local stuffs list: local stuffs

includes photos and video from saturday's ceded lands march and protest.
g

1. Island Eco-Systems: The best laid plans...
2. Reducing the Stress of Cancer on Channel 52, Thur at 5:00
3. Martin Luther King Day & Inaugural Events
4. The 'criminal' Lohafex ocean-seeding project...
5. Grassroot Institute and Hawaii Sunshine Chronicles
6. Announcing 2009 UH Distinguished Alumni Awardees
7. Health and Environmental News
8. "DISAPPEARED NEWS" - 1 NEW ARTICLE
9. Why Cuba Still Matters
10. Lahaina Rally
11. Coming Up at Revolution Books
12. Alakai to enter dry dock
13. MegaVote: HI 2nd, 1/12/2009
14. Gambling? In Hawai'i? "Hawaiian" casinos? Sorry - akaka bill
says "NO!"
15. OHA's press conference yesterday
16. Espero: illegal fireworks a threat to tourism and military
installations
17. You'll like this -"Guerrilla Tactics at Oil-Lease Auction"
18. Gambling? In Hawai'i? [ISO-8859-1]
(2) myths vs reality] - comment
19. DIA (Canada) - Gross Mismanagement! AND nobody got fired?
Normal!
20. New Book Addressing Christian Privilege
21. A good intro video to the agenda unfolding
22. Wing Suit Fliers
23. THE SPIRIT of women of African and American [and Samoan] Descent
Exhibition
24. OHA Trustees Wants Ban On Ceded-Land Sales
25. Free Hawai`i TV - "50 Years Of Lies"
26. Disappeared News - Hawaii Superferry drydock: planned or
unplanned? And can they see whales while bouncing and splashing around?
27. Gambling? In Hawai'i? "Hawaiian" casinos?
Sorry - akaka bill says "NO!" - more comment
28. GEN Shinseki to modernize the VA
29. Gambling? In Hawai'i? "Hawaiian" casinos?
Sorry - akaka bill says "NO!" - more comment
30. "Translations" at Kennedy Theatre
31. Gambling? In Hawai'i? "Hawaiian" casinos?
Sorry - akaka bill says "NO!" - new version of the akaka bill
32. keokea new years' last one for DD e
then for Gwen aue
33. Gambling? In Hawai'i? "Hawaiian" casinos?
Sorry - akaka bill says "NO!" - more comment
34. Kahului AIRPORT - East Ramp
35. Military vehicle sinks during exercise in
Waimanalo
36. Hope From People: Celebrate People's History and
Build Popular Power at the Inauguration
37. Invitation to view Trisha Kehaulani's Picasa Web Album - Ceded
Lands March
38. Photos from today's march and rally in Waikiki
39. Thousands Say "No!" To Stolen Lands Sale On
"Voices Of Truth - One-On-One With Hawai`i's Future"
40. Check out VIDEO: Hawaiian Kingdom overthrow anniversary protests
ceded lands

Date: Mon, 12 Jan 2009 15:37:27 -1000
From: mike reitz <mreitz@pacbell.net>
1. Island Eco-Systems: The best laid plans...

Battle of the bunnies: cat kill wrecks island
January 13, 2009 - 9:05AM

Eradicating feral cats on Australia's remote Macquarie Island has
devastated the environment after rabbit numbers exploded, a new study
shows.

The study says it will cost $24 million to fix the World Heritage-listed
island located about halfway between Australia and Antarctica.

Scientists writing in the British Ecological Society's Journal Of Applied
Ecology, said conservation agencies could learn important lessons from
what happened on Macquarie Island.

According to the article, rabbit numbers on the island were reduced from
a high of 130,000 in 1978 to less than 20,000 in the 1980s, after a
program to spread the disease myxomatosis.

But as rabbit numbers fell, cats introduced in the early 1800s began to
hunt the island's native burrowing birds, and in 1985 a cat eradication
program began.

After the last cat was killed in 2000, myxomatosis failed to keep rabbit
numbers in check and their numbers jumped.

In little over six years, rabbits substantially altered large areas of
the island, the study found.

Dana Bergstrom, who works for the Australian Antarctic Division and was
lead author of the report, said the rabbit population had reverted to
1978 levels, with up to 130,000 on the island.

By 2007 the impact on protected valleys and slopes was acute, she said.

"We estimate that nearly 40 per cent of the whole island area had
changed, with almost 20 per cent having moderate to severe change," Dr
Bergstrom said.

About half of this vegetation change occurred on the island's coastal
slopes, home to penguin colonies.

"Before, it was lush tussocks up to 1.5 metres high," Dr Bergstrom said.

"In some of the most severe cases, the tussocks have been eaten down to
the ground."

The disappearance of the tussocks has exposed penguin "roads" developed
over hundreds of years by penguins making their way from colonies to the
beach.

As a result, the penguins were exposed to large predatory birds, called
skuas, Dr Bergstrom said.

The study said changes documented were a rare example of "trophic
cascades", when changes in one species' abundance cause several other
parts of the food web to be altered.

Macquarie Island, which is just 34 kilometres long and five
kilometres wide, was declared a World Heritage Site in 1997.

AAP

This story was found at:
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2009/01/13/1231608668738.html
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~

Date: Mon, 12 Jan 2009 16:27:27 -1000
From: Laura crites <crites@hawaii.rr.com>
2. Reducing the Stress of Cancer on Channel 52, Thur at 5:00

HAWAII CONSORTIUM FOR INTEGRATIVE HEALTHCARE
(Working collaboratively to advance integrative healthcare in Hawaii)

MONTHLY TELEVISION SERIES

JANUARY 2009

Reducing the Stress of Cancer

Olelo Public Television Channel 52
Thursdays, 5:00 PM
January 15, 22, 29

Cancer can be one of the most stressful of health conditions. While our
body most needs all of our support to fight the cancer and support the
healing process, our psychological stress levels often are at their
highest, undermining the healing work of our bodies. This panel
discussion gives invaluable information on how to reduce the stress of
cancer.

Moderator: Diane Thompson, MD, Queens Medical Center

Panelists:

· Laura Steelsmith, ND, private practice physician
· Beverly Gantt, LMT, massage therapist, We Knead You
· Karenamamoto-Hackler, former cancer patient

For more information on the series or to make a suggestion regarding
subsequent show topics, contact us at:

Hawaii Consortium for Integrative Healthcare
2333 Kapiolani Blvd. #2108, Honolulu, HI 96826
941-8253 crites@hawaii.rr.com www.hawaiiconsortium.com

Laura Crites, MA, MS
Executive Director
Hawaii Consortium for Integrative Healthcare
2333 Kapiolani Blvd. #2108
Honolulu, HI 96826
941-8253
www.hawaiiconsortium.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Mon, 12 Jan 2009 16:38:05 -1000
From: Brian Schatz <chair@hawaiidemocrats.org>
3. Martin Luther King Day & Inaugural Events

E M A I L N E W S A L E R T

Martin Luther King Day is January 19th, the day before the inauguration
of President-Elect Obama.

Commemorating the life of Reverend King, who gave his life to public
service, has an even more special meaning this year. On Martin Luther
King day and the days leading up to it, there will be a nationwide
campaign of public service. This is part of the Renew America Together
program called for by the Obama family. The idea is to turn the memory
and spirit of Reverend King^Òs life into action.

To get involved with Hawaii action, you may go to the national website of
http://www.USAservice.org/calltoservice and click into Hawaii State to
view the many choices, statewide.

Another way to experience Martin Luther King Day is by watching the
parade which starts at 9:00 a.m. going from Magic Island to Waikiki and
finally to Kapiolani Park, where there is a Unity Celebration that will
include music, dancing, food and lots of friendship. For more info, go
to: http://mlk-hawaii.com/index.php

As we get more information on local events around the time of the
inaugural, we will update you via email. From doing community service,
watching the inauguration on TV with family or friends, or talking to
your children and grandchildren about these extraordinary and historic
times, please don^Òt let the days just go by.

Again my thanks to you for your commitment to Democratic ideals, your
belief in the strength of diversity and your willingness to shape a
preferred future for our country and world.

Sincerely,

Brian Schatz
Chair
Democratic Party of Hawaii

Democratic Party
State Chair:
Brian Schatz
County Chair:
Tony Gill
Region 9 Chair:
Debi Hartmann
District 51 Chair:
Al Lewis
Precinct 1 President:
Vacant

Upcoming Events
Hawaiian Affairs Caucus Meeting
Wednesday, 1/14/09

Progressive Democrats Of Hawaii: Legislative Workshop
Wednesday, 1/14/09

Women's Caucus Meeting
Thursday, 1/15/09

Presidential Inauguration
Tuesday, 1/20/09

Opening Day: Legislature
Wednesday, 1/21/09

Kupuna Caucus Meeting
Wednesday, 1/21/09

Oahu County Committee General Membership Meeting
Saturday, 1/24/09

Scc Meeting
Saturday, 1/24/09

Glbt Caucus
Saturday, 1/31/09

Progressive Democrats Of Hawaii General Meeting
Thursday, 2/5/09

Hawaiian Affairs Caucus Meeting
Wednesday, 2/11/09
________________________________________________________________________________

Date: Mon, 12 Jan 2009 17:14:00 -1000
From: mike reitz <mreitz@pacbell.net>
4. The 'criminal' Lohafex ocean-seeding project...

"To use this in the context of generating and selling carbon offsets
under the climate change debate is even more dangerous for all of us in
small island countries..." Ocean fertilisation is just one of a suite of
extreme climate-fix solutions, referred to generally as geo-engineering,
now being proposed in response to climate change...
------

It's `criminal': Say no to `ocean fertilisation'
Written by Mata'afa Keni Lesa
SAMOA OBSERVER
Saturday, 10 January 2009 15:12

O le Siosiomaga Society Inc. has joined a growing number of civil
societies around the world to condemn a controversial climate-engineering
expedition by Germany and India.

Executive Director, Fiu Elisara told the Weekend Observer the expedition
could have "disastrous" consequences for marine resources and the ocean
ecosystem in the Pacific.

The RV Polarstern, a German research vessel, left Cape Town on Wednesday
7 January to begin a large scale geo- engineering experiment known as
Lohafex, reports said.

The Lohafex voyage proposes to dump iron sulphate particles over 300
square kilometres of open ocean in the Scotia Sea, close to Antarctica.

The team aims to provoke a `plankton bloom so massive it will be visible
from space.'

But Fiu and other civil societies described the expedition as "criminal."
They argue that it defies a United Nations agreement signed by 191
nations and brokered by Germany last May. Samoa is one of the countries
which participated in the 9th Conference of the Parties (COP9) of the
United Nations Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) in Bonn, Germany, last
year.

In 2008, both the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the
London Convention of the International Maritime Organisation - the treaty
that governs the dumping of wastes at sea - enacted a global moratorium
on ocean fertilisation activities because of the ecological risks to the
oceans and climate.
The expedition, Fiu said, violates the global moratorium.
"This new initiative of Germany and India researchers directly
contravenes this global moratorium and to have Germany who was chairing
the COP9 makes it even more concerning at the rhetoric," Fiu said.

The head of O le Siosiomaga Society told the Weekend Observer his concern
is that "the Pacific will become the ultimate target" of the expedition.
"The issue of ocean fertilization in the Pacific Ocean is serious," Fiu
said.
"While there was a moratorium in COP9 in Bonn last year, it is obvious
that this is going ahead nevertheless and we are concerned that the
Pacific Ocean is an ultimate target.

"To use this in the context of generating and selling carbon offsets
under the climate change debate is even more dangerous for all of us in
small island countries."
Fiu said "the role of Germany and India demonstrates the rhetoric that
continues to dominate the global debate in just about all the issues that
generate business, ignoring the calls of indigenous peoples and those
concerned, about the exploitation and manipulation of nature and natural
resources.

He added: "And we in the Pacific must be united in our efforts to reject
these flawed solutions to climate change aimed at generating and selling
carbon offsets in the carbon market-based so-called solutions to climate
change."
Jim Thomas, of the action group on Erosion, Technology and Concentration
(ETC), an international advocacy organisation that played a key role in
securing that moratorium, agrees with Fiu.

"If the Lohafex iron dump goes ahead, it will be a clear defiance of the
UN Convention on Biological Diversity," he warned in a statement.
"It is particularly shocking that Germany, the current chair of that
convention, should be the country breaking the agreement. The artificial
plankton bloom may be visible from space, but it seems it's not visible
from Berlin!"

A number of civil society groups from around the world are now calling on
the German and Indian governments to respect the international
moratorium.
They have also called upon the two governments to "recall Lohafex, the
third Antarctic iron dumping expedition led by Germany's Alfred Wegener
Institute since 2000."

This is the third ocean fertilisation expedition .the ETC Group and its
partners have opposed in the last two years.
In 2007, two private companies, Ocean Nourishment Corporation of
Australia and Planktos, Inc. of USA, were prevented from carrying out
ocean fertilization activities in the Sulu Sea (Philippines) and near the
Galapagos Islands (Ecuador).

