2. Preliminary Report on NCLB In Indian Country
3. Military seeks Hawaiian Consultation Protocols -
Just Go Home!
4. Subject: $10.5 million grant to biogenesis in News@UH
5. Subject: An Anomaly, or a Hint of Pasifika's Future???
6. Subject: BUILD A MOVEMENT TO BREAK THE BAILOUT
7. don't forget tuesday's online discussion on
teaching anti-racism (and other isms)
8. Subject: Makahiki Community Vigil
9. Black Pepper Increases Nutrient Absorption up to
2000%
10. Subject: Letter to the Editor: 'Fish and Limu are Allowed on the
Superferry'
11. Subject: Sen. Inhofe: Did Paulson Give Bailout $ To His Friends or What?
12. Subject: Help Simplify the Holidays
13. Subject: KUPUAINA COALITON: KUE RALLY
14. Subject: Campus Priorities Survey Results
15. Voices Health/Environment News
16. Subject: Guardian Nurses Healthcare Advocates
17. a response to "Share your campaign stories!"
18. Subject: Fwd: Fw: Obama's Spirituality: A Candid and Powerful Interview
19. Makena Alert! Testify (or e-mail) - Wed. Nov
19th-9:00am
20. Subject: OHA-Army Lawsuit Settlement
21. Subject: My Letter to Amy Goodman -- start of a letter-writing
campaign
22. Subject: Update: Alaska Native Corporations
23. Subject: Fw: Honolulu Advertiser: "Scam came wrapped in rhetoric"
24. Subject: No More Bailout Funds, We Can Stop the Bailout Now!
25. Subject: Bailout Tab is Really $4.28 Trillion
26. Subject: RE: Makahiki Community Vigil
27. > Subject: Could Bush Actually Pardon Himself? We Need To Talk About This
28. Subject: Check out YouTube - Kahana 11-15-08 with Walter Ritte (fwd)
29. Subject: Cheney, Gonzales, State Senator Indicted
30. Voices Health/Environment News
31. Fight Foreclosure: Make [UNKNOWN] ^QEm
Produce The Note!
32. Subject: 2009 Leadership & Committee Appointments; Makahiki invite;
Article re KY Repeat Offender Law; Video on Wisdom
33. Subject: Odetta in hospital with kidney failure, Send her a Card please
Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2008 09:47:23 -0800 (PST)
From: patricia blair <cris6369@yahoo.com>
Subject: The State of the Israeli State and the Return of the Wandering Jew
http://www.counterpunch.org/portis11142008.html
Weekend Edition
November 14 / 16, 2008
Amos Kolleks^Òs "Restless"
The State of the Israeli State and the Return of the Wandering Jew
By LARRY PORTIS
Israel is the eye of an ethnic hurricane, sucking in fanaticized
Jews thanks to its iniquitous ^ÓLaw of Return^Ô and spewing out its
most sensitive souls in reaction to the racist culture engendered
there.
Amos Kollek is a director who combines the sensibilities of New
Yorker John Cassavetes and his fellow Israeli Amos Gitaï in one of
the most powerful films I saw this year at the Mediterranean film
festival in Montpellier, France. In doing so, he poses a
fundamental question: is there any resolution to the conflicts
inherent in a society controlled by a theocratic state founded upon
racist premises? This is the question that advocates of ^Ópeace^Ô
between Israelis and Palestinians find difficult to face. Moreover,
they find it especially difficult to even ask the question, much
less offer a realistic solution to it.
This is why Amos Kollek^Òs new film, Restless, is so powerful: it
goes to the heart of the problem posed by the creation and
continued existence of the state called Israel. Kollek does not
offer any solutions, but he draws no punches in the assessment of a
society and culture that merits Frank Zappa^Òs characterization
(speaking of the United States) as ^Óa scab of a nation, driven
insane^Ô.
In the film, the great Israeli actor Moshe Ivgy plays the role of
Moshe, an ageing writer in self-imposed exile in New York barely
surviving as a hustler. His many scams are built on imaginative
deceptions and they lead only violent retaliation and bitterness.
It is as if you can take the Israeli out of Israel, but you can^Òt
take Israel out of the Israeli. At least, this is what Kollek,
through Moshe^Òs experience, suggests to me.
Here is the situation: Moshe, author of a moderately successful
novel in Israel, left the country for New York twenty years ago
because of his disgust with both Israel and himself. He left behind
a wife and young son. The wife eventually died of depression and
drugs, and the son entered obligatory military service, becoming a
very talented sniper, a specialist in extralegal executions of
Palestinian militants in the occupied territories. An important
part of this story involves the conflict between the absent father
and his abandoned son, who says at one point: ^ÓI always think of
my father before I pull the trigger.^Ô
After years of hustling in New York, Moshe^Òs drinking and failed
deals have pushed him close to the bottom. At this point a friendly
bar owner offers the drunken Moshe the chance to work off his bar
tab by reciting his poetry on stage to the customers. To general
surprise Moshe^Òs verses provoke both hilarity and respect by the
mostly Jewish patrons of the bar. His impassioned words express
something profoundly honest couched in a crudely naked, provocative
style recalling Lenny Bruce. Infused with the feedback from the
audience, Moshe is inspired and becomes a featured performer with a
small but loyal following. Near the end of the film, we learn that
Moshe produced a compact disc of his recitations and that a book of
his poetry, Poems of a Restless Man, is about to come out. Although
a Zionist shareholder in the bar has had Moshe removed from the
bar^Òs tiny stage, Moshe was immediately offered another gig in
Greenwich Village.
For Moshe, Israel is a country where racist ideology serves to
disguise social class domination and military occupation.
^ÓI grew up in a family where there was nothing
Moroccan immigrants in a country filled with Ashkenazi
My parents were too poor to buy me socks
I knew my escape was my wit, my way with words, my
spirit
So I tried to be a poet.
Like my son now, I was a soldier then
I only followed orders, but in my heart I thought ^ÓWell,
what about my life?^Ô
So I served my country, and one day I just left
I never looked back, that is all I can say.
I didn^Òt want to see what I had left behind. Would you?
After all, I am a Jew with a conscience
I get choked up when I kill.
I felt my life was nearly over
I^Òd like to say I had the guts to choose
And that^Òs me in a nutshell.^Ô
After this first recitation, a man who turns out to be his former
commanding officer verbally attacks Moshe: ^ÓWhy didn^Òt you stay
there?^Ô he asks, ^ÓWhat the fuck are you doing in New York?^Ô
Moshe^Òs response is laconic, yet pointed: ^ÓI was disappointed in
the country. You killed Palestinian women and children as a service
to the Nation.^Ô To which the Zionist retorts, less pointedly:
^ÓNo. I^Òm hi-tech.^Ô As if technologically sophisticated means of
human destruction excuse killing, and ^Óhomemade^Ô methods are more
reprehensible. No reason here to pontificate about the difference
between state terrorism and insurrectionary violence. In
^Óasymmetrical warfare^Ô the mighty have the moral advantage. After
all, isn^Òt Israel a democracy?
In the other reading featured in the film, Moshe develops the theme
of how the idea of democracy is the best justification for
injustice.
He begins by reading the Miranda rights, as Lenny Bruce once did.
Like Bruce^Òs, Moshe^Òs talent is using wit and common sense to
break taboos. In baring his own guilt, he reveals the hypocrisy of
others. This time his words run on in the manner of Allen Ginsberg:
You have the right to remain silent
Everything you say can and will be used against you in
a court of law
Nobody read me those rights when I was born in a
kingdom far away in a sea of Ashkenazi aristocracy
And when you got into the army to kill or to be killed, by
people who I had nothing against nor they against me, in the
very far away kingdom of Saul, David and Solomon, now a
democracy of hope, homes and children, and you have the right
to remain silent when you see the funeral coming and you just
hold your tears, your children scream by the coffins, on your
TV screens.^Ô
In Kollek^Òs film, the ^Óchildren of Israel^Ô are screaming because
of the false promise of the Zionist state. People like Moshe are
Israelis; they are no longer Zionist pioneers driven by a utopian
vision, a nationalist delirium that blinded them to the realities
of ethnic cleansing. Moshe is the new ^Ówandering Jew^Ô, wandering
because he cannot exist in the land where he was born. His
realization of the horrors produced by the Zionist dream, that
perverted offshoot of the ^ÓAmerican Dream^Ô ^× the first ^ÓNew
Jerusalem^Ô ^×, is a form of the internalization of state violence.
Israel was to be the home of the ^Ónew Jew,^Ô it became the trap in
which identity is bound up with the systematic denial of the other,
a denial requiring racist inhumanity.
The existential suffering caused by the Zionist project is
symbolized by the estrangement of Moshe and his son, Trach, who was
refused reenlistment in the Israeli army because of his overly
pronounced pleasure in executing Palestinians from ambush. Trach
also experienced another sort of emotional trauma after he shot,
accidentally, a Palestinian child. When Trach travels to New York
to confront, and perhaps kill, his prodigal father, the scene is
set for a rather classic clash between father and son, but one that
juxtaposes two generations of Israelis whose personal problems are
conditioned by the state of permanent militarization and racist
hatred necessary for the maintenance of the Zionist state.
There is a kind of resolution is this film. Moshe and his son are
drawn together by their respective grief and rootless-ness, but it
occurs outside Israel, in the relatively neutral zone of New York
where Jewish-ness is accepted as a normal social and personal
condition that does not imply the oppression of other groups. At
the same time, Moshe is given a new chance to reconstruct his
self-esteem, not only by his new success as a performing poet, but
also by a new relationship. Symbolically, he found as female
companion a tough, former professional soldier who served as an
officer in Iraq (and now as bartender in the Jewish
establishment!). A self-styled ^Óarmy brat^Ô, this strong woman,
with a young son, has likewise fled a world of racist violence and
inhumanity and has taken refuge in a marginal world where, at
least, she can reconcile herself to herself, without dominating or
exploiting others.
In his final performance at the bar, Moshe speaks in Hebrew saying
I want to say one more thing to my brothers in Israel:
^ÑMy glorious brothers, heroes of battles, schooled in
suffering^Åwhere else could I find such beautiful,
beautiful people as you, who else could I talk to about
myself, ourselves, about our country, no one else^Òs,
about our girls, about our army, and no one else^Òs,
that defeated seven armies in six days.
Perhaps we have become spoiled, corrupt since then. We have
become confused. We have lost our way.
But where else in the world can we feel at home as we do in
Tel Aviv or Jerusalem, with or without the Temple Mount?
And that^Òs all from the Israeli fort in New York.
Irony from a ^Óself-hating Jew^Ô? Maybe. But Moshe^Òs self-loathing
and guilt are clearly entwined with his identity as an Israeli. It
is not because he is a Jew that he has been emotionally lost and
artistically unfulfilled. It is because he is an Israeli, a citizen
of an imperialistic ^Ónational security^Ô state relentless in its
pursuit of territorial domination and the exploitation of other
people^Òs resources. In New York, on the contrary, as a Jew and as
an artist, he has found refuge, and then solace (in the arms and
heart of a ^Ógentile^Ô). In New York he was able to reunite with
his son and come to grips with his guilt. Only in New York was
resolution possible.
Can Israel continue to be a ^Ónational project^Ô? Can Jewish people
afford to cultivate ^Ónationalist aspirations^Ô? Is ethnic
cleansing and national chauvinism still the political modernity,
the cutting edge of social progress, as it was generally believed
to be in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries? Will a
^Óglobalized^Ô planet become a collection of elite-ridden ghettoes
^× such as Israel and the United States represent ^× or will a
truly democratic and cosmopolitan society and culture emerge from
the disaster of capitalism and its ideological pathologies?
The merit of Amos Kollek^Òs film is to ask these questions on such
a profound human and emotional level. In viewing this powerful work
about the psyche reality of Israeli society, we cannot escape the
pathos of a situation that has ruined the lives of generations of
people of different ethnic and confessional identities.
Larry Portis is an historian and writer living in France who has
recently published a history of fascism in the United States
(Histoire du fascisme aux Etats-Unis, Paris, Editions CNT-RP,
2008). He may be reached at larry.portis@orange.fr
----------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2008 00:25:00 -0800
From: Jennifer Lindsay <jll@u.washington.edu>
Preliminary Report on NCLB In Indian Country
A recent article on NCLB by Zeus Leonardo along the lines you mention.
[ Part 1.2.2, Application/PDF 157KB. ]
------
Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2008 06:04:34 -0500
From: S E ANDERSON <blackeducator@me.com>
A consistent great place to get a radical analysis on education in general
and NCLB specifically is Rethinkingschools.org. It is the online companion
to the printed version of Rethinking Schools.
For starters, this pass spring, it had a couple of essays on NCLB's
implications and negative impact:
<http://www.rethinkingschools.org/archive/22_03/beyo223.shtml>
Also:
<http://www.rethinkingschools.org/archive/22_02/nclb222.shtml>
<http://www.rethinkingschools.org/archive/21_01/over211.shtml>
<http://www.rethinkingschools.org/special_reports/bushplan/index.shtml>
In Struggle,
Sam Anderson
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm----------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2008 11:53:50 -0500
From: kahiwal@cs.com
Military seeks Hawaiian Consultation Protocols -
Just Go Home!
Sorry if this is a duplication.
____________
Posted on: Sunday, November 16, 2008
Military seeks input on Hawaiian matters
Meetings set for draft consultation plan on 4 islands this week
Advertiser Staff
Meetings are scheduled to begin this week across the state to seek comment
from the Hawaiian community on the draft U.S. Department of Defense
Hawaiian Consultation Protocol. Advertisement
When finalized, this draft document will provide guidance to DOD military
and civilian personnel on their consultation responsibilities to Native
Hawaiians, the state Office of Hawaiian Affairs said in a press release.
The draft protocol can be seen at
www.denix.osd.mil/portal/page/portal/denix/environment/NA.
The meetings will be held:
# Tomorrow: 3 to 4:30 p.m., Cameron Center Auditorium, 95 Mahalani St.,
Wailuku. RSVP with OHA Maui office at 808-873-3364 or royn@oha.org.
# Tomorrow: 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., Paukukalo Hawaiian Homes Community Center,
657 Kaumuali'i St., Wailuku. RSVP with OHA Maui office at 808-873-3364 or
royn@oha.org.
# Wednesday: 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., Kawananakoa Hall, Kau'i Room, 156 Baker
Ave. in Keaukaha, Hilo. RSVP with OHA Hilo office at 808-920-6418 or
lukelar@oha.org.
# Wednesday: 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., Kealakehe High School Cafeteria, 74-5000
Puohulihuli St., Kailua, Kona. RSVP with OHA Kona Office at 808-327-9525
or rubym@oha.org.
# Thursday: 3 to 5 p.m., Queen Lili'uokalani Ko'olaupoko, 46-316 Ha'iku
Road, Kane'ohe, RSVP with OHA Native Rights, Land and Culture Hale at
594-1765 or leimomis@oha.org.
# Thursday: 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Boardroom,
fifth floor, 711 Kapi'olani Blvd., Honolulu. RSVP with OHA Native Rights
Land and Culture Hale at 594-1765, or leimomis@oha.org.
# Friday: 6 p.m., Lihu'e Neighborhood Center, 3353 'Eono St., Lihu'e. RSVP
with OHA Kaua'i office at 808-241-3390 or kalikos@oha.org.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2008 08:12:02 -1000
From: External Affairs and University Relations <announce@HAWAII.EDU>
Subject: $10.5 million grant to biogenesis in News@UH
Manoa's Institute for Biogenesis Research receives $10.5 million^Øin the
Nov. 17 edition of News@UH now online at
http://www.hawaii.edu/newsatuh/2008/1117/index.php
More UH News
* Freeman Foundation funds community college study abroad programs
* Teacher certification program to serve Ni'ihau educators
* Cancer Research Center Director Vogel steps down
* Manoa's Diane Nahl receives award for Information and Emotion book
* Diane Chang and Elmer Ka'ai join Manoa chancellor's office
* Manoa's Ramsey Taum honored for sustainability efforts
* Manoa's Kathy Phillips publishes The Moon in the Water
* Kudos to Hilo's Walter Dudley and Luoluo Hong and Kapi'olani's Robert
Franco, Carl Hefner, Joseph Overton and Leon Richards
* Events include arboretum plant sale, international education weeks, art
show and more
* Announcing Windward Star Poets call for entries
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2008 08:19:10 -1000
From: mike reitz <mreitz@pacbell.net>
Subject: An Anomaly, or a Hint of Pasifika's Future???
`Everything Is Crumbling Around Us'
Residents, Expats Are Fleeing The Northern Mariana Islands
By Agnes Donato, SAIPAN
"For rent" signs are a familiar sight even in what are supposed to be
busy, commercial areas in the island.
PHOTO: Agnes Donato
Adam Cafege began to think seriously about leaving Saipan two months ago.
At the time, rolling blackouts were crippling the island, power rates
were soaring to unprecedented highs, and a gallon of gasoline cost more
than the hourly minimum wage.
His souvenir T-shirt business was not taking off as much as he would
like, mainly because of the dwindling tourism arrivals, and his contract
negotiations with the private pharmacy he was working for were not
looking good.
