local stuffs

another blog up.

www.greenwom.blogspot.com.

g

local stuffs

Date: Sun, 18 May 2008 16:29:25 -0400
From: Kyle Kajihiro <kkajihiro@afsc.org>
Subject: [demilnet_Hawaii] US peace delegation to China statement

U.S. Peace Delegation Seeks Understanding with China

A delegation of leading U.S. peace movement representatives from five
nonpartisan, independent organizations traveled to China to engage in
dialog with Chinese leaders about the future of U.S.-China relations.
Our trip was conceived a year ago. The purpose was to listen and to
learn. The U.S. Peace Movement knows little about the U.S. military
domination of Asia ^Ö and even less about China. Coincidentally, our trip
took place from April 17-29, 2008, at a moment when tensions between China
and the United States were heated with impassioned demonstrations and
reactions around the Olympic torch relay over Tibet, Darfur and other
issues of human rights.

We were warmly welcomed. We were able to see many different aspects of
today^Òs China over the course of two weeks. We visited urban and rural
China. We met with seven high level officials of the ruling party,
engaged in discussions with scholars and researchers of 12 institutes and
non-governmental organizations, and toured ancient and contemporary sites.

We are encouraged by our frank and wide-ranging discussions in China, and
are impressed by the complexities, contradictions and challenges inherent
in our respective histories and cultures and the approaches of our two
nations toward each other. We heard what the concept of China^Òs
^Ópeaceful rise^Ô meant to various groups we met with, and how Chinese
leaders perceive U.S. foreign and military policies in East Asia. We
talked about varying definitions of human rights: the individual
political rights advocated in the U.S. and the economic and social rights
emphasized by China across the population. We advanced and tested
proposals for U.S.-China cooperation.

We gained profound appreciation for China^Òs deep concern for a stable and
harmonious society, and that this also shapes their regional and global
foreign relations. Harmony, we were told, does not deny differences but
seeks to ensure they are resolved through peaceful means. We learned that,
as China^Òs leaders strive to achieve their top goal of improving the
livelihood of 1.3 billion people, they are cognizant of new obligations as
a developing world power. We both recognize that our countries^Ò actions
have substantial impact on our interdependence and competition, and on the
rest of the world. We return strengthened in our conviction that U.S.-
Chinese relations may well be the defining international association of
the 21st Century, and in our commitment to diplomacy and nonviolent
resolution of tensions and conflicts that arise between our two nations.

We value the relationships we have started to build. We also realize that
many U.S. players are already engaging with China -- government, business,
academic and research, and other non-governmental organizations. We seek
to identify the distinct contributions that can be made by the U.S. peace
movement, and we need to educate ourselves and others. We recognize that
each delegation member may contribute differently to future efforts:

^Õ Civil Society Education: work with other NGO^Òs
^Õ People-to-People Exchanges: continue to built trust, one person at a time
^Õ Policy Impact: build knowledge of Congress and other U.S. officials
^Õ Public Education: act as ^ÓAmbassadors from Below^Ô between our two peoples

We are inspired by the hope that can only come from developing
relationship and understanding. We seek to identify areas for mutual
cooperation with our Chinese friends working for peace. We ask them to
join us as we hold a mirror to ourselves even as we serve as loving and
respectful critics of one another^Òs nations.

U.S. Peace Delegation Participants:

American Friends Service Committee:
Kitty Hsu Dana - Associate General Secretary
Patricia DeBoer ^Ö Regional Director, Asia Program
Joseph Gerson ^Ö Director, New England Peace and Disarmament Program
Kyle Kajihiro ^Ö Director, Hawaii Program
Wu Na ^Ö Country Representative China/DPRK Program
Baltazar Pinguel ^Ö Director, Peacebuilding and Demilitarization Program

Friends Committee on National Legislation:
Joe Volk - Executive Secretary

Independent Scholar:
Caitlin Esworthy, Beijing University

Peace Action:
Angela Kelly ^Ö Coordinator, Massachusetts Peace Action
Kevin Martin ^Ö Executive Director

Progressive Democrats of America:
Bruce Taub - Volunteer
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sun, 18 May 2008 14:00:06 -0700
From: Kate Stewart <kanadabasics@gmail.com>
Subject: Largest Telescope in the World Proposed for Sacred Summit of Mauna
Kea! Also, the fight to stop genetic modification of taro!

Mahalo to NN for these updates; apologies if I'm duplicating stuff you've
already received.

Largest Telescope in the World Proposed for Sacred Summit of
Mauna Kea!

<!--[if !vml]-->[IMAGE]<!--[endif]-->In the face of 30 years
of community opposition to new development on Mauna Kea, a
massive new telescope is again being proposed. This time it
is for last pristine plateau on Mauna Kea. The University of
Hawai'i's Institute for Astronomy (IFA) is currently
negotiating with the University of California to construct a
Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) in 2009. This telescope is the
largest ever proposed for Mauna Kea, and once constructed,
would be the largest telescope on the planet. Nearly all the
telescopes now on the summit could fit inside the TMT's dome.

We already know that this massive construction project will
have significant, adverse impacts on the extremely sacred and
fragile north slope of Mauna Kea. The Summit, including the
north slope, is a sacred landscape and burial ground, a vast
conservation area, public trust resource, and Hawai'i
Island's primary aquifer. The EIS completed by NASA in 2003
concluded the cummulative impact of astronomy development
over the last thirty years has resulted in substantial,
significant, and adverse impact to the summit's natural and
cultural resources. The TMT therefore, will have a single
impact equal to thirty years of astronomy development, there
is no rational way to "mitigate" or offset such an impact to
an already damaged fragile ecosystem and Wahi Kapu.

To facilitate construction of this new telescope, the IFA has
hired Ku'iwalu Consulting to draft the "comprehensive master
plan" for all of Mauna Kea. Dawn Ching, on behalf of the
consulting firm, is contacting community groups and
individuals to help her draft the IFA's plan. The IFA hopes
to submit their plan to the State Department of Land and
Natural Resources (DLNR) by
December 2008.

IFA should not be directing the development of the plan for
Mauna Kea, even through a consultant:

o The IFA and BLNR are both appealing the 3rd Circuit Court
decision requiring a comprehensive conservation
management plan for the summit. BLNR seeks to have the
court overturn its own rules and regulation governing all
conservation in Hawai`i including the Mauna Kea's
conservation. Can the IFA and BLNR be trusted to do right
by the sacred summit, when they are at the same time
challenging their obligation to do so under the law?
o The IFA has a financial interest in developing the
summit, and does not have jurisdiction to develop a
comprehensive Management Plan. The 3rd Circuit Court and
Hawaii's Supreme Court have already held that it is the
responsibility and jurisdiction of BLNR -- NOT the IFA --
to draft and adopt the management plan for the
conservation district on the summit of Mauna Kea.
o The original 1968 lease for Mauna Kea allowed for the
construction of ONE observatory. A 1983 BLNR-initiated
Master Plan for the summit limited development to 13
telescopes. Yet, by 1999, IFA had built 24 telescopes and
infrastructure for up to 36 telescopes. The IFA's last
attempt at a Mauna Kea Management Plan in 2000 allowed a
minimum of 40 new telescopes and support structures on
the summit, and was REJECTED by the 3rd Circuit Court.

Mauna Kea's significance has been recognized by both the
state and federal governments. The entire summmit is
designated a conservation district, a National Landmark, and
is eligible for listing on the National Historic Register.
The purpose of the summit is conservation and water shed
protection not development of an astronomical industrial
complex.

The UHIFA and UC are seeking to further develop the summit of
Mauna Kea, therefore they want a Telescope Development Plan.
The court has upheld that a conservaiton plan is what is
needed, and Hawai'i's public knows the difference.<!--[if
!vml]--> [IMAGE]<!--[endif]-->

What you can do to help the Sacred Summit of Mauna Kea:
First, talk the talk! Tell a friend! Let others know what's
going on around the summit, spread the word!
Then, walk the walk! In the next few months, will come the
call to action. It will be up to all of us to show our
uncompromising support for protecting the sacred summit of
Mauna Kea!

To learn more, click here: Message to Supporters from Mauna
Kea Anaina Hou. Testimony to BLNR from the plaintiffs.

3. "What Would Haloa Do?" - Update on the fight to stop
genetic modification of taro! We are not giving up!

<!--[if !vml]-->[IMAGE]<!--[endif]-->In March 2008, over
7,000 folks from all corners of the islands submitted
testimony in support of a bill (SB958) for a 10-year
moratorium (ban) on the genetic modification of Hawai`i's
most traditional staple food crop--taro. Together, taro
farmers, scientists, professors, doctors, teachers, keiki,
and Native Hawaiian cultural practitioners expressed concern
about the potential environmental impacts of
cross-contamination, unknown health consequences of genetic
modification, and the cultural impacts of patenting. In the
thousands, they expressed their clear opposition to the
disrespectful and irreversible modification of taro.

HEWA! Under the leadership of Representatives Calvin Say and
Clift Tsuji, the committee amended the bill to prohibit any
future regulations on any GMO products, even at the County
level. At the same time, they reduced the moratorium of five
years, and limited the protected taro plants to Hawaiian
varieties only. Under this amended bill, taro would not be
protected. Other varieties of taro, like bun long, could
still be genetically altered and cross-contaminate the
protected varieties. Further, and more startling, this bill
would have robbed counties and communities of their ability
to address GMO concerns in their own neighborhoods. This
"poisoned" amended bill was rejected by taro advocates.

... See full details in the letter from the guys of Na Kahu O
Haloa, a hui of taro farmers and activists fighting to
protect the sacred staple crop of Hawai`i nei: click here

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Date: Sun, 18 May 2008 22:35:47 +0000
From: Ana <uriohau@gmail.com>
Subject: [mana_wahine] Lake Waikaremoana: Back in Tuhoe Hands

BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201547267149487330

Waikaremoana are sacred waters of the Tuhoe tribe or Children of the Mist
.During the colonial Land wars the region was the retreat of the rebel
chief Te Kooti and his followers after the Hauhau resistance of the later
Colonial Wars. In still later times Maungapohatu pa, north of the lake, w
as the home of the Maori prophet Rua Kenana and his followers.

BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201547421768310002

The ten year celebration of the reclamation of Waikaremoana was important
not only in the timing of being so short after the state inflicted terror
against the Tuhoe peoples and other activists, but also ten years is a
good measure of where Maori at at with the neo liberal attempt to squash
our land rights ( the treaty settlement process), there were also
numerous occupations at the time throught Aoteroa, Te Paatu, and
Paikatore amongst others. Ten years on our people are still at the bottom
of the heap of our our lands, living lives of poverty or greasing the
wheels of the prison industrial complex. For those of us from the West
Coast await Mining companies that are hell bent on ripping the life out
of our foreshore & seabed. The "free" trade deal with china means that
the settler govt have "free" access to our resources to continually
squander and sell things that don't belong to them in the first place.
Shawn Brant is right, those are our decisions and determinations to be
made by ourselves.

Visiting Waikaremoana during this time was special to me. To give
solidarity in person with those who had just experienced the viciousness
of the nz settler state and to catch up with old comdrades that are still
fight the good fight for our people and their lands. Witnessing one clear
morning the beauty and majesty that is Hinepokohurangi. To the Wahine Toa
(warrior women) I met and got to spend time with at Waikaremoana, you are
my inspiration.

Val's article Lake Waikaremoana: Back in Tuhoe Hands follows video of the
descendants and guardians of Waikaremoana telling us of their struggle to
protect their lake for their generations to follow.

