Zoom call in which the CEO callously laid off some 900 employees.

The company’s head of marketing Melanie Hahn, head of public relations Tanya Hayre Gillogley and vice president of communications Patrick Lenihan have all resigned, Insider reported Tuesday.

The high-level departures are directly related to CEO Vishal Garg’s handling of recent layoffs at the company and his reportedly divisive management style, Insider reported.

“Anyone who is leaving right now, these are folks that have tried to make it work, and given their all to a company they believe in, but who ultimately get undermined by a CEO that doesn’t take advice from anyone and believes he’s always right,” a source familiar with Garg told Insider.

CEO Vishal Garg is facing backlash after laying off 900 employees over Zoom and then accusing them of “stealing” by not being productive.Better.com

Tanya Hayre Gillogley, head of public relations for Better.com, has resigned following backlash over CEO Vishal Garg’s mass layoffs over Zoom.Twitter / Tanya Hayre Gillogley

Better.com and the three former execs didn’t immediately return The Post’s request for comment.

The development comes after Garg laid off some 900 employees on a Zoom call — then slammed hundreds of the ex-workers for allegedly “stealing from our customers” by not being productive.

Garg struck an unapologetic tone when announcing the mass firings to affected workers on the now-viral call, a recording of which was later posted on TikTok, YouTube and other social media accounts.

Patrick Lenihan, VP of communications, was one of the company’s three most trusted communications advisers who resigned. A source said CEO Vishal Garg refused to listen to anyone’s advice.LinkedIn / Patrick Lenihan

“This isn’t news that you’re going to want to hear … If you’re on this call, you are part of the unlucky group that is being laid off. Your employment here is terminated effective immediately,” he said, adding that he does “not want to do this.”

“This is the second time in my career I’m doing this and I do not want to do this. The last time I did it, I cried,” Garg said on the call.

The 43-year-old said that the “market has changed” and that the company had to slim down to remain nimble enough to adapt to the evolving housing market, which appears to be cooling after a pandemic-boosted boom — though Garg didn’t mention on the call the company’s $750 million cash infusion it got from investors last week.

Melanie Hahn, head of marketing, also resigned. In addition to the drama over the layoffs, CEO Vishal Garg’s management style is reportedly a factor in her and others’ resignations.Twitter / Better.com

Insider reported that Garg addressed the rest of the company’s employees shortly after the layoffs were announced, saying, “We should have done this three months ago.”

Better.com CEO Vishal Garg confirmed he is the author of an anonymous blog post accusing some of the laid-off employees of “stealing” from the company and customers by working fewer hours than they clocked.

The CEO was later outed as the anonymous author of a scathing blog post that slammed Better.com employees on the professional network Blind.

“You guys know that at least 250 of the people terminated were working an average of 2 hours a day while clocking 8 hours+ a day in the payroll system?” the father of three wrote.

“They were stealing from you and stealing from our customers who pay the bills that pay our bills. Get educated,” he added.

 

Better.com CEO Vishal Garg said he had to go through with the layoffs because “the market is changing.”Better.com

Garg confirmed to Fortune that he was the author of the searing post.

Garg reportedly has built a reputation for having high expectations and punishing employees over tiny infractions.

SEE ALSO

Better.com CEO fires 900 employees on Zoom call, accuses them of ‘stealing’

Office managers were once reportedly criticized for failing to keep the mini-fridge stocked with Fiji and Perrier water, according to Forbes.

“Why do we have biscotti here like this??” he once demanded from office managers.

In another email obtained by Forbes last year, Garg wrote: ‘You are TOO DAMN SLOW. You are a bunch of DUMB DOLPHINS and…DUMB DOLPHINS get caught in nets and eaten by sharks. SO STOP IT. STOP IT. STOP IT RIGHT NOW. YOU ARE EMBARRASSING ME.”

At the same time, the Daily Beast reported earlier this year that one of his deputies, Elana Knoller, was given huge stock options that vested immediately, $8,000 per month for two homes and other perks.

Despite the favorable treatment, Knoller was eventually placed on administrative leave for bullying

.