"I told myself, I could do a lot better elsewhere," said Cafege, a
multilingual pharmacist with 25 years of experience in his field.
Last month, as he became increasingly frustrated with life on Saipan,
Cafege posted his resume online. He got a flood of calls, and ultimately
took a job in San Francisco, California. On Thanksgiving Day, Cafege will
join the ranks of Northern Marianas residents who have left the
commonwealth.
The exodus has been underway for a number of years, but it has recently
become a hot topic in an island group already saddled with too much
dependence on alien labor. With evidence that more people are leaving
than in past years, politicians and business executives are warning that
the commonwealth will lose more of its brightest minds and hands as the
local economy continues to unravel and the U.S. federal government
prepares to apply stricter immigration rules.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Dept. of Commerce issued a report showing
that in 2005, the Northern Marianas had an estimated population of
65,900, down from 69,200 in 2000. The current population is believed to
be lower, possibly below 60,000, with the departure of thousands of
garment workers displaced by factory closures.
Luningning Fabiana holds a yard sale in preparation for her move back
home to the Philippines.
PHOTO: Agnes Donato
Although no official study has been done on out-migration from the
commonwealth, one only has to look around Saipan to see that locals, U.S.
mainlanders, and foreign workers are fleeing the islands. "For rent"
signs are going up all over. Cars for sale line the main roads. Going
away parties are as common as birthday celebrations. The falling power
sales, the declining number of connected telephone lines, and the
disappointing turnout in this month's historic election for congressional
delegate are all attributed in part to the flight of residents.
There is also plenty of anecdotal evidence that Saipan has become less
attractive for professionals and skilled workers alike. Those who leave
cite the high cost of living, low pay, a stifling commonwealth
bureaucracy, and the plodding economy.
As pharmacist Cafege puts it, "Everything is crumbling around us."
Salaries in the commonwealth, he says, are not competitive with those in
the U.S. mainland, Hawaii, or even nearby Guam, and the limited
opportunities for career growth discourages "the brightest and the most
ambitious" from staying.
Even the qualities that previously lured people to the commonwealth no
longer exist, Cafege adds. One example is the ease of travel to Asia.
"Because of the lack of flights, what should be three hours away now
takes 12 hours. We're becoming more and more isolated," he said.
For Luningning Fabiana, a 52-year-old worker from the Philippines, the
main motivation for leaving is the widening gap between wages and the
prices of goods and services. Fabiana, who will leave next month after
working here as a house worker and caregiver for 16 years, said her
minimum wage income is not worth her hard work and separation from her
family anymore.
But those who move away do not always find greener pastures, says Laura
Tenorio-Fejeran, a social worker from Saipan who moved to the states
after she and her husband lost their government jobs during the change of
commonwealth administration last year.
Tenorio-Fejeran and her family first moved to California, where her
husband found a managerial job with a national restaurant chain while she
worked in a domestic violence shelter. But because of the high cost of
living and the debts incurred as a result of the move to the mainland,
the family moved to Arizona in July this year.
"My husband took a voluntary demotion in order to transfer with his
company, and I am actively looking for employment. The economic downturn
has made finding employment a very difficult task," Tenorio-Fejeran wrote
in an e-mail.
Despite the hardships, the family has no plans of coming back anytime
soon. "We know that we are playing on a level field here and, in time,
will be able to get on our feet again, based on merit and hard work. We
will only return when the political climate changes and we feel we will
be able to make an honest living there," Tenorio-Fejeran said.
With the recent passage of new U.S. immigration law, leaving will soon no
longer be a matter of choice for many foreign workers in the Northern
Marianas, the local administration claims. According to Gov. Benigno R.
Fitial, only a tiny fraction of the commonwealth's 20,000 guest workers
will be able to stay under the new law, which requires all foreign
workers to be under the federal visa system by Dec. 31, 2014, or some
later date if the U.S. Secretary of Labor grants an extension to the
initial transition period.
The U.S. military's $15 billion project to relocate 8,000 Marines and
their dependents from Okinawa to Guam also threatens to deprive the
Northern Marianas of much needed workforce. Dr. Leroy Laney, an economic
consultant for First Hawaiian Bank, has noted that the Northern Marianas,
being "right next door" to Guam, will logically be tapped to provide
labor for the massive construction project.
The commonwealth Scholarship Office has reported that more students are
taking an interest in professional fields such as biology, nursing,
engineering, and hospitality management. But whether the commonwealth
will benefit from their education seems doubtful. Merissa Rasa,
administrator of the scholarship agency, believes "a very small number"
of scholarship students return to the Northern Marianas after graduation.
"Most of the time, they have federal or personal student loans they have
to pay back, so they choose to work in the U.S., where they have a better
chance of paying off these loans and living comfortably," said Rasa.
Richard Pierce, the governor's special assistant for economic affairs and
trade relations, warns about the adverse effect of a shrinking
population. Pointing to the population increase from 16,000 in 1980s to
60,000 currently, Pierce said, "In my opinion, you cannot turn the clock
back in time. And you cannot reverse the trend in population without
severe economic impact."
Jim Arenovski, president of the Saipan Chamber of Commerce, echoes
Pierce's opinion. "It's pure math," he said. "Less people buying gas and
groceries means less business, and less business means less revenue for
the government."
The loss of professionals, in particular, creates even bigger problems.
This is now evident in the local health sector, which desperately needs
doctors, nurses, and pharmacists. Only last month, the in-house pharmacy
in the only hospital here nearly shut down after the last remaining
pharmacist resigned and the government had been unable to re-hire a
former staff pharmacist because of statutory salary caps.
"It's a sad, sad situation. It's really painful for me to see this," says
Cafege, whose flight will deal another blow on the pharmacy sector, of
which there are now less than 10 practitioners on island. "If the economy
was better, I would probably stay longer. But things are getting
progressively worse. It is just demoralizing."
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~------------------------
Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2008 14:23:23 -0500 (EST)
From: VotersForPeace - BreakTheBailout.com <action@votersforpeace.org>
Subject: BUILD A MOVEMENT TO BREAK THE BAILOUT
BreakTheBailout.com
PLEASE FORWARD AND BUILD A MOVEMENT TO BREAK THE BAILOUT
October saw an increase in bankruptcies -- 108,595, an average of 4,936
every business day.
President Bush hosted the G-20 summit - the official menu included
fruitwood-smoked quail, thyme-roasted rack of lamb and baked Vermont brie
with walnut crostini, along with three wines .
More than a quarter million U.S. households received a foreclosure filing
in October. A total of 279,561 properties got a default notice, were
warned of a pending auction or were foreclosed.
World leaders washed down their quail and lamb with three expensive wines
- one Shafer Cabernet "Hillside Select" 2003 sells at $499 a bottle.
Have these leaders ever heard of Maria Antoinette and the French
Revolution?
The stock market continues to drop, unemployment is rising, home prices
are falling, retail sales saw a record drop, credit is tight - the world
leaders get together for Bush's farewell supposedly to save the world
economy and produce . . . nothing.
Last week, the Federal Reserve - the banksters central bank, run by
banksters for the banksters - refused to say where the $2 trillion they
have put into bailout banks was spent or for what collateral. Treasury,
reversed itself and is no longer buying "toxic assets" but buying equity
stakes in banks - infusing banks with taxpayer cash (of course, they're
not getting a seat on the board like a major investor should). Oh . . .
and Treasury has been blacking out key information on their contracts,
like how much people they are hiring from Wall Street are getting paid to
bailout their Wall Street friends.
ENOUGH. WE'VE HAD ENOUGH.
We're joining together to Break the Bailout. The first step is a
moneybomb on December 7. We want Washington, DC to know that they will be
held accountable, their votes will be watched and reported to the
American people.
JOIN US AND TELL WASHINGTON AND WALL STREET - ENOUGH.
The Campaign for Fresh Air and Clean Politics has started a transpartisan
coalition with Break the Matrix (famous for the Ron Paul Moneybombs),
AfterDowningStreet and 16 other organizations - the Break the Bailout
campaign - visit www.BreakTheBailout.com to see what we're planning.
We're going to build a community, a citizen's movement, to fight for the
economy we want. We know the country is outraged and we're going to
redirect that outrage into constructive action.
Take action today. PLEDGE - We're holding a MONEYBOMB on December7, 2008
to show elected officials we're serious. Pledge today by filling out the
"please pledge now" form on www.BreakTheBailout.com, then come back and
join us on December 7 - the moneybomb day - to make your donation and
watch the collections mount up. Become a Bailout Breaker!
Acting alone, we can achieve nothing; acting together, we can change
everything. Join us today.
PLEDGE NOW
Sincerely,
Kevin Zeese
Executive Director
P.S. Tonight at 8 Eastern Time you can watch the new Break The Bailout TV
Show at http://www.breakthematrix.com/.
PLEASE FORWARD AND BUILD A MOVEMENT TO BREAK THE BAILOUT
(C) BreakTheBailout.com
2842 N. Calvert Street, Baltimore, MD 21218
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2008 16:29:35 -0500
From: Tara Mack <tara@edliberation.org>
don't forget tuesday's online discussion on
teaching anti-racism (and other isms)
Don't forget-Our online discussion on teaching about privilege begins
tomorrow (Tuesday). I hope this discussion will be as lively as the one on
our listserv last month. Please join us and our group of online panelists
on www.edliberation.org/talkin-bout to debate this important and timely
topic.
Thanks.
Tara
-------
talkin `bout...teaching truth to power
tuesday, november 18 to wednesday, november 19
www.edliberation.org/talkin-bout
The next forum in our online discussion series, talkin `bout...teaching
truth to power, will focus on how educators can teach about injustice and
inequality to a group with an identity of privilege (for example, teaching
about racism to white people, teaching about sexism to men, teaching about
heterosexism to straight people etc.). This discussion is designed to
build on the lively recent debate on the listserv about teaching white
students about racism. Almost all of us have at least one identity of
power-male, middle-class, straight, American citizen, white, Christian
etc. How do we confront the issue of privilege with students? What are the
challenges and benefits of this work? Is it possible to teach someone out
of their power?
Here is how talkin 'bout works: A group of panelists who are doing work in
this area will answer questions posted by a moderator to our online
discussion board from Tuesday, November 18 to Wednesday, November 19. All
visitors to the website are invited to post their own questions and
comments for the panelists and for each other. Anyone can read the
discussion without registering. To post, first you must register to use
the site. Click here to visit an archive of previous discussions.
The panelists for talkin `bout...teaching truth to power are:
* Bree Picower, an Assistant Professor/ Postdoctoral Fellow in the
Department of Teaching & Learning. Her study on "The Unexamined
Whiteness of Teaching," explored the role that race plays in how
student teachers conceptualize urban education. (teaching about
racism to white students)
* Orisanmi Burton, an educator, student, and writer living in Harlem,
NY. In addition to working full-time as a Youth Worker/Media Arts
Coordinator at The Brotherhood-Sister Sol, he is a Master's candidate
at the Palmer School for Library and Information Science. (teaching
about sexism to boys)
* Melissa Davis, the Student Organizing Associate at GLSEN (Gay,
Lesbian and Straight Education Network). She works with groups of
youth to support them in creating safer schools for all students. She
is currently putting together GLSEN's Students of Color Organizing
Conference. (teaching about heterosexism to straight students)
* Marvin Lynn, Associate Professor and Director of Elementary Education
at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Prof. Lynn conducts
qualitative research on the work, lives and experiences of African
American male urban schoolteachers and the role of urban teacher
education programs in developing teachers for racial justice.
(teaching about racism to white students)
* Jenny Overman, a poet, performer, visual artist, educator and
workshop leader. Jenny teaches elementary school kids in Oakland. In
addition she does various kinds of social justice work around
transformative justice and race and class privilege. (teaching about
class to wealthy students)
We hope you will join us for an enlightening and lively digital
conversation.
The Education for Liberation Network is a national coalition of
teachers, community activists, youth, researchers and parents who
believe a good education should teach people-particularly low-income
youth and youth of color-to understand and challenge the injustices
their communities face. Click here to join the network listserv. For
more information contact Tara Mack, Director, Education for Liberation
Network on tara@edliberation.org.
Tara Mack, Director
Education for Liberation Network
http://www.edliberation.org/
_____________________________________________________________________________________
From: "Kaleo Patterson" <kaleop@hawaii.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, November 11, 2008 5:47 PM
Subject: Makahiki Community Vigil
> November 11, 2008
> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
> ATTENTION: All Media
>
> FROM: Dr. Kahu Kaleo Patterson
> Pacific Justice and Reconciliation Center
> Contact Information: 808 330-3769,
> E-mail: pjrcgo@gmail.com
>
> REGARDING:
>
> Press Conference and
> Native Hawaiian Religion â^À^Ó Makahiki Community Vigil
> November 23rd, 2008
> 5:00 â^À^Ó 6:30 PM
> Henke Hall â^À^Ó School of social work, University of Hawaii, Manoa
> (Outdoors under the trees â^À^Ó East West Road next to Kennedy Center))
>
> 1. Update on the second Native Hawaiian Religion â^À^Ó Makahiki Ceremonies
> 2008 to take place on November 24th, 2008 at Waiawa Correctional
> Facility, and other facilities in the U.S.
>
> 2. Meet and hear from religious leaders who support the Native
> Hawaiian Religion initiatives and new programs in the Department of
> Public Safety â^À^Ó Hawaii.
>
> 3. Meet and hear from Pacific Islanders leaders who support the
> development of Native Hawaiian Religion and the use of awa in
> ceremonies.
>
> 4. Join in community prayers and vigil, and awa ceremony to support
> the Waiawa Makahiki 2008i.
>
> 5. Representatives from the State Legislature, community, religious
> community, families of incarcerated, ex-inmates, University professors
> and students, and representatives from the Department of Public Safety.
>
> 6. Speakers and resources people, and participants include,
>
> Dr. Kahu Kaleo Patterson, Hawaiian Kahunapule and priest, President of
> the Pacific Justice and Reconciliation Center, Co-Director of the
> Center of Indigenous Leadership and Peacemaking.
>
> Dr. Haaheo Guanson, Executive Director, Pacific Justice and
> Reconciliation Center, Co-director of the Center of Indigenous
> Leadership and Peacemaking, former president of the Board of Homeland
> Ministries of the United Churches of Christ.
>
> Dr. Tarcisus Tara Kabutaulaka,
> Research Fellow in the EWC Pacific Islands Development Program, peace
> negotiator. Awa Expert.
>
> Mr. Bruce Spenser, Director of Religious Programming and Volunteer
> Services, Department of Public Safety
>
> Chaplain Eddie Ochoa, Chaplain at Waiawa Correctional Facility
> Social Justice, Department of Public Safety
>
> Mr. Andre Perez, Kumu and Native Hawaiian Cultural Practitioner
>
> Mr. Brian Nakamura, Alu Like Specialist, Program Specialist - Center
> for Indigenous Leadership and Peacemaking, U.H. Manoa.
>
> Mr. Ishmael Stagner, Alu Like Kupuna
>
> Mr. Richard Salvador, Research and Program, Center for Indigenous
> Leadership and Peacemaking, U.H. Manoa.
>
> Other Religious and Community Leaders, including Senator Willy Espero,
> Chair of Committee on Public Safety, and Kat Brady, Prison Reform
> activist.
>
> Families of the incarcerated at Waiawa and other facilities
>
> 7. After a briefing and statements of support an interfaith religious
> ceremony involving, prayers, song, and the lighting of candles will
> take place.
> ---------------------------------------
> Rev. Dr. Kaleo Patterson
> Pacific Justice and Reconciliation Ctr.
> Ctr. for Indigenous
> Leadership/Peacemaking
> ph. 808 330-3769 fax 808 531-3122
> kaleop@hawaii.edu / kaleop@mac.com
[ Part 2, Application/PDF 65KB. ]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2008 12:42:54 +1300
From: chook <tepaatu@gmail.com>
Black Pepper Increases Nutrient Absorption up to
2000%
Substance in Black Pepper Increases Nutrient Absorption up to Two Thousand
Percent
NaturalNews) Putting black pepper on your food may be one of the easiest,
most economical ways to boost your overall health status. Piperine, the
main alkaloid from black pepper has been shown to substantially increase
the bioavailability of the nutrients in foods and supplements. As the
quality of food declines and the costs of food and supplements continue to
skyrocket, it is increasingly important to your health that the nutrients
you consume are able to be used to maximum efficiency by your body.
What is piperine?
Piperine is a pungent compound found in the fruit of the plants in the
Piperaceae family, the most famous member of which is Piper nigrum, black
pepper. It has a long history of use in Ayurvedic medicine as a
restorative and treatment.
Piperine is able to increase bioavilability of many substances through a
number of mechanisms. It inhibits several enzymes responsible for
metabolizing nutritional substances, stimulates amino-acid transporters in
the intestinal lining, inhibits removal of substances from cells so they
continue to be available for use, and decreases the intestinal activity
allowing more of the substances to enter the body in active form. The
results of these actions are that substances reach, enter and remain
within their target cells for longer periods of time than would normally
be the case.
Piperine can turn a marginally effective therapeutic substance into a
highly effective one by increasing its bioavailability and intracellular
residency time. As an example, piperine can increase the bioavailability
of the cancer, inflammation and infection fighter, curcumin, by
twenty-fold.
