2. Generics: Just as good? - News from Suddenly Senior
3. MegaVote: HI 2nd, 4/7/2008
4. Earth Transformation Conference - May 16, 17 & 18 - Kona, Hawaii
5. Please distribute as broadly as possible amongst your network - public
fact gathering meeting on east maui stream restoration
6. tibet and palestine
7. Study confirms beneficiaries treated like 'second-class' citizens
8. Pono Power for Hawaii (and Pasifika)??? and comment
9. PBS Frontline: The Medicated Child to be Rebroadcast April 8
10. Celebration of a Nation
11. Voices Health/Environment News
12. HI Superferry: Back from Drydock 4/7/08
13. KIRC names Näho'opi'i as Executive Director
14. Ya-Ya Network is now hiring youth activists!aa
15. are we all jackals (john perkin's economic hit men?) have we all
become secret admirers of the thurstons who wanted a share of the pie?
have we all become willing rats in the rat race/
16. COLLOQUIUM, Thu 4/10, Barbara Rose Johnston
17. Disappeared News - 2 new articles
18. Kaniakapupu Cleanup
19. Secret US plan for military future in Iraq
20. Library Survey
21. SPECIAL "CLOSED SESSION" OF U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
22. Star-B: Taro Bill Goes Too Far...
23. Ceded-Land Debate Back On The Table
24. Weirdest Little Story of the Day?
25. Kill amended SB 958
26. "Contaminated Forever"
27. International community should raise voice against use of Depleted
Uranium
28. Few passengers set sail with Superferry's return
29. Evacuation advised for Volcano-area residents
30. Recycling Drive for Earth Day at UH Manoa!
1. Tibet, History and the CIA (fwd)
Date: Tue, 08 Apr 2008 16:23:17 -0400 (EDT)
From: Milogic@aol.com
Yes, there was a CIA organized and supplied effort among Tibetans in
response to Chiang Kai Shek loses in the late 1940s, early 1950s. It was
concentrated in the western areas of Tibet bordering India.
All of this came to screaming halt when Nixon and Kissinger went to
PRChina in 1972. The Tibetans involved were left high and dry. Many were
subsequently rounded up and executed by the PRChinese.
Many among Tibetans still have a hard time trusting any US actions in
their "behalf".
Generally speaking, no government anywhere in the world gets excited about
Tibet. Too far away from any possibility of supply. No oil of consequence.
Too difficult to access for resources. Some "leaders" will rattle the
PRChinese cage a bit but that is about it. Imperial designs on Tibet?
Utter nonsense
India and PRChina did a small war in the frozen fastnesses along their
common border in 1962. The Indians got their teeth shoved in and kowtow to
Beijing to this day.
There are Tibetans who are prominent in PRChinese efforts. This is not a
phenomenon limited to Tibetan peoples. There are many ethnic variations
among peoples of the Tibetan Plateau as well as variations among
Buddhists ranging from the Bon on one end to the Chan on the other.
Some Mongolians are very closely related to some Tibetan tribes. They
also practice a type of Vajrayana Buddhism.
The PRChinese have both Panchen Lamas in custody, their version and the
Dalai Lama's. This is important as the Panchen Lama must participate in
selection of a successor Dalai Lama (the 15th in succession). The present
Dalai Lama has rumbled about his next incarnation being born outside
Tibet. Even, possibly, a woman.
The twists and turns are much wrapped in persistent efforts of PRChinese
and sympathizers to flood the world with disinformation. Witness the
current stuffs put out such as this thing you sent around.
In a message dated 4/8/2008 5:51:28 A.M. Hawaiian Standard Time,
welford@hawaii.edu writes:
dear milo, please tell me more. i'm trying to find out about
this.
On Mon, 7 Apr 2008 Milogic@aol.com wrote:
> Oh, Dear . . . shows how effective the PRChinese campaign of
disinformation extends.
>
> In a message dated 4/7/2008 10:38:06 A.M. Hawaiian Standard Time,
welford@hawaii.edu writes:
>
> > The 1959 attack was a CIA planned and organized coup attempt,
much like the later Bay of Pigs invasion of socialist Cuba. The purpose
was to overthrow the existing Tibetan government and weaken the Chinese
Revolution while tying the people of Tibet to U.S. imperialist interests.
What does that say about today's March uprising, that's done in the same
spirit?
-----------
Date: Mon, 07 Apr 2008 10:37:32 -1000 (HST)
From: Gabrielle Welford <welford@hawaii.edu>
wow, jen! that's pretty amazing. it confirms my gut feelings about
things to do with the dalai lama--who is, yes, a privileged ruling class
person from an old feudal system. remember when he said the u.s. attack
on afghanistan was a moral war? i haven't felt comfortable since then--or
any more comfortable than i usually feel around religious leaders. i was
listening to the radio on the way down to the bay area a couple of days
ago, and a male singer call phoenix was talking and quoted as his prime
example of the kind of love we should all be after, tibetal monks smiling
with love into the faces of chinese soldiers who were stabbing them in the
belly. ah, yes. lovely stuff.
and from working on the honolulu record, a left labor newspaper from the
40s and 50s, i know that the u.s. gov't has been engaged in any and all
attempts to undermine and overthrow any left-leaning gov'ts in the world
at any time (particularly i know about hawai'i). i'm sure all of us know
that. once the honolulu record is put up on-line, it'd be worth going and
taking a look at it--very radical stuff, though they're a strange mixture
when it comes to native hawaiian sovereignty--the paper was started and
run by a japanese settler, who had obvious reasons not to want the
hawaiians to get their country back.
i'm going to send this message about tibet out. i think there are way
more nooks and crannies to these things than the reactionary liberal
fathoms. thanks for sending it. love g
On Fri, 21 Mar 2008, Jenny James wrote:
What do you make of this angle on Tibet, Gaby?
> Jen
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Michel Collon
> Sent: Friday, March 21, 2008 4:42 AM
>
> Tibet, History and the CIA
> By Gary Wilson
> Published Mar 19, 2008 10:03 PM,
> Original title : Tibet and the March 10 commemoration of the CIA's 1959 'uprising'
>
http://www.workers.org/2007/world/tibet_0327/
>
> Has Tibet become the front line of a new national liberation struggle?
> Or is something else happening there?
> The U.S. news media are filled with stories about events unfolding in
> Tibet. Each news report, however, seems to include a note that much of
> what they are reporting cannot be confirmed. The sources of the reports
> are shadowy and unknown. If past practice is any indicator, it is likely
> that the U.S. State Department and the CIA are their primary sources.
> One frequently quoted source is John Ackerly. Who is Ackerly? As
> president of the International Campaign for Tibet, he and his group
> appear to work closely with the U.S. government, both the State
> Department and Congress, as part of its operations concerning Tibet.
> During the Cold War, Ackerly's Washington-based job was to work with
> "dissidents" in Eastern Europe, particularly Romania in 1978-80.
> A private international security agency in Washington, Harbor Lane
> Associates, lists Ackerly and the International Campaign for Tibet as
> its clients, along with former CIA Director and U.S. President George
> H.W. Bush and former Pentagon chief William Cohen.
> AP, Reuters and the other Western news agencies all quote Ackerly as a
> major source for exaggerated reports about the clashes that have just
> occurred in Tibet. For example, MSNBC on March 15 reported:
> "John Ackerly, of the International Campaign for Tibet, a group that
> supports demands for Tibetan autonomy, said in an e-mailed statement he
> feared 'hundreds of Tibetans have been arrested and are being
> interrogated and tortured.'"
>
> Qiangba Puncog
>
> Qiangba Puncog, a Tibetan who is chair of the Tibet Autonomous
> Regional Government, described the situation quite differently at a
> March 17 press briefing in Beijing.
> According to china.org.cn, China's state Web site, the Tibetan leader
> said that allies of the exiled Dalai Lama on March 14 "engaged in
> reckless beating, looting, smashing and burning and their activities
> soon spread to other parts of the city. These people focused on
> street-side shops, primary and middle schools, hospitals, banks, power
> and communications facilities and media organizations. They set fire to
> passing vehicles, they chased after and beat passengers on the street,
> and they launched assaults on shops, telecommunication service outlets
> and government buildings. Their behavior has caused severe damage to the
> life and property of local people, and seriously undermined law and
> order in Lhasa.
> "'Thirteen innocent civilians were burned or stabbed to death in the
> riot in Lhasa on March 14, and 61 police were injured, six of them
> seriously wounded,' said Qiangba Puncog.
> "Statistics also show that rioters set fire to more than 300
> locations, including residential houses and 214 shops, and smashed and
> burned 56 vehicles. ...
> "Qiangba Puncog also claimed that security personnel did not carry or
> use any lethal weapons in dealing with the riot last Friday. ...
> "The violence was the result of a conspiracy between domestic and
> overseas groups that advocate 'Tibet independence,' according to Qiangba
> Puncog. 'The Dalai clique masterminded, planned and carefully organized
> the riot.'
> "According to Qiangba Puncog, on March 10, 49 years ago, the slave
> owners of old Tibet launched an armed rebellion aimed at splitting the
> country. That rebellion was quickly quelled. Every year since 1959, some
> separatists inside and outside China have held activities around the day
> of the rebellion. ...
> "Any secessionist attempt to sabotage Tibet's stability will not gain
> people's support and is doomed to fail, he said."
>
> Meeting in New Delhi
> Whatever is taking place in Tibet has long been in preparation. A
> conference was held in New Delhi, India, last June by "Friends of
> Tibet." It was described as a conference for the breakaway of Tibet.
> The news site phayul.com reported at the time that the conference was
> told "how the Olympics could provide the one chance for Tibetans to come
> out and protest." A call was issued for worldwide protests, a march of
> exiles from India to Tibet, and protests within Tibet--all tied to the
> upcoming Beijing Olympics.
> This was followed by a call this past January for an "uprising" in
> Tibet, issued by organizations based in India. The news report from Jan.
> 25 said that the "Tibetan People's Uprising Movement" was established
> Jan. 4 to focus on the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The beginning date for the
> "uprising" was to be March 10.
> At the time the call was issued, U.S. Ambassador to India David
> Mulford was meeting with the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, India. U.S.
> Undersecretary of State Paula Dobriansky made a similar visit to
> Dharamsala last November. Dobriansky is also a member of the neocon
> Project for a New American Century. She has been involved in the
> so-called color revolutions in Eastern Europe.
> Phayul.com reports that the Tibet "Uprising" group's statement says
> they are acting "in the spirit of the 1959 Uprising."
>
> The 1959 uprising
> Knowing more about the 1959 "uprising" might help in understanding
> today's events in Tibet.
> In 2002 a book titled "The CIA's Secret War in Tibet" was published by
> the University Press of Kansas. The two authors--Kenneth Conboy of the
> Heritage Foundation and James Morrison, an Army veteran trainer for the
> CIA--proudly detail how the CIA set up and ran Tibet's so-called
> resistance movement. The Dalai Lama himself was on the CIA payroll and
> approved the CIA's plans for the armed uprising.
> The CIA put the Dalai Lama's brother, Gyalo Thodup, in charge of the
> bloody 1959 armed attack. A contra army was trained by the CIA in
> Colorado and then dropped by U.S. Air Force planes into Tibet.
> The 1959 attack was a CIA planned and organized coup attempt, much
> like the later Bay of Pigs invasion of socialist Cuba. The purpose was
> to overthrow the existing Tibetan government and weaken the Chinese
> Revolution while tying the people of Tibet to U.S. imperialist
> interests. What does that say about today's March uprising, that's done
> in the same spirit?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Generics: Just as good? - News from Suddenly Senior
Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2008 10:17:17 -1000
From: pilipo souza <pilipohale@hawaii.rr.com>
Aloha kakahiaka, Pray you have rested?
Now that you have rested over the weekend it is BOHICA time again! By now
you know the routine. Assume the position! Remember, the correct position
eliminates half the pain.
Thought of the day? Does anyone know why OHA seems to be mimicking the
FDA.? They both produce confused people.
pilipo
----- Original Message ----- From: Frank Kaiser
Sent: Monday, March 17, 2008 8:16 AM
From the Los Angeles Times
Generics: Just as good?
As generic drugs become more widely used, some doctors and patients
question whether they are as effective as brand names.
By Melissa Healy
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
March 17, 2008
IN THE CONTENTIOUS DEBATE OVER INSURING AMERICANS' HEALTH, the value of
generic prescription drugs is a rare point of consensus. Patients,
physicians, employers, politicians -- all hail generics as powerful
treatment for a swelling healthcare tab. On average, these copycat
medicines cost less than a third of the brand-name drugs they mimic. In
turn, the competition they provide drives down the cost of those
first-to-market drugs.
Officials of the Food and Drug Administration insist this feat of
economics comes without any compromise to a medicine's effectiveness. To
be marketed in the United States, these low-cost medicines must be
approved by the FDA, which ensures they are "bioequivalent" to their
brand-name counterparts -- the same dose of the same active ingredient,
delivered in the same way, and manufactured according to the same
standards of quality.
The Generic Pharmaceutical Assn. touts them with a slightly catchier
slogan: "Same Medicine. Same Results." But sometimes, patients and their
doctors beg to differ.
A switch from a long-used brand-name drug to its generic equivalent can,
on occasion, bring a shifting profile of side effects. In a number of
cases documented in medical journals and recounted in interviews with
physicians, a generic version of what is often called a "pioneer" drug
simply doesn't appear to work as well for many patients.
"Everybody thinks generics are swell: To suggest otherwise is like saying
you don't love your mother," said Dr. Peter R. Kowey, chief of
cardiovascular diseases at the Philadelphia area's Main Line Health
System, who reviewed the issue of generic substitution of certain heart
drugs for the American Heart Assn. But between some pioneer drugs and
their generic imitators, Kowey said, "we are concerned that the margin of
difference is large enough" to risk patients' health.
Last December, the American Epilepsy Society called on the FDA to approve
a large clinical trial to determine "once and for all" whether the
substitution of brand-name drugs with generics increases the risk of
"breakthrough" seizures or toxicity among patients with epilepsy. This
type of research would probably take years. But until such a study is
completed, the society declared, it would oppose measures by state,
federal or private insurance programs that would limit physicians' choices
in prescribing anti-seizure medicines.
Last fall, an independent laboratory, prompted by a flurry of consumer
complaints, presented evidence that a generic version of the once-a-day
antidepressant Wellbutrin XL may be less effective than the original at
reducing some patients' depressive symptoms. An agency spokeswoman said
the FDA is investigating the matter and will make its findings public when
the inquiry is complete.
In a report released today, the New York-based ConsumerLab.com, which
conducted the Wellbutrin XL analysis, also urges the FDA to review the
performance of a new generic for Toprol XL, a once-a-day version of a high
blood pressure drug that is the fifth most-prescribed medicine in the
United States. That challenge comes after dozens of patients complained to
the People's Pharmacy -- a multimedia source of information about drugs
and supplements -- of erratic spikes in blood pressure and side effects
after they had switched from Toprol XL to a new generic version of the
drug.
Cardiologists, meanwhile, have been growing more vocal in their concern
about "generic substitution" for newer, brand-name drugs. They have had
long-standing worries about the effect of switching patients whose blood
has been thinned with Coumadin to generic versions of the anticoagulant,
including warfarin. Many have warned that patients with heart arrhythmias
should be switched to generic drugs only when necessary. And many
cardiologists view the swelling field of generic blood-pressure and
cholesterol drugs with some distrust.
The American Assn. of Clinical Endocrinologists, the Endocrine Society and
the American Thyroid Assn. joined voices in 2004 to warn that patients
with hypothyroidism could be harmed by switching among the many generics
used to treat the condition. And physicians who care for organ transplant
recipients have opposed generic substitution of immunosupressant drugs for
their patients without a transplant specialist's prior approval. Societies
that represent these doctors have been active in seeking state laws that
would limit such switches.
Kathleen Jaeger, president and chief executive of the Generic
Pharmaceutical Assn., dismisses all of these debates as "misinformation
campaigns" masterminded by brand-name pharmaceutical companies. As these
companies' most profitable medicines face competition from generic
upstarts, Jaeger said, they seek to "extend their monopoly" by sowing
doubt in the minds of physicians, pharmacists and patients about the
quality of the cheaper substitutes.