[NativeAffairs-Ep28-Waikaremoana-141107.jpg] THE LAKE OF OUR TIPUNA -
WAIKAREMOANA

A camping ground near Lake Waikaremoana in the Bay of Plenty has been
polluted for years and a solution to the problem has been slow in coming.

[view_small.gif] view online

On 1 January, Tuhoe welcomed people from around Aotearoa to celebrate the
10 year anniversary of the occupation at Lake Waikaremoana. The
celebration began with a powhiri at Waimako Marae and then moved down to
the original lakeside site of the occupation, adjacent to the motor camp.

The celebration was attended by members of the Tuhoe nation from around
the rohe and by anarchists and members of Conscious Collaborations, an
indigenous collective striving for a world that acknowledges Papatuanuku
(Earthmother) by building synergies between indigenous, activist, and
creative communities.

The gathering was held in the aftermath of the police raids into Tuhoe
country on 15th October 2007 resulting in the arrest of Tame Iti,
spokesperson for Te Mana Motuhake o Tuhoe and 16 others. When the
gathering was organised in mid-2007, it was certainly about commemorating
this past struggle. However, the October raids had a profound effect on
the gathering, and subsequent police disclosure of evidence reveals that
one of the motivations for 'Operation Eight' was very clearly about who
owns this lake and the water in it.

Ten years ago, there were two different groups that had longstanding
issues with the management of the lake: Nga Tamariki o te Kohu (the
children of the mist) and Ruapani, led by Waipatu Winitana. Their aims
were complementary, but not identical. Nga Tamariki o Kohu was concerned
about the proximity of an oxidation pond to the lake and the overflow
hose, with its potential to leak; the decline of kiwi habitat and
population in the areas around the lake; the impact of possums on native
fauna; the impact of deer and pigs on forest regeneration; and finally,
the impact of tourists on the ecosystem of the Lake.

On the other hand, Ruapani's primary issue concerned the Department of
Conservation's (DoC) management of the lakebed. By a Deed of Lease signed
on the 21st day of August 1971, nine leading Kaumatua: Sir Turi Carroll,
John Rangihau, Wiremu Matamua, Turi Tipoki, Te Okanga Huata, Canon Rimu
Hamiora Rangihu, Tikitu Tepono, William Waiwai, Kahu Tihi together with
(now) Mr Justice Gallen signed a lease to the Crown of 5,210 hectares
(12,875 acres) comprising the bed of Lake Waikaremoana, the islands in
that lake but excluding Patekaha Island and including the present
foreshore above the 2020 foot contour in terms of Kaitawa Datum. The
lease provided:

* for an initial term of 50 years from 1st July 1967 with a perpetual
right of renewal;
* rental at the rate of $5.50 per centum per annum on the rental value
to be fixed by ten yearly valuation and, if necessary, arbitration;
* the lessee is to administer control and maintain the leased land in
accordance with the provisions of the (now) National Parks Act 1980;
and
* access from continuous Maori Reserves to the lake's waters was
reserved at all times as was a right of access from the Maori
Reserves to the Wairoa Rotorua Road at a point to be mutually agreed
between the parties.1

Under the terms of the lakebed lease, the Department was responsible for
maintaining the lakebed in a pristine condition. Despite this clause,
there were significant problems with giardia and invasive weeds in the
lake.

After considerable discussion, members of Nga Tamariki o te Kohu decided
that an occupation was the most effective way of getting these issues
addressed. Many within Nga Tamariki o te Kohu felt that the Department of
Conservation was not hearing their concerns. On the 31st of December
1997, approximately 20 people entered the site and prepared to occupy.

BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201548894942092546

Some kaumatua had concerns about the way in which the decision to
undertake the occupation was taken, e.g. that not all kaumatua had been
advised that it was going to happen; ultimately, they were supportive of
the aims of the action and keen to have the issues addressed. One elder,
John Tahuri of Maungapohatu came from his hospital bed to support the
occupation and subsequently left his tokotoko (talking stick) with the
occupation as a sign of his support.

There were initial confrontations with police when they attempted to
remove people from the site. Many of the younger members who provided
security at the entrance to the occupation site simply told the police to
bugger off as Tuhoe were on their own land.

During the course of the occupation, the then Minister of Maori Affairs,
Tau Henare invited Tame Iti, who was the spokesperson for Nga Tamariki o
te Kohu to Parliament in order that the issues of concern could be
addressed.

Tame Iti travelled to Wellington in order to meet with Henare. He was,
however, initially rebuffed when he arrived and was not given permission
to enter the minister's office. Henare's actions were shameful and
eventually Tame was successful in getting into see him. The minister
agreed to hold a ministerial enquiry into the issues raised if the group
agreed to vacate the lakeshore occupation.

After 67 days, the group decamped from the occupation site. The
ministerial enquiry was held at Waimako Marae. It was, as can be expected
from any such bureaucratic exercise, a total whitewash. "Nothing that we
heard caused us to come to the view that the Department of Conservation
was failing in its obligations to the two Trust Boards, as lessor, in its
role as lessee in the management of the land as if it were a National
Park."2 Nevertheless, the occupation was considered a success. In spite
of the total denial of the validity of the issues raised, the occupation
achieved some significant changes to the Department of Conservation's
management of the Lake including:

* an improvement of the relationship between tangata whenua and the
Department of Conservation insofar as the Department viewed its
responsibilities to Tuhoe more seriously
* the oxidation pond was decommissioned and as of 2007 a new one is
being constructed with the input of local iwi
* management of kiwi habitat programme on Tapuna Reserve is completely
controlled by local iwi

More significantly than the immediate results of the occupation was a
strengthening of the iwi's desire for a return of control over the Lake.
Naturally, Lake Waikaremoana forms a part of the Tuhoe claim under the
Treaty of Waitangi settlement process. The occupation began a
conversation about the need to have a permanent presence on the Lake
again.
. . . . .

The last permanent settlement of Tuhoe on the Lake was likely at Tapuna
Reserve in about 1940. The scorched earth policy where British soldiers
invaded Tuhoe territory in the bitter cold of winter, burning crops,
pillaging, murdering and leaving the people to starve in the 1860s was
and is very much alive in the minds of Tuhoe people. Many members of the
local iwi had left the Lake area fearing further Pakeha retribution. Te
Ara, the Online Encylopedia of New Zealand, notes:

* Old enemies of Tuhoe fought on the side of the government; they
carried out most of the raids into Te Urewera during a prolonged and
destructive search between 1869 and 1872. In a policy aimed at
turning the tribe away from Te Kooti, a scorched earth campaign was
unleashed against Tuhoe; people were imprisoned and killed, their
cultivations and homes destroyed, and stock killed or run off.
Through starvation, deprivation and atrocities at the hands of the
government's Maori forces, Tuhoe submitted to the Crown.3

Given this experience and the subsequent invasion of Maungapohatu by
armed constabulary in 1916, it is hardly surprising that many Tuhoe
people have been wary of reestablishing a presence on the Lake.

The people at the occupation and at this 10-year celebration have
committed themselves to the construction of a marae at the Lake. Citing
Te Arawa, Nga Puhi, and Tuwharetoa as examples, James Waiwai a member of
the original occupation noted that most other iwi have a presence at
their respective lakes. It is a natural place for the tangata whenua to
be as kaitiaki (guardians) of the lake and the surrounding land. The
exact location of the marae will need to be the subject of consultation
with people around the Lake, but the celebration gave new impetus to the
desire to get on with its construction.

The other result of the occupation was a cementing of the desire for a
full return of the Lake to Tuhoe control. Lake Waikaremoana is Maori
freehold hand and is acknowledged as such by the 1971 Lake Waikaremoana
Act. It is for the moment largely under the control of the Crown. The
Department of Conservation is aware of the desires of Tuhoe for return of
control of the Lake.
. . . . .

The celebration of the occupation at New Year's 2008 was initiated by
Tame Iti in mid-2007. He and other members of Nga Tamariki o te Kohu
wanted not only to commemorate the struggle for Tuhoe control of the
Lake, but wanted to share the history and expand the support for the
independence of the Tuhoe people.

Initially, the celebration was received with support from the local
Department of Conservation. However, following the nation-wide police
raids on 15 October, the arrests of Tame Iti and other Tuhoe activists
along with the allegations of terrorism, there was a decided cooling of
support from DoC.

After a rousing call to action by Tame Iti in which he invited 'freedom
fighters and comrades' to the celebration, the local organising group was
told to shut it down. They took a decision that if the police or anyone
else tried to intervene that they would again occupy the site.

Fortunately, the organising crew prevailed and managed to extract the
provision of toilets, a generator, petrol and wood for a wharekai
(kitchen) from the local district council for the celebration. Local
farmers also contributed food for the celebration. Police did surveil the
celebration from the motor camp next door, but were not seen otherwise.

Over the four days of the celebration, the discussion about anarchist
support for Tuhoe began. This relationship, born largely as a result of
the police raids, will take much more talk and action to manifest into
genuine trust and solidarity. There are many anarchists who want that to
happen. There is a need for much discussion in the anarchist community of
Aotearoa about what such support and solidarity actually means.

The achievement of tino rangatiratanga (translated here as 'sovereignty')
for Tuhoe will happen and with it, will be the return of the Lake to
their guardianship, from their ancestors and for their children.

Endnotes

The text of this article is based on an interview with James Waiwai
(Ngati Hinekura, Te Whanau Pani of Tuhoe) on 4 January 2008 at Lake
Waikaremoana.

1. Ministry of Maori Affairs: Te Puni Kokiri. 1998. Joint Ministerial
Inquiry Lake Waikaremoana: Report to Minister of Maori Affairs, Hon
Tau Henare, Minister of Conservation, Hon Dr Nick Smith.
(http://www.tpk.govt.nz/publications/docs/lakewaikare.html accessed 7
January 2008)
2. ibid
3. 'Resistance: 1866 to 1872.' Te Ara: the on-line encyclopedia of
New Zealand.(http://www.google.com/gwt/n?u=http://www.teara.govt.nz/NewZealanders/MaoriNewZealanders/NgaiTuhoe/5/en accessed 7 January 2008)

http://uriohau.blogspot.com/2008/05/lake-waikaremoana-back-in-tuhoe-hands.html
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Jenny James
Sent: Wednesday, January 16, 2008 2:56 AM
Subject: News of the English STOP THE WAR movement

Sorry, received too late for the demonstration mentioned below, but the
content of this newsletter warrants forwarding...

STOP THE WAR COALITION
NEWSLETTER No. 1041
06 May 2008
Email office@stopwar.org.uk
T: 020 7278 6694
Web: http://www.stopwar.org.uk

IN THIS NEWSLETTER:
1) PALESTINE AND THE ANTI-WAR MOVEMENT
2) CRITICAL MOMENT FOR THE IRAQ OCCUPATION
3) THE "UNINTENDED" MURDER OF CHILDREN
4) WHEN DID WE BECOME A TERRORIST TARGET?
5) THE RISING TIDE OF RACISM AT HOME
6) BROADENING THE ANTI-WAR MOVEMENT

**************************************
1) PALESTINE AND THE ANTI-WAR MOVEMENT

Stop the War is calling on all its supporters to join the
national demonstration for Palestine in London next
Saturday, which will mark the 60th anniversary of what
Palestinians call the Nakba - the catastrophe - when Israeli
forces used terror and brute force to drive hundreds of
thousands of Palestinians from their homeland.

