2. 2007 Second Special Session - so much for tommy waters...
3. Indigenous women were forgotten in the colonizer'shistory
4. The Evangelical Crackup
5. Disappeared News - A little campaign contribution goes a long way
6. Super Ferry and comments
7. Development squeezing out Hawaii farmland
8. Super Ferry - more comment
9. What will you ask Michael Moore?
10. Tinfish Press Poetry Reading 11/6: 3pm, Kuykendall 410
11. The Peace Center November -join us
12. Terror suspect set to hang art
13. First Friday, and Saturday!
14. Penny-pinching axes aid
15. Democratic Party of Hawai`i E-ALERT (11/02/07)
16. Super Ferry - and more comment
17. Bulletin! Maui Superferry Protest This Sunday
18. Disappeared News - Can Kauai accept Lingle back? I hate to say no...
19. okinawa updates: struggle to protect continues...& persistance can pay
off
20. Declaration and Press Release - Indigenous Sovereignty
21. Bomb discovery cancels weekend Makua visit
22. Asia-Pacific military summit meets in Hawaii
23. Depleted uranium find to be topic of discussions
24. B2s practice bomb Hawaii
25. Judge rules desecration can continue
26. Isles to get $691M in funding
27. sovereignty in our backyard -- tokelau freedom fight loses by 16 votes
28. imua Hilo students! Superferry demo
29. West Papuan Lawyer arrested by anti Terrorism Police is moved to
Jakarta
30. Super Ferry - yet more comment
31. "keep elevating the threat"
32. Psalm 122
33. music tomorrow
1. dog the bounty hunter
From: welford@hawaii.edu
Date: Sat, 03 Nov 2007 10:57:35 -0700 (PDT)
you probably saw the racist tirade by dog the bounty hunter in the news---
if not, have a read.
i am wondering if anyone knows where that guy lives. does he live on
o'ahu? anyone know, please let me know. gabe
__________________________________________________
2. 2007 Second Special Session - so much for tommy waters...
Date: Thu, 01 Nov 2007 15:28:33 -1000
From: Rep. Thomas Waters <repwaters@capitol.hawaii.gov>
Aloha all! As you may have heard, the 2007 Second Special Session came to
a close Wednesday afternoon.
The Super Saga of the Superferry
The state House of Representatives voted to pass a bill that allows the
Hawaii Superferry to resume service while the state Department of
Transportation (DOT) conducts an environmental review of the project.
Since the state Senate approved the same measure on Monday, the bill now
heads to the desk of Governor Linda Lingle, who is expected to sign it
into law.
I would like to thank all of you who sent me your opinion on the
Superferry issue, and want you to know that I took the matter very
seriously. This Second Special Session was called to make the best of a
difficult situation, and the bill that was passed was less than what many
environmentalists had requested, but more than what the Superferry
officials wished to concede.
Here are the particulars:
* DOT will perform an environmental impact statement on $40 million in
state harbor improvements and the secondary impacts of ferry service.
The study will not be conducted under the state's existing
environmental review law, but through a similar process created for
the Superferry through the bill.
* An operating agreement between the state and Superferry for Kahului
Harbor is restored. The bill also clarifies that the Superferry's
operating certificate from the state's Public Utilities Commission is
not in jeopardy while the environmental review is being conducted.
* The bill states that the Superferry must agree to operating
conditions to protect whales and other marine life, prevent the
spread of invasive species and preserve cultural and natural
resources. The Superferry is required to apply for an
incidental-take permit from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration that could modify ferry service to protect whales, and
the Superferry must inspect all vehicles and bar passengers from
carrying rocks, soil, sand and dirt. Governor Lingle must also
develop and impose separate conditions to protect the environment.
* An oversight task force will monitor ferry service and report monthly
to the Legislature starting at the end of December. The task force
will submit a final report before the 2009 session of the
Legislature.
* The state auditor will conduct a performance audit of the Lingle
administration's actions related to the Superferry. The audit will
focus on the administration's February 2005 decision to exempt the
project from an environmental assessment, which led to the legal
challenges.
* The Superferry must agree to waive legal claims against the state for
any past acts related to an environmental review or court action.
Although Superferry could bring future claims, the state would have
liability protection against lawsuits related to delays in ferry
service for the past two months.
Please click on the following link to view the full text of the bill:
http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/splsession2007b/bills/Superferry_Proposed.pdf.
I agree with many of you that an inter-island ferry system, if handled
properly, could greatly benefit the people of our state, and for that
reason I did support the bill with reservations. I am, however,
disappointed in DOT's original handling of the situation, by exempting the
Superferry from the legally required environmental assessment. Because of
this, I do hold reservations about the Department of Transportation
preparing and financing the Environmental Impact Statement.
However, the Legislature has tried to mold an amicable solution out of the
mess that we were presented with, and should new impacts arise, we will
surely revisit the issue during the 2008 Legislative Session.
Extended Sentencing Passes
The Legislature also approved an extended-sentencing bill, which was a
response to an October 2007 state Supreme Court ruling that the state's
law on extended sentencing is unconstitutional. The new revised law would
have juries - not just judges - determine the factors that lead to longer
prison sentences.
What does this mean to the public? In a nutshell, 106
"worst-of-the-worst" felony offenders who are currently incarcerated and
have been subjected to extended terms, and an additional 43 who are
awaiting sentencing, will receive the appropriate extended sentences for
their crimes and will not be back on our streets any time soon.
Keeping in the Loop
I just finished compiling an email listing to provide area residents with
community and legislative updates- such as this- in real time. My office
tries to mail out community updates as our postage allowance will allow,
but unfortunately regular mail is both costly and slow. As a supplement,
I am hoping to start sending out these updates by email, to keep our
community informed about district and legislative matters. Thanks for
helping me conserve government resources!
Please contact my office if you have any questions, or if you need
additional information. If you would like to be removed from my email
list- and I hope you do- please email me back and tell me so.
Sincerely,
Tommy
--
Tommy Waters
State Representative, District 51
Lanikai, Waimanalo
Email: repwaters@capitol.hawaii.gov
Tel: 808-586-9450
Fax: 808-586-9456
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Indigenous women were forgotten in the colonizer'shistory
Date: Fri, 02 Nov 2007 04:00:00 +0000
From: Ana <uriohau@yahoo.com.au>
Maori scholar: Indigenous women were forgotten in the colonizer's history
Posted: November 01, 2007
by: David Melmer / Indian Country Today
http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096416012
CODY, Wyo. - To the Maori, Horoirangi is the mother of all women, but she
was forgotten in the history of the Maori after the colonization of New
Zealand when the Maori were made to learn history from the Christian
colonizers.
Horoirangi was so important to the Maori that a stone image of her was
carved. However, she was eventually removed from the stone wall on which
she had rested for centuries and placed on a shelf in a museum in New
Zealand.
Aroha Yates-Smith, dean of the school for Maori and Pacific development at
the University of Waikato in New Zealand, saw Horoirangi on the shelf and
she knew the goddess wanted to go home, she said. She and other women
convinced the museum to let them take Horoirangi where she belonged. The
statue is now located near where it originated and is housed in a special
case to protect the centuries-old image of the Maori goddess.
When Horoirangi was brought home in the 1980s, an earthquake occurred.
Yates-Smith said it was the goddess showing her happiness at her return.
''We did have female gods, but I was told when a child that we had only
male gods,'' Yates-Smith said.
Since that time, the role of women has changed within the culture to
nearly the level it was before the Christians colonized the islands.
Yates-Smith said women were equal to men and that each had their own
stories and purpose, but the colonizers reduced the role of women and the
males took the power. The principal focus was placed on Maori men.
''It nullified the female in Maori cosmology and assured that Maori women
held the same position as European Christian women,'' she said.
The story of the North Americas parallels that of the Maori. Marilyn
Hudson, Three Affiliated Tribes and member of the American Indian advisory
board of the Plains Indian Museum at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center,
said that there were thousands of American Indian women who lived and were
buried in this continent, ''but we know of only two. Pocahontas and
Sacagawea are the two most commonly mentioned Indian women.''
More women are rising to the level of power within the many cultures
across the globe, slowly erasing the effects of colonization and
misunderstanding of the oral histories that are still alive, the women
said.
Yates-Smith is one scholar who spreads the message and is teaching young
women, there are many authors and lecturers through North America who do
the same and the results are that more American Indian women are now
entering professions with high level degrees than ever before. The same is
occurring in New Zealand.
''Both men and women [of the Maori] have complimentary roles and both have
a knowledge base,'' Yates-Smith said.
''The erosion of the knowledge about women has left a dearth of resources,
but the information has stayed in oral traditions,'' she said.
The traditions of childbirth and after the birth for both the Maori and
the Plains tribes changed with European influences, but now some of those
traditions are returning.
Yates-Smith said that women were told to go to hospital to give birth to a
child ''because the European way was superior,'' she said.
The traditions of the mother and child keeping the placenta and the
umbilical cord were discouraged, and hospitals burned those items. In the
1980s, she said, the practice began to change and now both the placenta
and umbilical cord are returned to the mother upon request.
''We are now re-creating the culture. Women are strategists, teachers,
artists and composers,'' Yates-Smith said.
''Some women feel unsuccessful, but learning about the goddesses and
ancestors is empowering,'' she said.
Women of the Maori are sensitive and strong, they are the protectors of
the family. A popular painting of Hina, a superhero, depicts her with a
baby in one hand and a weapon in the other, which shows both sides of the
woman.
''Now some females are named after ancestors. They are hungering for
anything of meaning of who they are,'' Yates-Smith said.
Part of the problem is that men have also lost their way.
''The impact of colonization brought on the lack of identity. Urbanization
and not being able to take care of a family was hard on the men,''
Yates-Smith said. ''Now more are learning the language and finding out who
they are, but it takes time to heal the souls and teach how to nurture and
live well.''
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. The Evangelical Crackup
Date: Wed, 31 Oct 2007 18:37:34 -1000
From: kepalo <kepalo@hawaii.rr.com>
This article is good news. The deacons and boards of these congregations
are says that there souls are not being fed. Ungodliness is not on the
rise but the Christian light is going dim. from a recovering Christian
converted to my ancestors heathen ways. kepalo
----- Original Message -----
From: mike sysiuk
Sent: Thursday, November 01, 2007 6:02 PM
FYI,
Mike
The Evangelical Crackup
DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK
October 28, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/28/magazine/28Evangelicals-t.html
The hundred-foot white cross atop the Immanuel Baptist Church in downtown
Wichita, Kan., casts a shadow over a neighborhood of payday lenders,
pawnbrokers and pornographic video stores. To its parishioners, this has
long been the front line of the culture war. Immanuel has stood for
Southern Baptist traditionalism for more than half a century. Until
recently, its pastor, Terry Fox, was the Jerry Falwell of the Sunflower
State the public face of the conservative Christian political movement in
a place where that made him a very big deal.
With flushed red cheeks and a pudgy, dimpled chin, Fox roared down from
Immanuel's pulpit about the wickedness of abortion, evolution and
homosexuality. He mobilized hundreds of Kansas pastors to push through a
state constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, helping to unseat a handful
of legislators in the process. His Sunday-morning services reached tens of
thousands of listeners on regional cable television, and on Sunday nights
he was a host of a talk-radio program, Answering the Call. Major national
conservative Christian groups like Focus on the Family lauded his work,
and the Southern Baptist Convention named him chairman of its North
American Mission Board.
For years, Fox flaunted his allegiance to the Republican Party, urging
fellow pastors to make the same "confession" and calling them "sissies" if
they didn't. "We are the religious right," he liked to say. "One, we are
religious. Two, we are right."
His congregation, for the most part, applauded. Immanuel and Wichita's
other big churches were seedbeds of the conservative Christian activism
that burst forth three decades ago. In the 1980s, when theological
conservatives pushed the moderates out of the Southern Baptist Convention,
Immanuel and Fox were both at the forefront. In 1991, when Operation
Rescue brought its "Summer of Mercy" abortion protests to Wichita,
Immanuel's parishioners leapt to the barricades, helping to establish the
city as the informal capital of the anti-abortion movement. And Fox's
confrontational style packed ever more like-minded believers into the
pews. He more than doubled Immanuel's official membership to more than
6,000 and planted the giant cross on its roof.
So when Fox announced to his flock one Sunday in August last year that it
was his final appearance in the pulpit, the news startled evangelical
activists from Atlanta to Grand Rapids. Fox told the congregation that he
was quitting so he could work full time on "cultural issues." Within days,
The Wichita Eagle reported that Fox left under pressure. The board of
deacons had told him that his activism was getting in the way of the
Gospel. "It just wasn't pertinent," Associate Pastor Gayle Tenbrook later
told me.
Fox, who is 47, said he saw some impatient shuffling in the pews, but he
was stunned that the church's lay leaders had turned on him. "They said
they were tired of hearing about abortion 52 weeks a year, hearing about
all this political stuff!" he told me on a recent Sunday afternoon. "And
these were deacons of the church!"
These days, Fox has taken his fire and brimstone in search of a new
pulpit. He rented space at the Johnny Western Theater at the Wild West
World amusement park until it folded. Now he preaches at a Best Western
hotel. "I don't mind telling you that I paid a price for the political
stands I took," Fox said. "The pendulum in the Christian world has swung
back to the moderate point of view. The real battle now is among
evangelicals."