Those who would question generic drugs' equivalence to the brand-name
drugs they mimic are calling into question a stringent FDA review process,
said Jaeger. "They do a disservice to our healthcare system," she added.
"Consumers deserve better."
But many physicians and pharmacologists interviewed said that with some
drugs, the FDA -- an agency that has come in for harsh criticism on
matters of drug safety in recent years -- may be overlooking differences
that could be important to patients' health.
FDA officials "have adopted a position that is in some respects quite
brave," said Peter Meredith, a University of Glasgow pharmacologist who
has written extensively about generic drugs and their regulation. "The FDA
quite rigidly states that when they say a drug is substitutable, they mean
that with no caveats, no qualifications. My concern would be that if you
don't look for one, you don't see it."
With about 9,000 generic drugs on the U.S. market, concerns raised about a
handful do not suggest a broad failure in the nation's formulary of
low-cost medications. But many physicians and pharmacologists caution that
with new generics entering the market at a rate of almost 500 per year,
and millions of consumers switching to them, their safety and
effectiveness will be increasingly critical.
"The reasonable people I know aren't pounding their fists saying all
generics are bad," Kowey said. "They're saying to the FDA, 'C'mon guys,
there may be some situations in which [these differences] may turn out to
be important.' "
Doctors, users speak out
Dr. Gerald Naccarelli, chief of the Pennsylvania State medical center's
division of cardiology, believes a switch to a generic drug to control
heart arrhythmia contributed to the death of one patient in Houston early
in his career. Recently, he said, another of his patients suffered a
life-threatening ventricular arrhythmia after the man was switched from a
long-standing regimen of a brand-name medication to a new generic. The
patient was hospitalized but lived. When the FDA approved a generic
version of an anti-arrhythmia drug that Naccarelli did not believe had
been studied properly at higher doses, he wrote a letter to the FDA.
"I'm confused why there's one set of standards for patented trade-name
drugs for FDA approval and a separate standard for generic substitutions,"
he said. "Some generic drugs . . . should be held to higher standards than
the FDA now enforces."
Jillian Bealer of Buffalo, N.Y., is a fan of generics and the savings they
bring. But she says her faith in their equivalence to brand-name drugs was
shaken by a nasty recurrence of depression she suffered recently when she
switched to a new generic for Wellbutrin XL.
For three years, Bealer, who has been diagnosed with attention deficit
disorder and an anxiety disorder, took 300 milligrams of the
antidepressant Wellbutrin XL to stabilize her mood and maintain her focus
and attention. It helped her feel like herself, she said, "very outgoing
and very upbeat."
But in early November, a new pharmacy refilled her prescription with a
large yellow caplet -- a newly approved generic version of Wellbutrin XL
identified by its chemical name, Bupropion Hydrochloride XL, and marketed
by the generic manufacturing giant Teva under the commercial name
Budeprion. The new generic had a smaller co-pay than the branded product
under Bealer's employer-provided insurance policy, and the pharmacist
assured her that the new pill would work just as well.
Bealer began taking the pill. But as the holiday season approached, she
found that her favorite time of year was feeling like "just a burden." For
weeks, she didn't answer the phone, didn't go to parties and used up
vacation days because she didn't want to get out of bed. She had headaches
that made holiday shopping miserable and in spite of a flagging appetite,
felt she was gaining weight.
Bealer suspected that the new generic version of Wellbutrin XL wasn't
working the way the original had. On a sleepless night in early January,
she started combing the Internet to see if other patients might have
detected a difference. Bealer discovered she had lots of company -- and
some lab evidence to suggest her suspicions were on-base.
"I was just so angry," the 30-year-old pharmaceutical saleswoman said. "I
was so miserable . . . I am not the only one who's had these side effects.
Something needs to be done, because someone could get really hurt or kill
themselves."
Denise Bradley, a spokeswoman for Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, said
Teva's 300-milligram extended release antidepressant has met the FDA's
specifications and performed well in its first year on the U.S. market. As
of mid-October, 4.5 million prescriptions had been filled last year, and
Teva had received 101 consumer complaints. That rate of concerns
expressed, 0.002%, is "consistent with the rate of such reports for all
prescription pharmaceuticals," said Bradley.
Expanding market
Currently, 64% of all prescriptions filled in the United States are for
generics. That percentage is expected to rise steeply over the next few
years.
In 2007, the FDA approved manufacturers' plans to market 682 new generics
in the United States. The agency still is working its way through a
backlog of about 1,300 more applications from generic pharmaceutical
manufacturers -- a tally that grows weekly. Among the widely prescribed
medications expected to appear in generic form in the next few years: the
migraine drug Imitrex; the cholesterol drug Lipitor; the blood pressure
drug Norvasc; the gastrointestinal reflux drug Prevacid; and the
psychiatric medications Risperdal, Effexor and Zyprexa.
At the same time, consumers are finding themselves constrained by their
health plans, or lack of one.
In 2000, 22% of American workers with employer-sponsored health insurance
had plans that made no distinctions in their coverage of medications: A
patient's co-payment was the same whether she chose the expensive
brand-name or the generic formulation of a drug.
Today, only 6% of workers have prescription plans with such free choice,
reports the Kaiser Family Foundation, which conducts an annual survey of
employer health benefits. Kaiser's survey shows that more insurers are
making more distinctions among medicines for which they will help pay and,
in most cases, asking workers to shoulder a higher proportion of costs for
drugs that cost more.
Most patients welcome generics enthusiastically. Retail giants such as
Wal-Mart and Target have begun filling most generic prescriptions for
prices as low as $4 apiece. Generic drugs cost between 30% and 80% of the
brand names they mimic, and price tags on those pioneer medicines are
headed upward. Wholesale prices for the top-selling 50 brand-name
medications rose by about 8% in 2007, according to a report by Delta
Marketing Dynamics, which tracks drug trends. That's after hikes of about
7% in 2006 and about 6% in 2005.
At the same time, Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance companies and
hospital pharmacies are trying to hold down rising costs by aggressively
encouraging patients to use generics. Increasingly, many are going
further: They are asking patients to switch to a different class of drugs
to treat a condition -- say, from an ACE inhibitor to a beta blocker to
control high blood pressure -- because more generics may be available in
one drug class than another. Such "formulary switches" can be more
problematic than a brand-to-generic switch, because the old and new drugs
work differently.
As generics move into Americans' medicine chests in growing numbers, two
things are likely, say experts: There will be copycat medications that
work differently -- and sometimes less effectively -- than originals; and
there will be patients who do not respond as well to them. Patients and
doctors should be alert to variations in a new prescription's
effectiveness, they advise, and report their concerns to the FDA's
adverse-events monitoring system, called MedWatch ( www.fda.gov/medwatch).
"The generics industry is highly successful, and it wouldn't be if it was
always failing patients," said R. William Soller, a professor of
pharmacology at UC San Francisco. But, he added, "it's pretty hard to
think you have an absolutely perfect system."
'Pandora's box'
In recent years, the system by which generic prescription drugs are
approved as "bioequivalent" to their brand-name counterparts has come in
for criticism from many quarters. FDA's regulation of generics is most
vulnerable to criticism in cases where a medicine must be administered in
very precise doses and on a precise schedule to be safe and effective.
These drugs have what pharmacologists call a "narrow therapeutic index":
There's a fine line between a dose that's ineffective and one that could
be dangerous.
Typically, a patient's response to such medicine must be carefully
monitored, and the consequences of failure could be dire: a seizure,
dangerously erratic heartbeat, soaring blood pressure, blood clots or
uncontrolled bleeding.
But FDA regulators have been "very categorical" in their insistence that
no differences exist between generics and the pioneer drugs they follow,
said Kowey. As a result, the agency has resisted studies that might call
that into question with any single class of drugs, fearing that consumers
will come to question the equal effectiveness of all generics. "They don't
want to open the Pandora's box," said Kowey.
Dr. Gary Buehler, director of the FDA's office of generic drugs, declined
an interview request. But FDA spokeswoman Sandy Walsh told The Times the
"FDA cannot offer any examples where generics have been shown to not
perform as expected."
The "FDA has many years of experience in the review of generic drugs and
has great confidence in the quality and equivalence of generic drug
products," added Walsh.
By the time Jillian Bealer turned to the Internet for information early
this year, she found a chorus of complaints from Wellbutrin XL users who
had switched to a new generic made by Teva. Their disappointment in the
generic's performance began showing up on drug- and depression-related
Internet chat sites in March 2007, about two months after Teva's generic
hit the market.
More than 300 of those patients had sent anguished letters and e-mails to
Joe and Teresa Graedon, the founders of a respected multimedia
clearinghouse that dispenses independent advice on drugs and dietary
supplements. (The Graedons' syndicated column, People's Pharmacy, runs in
this and other newspapers.)
These consumers reported increased anxiety and irritability, headaches,
nausea and insomnia since switching to the generic. Many reported a return
of their previously controlled depressive symptoms.
By summer 2007, the Graedons had collected enough letters from readers to
alert the FDA and to ask an independent testing and certification lab,
ConsumerLab.com, to compare the new Wellbutrin generics against their
original counterparts and assess claims of equal performance.
The results, confirmed by a second test lab and released last fall by
ConsumerLab.com, raised questions about at least one version of the
generic copies -- a 300-milligram dose of bupropion marketed by Teva -- as
well as the FDA process by which a proposed generic's equivalence to a
pioneer drug is established.
"We were shocked when we got the results" comparing the 300-milligram
tablet of Wellbutrin XL -- the most frequently prescribed dose of the
product -- and Teva's generic, said Tod Cooperman, president of
ConsumerLab.com. The rate at which the two pills dissolved when in a
medium mimicking the human digestive system "was very different," he said.
Both products released the same amount of bupropion hydrochloride into the
solution over 16 hours, but the generic pumped out its active ingredient
much faster than did the branded product: In the first two hours, the
generic released a third of its active ingredient -- four times as much as
its brand counterpart. At four hours, the generic had released almost half
of its medicine, the brand-name about a quarter.
The difference might well explain why consumers accustomed to taking
Wellbutrin XL would feel different when taking Teva's generic, marketed as
Budeprion XL, said Cooperman. With a more rapid release rate, the
concentration of generic bupropion in the blood will rise quickly, but may
also fall lower late in the 24-hour cycle than would be the case with the
branded Wellbutrin XL.
With a greater-than-accustomed dose of medicine in her system soon after
taking her pill, a patient like Jillian Bealer might experience more of
bupropion's recognized side effects, including irritability, headaches and
insomnia. In the second half of her 24-hour pill cycle, she may feel the
effects of a lower-than-accustomed dose, including depressed mood.
Cooperman adds that the different dissolution rates of the two products
could have safety implications, since patients who take too high a dose of
bupropion are at increased risk of having a seizure.
In December, Dr. Robert Temple of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and
Research confirmed that in the lab and in volunteers, the two products
differed significantly in their dissolution rate. But that difference was
within allowable limits set by regulators. By the time both pills had
dissolved, he said, they had released equal levels of Wellbutrin's active
ingredient into the bloodstreams of subjects.
The agency thought the allowed variations in the rate at which the
medicine was absorbed by patients "wouldn't make any difference," Temple
told Southern California public radio station KPCC-FM (89.3).
Back to brand names
Jillian Bealer thinks it made the difference between functioning
effectively and dragging herself through a holiday season she usually
loves. When she shelled out $150 to refill her prescription with
Wellbutrin XL, Bealer said, she regained her good humor within a week and
a half. She now pays a $45 co-payment instead of $15 for a generic refill.
But she said she'll never go back.
The FDA, she said, will probably dismiss stories like hers as flukes. With
so much company, Bealer thinks that would be a mistake. "This many
people," she said, "could not be wrong."
melissa.healy@latimes.com
*************************---------------------------------------------------
3. MegaVote: HI 2nd, 4/7/2008
Date: Mon, 07 Apr 2008 17:25:23 -0400 (EDT)
From: megavote@mailmanager.net
Congress.org presents:
M E G A V O T E
April 7, 2008
In this MegaVote for Hawaii's 2nd Congressional District:
Recent Congressional Votes -
* House: Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States Global Leadership
Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act
* House: United States Fire Administration Reauthorization Act
Upcoming Congressional Bills -
* Senate: Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008
* House: The National Landscape Conservation System Act
* House: Beach Protection Act
=======
Recent House Votes:
Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States Global Leadership Against
HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act
http://capwiz.com/congressorg/issues/votes/?votenum=158&chamber=H&congress=1102
Vote Passed (308-116, 7 Not Voting)
The House voted to authorize $50 billion between 2009 and 2013 to help
fight the international spread of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.
Rep. Mazie Hirono voted
YES
send e-mail (http://capwiz.com/congressorg/mail/?id=31644&mailid=custom)
see bio (http://capwiz.com/congressorg/bio/?id=31644)
--------
United States Fire Administration Reauthorization Act
http://capwiz.com/congressorg/issues/votes/?votenum=160&chamber=H&congress=1102
Vote Passed (412-0, 18 Not Voting)
The House unanimously reauthorized funding for the U.S. Fire
Administration in the amount of $293 billion over five years.
Rep. Mazie Hirono voted
YES
send e-mail (http://capwiz.com/congressorg/mail/?id=31644&mailid=custom)
see bio (http://capwiz.com/congressorg/bio/?id=31644)
=========
Upcoming Votes:
Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008 - H.R.3221
The Senate will vote on this foreclosure prevention bill.
The National Landscape Conservation System Act - H.R.2016 The House is
scheduled to vote on this bill to establish a system to conserve, protect,
and restore nationally significant landscapes through the Bureau of Land
Management.
Beach Protection Act - H.R.2537
The House will likely vote on this bill that would improve environmental protection of beaches.
=================================================================
4. Earth Transformation Conference - May 16, 17 & 18 - Kona, Hawaii
Date: Mon, 07 Apr 2008 13:35:27 -1000
From: Global Media Productions <info@globalmediaproductions.com>
3rd Annual
Earth Transformation Conference
New Science - Consciousness - Contact
May 16 - 18, 2008
Kona, Big Island of Hawaii
David Wilcock -2012 Enigma
Economic turbulence, gov't corruption, social upheaval, mega Earth
Changes and ever-increasing UFO & paranormal reports. Could all these
things have a single explanation?
No one has put together as comprehensive and compelling a case as author
& filmmaker David Wilcock (known as the reincarnation of Edgar Cayce).
Learn the tools you need to move through these changes as smoothly and
fluently as possible.
Keynote Presentationwith David Wilcock atConferenceBanquet- May 17,
6:30-10 pm **See website for post conference workshop with David**
____________________________________________
Conference Presenters:
Dr. Michael Cremo
Human Devolution: A Vedic Alternative to Darwin's Theory
Much archeological and genetic evidence contradicts the idea that humans
evolved from ancient apes.(FRI)
Victoria Liljenquist
Merkabah Encounters & the Sacred Language of Light
Award winning documentary film producer shares her inspiring story &
Live film clips of Angelic Beings, Diamond Merkabahs & UFOs.(FRI)
Angelika Whitecliff
Supra-Consciousness: Evolution, Earth Changes & the New World
Find out why the Earth is unique in the universe and the goal of human
evolution.(FRI)
Dr. Elizabeth A. Rauscher
A New Way of Thinking About Ancient Myth & Prophecy
Quantum physicist & former UN advisor presents a new way of thinking
that originates in indigenous cultures around the world. (SAT)
Dr. Mark Macy
High-Tech Communications w/ the Finer Realms of Spirit
Award-winning afterlife author and researcher explores the use of
technical equipment to get information from the worlds of spirit. (SAT)
Luis Fernando -Bolivia
Extraterrestrial Guides: The Great White Brotherhood in the Andes & Lake
Titicaca
Encounters with the "Amautas" (wise elders) from ancient cultures who
now live in the underground cities of the Andes and Lake
Titicaca.(SAT)**Post conference workshop**
Joan Ocean
Underwater Extraterrestrial Vehicles, Whales & U.S. Navy Sonar Testing
A battle is taking place in our oceans. Find out the real reason behind
the Navy's sonar testing program and what we can do to protect the
whales.(SUN)
Paola Harris -Italy
The Rush towards Disclosure: Aliens Among us - The Maurizio Cavallo
Story Accounts are increasing of 'Human-type Aliens' who have integrated
among us and are trying to help us with coming events. This case has
startling images & evidence.(SUN)
Alex Collier
Spiritual Messages & Teaching from Andromeda In his first U.S.
appearance in over six years, author of 'On Sacred Ground' discusses his
extraordinary contacts with gentle, human extraterrestrials from
Andromeda.(SUN)
Dr. Michael Salla
Responding to Galactic COINTELPRO
A counter-intelligence program has been secretly waged against
'contactees' who claimed to have had direct physical contact with
extraterrestrial life.(SUN)
+Live Music, Guided Meditations, Booths, Dolphin Swim & More . . .