In the wake of the global moratoria established in 2008, Lohafex would be
the first operation of this kind to openly defy agreements made by the
international community.
Ocean fertilisation is just one of a suite of extreme climate-fix
solutions, referred to generally as geo-engineering, now being proposed
in response to climate change.
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~------------------

From: napua4u@yahoo.com
Date: Mon, 12 Jan 2009 17:34:32 -0800
5. Grassroot Institute and Hawaii Sunshine Chronicles

see below for GIH move. Makaala...
-----

Right-wing Grassroot Institute Hawaii hired Don Ray (alledged journalist)
to dig up dirt on Hawaii government agencies. Hawaii Sunshine Chronicles
is a blog where his findings or inquires are posted.

http://sunshinechronicles.wordpress.com/

Hawaii Sunshine Chronicles

What the heck is this about?
Agencies of Interest

Become a citizen journalist.
There's no license required. Become a Hawaii Sunshine Chronicle Deputy
Correspondent. Contact Don Ray at donray@donray.com. Are you a government
employee who knows what's really going on? We have openings for
Confidential Informants and Whistle Blowers. Your secrets will be safe
with us -- and Hawaii state law protects us both. Block your caller ID or
use a pay phone to call Don Ray at (808) 450-2009. Allow me to explain
how it works and why it's in our interest to protect your identity.
Agencies to watch

What the heck is this about?

January 3, 2009 ^× donraymedia
Don Ray knows journalism pretty darned well, but he^Òs wet behind the
ears when it comes to technical stuff ^× stuff such as posting things to
a blog Website. If you^Òre not doing backflips of joy reading the content
of this blog, come back every now and then to see if Don Ray is figuring
out the technical stuff.

Now that the disclaimer is out of the way, here^Òs what this blog is all
about:

Hawaii Sunshine Chronicles exists to bring greater light to government
agencies in Hawaii ^× from city hall to the Federal Building, from meter
maids to top military commanders. It^Òs about transparency and the right
of any human being to have access to the stuff that all of those public
servants are doing.

The author, editor and main contributor to this blog is Don Ray. He^Òs a
veteran journalist/producer/author/news consultant who accepted the
challenge from the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii to come here from that
Mainland place and dig for the worst examples of government waste,
corruption, boondoggles, ineptness, nepotism, cronyism, bribery,
favoritism and larceny. That^Òs all.

Don Ray is on contract as a journalist and will publish his findings here
on Hawaii Sunshine Chronicles. The ground rules are simple: Don Ray is an
equal-opportunity journalist ^× he will not take a position on any issue
except the issue of truth. The fact that a not-for-profit think tank,
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, is paying him to ferret out waste and
wrongdoing in government, there are no sacred cows ^× no government
official, government employee, government contractor, elected official,
party official or any member of any government commission or committee
gets a free ride.

As a journalist, Don Ray^Òs personal views must never be a factor in his
reporting ^× except with regard to issues of openness and transparency in
government. Nor will his work be affected in any way by the positions
that the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii takes on any topic.
What does that mean? It means that everyone in or connected to government
is fair game ^× regardless of political party or persuasion. Period.
While Grassroot Institute of Hawaii may reprint Don Ray^Òs reports in its
publications, on its Website and in its blogs ^× and comment on the facts
that his stories present ^× its staff may not alter the content of Don
Ray^Òs news stories. Of course, its staff or members may comment or
interpret Don Ray^Òs work as can anyone anywhere.
________________________________________________________________________________

Date: Tue, 13 Jan 2009 00:27:34 -0500
From: University of Hawai'i Alumni Association <alumnews@hawaii.edu>
6. Announcing 2009 UH Distinguished Alumni Awardees

UH Alumni Association Announces
2009 UHAA Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

The University of Hawai'i (UH) and the University of Hawai'i
Alumni Association (UHAA) are pleased to announce the
recipients of the 2009 Distinguished Alumni Awards (DAA).
Established in 1987, the award recognizes outstanding alumni
who have used their UH education to excel professionally,
provide inspirational leadership to others, and provide
service for the benefit of the community. An estimated 700 UH
alumni and friends will gather for a dinner to honor the
recipients at 5:30 p.m. on May 7 at the Sheraton Waikiki
hotel.

Fukino Dr. Chiyome Fukino
M.D. 1979 John A. Burns School of Medicine
Director
Hawai'i State Department of Health
Hortons Dr. Lois Horton
M.A. 1969 Psychology
Professor, American Studies, UH Mānoa

Dr. James Horton
M.A. 1969 American Studies
Professor, American Studies, UH Mānoa
DeeJayMailer Dee Jay Mailer
M.B.A. 1985 Shidler College of Business
B.S. 1975 School of Professional Nursing
Chief Executive Officer
Kamehameha Schools
DeeJayMailer Sabrina McKenna
B.A. 1978 Japanese
J.D. 1982 William S. Richardson School of Law
Lawyer and Jurist

2009 UH Founders Alumni Association Lifetime Achievement
Award
The UH Founders Alumni Association began the tradition of
recognizing outstanding UH alumni. The Founders continue
honoring alumni who have made a significant impact throughout
their lifetime, with the UH Founders Lifetime Achievement
Award.
This year's recipient is:

Lau Daniel Lau
B.A. 1941 Business Economics
Co-Founder and Chairman
Finance Factors

Any UH alumnus who has either completed 50 percent of an
educational program within the UH System of 10 campuses, or
received a degree from a UH campus, is eligible for
nomination. The nomination process began in September 2008,
and nominations were reviewed by a committee composed of
members of the UHAA Board of Directors, past award recipients
and members of the community-at-large. For more information
on the Distinguished Alumni Awards dinner, contact the Alumni
Relations office at (808) 956-2586 or 1-877-UH-ALUMS
(1-877-842-5867), or visit www.UHalumni.org.

University of Hawai‘i Office of Alumni Relations
University of Hawai‘i Foundation, 2444 Dole Street, Bachman
Hall 101, Honolulu, HI 96822
Mailing address: 2440 Campus Road, Unit 307, Honolulu HI 96822-2234
Phone: 1-877-UH-ALUMS * E-mail: alumnews@hawaii.edu

Not a member of UHAA? Join online today!
Visit www.alumniconnections.com/member/uhf/membership.html to sign
up online. You can also become a member of the UHAA Online
Community. To sign up, click the link above, enter your name,
followed by your 10-digit alumni ID number: 0000781777.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Mon, 12 Jan 2009 18:50:02 -0600
From: nimchira <tepaatu@gmail.com>
7. Health and Environmental News

News from the Health and Environmental Communities.
Published since Nov, 2005
Jan 12, 2009

In this issue:

Recalls:

King Nut Issues Peanut Butter Recall: King Nut took this action as soon as
it was informed that salmonella had been found in an open five-pound tub of
King Nut peanut butter. King Nut distributes peanut butter only through food
service accounts. It is not sold directly to consumers. King Nut does not
supply any of the ingredients for the peanut butter distributed under its
label. All other King Nut products are safe and not included in this
voluntary recall. http://www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmrecalls/kingnut01_09.html
===============

Illinois May Pose the Greatest Opposition to Obama's Plans on Global
Warming: Illinois is one of the top greenhouse gas engines thanks to its
dependence on two of the dirtiest sources of fossil fuel energy: coal and
tar sands.
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=bf04USOzGgcfU%2FVgyMA%2BhFcDeyoZW98z

American Health Care Since 1994: The Unacceptable Status Quo
http://www.truthout.org/010909HA

New old-fashioned drug makers: goats - Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-sci-geneticmilk10-2009jan10,0,242781.story

What Am I Bid for the American Wild?
http://www.truthout.org/011009A

Peanut Butter Eyed as Source of Salmonella Outbreak - washingtonpost.com
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/10/AR2009011000834.html

FDA formula guidelines assume parents will use only 1 infant formula,
consumer group says.
http://newsletters.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/20241/3057/26311/0/

To ban or not to ban: Bisphenol-A in food is OK with FDA but not with some
scientists.
http://newsletters.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/20241/3057/26312/0/

Congress bans kids from libraries?
http://newsletters.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/20241/3057/26318/0/

Medicinal plants on verge of extinction.
http://newsletters.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/20241/3057/26321/0/

Could the Media Derail Health Care Reform?
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=YgDf9tmv6DmSauShuD3vUo51b6yJ7Asf

Genetically Modified Crops Implicated in Honeybee Colony Collapse Disorder
http://www.naturalnews.com/025287.html

U.S. Hospitals: Still Unsafe and Too Often Deadly
http://www.naturalnews.com/025281.html

Fast-Track FDA Drug Approvals Leads to Deadly Drugs Entering Market
http://www.naturalnews.com/025272.html

Ethanol Is a Disaster, But What About Other Biofuels?
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=2EJkQbRA4U7Eq1LTAziBroZxwt68tQzx

Merisant, America's aspartame producer, just filed for bankruptcy
http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN0930284120090109

Feds seek views on vaccine opposition-The government is paying parents in an
Oregon town to discuss their opinions on childhood immunizations.
http://www.kansas.com/news/nation-world/story/658047.html

Using a mathematical model based on enzymatic differences between newborns
and adults, scientists estimate that the amount of bisphenol A (BPA)
circulating in the blood of babies is more than 11 times higher than the
amount in adult blood, given the same exposure. The striking disparity is
most likely due to natural differences in metabolism and body size between
babies and adults. This study points to the need for chemical exposure
standards to better incorporate differences in vulnerabilities between
children and adults.
http://newsletters.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/20300/3057/26376/0/
=============

The news that is reported is not necessarily the viewpoint of Voices
Health/Environmental News. Nothing within this message should be construed
as endorsing, promoting or abetting any illegal or unethical activity. The
articles in this newsletter are not necessarily the opinion of the editor.
Material appearing here is distributed without profit or monetary gain to
those who have expressed an interest in receiving the material for
research and educational purposes. This is in accordance with Title 17 U.
S. C. section 107. http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html

Articles are reprinted under Fair Use Doctrine of International Copyright
Law. http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html

All copyrights belong to original publisher.Under Bill s.1618 TITLE III
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---------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Tue, 13 Jan 2009 03:20:01 -0500
From: FeedBlitz <feedblitz@mail.feedblitz.com>
8. "DISAPPEARED NEWS" - 1 NEW ARTICLE

1. Is the Indonesian ferry disaster a warning for Hawaiiâ^À^Ùs
interisland ferry?
2. More Recent Articles
3. Search Disappeared News

Is the Indonesian ferry disaster a warning for Hawaiiâ^À^Ùs interisland
ferry?

by Larry Geller I love watching ocean waves, whether calm or
stormyâ^À^Ôfrom a safe spot on land. Thatâ^À^Ùs my preference. One day we
found ourselves on the car ferry from Tokyo to Hokkaido, with waves both
outside the ship and in the swimming pool, which of course was closed (I
think it must always be closed). Outside was rough, but anyone in the
pool would have been dashed to death immediately. We....

More Recent Articles

* Palistinians would not be impoverished if Israel did not try to steal
their offshore gas resources
* (Heart) breaking news--US shipping monstrous loads of arms to Israel
for use against Palestinian children
* Seattle PI to be sold or closed down
* Re-thinking Hawaiiâ^À^Ùs utilities means thinking smaller
* ColdType Reader focuses on Gaza
________________________________________________________________________________

From: <moderator@PORTSIDE.ORG>
Sent: Monday, January 12, 2009 4:45 PM
9. Why Cuba Still Matters