Sixty years of colonial expansion and brutal occupation have
followed -- in violation of numerous United Nations
resolutions -- and today the Israelis have imposed a
blockade on Gaza which starves one and a half million
inhabitants of food and essential resources. Across Gaza and
the West Bank, Palestinians are living in the most abject
conditions, under which Israel has set up walls and
checkpoints that separate farmers from their lands, students
from their schools and universities, patients from their
hospitals and families from each other.

The people of surrounding countries are under the ever
present threat of attack by Israel - one recent example
being the invasion of Lebanon in Summer 2006, when hundreds
of civilians were killed and the Israeli military fired the
highest number of cluster bombs used in any war in history.
Another example was last September's bombing of a nuclear
power station in Syria. Two more illegal acts carried out
with the impunity Israel has come to expect over the past 60
years. whenever it transgresses human rights and
international laws.

What has this got to do with the anti-war movement and
specifically with Stop the War, an organisation founded to
oppose the "war on terror" and its consequent wars in
Afghanistan and Iraq?

The short answer is that it is impossible to detach the
issue of Palestine when support for Israel is so central to
the US government's aggressions in the Middle East. It is
for this reason that half of all US government aid goes to
Israel, most of it for military purposes, which is used to
further brutalise the Palestinian people and to pose a
permanent threat to neighbouring countries. It is no
coincidence that George Bush and the Israeli government are
in tandem in their recent threats against Iran and Syria.

The pathetic wandering around the Middle East by war
criminal Tony Blair, laughingly called a "peace envoy",
shows that the warmongers know how significant Israel is to
their strategy of domination in the region. That is why, for
very different reasons to Tony Blair, Stop the War believes
the issue of Palestine is directly linked to our campaign
opposing the war policies of the US and British governments.
And it is why we urge all our supporters to participate in
Saturday's national demonstration.

NATIONAL DEMONSTRATION FOR PALESTINE
SATURDAY 10 MAY 2008
FREE PALESTINE - END THE SIEGE OF GAZA
FOR THE RIGHT OF RETURN - END ISRAELI OCCUPATION
ASSEMBLE 1PM TEMPLE UNDERGROUND STATION
VICTORIA EMBANKMENT, RALLY IN TRAFALGAR SQUARE.
Organised by: British Muslim Initiative, Palestine
Solidarity Campaign, Palestinian Forum in Britain.
For further information: http://tinyurl.com/4kqjcv

**************************************
2) CRITICAL MOMENT FOR THE IRAQ OCCUPATION

In an exclusive interview with Stop the War, Patrick
Cockburn from The Independent newspaper, one of the best
informed, "non-embedded" commentators on the war in Iraq,
explains why the war - which has now lasted longer than
World War 1 - is a disaster for American foreign policy,
what the prospects are for progress towards peace and the
role of Muktada al-Sadr and his movement in the resistance
to the occupation armies. To see the 10 minute interview,
go to: http://www.stopwar.org.uk/

**************************************
3) THE "UNINTENDED" MURDER OF CHILDREN

The picture of two year old Ali Hussein's limp body, covered
in debris and dust and held by his father, just after he had
been dug out of the rubble of the family home, may well
become the iconic figure that captures in a single image the
brutality of the US-UK invasion of Iraq, just as the picture
of Kim Phúc, aged 9, with her skin peeling away from the
napalm that US bombers had rained on her village, became the
picture epitomising US crimes against humanity in the
Vietnam war.

Ali's home and the homes of a least three other families
nearby, were devastated on April 29, when the US military
fired numerous 200 pound missiles into a densely populated
area of Baghdad, killing dozens of civilians, many of them
women and children. The mainstream media across the world
carried Ali's picture. For one all too rare moment the
reality of America's continuing war against the Iraqi people
was revealed. See http://tinyurl.com/3qkbrp

These deaths, said the Pentagon, were "unintended", just as
the British army said it was an "accident" that its tank
shells killed two children in Afghanistan last week.

All such attacks on civilian populations and their property
are illegal under international law and the Fourth Geneva
Convention. But, as a former US Attorney General in the Bush
administration said, these laws are "quaint" and "outdated",
only there to be disregarded by the US and British
governments, confident that their violations will be ignored
by the rest of the so-called "international community".

**************************************
4) WHEN DID WE BECOME A TERRORIST TARGET?

Not content with the carnage it has brought to Iraq and
Afghanistan, the US government turned its attention last
week to Somalia, where dozens of civilians - most of them
women and children - were killed when US missiles struck the
town of Dusamareebnorth. Half the town's population turned
out to protest against the mass murder, which once again was
a violation of international law. Thirteen-year-old Nour
Ahmad spoke at the protest rally: "The US strike killed my
brother, my sister and also wounded my grandmother. We are
refugees and fled from Mogadishu. When did we become a
terrorist target?"
SEE http://tinyurl.com/45z8nm

**************************************
5) THE RISING TIDE OF RACISM AT HOME

The "war on terror" has been a disaster for US and British
foreign policy. As the situation worsens for the occupying
forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, the propaganda assaults on
Muslims continue unabated in the media, fuelled at every
stage by politicians desperate to divert attention from
their collusion in war crimes that have lead to the deaths
of hundreds of thousands. Stop the War is co-ordinating a
series of rallies with high profile speakers to help defend
the Muslim community against this rising tide of racism. The
first will be in London on June 3 and will be followed by
meetings in Birmingham, Manchester and in cities and towns
across the country. More details of venues and speakers will
be published shortly.

**************************************
6) BROADENING THE ANTI-WAR MOVEMENT

The Stop the War Coalition is committed to strengthening and
broadening its organisation. We are planning regional
activist meetings to discuss how to sustain and strengthen
local organisation. The first will be in London on Thursday
22 May and we are asking every London Stop the War group to
encourage all of their activists to attend:

LONDON STOP THE WAR ACTIVISTS MEETING
THURSDAY 22 MAY, 6.00PM
School of Oriental and African Studies
Thornaugh Street, Russell Sq, WC1
********

This list is primarily set up to distribute the 'Green Letters' edited by
Jenny James which give a running account of the activities and experiences
of the Atlantis Community in Colombia since 1995

Archived messages may be seen at

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Green-Letters/messages See also
http://afan.org.uk/
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sun, 18 May 2008 17:16:27 -0700 (PDT)
From: Marakita Mehmet <maraki_tanga@yahoo.co.nz>
ACT's Pledge Card - The Juiciest Election
Bribe Ever

Kia ora tatou,
Aue! Aue! Aue!

ACT?
"the average New Zealand wage earner an EXTRA $500 A WEEK "

How is that going to happen when it is well known among the community (and
within the Ministries of Social Development and Health), most Maori - &
indeed Pacifikans - live BELOW the average wage. Check the MOH & MSD
websites & look up the Deprivation Index. Who earns $500 per week to
begin with?

We already have issues with current Maori Health Providers as it is (eg:
abandoned Treaty of Waitangi & Cultural Safety policies, on their job
vacancy web-sites in favour of qualified health staff) BUT we cannot
forget ACT's so-called health policies leaked last election.
===============