Fox is not the only conservative Christian to feel the heat of those
battles, even in - of all places - Wichita. Within three months of his
departure, the two other most influential conservative Christian pastors
in the city had left their pulpits as well. And in the silence left by
their voices, a new generation of pastors distinctly suspicious of the
Republican Party - some as likely to lean left as right - is beginning to
speak up.
Just three years ago, the leaders of the conservative Christian political
movement could almost see the Promised Land. White evangelical Protestants
looked like perhaps the most potent voting bloc in America. They turned
out for President George W. Bush in record numbers, supporting him for
re-election by a ratio of four to one. Republican strategists predicted
that religious traditionalists would help bring about an era of dominance
for their party. Spokesmen for the Christian conservative movement warned
of the wrath of "values voters." James C. Dobson, the founder of Focus on
the Family, was poised to play kingmaker in 2008, at least in the
Republican primary. And thanks to President Bush, the Supreme Court
appeared just one vote away from answering the prayers of evangelical
activists by overturning Roe v. Wade.
Today the movement shows signs of coming apart beneath its leaders. It is
not merely that none of the 2008 Republican front-runners come close to
measuring up to President Bush in the eyes of the evangelical faithful,
although it would be hard to find a cast of characters more ill fit for
those shoes: a lapsed-Catholic big-city mayor; a Massachusetts Mormon; a
church-skipping Hollywood character actor; and a political renegade known
for crossing swords with the Rev. Pat Robertson and the Rev. Jerry
Falwell. Nor is the problem simply that the Democratic presidential
front-runners - Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Senator Barack Obama and
former Senator John Edwards - sound like a bunch of tent- revival Bible
thumpers compared with the Republicans.
The 2008 election is just the latest stress on a system of fault lines
that go much deeper. The phenomenon of theologically conservative
Christians plunging into political activism on the right is, historically
speaking, something of an anomaly. Most evangelicals shrugged off abortion
as a Catholic issue until after the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. But in the
wake of the ban on public-school prayer, the sexual revolution and the
exodus to the suburbs that filled the new megachurches, protecting the
unborn became the rallying cry of a new movement to uphold the traditional
family. Now another confluence of factors is threatening to tear the
movement apart. The extraordinary evangelical love affair with Bush has
ended, for many, in heartbreak over the Iraq war and what they see as his
meager domestic accomplishments. That disappointment, in turn, has
sharpened latent divisions within the evangelical world - over the
evangelical alliance with the Republican Party, among approaches to
ministry and theology, and between the generations.
The founding generation of leaders like Falwell and Dobson, who first
guided evangelicals into Republican politics 30 years ago, is passing from
the scene. Falwell died in the spring. Paul Weyrich, 65, the indefatigable
organizer who helped build Falwell's Moral Majority and much of the rest
of the movement, is confined to a wheelchair after losing his legs because
of complications from a fall. Dobson, who is 71 and still vigorous, is
already planning for a succession at Focus on the Family; it is expected
to tack toward the less political family advice that is its bread and
butter.
The engineers of the momentous 1980s takeover that expunged political and
theological moderates from the Southern Baptist Convention are retiring or
dying off, too. And in September, when I called a spokesman for the ailing
Presbyterian televangelist D. James Kennedy, another pillar of the
Christian conservative movement, I learned that Kennedy had "gone home to
the Lord" at 2 a.m. that morning.
Meanwhile, a younger generation of evangelical pastors - including the
widely emulated preachers Rick Warren and Bill Hybels - are pushing the
movement and its theology in new directions. There are many related ways
to characterize the split: a push to better this world as well as save
eternal souls; a focus on the spiritual growth that follows conversion
rather than the yes-or-no moment of salvation; a renewed attention to
Jesus' teachings about social justice as well as about personal or sexual
morality. However conceived, though, the result is a new interest in
public policies that address problems of peace, health and poverty -
problems, unlike abortion and same-sex marriage, where left and right
compete to present the best answers.
The backlash on the right against Bush and the war has emboldened some
previously circumspect evangelical leaders to criticize the leadership of
the Christian conservative political movement. "The quickness to arms, the
quickness to invade, I think that caused a kind of desertion of what has
been known as the Christian right," Hybels, whose Willow Creek Association
now includes 12,000 churches, told me over the summer. "People who might
be called progressive evangelicals or centrist evangelicals are one
stirring away from a real awakening."
[moderator: To read the rest of this article please go to:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/28/magazine/28Evangelicals-t.html]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. Disappeared News - A little campaign contribution goes a long way
Date: Fri, 02 Nov 2007 05:45:37 -0400
From: FeedBlitz <feedblitz@mail.feedblitz.com>
"DISAPPEARED NEWS" - 1 NEW ARTICLE - www.disappearednews.com
1. A little campaign contribution goes a long way
2.More Recent Articles
3.Search Disappeared News
A little campaign contribution goes a long way
by Larry Geller Did the $2,000 the Advertiser says House Speaker Calvin
Say received have any influence on his decisions with regard to the
special session and the Superferry bill? I'm not saying that it did,
mind you, just asking the unanswerable question. A little money seems to
go a long way in politics. Here's an example, from a Washington Times
article: JIM MCELHATTON, WASH TIMES - ...
More Recent Articles
* Superferry bill passes house, goes to Gov
* Continue the conversation on Town Square tomorrow (Thursday) 5-6 pm
* James Fallows vs. the reality of Chinese labor
* Superferry expenses analyzed
* Lingle vs. Legislature
________________________________________________________________________________
6. Super Ferry and comments
Date: Fri, 02 Nov 2007 07:02:16 -0400
From: melkalahiki@aol.com
Aloha all
I have a great concern re the Supper Ferry and all the division that it is
costing. The vote has been taken today and I think that if we can come
together with aloha for each other...we have greater concerns to work on
today for our LA HUI as it relates to our nation. We are going to need
everyone in Hawaii backing us up.
I was waiting for the super ferry for a long time and if I was able to
travel would have been on that maiden trip. For someone like me, somewhat
incapcitated as far as transportation goes, this would have been a
godsend. I have concerns for the environment too. I was one of the first
Hawaiians on the Environmental Council. I feel that the environmental
concerns can be worked out. Are there any islands in this world that do
not have ferries? As someone who traveled frequently on the Humuula from
Honolulu to Kawaihae, I recall how that tied our islands together. Yes,
there were no jets then and the Humuula was not a ferry, so no cars, but
it was safe and sound for those on board and for the environment too.
Why arent we more concerned re the proliferation of cars in these islands?
At some point we just might have to limit the amount of cars. This island
can only hold so much....and we have car dealer lots on every other block.
Singapore has long had a limit in place...this is a serious concern.
Mel
------
Date: Fri, 02 Nov 2007 07:23:09 -1000
From: mia <kaimi@lava.net>
Aloha Mel,
Great to "see" you back on-line again!!! Regarding vehicles...my father
suggested in the 60s that cars be limited in the islands as he predicted
the eventual outcome with so many cars on the roads.... He suggested that
any household with more than one vehicle be highly taxed for each
additional vehicle; he also had a plan that provided for limiting the
number of vehicles on the roads per day and for recycling old vehicles....
At any given day, at any hour between 5am to 9pm, driving from town to
central/west/north Oahu and vice-versa is hell...extremely annoying and
time consuming.
SF is such a hot political creature...many pros and cons...and you are
right about the Humuula and others like her...people traveled inter-island
considerably judging from archival docs and journals...along with horses
and other animals and plants. And don't forget the Matson cruise
lines--they once docked in front of a pier that was in front of the Moana
Hotel (ca 1906 on), which was Matson owned at the time....
Malama pono,
M
-------------
Date: Fri, 02 Nov 2007 10:47:56 -0700 (PDT)
From: Laweleka <laweleka@yahoo.com>
Aloha Kakou,
Mel, Please clarify what exactly are you saying? Are you wanting everyone
to be of one mind and push for the compromise and existence of the Super
Ferry or Not ?
I would like to address this at this time. The reason for opposition to
the Super Ferry in the first place is and has always been principally that
there was no environmental impact studies done. Simply put had it been one
of us Kanaka's who wanted to start doing the same wouldn't we have had to
do an environmental impact study ourselves and at our own out of pocket
costs?
Mel are you suggesting now that there be those who should oppose the
opposer's? Are you suggesting that we divide ourselves once again ?
The days of Humuula and shipping of cattle are long gone and it was really
not much more then making sure that cattle got from one point to the next.
What came after was air transport !!!
I can understand those with disabilities (including I have disabilities as
well) that would benefit from having the Super Ferry travel from port to
port but its impact will be devastating if allowed to travel unaccountable
to the damage it leaves in its path. When thinking of what comes first my
disabilities or the condition of the oceans that we, our people live off
of I would much prefer to save the ocean, ensuring that we and our people
continue to benefit as they always have from the fish, the limu that
sustains us. How can we even consider or think the following ? "I feel
that the environmental concerns can be worked out." Not out of any
disrespect but that statement was sooooooo American !!!
Singapore has learned that since the impact of the Ferries there has been
an increase in crimes, automobiles, prostitution, drug smuggling. There is
no end to the possibilities and with that Super Ferry there comes a
different kind of problem. Problems that we now are attempting to
eliminate in our islands not to mention we don't need any more military.
Military personnel brought prostitution, race patrols or have we forgotten
the Massey Case ? Please remember we can not now or ever compromise our
position as a Kingdom whose status is Neutral, our source of food that
sustains our very existence, or our women who will be targeted for an
onslaught of rape, human trafficking etc.
Lawe
--------
Date: Fri, 02 Nov 2007 11:03:57 -0700 (PDT)
From: Laweleka <laweleka@yahoo.com> to Mia <kaimi@lava.net>
It is easy to simply say that each house would have no more then one
vehicle and tax those who need in essence two and at times three cars.
1_Knowing there are families with children that have to be at their
football, volleyball, choir practice what have you or should we just say
no more of those activities kids just stay in front of the tube and play
video games after school. We simply can't afford to have another car
because we simply can't pay those high taxes ? I think it makes for
dysfunctional families and not healthy !!! Are we going to sacrifice that
for the Super Ferry? The Super Ferry issue is now moving into our daily
lives its impact is moving into our homes don't you think?
2_Then there are parents also who work I suppose two different jobs and it
is highly essential they have two automobiles because of the difference in
time such as work hours etc. not everyone has the benefit of making their
own hours.
3_Then there is a matter of the taxes !!! Isn't everyone already heavily
taxed, and over taxed ? Is that what people are willing to do to have the
Super Ferry ? Isn't that what everyone has been trying to eliminate ? The
overbearing taxes?
Why the compromise ?
Lawe
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7. Development squeezing out Hawaii farmland
From: "Maui Tomorrow" <aina@maui-tomorrow.org>
Sent: Thursday, November 01, 2007 6:59 PM
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2007/Nov/01/ln/hawaii711010369.htm
l/?print=on
The Honolulu Advertiser
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Development squeezing out Hawaii farmland
By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Staff Writer
The North Shore's largest subdivision in decades and a growing number of
small "gentleman's farms" are planned on agricultural land from Kahuku to
Waialua, raising concern about whether the developments set a dangerous
precedent for acreage considered important to Hawai'i's agriculture
industry.
Under the Important Agriculture Lands Act of 2005, the state and the city
are working to determine which farmlands are vital enough to protect.
Meanwhile, gentleman's farms - heretofore a primarily Neighbor Island
phenomenon - are spreading on the North Shore.
Proposals for three new agricultural subdivisions totaling 127 lots
ranging in size from two acres to 13 acres in Mokule'ia, Pupukea and
Kahuku are working their way through the city approval process. If
approved, they would join a handful of others.
And Hawaii Reserves Inc., which manages and owns property affiliated with
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has announced plans to
build hundreds of affordable homes between La'ie and Kahuku towns on
almost 900 acres of agricultural land.
While the Hawaii Reserves plan would eat up the most land, the gentleman's
farms generate at least as much concern because they drive up home prices
and infrastructure costs to the city because they are spread over broad
areas and serve few people.
State officials recognize that some of these small farms in agriculture
subdivisions are productive, but the track record statewide is poor, said
Earl Yamamoto, a planner for the state Department of Agriculture involved
with the state-city effort.
Agriculture subdivisions with their estate-type homes have sprouted on all
the major islands with few restrictions, "allowing for it to ... drive up
land value exorbitantly," Yamamoto said. "The bigger problem is it's
setting a precedent (for land use)."
Selecting the "important agriculture land" could help to curtail the loss
of quality agriculture property to these subdivisions that are nothing
more than private homes, Yamamoto said.
SHRINKING AG LAND
Between 1969 and 2006, the amount of land zoned for agriculture declined
by 25,651 acres statewide, according to the Hawai'i Data Book.
On O'ahu alone, land under cultivation went from 125,000 acres in 1982 to
70,000 in 2005, according to the Statistics of Hawai'i Agriculture
compiled by the state Department of Agriculture.
While much of the vacated farm land is fallow, some has been zoned
residential and there's pressure to convert more as home prices soar and
agricultural uses decline.
The rise in gentleman's farms has been the subject of debate at
neighborhood board and City Council meetings.
On the North Shore, the farms are most evident in Mokule'ia and Waialua,
where sugar and pineapple once covered the countryside.
Real estate ads touting these homes emphasize luxury, not agriculture.
One ad offers a 17-acre agriculture "estate parcel" in Kahuku. Four
fertile agriculture acres in Mokule'ia are touted as a place to "build a
dream home" and grow your own food - if you want.