Piperine favorably simulates the digestive enzymes of the pancreas,
enhances digestive capacity and significantly reduces gastrointestinal
food transit time. Black pepper or piperine treatment has also been
evidenced to lower lipid peroxidation in vivo and beneficially influence
the cellular status of organic sulfur compounds, antioxidant molecules,
and antioxidant enzymes in a number of experimental situations of
oxidative stress.
In addition to its effects on bioavilability, piperine has many other
actions in the body that include increasing beta-endorphins in the brain,
acting as an anti-depressant, increasing serotonin production, boosting
brain functioning, stimulating adrenal production, relieving pain and
asthma symptoms, stimulating melanin production, decreasing ulcerations of
the stomach, reducing stomach acid production, and coordinating digestive
tract contractions. It is highly effective against colon cancer.
New research is documenting the many health benefits of piperine
The journal Biometals reports a study involving cadmium, a well known
environmental carcinogen and immuno-toxicant that is characterized by
marked atrophy of the thymus and spleen enlargement. Cadmium induces death
in lymphocytes and alters immune functions. Researchers tested the
ameliorative effects to cadmium damage using piperine,
picroliv-glycosides, and curcumin polyphenols. They found that of the
three herbals, piperine displayed maximum efficacy. All the examined doses
of piperine increased cell viability in a dose dependent manner.
Restoration of cell damage such as cytotoxicity, oxidative stress and
phosphatidylserine externalization was potentiated with piperine. T and B
cell phenotypes and cytokine release were also mitigated best with
piperine, rendering piperine the compound of choice under
immuno-compromised conditions.
In a study reported in the September edition of the journal Food and
Chemical Toxicology the effect of various doses of piperine was
determined. Results showed that piperine at all dosage ranges used in the
study possessed anti-depression like activity and cognitive enhancing
effects at all treatment durations. Researchers determined that piperine
is a functional food that improves brain functioning.
The medicinal properties of various compounds such as curcumin cannot be
well utilized because of poor bioavailability due to its rapid metabolism
in the liver and intestinal wall. In an older study reported in Planta
Medica, the effect of combining piperine, a known inhibitor of hepatic and
intestinal glucuronidation, was evaluated to determine the bioavailability
of curcumin in rats and healthy human volunteers. When curcumin was given
alone to the rats, moderate serum concentrations were achieved over a
period of 4 hours. When piperine was added with the curcumin, the serum
concentration of curcumin increased for a 1-2 hour period. Time to maximum
concentration was significantly increased while elimination half life and
clearance significantly decreased. The bioavailability was increased by
154%. When curcumin was given alone to humans, serum levels were either
undetectable or very low. Addition of piperine produced much higher
concentrations from 0.25 to 1 hour following administration. The
bioavailability of curcumin when taken with piperine increased 2000%.
A study reported in the September issue of Phychopharmacology was designed
to investigate the involvement of monoaminergic systems in the
antidepressant activity of curcumin and the effect of piperine as a
bioenhancer to the biological effects of curcumin. The researchers found
that the enhanced curcumin dose dependently inhibited the immobility
period, increased serotonin, and inhibited the monoamine oxidase enzymes.
The compound also enhanced the anti-immobility effect of sub-threshold
doses of various antidepressant drugs like fluoxetine, venlafaxine, or
bupropion. The combination of sub-threshold dose of enhanced curcumin and
various antidepressant drugs resulted in synergistic increase in serotonin
levels. The co-administration of piperine with curcumin resulted in
potentiation of pharmacological, biochemical, and neurochemical
activities. They concluded that the curcumin, piperine combination proved
to be a useful and potent natural antidepressant.
The summer issue of Clinical Laboratory Science reports a study to
determine if resveratrol from red grapes, cinnamaldehyde from cinnamon,
and piperine from black pepper have anti-proliferative effects on colon
cancer. Quantitative effects of each phytochemical on concentration
responses and time courses of proliferation of cultured human colon cancer
cells were assessed. The results showed the phytochemicals each displayed
anti-proliferative effects. Piperine displayed a trend toward
anti-proliferation at 24 hours and statistically significant inhibition at
48 and 72 hours. Researchers concluded that all three compounds offer
significant anti-proliferative effects on human colon cancer cells and
provide protective effects against colon cancer.
Using piperine
Piperine is generally consumed as a component of black pepper. Adding
black pepper to cooked foods, raw foods, and fresh juices is a good way to
increase nutrient absorption. Black pepper spices up almost all foods,
even snacks like popcorn. It can be added to the Budwig protocol used as a
preventative and cure for cancer. It is natural that the foods and the
compound that makes their nutrients so highly available go so well
together.
For those with an aversion to black pepper, piperine can be bought as a
supplement called Bioperine. Source Naturals Bioperine is available at
Lucky Vitamin. Swanson Vitamin sells a house brand of Bioperine. There are
multi-vitamins on the market that contain Bioperine as well as Curcumin
supplements with Bioperine added. Supplemental piperine should be taken
along with meals and supplements for maximum benefit.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2008 14:10:25 -1000
From: Brad Parsons <mauibrad@hotmail.com>
Subject: Letter to the Editor: 'Fish and Limu are Allowed on the
Superferry'
See video at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugVnCMcya9g
------
> | Letter to the Editor Receipt |
>
> Fish and Limu are allowed on the Superferry
>
> Responding to the letter, "Superferry concerns need perspective" from
> Peter Antonson where he states, "...hundreds of pounds of fish have not
> been removed from Maui," and "During the summer, Maui's mayor got
> hysterical about 400 pounds of fish in a month that never left Maui."
>
> Actually, fish and limu are allowed to be transported on the Superferry.
> It is the opihi, crustaceans, and rocks that are not allowed on the
> Superferry. In the case of opihi, unless they are immature, there is no
> penalty for being caught attempting to smuggle them aboard. Fish and
> limu are allowed to 'flow freely.'
>
> And how much was that? When ridership on the ferry was low in the spring
> and fall it was not much, but when ridership was high May thru August
> the amount of fish and limu that was transported via HSF was
> significant. From the Oversight Taskforce Committee/DLNR reports that
> was for fish: 370lbs., 316lbs., 488lbs., and 190lbs. in successive
> months. For limu it was: 477lbs. and 475lbs. in successive months. This
> does not include significant weights of opihi that were confiscated
> after having been harvested and killed nevertheless.
>
> Let us be clear, with an inadequate Governor's EO and Act 2 neighbor
> island resource depletion is a real issue when the Superferry is running
> at high ridership. Thankfully it has been running at low ridership since
> late August, and not to Kauai at all. For interested readers there is a
> new video on Youtube "Superferry Plunder: Kauai fishermen talk story"
> about this.
>
> Aloha, Brad
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2008 20:27:50 -0800
From: Kathy Roberts <weerkhr@pacbell.net>
Subject: Sen. Inhofe: Did Paulson Give Bailout $ To His Friends or What?
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=20081116_16_A1_hHecri880405
Inhofe: Cancel the 'blank check'
By JIM MYERS World Washington Bureau
11/16/2008
Last Modified: 11/16/2008 2:31 AM
He criticizes Henry Paulson for changing the $700 billion bailout plan.
WASHINGTON ^× U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe said Saturday that Congress was not
told the truth about the bailout of the nation's financial system and
should take back what is left of the $700 billion "blank check'' it gave
the Bush administration.
"It is just outrageous that the American people don't know that Congress
doesn't know how much money he (Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson) has
given away to anyone,'' the Oklahoma Republican told the Tulsa World.
"It could be to his friends. It could be to anybody else. We don't know.
There is no way of knowing.''
Inhofe's comments, unusually pointed even for a senator known for being
blunt, come on the heels of Paulson's shift in how he thinks the bailout
funds should be spent.
Last week the Treasury secretary announced he was abandoning his plan to
free up the nation's credit system by buying up toxic assets from
troubled financial institutions. Instead, Paulson wants to take a more
direct action on the consumer credit front.
"He was able to get this authority from Congress predicated on what he
was going to do, and then he didn't do it,'' Inhofe said.
"So,
that's enough reason right there.''
Inhofe recalled earlier comments opposing Paulson's plan because the
administration's point man did not have answers for a number of
questions. He also recalled questioning the rush to get the bailout
passed.
"I have learned a long time ago. When they come up and say this has to be
done and has to be done immediately, there is no other way of doing it,
you have to sit back and take a deep breath and nine times out of 10 they
are not telling the truth,'' he said.
"And this is one of those nine times.''
Inhofe has laid out his legislative plans for this week on the bailout
package in a letter to his Senate colleagues.
He wants to freeze what is left of the initial $350 billion ^× reportedly
$60 billion, but Inhofe concedes he does not know for sure.
Then he wants a provision requiring an affirmative vote by Congress
before Paulson can get his hands on the second $350 billion of bailout
money.
Current law lays out a scenario where President Bush submits a plan on
the second half of the funding.
Lawmakers have 15 days to disapprove it, but Inhofe questions that
wording.
"Congress abdicated its constitutional responsibility by signing a truly
blank check over to the Treasury Secretary,'' he wrote.
"However, the lame duck session of Congress offers us a tremendous
opportunity to change course. We should take it.''
In the interview, the senator said his plans can provide "redemption''
for those senators who supported Paulson.
Inhofe's plan appears to be a long shot at this point. Senators
originally approved the bailout plan by a 74-25 vote.
He does not know how much support he has among his Republican colleagues,
and he concedes Democratic leaders could block it.
Bush also could veto it if it were to make it out of Congress.
Neither Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's office nor the Treasury
Department commented.
Reid, D-Nev., wants to use the upcoming lame duck session to push
economic issues such as extending unemployment benefits and aid to the
nation's ailing auto industry.
Inhofe opposes both.
"You don't stimulate the economy by giving away more money,'' he said.
In response to concerns expressed by some that allowing even one of the
big automakers to fail would be too much of an economic hit for the
nation, Inhofe said reality must be accepted.
"If we keep on nursing a broken system, then we can't expect to have a
different result come later on,'' he said.
"I just think we have to draw the line someplace, and the time is here.''
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2008 20:33:08 -0800
From: Kanu Hawaii <friends@kanuhawaii.org>
Subject: Help Simplify the Holidays
[IMAGE] Simplify the Holidays
Monday, November 17, 2008
The holiday season has arrived!
Kanu Hawaii and the Kokua Hawaii Foundation are launching Simplify the
Holidays, Island Style. Inspired by the Center for the New American
Dream's national campaign, Simplify the Holidays focuses on our
traditional holiday dreams and ideals, while helping our local economy,
environment and communities too. Over the next few weeks, AND WITH YOUR
HELP, we will be spreading the word to encourage people across the islands
and beyond to participate.
For our part, Kanu Hawaii has set a goal of 1,000 current and new members
to participate in this campaign by making one or more of the commitments
listed on our Simplify the Holidays page. To be counted, go to:
http://www.kanuhawaii.org/holidays
Select any commitments that you can make to renew the spirit of the season
with the joy of meaningful gifts, the company of loved ones, the peace
found in helping your neighbors, and the fulfillment in knowing you
reduced waste in our islands.
Holiday Ideas and Tips
------
From now until New Year, Kanu Hawaii and the Kokua Hawaii Foundation will
bring you ideas and tips to help you simplify the holidays.
Already you can find details on how to order a locally grown Christmas
tree, information from the national campaign headed by the Center for the
New American Dream, and one Kanu perspective on the holidays.
You can also share your own thoughts about the holidays. Here's what three
Kanu members recently shared:
* "I'm giving fewer gifts this year but taking the time to send cards
to connect with people, thank them, etc. With the money I save on
fewer/smaller gifts, I'm supporting nonprofits, such as Lokahi and
Foodbank."
* "This year my wife and I had already planned to give gifts through
Heifer International to all the families on our list."
* "At school our students run an Alternative Gift Giving booth and
encourage students to give to a charity (there are 10 to choose from)
in their friend's name instead of a tangible gift."
Share your information and inspiration today. Also, check out KGMB Morning
Sunrise on Wednesday, November 19, when representatives from Kanu Hawaii
and Kokua Hawaii Foundation will publically launch the holiday campaign.
Our Partners at Kokua Hawaii Foundation
-----
Kanu Hawaii is thrilled to partner with our friends at the Kokua Hawaii
Foundation.
The Kokua Hawaii Foundation is a non-profit organization whose mission is
to provide students with experiences that will enhance their appreciation
for and understanding of their environment so they will be lifelong
stewards of the earth. The Kokua Hawaii Foundation also participates in
numerous community outreach programs such as the Plastic Free Haleiwa
Coalition and the world-renown musical and environmental event, the Kokua
Festival. To join the KHF mailing list go to:
http://www.kokuafestival.com/mailinglist/kokua_hawaii_foundation/
You can also check out their Kanu group page.
Kanu Hawaii, 1050 Bishop Street, #504, Honolulu, HI 96813
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2008 20:09:45 -0500 (EST)
From: HIAHAWAII@aol.com
Subject: KUPUAINA COALITON: KUE RALLY
Kupu'Ä^Áina Coalition
Action Alert:
Contact:
Friday, November 14, 2008
*Derek Kauanoe: 489-5316
*D. KahÅ^ÍkÅ« Price: daprice@hawaii.edu
*Jocelyn M. Doane: kupuaina@gmail.com
*www.kupuaina.com,
www.stopsellingcededlands.com
JOIN us at a Rally Demanding that Governor Lingle RESPECT NATIVE HAWAIIAN
RIGHTS and WITHDRAW the Unnecessary Appeal of the Ceded Lands Case to the
U.S. Supreme Court
WHAT: In Commemoration of the 15th Anniversary of the 1993 Apology
Resolution â^À^Ó Native Hawaiians Rally and Call on Lingle to Withdraw the
Appeal to U.S. Supreme Court.
WHEN: Monday, November 24th at 11:30 AM
WHERE: State Capitol Rotunda
WHO: You, your 'ohana, and friends in RED shirts.
WHY:
* Inform the public of the magnitude of this case and the THREAT IT
POSES TO NATIVE HAWAIIAN JUSTICE/RIGHTS.
* This could prove to be the MOST DAMAGING case on Hawaiian Rights
EVER. An adverse ruling could cripple reconciliation efforts,
severely diminish Native Hawaiian rights, and lay the foundation for
dismantling Native Hawaiian programs.
* This is a NON-DIVISIVE issue â^À^Ó a U.S. Supreme Court decision has
negative implications for our entire community and EVERY Hawaiian.
* The U.S. Supreme Court could misinterpret and reduce the significance
of the Apology Resolution, which recognizes the illegality of the
overthrow and supports Native Hawaiian rights.
* The U.S. Supreme Court has the potential to adversely impact the way
the people of Hawai'i deal with issues on a local level. Unlike the
State Supreme Court, the U.S. Supreme Court does not know Hawai'i's
history and will not be affected by the resolution of local issues.
* Governor Lingle's action is wholly inconsistent with her previous
support of Native Hawaiians. She must be urged to WITHDRAW this
appeal IMMEDIATELY!
Kupu'Ä^Áina Coalition: 'Ahahui o Hawai'i Law Student Org,
Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2008 15:55:00 -1000
From: Manoa Faculty Senate <announce@HAWAII.EDU>
Subject: Campus Priorities Survey Results
The Manoa Faculty Senate Committee on Administration and Budget would like
to thank all the 914 faculty who responded to the recent survey on budget
priorities and the 476 who gave additional useful feedback. The complete
results, along with a summary of the comments, can now be found at
http://www.hawaii.edu/uhmfs/minutes/2008_09/cab_min_20081002.html - Campus
Priorities Survey & Summary Faculty Suggestions Survey.
This was never intended to be a statistically accurate instrument for
determining priorities. Rather it was viewed as a way to take the pulse
of the faculty at this moment when it is clear that difficult decisions
will need to be made in the near future. CAB has already conveyed the
results to VC Cutshaw and discussed them with her, since there were so
many comments related to energy and we hope it will provide a starting
point for further discussions.
There seems to be a broad consensus on the need for energy conservation
and the campus does need to move aggressively with short term energy
savings just to meet the budget restrictions for the current year. Some
of these will have to come from finding ways to turn off air conditioning
on weekends and holidays in those buildings where it is feasible. But
everyone can also help by taking steps such as shutting out lights,
putting computers and printers to sleep (or turning them off) when not in
use, and so on.
More information on the Campus energy strategy can be found at
http://www.manoa.hawaii.edu/ovcafo/FacilitiesManage/fm_statusreports.htm .
There you can also find information about energy usage by building.
-- ------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2008 18:47:31 -0600
From: nimchira <tepaatu@gmail.com>
Voices Health/Environment News
News from the Health and Environmental Communities.