ACT on Health
0. 180,000 New Zealanders remain on waiting lists. Under Labour, the
number of operations performed (per head) has declined.
0. The World Health Organisation rates the NZ medical system 41st in
the world, behind Chile and Columbia.
0. That's despite a 57% increase in health spending, an increase which
Treasury warns is spiralling out of control.
More and more spending has not solved our health problems. ACT supports
the World Health Organisation's recommendation that we make better use of
the private health sector to care for more Kiwis and reduce the demand on
the public sector. ACT's philosophy is founded on the three core
principles of choice, freedom and personal responsibility.
ACT believes in making better use of the private sector to alleviate the
pressure on the public system and a greater emphasis on prevention,
personal responsibility and early primary care.
ACT's Policy:
0. We must put aside the politically correct dogma opposing private
health providers. We should utilise both public and private health
services to deliver the best possible outcomes for New Zealanders.
0. Waiting lists are not tolerable. No patient should wait beyond the
recommended safe time for treatment. Where the public hospital cannot
deliver service within an acceptable time we should use the private
sector; e.g., the recommended maximum time for radiotherapy following
breast cancer is four weeks and yet some women have been untreated after
15 weeks.
0. There must be greater emphasis on prevention, self-responsibility
and early primary care.
0. New Zealanders should be free to choose their own health service
providers with their own money in a competitive environment.
0. New Zealanders should accept responsibility for their own lifestyle
choices that influence health.
0. New Zealanders should be able to enjoy high quality and timely
health and medical services.
0. Funding should facilitate competition from the private sector on a
level playing field basis.
0. State funding should not displace private funding from users' own
resources and private insurance.
0. The artificial barrier between primary and secondary health care
should be removed, allowing for more innovative and comprehensive health
care options.
0. The state should focus on public health issues and supporting those
who cannot make adequate private arrangements.
0. With proper price signals, scarcity and queues will be a thing of
the past. A climate of healthy competition should exist between the
private and (reduced) public provision of those services, irrespective of
the funding source.
ACT's goals
0. Continue public support for those who are unable to make adequate
private arrangements.
0. Fully empower patients, not politicians, bureaucrats or
professional unions.
0. Put much greater emphasis on prevention, self responsibility and
early primary care.
0. Focus public policy on public health and quality assurance issues.
0. Ensure New Zealanders can achieve the security of contracts that
define the services to which they are entitled.
0. See an efficient, world class health system emerge ââ^¬â^À^Ü
allowing waiting lists to be eliminated except for those dependent on
public support where rationing for non-urgent services will always occur.
0. Restore confidence in the nation's health system.
ACT's proposals
0. Cut taxes so that more taxpayers can fund their own comprehensive
health insurance and other private arrangements directly out of their own
pockets.
0. Encourage non-government provision of health care facilities and
services.
0. Review health regulations including occupational licensing, in
order to allow providers to respond more flexibly to patients'
requirements and hire qualified overseas expertise.
0. Move to acceptance of qualified overseas drug evaluations, rather
than repeat testing in New Zealand.
0. Oblige government to clearly define the role of the public health
system it is committed to provide, preferably in the form of an
enforceable contract.
0. Focus state action on addressing health-related public good issues
including quality assurance.
0. Free professionals from undue constraints imposed by bureaucrats
and professional unions.
0. ACT will promote the private system to reduce waiting lists.
0. Increase spending on real health services (medical and nursing
staff) by reducing spending on health administration and bureaucracy.
0. Significant increase in focus on preventative health care measures.
0. Review mental health policies to reverse problems caused by the
closure of psychiatric hospitals.
0. Stop race-based health spending. ACT is not opposed to Maori
community based health initiatives, providing such schemes don't
discriminate and are available to non-Maori.
0. Health shouldn't be considered in isolation. A strong economy will
lead to thriving health services and will address shortages of healthcare
workers, doctors, nurses, career radiotherapists and other health
professionals.
0. No cuts to health spending.
Discussion
The failure of the health system to deliver health services needed by New
Zealanders has been admitted by Government. The long waiting lists,
unceasing headlines of crises in mental health, loss of specialists, and
nurse strikes are simply symptomatic of a centrally controlled state
system that in the words of the Minister of Health, cannot be expected to
deliver health services to the standard of Australia, the United States,
or even the United Kingdom.
A poorly run health system has resulted in government being unable to
meet the health expectations of the public.
Our public system fails to reward prevention or to penalise behaviour
that puts health at risk. If it did, many might prefer to lose weight,
stop smoking, immunise their children or make an early visit to a GP
rather than wait until they require costly hospital care or drugs. A
health system that used pricing signals would create the right incentives
and encourage more responsible behaviour for both providers and consumers
of health services.
We do not score highly for health attainment compared to other developed
countries. In 2000 the OECD ranked New Zealand at 41st. As with education
we cannot blame bad outcomes on a failure to increase spending. From 1992
to 1999 real per capita spending on health rose at 2.4 percent per annum
for public spending and 3.8 percent pa for private spending.
Our core problems arise in the nationalised sections of the industry and
in the distortions caused by dominant health funding and regulation. It
is in the public hospitals and the funding of pharmaceuticals and
obstetric care that problems of uncertainty, wastage, lack of choice,
rationing by queue and political interference are most evident. The
difficulties here and in accident compensation spill over into other
sectors. For example, ACC distorts the health system by ensuring that the
injured receive more favourable treatment than those incapacitated
through illness.
As patients of the state health system we find that power has been taken
from us and handed to politicians, bureaucrats and professional unions.
Professional staff are usually doing their best, but are frustrated by
shortages and red tape. State monopoly cuts down choice and freedom and
suppresses the price mechanisms that would otherwise signal need and
scarcity.
In contrast, the primary health care sector, where general practitioners
and other private health professionals operate more like private
businesses, is the source of much less dissatisfaction. Government moves
to remove user charges in this sector promise to produce soviet-style
queues in doctors' surgeries in due course.
Currently, New Zealanders can obtain a degree of confidence about their
access to care only through the purchase of ââ^¬Ë^Ütop-up' private
health insurance. Those with health insurance mostly receive prompt
quality treatment at private hospitals while those without it languish on
public hospital waiting lists. Again the burden of an unsatisfactory
public system is likely to fall most heavily on the lowest socio-economic
groups.
Healthcare:
treatment when you need it
â^À^ÜI hear so many moving stories about health cases.
Every day someone in New Zealand writes to me
about a loved oneâ^À^Ùs unbearable wait to get treatment
at our public hospitals.â^À^Ý
Heather Roy MP
Among them is a tragic story told by the heartbroken mother of
a 15-year-old girl who died after five agonising months of waiting
for life-saving surgery to repair a heart defect. Last year 1152 New
Zealanders died while waiting for treatment on Labourâ^À^Ùs hospital
waiting lists.
Currently 120,000 New Zealanders are waiting to see a hospital
specialist for the first time. Another 60,000 patients have been told
they need surgery and will have to wait months and sometimes
years to get it. Of these 30,000 wonâ^À^Ùt receive surgery unless their
condition deteriorates.
Why does Labour subject people to this inhuman waiting process?
Why does it deny them desperately needed treatment, when we
have private hospitals with theatre space lying idle and surgeons
ready and willing to do the work?
To add to the pain and indignity, high taxes and rising costs put
even basic health care out of the reach of many.
Labourâ^À^Ùs attitude to caring for New Zealandersâ^À^Ù health is a
disgrace.
Last year they spent $50 million on health bureaucracy, rather than
on treatments that would have made a real difference to peopleâ^À^Ùs
lives. Overall Labour has injected $3.5 billion a year into health,
the biggest increase for any portfolio in New Zealandâ^À^Ùs history. Yet
there are no more health services as a result. The waiting lists are
longer and, despite population growth of 4.3% between 2000 and
2004, there has been only a 1.3% increase in operations.
Letâ^À^Ùs put an end to the tragedies. Like the story of a Wellington
father of three, who died while waiting for heart surgery at
Wellington Hospital. He had been admitted twice for his operation
and both times was sent home again. He died while waiting to be
called back a third time. Yet a few metres down the road, Wakefield
Hospital, a private facility, could have done his operation when it
was first needed.
Only ACT is offering positive change to fix this failed, third-world
health system.
ACT will:
Radically reduce waiting lists by ensuring all available
hospitals â^À^Ó including private hospitals â^À^Ó are used for public
health care.
End shortages of doctors and nurses by incentivising them
to stay in New Zealand when they graduate, and to come
back after their OE.
Get rid of unnecessary bureaucracy and spend the money
on healthcare, not Ministry of Health staff.
Let frontline professionals make decisions, not bureaucrats
and unions.
Focus on prevention â^À^Ó incentivising people to eat well
and exercise.
Cut taxes so people can afford to have health insurance.
Review health regulations including occupational licensing,
to allow a more flexible response to patientsâ^À^Ù requirements
and hire qualified overseas expertise.
Reinstate the training of enrolled nurses â^À^Øon the jobâ^À^Ù in
hospitals, rather then in polytechs.
Review PHARMAC and its monopoly on drug buying. Many
effective drugs are not available to New Zealanders.
Ensure that the problems in mental health caused by the
closure of psychiatric hospitals are addressed â^À^Ó people
who need real help should be in care, not on the streets.
Authorised by B Astill, Party Secretary, ACT New Zealand, Unit A, 11-13
Clovernook Road, Newmarket, Auckland.
We must stop the waiting.
By giving ACT your Party Vote you can make a
positive change to New Zealandersâ^À^Ù lives.
ACT New Zealandâ^À^Ùs 2005 Health Policy
--------

Friday, 14 June 2002
Background
Since the mid 1990â^À^Ùs, successive National and Labour governments have
poured money into health. Year after year health spending has increased
by more than allocations to government spending programmes as a whole. As
a result, the health share of government spending has risen from 14% in
1994, to around 20% in 2004, and this in a time when total government
spending has risen strongly.
Despite this, the performance of our health sector is falling, relative
to other countries, with the World Health Organisation ranking New
Zealand 41st (behind Columbia, Chile and Cuba).
New Zealandâ^À^Ùs health system has seen the recreation of large local
District Health Boards and larger bureaucracy since 1999.
Despite the recommendation of the influential World Health Organisation
that New Zealandâ^À^Ùs health services would benefit from allowing the
private health sector to play a larger role, this has not occurred.
The government continues to struggle to provide sufficient resources to
the District Health Boards, with the result that in the last year Health
Boards were $180 million short of funding for the services they provided;
this year they are $195 million short.
As a result, hospitals continue to make further cuts to reduce their
shortfall â^À^Ó which will place heavy pressure on surgery waiting lists
and the health professionals that run our Hospitals.
Already many thousands of patients have been pushed off surgical waiting
lists simply because there isnâ^À^Ùt the money to pay for their
operation. These people needing surgery have been moved to a new list
called Active Review â^À^Ó it is effectively hiding the real numbers
needing surgery.
Primary care
There has been a move in the last three years to place more of the health
funding into primary care. This is sensible as the more we can prevent
people from getting sick and going to hospital, the more we can spend on
other under resourced areas of health. There are however two serious
aspects to this strategy which ACT strongly opposes.
The first is that the government has taken funding from the Hospitals to
put it into Primary Care - which is why the Boards have huge debts, the
true numbers on waiting lists are increasing, and crisis stories around
hospitals will continue to grab the headlines.
Additionally, ACT is opposed to race based funding. Under the new Labour
Primary Health Organisation (PHO) strategy, persons of Maori and Pacific
Island ethnicity are funded 20% more for visits to the Doctor than all
other New Zealanders.
ACT believes in one law and standard for all New Zealanders. For those
needing additional health care, this must be based on need, regardless of
ethnicity.
Summary
Despite political rhetoric about more funding and better health services,
the Health system is under serious service and resource strain.
Due to lack of resources, Hospitals will continue to experience nurse and
doctor strikes, long waiting lists, and Health Boards looking to cut and
reduce services to live within their limited budgets.
For ideological reasons the private health sector will continue to be
largely underutilised, despite the World Health Organisations clear
recommendations.
ACT offers a real alternative to the Labour governmentâ^À^Ùs philosophy
that New Zealanders are best served by increasing central government
control over their lives, and services.
In contrast, ACTâ^À^Ùs philosophy is founded on the three core principles
of choice, freedom and personal responsibility. It is upon these that
ACTâ^À^ÙS Health proposals are derived.
ACTâ^À^Ùs Health Principles
0. Put aside the politically correct dogma opposing private health
providers. We should utilise both public and private health services to
deliver the best possible health services.
0. Long Waiting lists are not tolerable. No patient should wait
beyond the recommended safe time for treatment. Where the public
hospital cannot deliver within a safe timeframe, we should use the
private sector; e.g., the recommended maximum time for radiotherapy
following breast cancer is 4 weeks, yet some women have been untreated
after 15 weeks.
0. Greater emphasis on prevention, self responsibility and early
primary care.
Proposals: Choice in Healthcare
0. Cut taxes so that taxpayers can more readily afford health
insurance premiums and other private arrangements out of their own
pockets.
0. ACT will promote the private system to reduce waiting lists.
0. Increase spending on real health services (medical and nursing
staff) by reducing spending on health administration and bureaucracy.
0. Significant increase in focus on preventative health care measures.
0. Review mental health to reverse problems caused by the closure of
psychiatric hospitals.
0. Health shouldnâ^À^Ùt be considered in isolation. A strong economy
will lead to thriving health services and will address shortages of
healthcare workers â^À^Ó doctors, nurses, career radiotherapists and
other health professionals.
No cuts to total health spending.
=======================

Now should ACT's leopards ever change their spots, let us know before my
daughter travels overseas to work in health, where she needs to go in
order to earn enough to pay back hefty student loan debts incurred when
studying for her degree and send subs along to the marae.

naku na
Mara
--------------

----- Original Message ----- From: ACT New Zealand
Sent: Monday, May 19, 2008 2:21 AM
Subject: ACT's Pledge Card - The Juiciest Election Bribe Ever

ACT New Zealand Special Announcement Click here to unsubscribe New
Zealand's biggest pledge card, containing the juiciest election bribe
ever.

The ACT Party promises that if you give us your party vote and we hold the
balance of power after the election, we'll create an economy that gives
the average New Zealand wage earner an EXTRA $500 A WEEK - enough to
outperform Australia and bring our children home.

How's that for a bribe? Don't believe we can deliver? Then click here and
see a pledge card with a difference. A detailed plan to do just that.

Nearly all of the policies we propose are regarded as international best
practice. Others will be after we've pioneered them!

Not hard right. Dead right.

These policies will give us the growth we need, so we can afford things
like lifesaving breast cancer drugs that countries like Greece can now
afford, but we can't.

After fifteen years of gutless governments:

* The average New Zealand worker is now $450 a week poorer than
the average Australian worker.
* If we were a state of Australia, we'd be the poorest - $100 a
week poorer than Tasmania.
* If we were a state of the USA, we'd be 51st and last - $120 a
week poorer than Mississippi.

Is it any wonder so many Kiwis with get-up-and-go have got up and
gone?

One thing's for sure. Unless you stop voting for politicians who
bribe you with short-term treats at the expense of policies that
enrich you in the long run, you'll keep getting poorer and poorer.

John Key is not the key.
Roger Douglas is.

National leader John Key can see that Labour's policies are hurting
you. But he needs Labour's voters to make him prime minister. So he
won't change them.

He's copying Australian PM Kevin Rudd's strategy of saying 'me too'
to the present government's policies. But can you spot the
difference?

That's right. Rudd said 'me too' to policies that have made
Australia richer. Key's saying 'me too' to policies that are making
New Zealand poorer!

There's only one way to save New Zealand. Only one way to bring our
children home.

And that's to make sure the ACT Party gets enough votes to hold the
balance of power and demand that Sir Roger Douglas gets back his
old job of Minister of Finance.