Poamoho Estates, once advertised as an agriculture subdivision, is a place
to build a dream home in a gated community - or you can purchase an
"executive country plantation style villa" with an organic farm for $3.95
million.
Michael Lyons, chairman of the North Shore Neighborhood Board, said the
community is concerned about the misrepresentation these agriculture lot
owners use to get a tax break for farming. Instead of paying upward of
$7,000 a year in property taxes for a five-acre lot, they pay $200, Lyons
said.
Ironically, people in Hawai'i see prices for these properties as high, but
outside buyers see them as bargains and snap them up for second homes, he
said.
"Is this what we want to bring to the North Shore?" Lyons asked.
PUTTING A FOOT DOWN
While the city waits for the selection of important farmlands, it is
taking some steps to curb these proposed agricultural developments.
Recently, the city rejected a request for an agriculture "cluster"
subdivision near Poamoho Estates in Waialua for Kaala View Farm Lots for
16 single-family farm homes on 84.68 acres. The proposal called for 14
homes on lots from 1 to 1 1/2 acres, and two homes on 10 acres each.
An agriculture cluster subdivision's purpose is to maximize the farming
area by placing the homes together in a cluster.
Henry Eng, director for the city Department of Planning and Permitting,
said the city has more discretion in decision-making regarding cluster
developments than agriculture subdivisions.
Agriculture subdivisions are granted if they meet standard requirements,
Eng wrote in an e-mail.
"Clusters involve a design review and allow for consideration of other
factors as described in the (Land Use Ordinance)."
In denying the application for Kaala View Farm Lots, Eng wrote that the
agriculture cluster subdivision plan sounded more like a housing project
than an agriculture endeavor.
"The application lacked comprehensive agricultural feasibility plans. ...
There are no assurances that farming and other agricultural uses will be
established and maintained on the site," he wrote.
Henry Curtis, executive director for Life of the Land, an environmental
preservation group, said the city found flaws in the plan.
"We're elated that the city has put a foot down against gentlemen farms
and we hope it sets a precedent for future gentlemen farms," Curtis said.
STATE, CITY EFFORTS
Under the state's Important Agriculture Lands Act, the counties are
charged with selecting properties that are particularly suitable for
agriculture and maintaining that use in perpetuity, Yamamoto said.
At the same time those lands are being identified, the state Legislature
must develop incentives that make it attractive to landowners to dedicate
their property to agriculture, he said.
The idea has been around since 1983 when the Important Agriculture Land
Commission was formed. It submitted a final report to lawmakers in 1986.
In 2005 the Legislature passed the act to start the selection process.
Hawaii Reserves President and Chief Executive Officer Eric Beaver said the
company shares the desire of North Shore residents to keep the area rural.
But he also said the area needs the affordable homes that will be built on
the company's agricultural land between La'ie and Kahuku. The land isn't
in production and much of it is being used for pasture.
"I feel torn, too, because I agree we want to keep the country country and
we want to keep open space and we want to keep everything beautiful," he
said. "If anything, we want to enhance things with the built environment."
The best agriculture land will eventually be set aside but in the meantime
it's inevitable that some agriculture lands will go to development, said
Alan Takemoto, executive director for Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation.
The agriculture subdivisions are nibbling at prime farm land, and Maui and
Kaua'i are seeking a moratorium on new subdivisions, Takemoto said, adding
that O'ahu isn't at that point yet.
Nevertheless, once land begins subdividing, it could continue.
"We're concerned about that," he said. "The further you subdivide the
better chance of it coming out of agriculture."
Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com.
© COPYRIGHT 2007 The Honolulu Advertiser, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.
____________________________________________________________________________
8. Super Ferry - more comment
Date: Fri, 02 Nov 2007 09:10:32 -1000
From: mia <kaimi@lava.net>
My house would be the first to be taxed as we have cars, truck,
motorcycle...each goes his/her own way...to their own jobs at different
hours [daughter and husband car pool though]...I understand the need for
more than one, believe me, but it was a suggestion at a time when taxes
weren't so high yet a need to address a growing problem. Dad is gone and
the problem has multiplied. My "alternative" is air busses...but that's
another issue.
I agree totally with your point about the SF EIS...what's good for the
rest of us should apply to them as well.... In regards to SF in
general...people who are for or against it are equally passionate about
their reasons and feel equally "right" -- this topic is like religion and
politics....
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9. What will you ask Michael Moore?
Date: Fri, 02 Nov 2007 19:30:07 +0000 (GMT)
From: "Ilya Sheyman, Democracy for America" <info@democracyforamerica.com>
Speak with Michael Moore at a SiCKO house party
If Michael Moore were in your living room, what would you ask him?
On November 14, let's watch SiCKO together and Michael Moore will join us
for a national conference call to answer questions. Afterwards, we'll take
action. Find a house party near you and RSVP right now:
http://www.DemocracyforAmer
ica.com/SearchSicko
With over 45 million people uninsured and health care costs sometimes
double what people pay in other countries, America still leads the way as
the only industrialized county without universal health care.
SiCKO is a heartbreaking, infuriating and incredibly motivating movie
about the state of health care in America. The movie takes on the
uncaring nature of insurance companies that think only about the
short-term bottom line and deny Americans the care they need. It
demonstrates how other countries provide universal coverage for less cost
and better results. All of it in Moore's trademark smirk and style.
Watch the movie, talk with Michael Moore and take action on health care
for America -- all in one night. RSVP for a house party near you:
http://www.DemocracyforAmerica.com/SearchSicko
Thank you for everything you do,
-Ilya
Ilya Sheyman
Field Coordinator
________________________________________________________________________________
10. Tinfish Press Poetry Reading 11/6: 3pm, Kuykendall 410
Date: Fri, 02 Nov 2007 10:09:05 -1000
From: Robert Sullivan <rsulliv1@hawaii.edu>
The UHM Department of English Colloquium Series
and Tinfish Press Reading.
Tinfish Press is pleased to announce a reading for issue #17 of our
journal, the bowling score card issue, on November 6 at 3 p.m. in
Kuykendall Hall room 410 (UH Manoa campus). Hawai`i writers in the issue
include R. Zamora Linmark, Sage U`ilani Takehiro, the late Steve Shrader,
Tiare Picard, Eric Paul Shaffer, Clint Frakes, Ryan Oishi, Leanne Trapedo
Sims, Kimo Armitage, Ann Inoshita, John Rieder (review), and Normie
Salvador.
Come celebrate these fine writers' poems!
For more information contact Susan Schultz, email sschultz@hawaii.edu
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11. The Peace Center November -join us
Date: Fri, 02 Nov 2007 13:05:48 -1000
From: MarshaRose <mrjoy@hawaii.rr.com>
Join Us!
At
The Justice and Reconciliation Center
19 N. Pauahi Street
Honolulu's Chinatown 96817
November 2007
First Friday, November 2, 2007 "Peace For Sale"
Saturday, November 10, 2007 at 2pm. The Pacific Justice and
Reconciliation Center in conjunction with Sabeel Hawaii, presents Claire
Anastas. Claire Anastas is a Palestinian civilian living opposite
Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem. She will speak of the horrors of living with
the "Wall" surrounding her home. Claire has hand carved Olive wood items
for sale.
Saturday, November 17, 2007 at 2pm Meet Lidinila R. Reyes,
Attorney, and author of "This Land...Cabatangan" is a commendable attempt
to put into perspective the issues - historical, socio-cultural,
political and legal, which are related to the Cabatangan problem.
Lidinila R. Reyes talks about the Muslim-Christian conflicts that lighted
the flames of war in Mindanao.
Thursday, November 22, 2007 Thanksgiving Day
We, the Pacific Traditions Gallery, at the Pacific Justice and
Reconciliation Center, are grateful for your friendship and support
throughout the year.
Saturday, November 24, 2007 noon - Bring the children and string Paper
Cranes for Christmas.
* * * * * * * * * *
Claire Anastas is a Palestinian civilian living opposite Rachel's Tomb in
Bethlehem.
"I am a mother of two girls and two boys. We live in this building,
surrounded on three sides by a nine-meter Wall; [IMAGE][IMAGE]only one
side is open, with barely any sun coming through it. While sitting in the
kitchen I see three walls. The army is going to build a fourth one, in the
middle of their camp. As we live nearby Rachel's Tomb, our house is
subject to severe military measures. Our shops - two for home accessories
and another two for car mechanics - are located below in the building.
They are closed-- there is no business. In front of our house used to be
the main street to Bethlehem. It was the richest area of Bethlehem here
but now it is a small scary place. We are without neighbors; we just live
with two families on our own. We are imprisoned; we are buried alive in a
tomb.
The little town of Bethlehem has been made even smaller by this concrete
barrier. The Israelis built it to protect Jerusalem from suicide bombers,
but it has also cut off many Bethlehem farmers from their land and their
livelihood.
Forty-one-year-old Claire Anastas, a Christian, has lived in Bethlehem all
her life. Now, she sees only gray.
"I feel that we are buried alive. We are not animals. We are human
beings," said Claire Anastas.
Mrs. Anastas will sell hand carved Olivewood items from Bethlehem. Come,
enjoy, learn, and spend the afternoon with this courage woman.
----
Lidinila R. Reyes, an Educator, a Management Consultant, and a Lawyer Of
Muslim-Chinese-Christian parentage, Atty. Reyes belongs to the affluent
Barrios-Macrohon clan of Zamboanga City on the maternal side and the
Abubakar-Rasul-Asda clan of Jolo, Sulu on the paternal side who traces
their lineage to the Royal Sultanate of Sulu whose proprietary claim over
the Federated Malaysian State of Sabah is still the controversial issue in
Philippine History.
Her career is as colorful as the 10 years she served as the
veritable "Girl Friday" of Rear Admiral Romulo M. Espaldon, Southern
Command Commander. She was the first and only civilian woman "lawyer of
choice" to litigate criminal cases in Court Martial proceedings before the
Department of Defense Military Commission No. 29, Armed Forces of the
Philippines. As Executive Assistant and member of the personal staff of
the Commander, she saw many exciting days of "rebel surrenders" and "peace
talks" on land and on board Flagship "RPS 69" as it traversed the uneasy
waters of Sulu and Basilan at the height of the Mindanao conflict. Her
membership in the Special Military Staff Support Group during the
"Zamboanga Peace Talks" afforded her full exposure to the peace efforts
during Martial Law.
Much of Atty. Reyes NGO activities result from her being Founder &
Executive Director of the Regional Youth Center Foundation, Region IX's
arm in Youth Leadership & Community Involvement which was highlighted in
1990 by the establishment of a CAD-CAE Advanced Computer Training School
in a joint venture with Advanced Technologies & Solutions (ATS) of
Singapore, and the sponsorship of "Miss Philippines for `Miss-Asia London'
1989" International Beauty, Culture & Trade Pageant, which proceeds went
to the RYCF support projects for the care, training and development of
abandoned, orphaned and mentally-retarded children in Zamboanga City.
Atty. Reyes' stint as Founding Chairman of Habitat for Humanity Affiliate
in Zamboanga City saw the active participation of RYCF student volunteers
in the building of the "New Hope" homes at Mampang CDCP resettlement
project of the City Government, the first Muslim "Habitat" village in the
world for which Atty. Reyes was awarded the "Top of the Year 2001" Award
for Human Concerns for advocacy in the concept of "Shelter for the
Homeless".
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
12. Terror suspect set to hang art
Date: Sat, 03 Nov 2007 12:32:33 +1300
From: Huhana Hickey <huhana@gmail.com>
good article about one of these so called terrorists we have been told
exist in NZ, this is a young woman of conscience and a supporter of
disabilities at the Uni here in Hamilton, and hey it just shows how over
the top the police have been. NZ has gone crazy but in having this
exposed, it has also exposed the ongoing racism and ignorance that exists
in Aotearoa. Huhana
http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikatotimes/4259733a6579.html
Terror suspect set to hang art
By NATALIE AKOORIE - Waikato | Saturday, 3 November 2007
Articulate and thoughtful, Marama Mayrick has packed a lot into her 24
years.
But the latest event in this young Hamilton woman's life has catapulted
her from fledgling activist to alleged terror suspect after she was one of
16 people arrested in the October 15 police anti-terror raids.
Miss Mayrick describes herself as an environmentalist, someone with a
social conscience.
"I used to describe myself as an activist. I got involved in doing
political actions in 2003 protesting against genetic engineering, in
Wellington.
"That whole time around then when the GM moratorium was being lifted was a
really politicising time for me in my life that just changed everything."
At the time, the farm-girl from the eastern Bay of Plenty had completed a
Diploma in Art and Creativity at The Learning Connection before going on
to do a Diploma in Jewellery Design and Manufacture at Whitireia
Polytechnic in Porirua.
Then in 2004 Miss Mayrick joined a film crew, travelling through South,
Central and North America, Asia, the Middle East and Australia for 10
months, documenting social and environmental sustainability.
After a stint at home with her parents near Ohope, she sold her jewellery
flowers made from bullet shells to save up for an OE in the UK.
From there she moved to India for five months, volunteering for
Shikshantar, an alternative education organisation.
While overseas she was involved in other protests but when her visa
expired Miss Mayrick returned home and decided to settle in Hamilton,
where she could have a vegetable garden and "ride my bicycle".
At Waikato University she took some independent papers toward a social
sciences degree, which she plans to finish when she's 25.
Yesterday a hand-written sign remained posted on the door of Miss
Mayrick's Hamilton East flat, pointing police to her bedroom in case of
further raids.