Location:Outrigger Keauhou Beach Resort, Kailua-Kona Room Special: $127 +
tax, call: (808) 324-2515 to reserve room & mention conference name for
discount
REGISTRATION:
FULL CONFERENCE PASS (3 days) - $325*
*keynote banquet not included
SINGLE DAY PASSES:
Friday, May 16 - $110
Saturday, May 17 - $120(w/out banquet)
Sunday, May 18 - $150
KEYNOTE & DINNER BANQUET
with DAVID WILCOCK:
2012 Enigma
May 17th, 6:30 - 10 pm
$75 **advance purchase only**
Call (808) 323-3400 Or visit: http://www. EarthTransformation. c o m
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
6. Please distribute as broadly as possible amongst your network - public
fact gathering meeting on east maui stream restoration
Date: Mon, 07 Apr 2008 14:13:17 -1000
From: Lc <palolo@hawaii.rr.com>
please forward to friends on maui...
----- Original Message ----- From: Alan Murakami
Sent: Monday, April 07, 2008 1:47 PM
ALERT
Notice of Public Fact Gathering Meeting on
East Maui Stream Restoration Petitions
PLEASE SUPPORT EAST MAUI TARO FARMERS!
Date: April 10, 2008 (Thursday)
Time: 5 PM to 9 PM
Place: Haiku Community Center
The Commission on Water Resources Management is convening a Community Fact
Gathering meeting in connection with petitions to restore flow to 27 East
Maui streams filed by Na Moku Aupuni O Ko`olau Hui, Beatrice Kekahuna, and
Marjorie Wallett.
Following 7 years of delay in acting on petitions to restore stream flow
to 27 East Maui Streams, the Commission is asking the public to provide
"testimony and additional information," which it can add to its set of
Instream Flow Standard Assessment Reports for 5 hydrologic units covering
only the following eight (8) streams: Honopou, Hanehoi, Puolua, Pi`ina`au,
Palauhulu, Waiokamilo, Wailuanui, and Kulani. The governing statute does
NOT require this meeting.
Taro farmers have endured great hardships growing taro without enough
water. `O`opu, `opae, hihiwai and other foods once gathered by families
from the streams have disappeared because there is no water. Massive
diversions by Alexander and Baldwin and East Maui Irrigation (A&B/EMI)
have taken all the water out of East Maui streams.
Talking points:
1. A&B has never had to prove what water it diverts is
actually needed. The law says the one who takes the water is supposed to
prove that what they need does not harm the stream or the small taro
farmer.
a. A&B uses 17,000 gallons per day per acre in the wet season and 34,000
gpd per acre in the dry season.
b. A&B diverts an average of 160 million gallons per day (MGD), about as
much as all of O`ahu consumes.
2. Native Hawaiians are beneficiaries of the ceded lands trust. Why do
its beneficiaries suffer while big companies benefit from a public trust
resource?
a. The State of Hawai`i allows A&B to divert over 75% of this water from
state ceded lands.
b. A&B pays only 1/5 of 1 cent per 1,000 gallons for East Maui water,
while most farmers pay over 35 cents per 1000 gallons for irrigation
water.
3. CWRM has had the scientific data, contained in U.S.
Geological Survey studies, for the past three years. Why can't CWRM act
immediately to restore East Maui streams? CWRM can restore the streams
NOW.
4. By law, CWRM is required to act within 180 days of
receiving a petition. It's been 7 years since taro farmers filed their
petitions. CWRM should act on the petitions NOW.
If you have any comments regarding the need to protect these streams,
please prepare to testify in support of restoring these streams for East
Maui taro farmers and subsistence gatherers.
Attend a preparatory meeting just prior to the April 10 event at 3:30 PM
if you want more information about helping the East Maui farmers and
cultural practitioners outside the Haiku Community Center
Alan T. Murakami, Esq.
Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation
1164 Bishop Street
Suite 1205
Honolulu, HI 96813
Tel: 808-521-2302
Fax: 808-537-4268
-------------------------------------------------------------------
6. tibet and palestine
Date: Mon, 07 Apr 2008 17:22:30 -0700 (PDT)
From: patricia blair <cris6369@yahoo.com>
"Hey! Take your hands off Hawai'i!!" adds g.]
my feeling exactly. mm & PB
Apri1 7, 2008
"Not You! You!!!"
Tibet and Palestine
By URI AVNERY
"Hey! Take your hands off me! Not you! You!!!"--the voice of a
young woman in the darkened cinema, an old joke.
"Hey! Take your hands off Tibet!" the international chorus is
crying out, "But not from Chechnya! Not from the Basque homeland!
And certainly not from Palestine!" And that is not a joke.
* * *
LIKE EVERYBODY else, I support the right of the Tibetan people to
independence, or at least autonomy. Like everybody else, I condemn the
actions of the Chinese government there. But unlike everybody else, I am
not ready to join in the demonstrations.
Why? Because I have an uneasy feeling that somebody is washing my brain,
that what is going on is an exercise in hypocrisy.
I don't mind a bit of manipulation. After all, it is not by accident that
the riots started in Tibet on the eve of the Olympic Games in Beijing.
That's alright. A people fighting for their freedom have the right to use
any opportunity that presents itself to further their struggle.
I support the Tibetans in spite of it being obvious that the Americans are
exploiting the struggle for their own purposes. Clearly, the CIA has
planned and organized the riots, and the American media are leading the
world-wide campaign. It is a part of the hidden struggle between the US,
the reigning super-power, and China, the rising super-power - a new
version of the "Great Game" that was played in central Asia in the 19th
century by the British Empire and Russia. Tibet is a token in this game.
I am even ready to ignore the fact that the gentle Tibetans have carried
out a murderous pogrom against innocent Chinese, killing women and men and
burning homes and shops. Such detestable excesses do happen during a
liberation struggle.
No, what is really bugging me is the hypocrisy of the world media. They
storm and thunder about Tibet. In thousands of editorials and talk-shows
they heap curses and invective on the evil China. It seems as if the
Tibetans are the only people on earth whose right to independence is being
denied by brutal force, that if only Beijing would take its dirty hands
off the saffron-robed monks, everything would be alright in this, the best
of all possible worlds.
* * *
THERE IS no doubt that the Tibetan people are entitled to rule their own
country, to nurture their unique culture, to promote their religious
institutions and to prevent foreign settlers from submerging them.
But are not the Kurds in Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria entitled to the
same? The inhabitants of Western Sahara, whose territory is occupied by
Morocco? The Basques in Spain? The Corsicans off the coast of France? And
the list is long. Why do the world's media adopt one independence
struggle, but often cynically ignore another independence struggle? What
makes the blood of one Tibetan redder than the blood of a thousand
Africans in East Congo? Again and again I try to find a satisfactory
answer to this enigma. In vain. Immanuel Kant demanded of us: "Act as if
the principle by which you act were about to be turned into a universal
law of nature." (Being a German philosopher, he expressed it in much more
convoluted language.) Does the attitude towards the Tibetan problem
conform to this rule? Does it reflect our attitude towards the struggle
for independence of all other oppressed peoples? Not at all.
* * *
WHAT, THEN, causes the international media to discriminate between the
various liberation struggles that are going on throughout the world?
Here are some of the relevant considerations:
- Do the people seeking independence have an especially exotic
culture?
- Are they an attractive people, i.e. "sexy" in the view of the media?
- Is the struggle headed by a charismatic personality who is liked by the
media?
- It the oppressing government disliked by the media?
- Does the oppressing government belong to the pro-American camp? This is
an important factor, since the United States dominates a large part of the
international media, and its news agencies and TV networks largely define
the agenda and the terminology of the news coverage.
- Are economic interests involved in the conflict?
- Does the oppressed people have gifted spokespersons, who are able to
attract attention and manipulate the media?
* * *
FROM THESE points of view, there is nobody like the Tibetans. They enjoy
ideal conditions.
Fringed by the Himalayas, they are located in one of the most beautiful
landscapes on earth. For centuries, just to get there was an adventure.
Their unique religion arouses curiosity and sympathy. Its non-violence is
very attractive and elastic enough to cover even the ugliest atrocities,
like the recent pogrom. The exiled leader, the Dalai Lama, is a romantic
figure, a media rock-star. The Chinese regime is hated by many - by
capitalists because it is a Communist dictatorship, by Communists because
it has become capitalist. It promotes a crass and ugly materialism, the
very opposite of the spiritual Buddhist monks, who spend their time in
prayer and meditation.
When China builds a railway to the Tibetan capital over a thousand
inhospitable kilometers, the West does not admire the engineering feat,
but sees (quite rightly) an iron monster that brings hundreds of thousands
of Han-Chinese settlers to the occupied territory.
And of course, China is a rising power, whose economic success threatens
America's hegemony in the world. A large part of the ailing American
economy already belongs directly or indirectly to China. The huge American
Empire is sinking hopelessly into debt, and China may soon be the biggest
lender. American manufacturing industry is moving to China, taking
millions of jobs with it. Compared to these factors, what have the
Basques, for example, to offer? Like the Tibetans, they inhabit a
contiguous territory, most of it in Spain, some of it in France. They,
too, are an ancient people with their own language and culture. But these
are not exotic and do not attract special notice. No prayer wheels. No
robed monks.
The Basques do not have a romantic leader, like Nelson Mandela or the
Dalai Lama. The Spanish state, which arose from the ruins of Franco's
detested dictatorship, enjoys great popularity around the world. Spain
belongs to the European Union, which is more or less in the American camp,
sometimes more, sometimes less.
The armed struggle of the Basque underground is abhorred by many and is
considered "terrorism", especially after Spain has accorded the Basques a
far-reaching autonomy. In these circumstances, the Basques have no chance
at all of gaining world support for independence.
The Chechnyans should have been in a better position. They, too, are a
separate people, who have for a long time been oppressed by the Czars of
the Russian Empire, including Stalin and Putin. But alas, they are Muslims
- and in the Western world, Islamophobia now occupies the place that had
for centuries been reserved for anti-Semitism. Islam has turned into a
synonym for terrorism, it is seen as a religion of blood and murder. Soon
it will be revealed that Muslims slaughter Christian children and use
their blood for baking Pitta. (In reality it is, of course, the religion
of dozens of vastly different peoples, from Indonesia to Morocco and from
Kosova to Zanzibar.
The US does not fear Moscow as it fears Beijing. Unlike China, Russia does
not look like a country that could dominate the 21st century. The West has
no interest in renewing the Cold War, as it has in renewing the Crusades
against Islam. The poor Chechnyans, who have no charismatic leader or
outstanding spokespersons, have been banished from the headlines. For all
the world cares, Putin can hit them as much as he wants, kill thousands
and obliterate whole towns.
That does not prevent Putin from supporting the demands of Abkhazia and
South Ossetia for separation from Georgia, a country which infuriates
Russia.
* * *
IF IMMANUEL KANT knew what's going on in Kosova, he would be scratching
his head.
The province demanded its independence from Serbia, and I, for one,
supported that with all my heart. This is a separate people, with a
different culture (Albanian) and its own religion (Islam). After the
popular Serbian leader, Slobodan Milosevic, tried to drive them out of
their country, the world rose and provided moral and material support for
their struggle for independence.
The Albanian Kosovars make up 90% of the citizens of the new state, which
has a population of two million. The other 10% are Serbs, who want no part
of the new Kosova. They want the areas they live in to be annexed to
Serbia. According to Kant's maxim, are they entitled to this?
I would propose a pragmatic moral principle: Every population that
inhabits a defined territory and has a clear national character is
entitled to independence. A state that wants to keep such a population
must see to it that they feel comfortable, that they receive their full
rights, enjoy equality and have an autonomy that satisfies their
aspirations. In short: that they have no reason to desire separation.
That applies to the French in Canada, the Scots in Britain, the Kurds in
Turkey and elsewhere, the various ethnic groups in Africa, the indigenous
peoples in Latin America, the Tamils in Sri Lanka and many others. Each
has a right to choose between full equality, autonomy and independence.
* * *
THIS LEADS us, of course, to the Palestinian issue.
In the competition for the sympathy of the world media, the Palestinians
are unlucky. According to all the objective standards, they have a right
to full independence, exactly like the Tibetans. They inhabit a defined
territory, they are a specific nation, a clear border exists between them
and Israel. One must really have a crooked mind to deny these facts.
But the Palestinians are suffering from several cruel strokes of fate: The
people that oppress them claim for themselves the crown of ultimate
victimhood. The whole world sympathizes with the Israelis because the Jews
were the victims of the most horrific crime of the Western world. That
creates a strange situation: the oppressor is more popular than the
victim. Anyone who supports the Palestinians is automatically suspected of
anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial.
Also, the great majority of the Palestinians are Muslims (nobody pays
attention to the Palestinian Christians). Since Islam arouses fear and
abhorrence in the West, the Palestinian struggle has automatically become
a part of that shapeless, sinister threat, "international terrorism". And
since the murders of Yasser Arafat and Sheik Ahmed Yassin, the
Palestinians have no particularly impressive leader - neither in Fatah nor
in Hamas.
The world media are shedding tears for the Tibetan people, whose land is
taken from them by Chinese settlers. Who cares about the Palestinians,
whose land is taken from them by our settlers? In the world-wide tumult
about Tibet, the Israeli spokespersons compare themselves - strange as it
sounds - to the poor Tibetans, not to the evil Chinese. Many think this
quite logical.
If Kant were dug up tomorrow and asked about the Palestinians, he would
probably answer: "Give them what you think should be given to everybody,
and don't wake me up again to ask silly questions." Uri Avnery is an
Israeli writer and peace activist with Gush Shalom. He is o a contributor
to CounterPunch's book The Politics of Anti-Semitism.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7. Study confirms beneficiaries treated like 'second-class' citizens
Date: Tue, 08 Apr 2008 00:24:51 +0000
From: Ana <uriohau@gmail.com>
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0804/S00130.htm
Tuesday, 8 April 2008, 11:56 am
Press Release: University of Auckland
Press release 8 April 2008
Study confirms beneficiaries treated like 'second-class' citizens
It comes as no surprise that the Kiwis Count Survey released today has
found low public satisfaction with social assistance services", says Dr
Louise Humpage, a sociologist at the University of Auckland. The survey
found that only 52% of respondents are satisfied with their most recent
service experience in this area, compared to 79% in environment and
recreation and 75% in education and training.
"This finding supports my own research, where focus group participants
believed many beneficiaries are treated like 'second-class' citizens and
Work and Income officials and processes are the main culprit", said Dr
Humpage, who is leading a new study on understandings of citizenship in
New Zealand.
"Participants in focus groups gave example after example whereby Work &
Income treated beneficiaries with disrespect - even while they displayed
signs on the walls promoting client rights", says Dr. Humpage. Those on
the Unemployment and Domestic Purposes benefits were treated the worst,
while students and super annuitants did not feel as stigmatised.
"This is the result of the welfare policies we have seen since the 1990s
which require many beneficiaries to run around meeting obligations that
other New Zealand citizens don't have, just because they receive income
support. This is having a negative impact on their sense of belonging and
identity as New Zealanders".