Who would you trust to manage New Zealand's $175 billion economy in
a crisis?

* Michael Cullen â^À^Ó who's squandered the best global
conditions of a generation to make us poorer than Greece?
* Bill English â^À^Ó who did nothing much the last time he was
Minister of Finance, and is proudly promising to do nothing
much again?
* Sir Roger Douglas â^À^Ó the finance minister who transformed
New Zealand from a Soviet-style basket case under National to
one of the freest and most admired economies in the world?

In 1984, Sir Roger Douglas had the guts to do what was right for
this country when it needed strong leadership.

Well, we need that leadership again. Click here to keep reading to
find out how you can make it happen with a party vote for ACT.

Rodney Hide
ACT Leader
www.act.org. nz
________________________________________________________________________________

Date: Sun, 18 May 2008 21:22:33 -0400
From: Richard Brown <chooky.clarke@gmail.com>
The Best Article Every day

The Best Article Every day
16 Tips For Getting Good Sleep
Posted: 17 May 2008 12:17 PM CDT
Written by Gretchen Rubin

Thereâ^À^Ùs a lot of advice out there about getting good
sleep â^À^Ô itâ^À^Ùs VERY important. We quickly adjust to
being sleep-deprived, and donâ^À^Ùt notice that we arenâ^À^Ùt
functioning at a normal level, but lack of sleep really
affects us. If youâ^À^Ùre feeling blue or listless, try going
to sleep thirty minutes earlier for a week. It can really
help.

Here are tips that have helped me get good sleep:

Good habits for good sleep:

1. Exercise most days, even if itâ^À^Ùs just to take a walk.
2. No caffeine after 7:00 p.m.
3. An hour before bedtime, avoid doing any kind of work that
takes alert thinking. Addressing envelopesâ^À^Óokay.
Analyzing an articleâ^À^Ónope.
4. Adjust your bedroom temperature to be slightly chilly.
5. Keep your bedroom dark. Studies show that even the tiny
light from a digital alarm clock can disrupt a sleep cycle.
We have about six devices in our room that glow bright green;
itâ^À^Ùs like sleeping in a mad scientistâ^À^Ùs lab. The Big
Man has a new pet, a Roomba (yes, he loves his robot vacuum)
that gives out so much light that I have to cover it with a
pillow before bed.
6. Keep the bedroom as tidy as possible. Itâ^À^Ùs not restful
to fight through chaos into bed.

If sleep wonâ^À^Ùt come:
7. Breathe deeply and slowly until you canâ^À^Ùt stand it
anymore.
8. If your mind is racing (youâ^À^Ùre planning a trip, a
move; youâ^À^Ùre worried about a medical diagnosis), write
down whatâ^À^Ùs on your mind. This technique really works for
me.
9. Slather yourself with body lotion. This feels good and
also, if youâ^À^Ùre having trouble sleeping because
youâ^À^Ùre hot, it cools you down.
10. If your feet are cold, put on socks.
11. Stretch your whole body.
12. Have a warm drink. Supposedly warm milk contains
melatonin and trytophan and so helps induce sleep, but in
fact, a glass of milk doesnâ^À^Ùt contain enough to have any
effect. But itâ^À^Ùs still a soothing drink. My nighttime
favorite: 1/3 mug of milk, add boiling water, one packet of
Equal, and a dash of vanilla. A real nursery treat.
13. Yawn.
14. Stretch your toes up and down several times.
15. Tell yourself, â^À^ÜI have to get up now.â^À^Ý Imagine
that you just hit the snooze alarm and in a minute,
youâ^À^Ùre going to be marching through the morning routine.
Often this is an exhausting enough prospect to make me fall
asleep.
16. If you still canâ^À^Ùt sleep, re-frame: re-frame your
sleeplessness as a welcome opportunity to snatch some extra
time out of your day. I get up and tackle mundane chores,
like paying bills, organizing books, or tidying up. Then I
start the day with a wonderful feeling of having accomplished
something even before 6:45 am.

What am I missing? Are there some more great sleep-inducing
strategies out there?

If youâ^À^Ùd like to read more about happiness, check out
Gretchenâ^À^Ùs daily blog, The Happiness Project.
________________________________________________________________________________

From: DaCoconutWireless@hawaii.rr.com
Subject: Housing is Healthcare in Hawaii / FW: Hearing Notice
HSP-HSH_05-23-08_INFO_BRIEFING_ - Hawaii State Legislature
Date: Thu, 15 May 2008 08:43:01 -1000

http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2008/hearingnotices/HSP-HSH_05-23-08_INFO_BRIEFING_.htm

Housing is Healthcare in Hawaii and
we must prove it on Friday with our voices.

Our voices need to be heard and heard well!!

Please put out an ad for us to meet at the Capitol on Friday at
8:45 In the Rotunda and then we will proceed to the briefing. We need to
ask the questions that NEED to be answered quickly, before more HIV
positive people are without housing.

THE SENATE/HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
THE TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE
INTERIM OF 2008

COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES AND PUBLIC HOUSING
Senator Suzanne Chun Oakland, Chair
Senator Les Ihara, Jr., Vice Chair

COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES & HOUSING
Rep. Maile S. L. Shimabukuro, Chair
Rep. Karl Rhoads, Vice Chair

NOTICE OF INFORMATIONAL BRIEFING

DATE:
Friday, May 23, 2008

TIME:
9:00 ^Ö 11:00 a.m.

PLACE:
Conference Room 229
State Capitol
415 South Beretania Street

A G E N D A

The Senate Committee on Human Services and Public Housing and
the House Committee on Human Services and Housing will meet
to address various issues related to public housing.

The public and legislature will be updated about progress
being made to renovate various public housing units and the
status of repair and maintenance projects for all public
housing projects across the State of Hawai^Ñi will be
provided by the Hawai^Ñi Public Housing Authority. There will
also be discussion by the Public Housing Tenant Association
about concerns they have at the housing project where they
reside.

If you require special assistance or auxiliary aids or
services to participate in the public hearing process (i.e.,
sign or foreign language interpreter, wheelchair
accessibility, or parking designated for the disabled) please
contact the committee clerk 24 hours prior to the hearing so
arrangements can be made.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CALL THE COMMITTEE CLERK AT
586-6130.
---------

From: Jbrhawaii1 [mailto:jbrhawaii1@aol.com]
Sent: Wednesday, May 14, 2008 5:24 PM

Aloha Scott,

>:o this is where our voices need to be heard and heard well!!
Please put out an ad for us to meet at the Capitol on Friday at
8:45 in the Rotunda and then we will proceed to the briefing.

We need to ask the questions that NEED to be answered quickly, before more
HIV positive people are without housing. Housing is Healthcare in Hawaii
and we must prove it on Friday with our voices. Please call 685-6702 or
383-2016 and RSVP your attendance at this pivotal time of interim session.

Peace and Aloha,

~Joe~
Joseph B. Rattner, OD, CSAC
91-211 Makaina Place
Ewa Beach, Hawaii 96706
Home/Office-808-685-6702
Fax-808-685-6840
Cell-808-781-3663
jbrhawaii1@aol.com
wohfac@hotmail.com
West Oahu Hope For A Cure Foundation
WOHFAC
PO Box 2487
Ewa Beach, Hawaii 96706
Office-808-685-6702
Fax-808-685-6840
wohfac@hotmail.com
www.wohfac.com
________________________________________________________________________________

From: HIAHAWAII@aol.com
Sent: Saturday, May 17, 2008 10:20 PM
Subject: 4 Hawaiian Royla Societies Criticize Sovereiegnty Group

Saturday, May 17, 2008 Honolulu Advertiser
4 Hawaiian Royal Societies Criticize Sovereignty Group
Advertiser Staff

Four Hawaiian royal societies today issued a statement denouncing the
actions of the Hawaiian Kingdom Government, a Hawaiian sovereignty group
that has been occupying part of the 'Iolani Palace grounds since April 30.

'Aha Hipu'u, which includes the Royal Order of Kamehameha I, 'Ahahui
Ka'ahumanu, Hale O Na Ali'i O Hawai'i and Daughters and Sons of Hawaiian
Warriors - Mamakakaua, also denounced the Hawaiian Kingdom Government's
claims to be heirs of the Hawaiian kingdom.

The state yesterday denied the Hawaiian Kingdom Government an assembly
permit for the 'Iolani Palace grounds, saying it had broken the rules of
previous permits given to the organization.

Here is the text of the statement issued today:

"A group identified as the 'Hawaiian Kingdom Government' took control of
the grounds of 'Iolani Palace and blocked all access gates on April 30,
2008. This group also claimed these same grounds, our wahipana
('celebrated place'), as their seat of government.

"While we, the Royal Order of Kamehameha I, 'Ahahui Ka'ahumanu, Hale O Na
Ali'i O Hawai'i and Daughters and Sons of Hawaiian Warriors - Mamakakaua
recognize the right of free speech, we strongly denounce the actions of
this group as well as its claims to be heirs of the Hawaiian Kingdom. We
represent the unbroken historical link to Hawai'i's past, and we continue
to promote the protocol of our ali'i heritage. Together with The Friends
of Iolani Palace, we are working to preserve and maintain the dignity of
'Iolani Palace and its grounds.

"We also oppose this group's claim to have elected a 'head of state,'
using the titles of 'her majesty' and 'queen' within the Hawaiian context
of a kingdom. Therefore, we continue to recognize, based on historical
fact, that the descendants of Prince David Kawananakoa represent the
Kalakaua Dynasty and are the Royal Family of the present day.

"We also condemn any action that could cause damage or desecrate these
sacred grounds. It is shameful that anyone would hold hostage or threaten
the sanctity of 'Iolani Palace or Mauna 'Ala in order to forward their
political views.

"All should hold sacrosanct 'Iolani Palace and Mauna 'Ala and display the
appropriate respect for the memory of our beloved ali'i and the stature of
the Hawaiian Kingdom of Hawai'i.

"Adopted unanimously this 17th day of May, 2008 by the Statewide
Convention of 'Aha Hipu'u delegates."

In your voice
Read reactions to this story
Newest first Oldest first

Pomaikaiokalani wrote:

, "we are working to preserve and maintain the dignity of 'Iolani Palace
and its grounds", what Joke. The grounds of Iolani Palace is a Public
Park. Where the state collects revenues from the parking meters on the
grounds of Iolani Palace. Not one penny of those revenues goes to Native
Hawaiians, OHA or to the Friends of Iolani Palace. It is Hawaiian groups
like those who have spoken against the Hawaiian Kingdom Government that is
not pono. The Hawaiian Kingdom Government did what should have been done a
long time ago. Long Live The Hawaiian Kingdom Government .
________________________________________________________________________________

From: roy freedle
Sent: Sunday, May 18, 2008 2:05 AM
Subject: [evol-psych] News: How Humans Commit Worldwide Suicide

New York Times
World's Poor Pay Price as Crop Research Is Cut
NYTimes,, Published: May 18, 2008

LOS BAÑOS, Philippines -- The brown plant hopper, an insect no bigger than
a gnat, is multiplying by the billions and chewing through rice paddies in
East Asia, threatening the diets of many poor people.

The Food Chain
Cutting Aid

Articles in this series are examining growing demands on, and changes in,
the world's production of food.

Shrinking Aid, Soaring Prices
Losing Focus on Food Production
Graphic
Luis Liwanag for The New York Times

Because subsidized rice is limited, people must take numbers when they
line up to buy it in Los Baños in the Philippines. More Photos >>

The damage to rice crops, occurring at a time of scarcity and high prices,
could have been prevented. Researchers at the International Rice Research
Institute here say that they know how to create rice varieties resistant
to the insects but that budget cuts have prevented them from doing so.