Better.com surged in popularity over the pandemic as people left the city in droves.Better.com

Better.com became a pandemic darling as city dwellers sought to flee to greener and larger spaces in the suburbs, fueling a boom in the housing market and associated lenders.

The company announced in May that it plans to go public through a SPAC, or special-purpose acquisition company, at a $7.7 billion valuation.

DICKHEAD

Better.com CEO Vishal Garg 'taking time off effective immediately' after firing 900 staff on Zoom call

10 Dec, 2021

Better.com CEO Vishal Garg. Photo / Better.com

news.com.au

The CEO of a mortgage start-up who fired 900 employees in a three-minute Zoom call last week is "taking time off effective immediately".

Better.com boss Vishal Garg, 43, has come under intense scrutiny after recordings of the meeting were posted online and picked up by media outlets globally.

The company's board of directors sent an email to staff on Friday (Saturday NZT) saying that Garg was stepping away, Vice reported.

The board also said it had hired an outside firm to "do a leadership and cultural assessment"

"Vishal will be taking time off effective immediately," the email says. "During this interim period Kevin Ryan as CFO will be managing the day-to-day decisions of the company and he will be reporting to the Board.

"As well, the Board has engaged an independent 3rd party firm to do a leadership and cultural assessment. The recommendations of this assessment will be taken into account to build a long-term sustainable and positive culture at Better.

"We have much work to do and we hope that everyone can refocus on our customers and support each other to continue to build a great company and a company we can be proud of."

Garg abruptly announced the company was sacking about 9 per cent of its workforce during a webinar on Wednesday last week.

"I come to you with not great news," he said ahead of the video call.

"If you're on this call, you are part of the unlucky group that is being laid off. Your employment here is terminated effective immediately.

"The market has changed, as you know, and we have to move with it in order to survive so that hopefully, we can continue to thrive and deliver on our mission.

"This isn't news that you're going to want to hear. But ultimately it was my decision.

"And I wanted you to hear from me. It's been a really, really challenging decision to make."

One unhappy worker who filmed the call can be heard saying on the footage: "F*** you dude. Are you f***ing kidding me?"

Among those fired was the company's diversity, equity and inclusion recruiting team.

After the video was published online, Garg accused hundreds of the now-redundant employees of "stealing" from their colleagues and customers by being unproductive.

In a series of messages seen by Fortune, the scathing CEO wrote: "You guys know that at least 250 of the people terminated were working an average of two hours a day while clocking eight hours+ a day in the payroll system?

"They were stealing from you and stealing from our customers who pay the bills that pay our bills. Get educated."

The company, which received a US$1 billion cash injection last week, is valued at nearly US$11.4b.

After Garg's brutal Zoom call went viral, the list of indiscretions against the mortgage boss quickly grew.

An article from Forbes dated back to November 2020 revealed the CEO's history of questionable emails, while uncovering multiple ongoing lawsuits regarding allegations of improper and even fraudulent activity made against Garg and his entities.

In a 2013 lawsuit, Raza Khan – Garg's former business partner and university friend – accused him of transferring $4.42m from their software company to his personal bank account and then using stolen technology to build Better.com.

Although Garg has contested these claims, court documents showed emotional explosions between Garg and Khan, with the CEO telling Khan he was "going to staple him against a f**ing wall and burn him alive". This incident occurred after Garg retaliated and accused Khan of stealing $420,000 from him, which Khan also denied.

Garg later apologised for the threatening comments.

'Dumb dolphins get eaten by sharks'

Another set of leaked emails published by Forbes show messages from Garg in which he said employees needed to "break" a title insurance partner – which is similar to lender's mortgage insurance some Kiwi buyers are required to purchase – in order to get a better deal for customers.

"You need to press your [partner] to the point of breaking, then break them. Break them," it read.

"Punish them. Punish them like they just stole candy from your little sister. And until you fight for the consumer, you aren't getting my love."

Another set of emails also show Garg calling his team members "a bunch of dumb dolphins".

"DUMB DOLPHINS get caught in nets and eaten by sharks. SO STOP IT. STOP IT. STOP IT RIGHT NOW. YOU ARE EMBARRASSING ME," it read.

An investigation by the Daily Beast also uncovered an incident in which an executive was hired at Better.com so Garg could avoid face-to-face confrontations.