She faces five weapons charges after being accused of participating in
alleged military-style training camps headed by Tuhoe activist Tame Iti in
the Urewera National Park.
Iti is a long-time family friend of Miss Mayrick's parents Ruth Gerzon and
John Mayrick, after meeting around the time of the 1981 Springbok tour
demonstration.
But despite her own beliefs, her connection to Iti, and the fact she is
close friends with one of the other accused, Miss Mayrick admits she was
shocked to be rounded up in the anti-terror raids.
"I was really surprised. It was like, `whoa, what the hell's going on'?"
Before her arrest, which resulted in two "surreal" weeks at a women's
prison in Manukau "like walking into a hotel compared to the (police)
cells in Rotorua" Miss Mayrick broke both her elbows and her left wrist in
an "embarrassing, early morning" accident.
It meant the art exhibition she had been working on eight drawings of
orchids was put on hold, but in prison she decided it should definitely go
ahead.
Now aptly named Orchids Under Surveillance, the exhibition is being hung
today in La Commune Cafe in Victoria St, and opens on Wednesday.
Miss Mayrick who doesn't celebrate Christmas and doesn't drink alcohol,
says Treaty of Waitangi issues are important to her.
"I still think in terms of recognising the rights of tangata whenua, New
Zealand has got a really long way to go."
These days though, protests are not as regular for Miss Mayrick.
"I decided when I came back that there are all sorts of different ways
that you can go about achieving social change. I still think that
protesting is really important but I wanted to work on community based
things." For now, the vegetarian and former picture framer is not sure
exactly what she will do. "It's going to be really interesting trying to
get a job now," Miss Mayrick laughs.
"I'm going to have to have a really sympathetic employer."
Miss Mayrick is bailed to reappear in court on December 3. The Waikato
Times cannot detail her charges more specifically while she is still
before the court. However, it is understood that Miss Mayrick is one of
four arrested unlikely to face any charges under the Terrorism Suppression
Act.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
13. First Friday, and Saturday!
Date: Fri, 02 Nov 2007 13:53:55 -1000
From: Tim Bostock Productions <tbp@artsatmarks.com>
Dear Friends
So many events downtown tonight it's hard to keep `em straight. Here's a
taster:
The ARTS at Marks Garage new exhibit Urban Futures is an excellent
provocative look at possible futures for downtown, including a fascinating
section of plans never realized, buildings never built... Entertainment
tonight will include "Intelligent Dance Music", which is a craze sweeping
Europe right now. I don't really know what it is which is why I'll be
there!
Louise Pohl gallery has a wonderful Turkish Bazaar, with shawls and
jewelry and colorful rugs and lots of good stuff! Start your Christmas
shopping early...
Next Door features Samadhi in Aerial Jam. Seven aerialist performers will
be roped to the high ceiling and twisting above your heads... shows at 7pm
and 8pm, free.
The Plaza Club hosts the Pau Hana Celebrity Auction in aid of the Hawaii
Family Support Institute - heavy pupu and drinks and silent auction from
5pm to 9pm, now that's an excellent way to start off your First Friday
this month. Tickets at $100 available from Nicole at 585-5990
The Hawaii State Art Museum features Kenny Endo and his full Taiko
Ensemble all through the evening, 5pm to 9pm. Having just experienced
Kenny's power and artistry at the Spooky Kabuki event I can testify that
he is one of the most talented artists in our state today. Go and catch
the master at work - absolutely free.
The RRed Elephant hosts the bubbly and brilliant bluegrass Saloon Pilots,
in the café so all free - but make sure you try a Rred Elephant coffee,
that is one excellent brew!
TOMORROW Saturday Nov 3,
KAMAPUA`A (a play done in Hawaiian about the life of Kamapua`a) will be
presented by KA HÀLAU HANAKEAKA at Hawaii Theatre at 7 PM. Tickets will
cost $15, $25 and $35. Note from Kaliko Baker: This play is about
Kamapua`a, so it does contain adult material (i.e., fighting, gesturing)
and sexual situations (i.e., you know) Up to you if you like bring your
keiki. Tickets from Hawaii Theatre at 528-0506 or www.hawaiitheatre.com
IONA has opened The Forbidden City gates - you may now purchase individual
tickets to one of Honolulu's trendiest fundraisers, at Honolulu Design
Center. The Forbidden Fruit ticket will get you entrance after 9.30pm,
and will include a magnificent dessert bar created by the renowned chefs
of Stage Restaurant and a $20.00 wine card to choose from 80 types of
wines from the Amuse Wine Bar, PLUS up close dancing from the IONA dancers
with live music by the Quadraphonix. Tickets: $50.00 · Available at
www.honoluluboxoffice.com or call 550-8457.
Support the arts in Honolulu, and be truly entertained.
With Aloha
Tim
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
14. Penny-pinching axes aid
Date: Fri, 02 Nov 2007 16:14:28 +1100
From: Kirky aka Mrs Lyn Welsh-Kirk <tepaatu@gmail.com>
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,22682212-5001021,00.html
Penny-pinching axes aid
By Kara Lawrence
November 01, 2007 12:00am
FOR years it has served as a lifeline for desperate women and children in
one of the state's harshest environments.
The Ourgunya program for Aboriginal women and children in Brewarrina is
swamped by 10 women a day seeking refuge, while it runs its own nightly
"granny patrol", collecting homeless women and children forced out of
their homes by abusive partners.
But the key welfare group is set to close because of a lack of State
Government funding as they struggle with just $179,000 in funding.
Program staff say drug and alcohol abuse, domestic violence and sexual
assault of children is rife in the town.
But the women they accept into their safe house are often forced to sleep
on mattresses on the floor due to overwhelming demand and lack of funds.
Ourgunya leaders say the lack of resources means children are being left
at risk.
In a recent case, Aboriginal children aged between eight and 11 were found
to be sniffing petrol, at the encouragement of an older teen, which
required a notification to DOCS and police.
"She (the DOCS worker) has been set up to fail," Ourgunya manager Grace
Beetson said yesterday.
She said an average of 10 women per day arrived at the refuge, which is
meant to accommodate seven people, and they often brought their children
due to alcohol-fuelled violence at home.
In the past seven years they have helped hundreds of people.
Ms Beetson said the organisation was forced to deal with the overflow of
mental health and drug and alcohol abuse issues while it was only
categorised as a domestic violence service, on a shoestring budget of
$179,000.
It also struggled to pay for fuel for the "granny patrol".
"If we don't get increased funding or appropriate funding for services,
our service will fail," Ms Beetson said.
According to a report by the Orana Far West Women's Safe Houses project -
a joint community and DOCS effort - in 2006, the far west region was beset
by disadvantage caused by low income, domestic violence, alcohol and
substance abuse and housing problems.
Ms Beetson said that Ourgunya bought a disused, 20-room aged-care home in
Brewarrina three years ago as a refuge for women and children, yet it
remained vandalised and unused due to no government funding.
Ourgunya, which offered free labour to refit the home, said the Federal
Government had still not agreed to grant the $685,000 it was estimated
would get the facility rebuilt.
Nor had the NSW Government agreed for recurrent funding to get its workers
fully trained and working to become self-sufficient.
The women said they had become so frustrated they travelled to Canberra
six weeks ago to meet with MPs to beg for funding, following unsuccessful
representations to NSW Community Services Minister Kevin Greene.
Ourgunya chairwoman Dianne Hardy said the need for funds was desperate:
"Come January we'll have no staff, come January we'll be back to square
one."
Yesterday, Federal Community Services Minister Nigel Scullion and
Nationals MP John Cobb visited Ourgunya refuge and the proposed new site
after announcing a $1.3 million injection of federal funds into rebuilding
and restarting a motel and museum in Brewarrina which went broke several
years ago.
Mr Scullion said the Federal Government was seriously looking at funding
reconstruction at Ourgunya's new, proposed site.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
15. Democratic Party of Hawai`i E-ALERT (11/02/07)
Date: Fri, 02 Nov 2007 18:19:10 -0700
From: Democratic Party of Hawaii <headquarters@hidem.com>
STATE PARTY e-Alert
Chairwoman Jeani Withington wants to alert you of the following events:
Nov. 3rd
Nov. 6th
Nov. 7th
Nov. 8th
It's Party Time
Making it Great (A skills building conference for victory in 2008,
presented by The O`ahu County Democratic Party of Hawai`i) :: will be
held at Dole Cannery Ballrooms (680 Iwilei Rd.) from 7:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.
:: cost is $35 per person :: O`ahu
* Campaign Spending Commission Training (Noncandidate Committees) ::
will be held at the State Office Building, 2nd floor, in Conference
Rooms A/B/C (3060 Eiwa Street) from 1-2 p.m. :: Kaua`i
* DEPUTY VOTER REGISTRAR TRAINING!!! :: this will be the only deputy
voter registrar training session for the rest of 2007!!! :: will be
held at City Hall, Room 100 (use the Diamond Head entrance) beginning
at 6:45 p.m. :: O`ahu
* Campaign Spending Commission Training (Noncandidate Committees) ::
will be held at the State Office Building in Conference Rooms A/B/C
(75 Aupuni Street) from 1-2 p.m. :: Hilo
Nov. 10th
* GLBT Caucus meeting :: will be held at the Democratic Party of
Hawai`i headquarters (1050 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite D-26 - 2nd level of
Ward Warehouse, above Cinnamon Girl) from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. :: O`ahu
Nov. 13th
* Women’s Caucus meeting :: will be held at the Democratic
Party of Hawai`i headquarters (1050 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite D-26 - 2nd
level of Ward Warehouse, above Cinnamon Girl) from 6-8 p.m. ::
O`ahu
Nov. 14th
* Campaign Spending Commission Training (Noncandidate Committees) ::
will be held at the State Office Building, 3rd floor, in Conference
Room A-B (54 South High Street) from 1-2 p.m. :: Maui
*** For more information, see the "Calendar" section of our website:
www.hawaiidemocrats.org
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. Super Ferry - and more comment
Date: Fri, 02 Nov 2007 22:41:31 -1000
From: Tane . <Tane_1@msn.com>
The situation in Hawaii is such that we have multiple family dwellings.
Many people cannot rent or buy homes because it is outpriced for them to
afford. As far as HSF, it is a militarized business. The fact that they
want to use Kawaihae instead of Hilo or somewhere nearer to Kailua-Kona or
Keauhou is reason enough since Pohakuloa is nearer to Kawaihae and
convenient for the Strykers. Hawaii is overly militarized and the US must
deoccupy Hawaii. One of the main issues is the speed which the HSF
refuses to operate at a lower speed in the areas that whales congregate.
Let's not forget the monk seals between Molokai and Maui. The main reason
for the HSF is for the military which will take precedent and the island
taxpayers are footing the bill for its operation.
Tane
________________________________________________________________________________
17. Bulletin! Maui Superferry Protest This Sunday
Date: Sat, 03 Nov 2007 02:00:54 -0700
From: Free Hawai`i <freehawaii@earthlink.net>
BULLETIN!
MAUI JUMPS IN! -
SUPERFERRY JUSTICE ACTION ON
WHEN - Sunday November 4th 1 PM - 3 PM
WHERE - Wailuku Courthouse
In solidarity with Kaua`i and Hawai'i Island, Maui will hold a Justice
Protest in opposition to the Superferry Bailout Bill at the Wailuku County
Court House this Sunday, Nov 4 from 1-3 PM.
Show up to express your outrage at the Superferry and support of our
neighbor islands!
We will be inviting our State Legislators, County Councilmembers and
others to speak about the importance of respecting our Judicial Branch,
upholding our environmental laws, not passing special interest bills, and
protecting the neighbor islands. This is all last minute (just the way we
like it). Tonight Kyle will be on Olelo First Friday Show talking about "
Militarism in Hawaii " which will include the Superferry issue. He will
announce our (DMZ) support for the 11/4 Sunday action opposing Superferry.
We have been in touch with organizers of the event. There was a little
struggle but unity has been reached and the event is going on as planned.
The last message we received from Kauai confirmed that a "Paddle-In to
Resist" protest in the water will take place at Nawiliwili harbor at noon
on Sunday 11/4.
On O`ahu, some of us will be making a banner on Saturday (tomorrow) at
noon (place to be determined) supporting the 11/4 solidarity action.
Please call me 227-1621 or Ikaika 221-2843 if you are interested in banner
making. We'll tell you where we will be making the banner. You guys get
supplies? paint, spray paint, brushes...let me know. Marti has white
muslin we can use.
On Sunday, 11/4 we will be meeting at Sam Choy's on Nimitz (across from
Honolulu Harbor) parking lot @ 11:30 AM. We will walk across the street
and "hold" our banners as an act of solidarity with Kauai, Maui and Big
Island at noon. If you have Ti leaf, please bring some.
If you have any questions, please call or leave a message for TK 227-1621.
Mahalo....
Pono
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
18. Disappeared News - Can Kauai accept Lingle back? I hate to say no...
Date: Sat, 03 Nov 2007 05:08:50 -0400
From: FeedBlitz <feedblitz@mail.feedblitz.com>
"DISAPPEARED NEWS" - 1 NEW ARTICLE - www.disappearednews.com
1. Can Kauai accept Lingle back? I hate to say no...
2.More Recent Articles
3.Search Disappeared News
Can Kauai accept Lingle back? I hate to say no...
by Larry Geller My fingers started itching mid-morning. I hadn't written
anything about the Superferry yet today. It would be good to be allowed
a short break. But bloggers must be driven by some compulsion to write,
or why would they do it. Last night we had a great program (IMHO) on
Hawaii Public Radio's Town Square. Host Beth-Ann Kozlovich and guests
Sen. Gary Hooser, Kauai journalist Joan...