> Why Cuba Still Matters
> Diana Raby
> Monthly Review January 2009
> http://www.monthlyreview.org/090105raby.php
> Notes from the Editors
>
> Diana Raby is senior fellow at the Research Institute of Latin American
> Studies, University of Liverpool (UK) and is also professor emeritus of
> history at the University of Toronto. She has written extensively on
> Latin America and is also active in solidarity movements such as the
> Cuba Solidarity Campaign and the Venezuela Information Centre (UK). Her
> latest book, Democracy and Revolution: Latin America and Socialism Today
> (London: Pluto Press, 2006), argues for the crucial importance of
> Venezuela, along with Cuba and the ALBA countries, in the renewal of the
> international left in this century.Why Cuba Still Matters
>
> In the early 1990s there was near unanimity in the media, in Western
> political circles, and even among academics that the collapse of the
> Cuban revolution was imminent. Even today, many observers regard it as
> only a matter of time for Cuba to undergo a transition to democracy
> (understood as a narrowly defined polyarchy) and a â?omarket economy.â?
>
> But the fact that Cuban socialism has survived the extraordinary rigors
> of the â?oSpecial Periodâ? and is still functioning nearly twenty years
> after the fall of the Berlin Wall should give pause for thought. Even
> the prolonged incapacity of Fidel Castro and his subsequent resignation
> as president has not led to chaos or upheaval, as many predicted. Why
> then has Cuba survived, and what does it mean for socialist and
> progressive politics today?
>
> The simple answer is that, for all its problems and deficiencies, the
> revolutionary order is still viable. Many Cubans still believe in
> socialist principles; they naturally grumble about shortages and
> restrictions, but have few illusions about the alternative on offer
> across the Florida Straits.
>
> But why is this so? What makes Cuba different from the Soviet Union and
> Eastern Europe? To understand this it is necessary to go back to the
> origins of the revolution and the remarkable transformation that
> occurred from 1959 to 1963. Before the revolution, Cuba was a U.S.
> protectorate, a vast sugar plantation where venal â?odemocraticâ?
> governments alternated with brutal dictatorships. The idea of a
> socialist revolution hereâ?"or anywhere else in the U.S. â?obackyardâ?
> of the Caribbean and Central Americaâ?"was unthinkable. So on January 1,
> 1959, when the dictator Batista fled and the bearded guerrillas entered
> Havana and Santiago, almost no one anticipated the scope and depth of
> the changes that were to follow.
>
> The Cuban transition to socialism was one of the most rapid and thorough
> anywhere in the world: the first and second Agrarian Reform Laws, the
> nationalization of virtually all large industries and services, the
> extraordinary literacy campaign and the establishment of free public
> education at all levels, free universal health care, and the
> organization of a popular militia and disciplined mass organizations
> from neighborhood level upwards, all in the space of four years or so.
>
> Yet in the first six months of 1959 all the rhetoric was about democracy
> and humanism; socialism was scarcely even mentioned until mid-1960, and
> was not officially adopted as the goal until April 1961, two years and
> four months after the initial victory (during the Bay of Pigs invasion).
> The 26th of July Movement (M-26-7) which had led the armed struggle and
> seized power was a broad and heterogeneous movement that had serious
> differences with what was then Cubaâ?Ts Communist party, the Partido
> Socialista Popular (PSP). The revolution was immensely popular, but many
> observers expected (or feared) that it would eventually suffer the same
> fate as Guatemala five years earlier, where the popular Arbenz
> government was overthrown by a CIA-sponsored coup.
>
> The tremendous euphoria generated by the revolution in Cuba and
> elsewhere in Latin America, and its initial ideological flexibility, are
> fundamental for understanding its significance. Taking place in a region
> and at a time when U.S. hegemony was undisputed, where the great Mexican
> revolution had been neutralized and progressive movements like those of
> Sandino in Nicaragua, Grau San MartÃn in Cuba in 1933, GaitÃ¡n in
> Colombia, and Arbenz in Guatemala had been crushed by overt or covert
> U.S. intervention, the Cuban triumph had an immediate symbolic impact.
> On his first trip abroad after victory, to Venezuela in late January
> 1959, Fidel Castro was received by delirious crowds. In February the
> then Chilean Senator Salvador Allende declared that â?oThe Cuban
> revolution does not belong only to you...we are dealing with the most
> significant movement ever to have occurred in the Americas,â? 1 and
> shortly afterwards Gloria GaitÃ¡n, daughter of the assassinated
> Colombian popular leader, proclaimed that the Cuban experience was
> â?othe beginning of the great liberation of Nuestra AmÃ©rica [Our
> America].â? 2 Former president of Mexico, LÃ¡zaro CÃ¡rdenas, author of
> the 1938 oil nationalization in that country, also gave enthusiastic
> support to Cuba.
>
> The most obvious distinctive feature of the Cuban revolutionâ?"and the
> essential reason for its ability to avoid the fate of Guatemala,
> defeating the counter-revolutionary Bay of Pigs invasion in April
> 1961â?"was the unprecedented military victory of the guerrillas of the
> Rebel Army over the forces of the dictator Batista. It was also this
> which would make it possible for Marxists subsequently to present the
> process as a textbook case of the Leninist thesis of armed workersâ?T
> revolution. But the force that seized power was not a Communist or
> Marxist party, it was a broad democratic movement with an eclectic
> ideology derived from Cuban and Latin American popular revolutionary
> traditions and vague notions of social justice and national liberation.
> The old Communists of the PSP, which did have some roots in the labor
> movement and among intellectuals but had been compromised by its earlier
> support for Batista, had initially condemned Fidel Castro and the
> guerrillas as â?opetty-bourgeois adventurersâ? and only started
> supporting the movement on the eve of victory, late in 1958.
>
> This made it all the more surprising to many observers when the
> revolutionary leadership, represented above all by Fidel Castro, pushed
> ahead regardless of all obstacles in the initial three years from early
> 1959 to 1962, sweeping aside the wealthy Cuban elite and landlord class
> and defying Washington to expropriate sugar estates and ranches,
> nationalize industries, purge the state apparatus of Batista supporters,
> sign trade agreements with the Soviet bloc, and then declare themselves
> socialist. Was this premeditated sleight-of-hand by a covert Communist
> leadership, as alleged by many right-wing commentators in the United
> States? Or was it the indignant reaction of popular nationalists when
> faced with clumsy and uncomprehending U.S. hostility, as claimed by
> liberals?
>
> The truth is more complex and more interesting. Having failed to achieve
> independence in the early nineteenth century along with most of
> Spainâ?Ts American colonies, Cuba later developed a powerful liberation
> movement with a pronounced popular and radical character. The mambÃses,
> as the popular guerrillas in the thirty-year insurgency against Spanish
> rule (1868â?"98) were known, stressed social and racial equality and
> acquired a precocious anti-imperialist as well as anticolonial
> consciousness. This was succinctly expressed by the great man of letters
> and liberation fighter JosÃ© MartÃ when he declared in his last letter
> in 1895: â?oEverything I have done unto now and all that I shall do
> hereafter has as its objective to prevent, through the independence of
> Cuba, the United States of America from falling with added weight on Our
> America.â? 3
>
> This anti-imperialist spirit was expressed again in the struggle against
> the dictator Gerardo Machado (1925â?"33) and the abortive 1933
> revolution, which was in many ways a precursor of 1959. Brutal
> repression combined with a desperate economic situation caused by the
> world depression led to a popular upheaval in which workers seized sugar
> mills and raised the red flag, students occupied the presidential
> palace, and the lower ranks of the army mutinied and overthrew the
> officer corps. A provisional government under a popular medical
> professor, Dr. RamÃ³n Grau San MartÃn, decreed many progressive
> measures including an agrarian reform, intervention (government control)
> of the U.S.-owned Cuban Electric Company, a minimum wage, the eight-hour
> day, and female suffrage. But this revolutionary government had no
> organized political backing, and it soon became clear that the leader of
> the rebellious troops, Sergeant Fulgencio Batista, was an opportunist
> who was willing to work with the U.S. Embassy.
>
> Under the new administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Washington had
> just proclaimed the Good Neighbor Policy and was reluctant to send in
> the marines. But with U.S. warships just off the coast, pressure was
> exerted on Havana and it came as little surprise when in January 1934
> Grau San MartÃn was overthrown by Batista who now became the power
> behind the throne. The next twenty-five years would see a merry-go-round
> of weak puppet presidents, corrupt elected governments, and open
> dictatorship by Batista, with growing frustration and dis-enchantment
> among the majority of Cubans, whether workers, peasants, or
> middle-class. It was in particular the failure of Grau and his
> associates in the Partido AutÃ©ntico (the Authentic Party of the Cuban
> Revolution) which paved the way for Batistaâ?Ts 1952â?"58 dictatorship
> and the real revolution which followed.
>
> Although the young revolutionaries who coalesced around the activist
> lawyer Fidel Castro Ruz in the early 1950s had some familiarity with
> socialist ideas, their intellectual and political background was quite
> varied and eclectic. Fidel himself was a member of the Partido Ortodoxo
> which had broken away from the AutÃ©nticosa few years earlier in protest
> of their corruption and abandonment of the principles of 1933. The
> Ortodoxoleader Eduardo ChibÃ¡s was a wealthy maverick who had been a
> student leader in 1933 and gained a mass following from 1949 to 1951
> with passionate rhetoric against corruption in his weekly radio
> broadcasts. With his slogan â?oVergÃ¼enza contra dineroâ? (â?oHonor
> against moneyâ? ), ChibÃ¡s revived the moral idealism which had been a
> keynote of Cuban radicalism ever since MartÃ. ChibÃ¡s shot himself
> during his radio program in August 1951. There were mass demonstrations
> of mourning at his funeral, and his populist appeal was the inspiration
> of the ortodoxos, many of whom would join the M-26-7 a few years later.
>
> Another key figure in the ideological origins of the new revolutionary
> movement was Antonio Guiteras, a young man who while still a graduate
> student at the University of Havana had become minister of the interior
> in Grau San MartÃnâ?Ts short-lived government. It was Guiteras who had
> been the driving force behind the radical measures decreed in those
> heady months of 1933, and when Grau was overthrown Guiteras went
> underground and formed his own insurgent movement, JÃ³ven Cuba(Young
> Cuba), with an explicitly socialist program. As a popular figure and a
> socialist activist independent of the Communist Party, Guiteras was
> clearly a threat and it is not surprising that he was killed in 1935.
>
> Guiteras was a representative of the autonomous Latin American Marxist
> tradition associated with the Peruvian JosÃ© Carlos MariÃ¡tegui, and
> this would be an important influence on several prominent members of the
> M-26-7 such as Armando Hart. It was also the main ideological influence
> on the young Argentine revolutionary Ernesto â?oCheâ? Guevara who would
> meet Fidel Castro and his comrades in Mexico in 1955 and become a
> central figure in the revolution.
>
> But in many ways the fundamental inspiration of the M-26-7 insurgents
> was the Cuban popular revolutionary tradition of the mambÃses, of JosÃ©
> MartÃ and Antonio Maceo, the mulatto general of the liberation forces
> in the wars against Spanish rule; an ideology of radical egalitarianism,
> anti-imperialism, and agrarian self-sufficiency. It had much in common
> with broader Latin American traditions going back to SimÃ³n BolÃvar
> with his ideal of continental unity and his distrust of gringo
> expansionism. This is not to say that the Cuban revolutionaries of the
> 1950s were anticommunist or unaffected by European and international
> Marxist and socialist theories. But most of them were independent from
> the international Communist movement and also from other organized
> international tendencies such as the Trotskyists. This independence, and
> the ideological and tactical flexibility which went with it, was crucial
> to their success.
>
> By drawing on national popular traditions combined with the sense of
> frustration and indignation against corruption, repression, and U.S.
> domination, the revolutionaries were able to achieve not only military
> victory but also mass popular support and enthusiasm. In January 1959
> there was enormous euphoria combined with a sense that anything was
> possible, and this was expressed in the declarations of the leadership:
> â?oThe revolution cannot be made in a day, but rest assured that we will
> carry out the revolution. Rest assured that for the first time the
> Republic will be completely free and the people will have what they
> deserveâ? (Fidel Castro, January 3);4 â?othe Revolution is as Cuban as
> the palm treesâ? and â?omany people have not yet realized the scope of
> the change which has occurred in our countryâ? (Fidel, February 24);5
> â?oOn the First of January 1959 we had done no more than conclude the
> war of independence; the Revolution of MartÃ begins nowâ? (RaÃºl
> Castro, March 13).6
>
> In other words, without any reference to Marx, socialism, or class
> struggle, there was an unequivocal commitment to radical change and to
> serving the popular interest. Explicit ideological references were to
> the national revolutionary heritage: defending the agrarian reform in
> June 1959, Fidel declared that â?owhat we are doing, you gentlemen who
> defend powerful interests, what we are doing is to fulfill the
> declarations and the doctrine of our Apostle [MartÃ], who said that the
> fatherland belonged to all and was for the good of allâ? ;7 and in July
> 1959 he quoted Antonio Maceo: â?oThe Revolution will continue as long as
> there remains an injustice which has not been remedied.â? 8
>
> That these declarations were not mere rhetoric swiftly became clear as
> decisive action was taken in all areas of policy, and these actions
> served to increase the overwhelming popular support for the
> revolutionary leadership. With such massive support and with a monopoly
> of armed force, the new authorities in Havana enjoyed unprecedented
> freedom of action; internal opposition was virtually paralyzed and no
> political party or organization was able to contest the prestige of
> Fidel and the M-26-7 which had become in effect the national liberation
> movement of the Cuban people.
>
> In these circumstances an a priori socialist program would only have
> been a hindrance: the strength of the revolution derived from its
> consensual and inclusive character. When socialism was declared, it was
> more a reflection of the new reality, an unexpected state of affairs
> which had come about as a result of a dialectical process. The strength
> of the popular demand for self-determination and social justice combined
> with the monopolistic structure of the Cuban plantation economy and the
> direct and inevitable confrontation with U.S. imperialism made a
> socialist solution the only viable way forward from early 1960 onwards
> if the revolution were not to collapse through division and incoherence.
> In terms of political economy, a good analysis of this dynamic is to be
> found in James Oâ?TConnorâ?Ts 1970 study, The Origins of Socialism in
> Cuba.9
>
> The validity of this analysis was confirmed by interviews I conducted in
> Cuba in the 1990s. Several former members of the M-26-7, when questioned
on the evolution of their ideology during the armed struggle and in the
first two to three years after the victory of January 1, 1959, declared
that their original outlook was democratic, anti-imperialist, and
favorable to social justice, but not socialist and certainly not Communist
or Marxist-Leninist. It was only at a certain point in the revolutionary
transformation, which most of them identify as around mid- to late 1960 or
1961, that they came to the realization that what they were creating in
Cuba was a form of socialism; and Fidelâ?Ts famous declaration to this
effect during the Bay of Pigs invasion simply confirmed this in their
minds: â?oPues sÃ: Â¡somos socialistas!â? (â?oWell yes: we are
socialist!â? )
>
> This is to my mind more than just a peculiarity of the Cuban process: it
> confirms the implications of Gramsciâ?Ts argument that for proletarian
> ideologyâ?"Marxist theoryâ?"to triumph, it must win the battle for
> hegemony and become â?ocommon sense.â? Or to put it another way, the
> abstractions of Marxist theory must gel with the popular democratic
> traditions of a specific country before they can become hegemonic. This
> is perhaps the crucial error of most Communist (and also Trotskyist)
> parties: the idea that by preaching abstract Marxist-Leninist doctrine
> they can build an effective mass revolutionary movement.
>
> The revolutionary euphoria of 1959â?"61 in Cuba had much in common with
> the broad-based democratic grassroots ideology of the antiglobalization
> and anticapitalist movements of recent times. The rejection of
> established parties and dogmas, the belief in direct action, the quest
> for new and original solutions: these were the characteristics of the
> creative ferment which swept Cuba in the early years of the revolution.