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
8. Pono Power for Hawaii (and Pasifika)??? and comment
Date: Mon, 07 Apr 2008 15:13:06 -1000
From: mike reitz <mreitz@pacbell.net>
Came across OTEC today for essentially the first time (was only vaguely
aware of it before) in a post from Larry Geller's `Disappeared News' blog,
where he points us to the blog and link below. Fascinating stuff, it
seems, especially the "baseload" aspect of it-meaning it's not
intermittent like wind or sun, but always on. Then, too, depending on the
system configuration, it can also produce fresh water as a
by-product...something so many of the low-lying islands could make use of.
Anyway, I've clipped in some more info (looks like old DOE stuff) below
this. Also came across another URL which appears to have more updated
info:
http://www.nrel.gov/otec/what.html . Could this be the best power source
for Hawaii???
m
http://hawaiienergyoptions.blogspot.com/2008/03/job-one-lets-get-real-about-hawaiis.html
Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) is the best long-term technology
solution to reduce Hawaii's dependence on imported oil. OTEC is far
superior to the other energy alternatives touted for electric power in the
Aloha State -- so superior in replacing oil for baseload electricity
generation that any legislator, government official, utility executive,
energy expert or environmental leader who doesn't support OTEC is simply
not believable.
Wind power, solar water heating, conservation and photovoltaic technology
all reduce the amount of fossil fuel that must be burned to meet Hawaii's
energy needs, but they are not baseload energy sources that contribute
around the clock, throughout the year. OTEC is the only widely available
renewable resource in Hawaii that can do that (geothermal energy is
confined to the Big Island), a point apparently lost on too many opinion
leaders in the energy debate.
OTEC's too expensive, you say? Shake out the cobwebs! This is 2008, not
the 1980s; oil traded at $111 a barrel today! OTEC became economically
viable long ago, and its technology is much improved over the OTEC process
that was originally tested and proven in waters off the Kona Coast two and
three decades ago.
We'll have plenty to say about OTEC and the other energy options here at
"Straight Talk." For now, read up on OTEC; the web is loaded with
information. Post your comments, ask questions or take issue with what we
write. We should also mention this at the outset: I'm a consultant, but I
have no OTEC client. I'm just a 35-year Hawaii resident whose
grandchildren live here, too. I want to see realistic solutions proposed
and implemented that will meet the islands' energy requirements and serve
my grandkids' needs 10 to 50 years from now.
Join the discussion. Contribute to the buzz on Ocean Thermal Energy
Conversion and how it can tap into the planet's greatest energy supply --
the tropical ocean that surrounds our tropical state.
Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion
A process called Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) uses the heat
energy stored in the Earth's oceans to generate electricity.
OTEC works best when the temperature difference between the warmer, top
layer of the ocean and the colder, deep ocean water is about 20°C (36°F).
These conditions exist in tropical coastal areas, roughly between the
Tropic of Capricorn and the Tropic of Cancer. To bring the cold water to
the surface, OTEC plants require an expensive, large diameter intake pipe,
which is submerged a mile or more into the ocean's depths.
Some energy experts believe that if it could become cost-competitive with
conventional power technologies, OTEC could produce billions of watts of
electrical power.
HISTORY
OTEC technology is not new. In 1881, Jacques Arsene d'Arsonval, a French
physicist, proposed tapping the thermal energy of the ocean. But it was
d'Arsonval's student, Georges Claude, who in 1930 actually built the first
OTEC plant in Cuba. The system produced 22 kilowatts of electricity with a
low-pressure turbine. In 1935, Claude constructed another plant aboard a
10,000-ton cargo vessel moored off the coast of Brazil. Weather and waves
destroyed both plants before they became net power generators. (Net power
is the amount of power generated after subtracting power needed to run the
system.)
In 1956, French scientists designed another 3-megawatt OTEC plant for
Abidjan, Ivory Coast, West Africa. The plant was never completed, however,
because it was too expensive.
The United States became involved in OTEC research in 1974 with the
establishment of the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority. The
Laboratory has become one of the world's leading test facilities for OTEC
technology.
TECHNOLOGIES
The types of OTEC systems include the following:
* Closed-Cycle
These systems use fluid with a low-boiling point, such as ammonia, to
rotate a turbine to generate electricity. Warm surface seawater is pumped
through a heat exchanger where the low-boiling-point fluid is vaporized.
The expanding vapor turns the turbo-generator. Cold deep-seawater-pumped
through a second heat exchanger-condenses the vapor back into a liquid,
which is then recycled through the system.
In 1979, the Natural Energy Laboratory and several private-sector partners
developed the mini OTEC experiment, which achieved the first successful
at-sea production of net electrical power from closed-cycle OTEC. The mini
OTEC vessel was moored 1.5 miles (2.4 km) off the Hawaiian coast and
produced enough net electricity to illuminate the ship's light bulbs and
run its computers and televisions.
In 1999, the Natural Energy Laboratory tested a 250-kW pilot OTEC
closed-cycle plant, the largest such plant ever put into operation.
* Open-Cycle
These systems use the tropical oceans' warm surface water to make
electricity. When warm seawater is placed in a low-pressure container, it
boils. The expanding steam drives a low-pressure turbine attached to an
electrical generator. The steam, which has left its salt behind in the
low-pressure container, is almost pure fresh water. It is condensed back
into a liquid by exposure to cold temperatures from deep-ocean water.
In 1984, the Solar Energy Research Institute (now the National Renewable
Energy Laboratory) developed a vertical-spout evaporator to convert warm
seawater into low-pressure steam for open-cycle plants. Energy conversion
efficiencies as high as 97% were achieved. In May 1993, an open-cycle OTEC
plant at Keahole Point, Hawaii, produced 50,000 watts of electricity
during a net power-producing experiment.
* Hybrid
These systems combine the features of both the closed-cycle and open-cycle
systems. In a hybrid system, warm seawater enters a vacuum chamber where
it is flash-evaporated into steam, similar to the open-cycle evaporation
process. The steam vaporizes a low-boiling-point fluid (in a closed-cycle
loop) that drives a turbine to produce electricity.
OTHER TECHNOLOGIES
OTEC has important benefits other than power production. For example, air
conditioning can be a byproduct. Spent cold seawater from an OTEC plant
can chill fresh water in a heat exchanger or flow directly into a cooling
system. Simple systems of this type have air conditioned buildings at the
Natural Energy Laboratory for several years.
OTEC technology also supports chilled-soil agriculture. When cold seawater
flows through underground pipes, it chills the surrounding soil. The
temperature difference between plant roots in the cool soil and plant
leaves in the warm air allows many plants that evolved in temperate
climates to be grown in the subtropics. The Natural Energy Laboratory
maintains a demonstration garden near its OTEC plant with more than 100
different fruits and vegetables, many of which would not normally survive
in Hawaii.
Aquaculture is perhaps the most well-known byproduct of OTEC. Cold-water
delicacies, such as salmon and lobster, thrive in the nutrient-rich, deep
seawater from the OTEC process. Microalgae such as Spirulina, a health
food supplement, also can be cultivated in the deep-ocean water.
As mentioned earlier, another advantage of open or hybrid-cycle OTEC
plants is the production of fresh water from seawater. Theoretically, an
OTEC plant that generates 2-MW of net electricity could produce about
4,300 cubic meters (14,118.3 cubic feet) of desalinated water each day.
OTEC also may one day provide a means to mine ocean water for 57 trace
elements. Most economic analyses have suggested that mining the ocean for
dissolved substances would be unprofitable. Mining involves pumping large
volumes of water and the expense of separating the minerals from seawater.
But with OTEC plants already pumping the water, the only remaining
economic challenge is to reduce the cost of the extraction process.
ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECONOMIC CHALLENGES
In general, careful site selection is the key to keeping the environmental
impacts of OTEC to a minimum. OTEC experts believe that appropriate
spacing of plants throughout the tropical oceans can nearly eliminate any
potential negative impacts of OTEC processes on ocean temperatures and on
marine life.
OTEC power plants require substantial capital investment upfront. OTEC
researchers believe private sector firms probably will be unwilling to
make the enormous initial investment required to build large-scale plants
until the price of fossil fuels increases dramatically or until national
governments provide financial incentives. Another factor hindering the
commercialization of OTEC is that there are only a few hundred land-based
sites in the tropics where deep-ocean water is close enough to shore to
make OTEC plants feasible.
-------------------
Date: Mon, 07 Apr 2008 21:36:49 -0400
From: KahiwaL@cs.com
"mike reitz" <mreitz@pacbell.net> wrote:
>Could this be the best power source for Hawaii???
It depends on how much net energy it can produce vs. the cost of plant.
Also, while it may work on Hawai'i island, a young island where deep water
abruptly occurs a short distance from the shoreline, it may not work at
all in extended shallow waters surrounding many islands because you still
need that 20 degree differential.
ku
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~-------------------------
9. PBS Frontline: The Medicated Child to be Rebroadcast April 8
Date: Mon, 07 Apr 2008 16:57:18 -1000
From: Viviane Lerner <vivlerner@gmail.com>
Begin forwarded message:
ALLIANCE FOR HUMAN RESEARCH PROTECTION
Promoting Openness, Full Disclosure, and Accountability
http://www.ahrp.org <http://www.ahrp.org/> and http://ahrp.blogspot.com
FYI
For those who missed the riveting report, The Medicated Child, PBS (Public
Broadcasting System) is rebroadcasting the report by popular
demand!!!!!!!!!!!
Promo: "Six million American children are taking psychiatric drugs, but
most have never been tested on children. Is this good medicine - or an
uncontrolled experiment?"
"In recent years, there's been a dramatic increase in the number of
children being diagnosed with serious psychiatric disorders and prescribed
medications that are just beginning to be tested in children. The drugs
can cause serious side effects, and virtually nothing is known about their
long-term impact. "It's really to some extent an experiment, trying
medications in these children of this age," child psychiatrist Dr. Patrick
Bacon tells FRONTLINE.
"It's a gamble. And I tell parents there's no way to know what's going to
work."
In The Medicated Child, FRONTLINE producer Marcela Gaviria confronts
psychiatrists, researchers and government regulators about the risks,
benefits and many questions surrounding prescription drugs for troubled
children. The biggest current controversy surrounds the diagnosis of
bipolar disorder. Formerly called manic depression, bipolar disorder was
long believed to exist only in adults. But in the mid-1990s, bipolar in
children began to be diagnosed at much higher rates, sometimes in kids as
young as 4 years old.
"The rates of bipolar diagnoses in children have increased markedly in
many communities over the last five to seven years," says Dr. Steven
Hyman, a former director of the National Institute of Mental Health. "I
think the real question is, are those diagnoses right? And in truth, I
don't think we yet know the answer."
Like many of the 1 million children now diagnosed with bipolar, 5-
year-old Jacob Solomon was initially believed to suffer from an attention
deficit disorder. His parents reluctantly started him on Ritalin, but over
the next five years, Jacob would be put on one drug after another. "It all
started to feel out of control," Jacob's father, Ron, told FRONTLINE.
"Nobody ever said we can work with this through therapy and things like
that. Everywhere we looked it was, 'Take meds, take meds, take meds.'"
Over the years, Jacob's multiple medications have helped improve his mood,
but they've also left him with a severe tic in his neck which doctors are
having trouble fully explaining. "We're dealing with developing minds and
brains, and medications have a whole different impact in the young
developing child than they do in an adult," says Dr. Marianne Wamboldt,
the chief of psychiatry at Denver Children's Hospital. "We don't
understand that impact very well. That's where we're still in the Dark
Ages."
DJ Koontz was diagnosed with bipolar at 4 years old, after his temper
tantrums became more frequent and explosive. He was recently prescribed
powerful antipsychotic drugs. "It is a little worrisome to me because he
is so young," says DJ's mother, Christine. "If he didn't take it, though,
I don't know if we could function as a family. It's almost a do-or-die
situation over here." DJ's medicines seem to be helping him in the short
run, but the longer-term outlook is still uncertain.
"What's not really clear is whether many of the kids who are called
bipolar have anything that's related to this very well-studied disorder in
adults," says Dr. Thomas Insel, the director of the National Institute of
Mental Health. "It's not clear that people with that adult illness started
with what we're now calling bipolar in children. Nor is it clear that the
kids who have this disorder are going to grow up to have what we used to
call manic-depressive illness in adulthood."
While some urge caution when it comes to bipolar in children, FRONTLINE
talks with others who argue that we should intervene with drug treatments
at even younger ages for children genetically predisposed to the disorder.
"The theory is that if you get in early, before the first full mood
episode, then perhaps we can delay the onset to full mania," says Dr. Kiki
Chang of Stanford University. "And if that's the case, perhaps finding the
right medication early on can protect a brain so that these children never
do progress to full bipolar disorder."
***Kiki D. Chang, MD, has extensive financial ties to manufacturers of
psychotropic drugs. Dr. Chang has served as a consultant for Abbott
Laboratories, AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly & Company, GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen
Pharmaceutica, Shire US, and UCB Pharma. He receives research support from
Abbott Laboratories, GlaxoSmithKline, National Institute of Mental Health,
Heinz C. Prechter Foundation, National Alliance for Research in
Schizophrenia and Depression, and the Klingenstein Third Generation
Foundation. He also reports he serves on the speakers' bureau for Abbott
Laboratories, AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly & Company, GlaxoSmithKline, and
Ortho-McNeil. Dr. Chang also reports he discusses the unlabeled use of
psychotropic medication in children less than 18 years of age.
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/489331
So, his recommendations-- "get in early" expose children early on to
psychotropic drugs-- may be influenced by his financial interests, rather
than any scientific evidence to support them.
** The only PBS stations not airing "The Medicated Child" in primetime
that night are
WEDH Hartford, CT; WGVU, Grand Rapids, MI,; KPBS, San Diego, CA; and
KERA-Dallas TX.
We suggest you ask them to broadcast it at a later date!
Contact: Vera Hassner Sharav
veracare@ahrp.org
212-595-8974
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sent: 4/7/2008 3:01:00 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time
Subj: FRONTLINE: "The Medicated Child" rebroadcast
Dear Viewer of FRONTLINE's January 2008 broadcast, "The Medicated Child":
You kindly wrote into FRONTLINE's "Discussion" area following the
broadcast a few months ago to share your reactions to this report. Now, we
are taking the liberty of contacting you to let you know that this very
popular program is being nationally rebroadcast Tuesday night, April 8th,
on almost all PBS stations** (please check your local listings for exact
time).
We received a great number of letters from viewers after "The Medicated
Child" first aired in January. Many letterwriters shared their own
personal stories about how mood and behavior problems have affected them
and/or members of their family. So for this rebroadcast, FRONTLINE has
joined forces with WebMD to offer a special discussion forum at WebMD's
site <http://blogs.webmd.com/the-medicated-child> where viewers, following
the broadcast, can post comments and engage with each other about this
important issue.
Web MD blogs: http://blogs.webmd.com/the-medicated-child
<http://blogs.webmd.com/the-medicated-child>
On our own FRONTLINE Web site
<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/medicatedchild> , we also will
offer "Updates" about how the children featured in the report are doing.
And, of course, you can watch the entire program in full screen video at
any time on our Web site.
FRONTLINE "The Medicated Child:" http://www.pbs.org/frontline/
medicatedchild
We hope you find this information useful.
Thank you.
Sincerely, FRONTLINE's Editors
(Check Local Listings):
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/programs/localized/pbsv.html
<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/programs/localized/pbsv.html>
=====--------------------------------------------------------------
10. Celebration of a Nation
Date: Mon, 07 Apr 2008 18:33:09 -1000
From: Lc <palolo@hawaii.rr.com>
CELEBRATION OF A NATION
COMMEMORATING THE HAWAIIAN NATION
A Legacy from the Past^×A Challenge for the Future
TARGETING APRIL 2010
COME HELP US ORGANIZE AND PLAN AND ASSIST OTHERS WHO ARE ALREADY
COMMEMORATING EVENTS
Sunday, April 13,
Nu`uanu Valley Park
Next to Queen Emma^Òs Summer Palace
Events to be discussed:
Battle of Nu`uanu, April 26, 2008 (Saturday)
La Ho`iho`i Ea, July 31, 2008 (Thursday)
So-Called Annexation Day, Aug. 12, 2008 (Tuesday)
Public Law 103-150, Nov. 23, 2008 (Sunday)
La Ku`oko`a, Nov. 28, 2008 (Friday)
Memorial Day, Dec. 30, 2008 (Tuesday)
Sovereign Sunday, Jan. 17, 2009 (Saturday)
Celebration of the Continuity of a Nation, August 21, 2008 (Thursday)
[So-called Statehood]
Continuity of the Nation, August 21, 2009 (Friday)
Others?