More Recent Articles
* A little campaign contribution goes a long way
* Superferry bill passes house, goes to Gov
* Continue the conversation on Town Square tomorrow (Thursday) 5-6 pm
* James Fallows vs. the reality of Chinese labor
* Superferry expenses analyzed
________________________________________________________________________________
19. okinawa updates: struggle to protect continues...& persistance can pay
off
From: pete shimazaki doktor <dok@riseup.net>
Date: October 28, 2007 1:17:24 PM HST
4 critical articles follow on Okinawa, but for other regions struggling
against militarization including a success story. The articles are
archived on the following Chamorro (indigenous Guam) resistance
site:http://www.geocities.com/minagahet/tulungafulufatfat
Governor rejects Defense Agency environmental assessment
Japan Update: Date Posted: 2007-10-25
Okinawa^Òs governor is angry and upset with the Ministry of Self Defense
environmental impact report on the proposed new U.S. military airfield to
be located in Nago City^Òs jurisdiction.
Hirokazu Nakaima has blasted the government^Òs report, declaring ^ÓThey
are out of their minds. The Defense agency should listen to Nago City and
Okinawan peoples^Ò opinions, and then make adjustments.^Ô The governor has
known of the report for more than a month, but had not commented until
now.
Nothing has changed, the governor says. The agency sent the document to
the Prefecture without correcting anything. Without changes, he says, ^Ówe
can^Òt give the government approval for reclamation of the ocean. By law,
the Prefecture must agree to reclamation efforts in Henoko Bay, where the
government wants to build an airfield to replace the Futenma Marine Corps
Air Station in Ginowan City. The two V-shaped runways would be on Camp
Schwab, with the runways extending into the bay.
Okinawa Prefecture, together with Nago City officials, want the landing
strips moved farther from the shoreline in order to protect spawning
turtles, and where currents would not affect operations. The Ministry of
Self Defense has refused to make modifications to its proposed plan, which
was presented to the Prefecture more than six weeks ago.
^ÓI have to send our opinion to the government,^Ô the governor says.
^ÓOtherwise the government thinks the Okinawa side has no objection to
accepting the assessment.^Ô Nakaima says he can^Òt ^Ódisregard the
peoples^Ò opinions.^Ô He says he^Òll continue listening to opinions voiced
by the mayors of Nago City and Ginoza Village, then draft a response to
Tokyo by December 21st. @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Okinawa Does Not Need New US Military Bases
POINT OF VIEW/ Manabu Sato: Okinawa does not need new U.S. military bases
09/07/2007
SPECIAL TO THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
Okinawa is in the midst of political struggles on many fronts. The central
issue is Tokyo's plan to construct a U.S. Marines base in the Henoko
district of Nago city.
On the surface, there appears to be a conflict between Tokyo and the
Liberal Democratic Party-backed governor of Okinawa and the Nago mayor
over the final location of the new base.
The governor and the mayor both won elections last year with campaign
promises to oppose the base plan "as it is," in order to make the base
issue less salient in their elections. But they never intended to refuse
the construction of a new base. It is obvious that some insignificant
compromises will be made to build a massive base with two runways and a
military port.
The real battle to stop the base construction altogether has been carried
out by civic groups. The groups have been engaged in a nonviolent and
direct-action campaign in Henoko since 2004.
Currently, Tokyo is forcing preparatory work for the construction, as well
as the related construction of several Marines helipads in the northern
forests in Takae, Higashi Village. While there is little objection from
the local governments, the civic groups are actively opposed to these
plans.
Keiko Itokazu, an independent candidate backed by all of the major
opposition parties, easily won the Okinawa Prefecture seat in the Upper
House election in July over her opponent, an LDP incumbent. The opposition
parties had lost three critical elections in a row, thus this was a
crucial victory for those opposed to further militarization of Okinawa.
Had they lost this election despite the favorable political conditions,
the anti-base opponents may never win an important election in Okinawa.
However, it remains to be seen if the latest election is an anomaly or the
beginning of a new political trend.
The favorable political conditions include not only national issues like
pension and political scandals, but also issues specific to Okinawa. These
issues have never received intensive national media coverage, but they
matter greatly to the people of Okinawa.
In March, the education ministry issued an order to delete references to
the Japanese military's involvement in the forced mass civilian suicides
at the end of the Battle of Okinawa from a high school history textbook.
This has become such an emotional issue that a large-scale protest rally
is planned in September, which even the LDP-backed governor has decided to
participate in.
In May, the Defense Ministry sent a minesweeper vessel to offshore Henoko
to intimidate opposition activities. This action was extremely insensitive
to Okinawa, where Japanese military did much harm to the civilian
population during World War II.
The Henoko base is supposed to be a replacement for the dangerous Marine
Corps Air Station Futenma, but it will be a totally different attack base
with many more capabilities. Tokyo is determined to push the project
through to simply satisfy the U.S. military.
The Japanese government began a so-called preliminary survey for
environmental assessment by drilling sensors and other devices into the
coral reef.
Since the construction site is not finalized and the types of aircraft
using the new base have not been revealed, this cannot be a legitimate
environmental assessment, according to Japanese law. Nevertheless, Tokyo
is continuing the operation.
The dispatch of the minesweeper represented a decisive departure from
postwar practice of the Self-Defense Forces. This was the first time the
SDF was used in a domestic political situation.
The SDF dispatch to Henoko violated laws and political precedents, and it
could open the door to future use of SDF in any political conflict in
Japan. However, this incident never caught national attention, either.
Many other incidents have infuriated Okinawa people, but their feelings
have seldom registered in recent elections until the latest one. After the
huge 1995 anti-U.S. military base rally following the gang rape of a
schoolgirl by U.S. Marines, Tokyo has flooded Okinawa with construction
money.
While the political machine of public works has been losing electoral
effectiveness in other parts of Japan, Okinawa, especially the northern
region, has become more dependent on such pork-barrel projects. Many
Okinawans have become conditioned to believe that they cannot live without
U.S. bases and they expect to receive "extraordinary" financial treatment
forever.
With the enactment of a law to facilitate U.S. military realignment in
Japan, Tokyo can now use the financial carrots and sticks more directly to
make local governments do its will.
The new helipads under construction in Takae will form a vast jungle
training field in conjunction with the new Henoko base. The Marines will
love this, but this has nothing to do with the security of Japan or
Okinawa.
Marines in the jungle training will not defend Japan from the assumed
future threats from China. This plan is aimed strictly at pleasing the
U.S. military, particularly the Marines. In addition, Japan will spend
more than $6 billion (about 700 billion yen) to renovate a huge U.S.
military complex in Guam.
When the Guam facility is completed in a few years, most of the Marines in
Okinawa will move there. Guam is a far superior strategic location for
U.S. forces in the Pacific than Okinawa, which is too close to China and
Taiwan.
Okinawa's usefulness as a strategic point will decrease, yet Okinawa will
be burdened with new bases and new jungle training fields with a false
expectation of the money attached. Okinawa should wake up now and keep its
land in its own hands.
The author is a professor of political science at Okinawa International
University.(IHT/Asahi: September 7,2007) @@@@@@@@@
LANDOWNERS' PERSISTENCE PAYS OFF
Okinawa airfield returned after 61 years
By TAKUYA OKAMOTO
YOMITAN, Okinawa Pref. (Kyodo) A large part of the U.S. military's Yomitan
Auxiliary Airfield in the heart of the village of Yomitan -- the site of a
1945 landing by U.S. forces that cost some 4,000 villagers their lives --
will be returned to local control next month.
The transfer comes after a long struggle by local residents to regain what
they consider to be rightfully theirs.
Former Yomitan Mayor Tokushin Yamauchi, 71, still remembers his father
telling him in March 1945: "At this rate, our whole family will be
destroyed. Let's split up to survive."
The 11 members of his family divided into two groups, and Yamauchi, who
was 10 at the time, evacuated to the northern part of the main island of
Okinawa with his mother and brothers. U.S. troops landed on April 1, and
one-fifth of the village's residents died amid the fighting and mass
suicides. Soon after the war's end, Yamauchi was moved to an evacuee site
run by the U.S. military.
The disaster his village suffered in the closing days of the war shaped
his life, leading him to lock horns with the both U.S. military and the
central government as head of the village.
More than 200,000 lives were lost on both sides during the Battle of
Okinawa, including roughly one-fourth of the island's estimated population
of 450,000 at that time.
But even after the war, the area has remained an important military site
and the price paid by local residents has been high. In the 1950s, the
U.S. military took over a former Imperial Japanese Army airfield and used
it to train paratroops for some 40 years.
In 1965, a fifth-grade elementary school girl was crushed to death when a
trailer literally fell from the sky during a training exercise.
Okinawa was returned to Japanese rule in 1972, but the villagers have
still had to live next door to danger.
Eiyu Tamaki, 68, was among people who set up a group to address problems
posed by the airfield at the time of the reversion. Their ultimate goal
was the return of their ancestral land.
That struggle would last more than 30 years.
In 1976, the group brought together all the former owners of the land
occupied by the U.S. military site and formed an association to press
their claims, but in July that same year, the U.S. military began building
a communications antenna complex for antisubmarine aircraft based at the
airfield.
Yamauchi, who had by then become mayor of Yomitan, staged a 40-day sit-in
with Tamaki and others. During a protest over the construction, an old man
who experienced the fighting in Okinawa sprawled out at the bottom of a
2-meter-deep hole where a steel tower was to be built, shouting, "Pour the
concrete over me!"
In 1977, Yamauchi sent a letter to then President Jimmy Carter, urging him
to stop construction of the complex, and held a news conference to make
his case to the nation.
Eventually, the U.S. abandoned the project. "I was scolded by the central
government, which said, 'Diplomacy is a matter to be dealt exclusively by
the central government and it is outrageous for a village mayor to make a
direct appeal to the president,' but I fought back, saying, 'Call it local
government diplomacy.' "
"If the antenna had been built, the airfield would never have been
returned," Tamaki said.
The 191-hectare Yomitan Auxiliary Airfield is property of the U.S. Marine
Corps. It was used as an air base until the end of the Korean War in 1953
and subsequently as a parachute training site. Under a bilateral
agreement, three-fourths of the airfield will be returned to Japanese
control at the end of July.
A red-brick structure stands at the northern edge of the airfield, which
has a 2,000 meter runway and a 1,500 meter parallel apron.
The structure is the Yomitan village office, whose construction Yamauchi
convinced the U.S. to allow. Built in 1997, it is the first Japanese
government building to be located inside a U.S. base.
The base's predecessor was the Okinawa Kita Airfield, built by the
Imperial army near the end of the war. More than 600 landowners were
removed from the site after being told by a Japanese officer, "When the
war is over, we will return the land." Anyone who refused would have been
considered unpatriotic.
Tamaki, who once served as a representative of former landowners set up in
1970 to campaign for the return of their land, said, "There were people
who suffered emotionally, with no place to live."
The Japanese airfield was targeted by U.S. warships immediately before the
troop landing. The Japanese troops abandoned the airfield and retreated,
leaving the villagers behind to fend for themselves.
As for expropriating the villagers' land before and during the war, the
central government maintains the property was purchased. It considered its
return to the ex-landowners to be legally problematic.
While Yamauchi was mayor of Yomitan, he repeatedly asked the central
government to resolve the problem and succeeded in getting approval for
the airfield's return.
In Okinawa, former bases have mostly been redeveloped as commercial sites,
but Tsutomu Shimabukuro, 66, representative of the landowners' society,
and other members want the land occupied by the airfield to become
farmland. "It can be a base for (crop) production and employment," he
said.
Once the handover is complete, the site will be leased out by former
landowners to an agricultural corporation owned by the lessees.
"There is no other example anywhere in the country where landowners have
been able to recover land that was owned by the state and used by the U.S.
military," Shimabukuro claimed.
The Japan Times: Saturday, June 24, 2006
(C) All rights reserved
JPRI Working Paper No. 97, January 2004 Three Rapes: The Status of Forces
Agreement and Okinawa by Chalmers Johnson America^Òs 703 officially
acknowledged foreign military enclaves (as of September 30, 2002),
although structurally, legally, and conceptually different from colonies,
are themselves something like microcolonies in that they are completely
beyond the jurisdiction of the occupied nation.1 The United States
virtually always negotiates a ^Óstatus of forces agreement^Ô (SOFA) with
the ostensibly independent ^Óhost^Ô nation, including countries whose
legal systems are every bit (and perhaps more) sophisticated than our own.
In Asia, the SOFA is a modern legacy of the nineteenth-century
imperialist practice in China of ^Óextraterritoriality^Ô^×the ^Óright^Ô of
a foreigner charged with a crime to be turned over for trial to his own
diplomatic representatives in accordance with his national law, not to a
Chinese court in accordance with Chinese law. Extracted from the Chinese
at gun point, the practice arose because foreigners claimed that Chinese
law was barbaric and ^Ówhite men^Ô engaged in commerce in China should not
be forced to submit to it. Chinese law was indeed concerned more with the
social consequences of crime than with establishing the individual guilt
or innocence of criminals, particularly those who were uninvited guests in
China . Following the Anglo-Chinese ^ÓOpium War^Ô of 1839-42, the United
States was the first nation to demand ^Óextrality^Ô for its citizens. All
the other European nations then acquired the same rights as the Americans.