> True, from 1962 onwards this originality began to be compromised by the
> adoption of Soviet models as a result of the alliance necessitated by
> the Cold War context of the time, but despite this Cuba maintained
> important aspects of its autonomy and creativity. The â?oCuban heresyâ?
> of the quest for the â?oNew Manâ? and the emphasis on moral incentives
> was an example of this, as was the continued Cuban support for armed
> revolution in Latin America and Africa (in contradiction to the Soviet
> aim of â?opeaceful coexistenceâ? ).
>
> After 1970 the apparent failure of the idealistic development strategy
> associated with â?omoral incentivesâ? and the defeat of insurgent
> movements in many countries obliged Cuba to adopt a more orthodox
> Soviet-style policy. For some fifteen years this appeared to yield
> results, with high rates of GDP growth and economic stability. But by
> the mid-eighties it was clear that Cubaâ?Ts indebtedness to both the
> Soviet Union and the capitalist countries was becoming a problem, as was
> the combination of rigid bureaucratic centralism and material incentives
> under the Sistema de DirecciÃ³n y PlanificaciÃ³n de la
> EconomÃa(Economic Management and Planning System).10
>
> It was this which led to the launching of the â?oRectification
> Campaignâ? in 1986 and to Fidelâ?Ts rejection of the Soviet policies of
> glasnost and perestroika. Seen by many as â?oStalinistâ? or
> â?oconservative,â? this rejection of Gorbachevâ?Ts policies was in fact
> anything but: it reflected the Cuban leaderâ?Ts prescient understanding
> that this type of top-down liberalization would necessarily lead in a
> capitalist direction. It also reflected the belief that in Cuba,
> whereâ?"unlike the Soviet Unionâ?"grassroots participation and
> revolutionary idealism had not yet been totally crushed by decades of
> authoritarianism and sometimes brutal repression, socialism could be
> reinvigorated by a combination of visionary leadership and popular
> mobilization. Cubaâ?Ts success in surviving the extraordinary rigors of
> the worst years of the â?oSpecial Periodâ? in the mid-1990s cannot
> possibly be explained in any other way than by the continued vitality of
> the revolution. The scarcity and hardship was such that any other
> government would have collapsed in a matter of months. No one who
> visited Cuba in those years could fail to be impressed by the stoicism
> and commitment of the Cuban people when power supplies only functioned
> for a few hours a day, food rotted in the fields for lack of
> transportation to market, workers spent six hours a day getting to and
> from workplaces on foot only to find that nothing could be done for want
> of fuel, and the shelves of the stores were literally bare. This took
> place in a country that was deluged with images of U.S. consumer society
> and counter-revolutionary propaganda, and where everyone knew that the
> Berlin Wall had fallen and that the socialist countries of Eastern
> Europe had collapsed like ninepins. Yet in Cuba there was only one
> serious protest, in August 1994, and although some took to rafts to
> cross the Florida Straits in desperation, the majority remained faithful
> to the revolution.
>
> A crucial factor in Cubaâ?Ts survival was the commitment and example of
> the leadership, especially Fidel. But another essential point was that
> the socialist orientation of policy was never abandoned: unlike
> Sandinista Nicaragua, which under severe pressure in the late eighties
> adopted IMF recommendations, liberating prices of basic commodities, and
> marketizing social services, Cuba maintained free universal health care
> and education and subsidized rates for housing and utilities. It also
> intensifiedâ?"rather than abandoningâ?"democratic consultation with the
> mass of the population regarding the measures to be taken. Just when
> former Communist leaders were falling over each other to embrace
> capitalism and Western governments were telling their populations there
> was no alternative to neoliberalism, the Cuban leaders embarked on an
> extensive process of consultation involving some 80,000 â?oworkersâ?T
> parliamentsâ? throughout the country in order to discuss the measures
> needed to resolve the economic crisis.
>
> Despite the conventional notion of Cuba as a dictatorship (albeit, for
> those on the left, a benevolent one), the Cubans have always maintained
> that they have their own form of socialist democracy. After what
> happened in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, skepticism about this
> is understandable. But one of the great errors of progressive thought in
> recent decades has been the unquestioning acceptance of liberal
> polyarchy as the only valid form of democracy; rejection of Stalinist
> authoritarianism should not mean abandoning the Marxist critique of
> bourgeois liberalism.
>
> Democracy in the true senseâ?"rule by the peopleâ?"necessarily begins in
> local communities, with people in neighborhoods and workplaces running
> their own affairs. In this respect Cuba has a vigorous system of local
> democracy. The direct nomination of candidates in community meetings and
> their election as municipal delegates of popular power in
> multi-candidate, secret-ballot elections, plus their obligation to
> report back in person every six months in not just one but several local
> meetings (with a real possibility of recall), guarantees a degree of
> local participation and control which compares favorably with many
> countries that have impeccable democratic credentials.11
>
> It is true that at a higher level there are limitations, with provincial
> and national delegates being presented on lists with only one candidate
> for each post, so that the electorateâ?Ts only option is to accept or
> reject each candidate. Policy debates involve extensive popular input
> through such instruments as workersâ?T parliaments and consultations by
> commissions of the National Assembly, but such debates clearly operate
> within centrally designed parameters. Ultimately, it is undeniable that
> so long as the United States is actively committed to the overthrow of
> the revolution, the full and free expression of socialist democracy will
> be impossible in Cuba; but given the way in which bourgeois elites
> manipulate liberal polyarchy to prevent any serious challenge to the
> capitalist system, it is arguable that electorates in Western countries
> have less influence than Cubans on policy decisions in crucial areas
> such as finance, defense, and foreign policy.
>
> But to argue the relevance of Cuba in todayâ?Ts world it is clearly not
> sufficient just to defend the countryâ?Ts socialist system against its
> critics. In the twenty-first century, does the island have anything to
> offer which is not just a holdover from the past?
>
> The answer is that there are at least two areas in which Cuba has made
> vital contributions to the emergence of a new socialist or
> anticapitalist alternative. One is in environmental issues: initially as
> a matter of necessity, but now also as a matter of policy, it has
> undertaken a fundamental switch toward organic agriculture and the
> adoption of ecologically sustainable practices throughout the economy.
> For several years now it has pioneered the development of urban
> agriculture, with small plots on any available land being turned over to
> organopÃ³nicos, projects devoted to the intensive cultivation of a wide
> variety of fruit and vegetables, mostly by organic methods. As a result
> of this the city of Havana now produces 60 percent of its fruit and
> vegetables within city limits,12 and the scheme is now being adopted in
> Venezuela and other countries. The â?oEnergy Revolutionâ? has
> decentralized power generation so that electricity is less dependent on
> big power plants and more on small local generators which are more
> efficient and less vulnerable in emergencies. Incandescent light bulbs
> have been replaced throughout the country and there is large-scale
> investment in solar and wind power.13 Cuban officials now state
> categorically that both capitalist and traditional socialist models of
> energy-intensive development are unsustainable.
>
> The second vital contribution to the emergence of a new alternative lies
> in Cubaâ?Ts support for Venezuela, Bolivia, and other Latin American
> countries now engaged in the struggle to create a new social and
> economic model. Commentators frequently focus on Venezuelaâ?Ts aid to
> Cuba in the form of cheap petroleum, but the importance of Cuban
> assistance to the Bolivarian revolution should not be underestimated.
> Without the assistance of thousands of Cubans, ChÃ¡vez would have found
> it almost impossible to implement the remarkable Barrio Adentro health
> mission or the Robinson literacy mission. Similarly, Evo Morales would
> have been unable to implement such programs in Bolivia, at least in the
> short runâ?"and given the critical political situation in both
> countries, the short run was and is crucial.
>
> But also in broader political terms, without Cuba, ChÃ¡vez (and hence,
> at one remove, Evo Morales in Bolivia, Rafael Correa in Ecuador, and
> Fernando Lugo in Paraguay) would have had much greater difficulty in
> gaining credibility for projects of popular political empowerment
> implemented through the appropriation and transformation of the state.
> The political disorientation of the global left was such that only a
> totally unexpected movement like that of ChÃ¡vez could offer a way
> forward; and without Cubaâ?Ts inspiration and support at crucial
> moments, ChÃ¡vez might well have failed. Without Cuba, then, no
> Venezuela; and without Venezuela, no Bolivia, no Ecuador, and no
> Paraguay, and no revival (however imperfect) of Sandinista Nicaragua.
>
> It is not, of course, that nothing would have occurred in these
> countries; but it is all too likely that without the Venezuelan example
> and without Cubaâ?Ts inspiration and practical assistance, the powerful
> popular movements that exist would have been unable to devise an
> adequate strategy to attain power and to use it effectively to reverse
> neoliberal policies. This does not mean that Venezuela or the other
> countries are simply copying Cuba. They are very clear that they are
> pursuing independent paths, borrowing from and supporting each other and
> Cuba, but without making the old mistake of trying to impose a uniform
> â?oorthodoxâ? template.
>
> Furthermore, the Cubans have been explicit in saying that they do not
> regard their own socialism as a blueprint to be copied. What Cuba
> provided was a living example, a demonstration that contrary to the
> conventional wisdom of the â?oNew World Order,â? the state is not
> powerless and that it is possible to build and maintain a noncapitalist
> alternative. What was not possible was to reproduce the Cuban strategy
> of armed revolution, and this was the great contribution of ChÃ¡vez and
> the Venezuelans: to devise a new strategy which was neither purely
> military nor purely electoral, but a combination of popular
> mobilization, elections, and military support.
>
> As the new project of â?otwenty-first century socialismâ? and the
> Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA) develops, Cuba also ties
> in with the cultural and ideological inspiration of the Latin American
> popular anti-imperialist tradition. As we have seen, the original Cuban
> ideology derived at least as much from MartÃ and the mambÃses as from
> international socialist theory, and in this respect it gels perfectly
> with ChÃ¡vezâ?Ts â?oBolivarianism.â? It can be argued that, while the
> Soviet tie was necessary at the time for the revolutionâ?Ts survival in
> the Cold War context, it did lead to undesirable distortions in Cuban
> socialism, and that today Cuba, freed from the Soviet straitjacket and
> assisted by its Latin neighbors, is rediscovering its originality. In
> this context the current Cuban reforms should not be seen as leading in
> a capitalist direction (at least not necessarily), but as adapting to
> the more flexible and dynamic project of â?otwenty-first century
> socialismâ? which will eventually find similar (but not identical)
> expression in Venezuela, Bolivia, and other countries. It will be based
> on a recognition that socialism can never be perfect, nor completely
> stable and secure, in an imperialist world, and that its survival and
> renewal will always depend on popular support and participation.14 The
> role of the state will still be important but it will allow much greater
> scope for local and grassroots initiative, and indeed, for what
> previously might have been condemned as capitalist material incentives.
> But this is based on a recognition that egalitarianism cannot be imposed
> by decree, and that the best guarantee against a return to capitalism
> lies in a vigorous culture of collective participation rather than in
> bureaucratic controls. Where the central state is and will remain
> crucial is in providing a coherent overall direction, minimizing the
> encroachment of global capital, and ensuring diplomatic, political, and
> military defense against imperialism.
>
> Of course, over the years Cuba has made mistakes, and not all of them
> are attributable to Soviet influence. The initial economic strategy of
> crash industrialization soon proved impractical and was replaced by the
> reliance on large-scale sugar exports as a source of accumulation for
> more gradual diversification. Then in 1970 voluntarism led to
> near-disaster in the failed goal of the ten million ton sugar harvest.
> The 1968 â?oGreat Revolutionary Offensiveâ? led to the precipitous
> nationalization of small business, with grave consequences for the
> availability of consumer goods and services. There were also serious
> errors in cultural policy which have been extensively criticized. But
> what saved Cuban socialism was a degree of popular participation rarely
> found elsewhere, and the continued responsiveness of the leadership to
> popular concerns and needs. Despite serious and often justified
> grievances, the majority of the Cuban people have continued to feel that
> this is their revolution and not just a paternalist project of a remote
> party/state apparatus, and the result is that today the country
> continues to exhibit both objective and subjective aspects of an
> anticapitalist alternative.
>
> The Western media have been eager to interpret recent reforms in
> agriculture, in wage and incentive scales, and in the availability of
> consumer electronics as evidence that Cuba is embarking on a capitalist
> transition.15 But there is no indication that large-scale private
> employment of labor or a private capital market with a stock exchange
> and similar capitalist institutions are being contemplated. The
> government has reiterated its commitment to free universal education and
> health care and other social services. Cuba has recently signed
> important new agreements with several countries, notably Brazil and the
> European Union, which improve its capacity to resist the U.S. blockade
> without abandoning its socialist priorities.
>
> Finally, the extraordinary generosity and commitment of thousands of
> Cuban internationalists providing medical and other services in
> conditions few others would accept is living testimony to the reality of
> the countryâ?Ts socialist project. The veteran British journalist Hugh
> Oâ?TShaughnessy recently offered a moving account of the Cuban missions
> in Bolivia. He quoted MarÃa de los Ã ngeles, a Cuban doctor working as
> Director of the Ophthalmological Hospital in El Alto, Bolivia, at nearly
> 4,000 metres altitude and in harsh conditions: â?oI think there is
> always an element of love involved,â? she said: â?oBefore I left Cuba
> for Guatemala and Bolivia, I didnâ?Tt know what real poverty was like.â?
> 16 While Cuba continues to practice solidarity like this, its relevance
> to the global anticapitalist movement can scarcely be questioned. But
> also, this presence in the ALBA countries is further evidence that Cuba
> cannot be separated from the inspiring new developments in Venezuela,
> Bolivia, and elsewhere: Latin America today demonstrates that another
> world really is possible, and Cuba is central to the creation of that
> world.
>
> Notes
>
> 1. RevoluciÃ³n (Havana), February 28, 1959. This and all
> other translations from Cuban periodicals are mine. 2.
> RevoluciÃ³n, April 24, 1959. 3. JosÃ© MartÃ, Inside the
> Monster, Philip S. Foner, ed. (New York: Monthly
> Review, 1975), 3. 4. RevoluciÃ³n, January 4, 1959. 5.
> RevoluciÃ³n, February 25, 1959. 6. RevoluciÃ³n, March 14,
> 1959. 7. RevoluciÃ³n, June 8, 1959. 8. La Calle
> (Havana), August 1, 1959. 9. See James Oâ?TConnor, The
> Origins of Socialism in Cuba (Ithaca: Cornell
> University Press, 1970). 10. One of the best
> discussions of this is to be found in Ken Cole, Cuba
> (London: Pinter, 1998), chapter 3. 11. On this issue,
> see Arnold August, Democracy in Cuba and the 1997â?"98
> Elections (Havana: Editorial JosÃ© MartÃ, 1999), and
> Peter Roman, Peopleâ?Ts Power (Lanham, MD: Rowman &
> Littlefield, 2003). 12. Simon Butler, â?oCuba carries out
> new land reform,â? Green Left Online, August 16, 2008,
> www.greenleft.org.au/2008/763/39410 13. â?oCuban
> agricultureâ? (interview with Roberto PÃ¨rez), Fight
> Racism! Fight Imperialism! (UK), no. 205
> (October/November 2008): 10. 14. See Michael A.
> Lebowitz, Build It Now (New York: Monthly Review Press,
> 2006), and D. L. Raby, Democracy and Revolution
> (London: Pluto Press, 2006), especially chapter 3. 15.
> See for example â?oCuban workers to get bonuses for extra
> effort,â? The Guardian (UK), June 13, 2008, and â?oCubaâ?Ts
> wage changes have nothing to do with a return to
> capitalism,â? Helen Yaffe, The Guardian, June 20, 2008.
> 16. Hugh Oâ?TShaughnessy, Misiones cubanas en Bolivia, 4
> de abril de 2008,
-----
>
> Portside aims to provide material of interest to people on the left that
> will help them to interpret the world and to change it.
>
> Submit via email: moderator@portside.org Submit via the Web:
> portside.org/submit Frequently asked questions: portside.org/faq
> Subscribe: portside.org/subscribe
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~-----------

