Romeo And Juliet and Showgirls - every English rugby players favourite haunt

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It’s not every day the missus suggests ogling Oceania’s finest from a shadowy corner of Showgirls. But then again it’s not every day that I take her to the ballet. It seemed a fair exchange.

Strip clubs usually fill me with a clammy fear. As if my mother and a whole procession of former teachers will see me enter and reveal me to be drunken pervert.

Walking in with your girlfriend though alleviates that problem; suddenly having some platinum blonde’s derriere waft in front of my face is pretty cool. Hell, it may even be socially acceptable, it’s probably something I can mention to my grandmother at Christmas nowadays.

I am here for the dancing I remind myself. A purely cerebral affair I note, as a leering buffoon steps drunkenly on my foot.

The cheering, star-crossed, morons inside Showgirls resembled Shakespeare’s ‘groundlings’ (Elizabethan peasants in the cheap-seats who came for Shakespeare’s more comic moments), especially self-confessed regular, city boy Dave who urged the crowd to “big it up for Showgirls”.

It was quite a different crowd at the New Zealand Ballet’s production of Romeo and Juliet at the EDGE Theatre, though in some ways no more engaging. A well-spoken lady unfairly berated the usher for letting in a couple of latecomers during the opening fight scene. Really madam, was your view that impinged?

The first act was nearly as exciting as Oceania contender Nicki’s flaming shaving foam trick. A pint-sized Mercutio snaps, crackles and pops his way across the stage, an engaging mix of arrogance, coquetry and tragic fool. Romeo is a wistful, hormone-filled, flirt – primed to fall passionately in love with the first girl that grabs his attention.

Romeo and Juliet is about doom and pre-destined fate. Tracy Grant Lord’s set portrays this excellently. Dark greys and blood reds are lit by a portentous moon which looms like the sword of Damocles over the stage.

Meanwhile back at Showgirls, Kylie takes the stage. Her dance is a homage to Baywatch, complete with shower scene. Despite struggling with her life saving ring and banging into her surfboard she is so far the hot favourite for the opportunity to represent New Zealand in the finals in Australia.

And then there is a break. The showgirls break sees two of the clubs exotic dancers take the stage offering gartered legs to money waving blokes. Incidentally, my lemonade cost four bucks and my change came in the form of a dollar note only to be used for tipping strippers.

The interval at the Edge is a more sophisticated affair, if of course you like the theatre tradition of queuing fifteen minutes for a drink that you then have to consume in two minutes. I can’t stress my dislike of intervals enough – they break the magic.

A disgruntled boyfriend sneaks outside for a cigarette telling a mate on his cell phone that it’s “not his cup of tea.” A woman in the toilet queue complains that the beginning was too “fighty”.
There are several scenes that really work in this production of Romeo and Juliet. The ‘fight’ scenes are excellent as is the dance where Romeo first meets Juliet – the high point of Prokofiev’s foreboding score.

Mercutio is portrayed with just the right measures of loyal friend and pompous fool. His dancing duels with the bullying Tybalt are full of Baz Luhrmann and the fights of martial arts legends.
Other scenes are slightly awkward. When Romeo and Juliet are married in secret the priest joins in their dance in a disturbing triumvirate that just looks and feels plain wrong.

The tragic ending is rushed and consequently the pathos is not sufficiently eeked out. I want to be an emotional wreck at the end of Romeo and Juliet – instead I went to the supermarket.

There was no such problem with the ending of Showgirls. Malaina, who had rushed from a job as a naked human platter to be the night’s final contestant, paraded down the stage as a sexy secretary. She actually had a sense of eroticism and won hands down, or knickers down as they say round here.

Romeo and Juliet is about passion over-riding the brain and Miss Oceania is about lust doing the same thing – it really just depends which is your cup of tea.

Tsvangirai's actions are humane not cowardly

MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai has been criticised in some quarters for not having the guts to carry on in the struggle for power in Zimbabwe.

It is exactly this decision that contrasts him from despots such as Mugabe. His respect for humanity and human life distinguishes him from leaders for whom power is everything.

He may not be fighting fire with fire but he is fighting fire with compassion and diplomacy.

Political Shennanigans etc

The news story I am waffling on about here can be seen by clicking on the title.