Except for the Germans, who lost their Chinese colonies in World War I,
Americans and Europeans lived an ^Óextraterritorial^Ô life in China until
the Japanese ended it in 1941 and Chiang Kai-shek^Òs Kuomintang stopped it
in 1943. But men and women serving overseas in the American armed forces
still demand that their government obtain as extensive extraterritorial
status for them as possible. In this modern version, extrality takes the
form of heavy American pressure on countries like Japan to alter their
systems of criminal justice to conform with procedures that exist in the
United States, regardless of historical and cultural differences. Rachel
Cornwell and Andrew Wells, two authorities on status of forces agreements,
conclude, ^ÓMost SOFAs are written so that national courts cannot exercise
legal jurisdiction over U.S. military personnel who commit crimes against
local people, except in special cases where the U.S. military authorities
agree to transfer jurisdiction.^Ô
See rest of this article at:
http://www.geocities.com/minagahet/threerapes
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20. Declaration and Press Release
Date: Sat, 03 Nov 2007 12:53:52 +0000
From: indigenousfirstpersons <indigenousfirstpersons@yahoo.com>
DECLARATION OF SOVEREIGNTY OF THE CONFEDERATED NATIONS OF THE
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES OF THE AMERICAS AND DEMAND FOR IMMEDIATE
RECOGNITION OF NATION-STATE STATUS
AND NOW, THE Indigenous Peoples desiring to re-assert their Creator- given
rights to live, prosper and care for their ancestral lands, said rights
arising from time immemorial; the Indigenous Peoples desiring to re-assert
such Creator-given rights through their ancestral Nations; IT APPEARING
that such Creator-given rights were never surrendered and could never be
surrendered, voluntarily or otherwise; IT FURTHER APPEARING that such
Creator-given Sovereignty may co-exist with the sovereignty asserted by
other non-indigenous Nations, such mutual sovereignty able to exist in the
same space and at the same time;
THEREFORE, The Indigenous Peoples hereby demand immediate recognition of
such Creator-given Sovereignty and collectively and unanimously agree to
take all steps deemed by all to be necessary and appropriate to obtain
such recognition from all affected non-indigenous Nations, including the
United States of America, Canada, Mexico, and any other Nation whose
sovereignty currently infringes upon the Sovereignty of the Confederated
Nations of the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas, said Sovereignty,
Rights, Demand and Steps arising under the following PRINCIPLES, hereby
deemed to be immutable as having derived directly from the Creator:
FIRST, each and every Indigenous Person of the Confederated Nations of the
Indigenous Peoples of the Americas, regardless of which Indigenous Nation
that Indigenous Person was born into, is born endowed with Sovereign
status because such Sovereignty is Creator- given and may not be modified,
amended, taken away or destroyed by any human or any institution created
by any human or any combination of humans, whether by force or by Treaty;
SECOND, each and every Indigenous Person of the Indigenous Peoples of the
Americas, by and through their respective Nations, neither ceded, nor was
ever able to cede, as set forth FIRST above, their Creator- given
Sovereignty, either through Treaty or any other such document or device,
whether Ordered by any Court of any Nation or otherwise;
THIRD, the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas, by and through their
respective Nations, are entitled to all accoutrements of Sovereignty,
including the right to be recognized as nation-states by all other
nation-states, whether existing or to be created, the right to enact laws
for the benefit of their Peoples and to regulate commerce, from the
determination of who shall constitute the Peoples, maintaining the status
of the Peoples, from birth to passing, to the right to impose taxes, if
any; that is, the Confederated Nations of the Indigenous Peoples of the
Americas shall have all the rights and accoutrements of any
internationally recognized nation-state under international law; and
FOURTH, each and every Indigenous Person of the Confederated Nations of
the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas is an individually Sovereign Human
Being, having arisen from and being part of Mother Earth, born with
inherent Sovereignty that may co-exist in the same space and at the same
time with the sovereignty of other nation- states whose sovereignty
currently infringes upon the Sovereignty of the Indigenous Peoples of the
Americas, such that each and every Indigenous Person has the inherent
right to reside, be gainfully employed, travel, hunt, gather, or engage in
any other activity enjoyed by Human Beings as such, anywhere in the
Americas, without any interference or impediments from the infringing
nation-states.
PRESS RELEASE
November 3, 2007:
Dozens of Indigenous Sovereign Nations throughout Canada and the United
States have agreed to move forward with a Declaration of Sovereignty, by
which these Indigenous Sovereign Nations will band together to re-assert
their inherent sovereignty, inviting all Indigenous Sovereign Nations from
all around the world to join. This newly con-federated Nation is
appropriately named "The Turtle Island Confederacy." Those who know will
understand that "Turtle Island" is another traditional name for "the
World." This is truly a universal Declaration. The Hereditary Chiefs of
these Indigenous Sovereign Nations will gather at a signing ceremony to
take place at a location and on a date soon to be decided by the Elders
involved, at which time The Turtle Island Confederacy will be born.
Again, those who know will understand that the traditional governing
systems and the traditional cultures of these Indigenous Sovereign Nations
were and continue to be decimated by laws enacted by their "host"
countries, including Canada and the United States, which laws, among other
things, impose false (proxy)(foreign) governments on our people. This true
Declaration of true Sovereignty has the blessing of the Creator and
International Law.
The creation of The Turtle Island Confederacy will immediately free the
Indigenous Sovereign Nations to re-assert their sovereignty, an inherent
sovereignty that was never surrendered and never could have been
surrendered. It has taken the Indigenous Sovereign Nations over 200 years
to regroup and arrive at this crucial point in history to re-commence
performing their sacred duties to care for Mother Earth and, hence, all
people. It is no accident and no coincidence that the Creator has chosen
this time to arrange the rebirth of this ancient Nation. The air, the
water, the land and all living things are in danger now as never before.
The Turtle Island Confederacy is born from all things positive, not from
anger for past oppression and atrocities undeniably committed. These
things are forgiven. When the colonizers arrived, we welcomed them and
cared for them when they could not care for themselves. They were like
children sitting at our feet in need of sustenance, which we gladly
provided. The children grew up steadily over the course of several
hundred years, only to rebel against their caregivers, reacting with greed
and forgetfulness of all we did for them and all we tried to teach them.
For this they are also forgiven. The time has come, however, when these
now young adults must realize and admit the innocent error of their
youthful and frivolous ways and turn once again to the wisdom and care of
those who raised them. Unwittingly, they developed along the way the
technological and linguistic means for all Indigenous Sovereign Nations to
now join together with one good mind and one pure heart for the good of
all humans.
In conclusion, The Turtle Island Confederacy extends an open invitation to
all Indigenous Sovereign Nations to join us on this historic and epic
peaceful path into the future and also to convey this all-important
message to all colonizing states: "The Turtle Island Confederacy extends,
once again, its open hand in friendship and in good faith as our gesture
of our desire to continue to coexist for the benefit and respect of all
people and our one true Mother, "Turtle Island."
Contact Information:
wigibiwajak@hotmail.com (Jacob Wawatie, Chief, Algonquin)
Chief_Capilano@hotmail.com (Jerry Capilano, Chief, Squamish)
Gmetallic@hotmail.com (Gary Metallic, Chief, Mi'kmaq)
Tonyplaw@optonline.net (Tony P., Attorney, Mohawk)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
21. Bomb discovery cancels weekend Makua visit
Date: Sat, 03 Nov 2007 06:23:51 -1000
From: Kyle Kajihiro <keboi@aol.com>
Updated at 8:14 p.m., Friday, November 2, 2007
Bomb discovery cancels weekend Makua visit
Advertiser Staff
A scheduled civilian "cultural access" Sunday to the Army's Makua Military
Reservation has been canceled following the discovery of a 250-pound bomb
buried under an Army access road on the training range.
The Army announced that the fused bomb was found during a range munitions
sweep to ensure safety along the range's interior roads.
The Army provides cultural access for community members, as provided for
in a 2001 settlement with the Army. Because of safety concerns, this
weekend's access was canceled, the Army said.
Army ordnance disposal experts are examining the bomb to determine if it
can be safely removed or if they will need to detonate it in place.
The munitions sweep began Oct. 29 and is scheduled to be completed by Nov.
19.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
22. Asia-Pacific military summit meets in Hawaii
Date: Sat, 03 Nov 2007 06:43:50 -1000
From: Kyle Kajihiro <keboi@aol.com>
Posted on: Saturday, November 3, 2007
Asia-Pacific military summit meets in Hawaii
By William Cole
Advertiser Military Writer
Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser
From left, Brig. Gen. Tau'aika 'Uta'atu, commander of Tonga Defense
Services; Lt. Gen. Syed Athar Ali, director general of Joint Staff
Pakistan; Adm. Timothy Keating, U.S. Pacific commander; and Lt. Gen.
Masud Chowdhury, Bangladesh's chief of defense, address the media.
ELISIA GONZALES | U.S. Navy
Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser
Adm. Timothy Keating
The head of U.S. military forces in the Pacific yesterday said he is
"relatively confident" North Korea will follow through with disabling its
nuclear facilities.
"Peace on the (Korean) Peninsula within our lifetime seems more likely,
more possible, than it did two, three, four years ago. It's not over yet,
not over yet, but we're cautiously optimistic," Adm. Timothy J. Keating
said following a summit involving military leaders from more than two
dozen nations.
A team of U.S. experts will begin disabling North Korea's nuclear
facilities on Monday, U.S. envoy Christopher Hill said yesterday, marking
the biggest step the communist country has taken to scale back its atomic
program.
North Korea in July shut down its main reactor at Yongbyon, north of the
capital, and promised to disable it by year's end in exchange for energy
aid and political concessions from other members who took part in
six-party talks with North Korea: the U.S., China, Japan, South Korea and
Russia.
Disabling the reactor would mark a milestone in efforts to convince the
North to scale back its nuclear program. The country conducted its
first-ever nuclear test in October of last year.
"The catch phrase we've all heard is 'trust but verify,' and the
verification is an important point," Keating said.
He added that "we're going to need to have eyes on the ground and not just
rely on external sensors to ensure the North Koreans fulfill their side of
the bargain."
Keating, headquartered at Camp Smith, made the comments after wrapping up
the 10th annual Chiefs of Defense conference. The several- day meeting,
held this year at the JW Marriott Ihilani Resort at Ko Olina, brought
together senior military leaders from 25 Asia-Pacific nations. Last year,
the meeting was held in Malaysia.
Defense chiefs from Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Canada, Cambodia,
France, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia,
Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore,
Republic of Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tonga, Vietnam and the U.S.
participated.
Keating said "there is immense power" in the gathering of like-minded
individuals committed to the common cause of peace and stability.
The sizes of the forces vary tremendously ^× Tonga has a military of less
than 5,000 people, while Japan's is in the hundreds of thousands ^× but
Keating said each nation has capabilities that it can bring to bear.
Absent from the meeting was China, whose rapid military rise is being
watched closely.
"We're sorry China is not here. They were invited. They chose not to come.
We would prefer that they were here," Keating said. "All of us in a way,
shape or fashion are anxious to engage with the People's Republic of
China. We see no advantage in putting them on the shelf or trying to
circumscribe them. We're anxious to engage with them and we're making
every effort to do so."
Five-nation war games in September in the Bay of Bengal involving India,
U.S., Japanese, Australian and Singaporean warships were seen by some
analysts as creating a bulwark against China, but U.S. officials denied
the exercise was aimed at isolating China.
Keating, who has continued the policy of military engagement with China
that was accelerated under his predecessor, Adm. William Fallon, said
interaction is important to reduce the potential for misunderstandings
that can lead to confusion, confrontation and crisis.
Lt. Gen. Desmond Kuek, chief of the Singapore defense force, said, "We are
not at all concerned" about China's military growth, and that it is "part
of their natural need to build up their military capability to deal with
their security concerns."
He added that Singapore wants to work with China toward a stronger
regional security environment.
Maritime security and disaster relief were among the topics broached at
the conference.
Lt. Gen. Syed Athar Ali, the director general of the joint staff for
Pakistan, said the Chiefs of Defense meetings help to ensure closer
military coordination in the event of disaster relief or peace- keeping
operations, and "that will go a long way in the smooth execution of such
operations."
Keating said although the participants are similarly committed to the
common cause of peace and stability, he does not recommend a formal
organization like NATO .
"It works well in the European construct," Keating said, but in the
Pacific, the ad hoc gatherings like the Chiefs of Defense meetings help
build cooperation. A Web site also was created for Asia-Pacific nations to
contact one another quickly, he said. The Associated Press contributed to
this report.
Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com.
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23. Depleted uranium find to be topic of discussions
Date: Sat, Nov 3, 2007
From: Kyle Kajihiro <keboi@aol.com>
Posted on: Thursday, November 1, 2007
KAILUA, KONA
Depleted uranium find to be topic of discussions
Advertiser Staff
State Rep. Cindy Evans will host a series of discussions in West Hawai'i
about the discovery of depleted uranium at Pohakuloa Training Area.
Evans, D-7th (North Kona, S. Kohala), said West Hawai'i residents "need to
know what is present and what is being done to protect us. ..."
Representatives of the U.S. Army and the state Department of Health will
be among the speakers.
The meetings will be at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 16 at the Waikoloa Library
Workroom; 9 a.m. Nov. 17 at Hokuloa United Church of Christ on Puako Beach
Road; 1 p.m Nov. 17 at the Kealakehe High School cafeteria; and 2 p.m.