Date: Mon, 12 Jan 2009 23:31:10 -1000
From: Dedibble DeKepalo <dekepalo@gmail.com>
10. Lahaina Rally

> Local News > News
Lahaina rally, ceremony scheduled to mark 1893 overthrow
POSTED: January 13, 2009

LAHAINA - A rally and ceremony to mark the anniversary of the overthrow of
the Hawaiian kingdom will be held Saturday at the Lahaina Civic Center in
conjunction with a rally and march at Iolani Palace on Oahu.
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Tue, 13 Jan 2009 03:32:27 -0600
From: revolutionbks@yahoo.com
11. Coming Up at Revolution Books

1. Book launching: Superferry Chronicles - Sunday, Jan 18
2. Stop the Massacre in Gaza!
3. Other events coming up

Book Launching/Reading/Signing
"Superferry Chronicles"
Sunday, January 18, 2009
3pm at Revolution Books
with authors Jerry Mander and Koohan Paik
and with Kyle Kajihiro and Ikaika Hussey

The authors will be here to read from this amazing book (which begins
like a film script with a full cast of villains). Kyle Kajihiro and
Ikaika Hussey will comment. Everyone will have a chance to jump in with
their questions and thoughts. The Superferry has been tremendously
controversial, and lots of people are still unconvinced as to its real
purpose. Don't miss the launching of "The Superferry Chronicles: Hawaii's
Uprising Against Militarism, Commercialism, and the Desecration of the
Earth".

"Koohan Paik and Jerry Mander offer the world a wide interpretation of
indigenous sensibility. We in Hawai'i are grateful and stand ready for
more effective collaboration. It's time to save this planet! I mua ka
lahui o Hawaii-nui-akua. (Let us all move forward, all people of the
world.)" --Dr. Manulani Aluli Meyer, Hawaiian practitioner and educator

"I applaud the authors for bringing the voices of the grassroots to the
foreground. The people make history, and the people of Kauai have made us
proud. Kauli'i makou, nui ke aloha no ka 'aina. (We are small in numbers,
but our love for the land is great.)" -Ikaika Hussey, Publisher, The
Hawaii Independent

"The idea of boats to connect the Hawaiian Islands is so natural and
lovely that it makes one doubly mad to read how in this case it's been
perverted into yet one more sad scheme for our paranoid future. Good for
the people of Hawai'i who have raised the alarm, and to these authors for
pulling back the curtain." --Bill McKibben, author of Deep Economy

(If you can't make this reading you can catch another on Monday evening,
Jan 19 (MLK Day) at 7pm at Native Books in Ward Warehouse.)
[152p01-th-en.jpg]

Stop the Massacre in Gaza!

The horror of Israel's invasion of Gaza mounts daily. The 1.5 million
people of Gaza (a higher population than the entire state of Hawai`i) are
fenced in on all sides and are being subjected to a brutal military
assault from land and air. Civilian casualties are in the thousands; over
700 have been killed so far. Food, medicine, and fuel are blockaded.
Journalists have been banned. Israel has declared this to be a "war to
the bitter end." The United States has backed Israel both with new,
sophisticated military weaponry. Now Congress has voted 390 to 5 to
support Israel's slaughter.

We are witnessing Israeli war crimes against the Palestinian people.
Silence in this situation is complicity. We must speak the truth and
strengthen and broaden the political resistance now. The ignorance around
what's happening in Gaza is horrifying. We urge you to get the facts.
Check out the excellent article in Revolution Newspaper, "The Real Truth
about the U.S.-Backed Israeli Invasion of Gaza" at Revolution. We also
have the following books in stock:

"Overcoming Zionism: Creating a Single Democratic State in
Israel/Palestine" by Joel Kovel;
"A Doctor in Galilee: The Life and Struggle of a Palestinian in Isreal"
by Hatim Kanaaneh
"The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine" by Ilan Pappe

Protest the Massacre: Join the World Can't Wait contingent at the MLK Day
Parade
Monday, January 19, Magic Island at 9am.
Signholding at the Federal Building, Friday afternoon, 4-6 pm

Mark your Calendars: Partial list of Revolution Books Events

Our Monday evening Revolution discussion has moved to Wednesday evenings
at 6:15pm. Join us! Every week we read an article from Revolution
Newspaper together (aloud) followed by a discussion. Everyone who wants a
serious discussion of events of the day and revolutionary theory is
invited to join us.

Jan 18 @ 3pm - Book Reading/Launching of "Superferry Chronicles"
Jan 19 @ 11am-4pm - Book table/booth at MLK Day Rally, Kapiolani Park
Jan 22 @ 6:30pm - Film showing of "Gaza Strip"
Jan 25 @ 3pm - CD launching/celebration with Katana (slam poetry/hip hop)
Feb 1 @ 3pm - Discussion of the Manifesto of the RCP
Feb 12 @ 10- 1pm: Book table at UH Manoa for Darwin Day
Feb 22 @ 3pm: Why evolution matters (Darwin Day program) with Dr. Mark
Martindale
March 8, 3pm: International Women's Day Celebration at Revolution Books
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Tue, 13 Jan 2009 06:19:40 -1000
From: mike reitz <mreitz@pacbell.net>
12. Alakai to enter dry dock

Alakai to enter dry dock
The shutdown will take place Feb. 2-17 for maintenance work
By Kristen Consillio
POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Jan 13, 2009

Hawaii Superferry will cease operations for just more than two weeks on
Feb. 2 for annual maintenance and re-certification required by the U.S.
Coast Guard.

The mandatory shut down will affect 700 customers with reservations from
Feb. 2-17. The company is offering a full refund or option to rebook at a
later date. It plans to resume service Feb. 18.

"We've had this two-week docking period in our business plan for the
year, this is not something unexpected," said Superferry Chief Executive
Tom Fargo.

The best time to do repair work is during the winter months, when the
ferry maintains nominal loads of passengers and commercial business, he
said.

The 349-foot vessel was forced into an early dry dock a year ago because
of high seas and equipment-related shutdowns. At the time, the company
said it closed early to take advantage of the off-peak travel season.

The Superferry plans to clean and paint the hull, as well as inspect
fittings below water level. Fargo said he doesn't expect any delays, and
couldn't provide firm numbers on the cost of repair and maintenance work.
He wouldn't disclose the projected loss in revenue due to the two-week
closure.

For the first 11 days of the month, the Superferry averaged a little more
than 280 people a segment, in addition to a cross section of large and
small businesses that include Love's Bakery, FedEx and small craftsmen.
The company expects customers to be well more than 400 a segment in the
peak spring and summer months.

"If anything, we've got a better situation now because the price of fuel
is a lot lower," Fargo said. "The ridership has ramped up on the model
that we projected for the business plan."

The Superferry's break-even business model is dependent largely on the
price of fuel. One-way tickets are currently priced at $49 for adults and
$39 for seniors, children and members of the military. Vehicles cost $65.

The Alakai seats up to 800 passengers and can handle about 200 vehicles.
The Superferry sails daily in the mornings from Honolulu to Maui and
Monday through Saturday mornings from Maui to Honolulu. It sails from
Maui to Honolulu in the afternoon on Sunday.

Hawaii Superferry will cease operations for just more than two weeks on
Feb. 2 for annual maintenance and re-certification required by the U.S.
Coast Guard.

The mandatory shut down will affect 700 customers with reservations from
Feb. 2-17. The company is offering a full refund or option to rebook at a
later date. It plans to resume service Feb. 18.

"We've had this two-week docking period in our business plan for the
year, this is not something unexpected," said Superferry Chief Executive
Tom Fargo.

The best time to do repair work is during the winter months, when the
ferry maintains nominal loads of passengers and commercial business, he
said.

"If anything, we've got a better situation now because the price of fuel
is a lot lower," Fargo said. "The ridership has ramped up on the model
that we projected for the business plan."

Date: Tue, 13 Jan 2009 14:17:21 -0500 (EST)
From: megavote@mailmanager.net
13. MegaVote: HI 2nd, 1/12/2009

Congress.org presents: M E G A V O T E
January 12, 2009

In this MegaVote for Hawaii's 2nd Congressional District:

Recent Congressional Votes -
* Senate: Cloture Motion; Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009
* House: Paycheck Fairness Act
* House: Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009

Upcoming Congressional Bills -
* Senate: Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009
* Senate: Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009
* House: ChildrenÂ^Òs Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009
* House: TARP Reform and Accountability Act
-----

Recent Senate Votes:

Cloture Motion; Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009
http://capwiz.com/congressorg/issues/votes/?votenum=1&chamber=S&congress=1111
Vote Passed (66-12, 20 Not Voting)

The Senate reached the necessary sixty votes to move forward on this bill,
which is a package of over 160 bills related to public lands, national
parks, and water development legislation.
Sen. Daniel Inouye voted
YES
send e-mail (http://capwiz.com/congressorg/mail/?id=201&mailid=custom)
see bio (http://capwiz.com/congressorg/bio/?id=201)

Sen. Daniel Akaka voted
YES
send e-mail (http://capwiz.com/congressorg/mail/?id=202&mailid=custom)
see bio (http://capwiz.com/congressorg/bio/?id=202)
-----

Recent House Votes:

Paycheck Fairness Act
http://capwiz.com/congressorg/issues/votes/?votenum=8&chamber=H&congress=1111
Vote Passed (256-163, 14 Not Voting)

On Friday, the House passed this bill to allow gender-based pay
discrimination victims to sue for more money and require employers to meet
a higher standard to justify pay disparities.

Rep. Mazie Hirono voted
YES
send e-mail (http://capwiz.com/congressorg/mail/?id=31644&mailid=custom)
see bio (http://capwiz.com/congressorg/bio/?id=31644)
-----

Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009
http://capwiz.com/congressorg/issues/votes/?votenum=9&chamber=H&congress=1111
Vote Passed (247-171, 15 Not Voting)

The House passed this employee pay discrimination measure that would allow
courts to consider each new paycheck as a new instance of discrimination.