I am not sure whether it is reason to be happy or reason to be deeply depressed that we live in a world where a politician will appear as a breakdancing dwarf to curry favour.

Rodney Hide, the leader of ACT: a relatively small right of centre NZ political party, has apparently appeared on a celebrity "who can dance" style show. It clearly hadn't helped as he swivelled awkwardly, flapping his arms like a horny amphibian.

He danced with the social grace and timing of your mother-in-law at a wedding.

I'm genuinely torn. On the one hand it's good to see a politician actually involving himself with something. Better that than churning out politspeak at a rate of knots.

But on the other, the cause he was fighting for was just naff.

Hide was trying to make the point that education funding should go to the child rather than to schools. That way all our children can go to drama school and rehearse pantomimes while they dream of becoming the next Britney "too many beers' Spears.

Is this everyone's dream Hide.

I hope not.

Perhaps other politicians could take a leaf out of Hide's unorthodox book though...

Mugabe could promote his party by appearing in a stage version of the Last King Of Scotland

Gordon Brown could tour the UK in a campervan hoping nobody will notice he isn't at work.

John Key could do a sponsored stint in the history section at Auckland library

That Green party guy with dreads could (and perhaps should) have a televised haircut

Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton could see how much money they can possibly spend promoting themselves when they could have stayed at home farting into tea cups for free.

McCain could do a documentary on a chip factory.

Any other offers are welcome..

J

WEST PAPUA: Media confusion reigns over ‘non military strikes’

Asia-Pacific Journalism, 12 June 2008

Disputed reports of military sweeps in West Papua have cast a spotlight on the Indonesian government’s restrictions on media in the area, reports James Murray.

A month-long military sweep of villages in the Jayawijaya region of West Papua may have targeted civilians in its search for “separatist symbols” according to the Cenderawasih Post in Jayapura.

However, confusion about the sweep – which apparently never happened - has highlighted the need for greater media access in the Indonesian-ruled province.

Maire Leadbeater, of the Indonesian Human Rights Committee, says there is doubt surrounding the accuracy of the story.

She cites a report from Catholic Justice and Peace (SKP) that suggests Suara Papua Merdeka (SPM), a Papuan media outlet that translates as the Voice of Papuan Independence, got the story wrong.

According to SKP, the police and military became involved due to a village conflict over a stolen pig.

Although there was a military raid on the thief’s family and extended family it seems nobody was killed.

Misleading stories like this only serve to highlight the Indonesian government’s media restrictions in West Papua, says Leadbeater.

“If they would open up West Papua and it was easier for people to communicate freely we perhaps would not get these misleading stories,” she says.

The executive secretary of the umbrella human rights group FOKER, Septer Manufandu, echoed these sentiments.

He said journalists “must clarify the truth” when writing stories about West Papua as much “news” from the province was propaganda.

He said the Cenderawasih Post was government-backed. The report seemed surprising considering that many people would regard such a military strike as poor public relations for the Indonesian government.

Manufandu, who recently visited New Zealand, regards Pax Christi and local news agencies such as Jubi as reliable sources.

FOKER is an umbrella organisation that co-ordinates 64 non-governmental organisations in West Papua and campaigns for human rights and development strategies that involve the indigenous population.

The confusion does not lie only with those fighting for West Papuan rights and independence. Even the Indonesian Embassy seemed confused by events.

When asked about the “military sweeps”, Tri Purnajaya, First Secretary of the Indonesian Embassy, said he did not know how extensive they were but assumed they were quite moderate.

He added there had been “some arrests” and those who been arrested were awaiting sentence.
He said “Indonesia adopts a liberal press. In fact – the most liberal in the region. The government guarantees freedom of expression throughout Indonesia including Papua.”
However, in a commentary published in the latest Pacific Journalism Review, Leadbeater disputed this claim.

“While Indonesia keeps this troubled province off limits to foreign journalists and human rights investigators, Indonesia’s human rights credibility should be critically examined,” wrote Leadbeater.

This is despite Indonesia being re-elected in 2007 to the United Nations Human Rights Council for a three-year term.

According to Leadbeater, only a handful of journalists have been allowed access to West Papua.
In 2007, two United Nations rapporteurs, Hina Jilani and Manfred Nowak, were granted access.
Both rapporteurs raised concerns regarding military and police harassment, arbitrary detention, torture and persecution of those who sought to investigate human rights investigations.