Nov. 18 at the Waimea Senior Center.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
24. B2s practice bomb Hawaii
Date: Sat, 03 Nov 2007 07:30:08 -1000
From: lcruz <palolo@hawaii.rr.com>
practicing on us...
fyi, keanu presented in my class last night. he mentioned that, as a
matter of fact, hawaii has always been seen as a potential nuclear
detonation site, i assume primarily because of our 'isolated' nature in
the middle of the pacific. lc
----- Original Message -----
From: "Kyle Kajihiro" <keboi@aol.com>
Sent: Saturday, November 03, 2007 6:30 AM
http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2007/10/airforce_B2_hawaii_071031
B-2s practice bombing in Hawaii
Staff report
Posted : Wednesday Oct 31, 2007 20:46:19 EDT
B-2 Spirit stealth bombers deployed to Andersen Air Force Base, Guam,
dropped several 2,000-pound bombs on a weapons range in Hawaii on Oct. 23,
Pacific Air Forces announced.
The bombing run, part of Exercise Koa Lightning, required the B-2s to fly
from Guam to Hawaii and link up with tactical air control party airmen on
the ground before dropping their ordnance at the Pohakuloa Training Area,
according to a PacAF press release.
Using old-fashioned ^Ódumb bombs^Ô without precision guidance, the TACPs
and B-2 crews coordinated a mock air attack that successfully hit the
targets, the release said. TACPs are airmen embedded with Army units who
coordinate close air support for ground troops.
They typically work with fighters, attack aircraft and B-1 or B-52 bombers
rather than the stealthy B-2s.
The B-2s deployed to Guam in early October from the 509th Bomb Wing at
Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., as part of the continuous bomber presence at
the base.
Pacific Air Forces has been deploying B-1, B-2 and B-52 bombers to
Andersen under the continuous bomber presence policy since March 2004.
Once a sleepy Air Force way station, Andersen has seen its stock rise in
recent years.
It is the westernmost Air Force base on U.S. soil, placing it within easy
striking distance of continental Asia. Guam is about 2,500 miles from
Beijing and 2,100 miles from Pyongyang, the North Korean capital. Hawaii
is more than 5,000 miles from Beijing and 4,500 miles from Pyongyang.
Andersen is expected to get 1,000 additional airmen, a permanent tanker
squadron and seven Global Hawk surveillance drones during the next several
years.=
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
25. Judge rules desecration can continue
From: Kyle Kajihiro
Sent: Saturday, November 03, 2007 7:13 AM
Auwe! They evicting Kanaka Maoli even after they dead. SHPD and the burial
councils have been decimated by the Lingle Admin. This is failure by
design to cripple the watchdog agencies that might interfere with
"growth".
Posted on: Thursday, November 1, 2007
Judge rules Hawaii project can continue
By Gordon Y.K. Pang
Advertiser Staff Writer
The Ward Village Shops project in Kaka'ako has been cleared to continue
construction after a state Circuit Court judge yesterday denied a
preliminary injunction seeking to stop it after human burials were
unearthed there.
Paulette Kaleikini and her family, recognized cultural descendants of
remains found in the area, sought to stop the project contending that
developer General Growth Properties and the State Historic Preservation
Division has dealt improperly with iwi, or human remains, that have been
found on the site.
About 35 sets of remains have been removed and housed in an air-
conditioned trailer nearby on the construction site.
Development plans for the 6-acre site include a Whole Foods store, other
retail space and a residential tower at a cost of $150 million.
Circuit Judge Glenn Kim made his decision after three days of testimony on
the preliminary injunction motion last week. Kim said he believed any
remains found are being kept in a safe place and that he did not believe
there would be irreparable harm done to them. Kim said he was not happy
with needing to decide between "apples and oranges" since one party's
interest is "almost purely economic while the other obviously is not."
He also said he did not believe it likely that the Kaleikinis would
prevail on the merits of the case.
Further, Kim said he did not believe public interest was a factor that
weighed heavily in favor of either General Growth or the Kaleikinis,
although he believed the public might have a "general interest."
Moses Haia, an attorney with the Native Hawaiian Legal Corp. that is
representing the Kaleikinis, said they will proceed with the case and hope
to get a jury trial.
Haia said if any future sets of iwi are found on the site, "the way I see
it, if they're going to interfere with GGP's plans for that project,
they're going to get disinterred and relocated. And the thing about it is,
they will, for the most part, get discovered through construction,
earth-moving, ground-grinding activity. They're going to take some abuse
and then they're going to get taken out of the ground."
Haia said one of the issues that will come up during trial is the lack of
expertise among the staff at the State Historic Preservation Division.
Thomas Dye, president of the Society for Hawaiian Archaeology, said there
may be more than 300 sets of iwi on the site.
General Growth Vice President Jan Yokota said the company is sensitive to
the situation and will continue to work with Kaleikini's family.
Construction has continued on the site.
"Treating the iwi in the most sensitive manner is really the most
important thing for us so we've tried to work with the families and we
will continue to do so," she said.
Yokota said there has been some delay as a result of the iwi finds but
"only when we have found discoveries have we stopped work according to
state law," Yokota said. She also acknowledged that an injunction would
have posed an economic issue for General Growth.
The state ordered that about 30 other sets of iwi found on the 'ewa side
of the property, at the site of the planned residential tower, be
preserved in place. General Growth is "continuing to explore all of our
options for that portion of that site," Yokota said. "We do intend to work
with the cultural descendants as we explore the various options."
Deputy Attorney General Vince Kanemoto said "the court's ruling vindicates
the state's position that the state all along has complied with the law
and has performed its duties and responsibilities to the best of its
capabilities throughout this entire process."
After yesterday's proceeding, Kaleikini said she was going to the site to
pay her respects to her ancestors.
Reach Gordon Y.K. Pang at gpang@honoluluadvertiser.com.
________________________________________________________________________________
26. Isles to get $691M in funding
Date: Sat, 03 Nov 2007 08:18:46 -1000
From: Kyle Kajihiro <keboi@aol.com>
Isles to get $691M in funding
Star-Bulletin staff
citydesk@starbulletin.com
Construction projects at Oahu military bases will receive the bulk of $691
million coming to Hawaii in a federal appropriations bill approved
Thursday by Senate and House conferees.
The military budget items include $65 million for a Navy communications
center in Wahiawa, a $49.8 million Pearl Harbor submarine facility and
$170 million for Army barracks construction at Schofield Barracks, Fort
Shafter and Wheeler Army Airfield.
Some $34.2 million in U.S. Department of Education funding would go to
public schools with a high percentage of native Hawaiian students, for
teacher training, renovations and curriculum development, according to an
announcement by U.S. Sens. Daniel Inouye and Daniel Akaka.
The bill renews a previously authorized $25 million appropriation for a
regional biocontainment laboratory in Kakaako. The facility is planned to
provide disease detection and response to potential public health
emergencies such as pandemic flu that originate in the Asia- Pacific
region.
The $157 million appropriated for nonmilitary uses also included:
» State Department of Education, $46 million in Impact Aid to school
districts with students who are dependents of armed forces or federal
government employees.
» $14.2 million for Papa Ola Lokahi Native Hawaiian Health Care Systems.
» $6 million to provide vocational and secondary school training for
native Hawaiians.
» Maui Community College, $2.4 million for job training and community
development in rural areas and $1 million for job training and education
programs through the Samoan/Asian Pacific Job Training Program.
» State Department of Health, $2 million for continuing medical care and
support of people with Hansen's disease in Kalaupapa and Honolulu.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
27. sovereignty in our backyard -- tokelau freedom fight loses by 16 votes
Date: Sat, 03 Nov 2007 09:16:25 -1000
From: 'imiola young <imiola@hawaii.rr.com>
Radio Australia - Pacific Beat - Latest Program - 25/10/2007
TOKELAU; Referendum lost on self-determination
Tokelau's referendum on self-determination has been lost by 16 votes.
Tokelau with a population of 14-hundred people, has had a week of United
Nations supervised voting on whether to become self-governing or stay part
of New Zealand.
http://www.abc.net.au/ra/pacbeat/stories/s2070496.htm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
28. imua Hilo students! Superferry demo
Date: Sat, 03 Nov 2007 09:19:13 -1000
From: "Cory (Martha) Harden" <mh@interpac.net>
About 17 UH-Hilo students held a great "no-special-Superferry-law"
demonstration on Thursday, Nov 1. A big color photo landed on the front
page of the local paper, on top of the story about the law passing. The
students were great--full of energy, calling and waving to drivers.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
29. West Papuan Lawyer arrested by anti Terrorism Police is moved to
Jakarta
From: Elsham News Service
Sent: Friday, October 26, 2007 10:28 AM
Elsham News Service, 26, Oktober 2007
Update: West Papuan Lawyer arrested by anti Terrorism Police is moved to
Jakarta
Human rights workers in Jayapura report today that Sabar Iwanggin who was
arrested by Indonesia's special anti terrorism police force, Detachment
88, last Thursday in Jayapura has been moved to Police Headquaerters in
Jakarta today.
Sabar Iwaggin is a lawyer who works wth the respected Human Rights
organisation, Els-ham West Papua.
Sabar Iwanggin appears to have been charged with receiving & passing on a
SMS text message which Police say is insulting to the Indonesian
President.
Human Rights workers cannot understand why Sabar Iwanggin would be
arrested by Indonesia's most highly trained anti-terrorism police for his
very minor role in the spread of this text message.
Police in Jayapura are now denying that Sabar Iwanggin was arrested by
Detachment 88 and are saying that his arrest is a criminal matter.
Witnesses who were present with Sabar Iwanggin outside the Sports Hall in
Jayapura on Thursday 18 October 2007 at the time confirm that his arrest
was made by members of Detachment 88 and that the were 30 police officers
present to make the arrest. Police are reported to have sent Sabar
Iwanggin in the company of another lawyer representing him and have made
arrangements for his family to travel to Jakarta tomorrow.
Human rights workers have recommended that concerned people ring or fax
the Indonesian Police Headquarters and politely ask the reason why Sabar
Iwanggin is being detained and to ask for his immediate release. Alternate
telephone numbers for Indonesian National Police Headquarters are:
+62 21 721800 , 7251989, 7251967 and 7218014
The police fax number is : +62 21 7246656
Matthew Jamieson representing the Institute for Papuan Advocacy & Human
Rights said today, "It is incredible that the Indonesian Police would use
personnel from the Detachment 88, their highly trained anti terrorism
force, to arrest the lawyer Sabar Iwanggin for his trivial involvement in
this test message issue."
"Human rights workers are very concerned that the Indonesian Police have
another agenda and that they will continue to ignore Sabar Iwanggin's
basic rights. Sabar Iwanggin's arrest, detention and now transportation to
Jakarta Police Headquarters clearly has a trivial legal basis. His legal
and human rights are at risk while he remains in Indonesian police
custardy charged on this basis."
Institute for Papuan Advocacy and Human Rights has sent out a previous and
related document "Human rights report 24 October 2007, 'West Papuan Human
Rights Lawyer arrested by US & Australian trained Anti Terrorism police'".
For more information contact:
Matthew Jamieson
Institute for Papuan Advocacy & Human Rights
PO box 1805, Byron bay NSW 2481 Australia
matthew@hr.minihub.org
tel +61(0) 418291998
----------------------------------------------------
The Jakarta Post, October 26, 2007
Native Papuans fight against deforestation
Neles Tebay, Abepura, Papua
The central government, investors in palm oil plantations and timber
companies need to know that deforestation is and will be rejected by
indigenous Papuans from 252 different tribes living in the western half of
the island of New Guinea.
If the Papuans were consulted, they would say: "Don't cut down our trees."
Under Soeharto's regime, Papuans protesting against the destruction of
their ancestral forests by government-authorized companies were simply
accused of being separatists or against national development. Protesters
were always silenced violently by the military and police, who seemed to
love protecting timber companies.
However, the 2001 law on special autonomy for Papua province gives more
freedom for Papuans to raise their voices. Papuans, then, have begun to
protest against deforestation within their ancestral forests.
The latest example of the rejection of deforestation was demonstrated in
September 2007 by indigenous Papuans of the Wate tribe in Nabire regency
(Cenderawasih Pos, Sept. 20, 2007).
It was reported members of the Wate tribe strongly opposed a plan by PT
Harvest Raya, in collaboration with PT Jati Dharma Indah, to clear
thousands of hectares of their ancestral forest to make way for palm oil
plantations.
The protesters have demanded the local government of Nabire regency revoke
the permission already given to the companies.
The Papuans' rejection of deforestation raises some questions. Why do
indigenous Papuans courageously reject deforestation? Is the rejection a
reflection of what the central government calls "Papuan separatism"? Is it
a manifestation of being anti-government or anti-development, the
accusations made by the central government in Jakarta for more than four
decades? Is it sign of not wanting to better their future?
The reasons behind the rejection are related to their culture. Their
rejection is rooted in and guided by the life-giving values of local
culture.
Papuans never see their virgin forests simply as a sea of trees that can
be cut down in order to make millions of dollars.
The forest, for indigenous Papuans from all tribes, has multi-dimensional
meanings. Indeed, Papuans never consider the forest as an enemy that has
to be eradicated from the surface of the earth. Rather, it is first and
foremost a member of the community.
Papuan community is composed not only of living people, but also the dead,
the spirits and nature.