For more info, call Mel Kalahiki @ 284-8722
Or
Lynette Cruz @ 284-3460
For
THE LIVING NATION
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
11. Voices Health/Environment News
Date: Mon, 07 Apr 2008 20:10:00 -0500
From: nimchira <tepaatu@gmail.com>
News from the Health and Environmental Communities.
Published since Nov, 2005
April 7, 2008
In This Issue:
Todays recalls:
Dollar Tree Plush Insect Toys
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/recalls04/2008/dollartree_insect.html
Malt-O-Meal Company Initiates Voluntary Recall of Unsweetened Puffed Rice
and Unsweetened Puffed Wheat Cereals Due to Possible Health
Risk-Malt-O-Meal announced that it is voluntarily recalling its
unsweetened Puffed Rice and unsweetened Puffed Wheat Cereals produced with
"Best If Used By" codes between April 8, 2008 (coded as "APR0808") and
March 18, 2009 (coded as "MAR1809") because they may have the potential to
be contaminated with Salmonella. The recalled product was distributed
nationally, marketed under the Malt-O-Meal brand and as some private label
brands including Acme, America's Choice, Food Club, Giant, Hannaford,
Jewel, Laura Lynn, Pathmark, Shaw's, ShopRite, Tops and Weis Quality.
http://www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmrecalls/maltomeal04_08.html
=======
American Songbirds Are Being Wiped Out by Banned Pesticides
http://tinyurl.com/4fh6f7
Duck and cover: its the new survivalism
http://newsletters.dailyclimate.org/t/11151/21497/14031/0/?u=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5ueXRpbWVzLmNvbS8yMDA4LzA0LzA2L2Zhc2hpb24vMDZzdXJ2aXZhbC5odG1s&x=f0dd7530
Early findings on air pollution's effects on brain cause concern.
http://newsletters.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/11148/3057/14020/0/?u=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5wZS5jb20vbG9jYWxuZXdzL2lubGFuZC9zdG9yaWVzL1BFX05ld3NfTG9jYWxfRF9icmFpbjA3LjM0ZmM2M2UuaHRtbA%3d%3d&x=a87edab4
Toxin turns up in school buildings, but officials say there's no danger.
Window sills and door frames in dozens of city public schools contain a
toxin that can lower IQ scores, causes asthma and is linked to cancer
http://newsletters.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/11148/3057/14042/0/?u=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5ueWRhaWx5bmV3cy5jb20vbnlfbG9jYWwvZWR1Y2F0aW9uLzIwMDgvMDQvMDcvMjAwOC0wNC0wN190b3hpbl90dXJuc191cF9pbl9zY2hvb2xfYnVpbGRpbmdzX2J1dF9vLmh0bWw%3d&x=2291279a
Mr. McCain's approach to health care is based on the fantasy that the
magic of the marketplace can produce cheap health care for everyone.
http://www.alternet.org/healthwellness/81501/
Conservative, ideologically-motivated HIV/AIDS policy is doing damage
world-wide. Zambia is one illustrative example.
http://www.alternet.org/reproductivejustice/80620/
British Doctors Continue Useless Prescribing of Antibiotics
http://www.naturalnews.com/022957.html
Australian Drought Leads to First "Water Rage" Murder
http://www.naturalnews.com/022956.html
CNN Helps Autism Debacle Blow Up in Government's Face; Vaccine-Autism Link
No Longer in Question http://www.naturalnews.com/022955.html
=============
The news that is reported is not necessarily the viewpoint of Voices
Health/Environmental News. Nothing within this message should be construed
as endorsing, promoting or abetting any illegal or unethical activity. The
articles in this newsletter are not necessarily the opinion of the editor.
Material appearing here is distributed without profit or monetary gain to
those who have expressed an interest in receiving the material for
research and educational purposes. This is in accordance with Title 17 U.
S. C. section 107. http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html
Articles are reprinted under Fair Use Doctrine of International Copyright
Law. http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html
All copyrights belong to original publisher.Under Bill s.1618 TITLE III
passed by the 105th U.S. Congress. This letter cannot be considered spam
as long as we include: Contact information & a Remove Link Reprinted under
the Fair Use Law: Doctrine of international copyright law.
http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html
To send news reports, subscribe or unsubscribe send email to:
nimchira@cox.net Specify Voices, the Peoples News, or Voices
Health/Environmental News.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12. HI Superferry: Back from Drydock 4/7/08
Date: Mon, 07 Apr 2008 19:05:12 -1000
From: Brad Parsons <mauibrad@hotmail.com>
MONDAY, APRIL 7, 2008
HI Superferry: Back from Drydock 4/7/08
Today's pics:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21400600@N03/sets/72157604432760220/
Vessel came in 30 minutes early today, 'sick and fast' a reporter onboard
called it. First day back from a few weeks of drydock. CG helicopter came
in first at a few hundred feet altitude and buzzed the harbor and some of
Kahului with two circles and left. Missed the pic as I was still driving.
CG cutter from Oahu attended Alakai into the harbor.
Offloading from Oahu: Less than 15 cars (I counted 12 and an onboard
reporter also mentioned 12 to a Maui Tomorrow rep). Offloading 40 people
with at least 5 visible staying on the vessel for a total of about 45
people. Disembarking included 1 dog, 1 car packed to the gills, and at
least 1 regular commercial customer.
Onloading from Maui: 15 cars, 1 motorcycle. Could not count people
onloading, but company reporting has averaged 3 people per car in the
past...for an estimate of 45 people onloading.
The company would have incurred at least $15,000 to $20,000 of fuel
expenses uncovered by revenue on the round trip today.
KGMB9 and KHON were on the vessel filming. Should have reports from them
on TV tonight. KPOA and Maui TV News were filming onshore and should have
reports from them online soon.
KHON reporter reported to have gotten seasick, and their cameraman did not
feel good, but did not report getting seasick. KGMB9 evening news reported
some passengers getting seasick in what were relatively calm seas, [B-O-M
Level 3, Beaufort Force 5].
Aloha, Brad
________________________________________________________________________________
13. KIRC names Näho'opi'i as Executive Director
Date: Mon, 7 Apr 2008 09:59:42 -1000
From: "Ellen Pelissero" <epelissero@kirc.hawaii.gov>
(Photo attached)
The Kaho'olawe Island Reserve Commission (KIRC) has named Michael K.
Näho'opi'i as its new executive director.
In reflecting on the commission's selection process and decision making,
Chair Noa Emmett Aluli, M.D. noted: "Selecting an executive director, a
leader, who will be the keeper and implementer of the vision and promise
of Kaho'olawe has been a very serious and vital task that all of the
members of the commission took on with focus and commitment.
"And, after very careful and thoughtful consideration we were very
pleased that Mike Näho'opi'i accepted our offer to be the executive
director of the Kaho'olawe Island Reserve Commission.
"A very strong project manager, Mike has an outstanding background
in fund development and grants, he is well connected and well respected in
the Hawaiian community and by the local legislature and our congressional
delegation. Mike also understands how to develop and implement strategy
and how to track and measure results. He is very familiar with us, our
programs and work that we do, and he knows Kaho'olawe."
Näho'opi'i officially assumed his duties as executive director of
the KIRC on March 10, 2008.
Michael K. Näho'opi'i - a Biographical Sketch
Mike Näho'opi'i has been involved with Kaho'olawe from virtually every
perspective in its recent history. A long-time Protect Kaho'olawe 'Ohana
(PKO) member and former US Navy Officer-in-Charge of Kaho'olawe during the
conveyance of the island to the State of Hawai'i, he was a senior manager
during the early Model Cleanup and the later Navy Unexploded Ordnance
(UXO) clearance project.
In a 1981 trip to Kaho'olawe, Mike was among a group of Kamehameha
Schools' students - organized by KIRC Commissioner Charles PMK Burrows,
Ed.D. and the PKO - who were the first children the Navy allowed on the
island. During that initial trip, Mike met and came to know Uncle Harry
Mitchell, Uncle Les Kuloloio, and current KIRC Chair Aluli.
In 1993, Näho'opi'i returned to Kaho'olawe as Officer-in-Charge of the
Navy's Kaho'olawe Project - the first Native Hawaiian naval officer ever
assigned to the island. There he commanded the Naval Construction
Battalion (SeaBee) Unit responsible for the operation and maintenance of
the "Smuggler's Cove" Base Camp and the Navy's compliance with the
Navy-PKO consent decree of 1980. Näho'opi'i's unit performed monthly UXO
sweeps, eradicated the remaining goats, conducted restoration plantings,
and assisted in scientific studies of the island as part of the federally
mandated responsibilities of the Kaho'olawe Island Conveyance Commission.
Also assigned as the Navy's representative to the PKO, Mike spent a
significant amount of time on Kaho'olawe and in Hakioawa Valley with the
PKO.
After leaving the Navy, Näho'opi'i served as senior project engineer for
both the Model UXO Clearance Project in 1995 and the Kaho'olawe UXO
Clearance Project from 1997 to 2004, responsible for project management
oversight of technical, project and quality management programs.
Prior to joining the KIRC as its executive director, Näho'opi'i served as
a project manager for a Native Hawaiian company - The Häna Group -
responsible for developing and managing quality and safety programs for
defense contract work in the fields of physical and industrial security,
range and missile safety, and base operations. Additionally, he was a
program director for the non-profit Pacific American Foundation, directing
federally funded programs in Native Hawaiian demographics, policies, and
education.
Born in Honolulu, Näho'opi'i graduated from the Kamehameha Schools in
1982. He received his BS in Electrical Engineering from the US Naval
Academy at Annapolis and was commissioned an ensign in 1986, serving as a
nuclear-trained submarine officer until his assignment to Kaho'olawe. In
1992, he received an MBA in accounting from Chaminade University.
Näho'opi'i is certified as a Quality Manager and Quality Engineer by the
American Society for Quality, and holds the designation of Project
Management Professional from the Project Management Institute. He and his
family reside in Kapahulu, O'ahu.
xxx
Ellen Pelissero
Outreach Specialist
Kaho`olawe Island Reserve Commission
811 Kolu Street, Suite 211
Wailuku, HI 96793
Phone: (808) 243-5020
Fax: (808) 243-5885
________________________________________________________________________________
14. Ya-Ya Network is now hiring youth activists!aa
Date: Tue, 08 Apr 2008 02:39:21 -0400
From: Ya-Ya Network <yayanetnyc@aol.com>
Please read before forwarding!
YA-YA is now hiring Youth Organizers!
WE'RE LOOKING FOR RECOMMENDATIONS AND QUALIFIED APPLICANTS.
MUST BE 15-19 YEARS OLD AND ABLE TO COMMIT TO A 14 MONTH JOB.
This is NOT a general call for applications. We would like you to pass
this on, but use your judgment in selecting the 2 or 3 individuals that
you think are most appropriate. We feel very strongly about making sure
that each application is taken seriously. Unfortunately, we do not have
the capacity to give full consideration to dozens of applicants who do not
meet the basic requirements.
[ABOUT US] The Ya-Ya Network is a youth led social justice organization
focusing primarily on Counter-Military Recruitment. We participate in
various campaigns, mobilizations, coalitions, education, outreach and
resource sharing efforts. We are committed to young people, especially
from marginalized communities as leaders in the movements for social,
economic and racial justice. We are actively anti-racist, anti-sexist and
allies to the LGBT community.
[WHO WE HIRE] We're looking for smart, passionate young people with some
experience in activism/organizing who are interested in stepping up their
leadership in the movements for justice.
[JOB DESCRIPTION] - Represent YA-YA at meetings, events and with the
press.
- Collaboratively plan, strategize and act on campaigns and projects.
- Write curriculum and facilitate trainings. Design and run workshops.
- Do outreach in person and by phone.
- Network with groups and individuals to support each other^Òs work.
- Suggest opportunities for the group and initiate action.
- Promote and maintain Ya-Ya's web tools and database.
[REQUIREMENTS] - Applicants must be between the ages of 15 and 19.
- Must be able to commit to work for 14 months (July 8th, 2008 through
August 2009).
- Basic experience/training in leadership, activism and/or organizing.
- A commitment to learn new things and then teach them accurately to
others.
- Take on and see projects/tasks through completion.
- Respect for women, low-income, LGBTQ folks in multi-racial/ethic,
intergenerational settings.
- Team player, responsive to the collective, peer accountability.
- Self-study through relevant reading, film, relationships with
experienced organizers/ leaders.
- Ability to work required hours (see below), including some evenings and
weekends.
[HOURS] During the school year our office hours are Mon-Wed, 4:30-7:30 PM.
3-16 field hours are required per week for attending meetings, running
workshops, site visits, etc. During the summer we generally work 12-6PM
Tues-Thurs, with some additional time for trainings and out-of-town trips.
You must make a commitment to work through August 2009. THIS IS NOT A
SUMMER JOB!
[$$$] The pay is $10/hour. This job isn't about making money. It's about
passion and commitment for change in the world.
[APPLY] Fill out the application and fax or email it back to us ASAP. If
you have any questions feel free to contact us. DEADLINE: June 4th 2008.
[APPLICATION]
Name:
Age:
Date
Address:
Phone #1:
Phone #2:
Email:
Current school:
How long?
Previous school:
How long?
How are you doing in school?
When do you expect to graduate?
What do you plan to do after you graduate? If you plan to go to college,
what might you study?
If you are not in school now, what are you doing instead?
What issues are you most interested in working on? (Please do NOT say
"Youth Issues". Be specific.)
What have you done about these issues?
What skills do you have that would be useful for this job?
What skills would you like to learn or improve?
Are you available to work Mon, Tues & Wed from 4:30 to 7:30 PM?
During the summer, are you available Tues-Thurs from 12-6 PM?
Can you work through Aug 2009?
What additional hours can you work?
Can you use a computer?
What languages do you speak?
Organizational Experience
Please list organizations that you have been involved with. This should
include groups in which you have been a participant or member (youth
programs, sports teams, publications, etc.) as well as training,
internships, volunteer work etc. Paid work should be listed in the next
section of the application. Begin with the most recent and work
backwards. If you need more room, just copy this form.
Name of organization:
Phone:
Dates: From-To:
Hrs per week:
Contact person:
Title:
Why did you leave?
Describe what you do/did at this organization:
Name of organization:
Phone:
Dates: From-To:
Hrs per week:
Contact person:
Title:
Why did you leave?
Describe what you do/did at this organization:
Work Experience
Please include both paid work and any volunteer work that was not
mentioned above. Don't forget Summer Youth jobs, family shop etc. Begin
with the most recent & work backwards. If you need more room, just copy
this form.
Name of Company:
Phone:
Dates: From-To:
Hrs per week:
Why did you leave?
Contact person:
Title:
Was this work paid or volunteer?
Salary:
Describe what you do/did at this job:
Name of Company:
Phone:
Dates: From-To:
Hrs per week:
Why did you leave?
Contact person:
Title:
Was this work paid or volunteer?
Salary:
Describe what you do/did at this job
References
Please provide the names & phone numbers of 3 people who can speak about
you and the quality of your work. They may be from school, work or a
community organization. Appropriate folks include: teacher, counselor,
supervisor, employer, trainer, co-worker etc. If you are currently in
school, please include one school person as a reference. The wider the
variety, the better. Be sure to ask people before you put them down as a
reference.