In the same year, BBC correspondent Lucy Williamson reported on extreme poverty and allegations of human rights abuses after being granted a permit to report on the opening of an independent radio network in the Papuan central highlands.

According to Leadbeater, the only stories that seemed to gain government support were small human interest stories. The United Nations and BBC journalists had inadvertently caused a tightening of media control:

“Some Papuans believe that access may have tightened up since the BBC visit.”

Lindsay Murdoch, of the Melbourne Age, also believes Indonesia’s record on media freedom is below par.

When asked about the amount of media coverage of immigration issues in West Papua, Murdoch replied:

“Disgraceful, virtually non-existent. Jakarta's refusal to allow journalists free access to Papa is one of the main reasons. Also, Jakarta comes down hard on any foreign NGOs which expose human rights abuses or issues like the Islamisation of Papua.”

Media coverage of West Papua is also scant in neighbouring Papua New Guinea’s press.
Patrick Matbob wrote in Pacific Journalism Review that “there had been a dramatic decline in the Papua New Guinea press coverage of West Papua over the past 20 years”.

This lack of coverage is linked to a general decline in the PNG media, specifically now that the PNG media now relies heavily on official sources.

Matbob’s news content analysis of the Times of PNG and the Post-Courier revealed that in 1984 there were 133 news stories published on West Papua. By 2006 this number had declined to 70, with many of the stories included in the “briefs” sections.

PNG media coverage is especially relevant to West Papua as more than 10,000 Papuan refugees live there.

West Papuans Forge Alliance To Push For Independence

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Asia Pacific Journalism, 8 May 2008

Groups seeking independence for West Papua have in the past been divided. Now, reports James Murray, unity is the buzzword and activists have joined forces.

West Papuans hoping for wrest independence have taken an important step with the formation of a coalition designed to unify the country’s resistance to Indonesian rule.

The West Papua National Coalition for Liberation (WPNCL) was set up after a meeting held in Port Vila, Vanuatu, last month.

Richard Yoweni of the National Liberation Army of West Papua was elected as chairman.

The coalition allows the West Papuan people to protect and reclaim its resources and culture said coalition spokesperson Clemens Runawery.

“Indonesian government control over West Papua for the past 45 years and the implementation of its so-called ‘special autonomy’ package in the past five years has grossly failed the West Papuan people,” he said.

Runawery is a West Papuan politician who has lived in exile since the so-called Act of Free Choice handed control of West Papua to Indonesia in 1969.

He said that under the Indonesian administration there has been a “rapid deterioration of health and education, an ever increasing wave of the HIV/AIDS disease and huge profiteering from the West Papuan natural resources and rainforests”.

The WPNCL will be based at the West Papuan People’s Representative office in Port Vila.
Maire Leadbeater, spokesperson for New Zealand’s Indonesian Human Rights Committee, said Vanuatu’s support was vital as it was hard for the coalition to meet freely in West Papua.

Leadbeater was not surprised at Vanuatu’s stance.

“They had to struggle to achieve their own freedom so it’s not just the government, it’s the people as well – they pray for it [West Papuan independence] in their churches. If the Vanuatu government backslides it faces a lot of domestic pressure,” she said.

This view was shared by Pacific-based photojournalist Ben Bohane.

“Vanuatu was the only Pacific nation to join the non-aligned movement during the Cold War and has maintained an independent foreign policy since then,” he said.

Vanuatu’s support for West Papua and the formation of the WPNCL is the first step in presenting a strong, unified Melanesian position to Pacific Island regional bodies.

Bohane says it is important for West Papua to gain the support of regional bodies for the issue to be dealt with by the United Nations.

Runawery says: “WPNCL is now seeking observer status with the Melanesian Spearhead Group and the Pacific Islands Forum as a platform for the people of West Papua within the UN and other international forums.”

Groups such as the Melanesian Spearhead Group will benefit from this unity when the West Papua issue is brought up at the Pacific Island Forum. The forum does not necessarily support West Papuan independence.

“Since the issue has been ‘swept under the tapa mat’ by the forum for so long, we have to say that the forum is not neutral but anti-West Papua. This has been because of pressure from Australia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea to keep it off the agenda,” says Bohane.

The WPNCL also protests against the international investment of companies with extensive interests in the resource rich area such as BP in Tangguh and Freeport, which operates the Grasberg copper mine.