Published since Nov, 2005
Nov. 17, 2008
WARNING: Beware of Extortion Scam by FDA Impersonators - As part of a
fraudulent scheme to extort money, callers have falsely identified
themselves as "FDA special agents" or other FDA officials.
http://www.fda.gov/consumer/updates/scam111708.html
===========
In this Issue:
Recalls:
Benzoyl Peroxide Acne Cream 10% marked as:
DG Maximum Strength Acne Medicated Gel
Kroger Acne Gel 10% Benzoyl Peroxide Acne Medication
Equate: Medicated Acne Gel
Audience: Consumers, dermatologists, pharmacists, other healthcare
professionals
CSI USA Inc. and FDA informed consumers and healthcare professionals of a
nationwide recall of all lots of 1 ounce tubes of 10% Benzoyl Peroxide
Acne Cream. The products were recalled because samples of the products
were found to contain bacteria, Burkholderia Cepacia, formerly known as
Pseudomonas Cepacia. There may be an increased health risk of infections
for individuals with cuts, scrapes, rashes or other compromised skin
conditions; or those with weakened or suppressed immune systems. Consumers
should discontinue using the product and should return it to the place of
purchase. See the company's press release for photos of product packaging.
http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/safety/2008/safety08.htm
=================
Rare Treatment Is Reported to Cure AIDS Patient
http://www.truthout.org/111408HA
Campaigner wins seven-year battle to force rethink on use of pesticides.
http://newsletters.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/18310/3057/23833/0/
Heparin's deadly side effects.
http://newsletters.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/18310/3057/23837/0/
China faces new problem with tainted milk - how to safely get rid of it.
http://newsletters.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/18310/3057/23840/0/
Tadpole tests show lethality of one pesticide.
http://newsletters.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/18310/3057/23841/0/
When Alzheimer's hits at 40.
http://newsletters.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/18310/3057/23842/0/
Marine dead zones set to expand rapidly.
http://newsletters.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/18310/3057/23843/0/
Employers Offer Workers Fewer Health Care Plans
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/15/business/15insure.html
BPA leaches from 'safe' products. Products marketed for infants or billed as
"microwave safe" release toxic doses of the chemical bisphenol A when
heated, http://newsletters.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/18338/3057/23870/0/
Death toll in China's tainted milk scandal is higher than government admits.
http://newsletters.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/18338/3057/23893/0/
cancer drugs actually cause cancer tumors to GROW
http://www.naturalnews.com/024828.html
the truth about the link between sugar and cancer
http://www.naturalnews.com/024827.html
Teens and Toxic Skin Care: A Parent's Responsibility
http://www.naturalnews.com/024825.html
Panel finds widespread Gulf War illness.
http://newsletters.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/18369/3057/23927/0/
Bottled water scare as dangerous germs found.
http://newsletters.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/18369/3057/23930/0/
Storage fears over high-level nuclear waste.
http://newsletters.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/18369/3057/23933/0/
Government to defy critics with secret GM crop trials.
http://newsletters.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/18369/3057/23934/0/
Study bolsters link between Parkinson's disease, pesticide.
http://newsletters.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/18369/3057/23941/0/
Keeping Your Health Insurance When You're Unemployed
http://consumeraffairs.list-manage.com/track/click?u=48290de6249ef2cecba9fe5de&id=de415e1852&e=0fa96e422d
Toxic Chemicals Blamed for Gulf War Illness
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/17/AR2008111701821.html
--------
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Date: Thu, 25 Sep 2008 16:33:11 -0700
From: Kathy Roberts <weerkhr@pacbell.net>
Subject: Guardian Nurses Healthcare Advocates
MY HUSBAND JUST HEARD ABOUT THIS ON THE RADIO SHOW, MARKETPLACE, AND SAYS
IT SOUNDS LIKE A WONDERFUL SERVICE THAT'S REALLY HELPING PEOPLEDEAL WITH
MEDICAL BILL AND INSURANCE PROBLEMS.
Guardian service helps those without support
A New York nonprofit group is serving as a guardian for persons who for
reasons of age, illness or disability can't care for themselves. It's good
for the people ^× and the state, too. Alisa Roth reports.
Audio:http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2007/06/11/guardian_service_helps_those_without_support/
http://www.guardiannurses.com/
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2008 19:31:57 -0500
From: Howard Eagle <heagle@rochester.rr.com>
a response to "Share your campaign stories!"
History was made, but widespread hatred, deep-seated, entrenched
individual and institutionalized racism hasn't lessened one bit. In fact,
it has deepened on many fronts. See the link below.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/O/OBAMA_RACIAL?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
----- Original Message -----
From: Victoria Restler
Sent: Monday, November 17, 2008 6:39 PM
This has been an incredible time! Many of us have shared a new pride in
our nation, shed tears of joy and disbelief, and experienced an unfamiliar
sense of hope even in these tough times.
As "Obama" wrote to us on Tuesday night at 11pm, before stepping out to
greet the mass of supporters in Grant Park:
We just made history. And I don't want you to forget how we did it. You
made history every single day during this campaign -- every day you
knocked on doors, made a donation, or talked to your family, friends, and
neighbors about why you believe it's time for change.
Some of this is rhetoric, but it's also rooted in fact. This campaign saw
unprecedented citizen support in the form of ground-breaking donations and
especially volunteer support. We talked to friends and obstinate
relatives, phone banked at home and call centers, and went door-to-door in
small towns and big cities to help "swing" states and individuals for
Barack.
And for many of us, something happened while standing on doorsteps in
towns we'd never otherwise go to and people we'd never otherwise speak
with. We connected^×face to face, person to person. We recognized shared
values across state, class, and color lines. And sometimes, we found
understanding or empathy for perspectives and experiences radically
different from our own.
We^×two blue buddies who volunteered in red states (Pennsylvania and
Virginia) Dr. Ellen McGrath and Victoria Restler^×would like to hear about
your experiences and your stories from the heart about your volunteer
experiences. We are especially interested in those of you who met people
of different political views that you may never have met and traveled to
places that you may never have visited, had it not been for your
commitment to the campaign. What was it like talking to voters in
apartment lobbies and doorsteps and street corners and voting lines around
the country? Who did you speak with and what conversations made a lasting
impression on you? What are the two most important things you learned
from your experience?
We will collect and compile these stories and publish them through Bridge
Coaching Publishing in a book timed for release with Obama's January 20th
inauguration. We will write a foreword, overview, and summary, share how
you can stay involved in more social action projects, do the editing, art
and design, as well as a full media promotion. Additionally, the book will
be used by Ellen's Advanced Social Entrepreneurship course in the Wagner
Graduate School of Public Service at NYU during the spring 2009 semester.
Victoria will also develop a curriculum guide to be used at the high
school and middle school class level, so a variety of students have access
to these experiences and harvest your shared collective wisdom.
Book participants will receive a significant discount if they wish to
purchase the books upon publication. Part of the proceeds from the books
will be donated to social entrepreneurship and social action education
projects to continue this work. There will be a book publication party in
NYC in January and participants will be invited to join their fellow
authors and contributors to share stories and support.
Guidelines for contributions to "Profiles in Hope: Bridging the Blue/Red
Divide" (working title)
What: Write about a stand-out conversation or experience that you had
campaigning door-to-door for Obama or working in a campaign office in an
area you would not normally visit or a place with widely divergent views.
The discussion can be with someone who you agreed or disagreed with and
the subject matter is open. Please recount the conversation and share
whatever you gained from the experience. Also, feel free to provide any
necessary background on the community, the person you spoke with, or your
own beliefs.
How much: One to three pages. Please do not forget to put the two biggest
lessons learned (or insights) at the end of your story. You may submit
more than one story. Please put you name and location at the bottom of
the page, as well as your age and gender, and if you wish, ethnicity and
occupation. You may also remain anonymous.
When: Submit your piece via e-mail to Victoria or Ellen
(victoria.restler@gmail.com or mcgrathdr@aol.com) by Monday, December 15,
2008. Late submissions will not be accepted.
What else: Please submit any high-res photographs that you took while
campaigning. These can be portraits or images of the community. Drawings
or other visual symbols would also be helpful.
Please spread this e-mail far and wide ASAP to friends, family, and
colleagues who were involved in the campaign and may have interesting and
powerful stories to tell...
Thank you for spreading the word and for sharing your own stories from the
heart. We would like to make these experiences available to all as a
support and reminder that all of us can create change, and that by working
together, we can transform our world.
Please feel free to contact us with any questions and enjoy the stories of
this remarkable time. It is only the beginning!
Warmest Regards,
Victoria and Ellen
Ellen McGrath, Ph.D
President and Founder, Bridge Coaching Institute
Victoria
Restler
.
Educator, Artist, Nonprofit
Manager
--
Victoria Restler
Senior Program Associate
World Savvy: Think Beyond Your Borders
155 Water Street
Brooklyn, New York 11201
718-210-3634
www.worldsavvy.org
________________________________________________________________________________
Subject: Fwd: Fw: Obama's Spirituality: A Candid and Powerful Interview
From: Leeya Thompson
Sent: Saturday, November 15, 2008 10:51 PM
Now that the election is over and doubts begin to creep in about certain
appointments, and we know we need to trust and be open to getting a bigger
picture, this article really helps. To know where Obama is coming from
answers a lot of questions. Leeya
----- Original Message -----
From: Gordon Davidson
Sent: Saturday, November 15, 2008 4:56 PM
This is a wonderful window into Obama' spiritual thinking and
perception. Especially significant is whenever he has decisions to make,
checking his motives and listening to his inner voice and comparing his
choices and actions to his values.
Very high level spirituality.
Love and blessings,
Gordon
----------
Over four years ago, before Barack Obama was known to the world,
Cathleen Falsani, the religion reporter for the respected Chicago
Sun-Times newspaper, interviewed Obama about his spiritual views. The
interview is as amazing as it is revealing of the depths of this
thoughtful man. I've edited the interview for brevity and clarity and
highlighted key sections in bold for those with limited time. For the
entire unedited interview, click here. For the inspiring article based on
this interview published in the Sun-Times in 2004, click here. What a gift
to have this man as the next president of the United States!
Barack Obama: The 2004 "God Factor" Interview Transcript
Editor's Note:
On Saturday, March 27, 2004, when I was the religion reporter at the
Chicago Sun-Times, I met State Sen. Barack Obama at Café Baci, a small
coffee joint in Chicago, to interview him exclusively about his
spirituality. Our conversation took place a few days after he'd clinched
the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate seat that he eventually won.
We spoke for more than an hour. He came alone. He answered everything I
asked without notes or hesitation. The profile of Obama that grew from
that interview became the first in a series in the Sun-Times called "The
God Factor," that eventually became my first book, The God Factor: Inside
the Spiritual Lives of Public People. Because of the staggering interest
in Obama's faith and spiritual predilections, I thought it might be
helpful to share that interview here.
GG
--------------------------------------
Interview with State Sen. Barack Obama
Saturday March 27, 3:30 p.m.
Café Baci, 330 S. Michigan Avenue
Me: decaf
He: alone, on time, grabs a Naked juice protein shake
GG:
What do you believe?
OBAMA:
I am a Christian. So, I have a deep faith. I draw from the Christian
faith. On the other hand, I was born in Hawaii where obviously there
are a lot of Eastern influences. I lived in Indonesia, the largest
Muslim country in the world, between the ages of six and 10. My father
was from Kenya, and although he was probably most accurately labeled
an agnostic, his father was Muslim. And I'd say, probably,
intellectually I've drawn as much from Judaism as any other faith.
(A patron stops and says, "Congratulations," shakes his hand. "Thank
you very much. I appreciate that. Thank you.")
So, I'm rooted in the Christian tradition. I believe that there are
many paths to the same place, and that there is a higher power, that
we are connected as a people. There are values that transcend race or
culture that move us forward, and there's an obligation for all of us
individually as well as collectively to take responsibility to make
those values lived.
And so, part of my project in life was to spend the first 40 years
of my life figuring out what I did believe - I'm 42 now . And it's not
that I had it all completely worked out, but I'm spending a lot of
time now trying to apply what I believe and trying to live up to those
values.
GG:
Have you always been a Christian?
OBAMA:
I was raised more by my mother, and my mother was Christian.
GG:
Any particular flavor?
OBAMA:
No. My grandparents were from small towns in Kansas. My grandmother
was Methodist. My grandfather was Baptist. And by the time I was born,
I think, my grandparents had joined a Universalist church. My mother,
who I think had as much influence on my values as anybody, was not
someone who wore her religion on her sleeve. We'd go to church for
Easter. She wasn't a church lady.
As I said, we moved to Indonesia. She remarried an Indonesian who
wasn't a practicing Muslim. I went to a Catholic school in a Muslim
country. So I was studying the Bible and catechisms by day, and at
night you'd hear the prayer call.
I don't think as a child I had a structured religious education. But
my mother was a deeply spiritual person. She would spend a lot of time
talking about values and give me books about the world's religions,
and talk to me about them. And I think always, her view was that
underlying these religions were a common set of beliefs about how you
treat other people and how you aspire to act not just for yourself,
but also for the greater good. And, so that, I think, was what I
carried with me through college.
I didn't start getting active in church activities until I moved to
Chicago. The way I came to Chicago in 1985 was that I was interested
in community organizing. I was inspired by the Civil Rights movement
and the idea that ordinary people could do extraordinary things. And
there was a group of churches out on the South Side of Chicago that
had come together to form an organization to try to deal with the
devastation of steel plants that had closed. They didn't have much
money, but felt that if they formed an organization and hired somebody
to organize them to work on issues that affected their community, that
would strengthen the church and also strengthen the community.
So they hired me, for $13,000 a year. A princely sum. And I drove
out here and I didn't know anybody and started working with both the
ministers and the lay people in these churches on issues like creating
job training programs, or afterschool programs for youth, or making
sure that city services were fairly allocated to underserved
communities.
And it was in those places where I think what had been more of an
intellectual view of religion deepened, because I'd be spending an
enormous amount of time with church ladies, sort of surrogate mothers
and fathers. Everybody I was working with was 50 or 55 or 60, and here
I was a 23-year-old kid running around.
I became much more familiar with the ongoing tradition of the
historic black church and it's importance in the community, and the
power of that culture to give people strength in very difficult
circumstances, and the power of that church to give people courage
against great odds. And it moved me deeply.
One of the churches that I became involved in was Trinity United
Church of Christ. And the pastor there, Jeremiah Wright, became a good
friend. So I joined that church and committed myself to Christ in that
church.
GG:
Did you actually go up for an altar call?
OBAMA:
Yes. Absolutely. It was during a daytime service. And it was a
powerful moment. It was powerful for me because it not only confirmed
my faith, it not only gave shape to my faith, but I think, also,
allowed me to connect the work I had been pursuing with my faith.
GG:
How long ago?
OBAMA:
16, 17 years ago. 1987 or 88
GG:
So you got yourself born again?
OBAMA:
Yeah, although I retain from my childhood and my experiences growing
up a suspicion of dogma. And I'm not somebody who is always
comfortable with language that implies I've got a monopoly on the
truth, or that my faith is automatically transferable to others.
I'm a big believer in tolerance. I think that religion at it's best
comes with a big dose of doubt. I'm suspicious of too much certainty
in the pursuit of understanding just because I think people are
limited in their understanding.
I think that -- particularly as somebody who's now in the public
realm and is a student of what brings people together and what drives
them apart -- there's an enormous amount of damage done around the
world in the name of religion and certainty.
GG:
Do you pray often?
OBAMA:
Uh, yeah, I guess I do. Its' not formal, me getting on my knees. I
have an ongoing conversation with God. Throughout the day I'm
constantly asking myself questions about what I'm doing, why am I
doing it.
One of the interesting things about being in public life is there
are constantly these pressures being placed on you from different
sides. To be effective, you have to be able to listen to a variety of
points of view. You also have to know when to be just a strong
advocate, and when to push back against certain people or views that
you think aren't right or don't serve your constituents.
The biggest challenge, I think, is always maintaining your moral
compass. Those are the conversations I'm having internally. I'm
measuring my actions against that inner voice that for me is audible,
is active. It tells me where I think I'm on track and where I'm off
track.
I always think of politics as having two sides. There's a vanity
aspect to politics, and then there's a substantive part of politics.
Now you need some sizzle with the steak to be effective, but I think
it's easy to get swept up in the vanity side of it, the desire to be
liked and recognized and important. It's important for me throughout
the day to measure and to take stock and to say, "Now am I doing this
because I think it's advantageous to me politically, or because I
think it's the right thing to do? Am I doing this to get my name in
the papers or am I doing this because it's necessary to accomplish my
motives?"
GG:
Checking for altruism?
OBAMA:
Yeah. I mean, something like it. It's interesting, the most powerful
political moments for me come when I feel like my actions are aligned
with a certain truth. I can feel it. When I'm talking to a group and
I'm saying something truthful, I can feel a power that comes out of
those statements that is different than when I'm just being glib or
clever.
GG:
What's that power? Is it the holy spirit? God?
OBAMA:
Well, I think it's the power of the recognition of God, or the
recognition of a larger truth that is being shared between me and an
audience.
That's something you learn watching ministers. What they call the
Holy Spirit. They want the Holy Spirit to come down before they're
preaching, right? Not to try to intellectualize it, but what I see is
there are moments that happen within a sermon where the minister gets
out of his ego and is speaking from a deeper source. And it's
powerful.
There are also times when you can see the ego getting in the way,
where the minister is performing and clearly straining for applause or
an Amen. And those are distinct moments. I think those former moments
are sacred.