This is a stark example of the many problems that are coming to light in
the world's agricultural system. Experts say that during the food
surpluses of recent decades, governments and development agencies lost
focus on the importance of helping poor countries improve their
agriculture.

The budgets of institutions that delivered the world from famine in the
1970s, including the rice institute, have stagnated or fallen, even as the
problems they were trying to solve became harder.

"People felt that the world food crisis was solved, that food security was
no longer an issue, and it really fell off the agenda," said Robert S.
Zeigler, the director general of the rice institute.

Vital research programs have been slashed. At the rice institute,
scientists have identified 14 genetic traits that could help rice plants
survive the plant hopper, which sucks the juices out of young plants while
infecting them with viruses. But the scientists have had no money to breed
these traits into the world's most widely used rice varieties.

The institute is the world's main repository of rice seeds as well as
genetic and other information about rice, the crop that feeds nearly half
the world's people.

But nowadays at the International Rice Research Institute, greenhouses
have peeling paint and holes in their screens and walls. Hallways are
dotted with empty offices. In the 1980s, the institute employed five
entomologists, or insect experts, overseeing a staff of 200. Now it has
one entomologist with a staff of eight.

"We've had an exodus here," said Yvette Naredo, an assistant geneticist.

Similar troubles plague other centers in Asia, Africa and Latin America
that work on crop productivity in poor countries. Agricultural experts
have complained about the flagging efforts for years and warned of the
risks.

"Nobody was listening," said Thomas Lumpkin, director general of the
International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center in Mexico.

Now, a reckoning is at hand. Growth of the global food supply has slowed
even as the population has continued to increase, and as economic growth
is giving millions of poor people the money to buy more food.

With demand beginning to outstrip supply, prices have soared, and food
riots have erupted that have undermined the stability of foreign
governments. World leaders are scrambling to respond. On May 1, President
Bush asked Congress for an extra $770 million to pay for food aid and to
help farmers improve their productivity.

But cuts in agricultural research continue. The United States is in the
midst of slashing, by as much as 75 percent, its $59.5 million annual
support for a global research network that focuses on improving crops
vital to agriculture in poor countries. That network includes the rice
institute.

Robert Bertram, who oversees the funding for the United States Agency for
International Development, said he was still trying to stop the cuts and
argued that research to improve crop yields was "like putting money in the
pockets of poor people, and I mean billions of poor people."

The Agency for International Development is the primary vehicle for the
American government to finance development projects abroad. James R.
Kunder, its acting deputy administrator, said the agency hoped to
reconsider the cutbacks if Congress allows extra money.

Crop by crop and country by country, agricultural research and development
are lagging.

The center in Mexico has created drought-tolerant corn for Africa and
higher-yielding, disease-resistant wheat for South Asia. But it does not
have the money to get the varieties into the hands of poor farmers.

In Africa, where yields have remained stagnant since the 1960s, efforts to
bolster them have been hampered by cuts not only in research but also in
programs like fertilizer distribution.

Even in the United States, long a world leader in agricultural research,
some money has been shifted away from crop-productivity work into issues
like nutrition and food safety.

The biggest cutbacks have come in donations to agriculture in poor
countries from the governments of wealthy countries and in loans from
development institutions that the wealthy governments control, like the
World Bank. Such projects include not only research on pests and crops but
also programs to help farmers adopt improved methods in their fields.

Adjusting for inflation and exchange rates, the wealthy countries, as a
group, cut such donations roughly in half from 1980 to 2006, to $2.8
billion a year from $6 billion. The United States cut its support for
agriculture in poor countries to $624 million from $2.3 billion in that
period.

"Agriculture has been so productive and done so well, people have kind of
lost sight of how fragile it really is," said Jan E. Leach, a plant
pathologist at Colorado State University who works with rice. "It's as if
we have lost track of the fact that food is linked to agriculture, which
is linked to human survival."

Cooperation on Crops

Agricultural research and development work is never done. The demand for
food keeps growing. Insects and plant diseases adapt, overcoming efforts
to thwart them.

In the 1960s, population growth was far outrunning food production,
threatening famine in many poor countries. But then wealthier nations
joined forces with the poor countries to improve crop yields. Countries
like India and Pakistan embraced new plant varieties, irrigation projects
and fertilizer programs in a vast effort that came to be known as the
Green Revolution.

Yields soared, and by the 1980s, the threat of starvation had receded in
most of the world. With Europe and the United States offering their
farmers heavy subsidies that encouraged production, grain became abundant
worldwide, and prices fell.

Many poor countries, instead of developing their own agriculture, turned
to the world market to buy cheap rice and wheat. In 1986, Agriculture
Secretary John Block called the idea of developing countries feeding
themselves "an anachronism from a bygone era," saying they should just buy
American.

Additional factors prompted wealthy countries to shift their donations
away from agriculture. For instance, advocacy groups criticized some of
the environmental problems arising from intensive farming, weakening
support for the Green Revolution. And urgent new priorities like the AIDS
crisis in Africa captured the world's attention.

Advocates for agriculture fought a losing battle to stop the cutbacks --
nowhere more than in the World Bank, the huge institution in Washington
that makes low-interest loans to poor countries for development projects.

Adjusted for inflation, the World Bank cut its agricultural lending to $2
billion in 2004 from $7.7 billion in 1980.

The Green Revolution had led to creation of a global network of research
centers focusing on agriculture and food production, with 14 institutes --
including the International Rice Research Institute -- scattered across
Asia, Africa and Latin America, in addition to a research office in
Washington. The centers, known collectively as the Consultative Group on
International Agricultural Research, carry much of the burden of improving
crop yields in developing countries.

As the world lost its focus on crops, the budgets of some of the centers
were cut. At others, the budgets stayed level or even rose, but donors
increasingly directed the money toward worthwhile but ancillary projects
like environmental research. Spending fell on the laborious plant-breeding
programs needed to improve crop productivity.

As these trends played out, the stage was being set for a food emergency.

From 1970 to 1990, the peak Green Revolution years, the food supply grew
faster than the world population. But after 1990, food's growth rate fell
below population growth, according to a report by Ronald Trostle, a
researcher at the Agriculture Department.

Around 2004, the world economy began growing more quickly, about 5 percent
a year. So as the food supply was lagging, millions of people were gaining
the money to improve their diets.

The world began to use more grain than it was producing, cutting into
reserves, and prices started rising. Early this year, as stocks fell to
perilous levels, international grain prices doubled or even tripled,
threatening as many as 100 million people with malnutrition.

Slow Recovery for Aid

At the World Bank, agricultural financing has begun to recover. Under a
new president, Robert B. Zoellick, the bank has decided to double its
lending for such programs in Africa. After President Bush's request to
Congress, other wealthy countries are joining the United States in
increasing their support.

But the case of the brown plant hopper shows there will be no quick fix
for the years of neglect.

The insect is not a new problem. In the 1960s, the rice institute, nestled
between jungle and the bustling town of Los Baños, pioneered ways to help
farmers grow two and even three crops a season, instead of one.

But with rice plants growing more of the year, the hoppers -- which live
only on rice plants -- had longer to multiply, and became a bigger
concern.

The institute responded by testing thousands of varieties of wild rice for
natural resistance. Researchers found four types of resistance and bred
them into commercial varieties by 1980.

But brown plant hoppers adapted swiftly, and the resistant strains started
losing their effectiveness in the 1990s. An important insecticide lost its
punch, too, as the hopper developed the ability to withstand up to 100
times the dose that used to kill it.

While the insect was adapting, the rice institute was being gutted.

Its money comes come from government donations, foundation grants and
assistance from development institutions like the Asian Development Bank,
an affiliate of the World Bank. After peaking in the early 1990s, the rice
institute's budget has been cut in half after adjusting for inflation, a
reflection of the larger cutbacks in global agriculture.

Several dozen important varieties of rice have been lost from the
institute's gene bank through poor storage. Promising work on rice
varieties that could withstand high temperatures and saltier water --
ideal for coping with global warming and the higher sea levels that may
follow -- had to be abandoned.

A potential solution is at hand for the plant hopper problem. No fewer
than 14 new types of genetic resistance have been discovered. But with the
budget cuts, the institute has mounted no effort to breed these traits
into widely used rice varieties.

Doing so now would take four to seven years, if money could be found. In
the meantime, the hoppers have become a growing threat. China, the world's
biggest rice producer, announced on May 7 that it was struggling to
control the rapid spread of the insects there. A plant hopper outbreak can
destroy 20 percent of a harvest; China is trying to hold losses to 5
percent in affected fields.

"We must stay ahead of rapidly evolving pests -- and increasingly, a
changing climate -- to assure global food security," said Mr. Zeigler, the
rice institute's director. "Cutting back on agricultural research today is
pure folly."
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sun, 18 May 2008 16:09:30 -1000
From: Dedibble DeKepalo <dekepalo@gmail.com>
4 Hawaiian Royla Societies Criticize
Sovereiegnty Group - comment

Royal who? They need to get in the lo'i like the rest of us. Where is the
Lua Pa that protects the place with sticks, Waha nui. And palanio at that.
dekepalo
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sun, 18 May 2008 22:10:18 -0400
From: kahiwal@cs.com
Palace grounds occupation criticized - comment

"mike reitz" <mreitz@pacbell.net> wrote:

>May 18, 2008
>
>Palace grounds occupation criticized
>Royal societies say actions of group not pono in sacred place
>By Lynda Arakawa
>Advertiser Staff Writer

It was once held, not many years ago, that the Palace and Mauna Ala were
"Sovereign" lands held in trust by the so-called state of hawaii - where,
for instance, only the flag of the Kingdom flew.

The question is: Who are these lands being held in trust for?

I'd have to answer - For the Kingdom - that is the rightful owner and
title holder - AND its modern-day subjects.

Then, if my premise is correct - then modern-day subjects have a "right"
to be on the grounds - as long as their activities don't interfere with
others who also have the same right.

So, other than holding the Palace in trust for its rightful heirs - What
else does the state have power to do?

Well, the state might argue that it has the power to regulate use of the
Palace.

I would, among other things, agree with the state - BUT only if its
regulation powers don't interfere with the rightful heirs.

As for the Kingdom (in question) - I believe that it went about things the
wrong way - by complying with the state and applying for and exercising
permits.

If the Kingdom is all that it says it is - then Why is it subordinating
itself to the state - that only has the power of regulation over non-Maoli
- and cannot really modify or even think about terminating the right that
"the Kingdom" has?

0n the other hand - What is this "Friends of 'Iolani Palace" and where
does its power come from?

My response to this question is - That the Friends are a lessee at the
Palace and is able to do the things it commonly does - like run tours.
Whatever power and authority that the state may have in its regulatory
powers cannot legally be handed over the Friends. The Friends do not have
rule-making powers - or enforcement powers - for instance.

So - What's the problem?

Well - it may all come down to what the Hawai'i Supreme Court might say
about the issues involved. With its recent decision about the state's
power and authority to sell and/or otherwise dispose of the so-called
"ceded" lands - I'd say that there might be a good possibility that the
court could possibly make a decision that parallels my thoughts above.

The question is: Is this the right time and situation to ask the Court for
such a decision - and what are "our" chances that the Court will see it
our way?

Sorry, I don't have an absolute answer to this last question - only the
Court would have the answer that - at this time - would count.