Rep. Mazie Hirono voted
YES
send e-mail (http://capwiz.com/congressorg/mail/?id=31644&mailid=custom)
see bio (http://capwiz.com/congressorg/bio/?id=31644)
-----

Upcoming Votes:

Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 - S.22
The Senate is scheduled to vote on this public lands, national parks and
water development legislation.

Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 - H.R.11
The Senate is expected to work on this gender-based pay discrimination
bill or bring up their own version.

ChildrenÂ^Òs Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 -
H.R.___ The House is scheduled to work on this bill to extend the
ChildrenÂ^Òs Health Insurance Program.

TARP Reform and Accountability Act - H.R.384
The House will likely vote on this bill that would modify the Troubled
Assets Relief Program.
=================================================================-------

Date: Tue, 13 Jan 2009 15:13:31 -0500
From: KahiwaL@cs.com
14. Gambling? In Hawai'i? "Hawaiian" casinos? Sorry - akaka bill
says "NO!"

First of all, I'm not against gambling. Â And I am very unhappy that a
lot of money from Hawai'i goes to keep the government and economy of Las
Vegas in plush condition. Â So - Why don't we do something to get some of
Hawai'i's gambling money to stay home?

BUT - the so-called "akaka bill" prohibits gambling. Â I was afraid of it.

So, now with the so-called "state" launching this lead balloon - Where
does it leave the possibilities of "Indian-like casinos?

The "bill" says - No way!

So, while Indians are able to do it - Hawaiians (and I use the term
loosely - as all "Hawaiian" legislation should be in terms of "Hawaiian
Nationals") will be again left in the lurch. Â Again - the "HaveNots!"

ku
____________

Updated at 9:18 a.m., Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Consider everything, including gambling, to balance budget, Lingle says'
>By HERBERT A. SAMPLE
>Associated Press
>
>Gov. Linda Lingle said yesterday she is willing to discuss everything to
>help solve the state's budget woes â^À^Ô including legalized gambling.
>
>The state's weak fiscal condition is prompting consideration of
>once-discarded or once-opposed ideas, the governor said.
>
>"What I told my budget and finance people this morning was, let's not take
>anything off the table at this time, even though it's something I in the
>past have said I don't want to do," she told reporters at the Capitol.
>
>"There is a possibility (that) each of us â^À^Ô the Legislature, myself, the
>community â^À^Ô we may have to agree to changes that we didn't expect we ever
>would because the circumstances have changed so drastically," she added.
>
>Hawaii and Utah are the only states that allow no form of gambling,
>including lotteries. The tradition here has been so strong that pending
>legislation in Congress that would set up a governing entity for Native
>Hawaiians includes a provision that bars that entity from implementing
>gambling.
>
>But over the weekend, state Senate Ways and Means Committee Chairwoman Donna
>Mercado Kim, D-Kalihi Valley-Halawa, said she would look at gambling and
>other revenue generators before considering tax hikes.
>
>The governor's openness to consider gaming did not worry anti-gambling
>activists.
>
>"Somehow, it sounds to me more like a bargaining position rather than an
>adamant 'Yes, I will go for it,' " said Ira Rohter, first vice president of
>the Hawaii Coalition Against Legalized Gambling.
>
>Lingle noted that what is driving the review of all possible budget
>solutions is the fact that the state will receive an estimated $1.8 billion
>less revenue over the next two years or so.
>
>She has already floated the idea of requiring the state's 36,000 workers to
>take off one unpaid day per month, starting sometime after the beginning of
>the next fiscal year, on July 1. That would save the state $8 million. No
>specific proposal has been drafted, the governor said.
>
>Lingle also has asked the Legislature to approve a transfer of $40 million
>from the state's rainy day fund, and has proposed other financial
>maneuvering to save a total of $221 million in the current fiscal year.
>
>But on Friday, the state Council on Revenues downgraded state revenue
>estimates for the current and next fiscal years. That is expected to force
>the governor to cut an additional $125 million in the current year and a
>like amount from her proposed budget for the next fiscal year.
>
>"You cannot continue on, knowing that you have about $1.8 billion less
>revenue between now and the end of that biennium budget," she said.
>"Everybody is aware of that. It's simply how we are going to address it."
>
>She said she will consider all options and hopes to discuss everything with
>legislators. "I'm sure they have options that we haven't thought of yet, but
>we want every one of them on the table," Lingle said.
>
>The governor's proposal to postpone scheduled pay raises for judges,
>legislators and executive branch officials this year has caused some
>commotion in the Capitol.
>
>Legislators have noted that the governor and her top aides received 5
>percent raises in 2007 and 2008 but constitutional restrictions forced them
>to wait until this month to get their considerable increase.
>
>Lingle acknowledged Monday that she was unaware of that when she proposed
>the postponement last month. "My comments and my proposal is not to put them
>in a corner or to box them in," she said.
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~-----------------------

Date: Tue, 13 Jan 2009 10:35:17 -1000
From: Lc <palolo@hawaii.rr.com>
15. OHA's press conference yesterday

OHA's website lists the OHA press release (yesterday's), apoliona's
remarks, the bill oha will submit, and an audio of the news conference.
http://oha.org/
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~-------------------

From: "Kyle Kajihiro" <keboi@aol.com>
Sent: Tuesday, January 13, 2009 6:29 AM
16. Espero: illegal fireworks a threat to tourism and military
installations

Hawaii Fireworks Task Force Will Investigate Illegal Imports
By Sen. Will Espero, D-Ewa, 1/12/2009 1:46:20 PM

The illegal aerial fireworks displayed throughout Oahu this New Year
celebration highlighted a major problem within our state: the ease of
importing illegal explosives to Hawaii.

Throughout Oahu, I have heard and read of illegal fireworks activity
with very little if any law enforcement involved to stop it.

From a social, cultural, or recreational point of view, one may
state it^Òs a once a year celebration. It^Òs no big deal.

From the perspective of asthmatic individuals, pet owners, elderly
and children, public safety personnel, and others, it^Òs a situation
that has gotten out of hand.

Who is smuggling in these illegal aerial fireworks and how are they
doing it?

If it is so easy to smuggle illegal fireworks to our state, it is
probably easy to smuggle a dirty bomb or other explosives.

This makes the situation a homeland security threat, and our state
must develop a plan or action to better inspect and secure our
airport and harbor cargo and to stop the illegal importation of
explosives.

As it currently appears, one could easily import illegal explosives
which could do horrific damage to our infrastructure and state.

The damage to our tourism industry and economy would be devastating
if a bomb or other explosives were detonated in a hotel or at a
tourist destination. Our military installations and infrastructure
would also be in jeopardy.

To address this situation, I am drafting a bill to establish the
Illegal Fireworks Task Force.

The Task Force will meet at least 5 times between June 1, 2009 and
December 31, 2009.

The mission of the task force will be to develop a plan and
recommendations to better secure our harbors, airports, and state
from imported illegal explosives/fireworks and to address the gaping
holes or flaws in our system which have allowed illegal fireworks to
be heavily used and distributed in Hawaii.

Mt preference would be to have the Department of Transportation
provide administrative support for the task force since our harbors
are the most likely points of arrival for illegal explosives. Member
organizations to be invited to be a part of the task force are HPD,
State Fire Council, FBI, DEA, state harbors rep, state airport rep,
Department of Defense Rep, attorney general or rep, Coast Guard,
Dept. of Homeland Security and one member each appointed by the
governor, House Speaker, and Senate President.

A preliminary report would be submitted to the State Legislature by
January 10, 2010.

Some have called for a total ban of fireworks in our state except for
public displays.

During the 2008 session, I introduced a measure to ban fireworks
except for public displays during the 4th of July. This measure did
not get a hearing. I will be discussing the idea once again with my
colleagues to see if there is any interest in this area.
-----

Date: Tue, 13 Jan 2009 11:40:19 -1000
From: Mia <kaimi@lava.net>

We were surrounded by people in our loop with aerials...and not just one
at a time or once in a while. It was multiple firings...non-stop until
1:30am...and a cop couple live in our loop. Another neighbor told us that
one of the neighbors spends $5,000 each time [Jan/July] and has a huge
party for his construction employees. The fireworks in our loop seems so
much bigger than any of the organized fireworks shows I've seen in Waikiki
or Kailua. So go for it...the smoke and noise pollution greatly
contributes to health problems!
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Tue, 13 Jan 2009 13:46:32 -0800
From: Marya Legrand <marya@pacific.net>
17. You'll like this -"Guerrilla Tactics at Oil-Lease Auction"

Guerrilla Tactics at Oil-Lease Auction
Monday 12 January 2009
by: Karl Vick, The Washington Post

An environmentalist won 13 bids at an oil-lease auction, to protect land
like Colorado's Roan Plateau from oil exploration. (Photo: Joel Sartore /
National Geographic) Activist drives up prices with bidding.

Los Angeles - Instead of joining his protester friends on the snowy
sidewalk outside the Bureau of Land Management office in Salt Lake City,
Tim DeChristopher took a seat inside. In a room milling with oil and gas
men who knew one another by sight, he was the unknown in a red parka,
registering as a bidder in an auction for the rights to drill on 149,000
acres of federal land. DeChristopher was handed a red paddle bearing the
number 70.
Half an hour later, he was raising it.
"I leaned forward to one of my colleagues and
said, 'This guy behind us is just running up the
prices,'" said David Terry, a Salt Lake City
oil-land man who routinely attends the BLM
auctions. "And my friend said, 'Yeah, he's going
to get stuck with a tract.'"
The University of Utah economics student got
stuck with 13. Promising the federal government
$1.8 million he does not have, DeChristopher
emerged holding leases on 22,000 acres in the
scenic southeast corner of Utah.
He might have gone home with more had federal
agents not led him out of the room after he
secured the rights to a dozen parcels in a row,
finally just holding his paddle over his head,
even between offers. The U.S. attorney is
considering charges that a spokeswoman declined
to specify.
Even before DeChristopher subverted the
proceedings, the Dec. 19 auction sized up as one
of the most controversial during the Bush
administration, whose policies critics have
characterized as a bonanza for oil and gas
extraction on public land. Opponents of the
policies said the 35,000 drilling permits issued
over the past eight years reflected the boom in
petroleum prices and the administration's zeal to
accommodate the oil and gas industry, even on
public lands deemed "special" because of their
beauty or fragility.
"This whole business of 'Drill, baby, drill'
totally ignored the fact that we are a
well-drilled country," said Dave Alberswerth of
the Wilderness Society, noting that by the count
of the oil-field services company Baker Hughes,
more drill rigs are operating inside the United
States than in the rest of the world combined.
"BLM's oil and gas program has been just out of
control."
The parcels that DeChristopher snapped up
stand near two national parks and a national
monument that environmentalists and the National
Park Service warned might be endangered by
drilling. The outrage, which rivaled the outcry
over the BLM decision to lease atop Colorado's
majestic Roan Plateau, was aggravated by the
timing: The agency announced the Utah auction on
Nov. 4 - Election Day. Environmental groups
answered with administrative filings and news
conferences, including a National Press Club
event featuring Robert Redford.
DeChristopher wanted to do more.
"I've been an environmentalist for pretty
much all my life and done all the things that
you're supposed to do that are supposed to lead
toward change," DeChristopher said, accounting
for action that, as he tells it, surprised even
him. "I've marched and held signs. I've
volunteered in national parks. I've written
letters and signed petitions. I've sat down with
my congressman, Jim Matheson, for a long time.
"Ultimately, I felt like those things were
only mildly effective. And it was having a very
tiny effect on a very large problem."
The guerrilla bidding did not go down well
with the oil and gas regulars. The companies
recommend parcels for the BLM to sell and can
hold them for decades if they prevail at the
quarterly auctions.
"If we'd have put it up for a vote in the
room that day," said BLM spokeswoman Mary Wilson,
"the other bidders might have put together a
lynching party."
Among some environmentalists, however,
DeChristopher was hailed as a hero. A blogger
helped set up a Web site, and a pass-along e-mail
request for $5 contributions turned into an
online fund drive that, by Friday, raised the
$45,000 that DeChristopher needed to pay the BLM
in the hope of retaining a claim on the leases -
and improving his odds of avoiding jail.
The West Virginia native, 27, said he raised
paddle No. 70 fully aware of the implications. It
took him half an hour to screw up the courage to
bid, he said, and another half-hour to start
winning parcels.
"It came down to, if worse came to worse, I'd
go to jail," DeChristopher said. "And I decided,
yeah, I could live with that....
"But seeing all the disastrous effects of
climate change in our future, I didn't want to
have to live with that."
His actions impressed Patrick Shea, a Salt
Lake City lawyer who headed the BLM during the
Clinton administration and who decided to
represent DeChristopher.
"I interviewed him twice, just to make sure
what I saw on the news was the real McCoy, and it
was," Shea said. "He's really a very bright,
upstanding and principled individual who was
rightly upset about some of these leases being
offered."
Along with a criminal defense attorney, Shea
is working behind the scenes to persuade federal
authorities to recognize DeChristopher's bidding
as a well-intentioned political, rather than
criminal, act.
"I didn't want to see somebody with that kind
of virtue mangled by a Kafkaesque kind of
system," Shea said. "I think responsible civil
disobedience has been forgotten since the '60s
and '70s."
If so, one reason might be reforms rooted in
the activism of that era. Full-time advocates
pointed out that the BLM auction was originally
scheduled for two years earlier but that lawsuits
from environmental groups forced the agency to
first complete management plans required by
federal statutes aimed at protecting the
environment.
"It was a decision we got in August 2006 that
held up the BLM for this long," said Steve Bloch,
conservation director for the Southern Utah
Wilderness Alliance. "The fact that it took a
sale at the last minute of the last hour is in
large part due to the efforts we've been making."
Protests from the National Park Service also
had an effect, persuading the BLM to pare its
original offering of 360,000 acres by more than
half. Bloch noted that all the parcels
DeChristopher bought were among the 80 that
conservation groups specifically sought to
preserve. But the student said there was no
particular strategy to his bids.
"It was more just based on me watching one
parcel after another end up in the hands of
developers, watching all those parcels go by and
knowing that I could have stopped it," he said.
In fact, the whole notion of registering as a
bidder was something that DeChristopher said more
or less popped into his head.
"I used to work for a company that one of its
mottos was 'plan with spontaneity,' and that's
how I approached this," he said.
By chance, the auction was held the same day
as DeChristopher's final exam in his Current
Economic Problems course; the test happened to
include a question referring to the sale. It
asked whether the final bids paid by oil and gas
companies would reflect the "true cost" of the
leases.
"And the answer they were looking for was
'No,'" DeChristopher said, listing a string of
other costs that would flow from petroleum
extraction, including the costs of health care
and global-warming mitigation.
"That question was just something already in
the back of my mind when I was driving up those
oil prices, to reflect a little more of the true
costs," he said.
Shea said the BLM appears divided on how to
deal with DeChristopher. "If the hawks prevail,
it will flow into a prosecution," he said. "If
the doves prevail, it will be some kind of
community service, I would hope."
DeChristopher, meanwhile, said he plans to
hold on to the 22,000 acres as long as possible,
if only to register impatience with what he sees
as compromises that accommodate continued
reliance on petroleum.
"I'd say the forces out to destroy the planet
on the Bush-Cheney side have been fighting a lot
harder than those out to protect it," he said.
-----»