1. Name:
Relationship to you:
Organization:
Phone:
Best time to call:
2. Name:
Relationship to you:
Organization:
Phone:
Best time to call:
3. Name:
Relationship to you:
Organization:
Phone:
Best time to call:
Ya-Ya (Youth Activists-Youth Allies) Network
224 West 29th Street, 12th Fl, New York, NY 10001
212 239-0022, Fax: 212 239-4987, Info@yayanetwork.org, yayanetwork.org
_______________________________________________
15. are we all jackals (john perkin's economic hit men?) have we all
become secret admirers of the thurstons who wanted a share of the pie?
have we all become willing rats in the rat race/
Date: Mon, 07 Apr 2008 21:57:37 -1000
From: 'imiola young <imiola@hawaii.rr.com>
The American Empire Project
The Complex: How the Military Invades Our Everyday
Lives
By Nick Turse
Published by Metropolitan Books
hardcover | 304
3/1/2008 | US$24.00
ISBN: 0805078967
About the book:
A mind-boggling investigation of the allpervasive, constantly morphing
presence of the Pentagon in daily life^×a real-world Matrix come alive.
Here is the new, hip, high-tech military-industrial complex^×an
omnipresent, hidden-in-plain-sight system of systems that penetrates all
our lives.
From iPods to Starbucks to Oakley sunglasses, historian Nick Turse
explores the Pentagon^Òs little-noticed contacts (and contracts) with
the products and companies that now form the fabric of America. Turse
investigates the remarkable range of military incursions into the
civilian world: the Pentagon^Òs collaborations with Hollywood
filmmakers; its outlandish schemes to weaponize the wild kingdom; its
joint ventures with the World Wrestling Federation and NASCAR. He shows
the inventive ways the military, desperate for new recruits, now targets
children and young adults, tapping into the ^Óculture of cool^Ô by
making ^Ófriends^Ô on MySpace.
A striking vision of this brave new world of remote-controlled rats and
super-soldiers who need no sleep, The Complex will change our
understanding of the militarization of America. We are a long way from
Eisenhower^Òs military-industrial complex: this is the essential book
for understanding its twenty-first-century progeny.
Nick Turse holds a doctorate in history from Columbia University. The
associate editor and research director of Tomdispatch.com, he has
written for the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, The
Nation, and The Village Voice, as well as for a host of online sites.
Turse currently resides in Union City, New Jersey.
The Complex is available at all fine bookstores. Here are some links to
help you.
The American Empire Project
Published by Metropolitan Books
An imprint of Henry Holt and Company, Inc.
Copyright © 2003-2007 Henry Holt and Company
Developed and maintained by FSB Associates
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. COLLOQUIUM, Thu 4/10, Barbara Rose Johnston
Date: Fri, 04 Apr 2008 16:39:09 -1000
From: Department of Anthropology <anthprog@hawaii.edu>
ANTHROPOLOGY SPRING SERIES 2008
Half-Lives and Half-Truths: Confronting the Radioactive
Legacies of the Cold War
Barbara Johnston, Senior Research Fellow, Center for
Political Ecology
3:00 pm * 10 April 2008 * Spalding 155 (new location)
In this talk, Barbara Rose Johnston presents a compelling
analysis of years of official secrecy in both the United
States and Russia. For most people, the specter of nuclear
war evokes nightmares of giant mushroom clouds, blistering
waves of heat, and massive casualties-followed by a sigh of
relief that to date the world of nations has avoided such
"mutually assured destruction." Johnston disagrees,
suggesting that over the past 60 years, nuclear weapons
production itself has waged a different kind of war on the
communities around the world that have hosted the nuclear war
machine. The Cold War was, in fact, intensely hot, generating
acute and lasting radiogenic assaults on the environment and
human health. During what many call the first nuclear age,
when uranium was exploited, refined, enriched, and used to
end a world war and fight a cold war, a growing security
state compounded environmental and health damages. For
decades, this culture of secrecy distorted and withheld
information about the dangers of radioactivity from the
communities that hosted various elements of the government's
nuclear activities-uranium mines, mills, and enrichment
plants; weapons production facilities; military proving
grounds; battlefields; and nuclear waste dumps. Controlling
information meant the government was able to convince the
public of the relatively minimal threat posed by atmospheric
tests. This concerted public relations campaign also
generated biases that skewed generations of scientific
research. At the most fundamental of levels, the struggle to
address the radioactive legacy of the Cold War has been a
struggle over who has the right and power to shape, access,
and use information.
Barbara Rose Johnston is an ecological and medical
anthropologist, Adjunct Professor of Anthropology at Michigan
State University, and the Senior Research Fellow at the
Center for Political Ecology in Santa Cruz, California. Her
professional work has helped shape the fields of political
ecology and human rights and the environment, and has
included a focus on the impact of economic development and
national security in the Marshall Islands, American
southwest, the Caribbean and Mesoamerica. In 2007, her
research and expert witness testimony was cited in a
precedent-setting judgment by Marshall Islands Nuclear Claims
Tribunal -- awarding damages for involuntary resettlement,
loss of a way of life, loss of a healthy way of life, and
human subject experimentation to the Marshallese community of
Rongelap. Her talk today is based on her book Half-lives &
Half-truths: Confronting the Radioactive Legacies of the Cold
War (SAR Press 2007). Other notable publications include
Disappearing Peoples? Indigenous Groups and Ethnic Minorities
in South and Central Asia (with Barbara Brower, Left Coast
Press 2007); Water, Culture & Power: Local Struggles in a
Global Context (with John Donahue, Island Press 1998); Life
and Death Matters: Human Rights and the Environment at the
End of the Millennium (AltaMira 1997); and Who Pays the
Price? The Sociocultural Context of Environmental Crisis
(Island Press 1994)
Co-Sponsored by the Center for Pacific Islands Studies
For further information, please contact Anthropology at
anthprog@hawaii.edu
Letitia Hickson
Outreach Coordinator
Center for Pacific Islands Studies
University of Hawai`i at Manoa
1890 East-West Road, Moore 215
Honolulu, Hawai`i 96822
---------------------------------------------------------------------
17. Disappeared News - 2 new articles
Date: Tue, 08 Apr 2008 05:34:44 -0400
From: FeedBlitz <feedblitz@mail.feedblitz.com>
"DISAPPEARED NEWS" - 2 NEW ARTICLES - www.disappearednews.com
1. Will we just wait for the inevitable? Hawaii is so dependent on oil
it's gonna hurt one day
2.Slow and maybe queasy re-start for Superferry today
3.More Recent Articles
4.Search Disappeared News
Will we just wait for the inevitable? Hawaii is so dependent on oil
it's gonna hurt one day
by Larry Geller I like straight talk. So another plug for Doug Carlson's
new blog, Hawaii Energy Options: Time for Straight Talk. What can be
more direct than this: Thank you for your interest in our energy health,
which isn't healthy at all. Due to our overwhelming reliance on
imported oil for our energy, the Aloha State is on life support. Cut
that flow of oil and we'd be in economic arrest....
Slow and maybe queasy re-start for Superferry today
by Larry Geller KHON's website article speculates: Some travelers feeling
the crunch from Alohaâ^À^Ùs departure are looking for other options to
get to the neighbor islands. Well, maybe some, but not many so far.
Today's first Superferry trip after a long stay in drydock saw few
passengers, many of them reporters or camera crew. And some reporters
were a bit seasick. In fact, the KHON reporter was....
More Recent Articles
* Iranians brought peace to al-Maliki's short war
* Follow the Blue Planet Summit
* The feds have intervened so badly in our economy, we need something
different
* Testing whether barf can be predicted
* Who knew what when on Aloha demise?
________________________________________________________________________________
18. Kaniakapupu Cleanup and comment
Date: Tue, 08 Apr 2008 06:23:18 -0400 (EDT)
From: bchingkahoola@pol.net
Aloha kakou,
This Sunday coming is the agreed compromise day for Kaniakapupu cleanup.
Come get some fresh air, feel the Kiowao rain, and the warmth of ka la.
And after pau can go to the Living Nation meeting at 1 pm at
Hanaiakamalama.
See you all at 0900, at the BWS lilly pond pau noon.
Call me for questions, 722-9358.
Malama pono,
Kaho`ola
-------
From: kahiwal@cs.com
Sent: Tuesday, April 08, 2008 2:11 AM
bchingkahoola@pol.net wrote:
>And after pau can go to the Living Nation meeting at
>1 pm at Hanaiakamalama.
I am reminded that Kamehameha I had a home (around circa 1800) on a high
spot where he could observe his personal lo'i up and down the valley - at
Ahipu'u - which I would argue is probably at or very near the same
location as Hanaiakamalama - but preceding it by decades.
Some say there was a heiau there. I wouldn't be surprised.
But one haole wrote in his journal that he visited the king there and gave
the paraphrased description above.
It is also interesting that the Paki Auwai starts in the vicinity of
Kaniakapupu, however, I'm not sure whether the auwai at Hanaiakamalama is
continuous with the beginning of it at Kaniakapupu. I would guess that it
is.
High Chief Paki, builder of the auwai, was not only the father of Princess
Pauahi, he also performed the "marriage" between Kauikeaouli (Kamehameha
III) and his sister Nahienaena.
Actually, Paki didn't build the entire auwai by himself - he was the
organizer and supervisor - and every person downstream who hoped to use
the water was assigned to build a stretch of it.
It might be interesting though, that the the reservoir that is mentioned,
might be the same one, or near the same one, where power was generated for
Kalakaua's 'Iolani Palace - the water probably being sourced through the
Paki Auwai. I believe that historical accounts usually place the reservoir
power source near what is now O'ahu Country Club - which is not very far
away - or - not far from my favorite rock - Pohakuaumeume - that is on the
boundary of the country club.
Another very interesting feature of the area - or close by - is Waolani -
the valley site of O'ahu Country Club. It is said that that was the first
home of Papa and Wakea in Hawai'i. Others say that Papa and Wake were born
there.
Nu'uanu is indeed a magical and important place.
ku
=--------
Notes:
[image: Map of Queen Emma's]
This 1877 map shows Queen Emma's house alongside the Paki Auwai, with two
groups of taro lo'i ("kalo patches") . A reservoir is noted in bold in the
upper left.
The site of Hanaiakamalama, near Pu'iwa, is thought by some to have
formerly been a *heiau*. *Kalani* states, "from listening to people, I
understand that when Kamehameha would come, because the area was planted
in *lo'i* and *'uala*, it was about this area that he would turn and look
down the valley. So if this was a stopping off place, then there probably
would have been a *heiau*, to mark the spot or to conduct ceremonies and
rituals--because it was so much a part of daily life. You didn't go to
church on Sunday for two hours; Hawaiian spirituality was incorporated
throughout the whole day, from when you awoke. Maybe not in front of
strangers, but certainly in private."
_________________
Pohaku-a-Umeume <http://www.pacificworlds.com/lessons/lesson5.cfm>
[image: Pohaku-a-umeume]
The Pohaku-a-Umeume.
*The Pohaku-a-Umeume* is another remainder from the time that the menehune
and 'e'epa peoples inhabited Waolani. This rock was discussed earlier in
regard to these ancient peoples. There, we discussed the rock's later,
historical importance in relationship to the birth of O'ahu chiefs.
Indeed, there are some who say that the Pohaku-a-Umeume is itself a
birthing stone.
But in its legendary context, the Pohaku-a-Umeume is the focus of a
struggle between two rival groups. One version of the story involves two
different groups of menehune, which Mary Kawena Pukui identified as the
Na-mu and the Na-wa. *Mu* means "silent" and *Wa* means "noisy," so these
groups were The Silent Ones and the Noisy Ones. The story as told to
*Pukui* by *Lahilahi Webb* goes as follows (Sterling & Summers, 1978:
302):
------------------------------
[image: Fingerprints]
The marks said to be the fingerprints of the opposing groups.
"A group of *menehune* wanted that stone moved. some wanted it moved
*mauka*[upland], and some, *makai* [seawards]. They tugged at the stone
in opposite directions until the cock crowed and they all ran away.
"There the stone remained in its old place but on it are the imprints of
the hands of the *menehune* who did not agree and tugged, not together,
but against each other."
Here is a longer and slightly different version of the story, dictated by
*J. A. Wilder* from notes made of a conversation with the late *John A.
Cummins*(Hawaii Ethnological Notes vol.2: 204):
"The king of the menehune defied a giant king living in what is not the
Country Club grounds. He hurled insults at the giant and the latter threw
at him a stone called Pohakuaumeume. The fight becoming general, the air
was full of stones and this particular stone was thrown back and forth
many times.
"At last the menehune were driven to the cliff now represented by the name
Pacific Heights. Here the "stone of contention" (Pohakuaumeume) was hurled
with a mighty effort back to Waolani where it struck the chief giant in
the head, killing him and ending the battle."
[image: Birthing Stone?]
[image: Pohaku with 'ili'ili]
"This stone is now a boundary of the Country Club and is to be seen to
this day lying where it fell. ....The natives of the old school could be
seen worshipping or paying homage to Pohakuaumeume. The marks of the
giant's finger prints and the prints of the Menehune fingers are in it.
"After the victory the menehune gathered at the stream where the swamp,
the stream, and the cliff meet, and on a rock called Kaumakapili a
jubilation of victory took place. This rock is still there, and it is said
that Kaumakapili Church took its name from it."
Pohakuaumeume was also the rock which was the advisor for Kuali'i and his
ohana - and where they worshipped. An account of the story is written up
in Sterling and Summers: Sites of O'ahu.
__________
(Kamakau Tales 135-147; cf. Malo 238 and Kepelino 191-192. Papa and
W*a*kea are the Earth Mother and Sky Father of Polynesian religion
According to a widely accepted Hawaiian tradition, they are the first
ancestors of the kanaka maoli, standing at the beginning of genealogical
time. In one chant, they are said to have given birth to the islands of
Hawai'i, Maui, and Kaho'olawe [Beckwith Hawaiian Mythology 302]. Kamakau,
on the other hand, presents a genealogy in which Papa and W*a*kea, born at
Waolani, in Nu'uanu, O'ahu, appear twenty-seven generations after the
first man, K*a*nehulihonua ["Man made from earth"], and the first woman,
Keakahulilani ["Shadow changed by heaven"]. These two "progenitors of the
people of Hawai'i and of all those who dwell in the islands of the
Pacific" were created by K*a*ne, Lono, and Ku*, the main Gods of the
Hawaiian pantheon at the time of European contact. The three Gods made "a
model of the lands of the earth" in K*a*ne'ohe Bay between Kualoa and
K*a*ne'ohe; when they saw there was no chief to rule over all things, they
drew a man in the red-black soil "on the eastern flank of Mololani [a rise
near Heleloa Beach on M*o*kapu Peninsula], facing the sunrise and near the
seashore"; then they chanted the figure to life: "Hikiau; e ola!" ["I have
come; live!"] The first woman was created from the shadow of the first man
[Kamakau *Tales* 130-2]. Kamakau's localized creation story contains both
Polynesian and Biblical elements.)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
19. Secret US plan for military future in Iraq
Date: Tue, 08 Apr 2008 01:57:56 -1000
From: Kyle Kajihiro <keboi@aol.com>
[which means, in their eyes, endless use of hawaii aina for war training.
g]
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/apr/08/iraq.usa
Secret US plan for military future in Iraq
Document outlines powers but sets no time limit on troop presence
by Seumas Milne
The Guardian, Tuesday April 8 2008
This article appeared in the Guardian on Tuesday April 08 2008 on p1 of
the Top stories section. It was last updated at 02:07 on April 08 2008.
[PHOTO CUTLINE: US troops conduct a foot patrol along the Tigris river
south of Baghdad, Iraq. Photograph: David Furst/AFP/Getty images] .. A
confidential draft agreement covering the future of US forces in Iraq,
passed to the Guardian, shows that< br> provision is being made for an
open-ended military presence in the country.
The draft strategic framework agreement between the US and Iraqi
governments, dated March 7 and marked "secret" and "sensitive", is
intended to replace the existing UN mandate and authorises the US to
"conduct military operations in Iraq and to detain individuals when
necessary for imperative reasons of security" without time limit.
The authorisation is described as "temporary" and the agreement says the
US "does not desire permanent bases or a permanent military presence in
Iraq". But the absence of a time limit or restrictions on the US and other
coalition forces - including the British - in the country means it is
likely to be strongly opposed in Iraq and the US.