As for the views of the so-called "royal" organizations - they have rights
at the Palace also - and can exercise them - BUT only if they don't
trample on the rights of "the Kingdom" and the rest of us.

Anyway - this is my 2 cents.

Respectfully,

ku
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sun, 18 May 2008 16:22:23 -1000
From: Dedibble DeKepalo <dekepalo@gmail.com>
Iolani Palace Requires
Respect........................ - comment

On second thought the beef is with the other Royals. Who ever comes back
fron the Pali win. The Royals hide behind the State. Pitiful. dekepalo

On 5/17/08, pilipo souza <pilipohale@hawaii.rr.com> wrote:

 Lokahi out conquers might. This past Monday on Channel
54, I viewed a documentary of the coup that tried to dispose
of Hugo Chavez after he took over office. The rich
aristocrats and military took over the government
and arrested Chavez.

Chavez relinquished his Office but would not resign. He was secretly held
by the military. The people of Venezuela took to the streets in civil
disobedience to restore the person they voted for President, and it
mushroomed into a shut down of all commerce. Chavez is a native son of
Venezuela, a Kanaka Maoli.

The Army fired upon the people but that did not stop the people. Finally,
the Palace Guards would not fire upon the people and within several months
the people took back the government until Chavez was returned as
President.

This was possible because the people had almost nothing to eat. Like the
French in their Revolution of 1`789, they ran out of rats and cats to eat,
and stormed the Palace and all government buildings.

The Kanaka Maoli has not arrived yet. And they may never come to it
because of all the diversion and pageantry that makes them feel they are
part of it. Americans face the same dilemma, Disneyland.

Mahalo for those who recognize it and stick their necks out for truth.

Aloha ke Akua,
pilipo
-------

The Kanaka Maoli should not dwell in royalty. Royalty is just
another diversion. Lokahi is the only banner they should promote.
Unfortunately, the "have's" 50 % have been indoctrinated to become the new
monarchy, while the "have not's" 49 % have become the new subjects pleased
to trade their nation for a T-shirt.

----- Original Message -----
From: Dedibble DeKepalo
Sent: Saturday, May 17, 2008 8:05 PM

Lynette discovered that a group of Na Koa is ready to defend the
Kawananakoa's while they are in the Palace. This is strange that it is
done without the process of voting by the people. So the people will
defend the people. Its the peoples time. dekepalo

On 5/17/08, pilipo souza <pilipohale@hawaii.rr.com> wrote:

 Aloha kakou,

hila hila. Hawaii has become the Disneyland of the Pacific. Many fantasies
and side shows. Fraudulent Republic, Territory and State. Fake Office of
Hawaii Affairs. To add to these attractions there is phony royal family.

Worst part of it the Kanaka Maoli like the entertainment!

I have also heard that David Kawananakoa himself never sired any children
of his loins. He was a flamboyant handsome Ali'i, a chief, but not
successor to the throne of the Hawaiian Kingdom.

Adoption is not of heir apparent in monarchial heirship that's why Prince
Philip of England can never be King of England.

The phony government of Hawaii that has been in place since 1894 needs to
have a monarch for protocols just in case some "i" are not dotted and "t"
not crossed.Can't you just see the ceremony upon the Akaka Initiative
becoming American law?

The only faction that was real was the treasonous Committee of Safety and
the elected and appointed government officials of 1893 Hawaiian government
who failed to uphold their Hawaiian Constitutional oaths of Office.

hila hila

e ala e! Please Kanaka Maoli, wake up!

pilipo
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sun, 18 May 2008 16:30:53 -1000
From: pennysfh@hawaii.rr.com
News: How Humans Commit Worldwide Suicide - coment

for a different perspective on where the answer lays this check out this
Ford Foundation report from 2004. the writing was on the wall twenty
years ago when super hybrids started failing but we didn't do a damn thing
about it - just left it in the hands of researchers and industry and left
our common sense caked in dirt on the backstep and forgot about it. the
biotech industry is playing the current shortages for all their worth.
this is the turning point where they either collapse or gain the last
holdouts. if we are lucky, there might be a few uncontaminated seeds
still stuck in that dirt on those old boots on the back porch...

http://www.peri.umass.edu/fileadmin/pdf/Mann.pdf

you'd think that the clear evidence against the success of the so-called
"green revolution" would be globally accepted by now, but the myth
continues. my question - if IRRI goes out of business, do farmers get
their seeds back? the ones they stole from indigenous farmers all over
the rice growing regions of asia...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sun, 18 May 2008 22:54:11 -0400
From: Curtis B. Ellerbe <bigcurtlrb@juno.com>
This is really true! -- it is...i checked...

 Learn Something New

>>>> A friend sent this to me and I sure did not know it.
Never read the ends of the box. Duh

>>>> I had to go into the kitchen and check this out for
myself. Who ever looks at the end of your aluminum foil box anyway?
What a fantastic idea. Now, if someone would just make plastic
wrap that didn't stick to itself.

>>>> I've been using aluminum foil for more years than I care
to remember. Great stuff, but sometimes it can be a pain.
You know, like when you are in the middle of doing something and
you try to pull some foil out and the roll comes out of the box.
Then you have to put the roll back in the box and start over. The
darn roll always comes out at the wrong time.

>>>> Well, I would like to share this with you. Yesterday I
went to throw out an empty Reynolds foil box and for some reason
I turned it and looked at the end of the box. And written on the
end it said, â^À^ÜPress here to lock endâ^À^Ý. Right there on
the end of the box is a tab to lock the roll in place. How long has
this little locking tab been there? I then looked at a generic
brand of aluminum foil and it had one, too. I then looked at a
box of Saran wrap and it had one too! I canâ^À^Ùt count the number
of times the Saran warp roll has jumped out when I was trying to
cover something up.
>>>>
>>>> Iâ^À^Ùm sharing this with my friends that may not
already know this. If you already know this, delete this message and
donâ^À^Ùt e-mail me and make me feel dumber than I already feel. If
you didnâ^À^Ùt know this, e-mail your friends and share the tip. They'll
be glad you did.
>>>>
>>>> I hope Iâ^À^Ùm not the only person that didnâ^À^Ùt know
about this, after all these years!
________________________________________________________________________________

Date: Sun, 18 May 2008 23:00:04 -0400
From: Tara Mack <tara@edliberation.org>
Subject: [edliberation] Online Discussion on Begins Monday

talkin `bout...teaching current events
starts Monday
www.edliberation.org/talkin-bout

talkin `bout...teaching current events, will focus on ideas for bringing
current events into the social justice classroom. This discussion features
panelists from organizations and media outlets that publish current events
teaching materials including The Nation magazine, IndyKids, Democracy Now!
and World Savvy. talkin' bout is an online discussion series that brings
together educators, activists and youth to participate in a public
conversation on the network website about timely and important topics in
liberatory education.

In the column on the right-hand side of the talkin `bout page you can
download examples of current events teaching resources.

The panelists are:

* Amanda Vender, an IndyKids founder and editor. Amanda is currently a
graduate student in education at Hunter College.
* Jeff Kisseloff, who writes the teacher's guides for The Nation
magazine. Jeff is a journalist and author of five books, most
recently, "Generation on Fire: Voices of Protest from the 1960s."
* Kelly Korenak, the Program Associate for World Savvy, a global
education non-profit. She is also a teacher and social worker.
* John Yanno, a New York City public school teacher and union activist
who uses IndyKids in his classroom.
* Ricky Schneider, who has taught English as a Second Language at
Newtown High
School in Elmhurst, New York (Queens) for the past thirteen
years. He uses reports from Democracy Now! in his classroom. A
human rights unit is a major component of his classes.
* Tara Mack (Moderator), Director of the Education for Liberation
Network.

The network invites all those interested in this important issue to post
their own questions and comments for the panelists and for each other.
Anyone can read the discussion without registering. To post, first you
must register to use the site.

We hope you will join us for an enlightening and lively digital
conversation.

The Education for Liberation Network is a national coalition of
teachers, community activists, youth, researchers and parents who
believe a good education should teach people-particularly low-income
youth and youth of color-to understand and challenge the injustices
their communities face. Click here to join the network listserv. For
more information contact Tara Mack, Director, Education for Liberation
Network on tara@edliberation.org.

Read about the Education for Liberation Network in The Nation magazine:
(http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080225/doster).
_______________________________________________

Date: Sun, 18 May 2008 22:05:40 -0700 (PDT)
From: Andy Parx <andyparx@yahoo.com>
Subject: (PNN) 99 blogs- A week of Rabid Reporting

Well it's 99 days straight and still alive with a mix of news, analysis
and outright drivel as PNN's daily tilting at "got windmills?" continues
to inform and amuse Kaua`i about our government and the buffoons and
baboons that run it.

Contained herein is the last week of blathering for all those who care.
And if you really want to torture yourself you can hit "reply" and write
"Subscribe" in the subject line and every day we'll foist upon you the
every-day-foibles on that pass for news on this rock.

Your Rabid Reporter,
Andy Parx
-------
got windmills?
Daily Op-Ed Tilt from Rabid Reporter Andy Parx
SUNDAY, MAY 18, 2008
CIRQUE DE SHAR PEI/DISCUSSION IN THE DOGHOUSE/KRAPUS K-9US

CIRQUE DE SHAR PEI: Not to flog a deceased stallion (they apparently
remain eqis-non-grata) but the circus continued with today¡¯s report in
the local paper from Nathan Eagle that has some choice quotes on the
whatever-the-heck-it-is path, this time from councilperson Tim Bynum.

Bynum- whom many suspect might have taken the little bus to school based
on his seeming inability to process information at a speed one would
expect from a competent public official- got his start in politics due to
his devotion to the bike path yet seems to have little critical thinking
skills on the resulting issues other than those required to drive the
bandwagon of support for the do-your-own-thing east-side, no west-side,
sidewalks of Makai.

Bynum has appeared fixed-gazed and bewildered when anyone brings up the
dozens of ¡°questions¡± people have asked about the 60 to as much as $100
million project over and over for 10 years without answers from the
administration- although he suddenly proclaimed in desperation ¡°they¡¯ve
all been answered¡± beginning one day a year or so.

And despite the #1 illegality- the lack of the federally required personal
sign-off by the U.S. Sectary of Transportation (i.e. not that of a
functionary or subordinate)- Bynum takes a ¡°you gonna believe me or your
lyin¡¯ eyes¡± attitude, reportedly saying ¡°(f)ederal highways has
assessed it and feels it meets the criteria.¡± according to the article.

But even more perplexing is Eagle¡¯s seeming lack of interest in perusing
the issue he told us he would look into last week after reporting last
Sunday (as we reported he reported ) that the path is ¡°¡®considered¡¯ to
be a linear park¡±.

Eagle¡¯s coverage of the Council is a god-send, especially after the
markedly dis-jointed ¡°what-the-heck-does-that-mean¡± alleged writing that
government ¡°reporter¡± Lester Chang routinely provided for many years at
the local fish-wrap.

Why, Nathan actually seems to attend the meetings... or at least shows up
for a little while, as was the case for the testimony he got second hand
from Councilwoman Iseri-Carvalho for today¡¯s tome.

But despite a promise to us to do some homework and verify that there is
no official designation of the path as a county park- the basis for the
dog ban being that it is indeed, a park- he again repeats the
¡°considered a linear park¡± myth.