IN ACCORDANCE WITH TITLE 17 U.S.C. SECTION 107, THIS MATERIAL IS
DISTRIBUTED WITHOUT PROFIT TO THOSE WHO HAVE EXPRESSED A PRIOR INTEREST IN
RECEIVING THE INCLUDED INFORMATION FOR RESEARCH AND EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES.
TRUTHOUT HAS NO AFFILIATION WHATSOEVER WITH THE ORIGINATOR OF THIS ARTICLE
NOR IS TRUTHOUT ENDORSED OR SPONSORED BY THE ORIGINATOR. "VIEW SOURCE
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UPDATED BY THEIR ORIGINATING HOST SITES, THE VERSIONS POSTED ON TO MAY NOT
MATCH THE VERSIONS OUR READERS VIEW WHEN CLICKING THE "VIEW SOURCE
ARTICLE" LINKS.

COMMENTS
This is a moderated forum. It may take a little while for comments to go live.

Tue, 01/13/2009 - 20:38 - Jade Queen (not verified)
I am curious about the rights obtained if a
community gets together to buy these leases. If
mineral leases allow tearing up of land, would
holding a lease dis-allow road-building if timber
interests wanted to do that over the land?

Tue, 01/13/2009 - 20:02 - Dan Davis (not verified)
This guy is a hero. The only question is why
didn't someone think of this sooner? Never mind.
Now we need to help keep this land out of the
hands of the soulless. Tim has got the money to
deposit for his leases, thanks to small donors.
How about now getting some big money behind an
effort to keep these lands in trust for the
American people. http://www.bidder70.org/

Tue, 01/13/2009 - 19:02 - Cathy (not verified)
DeChristopher is another hero in the struggle
against the giants. And thank goodness for Shea
stepping up to help defend him.

Tue, 01/13/2009 - 18:48 - Anonymous (not verified)
I followed the link in the article to
bidder70.org, and there is a Donate button on the
first page. Now, having answered Floresta's
question, I'm going to go back and donate. To
everyone reading this post - if you claim at all
to want to change things, you really should
donate at least a few dollars to this cause. If
we succeed here, it drastically changes the
coming landscape. (Oh, that was horrible! I
apologize.) So... to me it really is a moment of
"put up or shut up." ~~ Lane Baldwin -
alifewithspirit.blogspot.com

Tue, 01/13/2009 - 18:31 - Anonymous (not verified)
Award him Medal of Freedom and pay off his remaining college tution.

Tue, 01/13/2009 - 18:11 - Floresta (not verified)
This article was a real day brightener! Thank you
Mr DeChristopher for your inspired call to
action! Where can we send our donations to your
legal defense fund?

Tue, 01/13/2009 - 16:56 - peterjkraus (not verified)
Way to go! HE should get a medal of freedom, not
these syncophants who do nothing to further
America. And HE should head an organization that,
like the Greenpeace of old, gets into the
scammer's hair and stays there.

Tue, 01/13/2009 - 16:02 - Anonymous (not verified)
I am so proud of this kid. Civil disobedience is
the bedrock of this country and he is a shining
example of doing the right thing for the right
reason. Yea, Tim!
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Tue, 13 Jan 2009 16:51:01 -0500
From: kahiwal@cs.com
18. Gambling? In Hawai'i? [ISO-8859-1]
(2) myths vs reality] - comment

Despite Ira's (and others') arguments - I still believe that lots of money
is "spent" in Nevada (and other places) that could very well relieve the
tax situation in Hawai'i.

I don't know that the 'legal' gambling in Nevada increases 'illegal'
gambling - as I am not acquainted with 'illegal' gambling there. So - I
tend to think that this argument may be minimalized.

As it is argued that sub-20s types make up a large proportion of 'bad'
gamblers - strict age limits would solve that.

I'd say that addicts on social security would be a larger threat - as I've
observed such persons, near the end of the month, trying to survive until
their next check comes in. However, if treated as a 'regular' monthly
expense - it might not be any worse (and I'm not saying it's not a
problem) than 'normal' homeless more common than being experienced
subsisting on the streets of Honolulu (and elsewhere).

On the other hand, I don't think that there are too many tourists who
specifically visit Hawai'i (to spend their money) because Hawai'i is
gambling-free.

But, any illegal gambling that exists or that may increase - indicates
that enforcement of illegal activities must be either continued or
increased - and confiscation of any associated equipment, money, etc., can
bolster the state's treasury.

I suppose that what I'm saying is that the issue is one that should and
could be debated. The other 48 states can't be totally mistaken, can
they?

If they were - I'm sure that they would then reverse their leglities into
illegalities. I haven't seen too many lined up to do it (yet).

ku
------

Date: Tue, 13 Jan 2009 11:26:36 -1000
From: Rohter <irohter@hawaii.rr.com>

At 10:13 AM 1/13/2009, KahiwaL@cs.com wrote:

First of all, I'm not against gambling. Â And I
am very unhappy that a lot
of money from Hawai'i goes to keep the government
and economy of Las Vegas in plush condition. Â So
- Why don't we do something to get some of
Hawai'i's gambling money to stay home?

Most Hawaii residents travel to Los Vegas for entertainment,
to meet family and friends living on the Continent, and only
incidentally to spend lots of $$ on gambling. The NET
revenue that would come to the State, if casinos and boats
were allowed, has been shown by academic studies (i.e, not
paid for by gambling interests), is NEGATIVE when you add in
losses to local small businesses, and social costs. SEE
LIST BELOW. In addition, most of the revenue (drawn mostly
from HI residents) , would be captured by off-shore owners.
More "leakage" from our economy would result -- a further
amplification of Dependency.

Why Legalizing Gambling in Hawaii Would Be A Bad Deal

^Õ Gambling comes with a high social cost: 15.4 million
Americans are problem or pathological gamblers with more than
one half are between 12 and 18 years old. [Harvard Medical
School)

^Õ Addiction leads to crimes: 57% of Gambling Anonymous
members report that they have committed thefts to support
their addiction. (National Gambling Impact Study Commission
Report - June 1999)

^ÕThe social and economic costs, include divorce, abuse,
welfare, court, incarceration, work absences, homelessness,
bankruptcy , of legalized gambling are enormous.

The dollar costs of social problems generated by pathological
and problem gamblers exceed the income benefits by $3 -$6
for every dollar going to governments. [Grinols & Mustard,
^ÓBusiness Profitability Versus Social Profitability:
Evaluating Industries With Externalities, The Case Of
Casinos.^Ô Managerial and Decision Economics .]

^Õ State lotteries function as a regressive tax on the poor.
National experts Drs. Cook and Clotfelter from Duke
University found that those who can afford it least tend to
play the most, while benefits go to those who are better off.

^Õ Gambling is a corrupting influence in many state and city
governments causing theft, embezzlement, money laundering and
scandal.

^Õ The Honolulu Police Department and the District
Attorney^Òs office have testified that legalizing gambling
actually leads to an increase in illegal gambling.

^Õ We are not talking about prohibition. Social gambling,
Saturday Night poker games, wagers among friends and trips to
Las Vegas are all legal.

^Õ Revenue will be drained from local restaurants and
retailers who will not be able to compete against subsidized
casino services. Since lion^Òs share of revenue will go to
off-island owners, Hawai^Ñi i may experience a net loss.

^Õ According to the University of Michigan research after
casinos were introduced in Detroit, 58,000 residents became
problem gamblers . Given similar commercial gambling,
Hawai^Ñi would have had 19,000 problem gamblers.

^Õ UH Travel Industry Management School Research found only
5% of tourists favored gambling and only 15% of Hawai^Ñi i
residents were in favor. (Honolulu Star Bulletin, July 3,
2001)

^Õ Timothy A. Kelly; Ph. D. former Executive Director of The
National Gambling Impact Study Commission told the State
Legislature

^ÓNot having legalized gambling in Hawaii is increasingly being
seen as something to be proud of by others - something that is
very attractive in a world obsessed with sex and money. Let them
go to Vegas for glitz and gambling. Let them come to Hawaii for
the wonder and beauty of Hawaii.^Ô

Ira Rohter
-----

BUT - the so-called "akaka bill" prohibits
gambling. Â I was afraid of it.

So, now with the so-called "state" launching this
lead balloon - Where does it leave the
possibilities of "Indian-like casinos?

The "bill" says - No way!

So, while Indians are able to do it - Hawaiians
(and I use the term loosely - as all "Hawaiian"
legislation should be in terms of "Hawaiian
Nationals") will be again left in the lurch. Â
Again - the "HaveNots!"

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

Date: Tue, 13 Jan 2009 16:52:58 -0500
From: KahiwaL@cs.com
19. DIA (Canada) - Gross Mismanagement! AND nobody got fired?
Normal!

Indian Affairs mismanaged millions
No evidence of criminal wrongdoing by Manitoba bureaucrats
By Chinta Puxley, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Last Updated: 12th January 2009, 7:10pm

>A forensic audit has found top federal bureaucrats mismanaged at least $10
>million at the Department of Indian Affairs office in Manitoba and fostered
>a poisonous work environment.
>
>But auditors found no evidence of fraud or criminal wrongdoing and all three
>unnamed managers have since returned to the department.
>
>"No illegal activities were uncovered as a result of this audit," said Anne
>Scotton, chief audit and evaluation executive at Indian Affairs. "There is
>no evidence that money that is not accounted for went to any of the staff
>members including the three that are . . . in the report."
>
>Among the problems, the audit found that the Crown was shortchanged almost
>$8 million as part of a northern transmission deal with Manitoba Hydro which
>was intended to bring remote First Nations onto the provincial power grid.
>Senior managers also failed to maintain proper books and wrote off a
>"recoverable" $2.7 million in the deal.
>
>Auditors also found the department overpaid the Fairford First Nation $1.2
>million in a land-claim settlement because it wasn't made clear that the
>money had to be repaid. In another case, a senior manager signed a deal for
>a First Nations project in Winnipeg worth almost $500,000. That figure
>far-exceeded the manager's authority.
>
>The audit also uncovered a poisoned work environment run by a "small inner
>circle of favourites." Federal bureaucrats in the Manitoba office were
>"pushed to do what they were told, regardless of whether that meshed with
>public service values or their specific responsibilities," the audit said.
>
>Staff who were critical underwent workplace assessments "to cast doubt on
>the mental health of individuals and ease them out," the audit found. The
>department also suffered from high turnover and absenteeism, the report
>said.
>
>All the department's regional offices across the country are undergoing
>similar audits, but Scotton said there is no evidence to suggest there are
>systemic problems within the bureaucracy.
>
>"We're finding much more attention is being paid to due diligence, to the
>compliance with the rules and regulations and we're finding that the
>financial authorities are not being exceeded," she said. "People are aware
>of their obligations and responsibilities as civil servants."
>
>But that hasn't satisfied some who were hoping bureaucrats would be held to
>the same standards as First Nation reserves.
>Morris Swan Shannacappo, grand chief of the Southern Chiefs' Organization,
>said reserves have to account for every penny they spend but the government
>has allowed at least $10 million that goes unaccounted for.
>
>"The accountability has to be there by the department with regards to how
>our money is being spent," Shannacappo said.
>
>Although they have been pushing for an update since the audit began over a
>year ago, Manitoba aboriginal leaders weren't invited to the technical
>briefing in Winnipeg by Ottawa bureaucrats. The department didn't seem to
>have a plan to give a similar briefing to native leaders, Shannacappo said.
>
>"It makes it look like they were trying to hide something or afraid some of
>the leadership might ask some questions," he said.
>The audit was launched following allegations of financial mismanagement at
>the department. A preliminary assessment done in 2007 found there was enough
>evidence to warrant a full-scale forensic audit.
>
>Three managers were led out of the department offices and put on paid leave
>while the audit was conducted. One manager has been re-instated while two
>others were demoted but still work for the department.
>
>Gina Wilson, the department's senior assistant deputy minister, said
>"immediate actions" were taken once the problems came to light and the
>regional team continues to address the issues highlighted in the audit.
>
>"We'll be moving to a much strengthened organization," she said.
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~---------------------