GG:
Who's Jesus to you?
(He laughs nervously)
OBAMA:
Right. Jesus is an historical figure for me. And he's also a bridge
between God and man, in the Christian faith, and one that I think is
powerful precisely because he serves as that means of us reaching
something higher. And he's also a wonderful teacher. I think it's
important for all of us, of whatever faith, to have teachers in the
flesh and also teachers in history.
GG:
Is Jesus someone who you feel you have a regular connection with
now, a personal connection with in your life?
OBAMA:
Yes. I think some of the things I talked about earlier are channeled
through my Christian faith and a personal relationship with Jesus
Christ.
GG:
Have you read the bible?
OBAMA:
Absolutely. I read it not as regularly as I would like. These days I
don't have much time for reading or reflection, period.
GG:
Do you try to take some time for whatever, meditation, prayer reading?
OBAMA:
I'll be honest with you. I used to all the time, in a fairly
disciplined way. But during the course of this campaign, I don't. And
I probably need to and would like to, but that's where that internal
monologue, or dialogue I think supplants my opportunity to read and
reflect in a structured way these days. It's much more sort of as I'm
going through the day trying to take a moment here and a moment there
to take stock. Why am I here, how does this connect with a larger
sense of purpose?
GG:
Jack Ryan [Obama's Republican opponent in the U.S. Senate race at
the time] said talking about your faith is frought with peril for a
public figure.
OBAMA:
Which is why you generally will not see me spending a lot of time
talking about it on the stump.
Alongside my own deep personal faith, I am a follower, as well, of
our civic religion. I am a big believer in the separation of church
and state. I am a big believer in our constitutional structure. I
mean, I'm a law professor at the University of Chicago teaching
constitutional law. I am a great admirer of our founding charter, and
its resolve to prevent theocracies from forming, and its resolve to
prevent disruptive strains of fundamentalism from taking root in this
country.
I'm very suspicious of religious certainty expressing itself in
politics. Now, that's different from a belief that values have to
inform our public policy. I think it's perfectly consistent to say
that I want my government to be operating for all faiths and all
peoples, including atheists and agnostics, while also insisting that
there are values that inform my politics that are appropriate to talk
about.
A standard line in my stump speech during this campaign is that my
politics are informed by a belief that we're all connected. That if
there's a child on the South Side of Chicago that can't read, that
makes a difference in my life, even if it's not my own child. If
there's a senior citizen in downstate Illinois that's struggling to
pay for their medicine and having to chose between medicine and the
rent, that makes my life poorer, even if it's not my grandparent. And
if there's an Arab American family that's being rounded up by John
Ashcroft without the benefit of due process, that threatens my civil
liberties.
I can give religious expression to that. I am my brother's keeper, I
am my sister's keeper, we are all children of God. Or I can express it
in secular terms. But the basic premise remains the same. I think
sometimes Democrats have made the mistake of shying away from a
conversation about values for fear that they sacrifice the important
value of tolerance. And I don't think those two things are mutually
exclusive.
GG:
Do you think it's wrong for people to want to know about a civic
leader's spirituality?
OBAMA:
I don't' think it's wrong. I think that political leaders are
subject to all sorts of vetting by the public, and this can be a
component of that. I think there is an enormous danger on the part of
public figures to rationalize or justify their actions by claiming
God's mandate. I think there is this tendency that I don't think is
healthy for public figures to wear religion on their sleeve as a means
to insulate themselves from criticism.
GG:
The conversation stopper, when you say you're a Christian and leave
it at that.
OBAMA:
Where do you move forward with that? This is something that I'm sure
I'd have serious debates with my fellow Christians about. I think that
the difficult thing about any religion, including Christianity, is
that at some level there is a call to evangelize and proselytize.
There's the belief, certainly in some quarters, that people who
haven't embraced Jesus Christ as their personal savior, that they're
going to hell.
GG
You don't believe that?
OBAMA:
I find it hard to believe that my God would consign four-fifths of
the world to hell. I can't imagine that my God would allow some little
Hindu kid in India who never interacts with the Christian faith to
somehow burn for all eternity. That's just not part of my religious
makeup.
Part of the reason I think it's always difficult for public figures
to talk about this is that the nature of politics is that you want to
have everybody like you and project the best possible traits onto you.
Oftentimes that's by being as vague as possible, or appealing to the
lowest common denominators. The more specific and detailed you are on
issues as personal and fundamental as your faith, the more potentially
dangerous it is.
GG:
Do you ever have people who know you're a Christian question a
particular stance you take on an issue? how can you be a Christian and
.?
OBAMA:
I haven't been challenged in those direct ways. And to that extent,
I give the public a lot of credit. I'm always struck by how much
common sense the American people have. They get confused sometimes,
watch FoxNews or listen to talk radio. That's dangerous sometimes. But
generally, Americans are tolerant, and I think recognize that faith is
a personal thing. They may feel very strongly about an issue like
abortion or gay marriage, but if they discuss it with me as an elected
official they will discuss it with me in those terms and not say, 'you
call yourself a Christian.' I cannot recall that ever happening.
GG:
Do you believe in heaven?
OBAMA:
Do I believe in the harps and clouds and wings?
GG:
A place spiritually you go to after you die?
OBAMA:
What I believe in is that if I live my life as well as I can, I will
be rewarded. I don't presume to have knowledge of what happens after I
die. But I feel very strongly that whether the reward is in the here
and now or in the hereafter, aligning myself to my faith and my values
is a good thing.
When I tuck in my daughters at night and I feel like I've been a
good father to them, and I see in them that I am transferring values
that I got from my mother, and that they're kind people and that
they're honest people and they're curious people, that's a little
piece of heaven.
GG:
Do you believe in sin?
OBAMA:
Yes.
GG:
What is sin?
OBAMA:
Being out of alignment with my values.
GG:
What happens if you have sin in your life?
OBAMA:
I think it's the same thing as the question about heaven. If I'm
true to myself and my faith, that is its own reward. When I'm not true
to it, that's its own punishment.
GG:
Where do you find spiritual inspiration? Music, nature, literature,
people, a conduit you plug into?
OBAMA:
There are so many. Nothing is more powerful than the black church
experience. A good choir and a good sermon in the black church, it's
pretty hard not to be move and be transported. I can also be
transported by watching a good performance of Hamlet, or reading Toni
Morrison's Song of Solomon, or listening to Miles Davis.
GG:
Is there something that you go back to as a touchstone, a book, a
particular piece of music, a place ...
OBAMA:
As I said before, in my own sort of mental library, the Civil Rights
movement has a powerful hold on me. It's a point in time where I think
heaven and earth meet. Because it's a moment in which a collective
faith transforms everything. So when I read Gandhi or I read King or I
read certain passages of Abraham Lincoln, and I think about those
times where people's values are tested, I think those inspire me.
GG:
What are you doing when you feel the most centered, the most aligned
spiritually?
OBAMA:
I think I already described it. It's when I'm being true to myself.
And that can happen in me making a speech or it can happen in me
playing with my kids, or it can happen in a small interaction with a
security guard in a building when I'm recognizing them and exchanging
a good word.
GG:
Is there someone you would look to as an example of how not to do it?
OBAMA:
Bin Laden.
(grins broadly)
GG:
... An example of a role model, who combined everything you said you
want to do in your life, and your faith?
OBAMA:
I think Gandhi is a great example of a profoundly spiritual man who
acted and risked everything on behalf of those values but never
slipped into intolerance or dogma. He seemed to always maintain an air
of doubt about him. I also think of Dr. King, and Lincoln. Those three
are good examples for me of people who applied their faith to a larger
canvas without allowing that faith to metasticize into something that
is hurtful.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 01 Jan 2002 11:49:23 -1000
From: Global Media Productions <info@globalmediaproductions.com>
Makena Alert! Testify (or e-mail) - Wed. Nov
19th-9:00am
Makena Alert!
1,100 High density Condos, hotel, shopping center surrounding Makena State
Park?
County Council Land Use Committee Meeting
Wed. Nov.19th, 8:30 am
@ the County Building, 8th floor (200 S.High st. Wailuku)
Developer wants to upzone over 150 acres for high density Condos, hotel,
shopping center surrounding Makena State Park.
Public testimony will be accepted at the meeting. COME EARLY to sign up
to testify! Arrive at 8:30am.
Citizens can sign up to speak while testimony continues.
Food will be available!
*Check out Sunday's Maui News for a detailed article:
http://www. mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/510819
Can't attend?
Email to Land Use Committee: lu.committee@mauicounty.us
Request a nighttime Public Hearing in Kihei. Let the working public have
a say in what's going on.
Also, Letters to the editor help bring attention to his huge issue.
Maui News: letters@mauinews.com
Also the weeklies:
Maui Weekly: editor@mauiweekly.com
Maui Time: jacob@mauitime.com
Lahaina News: lahnews@maui. net
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2008 10:31:17 -0500
From: KahiwaL@cs.com
Subject: OHA-Army Lawsuit Settlement
Posted on: Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Settlement lets OHA access some Stryker training areas
Deal with Army aims to ensure protection of cultural resources
By William Cole
Advertiser Military Writer
The Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the Army have settled OHA's 2006
federal lawsuit claiming the Army failed to protect Native Hawaiian
cultural resources when it brought the Stryker brigade to the state.
Advertisement
OHA representatives, along with an archaeologist, will be able to survey
certain Stryker training areas at Schofield Barracks, Kahuku and Pohakuloa
as a result of the agreement, the state agency announced yesterday.
Through the surveys, OHA said it and Army representatives "aim to ensure
the appropriate identification and treatment of cultural and historic
resources located in Lihu'e, the traditional name for the Schofield
Barracks region," as well as other parts of Hawai'i.
The settlement means the Army can put behind it another legal case
involving the $1.5 billion Stryker brigade of 4,000 soldiers and about 328
of the armored eight-wheeled vehicles.
The unit is deployed to Iraq. The soldiers and vehicles are expected back
in Hawai'i in February or March.
"This agreement will afford OHA the opportunity to have a firsthand look
at important cultural resources that would not otherwise be accessible to
the general public, and to determine whether they were fully addressed in
the Army's prior surveys of areas affected by Stryker activities," OHA
chairwoman Haunani Apoliona said in a statement yesterday.
Col. Matthew T. Margotta, commander of U.S. Army Garrison, Hawai'i, said
the Army values the "spirit of cooperation and communication with OHA."
Margotta added that the agreement will "build upon our existing robust
programs to identify and care for these cultural and historical resources,
while balancing the need for soldier training."
When it filed the lawsuit, OHA said cultural monitors had been partly
responsible for the discovery of historically significant sites and burial
grounds that were overlooked by the military's archaeologists.
On July 22, 2006, an unexploded-ordnance removal crew bulldozed across a
buffer protecting Hale'au'au heiau at Schofield, according to cultural
monitors hired by the Army.
OHA also said there were other incidents involving displacement and damage
of petroglyphs, the filling of a streambed known to contain Native
Hawaiian sites and the construction of a road over burial grounds.
The Army in 2001 decided to base a Stryker unit in Hawai'i, and started
about $700 million in construction projects.
Based on a separate federal lawsuit, a federal appeals court ruled in 2006
that the Army had not adequately examined alternative locations outside
Hawai'i for the fast-strike unit, and ordered the Army to do so.
The decision temporarily halted one of the biggest Army projects in the
Islands since World War II.
The end of that lawsuit brought the resumption of about six construction
projects related to the Stryker brigade. Work is projected to continue
through 2017.
Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com.
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~--------------------------
Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2008 12:54:14 -0500
From: KahiwaL@cs.com
Subject: My Letter to Amy Goodman
>November 18, 2008
>
>Clarence Kukauakahi Ching
>64-823 Mamalahoa Highway
>Kamuela, HI 96743
>
>Amy Goodman
>Democracy Now
>100 Lafayette, Suite 604
>New York, NY 10013-4400
>
>Dear Ms. Goodman,
>
>I am a Kanaka Maoli citizen of the Kingdom of Hawai'i, a once abundant
>place where my ancestors created a culture that was humanly healthy and
>rich in artistic and scientific invention. But since the United States
>stole the kingdom, Kanaka Maoli have been subject to cultural and actual
>genocide. Hawaiian nationals have also suffered from the theft of their
>chosen nation and citizenship.
>
>Our sustainable way of life was ruined by the greed of the people who
>overthrew our rightful Queen and our constitutional monarchy, in
>violation of our treaties and in violation of international law. Hawai'i
>was a declared neutral nation - and it was as a neutral nation that it
>reacted to the treasonous takeover of its government, aided by the
>American Minister, John Stevens, and the U.S. Marines.
>
>The "overthrow" was illegal. So was Annexation. An annexation requires a
>treaty and a vote, but there was no treaty and no vote. Our ancestors
>made a vigorous and nearly unanimous protest against U.S. annexation. The
>attempted annexation by resolution was blatantly illegal. So was the 1959
>statehood vote.
>
>The state of affairs here is desperate. Our 'aina is polluted by
>pesticides and herbicides, unexploded ordnance in which there is always a
>threat of explosion, DU, industrial chemicals and cast-off consumer junk.
>Our environment is stressed beyond breaking point by the demands of the
>tourist industry and military. Sunscreen from tourists is killing our
>coral reefs. Our spinner dolphin population is declining, due to
>"eco-tourists" who disturb their resting and mating places. Our native
>plants and animals are overrun by invasive species. Universities have
>created GMOs in Hawai'i, subverting the will of the common people and
>threatening the livelihood of our local organic produce and coffee
>farmers.
>
>Kanaka Maoli have the worst education, economic, health and incarceration
>statistics in the islands. Many Maoli families are homeless. Wealthy
>people from the continental U.S. and other places buy homes and vacation
>condos here and drive up our property taxes, forcing us off our ancestral
>lands. Police then arrest us when we live in tents on our beaches. In
>some areas, Maoli school kids live in tents and in the bushes. The
>"ice"epidemic claims numerous lives and developers desecrate our burial
>grounds.
>
>I would be happy to talk with you regarding the struggle to reclaim our
>country. I am a former trustee of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and a
>member of Na Kupuna O Moku O Keawe (the elders of Hawai'i island). I am
>also on the board of Pasifika Foundation Hawai'i, which is dedicated to
>improving the lives of Pacific Island peoples, including Kanaka Maoli. My
>life is dedicated to the restoration of the kingdom and to improve the
>welfare of the Maoli people.
>
>Sincerely,
>
>Clarence Kukauakahi Ching
>kauila3339@gmail.com
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~---------------------
Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2008 08:38:00 -1000
From: mike reitz <mreitz@pacbell.net>
Subject: Update: Alaska Native Corporations
October 30, 2008
NY Times
Facing a Loss in Alaska
By WELD ROYAL
The Alaska Native corporations have had Senator Ted Stevens to thank
nearly every step of the way.
In 1971, a few years after he was first elected to the Senate, Mr.
Stevens helped write the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. Also known
as the "Billion Dollar Deal," the act established more than 200
corporations to manage almost 45 million acres and gave $962 million to
Alaska Natives in return for their ceding of all aboriginal land rights.
When the Alaska Native corporations struggled in their early years as
they tried to turn people who had survived on fishing and hunting into
business managers and to teach thousands of villagers to call themselves
shareholders, Senator Stevens was there, too.
He helped corporations with financial difficulties by persuading Congress
to approve a provision in the 1986 Tax Reform Act allowing the
corporations to sell their accumulated tax losses to profitable companies
seeking tax write-offs.
That same year, Senator Stevens introduced legislation that allowed
Alaska Native corporations to participate in a Small Business
Administration 8(a) contracting program, a provision that has proven
lucrative to many of them.
And just a month ago, in the wake of questions that some of the
corporations were misusing the contracting program, he successfully
pushed Congress to remove a provision from the 2009 Defense Authorization
Act that would have limited their access.
After his conviction on Monday on charges he violated federal ethics laws
by failing to report tens of thousands of dollars in gifts and services
he had received from friends, Senator Stevens's future in Congress is
uncertain.
But Louis A. Thompson, 72, who has run one of the corporations, Kavilco
Inc., for 36 years, said the companies had grown into sophisticated
operations that could stand on their own. "Senator Stevens was very
helpful early on and not just to Alaska Native corporations, to all
Alaskans," he said. "But times have changed."
Indeed, the Alaska Native corporations have made strides since the early
days, when they built seafood plants before negotiating for fish
deliveries and constructed hotels in remote villages that had never seen
tourists. Today, they consistently rank among state's largest businesses.
The small-business 8(a) contracting program has been important to that
success.
As of May, 187 Alaska Native-owned companies were participating in the
8(a) program, according to a report by the Small Business
Administration's Office of Inspector General. From 2000 to 2006, Alaska
Native corporations won nearly $13 billion in federal contracts.
Maver E. Carey, 41, the leader of one of those corporations, sees the
federal contracts as the future of her business. And other small
corporations are looking to her to help them navigate the complicated and
expensive path to federal business.
Her enterprise, the Kuskokwim Corporation, represents Aniak and nine
other remote Alaska communities. Its responsibilities cover a geographic
area larger than New England, but without cellphone towers, major road
systems or many jobs. "In Kalskag, one of our largest villages, there are
80 homes and 40 of them don't have running water," Ms. Carey said.