Iraqi critics point out that the agreement contains no limits on numbers
of US forces, the weapons they are able to deploy, their legal status or p
owers over Iraqi citizens, going far beyond long-term US security
agreements with other countries. The agreement is intended to govern the
status of the US military and other members of the multinational force.
Following recent clashes between Iraqi troops and Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi
army in Basra, and threats by the Iraqi government to ban his supporters
from regional elections in the autumn, anti-occupation Sadrists and Sunni
parties are expected to mount strong opposition in parliament to the
agreement, which the US wants to see finalised by the end of July. The UN
mandate expires at the end of the year.
One well-placed Iraqi Sunni political source said yesterday: "The feeling
in Baghdad is that this agreement is going to be rejected in its current
form, particularly after the events of the last couple of weeks. The
government is more or less happy with it as it is, but parliament is a
diffe rent matter."
It is also likely to prove controversial in Washington, where it has been
criticised by Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who has
accused the administration of seeking to tie the hands of the next
president by committing to Iraq's protection by US forces.
The defence secretary, Robert Gates, argued in February that the planned
agreement would be similar to dozens of "status of forces" pacts the US
has around the world and would not commit it to defend Iraq. But
Democratic Congress members, including Senator Edward Kennedy, a senior
member of the armed services committee, have said it goes well beyond
other such agreements and amounts to a treaty, which has to be ratified by
the Senate under the constitution.
Administration officials have conceded that if the agreement were to
include security guarantees to Iraq, it would have to go before Congress.
But th e leaked draft only states that it is "in the mutual interest of
the United States and Iraq that Iraq maintain its sovereignty, territorial
integrity and political independence and that external threats to Iraq be
deterred. Accordingly, the US and Iraq are to consult immediately whenever
the territorial integrity or political independence of Iraq is
threatened."
Significantly - given the tension between the US and Iran, and the
latter's close relations with the Iraqi administration's Shia parties -
the draft agreement specifies that the "US does not seek to use Iraq
territory as a platform for offensive operations against other states".
General David Petraeus, US commander in Iraq, is to face questioning from
all three presidential candidates on Capitol Hill today when he reports to
the Senate on his surge strategy, which increased US forces in Iraq by
about 30,000 last year.
Both Clin ton and Democratic rival Barack Obama are committed to beginning
troop withdrawals from Iraq. Republican senator John McCain has pledged to
maintain troop levels until the country is secure. = + =
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
20. Library Survey
Date: Tue, 08 Apr 2008 06:00:01 -1000
From: Dean of Students <announce@HAWAII.EDU>
Aloha.
Please take few moments to help the Windward Community College Library by
answering a few questions at:
http://www.surveyshare.com/survey/take/?sid=67890
We'd like your input, even if you don't use the WCC Library.
Your anonymous responses will help us with planning and improving
resources and services.
We expect this survey will take no more than 10 minutes to complete.
Note: If you have taken the survey already this semester, please disregard
this message.
Thanks from everyone at the Library!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
21. SPECIAL "CLOSED SESSION" OF U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Date: Tue, 08 Apr 2008 09:11:48 -0700
From: Rebecca Cummings <beckyspi@mac.com>
An update on what I asked about yesterday......... looks grim.
Jay, thanks for being the first to "wake me up" even if I thought you were
psycho at the time.
Becky
Begin forwarded message:
From: Lauren J Sullivan <ljsullivan1166@earthlink.net>
Date: April 7, 2008 11:28:20 PM PDT
Put on your lifejackets, fasten your seatbelts -- we're in for some
turbulence ... here's where our government declares war on us, 'We the
People' ...
Lauren
P.S. Full disclosure: The source of this article is the 'Hal Turner
Show'. Upon checking out this man via Google/Wikipedia, he has a really
rancid history as a racist, white supremacist, anti-Semite, Holocaust
denier, etc. However, he is right in assessing our government as a danger
to our well-being. And, as they say, "Don't shoot the messenger." It
would be good, however, if Turner had mentioned something about the source
of his information, especially as he himself is not reputable.
There are a couple of factual errors:This was only the fourth time in 176
years that Congress has closed its doors to the public.
Some other links of interest pertaining to this closed session:
This one looks almost identical to the Turner article (but I don't know
who the people are behind it):
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=46d_1205873088
Dennis Kucinich on Democracy Now! explaining why he refused to attend
this session (I like this guy more and more):
http://youtube.com/watch?v=gW2BXRdt59g&feature=related
Thursday, March 13, 2008
LAST NIGHTS SESSION WAS ONLY THE FOURTH TIME IN 176 YEARS THAT CONGRESS
CLOSED ITS DOORS TO THE PUBLIC
Word has begun leaking from last nights special, closed-door session of
the United States House of Representatives.
Not only did members discuss new surveillance provisions as was the
publicly stated reason for the closed door session, they also discussed:
> >
> > SPECIAL "CLOSED SESSION" OF U.S. HOUSE OF
> > REPRESENTATIVES DISCUSSED A LOT MORE THAN
> > THE PENDING SECURITY SURVEILLANCE PROVISIONS!
> >
> > This was only the fourth time in 176 years that Congress
> > has closed its doors to the public. What was it that they
> > were discussing that they do NOT want us to know about?
> >
> > Word has begun leaking from last nights special, closed-door
> > session of the United States House of Representatives.
> >
> > Not only did members discuss new surveillance provisions as
> > was the publicly stated reason for the closed door session, they
> > also discussed:
> >
> > 1. the imminent collapse of the U.S. economy to occur by
> > September 2008,
> >
> > 2. the imminent collapse of US federal government finances
> > by February 2009,
> >
> > 3. the possibility of Civil War inside the USA as a result of
> > the collapse,
> >
> > 4. advance round-ups of "insurgent U.S. citizens" likely to
> > move against the government,
> >
> > 5. the detention of those rounded-up at "REX 84" camps
> > constructed throughout the USA,
> >
> > 6. the possibility of retaliation against members of Congress
> > for the collapses,
> >
> > 7. the location of "safe facilities" for members of Congress
> > and their families to reside during expected massive civil
> > unrest,
> >
> > 8. the necessary and unavoidable merger of the United States
> > with Canada (for its natural resources) and with Mexico (for its
> > cheap labor pool),
> >
> > 9. the issuance of a new currency - THE AMERO - for all three
> > nations as the proposed solution to the coming economic
> > armageddon.
> >
> > Members of Congress were FORBIDDEN to reveal what was discussed.
> > Several are so furious and concerned about the future of the contry, they
> > have begun leaking info. More details coming later today and over the
> > weekend. SPREAD THE WORD!!!
> >
> > Source
http://www.fourwinds10.com/siterun_data/government/fraud/us_government/news.php?q=1205524843
----------------------------------------------------------------------
22. Star-B: Taro Bill Goes Too Far...
Date: Tue, 08 Apr 2008 06:53:49 -1000
From: mike reitz <mreitz@pacbell.net>
Taro bill goes too far in stifling laws on modified plants
LEGISLATION to ban genetic modification of Hawaiian varieties of taro
temporarily also would permanently ban the state and counties from passing
laws or setting rules to control genetically modified plants of any kind.
In attempting to assure the influential agricultural biotechnology
industry that the five-year moratorium on taro experiments does not mean
it is no longer welcome in Hawaii, lawmakers have gone too far. The added
provision is too far reaching and has unexamined consequences too numerous
to be inserted in a measure proposed narrowly for one native crop.
The bill should be modified to eliminate the amendment before final
consideration.
If the House Agriculture Committee wants to assuage the fears of the
industry, it can do that simply by stating so, but tying the state's hands
and intruding on counties' home rule without full discussion of the issue
is bad policy. Whether the committee, chaired by Rep. Clifton Tsuji,
intended to expand the measure's scope or just made a mistake is unclear.
It would not be a rare occurrence for lawmakers to "poison" a bill to make
its passage more difficult or to give them a way out.
When the House received the original bill from the Senate, it focused
solely on seeking a 10-year embargo on genetic modifications of the
estimated 70 varieties of taro unique to Hawaii. Some taro farmers and
others objected to altering a plant at the heart of Hawaiian culture while
researchers, scientists and other taro farmers argued that a ban could
harm efforts to protect taro from diseases that have destroyed crops in
other areas of the world.
The measure was revised to allow a moratorium for five years and only on
Hawaiian varieties. The compromise does not completely satisfy any of the
interested parties, but gets lawmakers out from under a difficult
situation for the time being. They should anticipate that when the
moratorium expires, the conflict will not have similarly expired.
In changing the bill, the committee noted that the taro moratorium "may be
interpreted as a signal to the world that biotechnology will no longer be
welcome in Hawaii," and that the "notion must be negated."
Biotech companies likely would understand that the ban is confined to taro
for reasons that would not apply to corn or soybeans, but apparently the
panel felt it was necessary to bend over backward to mollify the industry
by removing nearly all obstacles to genetic modification practices in the
islands, except when prohibited by land use or county zoning ordinances.
The bill would even disallow county regulations on labeling, advertising,
packaging and use of genetically modified plants.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
23. Ceded-Land Debate Back On The Table
From: Hiahawaii
Date: Tues, April 8, 2008
Tuesday, April 8, 2008 Honolulu Advertiser
Ceded-Land Debate Back On The Table
OHA BRINGS REVISED PLAN, CALLING FOR NEW NEGOTIATIONS, TO SENATE
By Gordon Y.K. Pang, Advertiser Staff Writer
The Office of Hawaiian Affairs and state Attorney General Mark Bennett may
soon be negotiating again on ceded land revenues.
If they negotiate under a new plan being offered in the Senate, the $200
million in land and cash for OHA that both sides saw as fair and
reasonable when the settlement was announced Jan. 18 would be the minimum
starting point for new talks.
The state House approved the OHA-Bennett settlement, but three Senate
committees rejected it and told OHA to come back next year with a better
plan.
OHA officials have offered to the Senate what essentially is a new bill
calling for the agency and Bennett to renegotiate â^À^Ô this time with
more public input during the negotiations.
OHA administrator Clyde Namu'o said the new legislation is "a realization
that the Legislature is not going to pass the settlement as we presented
it because they're not satisfied with it."
House Majority Leader Kirk Caldwell, D-24th (Manoa), said the latest plan
"is a request to continue negotiations with a floor of $200 million."
It's the latest twist in the debate over how much money OHA should get as
its share of the revenues and proceeds generated by ceded lands, the lands
once owned by the Hawaiian government.
As late as Friday, OHA officials publicly were united with Gov. Linda
Lingle's administration and House leaders in urging the Senate to pass HB
266, the settlement approved by the House.
Both Bennett and Caldwell said they still want the existing settlement to
be approved by the Senate, adding that they are happy the Senate
leadership is willing to discuss ceded land revenues this session.
details of new bill
Senate President Colleen Hanabusa said the new legislation makes no
reference to waiving other claims to past revenues or to any future
revenues yet derived. The OHA-Bennett settlement waives any other claims
to past, current or future revenues and says OHA should get a minimum of
$15.1 million annually for future revenues, with the exact amount to be
determined by the Legislature.
Hanabusa, D-21st (Nanakuli, Makaha), noted that a waiver and the settling
of future claims were among the major objections raised by opponents of
the OHA-Bennett settlement. Those opponents included key state senators,
who argued that OHA gave up too much for too little.
"What is not in the (new) bill are the two things that we (in the Senate)
had the most trouble with, which was the waiver language as well as the
issue of the capping of future revenues. Those are not in there," she
said.
Under the new legislation, House Bill 1201, Committee Draft 1, OHA and
Bennett are required to continue negotiations on the amount the agency
should have received from Nov. 7, 1978, to June 30, 2008.
The new proposal also calls for OHA to:
Renegotiate part of its settlement with Bennett that covers three parcels
of land: in Kaka'ako Makai and Kalaeloa on O'ahu, and Hilo's Banyan Drive
on the Big Island. Those three parcels, with a combined assessed value of
$187 million, would have been given to OHA along with $13 million cash
under the OHA-Bennett settlement.
Hold "periodic open public meetings throughout the state" during its new
negotiations with Bennett. Lack of consultation with the Hawaiian
community was one criticism of the OHA-Bennett settlement.
"Attempt to reach an agreement" with Bennett before the Legislature
reconvenes in January 2009.
waivers still possible
Both Hanabusa and Namu'o stressed that while language about a waiver of
other claims and future claims aren't in the latest plan, those subjects
could still work themselves into what finally returns to the Legislature
next year. "Arguably, they might be able to negotiate it but that's not in
this particular bill."
"The bill doesn't have any waiver because we're not settling anything,"
Namu'o said. "That's not to say that the settlement document itself, if we
arrive at a new agreement, would not have a waiver."
Exactly which side is pressing for a reopening of negotiations was
unclear.
Hanabusa said OHA officials and attorneys visited her office Thursday and
Friday and provided "their position on the settlement."
Hanabusa added: "As far as we're (in the Senate) concerned, we were
probably pau for this session. And the House, as I understand it, wasn't
going to try to revive it."
Namu'o made it clear that OHA would not have offered up a new plan if the
Senate had been more receptive to the OHA-Bennett proposal.
Bennett said any plan to keep the discussion about ceded land revenues
alive this session is positive.
However, he said, "we spent a significant amount of time negotiating with
OHA and presented for the Legislature's consideration a product which both
we and OHA believed was fair and reasonable."
Asked what the administration will do if the Legislature approves a bill
asking it to go back to the bargaining table, Bennett said: "I'm not going
to speculate about legislation ... but at this point, we have nothing more
to negotiate."
Ultimately, he said, "it's the Legislature's kuleana to decide how much
it's going to pay OHA."
community outreach
Caldwell said he has not yet discussed the new plan with fellow House
leaders, but believes "the House is pretty clear where it stands â^À^Ô it
wants a comprehensive settlement."
The House approved the OHA-Bennett settlement "to resolve this in a
comprehensive way and to not have to put off for another year defining our
constitutional obligation which we've put off for 30 years."
State Sen. Jill Tokuda, D-24th (Kailua, Kane'ohe), chairwoman of the
Senate Agriculture and Hawaiian Affairs Committee, said the new proposal
basically addresses the concerns senators had with the OHA-Bennett
settlement.
Tokuda said the proposed settlement should be used as a base for further
discussions that involve the Hawaiian community. "It's taking the rest of
the year to go out and have that discussion with the beneficiaries and the
community to flesh out the details, to get to a point where everyone is in
agreement, and then to come back to us," she said.
Sen. Clayton Hee, D-23rd (Kahuku, Kane'ohe), the former OHA trustee, has
been among the loudest voices opposing the OHA-Bennett proposal.
Hee said he "instinctively" believes the $200 million package is not
enough to settle past claims.
The chairman of the Water and Land Committee, Hee said he and other
senators still want to see a more detailed accounting of how the parties
calculated that the settlement should be $200 million.
Advertiser staff writer Derrick DePledge contributed to this report.
Reach Gordon Y.K. Pang at gpang@honoluluadvertiser.com.
________________________________________________________________________________
24. Weirdest Little Story of the Day?
Date: Tue, 08 Apr 2008 08:38:36 -1000
From: mike reitz <mreitz@pacbell.net>
Tuesday, 08 April 2008200804081140
RUSSIAN SPACESHIP DUMPED INTO PACIFIC
A Russian space cargo ship has successfully been dumped into the South
Pacific after completing its mission, according to a report.
The Progress M-63 ship, which docked with the International Space Station
in February, had delivered 2.5 tonnes of cargo including food, equipment
and other supplies.
Russian Information Agency Novosti said the ship was yesterday deployed
successfully into the South Pacific.
"Having partly burned up in the Earth's dense atmosphere, Progress ended
its existence in the designated area in the southern Pacific," a spokesman
for mission control told the agency.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
25. Kill amended SB 958
Date: Tue, 08 Apr 2008 09:37:19 -1000
From: Lc <palolo@hawaii.rr.com>
why we advocate for our own independence...
-----Original Message-----
From: Jerry Konanui
Sent: Monday, April 07, 2008 3:20 PM
Aloha mai Kakou,
It is with heavy heart and immense pain that I, Jerry Konanui, a kahu from
eight generation of caretakers of our Kupuna Halo our kalo, beg for your
assistance.