While she was placed on administrative leave earlier this year over allegations of bullying, she was accused of creating "a culture of intimidation and retaliation".

Despite this, she received at least US$8400 per month for two homes plus additional perks like stock which was potentially worth tens of millions.

Speaking to the Daily Beast, one ex-senior employer said it was "crazy" that she was essentially rewarded for her behaviour.

"It's like a handout. The whole point of options is to incentivise four years of work. This is like handing her cash," they said.

Techs race to fix Apache software flaw
10 Dec, 2021 

Lydia Winters shows off Microsoft's 'Minecraft' built specifically for HoloLens at the Xbox E3 2015 briefing before Electronic Entertainment Expo, June 15, 2015, in Los Angeles. Photo / AP
AP

A critical vulnerability in a widely used software tool — one quickly exploited in the online game Minecraft — is rapidly emerging as a major threat to organisations around the world.

"The internet's on fire right now," said Adam Meyers, senior vice president of intelligence at the cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike.

"People are scrambling to patch," he said, "and all kinds of people scrambling to exploit it."

He said that in the 12 hours since the bug's existence was disclosed it had been "fully weaponised", meaning malefactors had developed and distributed tools to exploit it.

The flaw may be the worst computer vulnerability discovered in years. It was uncovered in an open-source logging tool that is ubiquitous in cloud servers and enterprise software used across industry and government. Unless it is fixed, it grants criminals, spies and programming novices alike easy access to internal networks where they can loot valuable data, plant malware, erase crucial information and much more.

"I'd be hard-pressed to think of a company that's not at risk," said Joe Sullivan, chief security officer for Cloudflare, whose online infrastructure protects websites from malicious actors. Untold millions of servers have it installed, and experts said the fallout would not be known for several days.

Amit Yoran, CEO of the cybersecurity firm Tenable, called it "the single biggest, most critical vulnerability of the last decade" — and possibly the biggest in the history of modern computing.

The vulnerability, dubbed "Log4Shell", was rated 10 on a scale of one to 10 by the Apache Software Foundation, which oversees development of the software. Anyone with the exploit can obtain full access to an unpatched computer that uses the software.

Experts said the extreme ease with which the vulnerability lets an attacker access a web server — no password required — is what makes it so dangerous.

New Zealand's computer emergency response team was among the first to report that the flaw was being "actively exploited in the wild" just hours after it was publicly reported Thursday and a patch released.

The vulnerability, located in open-source Apache software used to run websites and other web services, was reported to the foundation on November 24 by the Chinese tech giant Alibaba, it said. It took two weeks to develop and release a fix.

But patching systems around the world could be a complicated task. While most organisations and cloud providers such as Amazon should be able to update their web servers easily, the same Apache software is also often embedded in third-party programs, which often can only be updated by their owners.

Yoran, of Tenable, said organisations need to presume they've been compromised and act quickly.

The first obvious signs of the flaw's exploitation appeared in Minecraft, an online game hugely popular with kids and owned by Microsoft. Meyers and security expert Marcus Hutchins said Minecraft users were already using it to execute programs on the computers of other users by pasting a short message in a chat box.

Microsoft said it had issued a software update for Minecraft users. "Customers who apply the fix are protected," it said.

Researchers reported finding evidence the vulnerability could be exploited in servers run by companies such as Apple, Amazon, Twitter and Cloudflare.

Cloudflare's Sullivan said there we no indication his company's servers had been compromised. Apple, Amazon and Twitter did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

DEC 10 WORLD HUMAN RIGHTS DAY

Haitians run the gauntlet for work across the border







Dominican immigration agents use a yellow bus, of the type used for school transport, to round up and deport undocumented migrants (AFP/Erika SANTELICES)More

Javier TOVAR
Fri, December 10, 2021

A Haitian man darts up the stairs of a store in Santa Domingo, trying to evade immigration agents who ultimately catch up with him.

"Please, no... I came here to work! My wife is pregnant!" he exclaims tearfully as he is handcuffed.

The man is loaded onto a yellow bus with nearly a hundred other undocumented migrants, most of them from neighboring Haiti, the Western Hemisphere's poorest country, as part of a routine raid in the capital of the Dominican Republic.