Kuskokwim's 2,903 shareholders want regular corporate dividends, and many
also seek educational and employment opportunities from the corporation.
Kuskokwim was founded in 1977 when 10 village corporations decided that
they did not have the staff or resources to build businesses alone. The
merged entity formed a headquarters in Anchorage and eked out dividends
primarily through investments in Alaska real estate and a conservative
portfolio of stocks and bonds.
Ms. Carey, whose maternal grandparents are Yupik Eskimo and Athabascan
Indian, turned to Kuskokwim in 1994 after earning a college degree,
working for an engineering firm and being laid off. "My village
corporation offered me $9 an hour and I took it thinking I'd continue to
look for a real job," she said. By 2003, after she had worked in every
corporate department, the board asked her to become the chief executive.
She pushed diversification, with a goal of building Kuskokwim's
shareholder equity to $100 million by 2015. Last year, it topped $18
million, up from $14 million in 2006. In 2005, the company started TKC
Development Inc. to focus on federal contracting. TKC subsidiaries have
won work from the United States Navy and the Army Corps of Engineers.
Last year, Ms. Carey started an Alaska Native village corporation
association. Her inspiration came from conversations with other chief
executives facing challenges similar to her own. A membership drive under
way has registered about 50 Native corporation executives.
Their goal is to be as successful as the Afognak Native Corporation, one
of Alaska's largest businesses. Afognak is owned by 700 shareholders
descended from the Alutiiq people of the Kodiak Archipelago. In 2006, its
profits reached $18.8 million on revenue of $537.9 million, the latest
figures available. That year, each shareholder received a dividend
payment of $21,688. Afognak employs 5,000 people globally, and about 50
of them are shareholders.
Afognak is now run by a non-native chief executive with significant
government experience. It won the first of its major contracts in 2000,
when it secured a deal to operate Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico.
In recent years, it has won a contract to build a brigade combat team
complex worth more than $100 million at Fort Bragg, N.C., and another
worth more than $50 million to renovate the United States Embassy in São
Paulo.
Still, there have been questions about the 8(a) contracts that have gone
to Afognak and other Alaska Native companies. A 2006 study by the federal
Government Accountability Office called for better S.B.A. supervision of
Alaska Native corporations that hold 8(a) contracts. The agency's
inspector general is currently conducting an audit of S.B.A. oversight of
10 to 15 of the largest Alaska Native corporations engaged in federal
contracting.
In August, it found that two companies, Goldbelt Raven L.L.C., owned by
Goldbelt Inc. of Juneau, and APM L.L.C., a subsidiary of the Cape Fox
Corporation of Ketchikan, violated terms of the contracting program by
entering into agreements that resulted in millions of dollars in 8(a)
revenues being paid to companies owned by non-native managers. The
administration suspended them from the program and moved to end their
eligibility. Both companies are appealing the move, according to
officials representing Goldbelt and APM.
Steve Colt, the interim director at the Institute of Social and Economic
Research at University of Alaska, who has studied Alaska Native
corporations, said that many of the corporations struggled to stay afloat
in their first two decades of operations and that Mr. Stevens and the
rest of the Alaska delegation worked hard to keep them in business.
"If you look at the historical record, there were lots of incidents of
Stevens being very helpful to Alaska Native corporations," Mr. Colt said.
"But I suspect that the number of assists has decreased over time." He
predicted that whoever holds the United States Senate seat for Alaska in
the future will fight for legislation that protects Alaska Native
corporations because they now have a major impact on the state's economy.
----------------------~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2008 08:37:55 -1000
From: Lc <palolo@hawaii.rr.com>
Subject: Fw: Honolulu Advertiser: "Scam came wrapped in rhetoric"
the FBI put out this alert below:
U.S. Department of Justice
Federal Bureau of Investigation
For Immediate Release
Monday, November 17, 2008
FBI ALERTS PUBLIC TO RECENT FORECLOSURE FRAUD SCHEME
Promises to pay off mortgages with phony Hawaiian and Government Bonds
Honolulu, HI -- The FBI is warning the public to avoid falling victim to
an on-going scheme designed to take advantage of island homeowners facing
foreclosure or other financial difficulties. The scheme, which comes in
several variations, usually starts out by offering individuals a "too good
to be true" scenario in which 1) a person can stop making their mortgage
payments and property taxes, 2) an artificial bond will pay off their
mortgage, and 3) the homeowner can keep their home without a foreclosure
or eviction. The phony bonds have utilized government officials names in
order to add legitimacy. The scheme has utilized Hawaiian heritage rights
as part of the financial backing for the phony bonds, thus preying on
Native Hawaiians. Those who have participated have paid thousands of
dollars for the organizers' services. The schemes utilize a variety of
legal documentation filed with government offices to make them appear
legitimate. Further, the schemes have been reported to use false tax
return processing which shows the participant being owed large sums of
money without having a legal right for such refund. If you, or anyone you
know, has been contacted for participation in one of these schemes, please
contact the local FBI office.
----- Original Message ----- From: Mahealani Wendt
Sent: Tuesday, November 18, 2008 8:38 AM
Posted on: Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Scam came wrapped in rhetoric
Bond scheme targeted homeowners, spoke of 'Hawaiian nation'
PDF PDF: Copy of a fraudulent bond
By Peter Boylan
Advertiser Staff Writer
Local companies that allegedly conned homeowners out of hundreds of
thousands of dollars by selling fake bonds to avoid foreclosure, are also
promising to negate property taxes and eliminate credit card debt,
according to victims and lenders.
The FBI is investigating companies that allegedly market a "Royal Hawaiian
Treasury Bond" to homeowners behind on their mortgage payments on O'ahu,
Maui, the Big Island and Kaua'i. The sellers promise that for a fee of
$2,500 to $10,000, the bond will cover any outstanding debt because the
bond holder's property will be part of an "untouchable Hawaiian nation."
The schemes also promise to block property taxes and override credit card
debt, all packaged with the promise of ownership in the true Hawaiian
nation, which the schemes claim is legally exempt from U.S. regulations,
according to victims and lenders.
Douglas Gillman, a 78-year-old retiree from Waialua, gave $2,500 to a
woman on Maui claiming to be an officer of the Hawaii Loa Foundation, a
Native Hawaiian group with "ownership rights" to swaths of local land.
Gillman wanted to create an irrevocable trust for properties owned by him
and his late wife.
He was initially offered a $1 million bond that would cover any
outstanding mortgage. He told the woman the lands were paid off and she
responded by saying she could ensure that his annual property tax bill of
$4,000 would disappear if he paid her $2,500.
one victim's story
Gillman accepted and gave her the money while filling out paperwork that
he filed with the city. He said he is flying to Maui on Thursday to meet
with her to discuss using the $1,000,000 bond to pay off five credit
cards.
He said he has become skeptical of the scheme since he learned of the FBI
probe.
"If they send a $1 million bond to the companies I owe, that's not going
to work. I'm not sure the property tax exemption is going to work," said
Gillman. "We'll see Thursday what they say in the meeting."
Gillman said his friend in 'Ewa Beach recently bought a $1 million bond
from the Hawaii Loa Foundation to cover his outstanding mortgage and that
his friend is now dealing with foreclosure proceedings.
Several local lending institutions have foreclosed on five loans after
mortgage holders stopped sending payments.
The FBI has contacted the mortgage divisions of local banks about the bond
scheme, including Bank of Hawaii and Central Pacific Bank.
Central Pacific Bank has foreclosure proceedings going against one
property in connection with the scheme but a bank spokesman would not
discuss details and could not say if the bank has any bogus bonds on file.
"It is bank policy not to comment on pending litigation and private
customer transactions," said Cedric Yamanaka, CPB spokesman.
Bank of Hawaii does not have any of the bogus bonds on file but was
contacted by the FBI, according to a bank spokesman.
The companies pushing the bogus bonds, including several claiming to be
affiliated with Native Hawaiian sovereignty movements, are targeting
Native Hawaiian homeowners and others who are facing foreclosure.
packed maui seminars
Naomi Campbell, a broker with Hawaii's Mortgage Consultants on Maui, said
the scheme was hatched on her island and has been spread like a "cult."
Campbell said that in March clients and community members started asking
her if the scheme was real. A friend fell for the scheme and his home is
in foreclosure, she said.
She said she has witnessed "at least 100 people" at some of the scheme's
seminars, which are moderated by a "mesmerizing" Native Hawaiian woman
who acts as the company's pitchman.
"Her following is enormous. She'd have 100-plus people listening and she
knows it does not work. She's telling people not to pay property taxes,"
said Campbell. "It was all packaged with the false hopes of Hawaiian
sovereignty. People believe it and continue to give money."
After attending the seminars, families are told that a $1 million "Royal
Hawaiian Treasury Bond" will be sent to the homeowners' bank with a
letter explaining that it will cover the outstanding balance of the
mortgage.
The companies running these seminars tell the homeowners that because
they are members of the "Hawaiian nation," the bank will no longer be
able to demand money from them because they are the land's "rightful
owners."
The banks eventually figure out the bonds are bogus and inform the
homeowners that they are in default.
As part of the scheme, the "mortgage counselors" tell their clients to
ignore the banks' threats of foreclosure because the counselors are
monitoring the situation and will respond on their behalf.
Many in the community have heard of the scheme and have friends or
relatives who have been caught up in it.
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~--------------------
Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2008 15:17:53 -0500 (EST)
From: CFACP - BreakTheBailout.com <action@freshaircleanpolitics.net>
Subject: No More Bailout Funds, We Can Stop the Bailout Now!
PLEASE FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW
I apologize for writing you soon again, but an opportunity has come up
that we must act on.
A left-right coalition is developing in Congress to block further funds
for the bailout. Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) and Senator Bernie Sanders
(I-VT) are both calling for no more bailout funds for the Department of
the Treasury. Under the bailout law Congress is required to approve the
second $350 billion in bailout funds. Thus far, Treasury has spent $290
of the initial $350 billion. The performance of the Treasury Department
and Federal Reserve has been unacceptable and does not inspire
confidence. They have hidden key information from the taxpayer and
Congress and they have been unsure of what strategy will work to help the
economy.
Stopping the bailout of Wall Street gives Congress time to decide whether
the money should be sent, and if so, how? Another alternative has been
put forward by Senators Harry Reid (D-NV) and Robert Byrd (D-WV), an
economic stimulus plan that costs about one-third of what is remaining on
the initial bailout, $100 billion. It deals with unemployment insurance,
disaster relief, infrastructure, aid to states, aid to the auto industry
and other parts of the economy.
Below is a letter that we urge you to send to your elected
representatives in the U.S. House and Senate. You can send the letter in
a few seconds by clicking here. In addition, please pledge to Break the
Bailout by visiting www.BreakTheBailout.com -- we need to show Congress
that we will hold them accountable. And, forward this email to everyone
you know. There is strength in numbers.
Dear (senator/congressman)
I am writing you to urge you to refuse any request for
additional funds for the bailout of Wall Street and Big
Finance and to make your opposition publicly clear now.
Under the TARP legislation the Congress can stop additional
payments to the Treasury for the bailout. The actions by the
Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve indicate that
they do not deserve more tax payer dollars.
The Congress was pushed to rush to judgment in a panic
created by Secretary Paulsen and Chairman Bernanke. It is now
seems that the panic was exaggerated. Indeed, Secretary
Paulsen sought immediate authority to buy toxic assets from
banks. The implication was that this was going to be to buy
bad real estate mortgages. But, last week, Secretary Paulsen
changed course and said that was no longer an effective
strategy and decided instead to inject taxpayer cash into the
banking system by purchasing equity in companies.
Unfortunately, his purchases did not include the type of
representation that a major investor would expect, e.g. a
seat on the board, and the return rate was half of what
Warren Buffet will be getting for similar purchases.
On top of the confusion by Secretary Paulsen and poor
negotiating on behalf of the American taxpayer, the process
has lacked transparency. The Department of Treasury actually
blacked out key information in the contracts of people and
firms they hired to work on the bailout. Making matters
worse, the Federal Reserve has not told the taxpayers what
corporations have received $2 trillion in investments nor
what security they received for the funds. This lack of
transparency demonstrates that these organizations should not
be trusted with taxpayer dollars.
Please let it be known that you oppose any further funds for
the bailout. Breaking the bailout will provide an opportunity
to consider whether money should be spent and if so how do so
more effectively. If members of the House and Senate speak
out on this topic a vote may not even be necessary as
Secretary Paulsen and President Bush will realize that they
should not ask for additional funds.
Make it clear now that elected officials oppose further
bailout funds for Wall Street and big finance.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
Please take action today by clicking here. We can stop this bailout and
get our economy on track.
And, please pledge to Break the Bailout at www.BreaktheBailout.com. We
have a lot of work to do to harness the anger of Americans into an
effective force to put in place the economy we want for the 21st Century.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Kevin Zeese
Executive Director
Campaign for Fresh Air & Clean Politics
PLEASE FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW
Campaign for Fresh Air and Clean Politics
2842 N. Calvert St.
Baltimore, MD 21218
443-708-8360
Copyright 2006-2008 Campaign for Fresh Air & Clean Politics All rights
reserved.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2008 12:42:37 -0800
From: Kathy Roberts <weerkhr@pacbell.net>
Subject: Bailout Tab is Really $4.28 Trillion
http://www.cnbc.com/id/27719011
Financial Crisis Tab Already In The Trillions
By CNBC.com | 17 Nov 2008 | 01:01 PM ET
Given the speed at which the federal government is throwing money at the
financial crisis, the average taxpayer, never mind member of Congress,
might not be faulted for losing track.
CNBC, however, has been paying very close attention and keeping a running
tally of actual spending as well as the commitments involved.
Try $4.28 trillion dollars. That's $4,284,500,000,000 and more than what
was spent on WW II, if adjusted for inflation, based on our computations
from a variety of estimates and sources*.
Slideshow
Biggest Budget Items In US History
Not only is it a astronomical amount of money, its' a complicated
cocktail of budgeted dollars, actual spending, guarantees, loans, swaps
and other market mechanisms by the Federal Reserve, the Treasury and
other offices of government taken over roughly the last year, based on
government data and news releases. Strictly speaking, not every cent is a
direct result of what's called the financial crisis, but it is arguably
related to it.
Some 68-percent of the sum falls under the Federal Reserve's umbrella,
while another 16 percent is the under the Troubled Asset Relief Program,
TARP, as defined under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, signed
into law in early October. (The TARP alone is bigger than virtually any
other US government endeavor dating back to the Louisiana Purchase. See
slideshow.)
Financial Crisis Balance Sheet
Government Entity Sum in Billions of Dollars
Federal Reserve
(TAF) Term Auction Facility 900
Discount Window Lending
Commercial Banks 99.2
Investment Banks 56.7
Loans to buy ABCP 76.5
AIG 112.5
Bear Stearns 29.5
(TSLF) Term Securities Lending Facility 225
Swap Lines 613
(MMIFF) Money Market Investor Funding Facility 540
Commercial Paper Funding Facility 257
(TARP) Treasury Asset Relief Program 700
Other:
Automakers 25
(FHA) Federal Housing Administration 300
Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac 350
Total 4284.5
Note: Figures as of Nov. 13, 2008
*References includ US National Archive, US Dept of Defense, US Bureau of
Reclamation, Library of Congress, NASA, Panama Canal Authority, FDIC,
Brittanica, WSJ, Time, CNN.com, and a number of other websites.
(Editor's Note: CNBC's Steve Liesman and Sabrina Korber have been keeping
a runny tally of the government's efforts, while Sean Entwistle, Yolaiki
Gonzalez, Giovanny Moreano and Ariel Nelson researched and computed the
data for the comparisons with other major historical events in the
slideshow.)
© 2008 CNBC.com
----------------------------------------------------------------
From: Fred Dodge
Sent: Tuesday, November 18, 2008 10:53 AM
Subject: RE: Makahiki Community Vigil
FYI, Malama Makua & Hui are having a Makahiki celebration in Makua Valley
on Nov 21 & 22.
The public is invited to the closing Ho'okupu on Sat 11-22 @ 10 AM.
However if anyone wishes to join us on Sat, the Army requires us to
submit their names NLT Wed Noon, Nov 19.
Fred Dodge
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2008 14:58:19 -0800
> From: activist.thepen@gmail.com
> Subject: Could Bush Actually Pardon Himself? We Need To Talk About This
>
> Congress Must Debate The Implications Of A Bush Self-Pardon
>
> Many people have been asking us, "Could Bush actually pardon himself?".
> Would it be despicable? Sure it would. Would it be shameless and
> cowardly? Yes, that and that too. But all those adjectives fit Bush like
> O.J.'s glove before it shrunk from being soaked completely in blood.
> Which means he is absolutely is planning on doing it.
>
> And only impeachment could stop it. We need to talk about this. We need
> Congress to talk about this. And Congress is in session this week, so we
> need you to speak out this week while there is still time.
>
> Impeach Now Action Page: http://www.usalone.com/impeach_now.php
>
> Tens of thousands of you submitted the action page on this last week. Do
> it again. Please speak out again while we still can. There is already a
> drum beat in the right wing media calling on Bush to pardon his whole
> administration. Only our voices can raise the price of such action so
> that there would be real consequences.