We have struggled against all obstacles in protecting our Kupuna staying
the course of Pono. We have kept to all the concepts of my cherished
Hawaiian culture. We carry the Hawaii State motto as a way of life " Ua
Mau Ke Ea O Ka 'Aina I ka Pono". We worked within the system been fair and
pono. We did what we were asked of us as we felt it is the righteous thing
to do.
The simple SB 958 that we submitted and supported was truly that. There
were no hidden agenda, what you read is what you got. We simply asked for
more time so that as reasonable people we could all take that time out to
work within the system for a just and right solution to our difficult
problem, while protecting our Kupuna Haloa. This amended SB 958 gives no
protection for our Kupuna Haloa, while we try to come to terms. Instead it
contains preempt clauses and other promotional GE items that further
silence our questions and takes our rights away. This amended bill is one
that all care takers of Haloa can never agree to. This is not a Compromise
Bill the only winners are those that promote the GMO industry.
Chairman Clift Tsuji and I met afterwards, we shared mana'o. I asked Clift
"What is this preempting County stuff doing in our Taro Bill?"
He could not explain to me what it was or what it means. I also asked
Chair Tsuji what he meant when he said that GE taro can come in to Hawaii
from places outside of Hawaii. Again he could not answer the questions.
Chair Tsuji said when the bill comes back from the lawyers, it will be
understood.
This inability for Chair Tsuji to explain his modified/amended bill seems
to indicate that he just passed a bill through his committee that he
really didn't understand or know what it was about. I ask myself, how is
this possible? Where is the fairness that Chairman Tsuji so eloquently
spoke of?
All we had asked for was a fair hearing. With about 5,913 (7,000 to date)
in support of the Original SB 958 and about 213 in oppose. It seems to me
that with those kinds of numbers, the bill would pass, but what an
underhanded thing to do, to change the whole definition of the original
bill into a Pro GE bill to put at risk our beloved Kupuna Haloa and to
squeeze the life of self rule out of our County Councils of which Hawaii,
Kauai and Maui supported the original SB 958.
The shame is not on the Hawaiian Communities and the Taro growers of
Hawaii, who supported the original Bill. Shame on those who have again
abused the process and allowed greed to blind the clear thinking for those
who were chosen to be the government of the people for the people and not
a government for the rich, powerful, and influential. The system is only
as good as the protection it provides for the weakest and needy among us.
I beg for all in the big house on the hill to Ku'e and kill this Hewa
bill. Do what is right!!!
A humble Lepo Popolo. Mahalo Jerry Konanui, he Mahia'i wau.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
26. "Contaminated Forever"
From: Viviane Lerner
Date: Tues, April 8, 2008
http://contaminated-forever.wildclearing.com/Introductory scenes to
"Contaminated Forever," released on March 3, 2008 - runtime 5 minutes
"Contaminated Forever" - the documentary -- ... exposing the ongoing
impact of the use of so-called "depleted uranium" munitions
Filmmaker Wes Rehberg and artist and social policy analyst Eileen
Rehberg have produced and filmed "Contaminated Forever," a 1-hour and
45-minute documentary to help in the effort to expose the terrible
consequences of the use of so-called depleted uranium weapons (DU) for
test purposes and in the battlefield.
These weapons were used in Iraq, the Balkans, on testing grounds
throughout the United States, and possibly in Afghanistan, Panama and
Lebanon, with their poison dust afflicting soldiers and civilians. Their
nanoparticle fallout, in the earth, has a half-life of 4.5 billion years,
ready to be inhaled or ingested, where, inside the body, they pass through
cell walls to begin their radioactive and toxic damage.
Above is a 5-minute segment of introductory scenes from the
documentary. For a low-bandwidth version, click here . To view draft
scenes from "Contaminated Forever" while it was in production, visit this
web page.
Screenings: * First Take Film Festival, Augusta, GA, April 12, 2008; *
Building a New World Conference, May 24, 2008.
To purchase a DVD of "Contaminated Forever" for $19.95, plus shipping,
click on the button or link below. You may also phone us for a
credit-card order at (423) 285-8084; leave a message, we'll call back.
=====------------------------------------------------------------------
27. International community should raise voice against use of Depleted
Uranium
Date: Tue, 08 Apr 2008 09:54:59 -1000
From: Viviane Lerner <vivlerner@gmail.com>
http://www.punjabnewsline.com/content/view/9726/38/
International community should raise voice against use of Depleted
Uranium: Justice Jain
JAGMOHAN SINGH
Saturday, 05 April 2008
AMRITSAR: The international community and all citizens of the world must
raise a unified voice against the future use of depleted uranium and force
those nations that have used depleted uranium munitions to recognize the
immoral consequences of their actions and assume responsibility for
medical care and thorough environmental remediation.
This appeal was made by Justice Vijender Jain, Chief Justice of Punjab &
Haryana High Court, Chandigarh while inaugurating the National Seminar on
Depleted Uranium: Environmental Hazards.
This seminar was jointly organised by the Departments of Botanical and
Environmental Sciences, Human Genetics and Physics of the Guru Nanak Dev
University here Saturday .
Prof. Dr. Jai Rup Singh, Vice-Chancellor welcomed the learned speakers and
the delegates. Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat, Ex-Chief of the Naval Staff
presented the keynote address.
Continuing his address, Justice Jain said that Depleted Uranium (DU) is a
deadly toy in the hands of the ruling bloodlines. A particle of DU
ingested or inhaled cause one or more of the 90 plus seriously
debilitating diseases.
He said the half life of DU is 4.5 billion years, and it could destroy
living things and the environment; most importantly it could destroy
perfectly healthy lives, he added
He said the growth of industry, nationally or globally, would be
meaningless if we could not provide security to the human being.
Security to human being includes freedom from hunger and fear.
Never before in the history of this world, the individual has been
threatened on account of ecological degradation than today.
Justice Jain said despite 9% ecological growth of the last four years, 25%
of Indian population lives below the poverty line and 35 % still waiting
to be literate.
Talking about India, he said the entire north-western region, including
the Himalayas is affected. All perennial rivers flowing from the Himalayas
into the Gangetic plains (the Ganga and Yamuna with hundreds of
tributaries) and into Pakistan (the five rivers: Indus, Satluj, Jhelum,
Ravi and Chenab), would contaminate the largest and oldest food growing
area in the world.
He said this region as a high livestock population that supports India's
and Pakistan's fuel, food, and farming needs.
Justice Jain said the air we breathe is contaminated with Depleted Uranium
and it is killing healthy people over the world. A WHO report says in the
20th century approximately 100 million people died world over from
tobacco-associated diseases like cancer, chronic lung disease,
cardiovascular disease and stroke.
Prof. Dr. Jai Rup Singh in his address said the technology has to be used
for the welfare of man and not for his elimination.
He called upon them to debate over the issue about the use of such lethal
weapons for short end gains but long term losses.
Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat, former Chief of the Naval Staff in his keynote
address said the use of Depleted Uranium in Afghanistan affected the life
and the habitants up to 1000 miles radius of Kabul which encircled Punjab,
Delhi, UP, Rajasthan, Gujarat and some parts of Maharashtra.
Admiral Bhagwat said the increase in incidents of cancer is not only
because of pesticides but due to the low radiation nuclear warfare. The
burden of cost would result in breakdown of health budget, more at the
government and the individual levels and it would in fact break the health
system of the country, he added.
Dr. (Mrs.) S.B. Roy, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Bombay; Dr.
Shakeel-Ur-Rahman, Secretary, Indian Doctors for Peace and Development and
Arun Shrivastava of CMC, New Delhi, Prof. Raghbir Singh, Dean Academic
Affairs, Prof. G.S. Virk also expressed their views about the deadly
effects of Depleted Uranium.
=====--------------------------------------------------------------------
28. Few passengers set sail with Superferry's return
Date: Tue, 08 Apr 2008 10:01:34 -1000
From: Viviane Lerner <vivlerner@gmail.com>
http://starbulletin.com/2008/04/08/news/story01.htmlBy Leila Fujimori and
Gary Kubota
lfujimori@starbulletin.com
gkubota@starbulletin.com
Few passengers set sail with Superferry^Òs return
FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM The Hawaii Superferry's Alakai
returned to Honolulu Harbor yesterday afternoon after making a trip to
Maui after an extended dry-docking. Tig Krekel, of J.F. Lehman & Co.,
Superferry's major investor, waved as he disembarked from the vessel.
The ride to Maui was a little bumpier than the return to Oahu, but the
Hawaii Superferry's Alakai arrived as scheduled yesterday.
It was the vessel's first interisland passenger trip since it went out of
service Feb. 13 for repairs to its rudder and other parts. The company had
also sidelined the Alakai several times this winter due to bad weather.
The firm's business development director Terry O'Halloran said notice
about the resumption of service was given only Thursday, and the loads
were light yesterday, with fewer than 100 passengers and 50 cars one way.
(O'Halloran would not provide specific numbers.)
O'Halloran said he expects the volume to rise steadily as service
continues.
The Superferry will continue service with special fares of $39 for
passengers and $55 for passenger vehicles through June 5, O'Halloran said.
Despite the cessation of passenger service on ATA and Aloha airlines last
week, few travelers chose to take advantage of the special rates.
O'Halloran said the Alakai performed well during its resumption of service
yesterday, traveling on the scenic north side of Molokai.
"It's in great shape," he said.
Walk-on passengers arriving at Pier 19 in Honolulu from Kahului said
except for rough seas off Maui, the trip went smoothly.
"It was a great trip, great crew, great service," said Larry Jellen, 64,
of Waikiki, who sailed round trip with his brother, Tom, 68, of Cleveland.
Jellen said a third of the passengers got sick, according to an employee
on board. "Going over was a little bumpy, but coming back was smooth."
Some passengers arriving in Honolulu from Kahului were ATA ticket holders
using the ship as an alternate form of transportation to make their way
back to the mainland.
ATA abruptly shut down last week, leaving some vacationers stranded.
Kathy Luras, 41, was stuck on Maui and did not want to pay $1,000 for a
one-way ticket to Salt Lake City. Luras, who was traveling with three
others, kept trying to find cheaper airfare. Instead, after four hours,
they were quoted $1,800.
Luras said she was told by Delta Airlines that if they got to Honolulu,
they could fly to Salt Lake City for $300 each.
The four hopped onto the Superferry at Kahului Harbor, got off at Pier 19
in Honolulu and headed to the airport.
"Thankfully the Superferry was running, or else we couldn't get off the
island for cheaper than $4,000," said Luras, although she admittedly did
not try to get a one-way flight to Honolulu.
Orange County, Calif., residents Long Pham, 24, and Mai Trieu, 28, were
vacationing on Maui when Pham got word from his brother that ATA had gone
out of business.
"It was pretty stressful just to find a flight back home," Pham said. The
couple paid $400 each for their round-trip tickets to Maui but ended up
paying $600 for each one-way ticket on Hawaiian Airlines from Honolulu to
California.
"When we heard about ATA, we read the paper every day," Trieu said. They
saw news articles about the Superferry, opted for ocean travel to Oahu and
did not check on interisland flights.
"It was a little long but I liked it," Trieu said after arriving in
Honolulu. "I enjoyed the view. It was a little rough in the beginning. ...
Out here the water's calmer."
"It was just a different experience than taking an airplane," she said.
O'Halloran said the Superferry's projected average load is 400 passengers
and 110 vehicles one way.
"At that load factor, this is a viable business," he said.
The company plans to run year round, despite the rough winter weather,
O'Halloran said. "This year was a learning year" and also an unusual year
for high seas and strong tradewinds, he said.
=====----------------------------------------------------------------------
29. Evacuation advised for Volcano-area residents
Date: Tue, 08 Apr 2008 11:22:28 -1000
From: Viviane Lerner <vivlerner@gmail.com>
http://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/articles/2008/04/08/local_news/local02.txt
Evacuation advised
Tuesday, April 8, 2008 10:02 AM HST
Volcano-area residents asked to leave to avoid breathing hazardous
gases from Halema'uma'u
by Jason Armstrong
Tribune-Herald Staff Writer
Volcano-area residents should evacuate as a precaution against breathing
dangerous volcanic emissions expected to drift over populated areas
starting today, Mayor Harry Kim said late Monday.
Trade winds have been blowing sulfur dioxide from Halema'uma'u Crater
south toward Pahala, which is located far enough away from Kilauea Volcano
that the harmful gas dissipated, Kim said.
However, the National Weather Service is forecasting a change to
southeasterly winds starting this morning. The altered pattern could blow
the SO2 over neighborhoods much closer to the source.
That scenario had Civil Defense Agency officials -- Kim is acting Civil
Defense administrator -- working late Monday night to develop and
implement a plan calling for recommended evacuations.
--------
"The levels may be high enough to cause severe reactions to those in the
sensitive groups as well as those in the general population," Civil
Defense said in a 9 p.m. emergency health advisory.
The voluntary evacuations apply to Mauna Loa Estates, Ohia Estates,
Volcano Village, Keauhou Ranch area and the Volcano Golf Course
subdivision.
The state Health Department also is advising leaving affected areas,
according to the Civil Defense statement.
"As a guide, evacuation should be completed by the early afternoon hours
and earlier if necessary," the statement said.
Civil Defense wants residents living downwind of the eruption sites,
including Pu'u 'O'o, to be on alert and ready to evacuate. Those areas
include the Royal Hawaiian Estates and Hawaiian Orchid Isle Estates
neighborhoods.
The lower Puna and Hilo areas are not expected to be affected, starting
around the 19-mile marker of Highway 11 or makai of Glenwood Road.
The county set up an evacuation shelter at Aunty Sally's Luau Hale in Hilo
for people needing emergency services. Evacuees should bring bedding,
spare clothes, any special medications, infant goods and personal
sanitation products.
Anyone needing special assistance for evacuation should call 935-0031.
Emissions from Halema'uma'u Crater, located at the Kilauea summit, have
been increasing since December and jumped significantly starting March 12,
according to a recently revised Hawaii County brochure entitled "Emissions
from Kilauea Volcano."
"It is expected that any area down wind of Halema'uma'u can expect SO2
levels to be higher than in previous years," it states. "The areas
affected and the exposure levels are so very difficult to predict as they
are almost totally dependent on weather conditions, primarily wind
direction and wind speed, as well as the varying SO2 emission rate at
Halema'uma'u Crater."
Sulfur dioxide exposure can irritate the eyes, nose, throat and
respiratory tract. It smells like rotten eggs.
In lower concentrations it can cause a burning sensation in the eyes,
difficulty breathing and chest tightness. Higher levels can lead to
dizziness, swelling of the throat and even suffocation, according to the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"The best way to protect yourself and your family is to follow the advice
of local officials," the CDC says on its Web site.
People exposed to SO2 should avoid physical activity and stay indoors with
the windows closed, preferably while using an air conditioner.
Drinking warm liquids may help, although air cleaners/purifiers don't
remove gases like sulfur dioxide, according to the county's brochure.
Jason Armstrong can be reached at jarmstrong@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
=====-----------------------------------------------------------------
30. Recycling Drive for Earth Day at UH Manoa!
Date: Tue, 08 Apr 2008 11:41:00 -1000
From: UHM Communications <announce@HAWAII.EDU>
Aloha!
Help us to celebrate UH Manoa's Earth Day and the completion of our second
successful RecycleMania competition with a RECYCLING DRIVE on Friday April
18 at the Hawai'i Hall lawn.
Start collecting these recyclables to be ready for the big day:
1) HI5 beverage containers
2) white & colored paper
3) newsprint
4) cardboard
5) phone books
6) UHM catalogs and course schedules
7) cell phones
8) eWaste (computer-related items, pay as you go)
All recyclables will be accepted free of charge EXCEPT the eWaste which we
will ask people to pay for on a component-by-component basis. For more
details check out:
http://sustainablesaunders.hawaii.edu/files/earthday08_recyclingdrive.pdf
Mahalo for your kokua!
For more information contact: Jenny Engels, Geology Club Faculty Advisor,
956-8489 or engels@hawaii.edu
-- -------------------------------------------------------------------
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