Now laziness is the stock on trade of the modern corporate journalist-
get a quote from two nut-jobs who disagree, google up a fact or two and
presto- a modern ¡°objective¡± news story. It doesn¡¯t have to have any
relevant facts as long as there some kind of fact and two people willing
to say something really dumb.

So maybe we¡¯ll excuse the normally informative malahini Eagle for how he
did chose to ask about the pesky lack of a law to enforce, which is
forcing the council to try to pass laws to negate the law that doesn¡¯t
exist.

Problem is, he asked Bynum.

If you thought Shaylene¡¯s response we quoted yesterday was irking-
especially for an attorney that is running for Prosecutor- Bynum¡¯s was,
well, vintage Bynum.
Eagle writes: ¡°In response to residents (sic) questioning whether the
path should be classified as a county park, Bynum said it seemed ¡®wiser
to address the issue straightforward rather than fight a technical battle
over what constitutes a park¡¯.¡±

Is that circus calliope music coming from the council Chambers?... and
how did the little poodle get up on that unicycle much less get it up on
that little testimony table?

You can¡¯t make this stuff up. But it couldn¡¯t be any more bizarre if
you did.
-----------

DISCUSSION IN THE DOGHOUSE: You also have to wonder what Eagle reads for
background but it couldn¡¯t be the alternative press where the consumers
of the red meat of politics go for sustenance- especially if you judge it
by his article on the Republican Convention in O`ahu he didn¡¯t attend
and wrote about before it happened for publication after it did.

For anyone who eats political affairs with their Wheaties the lead-up to
their State Convention has seen a bitter battle between the alleged
sell-out-to-the-liberals Lingle faction and the more radical Republicans
in Hawai`i, most of the latter ¡°cRyan¡± over their pro platform stance
on the Akaka bill and from intrepid Ron Paul supporters.

We¡¯ve read about it for weeks in various Honolulu based blogs and
Republican-leaning news sites and even about the aftermath today and it
is fascinating how such a small group can generate such cross-loathing
and spur tactical missile exchanges and procedural roadblocks to their
Party¡¯s unity.

Not being a Democrat but certainly not being a Republican has it¡¯s
advantages. And one may be the ability to see the abject lack of
principle on the part of both. But that doesn¡¯t make their machinations
any less amusing- and certainly more interesting that the steaming heap
of muck from Kaua`i GOP mucky-muck Ron Agor that Eagle rotely
regurgitated today.

Guess a little background is a dangerous thing for a reporter at the only
daily on Kaua`i, especially when real Kaua`i Republican party bosses ¨C
like your lifelong friend Charlie King of King Auto Center - is the
paper¡¯s biggest Advertiser.

Eric who?
------

KRAPUS K-9US: And to round out our critique of the laugh-test failing
Sunday paper, the weekly preposterous posturing has ¡°da Chief¡±, KPD¡¯s
Daryl Perry , is still apparently refusing to recognize the potential
lethality of tasers despite UN and Amnesty international studies showing
the hundreds of deaths of recipients of 50,000 volts, in yet another of
his denials of reality. Seems Darly is a quick read- he¡¯s apparently got
the Kaua`i-style-statement down pat after only a few months on the job.

Maybe it¡¯s all of us who went to school in the little bus. We¡¯re the
ones who don¡¯t have the sense to complain or vote for anyone who will.
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SATURDAY, MAY 17, 2008

BUT WHAT IF THE DOG IS RIDING A BICYCLE?

BUT WHAT IF THE DOG IS RIDING A BICYCLE? Sometimes it feels like half the
people of Kaua`i have gone insane.

The biggest issue on Kaua`i drawing a hydrophobically hysterical
teeth-baring crowd at this week¡¯s Council meeting wasn¡¯t vacation
rentals, protecting ag land, the budget or even runaway development and
the resultant hour it takes to get through Kapa`a.

No it¡¯s dog lovers vs. dog haters.

At least this time the subject of discussion rather than the discussion
itself was dog droppings as the first reading of the various dog path
bills drew the gamut of emotional appeals and rational statistical
prevarications and pontifications from a slew of people, most of whom
have probably never seen the inside of the Council Chambers before.

And in response Councilpersons Mel Rapozo and Shaylene Iseri-Carvalho
have written their own somewhat schizophrenic defenses of their personal
activities in both supporting and opposing the bike path depending on the
momentarily functional side of their mouths and faces.

But we must admit that at one of those moments a momentous event has
taken place. On his blog today Rapozo becomes the first elected official
to mention that the bike path was actually supposed to be- gasp- for
bikes to get from point A to point B.

He starts a pertinent paragraph by saying: ¡°the original intent of the
path was for traffic enhancement. In fact, the Federal government
provided funds for this County to provide an alternate route for
transportation, not a recreational path.¡±

But then he ends it with what you would expect to hear from a politician
in an election year.

¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong. I fully support the bike path and the recreational
use that it provides. This was not the original intent and we need to
remember that.¡±

And what do we do with that remembrance? With that and four bucks you can
get a gallon of gas.

Shaylene is, as usual, totally off her rocker again giving a slightly
different blow-off to the question of whether our sea-side sidewalk is a
park and therefore ¡°no dogs allowed¡± in a letter to the editor.

¡°The law prohibits dogs in parks, the bike path is located on ¡®park
property,¡¯ therefore, dogs are prohibited from being on the bike path.¡±
she maintains although what the heck park property- as it seems distinct
from ¡°a park¡±- is we are still in the dark.

But then she goes on to say since it is a law, even though she apparently
can¡¯t cite a specific one, she is going to be vigilant in upholding it.
¡°I¡¯m sure the rest of the community would take offense if I decided
unilaterally to pick and choose which laws I wanted to enforce or not.¡±

And this woman wants to be our prosecutor? I¡¯m sure we all want somebody
enforcing laws they made up.

How did we get to the point where the argument against dogs on the BIKE
path is not that it would endanger bicycling commuters-that for which we
extracted $40 million in federal funds with a guarantee it would be for
¡°transportation, not recreation¡±- but that the dogs might reach into
the baby carriages and devour a keiki.

How did we get to the point where asking ¡°what the heck is anything but
a bicycle doing on the bike path in the first place¡± elicit a response
of ¡°why do you hate dogs so much?¡±

It¡¯s a damn good thing we are the farthest you can get from Washington
D.C. because if they got wind of what¡¯s going on with their
transportation money they could very well ask for it back.

Will we ever be able to actually ride a bike on the bike path? When is
that U.S. General Accounting Office audit/report due anyway?

The real question may be whether your dog and pony path is worth $40
million. Because the dog and pony show is for a Kaua`i audience only and
the feds may well say ¡°we are not amused.¡±
Posted by Andy Parx at 11:34 AM 3 comments Links to this post
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Labels: bike path-dog path, Budget County Council, Mel and Shaylene

FRIDAY, MAY 16, 2008

MOMMY WHAT ARE PRINCE AND REX DOING?

MOMMY WHAT ARE PRINCE AND REX DOING? With the news of the California
Supreme Court¡¯s decision yesterday to recognize the civil rights of same
sex couples to marry in that state has come some local discussion of how
we can reverse the shameful denial of that right embedded in the Hawai`i
Constitution and State law.

Today Larry Geller at the pre-eminent Disappeared News brings up the fact
that it was actually the Legislature that enacted the ban whereas the
Constitutional amendment passed by bigoted religious zealots led by now
State Senator Mike Gabbard merely enabled the legelature to do it.

Geller says ¡°given today's decision in California, shouldn't we begin to
re-think our own discrimination and whether it is time to undo it? No
ConCon is needed, just a great big campaign to convince our legislators
to do the right thing.¡±

And in an extensive essay on the issue ¡°In the Line of Fire¡±, an
occasional, anonymous, self-described ¡°attorney¡± who blogs at MauiTalk
- which, though a bit windy, is always a good read- goes further in
wanting the states to get out of the business of marrying people
altogether as many have advocated, questioning the state¡¯s interest in
validating the so-called institution.

Both contain information that people may or may not know but the biggest
secret is one that no one, from Wolf Blitzer to Katy Couric, is talking
about is that none of the states that claim to ¡°ban same sex marriage¡±
actually do so- and they can¡¯t do it.

The laws on the books in the various states actually ban that individual
state from marrying people of the same gender. But while that act is
banned, the state of being married in the state is not stated.

In other words anyone married in California- or Massachusetts, the other
state that marries people of the same gender- is married no matter which
state they are in.

And the U.S. Constitution insures that no state can ban the state of
being married to someone who was married in another state.

Article IX says:

Section 1. Full faith and credit shall be given in each state to the
public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state. And
the Congress may by general laws prescribe the manner in which such acts,
records, and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof. Section
2. The citizens of each state shall be entitled to all privileges and
immunities of citizens in the several states.

Pretty damn clear. That¡¯s why proponents of a ban have tried to gin up
support for a US Constitutional amendment- they¡¯ve seen Sect IX and know
what it would take to overturn it.

No one who was married in Las Vegas has ever been told their marriage
isn¡¯t valid in another state no matter what the other state¡¯s laws for
getting married are. Watch any old movie and you¡¯ll see people in the
east going to marry in Maryland- or Marryland as many called it- because
there were no blood tests or waiting periods like there were and still
are in some states... like Massachusetts. And why mixed race couples went
north to exercise their rights.

In California all you need is ID, two human beings and the fee and once
you get the license you allowed to BE married in every state even though
you actually GOT married in California.

It would be nice if our State woke up and shed it¡¯s image as a bunch of
backward religious nuts, our bluest of the blue states reputation
notwithstanding. But for anyone in Hawai`i who wants to marry someone
when Hawai`i says ¡°can not¡±, guess what? Can.

And there ain¡¯t thing-one the Church Lady can do about it.
-------------

McGRUFF¡¯S MARAUDERS: Did the headline writer for today¡¯s local paper
really ¡°not know¡± when writing the one that said ¡°Green harvest
benefits Salvation Army¡¯s kitchen¡±?

Maybe it¡¯s for the medical patients who are seeking a toke or two of
salvation. Maybe that¡¯s what Brando saw in the ¡°Mission Doll¡±. We¡¯ve
heard they¡¯ve got a great drug program.

So go down and get your pakalolo brownies and marijuana marinara before
Chief Perry finds out. Maybe he and his newly armed-to-the-teeth force
were too busy to notice what with the apparent SWAT team that took over
Black Pot Beach Park in Hanalei yesterday to make sure those evil
terrorist fishermen couldn¡¯t keep their fishing gear and suicide-bombs
in an old Matson container that had been there for many years. Glad to
hear that our cops could take some time out from giving dog-off-the-leash
tickets for a few hours to take care of such insidious criminal
enterprises.
Posted by Andy Parx at 5:56 PM 2 comments Links to this post
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THURSDAY, MAY 15, 2008

ORDERED STEAK; GOT GENERIC DRIED DOGFOOD

ORDERED STEAK; GOT GENERIC DRIED DOGFOOD: Budget deadline routinely bring
out the free-lunch crowd as the local letters to the editor column has
shown lately.

Another day, another dippy ¡°give up back the money¡± epistle, usually
from someone who has also complained about the lack of services the
County provides.

But the broad brush crowd always seems to have a blind eye to what we
actually spend the money on and apparently doesn¡¯t mind when their money
goes down the rat hole of the cronyism-dole and various and sundry
Incumbency Protection Plans- the only things that the Mayor and Council
seem to be good at providing

The ¡°extra¡± $2.2 million supplemental appropriations reported yesterday
in the local paper has a couple of examples. But digging in the regular
bu