So far this year, 31,712 Haitians have been deported from the Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti, a 34-percent increase from 2020, according to official data. The numbers reflect the government's toughened stance on Haitian migrants fleeing violence and poverty at home.

Migration agents study the migrants' documents before deciding whether to deport them or not (AFP/Erika SANTELICES)

- Different color, same blood -

The operation starts at 6.00 am.

Some twenty immigration agents stop people at random, verifying identity documents and visas, which most Haitians cannot afford.

Some migrants try to act naturally to avoid raising suspicion. Some resign themselves to their fate. Others run, with agents in hot pursuit.

"Here, they only want to treat Haitians badly," complained Camy Belizaire, among the first of those attempting flight to be brought down and restrained with white, plastic cable ties.

"You cannot treat people like this. We have a different (skin) color, but the same blood," protested Belizaire, who like most Haitians is of African origin.

"If there were things there (in Haiti), work... no Haitian would set foot here," he added. "We help here, see... in construction and agriculture, it is us who do everything."

Lawless Haiti is battling a wave of violent crime, a political crisis and a poverty rate of about 60 percent, according to the World Bank. It is frequently hit by natural disasters such as earthquakes and hurricanes.

The government of Dominican President Luis Abinader, who took office last year, has hardened its immigration stance and wants to strengthen the border with Haiti.

Officially, there are some 500,000 Haitians in this country of 11 million, and many Dominicans are not happy with the influx of migrants.

Some locals come to report undocumented Haitians to authorities.

"My neighborhood is not big enough," says a man on a motorcycle.

But not everyone agrees.

"It's abuse," says Bianny Alcantara, a merchant who protests the treatment of the migrants. "There are many who come to work honestly, who help us."

Espady Wousline was among the migrants arrested in Santo Domingo (AFP/Erika SANTELICES)

- Not without the baby -

By 8.30 am, immigration agents are ordered by field radio to go and look for migrants at a nearby maternity ward.

The net of immigration raids has recently been widened to include pregnant women, a measure criticized by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and NGOs who fear women are being denied the care they need.

Receiving the instruction, inspector Jersson Paulino orders the perimeter around the maternity hospital to be cordoned off. He asks a woman for her papers, but she turns out to be local.

At another hospital, agents arrest a Haitian woman and put her on the expatriation bus.

"I cannot go without my baby... she cannot stay alone!" another migrant, Espady Wousline, pleads as she is detained in the street.

Wousline tearfully calls up a neighbor to go and fetch her daughter of three months, alone at home with her eight-year-old brother.

Camy Belizaire, in yellow, is one of the migrants rounded up. He had worked in the Dominican Republic for two years (AFP/Erika SANTELICES)

Dominican immigration agents carry out near-daily raids (AFP/Erika SANTELICES)

- 'I'll try to come back' -

Several hours into the operation, the bus, dingy and hot, with bars on the windows, is bursting at the seams.

It brings the migrants to a temporary detention center in the nearby town of Haina, set up in what was once a holiday resort.

Agents carry out a triage, separating those who have travel documents, but were unable show them upon arrest. These are released.

Those without papers will return to Haiti the next day.

One of them is Belizaire, who had for two years worked in the Dominican Republic in construction -- a sector that, along with agriculture, relies heavily on Haitian labor.

At the visa-free border town of Comendador, where children shine shoes for a few cents, the detainees are handed into the custody of armed soldiers after a journey in the yellow bus of more than 200 kilometers (124 miles).

They are taken to an enclosure for Covid-19 tests and a meal. The next day they will be taken across the border and left there.

Before their deportation, the migrants spend a night in a detention center (AFP/Erika SANTELICES)


When the guards turn their backs, some of the migrants jump over the fence and make a run for it.

Most won't make it: the road back to Santa Domingo is littered with military checkpoints.

Many migrants told AFP they have run this gauntlet many times.

One said a border official offered to allow her back into the Dominican Republic for 7,000 pesos ($124).

Belizaire says he will do his utmost to go back, legally this time.

"It will be difficult to get the $500 for the visa," he told AFP, dejected. "I'll try to come back."

jt/lbc/erc/rsr/mlr/md