Bohane says “having considerable resources has been a curse, not a blessing for the West Papuans”.

“BP, like every other mining company, is exploiting the situation there, particularly if they are relying on Indonesian military for security,” he says.

BP’s liquefied natural gas project in Tangguh may eventually be worth $100 billion dollars and the Grasberg copper mine is one of the world’s largest sources of precious metals contributing heavily to Freeport’s estimated worth of $26 billion.

Guardian journalist John Vidal writes that Papuan leaders were pleased with BP’s initial humanitarian efforts. The company was keen to avoid the experiences of extraction companies in Africa and South America where they have been accused of exploiting local communities.

“BP completely rebuilt one fishing village, poured money into the nearby communities, and employed leading environment, human rights and health groups to advise them on how to avoid conflict and bring prosperity to the villages,” wrote Vidal.

However, relations have started to turn sour with indigenous Papuans becoming frustrated at the number of Indonesian immigrants taking jobs in the area - jobs that have not been offered to West Papuans. They also accuse BP of taking sides with the Indonesian government to ensure that they have access to the Tangguh resources.

Protests by the Free West Papua (UK) group have been lodged at BP’s Tangguh Independent Advisory Panel (TIAP) meeting. They claim that BP has ignored abuses of human rights including the long-term imprisonment of West Papuans accused of raising the indigenous Morning Star flag.

They say Indonesian soldiers had threatened to shoot a Papuan who had erected a banner saying “Welcome Prince Andrew to the land of Papua – the Land of Genocide” during the prince’s recent visit as the UK business envoy.

Tapol, the Indonesian Human Rights Campaign, has written to BP to warn that they have caused instability in the region. They say Papuans “see them as a collaborator with Jakarta’s exploitation of West Papua’s natural resources”.

Runawery said the role of companies such as BP had been “disastrous” and was causing Papuans to become a minority in their own country. The investment of BP and Freeport had “effectively underwritten the occupation of West Papua by the Indonesian security forces”.

“The expansion of Indonesian government backed businesses and economic interests is at the expense of the people of West Papua,” said Runawery, in a reference to tight military controls, a lack of political freedom and the abuse of human rights.

Considering the large financial incentive that the Indonesian government has to keep control of West Papua it may be some time before their dream of independence is realised.

Bohane believes West Papua will be independent at some point but that it will take time.
The formation of the WPNCL was certainly a step in the right direction though.

“It is hard to be optimistic. However, it is a significant development to have the realisation of a unified command and leadership under WPNCL which will give the independence movement a better chance of success in its international diplomacy,” he said.

The first moves of this unified command will be to get West Papua on the UN Decolonisation Committee and to seek to repeal the Act of Free Choice.

James Murray is a Graduate Diploma in Journalism student at AUT University and this is an Asia-Pacific Journalism assignment.

Auckland graffiti artists operate in legal grey area

Auckland graffiti artists are operating in a legal grey area as there is a lack of legal places to practice their craft.

“There are nowhere near enough!” said graffiti artist Pest5 of TMD crew.

TMD crew are one of Auckland’s most successful graffiti art groups. Artists come from as far away as Germany and members such as Askew have exhibited work in Europe, Australia and Japan.

“Usually a particular artist or artists will have acquired permission from the property owner,” said Pest5.

In Auckland legal street art is actually an oxymoron as there are no officially designated sites.

However, police in Wellington have taken a different approach to dealing with taggers.

Sara Tamati, aka Spexone, is a member of the Triple S crew in Wellington.

She said that the police there often refer young people, who have been caught tagging, to the Triple S crew to learn more about the writing culture.

In Auckland, suitable sites are few and far between and artists have to queue up to use them.

Pieces can only be painted over once they have been defaced by “a stupid young tagger”.

In other situations graffiti artists will use a site that has been tagged several times. A site is deemed safe to paint over once it has been covered in tags.

This practice is still technically illegal as permission has not been granted but police can turn a blind eye to graffiti artists when they are painting over a heavily tagged wall.

“It depends on the moods of the cops that day. If you’re doing a proper piece over existing graffiti they can see that you’re not causing any trouble and let you get on with it,” said Pest5.

Graffiti Enforcement Officer for Auckland City Police, Reginald Alofa, said that he was aware that “’proper graffiti artists’” were different to taggers.