>
> We have not given up, and will never give up hope on justice. We will be
> taking delivery of another huge shipment of the "Impeach Both!!!" caps
> that are still so popular. But this might be the last batch. So if you
> want to demonstrate your support for impeachment, please request yours
> now from the return page of the action page submission.
>
> Impeach Now Action Page: http://www.usalone.com/impeach_now.php
>
> Will Congress now act? That is not the yardstick of the worth of our
> activism. We speak out because we must speak out, whether we are heeded
> or not. Let history record that we spoke out until the last minute to
> the eternal shame of those who did not. Because when enough of us speak
> out at once, the worst thing that can possibly happen is that we are
> building the progressive base for the REAL change of the future.
>
> So Bush most certainly is planning on pardoning himself. And all the
> right wing lock down ideologues in the corporate controlled media
> will call it "healing". Let's all make nice with war criminals? Shall
> we all make nice with the gang rape of our economy, our environment
> and our Constitution? We think not.
>
> And one more thing. You know that come January 20th the right wing
> will start calling for the impeachment of our new president, over a
> endless litany of the most ridiculous of trivial trifles. In fact it
> has already started even though he has not even taken office. If they
> are so hot on impeaching someone, let them speak out now, when it
> truly is called for, or shut the hell up in 65 days.
>
> Please take action NOW, so we can win all victories that are supposed
> to be ours, and forward this alert as widely as possible.
>
> If you would like to get alerts like these, you can do so at
> http://www.usalone.com/in.htm
> Powered by The People's Email Network Copyright 2008, Patent pending,
> All rights reserved
________________________________________________________________________________
Subject: Check out YouTube - Kahana 11-15-08 with Walter Ritte (fwd)
Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2008 14:16:54 -0500 (EST)
From: HIAHAWAII@aol.com
_YouTube - Kahana 11-15-08 with Walter Ritte_
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnhOry-uj1A)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2008 17:53:16 -0800
From: Kathy Roberts <weerkhr@pacbell.net>
Subject: Cheney, Gonzales, State Senator Indicted
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/6119696.html
Vice president, former AG, state senator indicted
By CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN Associated Press Writer © 2008 The Associated
Press
Nov. 18, 2008, 6:51PM
McALLEN, Texas ^× A South Texas grand jury has indicted Vice President
Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on state charges
related to the alleged abuse of prisoners in Willacy County's federal
detention centers.
The indictment, which had not yet been signed by the presiding judge, was
one of seven released Tuesday in a county that has been a source of
bizarre legal and political battles in recent years. Another of the
indictments named a state senator on charges of profiting from his
position.
Willacy County District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra himself had been under
indictment for more than a year and half before a judge dismissed the
indictments last month. This flurry of charges came in the twilight of
Guerra's tenure, which ends this year after nearly two decades in office.
He lost convincingly in a Democratic primary in March.
Cheney's indictment on a charge of engaging in an organized criminal
activity criticizes the vice president's investment in the Vanguard
Group, which holds interests in the private prison companies running the
federal detention centers. It accuses Cheney of a conflict of interest
and "at least misdemeanor assaults" on detainees because of his link to
the prison companies.
Megan Mitchell, a spokeswoman for Cheney, declined to comment on Tuesday,
saying that the vice president had not yet received a copy of the
indictment.
The indictment accuses Gonzales of using his position while in office to
stop an investigation in 2006 into abuses at one of the privately-run
prisons.
Gonzalez's attorney, George Terwilliger III, said in a written statement,
"This is obviously a bogus charge on its face, as any good prosecutor can
recognize. Hopefully, competent Texas authorities will take steps to
reign in this abuse of the criminal justice system."
Willacy County has become a prison hub with county, state and federal
lockups. Guerra has gone after the prison-politician nexus before,
extracting guilty pleas from three former Willacy and Webb county
commissioners after investigating bribery related to federal prison
contacts.
Another indictment released Tuesday accuses state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. of
profiting from his public office by accepting honoraria from prison
management companies. Guerra announced his intention to investigate
Lucio's prison consulting early last year.
Lucio's attorney, Michael Cowen, released a scathing statement accusing
Guerra of settling political scores in his final weeks in office.
"Senator Lucio is completely innocent and has done nothing wrong," Cowen
said, adding that he would file a motion to quash the indictment this
week.
Last month, a Willacy County grand jury indicted The GEO Group, a Florida
private prison company, on a murder charge in the death of a prisoner
days before his release. The three-count indictment alleged The GEO Group
allowed other inmates to beat Gregorio de la Rosa Jr. to death with
padlocks stuffed into socks. The death happened in 2001 at the
Raymondville facility, just four days before de la Rosa's scheduled
release.
In 2006, a jury ordered the company to pay de la Rosa's family $47.5
million in a civil judgment. The Cheney-Gonzalez indictment makes
reference to the de la Rosa case.
None of the indictments released Tuesday had been signed by Presiding
Judge Manuel Banales of the Fifth Administrative Judicial Region.
A second batch of indictments targeted public officials connected to
Guerra's own legal battles.
Willacy County Clerk Gilbert Lozano, District judges Janet Leal and
Migdalia Lopez, and special prosecutors Mervyn Mosbacker Jr. ^× a former
U.S. attorney ^× and Gustavo Garza ^× a long-time political opponent of
Guerra ^× were all indicted on charges of official abuse of official
capacity and official oppression.
Garza, the only one who could be immediately reached Tuesday, called it a
sad state of affairs.
"I feel sorry for all of the good people this unprofessional prosecutor
has maligned," Garza said. "I'm not at all concerned about the
accusations he has trumped up."
Banales dismissed indictments against Guerra last month that charged him
with extorting money from a bail bond company and using his office for
personal business. An appeals court had earlier ruled that Garza was
improperly appointed as special prosecutor to investigate Guerra.
After Guerra's office was raided as part of the investigation early last
year, he camped outside the courthouse in a borrowed camper with a horse,
three goats and a rooster. He threatened to dismiss hundreds of cases
because he believed local law enforcement had aided the investigation
against him.
On Tuesday, Guerra said the indictments speak for themselves. He said the
prison-related charges are a national issue and experts from across the
country testified to the grand jury. Asked about the indictments against
local players in the justice system who had pursued him, Guerra said,
"the grand jury is the one that made those decisions, not me."
The indictments were first reported by KRGV-TV.
___
Associated Press writer Deb Riechmann in Washington contributed to this
report.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2008 18:48:32 -0600
From: nimchira <tepaatu@gmail.com>
Voices Health/Environment News
News from the Health and Environmental Communities.
Published since Nov, 2005
Nov. 18, 2008
In this Issue:
Stephen Colbert video on drug push by Big Pharma.
http://www.naturalnews.com/024821.html
Children as young as eight years old are being targeted for lifelong statin
drug "therapy" by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Read the full details
of this mass chemicalization of our children at
http://www.naturalnews.com/024840.html
Vitamin D deficiency causes bone disease
http://www.naturalnews.com/024839.html
Gulf War Syndrome is real!
http://www.naturalnews.com/News_000495_Gulf_War_Syndrome_veterans_US_military.html
Organ Donation Now Mandatory in the UK Under Horrifying "Presumed Consent"
Law
http://www.naturalnews.com/News_000498_organ_donation_organ_transplants_health_freedom.html
Calcium Needs Magnesium to Prevent Colon Cancer
http://www.naturalnews.com/News_000496_calcium_magnesium_colorectal_cancer.html
Stevia GRAS Approval by FDA May be Immiment
http://www.naturalnews.com/News_000494_stevia_FDA_natural_sweeteners.html
Krill Population Plummets 80 Percent, Whales Threatened
http://www.naturalnews.com/News_000493_krill_whales_omega-3s.html
Drug to Protect Surgery Patients Causes Strokes
http://www.naturalnews.com/024838.html
Overworked, Vacation-Starved America Ranks #1 in Depression, Mental Health
Problems
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=wmgpHD3bSe36qRaIhfQr8nofLJh8cfnk
Future hazy for cleaner school buses.
http://newsletters.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/18421/3057/23987/0/
Toxic suspicions could fuel regulatory overhaul. Environmentalists want to
ban BPA -- and also shift the burden of proof for all chemicals.
http://newsletters.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/18421/3057/23990/0/
Lawmakers to seek ban on BPA.
http://newsletters.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/18421/3057/23991/0/
Bark beetles kill millions of acres of trees in West.
http://newsletters.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/18421/3057/23971/0/
Madison knew about uranium in water for 2 years. Town and state health
officials have known for two years that water contained higher than normal
levels of uranium
http://newsletters.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/18421/3057/24000/0/
More birth defects seen with fertility treatment.
http://newsletters.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/18421/3057/24003/0/
ABC News: Nestle Recalls 900,000 Pounds of Lean Cuisine
these companies should be made to pay damages or put out of business. ed
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Diet/story?id=6281008&page=1
Humane Society Warns Against Buying Puppies from Pet Stores Puppy mills
mistreat animals and farm them out to retailers.
http://consumeraffairs.list-manage.com/track/click?u=48290de6249ef2cecba9fe5de&id=1e13881a59&e=0fa96e422d
================================================================================
Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2008 20:03:09 -0800 (PST)
From: Laweleka <laweleka@yahoo.com>
Fight Foreclosure: Make [UNKNOWN] ^QEm
Produce The Note!
FYI For those who are facing foreclosures or who know people that could
use the following information pl's read this go to the web site and watch
the (3) videos....... I hope this will help everyone. Oh and this is free
common sense advice. No need to pay anyone anything ........... Lawe
-----
Date: Mon, 22 Sep 2008 12:04:21 -1000
If you know people facing forclosure, be sure to pass this
along!
==============
http://www.consumerwarningnetwork.com/2008/06/19/produce-the-note-how-to/
Produce The Note ^ÓHow-To^Ô
June 19, 2008
The Mortgage Meltdown
Fight Foreclosure: Make ^ÑEm Produce The Note!
Produce the Note - Steps To Follow:
Using the ^Óproduce the note^Ô strategy is something all homeowners facing
foreclosure can do. If you believe you^Òve been treated unfairly, fight
back. We have created templates for a legal request, a letter to your
lender and a motion to compel to help you through the process.
WHO OWNS THE NOTE? Your goal is to make certain the institution suing you
is, in fact, the owner of the note (see steps to follow below). There is
only one original note for your mortgage that has your signature on it.
This is the document that proves you owe the debt. During the lending
boom, most mortgages were flipped and sold to another lender or servicer
or sliced up and sold to investors as securitized packages on Wall Street.
In the rush to turn these over as fast as possible to make the most money,
many of the new lenders did not get the proper paperwork to show they own
the note and mortgage. This is the key to the produce the note strategy.
Now, many lenders are moving to foreclose on homeowners, resulting in part
from problems they created, and don^Òt have the proper paperwork to prove
they have a right to foreclose.
THE HARM If you don^Òt challenge your lender, the court will simply allow
the foreclosure to proceed. It^Òs important to hold lenders accountable
for their carelessness. This is the biggest asset in your life. It^Òs just
a piece of paper to them, and one they likely either lost or destroyed.
When you get a copy of the foreclosure suit, many lenders now
automatically include a count to re-establish the note. It often reads
like this: ^Ó^Åthe Mortgage note has either been lost or destroyed and the
Plaintiff is unable to state the manner in which this occurred.^Ô In other
words, they are admitting they don^Òt have the note that proves they have
a right to foreclose. If the lender is allowed to proceed without that
proof, there is a possibility another institution, which may have bought
your note along the way, will also try to collect the same debt from you
again. A Tennessee borrower recently had precisely that happen to her. Her
lender, Ameriquest, foreclosed on her in July of 2007. About three months
later, another bank sent her a default notice for the mortgage on the
house she just lost. She called to find out what was going on. After being
transferred from place to place and left on hold for lengthy periods of
time, no one could explain what happened. They said they would get back to
her, but never did. Now, she faces the risk of having her credit
continually damaged for a debt she no longer owes.
FIGHT FOR FAIRNESS This process is not intended to help you get your house
for free. The primary goal is to delay the foreclosure and put pressure on
the lender to negotiate. Despite all the hype about lenders wanting to
help homeowners avoid foreclosure, most borrowers know that^Òs not the
reality. Too many homeowners have experienced lender resistance to their
efforts to work out a payment structure to keep them in their homes. Many
lenders bear responsibility for these defaults, because they put borrowers
into unfair loans using deceptive, hard-sell practices and then made the
problem worse with predatory servicing. Most homeowners just want these
lenders to give them reasonable terms on their mortgages, many of which
were predatory to begin with. With the help of judges who see through
these predatory practices, lenders will feel the pressure to work with
borrowers to keep them in their homes. Don^Òt forget lenders made
incredible amounts of money by using irresponsible practices to issue and
service these loans. That greed led to the foreclosure crisis we^Òre in
today. Allowing lenders to continue foreclosing on home after home,
destroying our neighborhoods and our economy hurts us all. So, make it
hard for your lender to take your home. Make ^Ñem produce the note!
STEPS TO FOLLOW
A. If your lender has already filed suit to foreclose on your home:
1. Use the first form. It^Òs a fill-in-the-blank legal request to
your lender asking that the original note be produced, before
it can proceed with the foreclosure. In some jurisdictions, the
courts require the original request to be filed with the clerk
of court and a copy of the request to be sent to the attorney
representing the lender. To find out the rules where you live,
call the Clerk of Court in your jurisdiction.
2. If the lender^Òs attorney does not respond within 30 days, file
a motion to compel with the court and request that the court
set a hearing on your motion. That, in effect, asks the judge
to order the lender to produce the documents.
3. The judge will issue a ruling at your hearing. Many judges
around the country are becoming more sympathetic to homeowners,
because of the prevalence of predatory lending and servicing.
In the past, many lenders have relied upon using lost note
affidavits, but in many cases, that^Òs no longer enough to
satisfy the judge. They are holding the lender to the letter of
the law, requiring them to produce evidence that they are the
true owners of the note. For example:
* In October 2007, Ohio Federal Court Judge Christopher Boyko
dismissed 14 foreclosure cases brought by investors, ruling
they failed to prove they owned the properties they were trying
to seize.
B. If you are in default, but your lender has not yet filed suit
against you:
1. Use the second form. It^Òs a fill-in-the-blank letter to your
lender which also requests they produce the original note,
before taking foreclosure action against you.
2. If the lender does not respond and files suit against you to
foreclose, follow the steps above.
UPDATE: CNN features The Consumer Warning Network and the ^ÓProduce
The Note^Ô strategy. Borrowers are putting this plan into action
and getting results!
Consumer Warning Network Featured on CNN
THE LATEST: Borrower wins more time to fight foreclosure! At a
court hearing Tuesday, a Pinellas County, Florida Judge denied
Wachovia the right to proceed with its foreclosure against borrower
Jacqueline O^ÒBrien (profiled in the CNN story). Instead, O^ÒBrien
was granted a continuance, as she pursues the produce the note
strategy. Wachovia expressed interest in renegotiating the terms
of the loan, rather than continuing the court battle. We^Òll keep
you posted!
ShareThis
* Fight Foreclosure: Make ^ÑEm Produce The Note!
If your home is currently in foreclosure, there may still be a
chance to save it. As a result of lenders buying and selling...
* Foreclosure ^ÓWork-out^Ô Myth
The foreclosure work-out myth is being promoted by mortgage
lenders right now, with catchy names like Countrywide's "HOPE"
program and the EMC "Mod Squad," but...
* Countrywide Cashing in on Surprising Group of Homeowners
As the foreclosure crisis tightens its grip on most of the
country, a surprising part of the United States is experiencing
the opposite of declining...
* San Diego sues Bank of America to halt foreclosures
Thu Jul 24, 2008 By Marty Graham SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - San
Diego's city attorney said on Wednesday he filed a lawsuit
against Bank of...
* Countrywide And Other Mortgage Servicers Use Dubious
Foreclosure Fees For Profit
From nytimes.com As record numbers of homeowners default on
their mortgages, questionable practices among lenders are
coming to light in bankruptcy courts, leading some legal...
* Mortgage Bail-Out Bill Falls Short
The mortgage bail-out bill just passed by Congress falls far
short, when it comes to holding those responsible for this mess
accountable.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Kat Brady
Sent: Tuesday, November 18, 2008 4:51 PM
Subject: 2009 Leadership & Committee Appointments; Makahiki invite;
Article re KY Repeat Offender Law; Video on Wisdom
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Aloha Justice Advocates!
Four things today....
1. The leadership and committee appointments in the House and Senate for
the 2009 session of the Hawai`i State Legislature, and
2. An invitation to a vigil at UH Manoa on Sunday in solidarity with
Makahiki celebrations being held in prisons (FLYER ATTACHED)
3. 11.18.08 Article ^ÑKY Study Blames Repeat Offender Law for Overcrowded
Prisons^Ò
4. LINK to inspirational video on wisdom - http://www.wisdombook.org/
------
1. HOUSE LEADERSHIP AND COMMITTEE APPOINTMENTS
Here is the list of appointments. For your information, I have included
the link for their bios next to the names of the Chair and Vice Chair of
Committees that CAP deals with most often.