That's why each community, both as a tribe and a community within a tribe,
always has its own forest within a clearly defined territory.
So, culturally speaking, a Papuan can never be separated from the forest.
It would also be a mistake if Papuan forest was seen as a isolated thing
from the Papuans themselves, because the forest and the people form one
community.
For Papuans, a forest can mean a living pharmacy that provides all the
necessary natural medicines. In times of need, Papuans go to the forest to
collect natural medicine. The forest is also considered a food store or a
living supermarket, for it provides vegetables, fruits, fish and animals.
People used to get the necessary materials for houses, traditional boats,
firewood and fences in their own forest.
It is a Papuan's belief that their ancestors and deceased members of the
community reside in the forest. They are the guardians of the forest,
including plants and animals, owned by the community.
The forest, for Papuans, is a living temple, chapel or mosque, where
people come and pray. It is the place where all rituals are conducted by a
community or individually. Papuans go into their ancestral forest if they
want to communicate with the ancestors or the dead.
The deeper sense of forest is expressed in the Papuan saying "Hutan adalah
mama" (the forest is our mother).
The forest is respected as a mother who tirelessly cares for, protects and
sustains all of the members of the community, including the animals.
Papuans cannot imagine life without the forest. Emphasizing the deeper
meaning of forest, they say "Hutan kita, hidup kita" (our forest, our
lives).
It is for the sake of life that every Papuan is educated from childhood
the importance of maintaining a correct relationship with the forest.
We can now understand that deforestation, for Papuans, means destroying a
living pharmacy, damaging the living supermarket, destroying the place of
worship, expelling the ancestors and the dead and committing adultery
against the mother forest.
Deforestation, then, will bring about suffering, disaster and chaos for
Papuans. That's why indigenous Papuans reject deforestation.
Papuans learned the importance of the forest for life neither from the
Dutch nor the Indonesian government, but from Papuan cultural tradition.
The cultural concept of forest is handed down from one generation to the
next.
The central government should respect Papuan culture, including the
cultural understanding of forest, and utilize it to protect the Papua's
forests.
By doing so, the government and Papuans could jointly prevent Papua's
forests from being lost to deforestation.
Otherwise there will be war between Papuans preserving Papua's forests and
the central government proposing deforestation.
The writer is a lecturer at the Fajar Timur School of Philosophy and
Theology, in Abepura, Papua.
--------------------------------------------------
The Jakarta Post, October 25, 2007
BP may build more LNG processing units at company's Tangguh plant
Ika Krismantari, The Jakarta Post, Babo, Papua
Amid surging domestic and foreign demand, the Indonesian subsidiary of
Anglo-American energy giant BP is considering constructing more liquefied
natural gas (LNG) processing units at the company's Tangguh plant in
Papua.
Tangguh project executive vice president David Clarkson said here Tuesday
the company had set up a special team to study the possibility of new
trains, as LNG production lines are called, at the existing plant.
"We have determined a site that can be used for up to eight trains," he
told journalists visiting Tangguh.
Clarkson said the new trains would be built to increase LNG production
from two other trains currently nearing completion.
"We are concentrating on getting these (two trains) finished. We are also
looking at further development and opportunities for building more
trains," Clarkson said.
BP began construction of the two trains in March 2005. The first is
expected to begin commercial operation in January 2009 and the second is
to come online five months later. As of September, the project stands 82
percent completed.
Tangguh will sell LNG to four overseas buyers -- China's Fujian (2.6
million tons a year), South Korean K-Power and Posco (1.11 million tons a
year) and Sempra Energy on the western coast of Mexico (3.6 million tons a
year).
Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro has said he
would like to see BP sell LNG from the trains under consideration.
Upstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Agency (BPMIGAS) chairman Kardaya Warnika
has said that some domestic companies -including state-owned electric
company Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) and state gas distributor
Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN) -- have shown interest in buying gas from
Tangguh.
In response, Clarkson said BP had not yet decided where it would sell LNG
from the planned trains. "We still want to see where the best business
opportunity is."
Tangguh is a major multinational project with a lifespan of more than 30
years that exploits gas fields in the rugged, mountainous Bintuni Bay
region. The gas fields, with proven reserves of 14.4 trillion cubic feet,
were discovered in the mid-1990s.
The project's operator is BP Berau Ltd, which also owns a 37.16 percent
stake in the project. The other owners are China's CNOOC (16.9 percent),
MI Berau (16.30 percent), Nippon Oil Exploration of Japan (12.23 percent),
KG Berau (10 percent) and LNG Japan Corporation (7.35 percent).
Meanwhile, BP group reported Tuesday a 29 percent slump in third-quarter
net profit due to higher maintenance costs and outages at key refineries.
The company posted a net profit of US$4.4 billion for the three months
ending Sept. 30, down from its $6.2 billion profit for the same period in
2006. Revenue rose 2.7 percent to $72.6 billion.
---------------------------------------------------
The Jakarta Post, October 24, 2007
Papuan towns get new radar
TIMIKA, Papua: The Mimika administration is in the process of establishing
radar coverage in the regency to protect Papua from attacks and facilitate
responses to natural disasters.
The commander of Timika air base, Lt. Col. Bambang Triono, said the radar,
which will be developed gradually, could extend to Asmat, Kaimana, Serui
and Wamena regencies in Papua. "I hope the radar plan will proceed as
scheduled," he told The Jakarta Post recently.
He said the Mimika administration had appropriated land from the public
for the construction of radar facilities in Mimika Baru district. Area
residents will receive compensation for the land used.
"I am very grateful the administration seriously supports us in building
the radar in Mimika," said Triono.
He added the administration was constructing a radar in Merauke and would
afterward continue radar construction in other regions of Papua.-- JP
-----
Elsham News Service - elsham_news_service@skyhighway.com
About Elsham Papua - info@elshampapua.org
Pleace visit : www.elshampapua.org
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
30. Super Ferry - yet more comment
Date: Sat, 03 Nov 2007 14:24:09 -0700 (PDT)
From: Laweleka <laweleka@yahoo.com>
I totally agree its like talking religion and having a difference of
opinions which to me is all the reasons why it should be discussed in
length, debated so as to reason with someone who may need to see other
views as well. To me that is what remains most important. We all need to
be able to express ourselves. It's healthy, and above all good for the
soul. I do not intend to ridicule anyone but instead am really looking for
answers to many questions that remains on I'm sure not only my mind but
perhaps others as well where we do not see some of the logic in whats been
presented and perhaps those who insist on the SF might want to enlighten
us on the way they perceive things and their logic. Lawe
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
31. "keep elevating the threat"
Date: Sat, 03 Nov 2007 14:05:41 -1000
From: Kyle Kajihiro <keboi@aol.com>
From the Desk of Donald Rumsfeld ...
By Robin Wright
The Washington Post
Thursday 01 November 2007
In sometimes-brusque "snowflakes," he shared worldview, shaped
policy.
In a series of internal musings and memos to his staff, then- Defense
Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld argued that Muslims avoid "physical labor"
and wrote of the need to "keep elevating the threat," "link Iraq to Iran"
and develop "bumper sticker statements" to rally public support for an
increasingly unpopular war.
The memos, often referred to as "snowflakes," shed light on
Rumsfeld's brusque management style and on his efforts to address key
challenges during his tenure as Pentagon chief. Spanning from 2002 to
shortly after his resignation following the 2006 congressional elections,
a sampling of his trademark missives obtained yesterday reveals a defense
secretary disdainful of media criticism and driven to reshape public
opinion of the Iraq war.
Rumsfeld, whose sometimes abrasive approach often alienated other
Cabinet members and White House staff members, produced 20 to 60
snowflakes a day and regularly poured out his thoughts in writing as the
basis for developing policy, aides said. The memos are not classified but
are marked "for official use only."
In a 2004 memo on the deteriorating situation in Iraq, Rumsfeld
concluded that the challenges there are "not unusual." Pessimistic news
reports - "our publics risk falling prey to the argument that all is lost"
- simply result from the wrong standards being applied, he wrote in one of
the memos obtained by The Washington Post.
Under siege in April 2006, when a series of retired generals
denounced him and called for his resignation in newspaper op-ed pieces,
Rumsfeld produced a memo after a conference call with military analysts.
"Talk about Somalia, the Philippines, etc. Make the American people
realize they are surrounded in the world by violent extremists," he wrote.
People will "rally" to sacrifice, he noted after the meeting. "They
are looking for leadership. Sacrifice = Victory."
The meeting also led Rumsfeld to write that he needed a team to help
him "go out and push people back, rather than simply defending" Iraq
policy and strategy. "I am always on the defense. They say I do it well,
but you can't win on the defense," he wrote. "We can't just keep taking
hits."
The only man to hold the top Pentagon job twice - as both the
youngest and the oldest defense secretary - Rumsfeld suggested that the
public should know that there will be no "terminal event" in the fight
against terrorism like the signing ceremony on the USS Missouri when Japan
surrendered to end World War II. "It is going to be a long war," he wrote.
"Iraq is only one battleground."
Based on the discussion with military analysts, Rumsfeld tied Iran
and Iraq. "Iran is the concern of the American people, and if we fail in
Iraq, it will advantage Iran," he wrote in his April 2006 memo.
Rumsfeld declined to comment, but an aide said the points in that
memo were Rumsfeld's distillation of the analysts' comments, though he
added that the secretary is known for using the term "bumper stickers."
"You are running a story based off of selective quotations and gross
mischaracterizations from a handful of memos - carefully picked from the
some 20,000 written while Rumsfeld served as Secretary," Rumsfeld aide
Keith Urbahn wrote in an e-mail. "After almost all meetings, he dictated
his recollections of what was said for his own records."
In one of his longer ruminations, in May 2004, Rumsfeld considered
whether to redefine the terrorism fight as a "worldwide insurgency." The
goal of the enemy, he wrote, is to "end the state system, using terrorism,
to drive the non-radicals from the world." He then advised aides "to test
what the results could be" if the war on terrorism were renamed.
Neither Europe nor the United Nations understands the threat or the
bigger picture, Rumsfeld complained in the same memo. He also lamented
that oil wealth has at times detached Muslims "from the reality of the
work, effort and investment that leads to wealth for the rest of the
world. Too often Muslims are against physical labor, so they bring in
Koreans and Pakistanis while their young people remain unemployed," he
wrote. "An unemployed population is easy to recruit to radicalism."
If radicals "get a hold of" oil-rich Saudi Arabia, he added, the
United States will have "an enormous national security problem."
The memos delve into issues beyond Iraq and terrorism. In a memo to
national security adviser Stephen J. Hadley in July 2006, Rumsfeld warned
that the United States is "getting run out of Central Asia" by the
Russians, who are doing a "considerably better job at bullying" than
Washington is doing to "counter their bullying."
As public discontent and congressional questioning grew in 2006, his
final year at the Pentagon, a series of snowflakes revealed a man
determined to counter the chorus of media criticism in one - or two- line
zingers to staff members about specific articles.
"I think you ought to get a letter off about Ralph Peters' op-ed in
the New York Post. It is terrible," he writes on Feb. 6, 2006. In a Feb. 2
New York Post column, Peters decried "chronic troop shortages in Iraq"
while the Pentagon buys "high-tech toys that have no missions."
On March 10, he commanded J. Dorrance Smith, the assistant defense
secretary for public affairs, to craft a "better presentation to respond
to this business that the Department of Defense has no plan. This is just
utter nonsense. We need to knock it down hard." A Washington Post-ABC News
poll that month found that 65 percent of Americans thought that Bush had
no plan for victory.
On March 20, Rumsfeld ordered a point-by-point analysis of the seven
"mistakes" columnist Trudy Rubin wrote about in the Philadelphia Inquirer
and a response to her essay - which he wanted to see before it was sent
out. Rubin wrote that the war had "gone sour."
"Please have someone find precisely when I said 'dead-enders' and
what the context was," he ordered Smith in September 2006.
A November 2006 editorial in the New York Times that said the Army
was ruined "is disgraceful," Rumsfeld wrote to Smith. The editorial said
that "one welcome dividend" of Rumsfeld's departure was that the United
States would "now have a chance to rebuild the Army he spent most of his
tenure running down."
Rumsfeld later reprimanded his staff, writing, "I read the letter we
sent in rebuttal. I thought it rather weak and not signed at the level it
should have been." He then instructed staffers to prepare an article about
the Army. "We need to get that story out," he wrote on Nov. 28, 2006, a
Tuesday. He ordered a draft by Friday.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
32. Psalm 122
Date: Sat, Nov 3, 2007
From: Tia Ballantine
Psalm 122
I rejoiced when I heard them announce,
"The time of warfare is past.
No more will brother hate brother
or violence have its way.
No more will they drown out God's silence
and shut their hearts to his song."
Pray for peace in the cities
and harmony among the races.
May peace come to live on our streets
and justice within our walls.
With all my heart I will pray
that peace comes to live among us.
For the sake of all earth's people,
I will do my utmost for peace.
----trans. by Stephen Mitchell
-------------------------------------------------------------------
33. music tomorrow
Date: Sat, 03 Nov 2007 21:53:09 -0700 (PDT)
From: Andrea Brower <andreanoelani@yahoo.com>
During the potluck tomorrow (after the paddle-out/ demonstration) there
will be a sound system set up for any musicians who would like to share
some music, so bring your 'ukuleles and guitars if you like!
__________________________________________________
Gabrielle Welford, Ph.D.
freelance writer, editor, teacher
welford@hawaii.edu
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