“They see it as a real art form and that they do in fact commit quite a bit of resources into it in terms of their time, the purchases of paint and brush not to mention spray cans and all other neccessary 'tools of the trade'. They are quite passionate about it and seem to draw a lot of enjoyment from it,” he said.

He did not know of any cases where officers had been “blasé” towards people causing wilful damage though.

“It's always important to charge taggers (and I do) to send a clear message out to them that we do not tolerate wilful damage, in line with the Government's renewed commitment to combating graffiti,” he said.

Tamati does not believe that taggers should always be viewed negatively and said that the distinction between ‘real’ graffiti artists and taggers is often a misconception.

There is a hierarchy in the writing element and taggers are at the bottom of this, learning the basics.

“There is no school to go and do this, you start off as a tagger and try and enhance yourself,” she said.

Writing (graffiti) is an integral part of hip-hop culture, which also includes b-boying (breakdancing), djing and rapping.

“Within our writing culture we find young people with the potential to grow within the culture and mentor them in the process that we know.

“Most of the young people we work with end up doing some good work,” she said.

This attitude has proved successful for the Triple S Crew who between them run three successful businesses including Top Shelf Creative, a clothing and design venture.

The crew have also been commissioned by Save the Children to create murals which pass on knowledge in a way that is accessible and understood by young people.

The mural at Cannons Creek Primary School in Cannons Creek, Porirua reads “Passing on the Knowledge” and Tamati says it reflects the crew’s aims in “passing on our hip hop knowledge artistically through to young people”.

Creative New Zealand was unaware of any similar schemes in the Auckland area.

Browning it

It all looks a bit tits up for Gordon Brown as he continues to obfuscate his way from one problem to the next. Even Peter Mandelson is having a go at him with the fervour of the bullied child for once getting his own back.

UK politics has become increasingly bizarre over the past few weeks. Prescott is the world's least successful bulemic, Blair is accused of over long massages with Carole Caplin, Peter Mandelson is calling for a return to core policies. Have they all gone senile?

David Cameron of course continues to be a shining example of complete buffoonery as he divides his time between changing nappies on his webcam and out running limousines on his BMX. He has now invited ITN to film him and his family at home. Yes we get it David, you are family friendly, so family friendly that every family can only hope for a Cameron of our own. So we can be all traditional and modern at once.

In fact I think I might make that the point of this rather rambling blog entry.

Politicians are caught, like Borodin's mule between the modern and the traditional. The advantages of being seen to be either are so great that they want both and will literally rip themselves in two to achieve this.

Poor little David - on the one hand he wants to be traditional but by god does he want to be traditional in a hip and modern way. If we lived three million years into the future Cameron would simply turn himself into Jamie Oliver and have done with it. That would be Cameron's wet dream.

Boris Johnson and Ken Livingstone face much the same problem. Boris wanders around like an old, drunken fart insulting all who cross his path - but doesn't he do it in such a charmingly new way. Its almost as if Boris comes from a future where feelings have been eradicated and replaced with befuddled wit.

Livingstone with his five children by three women lurches around the inner-city like an uneducated, teenage, council estate sperm machine but appears to not give a hoot. Five kids by three women is quite the modern way - in the most traditional of senses of course.

Blair combined wooly headed, ex head boy, now minor university guitar strumming rebel fantasist, with charming statesman of the world who is unafraid to get an 'overly long' massage from his power-wifes crystal ball weilding faith healer with such success that we voted for him over and over again. He combined modern with traditional superbly - he knew exactly what a blackberry was but had no idea how to use it. He knew exactly where the Middle East was but had no idea what to do with it - a very contemporary idea indeed.

Margaret Beckett combined the look of the modern career woman with seventeenth century dentistry.

Peter Mandelson was gay but suitably embarassed about it - once again the modern and the traditional in perfect harmony.

Helen Clark is both a lesbian and not a lesbian at the same time. As is her husband.

Which brings us back to Brown whose basic failing is he wants us to think of him as New Labour when he is really old labour wishing he was New Labour, so he can stop all the lying. He wants to bring back union power so he can diminsh it once more so he can feel guilty about it and then get that eating disorder that he is so jealous of - if only he had thought of it first.

Apologies for the rambly stupid nature of this post - am trying to get over writers block.

James