House Committees and Chairs for 2009-2010
Agriculture
Chair: Clift Tsuji
Vice Chair: Jessica Wooley (ed. 11/14)
Consumer Protection and Commerce
Chair: Robert Herkes
Vice Chair: Glenn Wakai
Economic Revitalization, Business, and Military Affairs
Chair: Angus McKelvey
Vice Chair: Isaac Choy
Education
Chair: Roy Takumi
Vice Chair: Lyla Berg
Energy and Environmental Protection
Chair: Hermina Morita
Vice Chair: Denny Coffman
Finance
Chair: Marcus Oshiro -
http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/site1/house/members/rep39.asp
Vice Chair: Marilyn Lee -
http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/site1/house/members/rep38.asp
Hawaiian Affairs
Chair: Mele Carroll
Vice Chair: Maile Shimabukuro
Health
Chair: Ryan Yamane
Vice Chair: Scott Nishimoto
Higher Education
Chair: Jerry Chang
Vice Chair: Mark Nakashima
Housing
Chair: Rida Cabanilla
Vice Chair: Kyle Yamashita (ed. 11/14)
Human Services
Chair: John Mizuno
Vice Chair: Tom Brower
* Judiciary *
Chair: Jon Riki Karamatsu ^Ö
http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/site1/house/members/rep41.asp
Vice Chair: Ken Ito ^Ö
http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/site1/house/members/rep48.asp
Labor
Chair: Karl Rhoads
Vice Chair: Bob Nakasone
Legislative Management
Chair: James Tokioka
Vice Chair: Blake Oshiro
* Public Safety *
Chair: Faye Hanohano ^Ö
http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/site1/house/members/rep4.asp
Vice Chair: Henry Aquino ^Ö http://www.votesmart.org/bio.php?can_id=32239
Tourism, Culture and International Affairs
Chair: Joey Manahan
Vice Chair: James Tokioka
Transportation
Chair: Joe Souki
Vice Chair: Karen Awana
Water, Land and Ocean Resources
Chair: Ken Ito
Vice Chair: Sharon Har
Speaker of the House Calvin Say today announced the House of
Representatives leadership team for the 25th Legislature. They are:
Speaker: Calvin K.Y. Say (District 20 ^Ö St. Louis Heights, Palolo
Valley, Maunalani Heights, Wilhelmina Rise, Kaimuki)
Vice Speaker: Michael Magaoay (District 46 ^Ö Kaena Point, Schofield,
Mokuleia, Waialua, Haleiwa, Waimea, Pupukea, Sunset, Kahuku)
Majority Leader: Blake Oshiro (District 33 ^Ö Aiea, Halawa Valley, Halawa
Heights, Aiea Heights)
Majority Floor Leader: Cindy Evans (District 7 ^Ö North Kona, South
Kohala)
Majority Whip: Pono Chong (District 49 ^Ö Maunawili, Olomana, Enchanted
Lake, Kaneohe)
Speaker Calvin Say remains as Speaker of the House, a position he has
held since 1998. Say was first elected to the House of Representatives in
1976, and has served on virtually every committee, including as Finance
Chair from 1993 ^Ö 1998. He is President of Kotake Shokai, Ltd., an
import business.
Vice Speaker Michael Magaoay was first elected to the House in 2000 and
most recently served as Chair of the Legislative Management Committee. He
was born and raised in Waialua and grew up in sugar plantation housing.
He is a Senior Project Engineer by profession.
Majority Leader Blake Oshiro was first elected to the House in 2000 and
most recently served as Majority Floor Leader and Vice Chairman of the
House Judiciary Committee. He graduated from the William S. Richardson
School of Law, University of Hawaii, and is an associate attorney with
the law firm Alston Hunt Floyd & Ing.
Majority Floor Leader Cindy Evans was first elected to the House in 2002
and most recently served as Chair of the Public Safety and Military
Affairs Committee. She has a background in state government and is active
in various West Hawaii organizations.
Majority Whip Pono Chong was first elected to the House in 2004 and most
recently served as Vice Speaker. He has a background in state government,
international affairs, and teaching.
STATE SENATE ANNOUNCES LEADERSHIP AND COMMITTEE CHAIRS FOR 2009
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
The Hawai^Ñi State Senate today announced its leadership and committee
chair assignments for the 2009 Legislative Session.
Leadership:
President: Colleen Hanabusa
Vice President: Russell Kokubun
Majority Leader: Gary Hooser
Majority Technology Leader: David Ige
Majority Floor Leader: Norman Sakamoto
Majority Caucus Leader: Shan Tsutsui
Majority Policy Leader: Les Ihara, Jr.
Majority Whip: Jill Tokuda
Majority Whip: Suzanne Chun Oakland
Committee Chairs:
Ways and Means:
Chair: Donna Mercado Kim -
http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/site1/senate/members/sen14.asp
Vice-chair: Shan Tsutsui -
http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/site1/senate/members/sen4.asp
Judiciary and Government Operations:
Chair: Brian Taniguchi -
http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/site1/senate/members/sen10.asp
Vice-Chair: Dwight Takamine (unconfirmed) -
http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/site1/senate/members/sen1.asp
Consumer Protection:
Chair: Roz Baker
Vice Chair: ?
Education and Housing:
Chair: Norman Sakamoto
Vice-chair: Michele Kidani
Higher Education:
Jill Tokuda
Vice Chair:?
Water, Land, Agriculture and Hawaiian Affairs:
Chair: Clayton Hee
Vice Chair: ?
Economic Development and Technology:
Chair: Carol Fukunaga
Vice Chair: ?
Labor:
Chair: Dwight Takamine
Vice Chair: ?
Health:
Chair: David Ige
Vice-chair: Josh Green
Human Services:
Chair: Suzanne Chun Oakland
Vice Chair: ?
Transportation, International and Intergovernmental Affairs:
Chair: J. Kalani English
Vice Chair: ?
Energy and Environment:
Chair: Mike Gabbard
Vice Chair: ?
Public Safety and Military Affairs:
Chair: Will Espero -
http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/site1/senate/members/sen20.asp
Vice Chair: Bobby Bunda (unconfirmed) -
http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/site1/senate/members/sen22.asp
Tourism:
Chair: Clarence Nishihara
Vice-chair: Brickwood Galuteria
2. MAKAHIKI VIGIL ^Ö SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2008 - PRESS RELEASE
Please join us for this event celebrating the opening of Makahiki season
^Ö a time of peace and sharing ^Ö in solidarity with our brothers and
sisters incarcerated here and on the continent.
November 11, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
ATTENTION: All Media
FROM: Dr. Kahu Kaleo Patterson
Pacific Justice and Reconciliation Center
Contact Information: 808 330-3769,
E-mail: pjrcgo@gmail.com
REGARDING:
Press Conference and Native Hawaiian Religion ^Ö Makahiki Community Vigil
Sunday, November 23rd, 2008 - 5:00 ^Ö 6:30 PM
Henke Hall ^Ö School of social work, University of Hawaii, Manoa
(Outdoors under the trees ^Ö East West Road next to Kennedy Center))
1. Update on the second Native Hawaiian Religion ^Ö Makahiki Ceremonies
2008 to take place on November 24th, 2008 at Waiawa Correctional
Facility, and other facilities in the U.S.
2. Meet and hear from religious leaders who support the Native Hawaiian
Religion initiatives and new programs in the Department of Public Safety
^Ö Hawaii.
3. Meet and hear from Pacific Islanders leaders who support the
development of Native Hawaiian Religion and the use of awa in ceremonies.
4. Join in community prayers and vigil, and awa ceremony to support the
Waiawa Makahiki 2008.
5. Representatives from the State Legislature, community, religious
community, families of incarcerated, ex-inmates, University professors
and students, and representatives from the Department of Public Safety.
6. Speakers and resources people, and participants include,
* Dr. Kahu Kaleo Patterson, Hawaiian Kahunapule and priest, President
of the Pacific Justice and Reconciliation Center, Co-Director of the
Center of Indigenous Leadership and Peacemaking.
* Dr. Haaheo Guanson, Executive Director, Pacific Justice and
Reconciliation Center, Co-director of the Center of Indigenous
Leadership and Peacemaking, former president of the Board of Homeland
Ministries of the United Churches of Christ.
* Dr. Tarcisus Tara Kabutaulaka, Research Fellow in the EWC Pacific
Islands Development Program, peace
negotiator. Awa Expert.
* Mr. Bruce Spenser, Director of Religious Programming and Volunteer
Services, Department of Public Safety
* Chaplain Eddie Ochoa, Chaplain at Waiawa Correctional Facility Social
Justice, Department of Public Safety
* Mr. Andre Perez, Kumu and Native Hawaiian Cultural Practitioner
* Mr. Brian Nakamura, Alu Like Specialist, Program Specialist - Center
for Indigenous Leadership and Peacemaking, U.H. Manoa.
* Mr. Ishmael Stagner, Alu Like Kupuna
* Mr. Richard Salvador, Research and Program, Center for Indigenous
Leadership and Peacemaking, U.H. Manoa.
* Other Religious and Community Leaders, including Senator Will
Espero,Chair of Committee on Public Safety, and Kat Brady, Prison
Reform activist.
* Families of the incarcerated at Waiawa and other facilities
7. After a briefing and statements of support an interfaith religious
ceremony involving, prayers, song, and the lighting of candles will take
place.
Rev. Dr. Kaleo Patterson, Pacific Justice and Reconciliation Ctr., Ctr.
for Indigenous Leadership/Peacemaking
ph. 808 330-3769 * fax 808 531-3122 * kaleop@hawaii.edu / kaleop@mac.com
E-MAIL JUST RECEIVED: Aloha--
Attached is a flyer for a FREE event on Sunday Nov. 23, 2008 at 5:00 p.m.
at U.H. Manoa, Upper Campus at the end of the mall adjacent to East-West
Road, Hamilton Library, Paradise Palms Cafe and Heinke Hall. We will hold
an interfaith assembly that is OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, with short
presentations, prayer and symbolic Makahiki ceremonies. This event is
held in conjunction with Hawaiian Makahiki Season opening ceremonies being
held by inmates at the Waiawa Correctional Facility and Saguaro
Correctional Facility in Arizona on Nov. 22nd to 24th. Please see the
flyer for more information.
Because the Makahiki ceremonies in these correctional facilities are on
the same day, and because the 'activity' has restrictions within the
confines of the correctional facilities (visitation, video recording and
security considerations, etc.), we want to foster simultaneous involvement
with the families of ALL Hawai'i inmates and the community. Important
elements and objectives of this assembly is for a collective 'pooling of
mana', symbolic of the "kukulu kumuhana" stage in the Ho'oponopono healing
process, as well as to promote awareness of offender reentry and
anti-recidivism using deep-culture reconnection. Please call Kaleo
Patterson at 330-3769 or Bryan Nakamura at 780-6823 for more
information...Mahalo!
3. KY STUDY BLAMES REPEAT OFFENDER LAW FROM PRISON OVERCROWDING
November 18, 2008
KY: Study Blames Repeat "Offender" Law for Overcrowded Prisons
November 17, 2008 @ 07:30 PM
2008/The Herald-Dispatch
http://www.herald-dispatch.com/news/briefs/x2077109477/Study-blames-Ky-law-for-overcrowded-prisons
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) ^× Kentucky^Òs repeat offender law shoulders much of
the blame for overcrowded prisons, according to a new study by the man
who wrote the state^Òs penal code.
The report by University of Kentucky professor Robert Lawson called the
state^Òs repeat offender law ^Ódraconian^Ô because, unlike in most other
states, it is not limited to violent or serious crimes.
He said the law originally was reserved for the worst criminals, but
legislators have extended it so much over the years that it has ^Ópushed
the state^Òs corrections budget off the charts.^Ô
Earlier this year, lawmakers authorized releasing some prison inmates
early as a cost-saving measure aimed at relieving some of the mounting
financial pressure Kentucky^Òs prison system is putting on an already
cash-strapped budget.
The study comes as a state panel on sentencing reform is considering the
issue and will make recommendations to the Kentucky Criminal Justice
Council, which will report to Gov. Steve Beshear.
The panel^Òs chairman, Deputy Justice Secretary Charles Geveden, said it
will vote to recommend eliminating the part of the law that provides
enhanced sentences for offenders with only one previous felony
conviction.
Panel member and public defender Ed Monahan said he would propose
limiting the law to violent offenders.
The president of the Kentucky Association of Commonwealth^Òs Attorneys,
prosecutor Chris Cohron, told The Courier-Journal for a story published
Monday that his group is opposed to limiting the law to serious or
violent offenders. Cohron says offenders who repeat crimes should have
additional penalties.
Geveden said it will be difficult to get lawmakers to change the law
because they ^Ódon^Òt want to be perceived as soft on crime.^Ô
State Rep. Kathy Stein, D-Lexington, who has been chairwoman of the House
Judiciary Committee, said she expects a ^Ófull frontal assault^Ô from
prosecutors.
In a rebuttal to Lawson^Òs report, Fayette County prosecutor Ray Larson
said 20 persistent felons cited in the study had been convicted of more
than 300 felonies and misdemeanors. He said the 3,200 persistent felons
his office prosecuted in the 12 years ending in 2007 were convicted of
45,000 felonies and misdemeanors.
^ÓThe average citizen wants to be protected from these predatory repeat
criminals,^Ô Larson said.
Attorney General Jack Conway said he is willing to ^Ólisten and to talk
about what offenses ought to trigger the PFO laws.^Ô
But he says a more effective way to slow the growing prison population is
to refer nonviolent drug offenders for treatment and to set a sliding
scale of sentences for theft offenses.
^ÓYou shouldn^Òt be punished the same for stealing $500 as embezzling a
half-million,^Ô he said.
-------
Mahalo for thinking of our people near and far who live behind bars. They
need your aloha.
Love,
Kat
^ÓOne can never consent to creep when one has the impulse to soar.^Ô
Helen Keller
Kat Brady, Coordinator
Community Alliance on Prisons
76 North King Street * Suite 203
Honolulu, Hawai`i 96817
phone: (808) 533-3454
cell: (808) 927-1214
Watch Hawai`i InJustice
Tuesdays 8:30 PM
`Olelo Channel 54
[ Part 2, Application/MSWORD 78KB. ]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2008 21:49:36 -0800 (PST)
From: jane welford <wibberkeley@yahoo.com>
Subject: Odetta in hospital with kidney failure, Send her a Card please
Odetta Hospitalized
Thursday, Nov 13, 2008 11:21AMOdetta, singer/songwriter known as "The
Voice of the Civil Rights Movement," is seriously ill and in a New York
hospital with kidney failure, according to a statement from her manager.
[dotclear.gif] Odetta apparently went to the Lenox HIll Hospital over the
weekend for a simple IV treatment but had kidney failure Nov. 9 and is
listed in critical condition. An active supporter of President-elect
Barack Obama, Odetta is determined to sing at his inauguration in January,
according to manager Doug Yeager. The full statement follows:
[dotclear.gif] Dear Friends of Odetta, [dotclear.gif] On behalf of
Odetta's adopted daughter Michelle Esrick and her niece Jan Ford (in
California), I would like to share with you - Odetta's large extended
family of brothers and sisters - the current health crisis in her life. On
Saturday, she went into Lenox Hill Hospital for a check-up and IV
nourishment. However, on Sunday evening she went into kidney failure, and
we were told that the next 24 hours would determine if she would survive.
[dotclear.gif] Miraculously, she made it through that emergency, but is
still listed in critical condition. I was on the road when she went in the
hospital and rushed back on Sunday. Jan and I are thankful that Michelle
was here and has been by Odetta's side every moment of this ordeal.
[dotclear.gif] Odetta believes she is going to sing at Obama's
Inauguration, and I believe that is the reason she is still alive. She has
a big poster of Barack Obama taped on the wall across from her bed. Her
old heart has already outperformed and lasted far beyond the expectations
of the heart specialists who treated her in January-March 2007 when she
had her last health crisis while touring out West. Now compounded with the
kidney failure, the doctors at the hospital are trying to do everything
possible to stabilize her system and prevent the weakening of her other
organs. They have her on dialysis now to rid the body of the toxic poisons
that have built up, and it seems to be slowly working. She is sleeping a
lot, but after a dialysis treatment and some food, she is coherent and
talking. She is not in pain. We are told that she will be in the ICU Unit
for at least another week, and that we'll just have to wait and see after
that. [dotclear.gif] All of you are well aware of Odetta's indomitable
spirit. Accordingly, I wouldn't bet against her singing for Barack in
January! [dotclear.gif] If you would like to send a card, I know that she
would love to hear from you (address of the hospital is below).
Ms. Odetta Gordon
Room # 719, 7th Floor ICU Unit
LENOX HILL HOSPITAL
100 East 77th Street
New York, NY 10021
Warmest regards,
Doug Yeager
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Gabrielle Welford, Ph.D.
_Too Many Deaths: Decolonizing Western Academic Research on Indigenous
Cultures_
http://www.theguildofwriters.com/books/shop.php?action=full&id=317
_Dora_
http://www.theguildofwriters.com/books/shop.php?action=full&id=378
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