Date: Tue, 13 Jan 2009 21:18:47 -0600
From: Warren Blumenfeld <wblumen@iastate.edu>
20. New Book Addressing Christian Privilege

Investigating Christian Privilege and Religious Oppression in the United
States
Warren J. Blumenfeld, Khyati Y. Joshi, & Ellen E. Fairchild, editors

Today, the United States stands as the most religiously diverse country
in the world. This diversity poses great challenges as well as
opportunities. Christian denominations and their cultural manifestations,
however, often function to marginalize, exclude, and deny members and
institutions of other religions and non-believers the privileges and
access that accompany a Christian affiliation. Christianity is the
privileged religious perspective in the United States since Christian
groups, people, and organizations often have the power to define
normalcy. Christian privilege comprises a large array of benefits that
are often invisible, unearned, and unacknowledged by Christians. At times
overt while at other times more subtle as Christian religious practice
and beliefs have entered the public square, the clearly religious
meanings, symbolism, positionality, and antecedents of these practices
and beliefs betray claims to mere secularism. The effect of the so-called
"secularization" of Christian religious practices and beliefs not only
fortifies, but strengthens Christian privilege by perpetuating Christian
influence in such a way as to avoid detection as religion or circumvent
violating the constitutional requirements for the separation of religion
and government. Christian dominance, therefore, is maintained often by
its relative invisibility. With this invisibility, privilege is neither
analyzed nor scrutinized, neither interrogated nor confronted.
Investigating Christian Privilege and Religious Oppression in the United
States addresses Christian privilege as well as religious oppression
since the two are in symbiotic relationship: oppression toward
non-Christians gives rise to Christian privilege in the United States,
and Christian privilege maintains oppression toward non-Christian
individuals and faith communities. This anthology also provides
historical and contemporary cases exposing Christian privilege and
religious oppression on the societal, institutional, and
personal/interpersonal levels. A number of chapters include sections
suggesting change strategies, and in particular, ways to achieve the
national goal of religious pluralism in the United States. ISBN-10:
9087906765, Sense Publishers, Rotterdam.

Dr. Warren J. Blumenfeld Assistant Professor Multicultural and
International Curriculum Studies Department of Curriculum and Instruction
Iowa State University Ames, IA 50011 wblumen@iastate.edu 515.294.5931
office 515.232.8230 home
-----

Network mailing list Network@lists.edliberation.org
http://lists.edliberation.org/listinfo.cgi/network-edliberation.org
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2008 00:52:46 -0500 (EST)
From: Ken Cousens <kencousens@earthlink.net>
21. A good intro video to the agenda unfolding

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oheM9H5RYWA
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Tue, 13 Jan 2009 21:07:41 -0800
From: Kathy Roberts <weerkhr@pacbell.net>
22. Wing Suit Fliers

[this is truly amazing! g]

This is a higher quality, longer video than I sent before.

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=1778399&server=vimeo.com&sho
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Tue, 13 Jan 2009 23:13:45 -0800 (PST)
From: Dhira DiBiase <dhiradi@yahoo.com>
23. THE SPIRIT of women of African and American [and Samoan] Descent
Exhibition

[this includes work by a Samoan woman from Aotearoa: "Terri The SPIRIT of
a Brown Woman," by Terri Leo-Mauu, New Zealand."]

THE SPIRIT of women of African and American Descent Exhibition

65 visitors in one week

Direct Link: www.hugeaux.com/thespiritexhibition.htm

POWERFUL!!!!!........ tell a friend
Hugeaux
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Wed, 14 Jan 2009 05:02:00 -0500 (EST)
From: HIAHAWAII@aol.com
24. OHA Trustees Wants Ban On Ceded-Land Sales

www.starbulletin.com > News > Jan 13, 2009
OHA Wants Ban On Ceded-Land Sales
By Richard Borreca

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs is hoping to get support from the state
Legislature to stop the state from selling or exchanging ceded lands
until native Hawaiian land claims have been settled.

The state will argue before the U.S. Supreme Court next month that the
state should be able to sell or transfer land that it controls, even if
it is ceded land that formerly belonged to the Hawaiian kingdom.

OHA trustees said yesterday that they would ask for legislation that
would support a state Supreme Court ruling forbidding the state from
selling any of the state's 1.2 million acres of ceded lands.

"We continue to believe that the justices of the Hawaii Supreme Court
ruled correctly, and this bill is the legislative vehicle to implement
the decision," OHA Chairwoman Haunani Apoliona said.

Sen. Clayton Hee, chairman of the Hawaiian Affairs Committee, said he is
also considering similar legislation and expects support from other
legislative leaders.

"The Senate president (Colleen Hanabusa) is also going to have a
proposal; we will hold a hearing and then, if there is support,
consolidate the ideas into one bill," Hee said.

The proposal, Apoliona said, would prevent the sale of the ceded lands,
but it would not stop the state from transferring ceded lands between
state agencies or stop the state from leasing ceded lands.

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs is hoping to get support from the state
Legislature to stop the state from selling or exchanging ceded lands
until native Hawaiian land claims have been settled.

OHA trustees said yesterday that they would ask for legislation that
would support a state Supreme Court ruling forbidding the state from
selling any of the state's 1.2 million acres of ceded lands.

"We continue to believe that the justices of the Hawaii Supreme Court
ruled correctly, and this bill is the legislative vehicle to implement
the decision," OHA Chairwoman Haunani Apoliona said.

Sen. Clayton Hee, chairman of the Hawaiian Affairs Committee, said he is
also considering similar legislation and expects support from other
legislative leaders.

"The Senate president (Colleen Hanabusa) is also going to have a
proposal; we will hold a hearing and then, if there is support,
consolidate the ideas into one bill," Hee said.

DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Demonstrators from the Hawaiian Independence Alliance coalition marched
to Iolani Palace before holding a news conference at the state Capitol on
Dec. 26 to protest the stateâ^À^Ùs continued push to sell some ceded
lands, as well as protest the Akaka Bill. Richard Kinney held an
upside-down Hawaiian flag, symbolizing distress.

[ Part 1.2, Image/JPEG 31KB. ]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Wed, 14 Jan 2009 02:04:17 -0800
From: `Ehu Kekahu Cardwell <ehukekahu@koanifoundation.org>
25. Free Hawai`i TV - "50 Years Of Lies"

FREEHAWAII.INFO PRESENTS
FREE HAWAI`I TV
THE FREE HAWAI`I BROADCASTING NETWORK
TODAYÕS VIDEO COMMENTARY
"FIFTY YEARS OF LIES"

Are The History Books Wrong?

Isn't Hawai`i The 50th State?

What's Wrong Here & What Are They Trying So Hard To Hide?

Watch For The Surprising Answers.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Wed, 14 Jan 2009 06:42:53 -0500
From: FeedBlitz <feedblitz@mail.feedblitz.com>
26. Disappeared News - Hawaii Superferry drydock: planned or
unplanned? And can they see whales while bouncing and splashing around?

"DISAPPEARED NEWS" - 1 NEW ARTICLE

1. Hawaii Superferry drydock: planned or unplanned? And can they see
whales while bouncing and splashing around?
2. More Recent Articles
3. Search Disappeared News

Hawaii Superferry drydock: planned or unplanned? And can they see
whales while bouncing and splashing around?

by Larry Geller First, thanks to Mike Reitz for sending me the
Star-Bulletin article from todayâ^À^Ùs paper that illustrates a glaring
contradiction in HSFâ^À^Ùs statement: "We've had this two-week docking
period in our business plan for the year, this is not something
unexpected," said Superferry Chief Executive Tom Fargo.â^À¦Hawaii
Superferry will cease operations for just more than two weeks on Feb.
2....

More Recent Articles

* Is the Indonesian ferry disaster a warning for Hawaiiâ^À^Ùs
interisland ferry?
* Palestinians would not be impoverished if Israel did not try to steal
their offshore gas resources
* (Heart) breaking news--US shipping monstrous loads of arms to Israel
for use against Palestinian children
* Seattle PI to be sold or closed down
* Re-thinking Hawaiiâ^À^Ùs utilities means thinking smaller
________________________________________________________________________________

Date: Wed, 14 Jan 2009 09:27:39 -0800 (PST)
From: Kekahuna Keaweiwi <kekahunakeaweiwi@yahoo.com>
27. Gambling? In Hawai'i? "Hawaiian" casinos?
Sorry - akaka bill says "NO!" - more comment

Aloha Ku,

Very good points.,,,,and for the record, it is healthy for us to
"DISCUSS" the 'gambling in Hawaii' becuase of the mere fact that monies
that are supposedly mandated for the so-called Native Hawaiian
Beneficiaries by the SOH trinkles down to everyone else except the
beneficiaries in need.

This is the point I was trying to make earlier ( a discussion last year)
and though I personally do not and will not support gambling in Hawaii,
the language in the Akaka Bill that specifically prohibits this for
Hawaiians should tell everyyone else, at the very least, the State and US
Gov. does not want Hawaiians to be economically self-sufficient.

If we Hawaiians were to have our own economy...and there is no just
reason why we shouldn't...GAMBLING would not be an issue for those that
want/don't want it.

I oppose gambling not only morally, but more so because we Hawaiians are
being DENIED the RIGHT to choose for OURSELVES if we want gambling in our
lives...or not!

GAMBLING IS THE DISTRACTION....RIGHT TO CHOOSE IS THE SUBJECT MATTER!

Foster
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: mark
Sent: Wednesday, January 14, 2009 9:39 AM
28. GEN Shinseki to modernize the VA

Shinseki vows to modernize the VAWhat's this?
By JOHN YAUKEY
Gannett News Service

WASHINGTON ^× Retired Army Gen. and Hawaii native Eric Shinseki, tapped
by President-elect Barack Obama to lead the Department of Veterans
Affairs, told a Senate panel Wednesday he would modernize what critics
have called a lumbering bureaucracy.

He said the waiting period on benefit claims ^× sometimes six months or
longer ^× was unacceptable.

"We must transform the VA into a 21st century organization," he told the
Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs. "It will be people-centric,
results-driven and forward-looking."

Shinseki said his top priorities include implementing the new Veterans'
Assistance Act, which expands the educational benefits for military
veterans who have served since Sept. 11, 2001.

Shinseki also promised to push for expanding benefits to many
middle-income veterans who were excluded under the Bush administration
because they made more than about $30,000 annually.

Shinseki's confirmation appeared virtually assured as senators spoke of
"when" he takes office, not if.

"I'm confident that you have a strong sense of empathy and this will
serve you well as secretary," said Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, chairman
of the Veterans Affairs Committee.

Shinseki, 66, served two tours in Vietnam and was twice wounded. He
became the Army's first four-star general of Japanese-American ancestry
and served as chief of staff of the Army before retiring in 2003 after 38
years in the military. While serving as the Army chief of staff, he was
instrumental in helping create a faster, lighter fighting force.

If confirmed, he would be the first Hawaii-born person to serve in a
presidential Cabinet. He is expected to be confirmed early next week by
the full Senate.

"I cannot imagine a better choice," said Sen. John Rockefeller, D-W.Va.
"It (a vote to confirm Shinseki) will be one of the best votes I've made
on this committee."

Shinseki, who was flanked by Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, and former
Sen. Bob Dole from Kansas, was widely praised for "speaking truth to
power."

His retirement from the Army came months after he testified to Congress
that it would take several hundred thousand U.S. troops to control Iraq
after the invasion in March 2003.

"He told the truth and it wasn't easy," Inouye said.

Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and his deputy, Paul Wolfowitz,
vilified Shinseki, saying the estimate was much too high.

But in 2007, Bush championed sending a "surge" of additional troops to
Iraq to control what at the time was raging sectarian violence. This
vindicated Shinseki.

In nominating Shinseki, who has served at virtually every level in the
Army, Obama declared him to be a man "who finally modernizes our VA to
meet the challenges of our time."

--
(US) Address:
PO Box 1100
Kane´ohe, Hawaiian Islands 96744
skype phone (lv msg): (760) 536-4331
fax: 208-445-2173

QUOTE OF THE DAY "If you want to be important -- wonderful. If you want to
be recognized -- wonderful. If you want to be great -- wonderful. But,
recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. That's
a new definition of greatness."
-Martin Luther King, Jr.

Happy King Day!!
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~-----------------------

Date: Wed, 14 Jan 2009 14:48:48 -0500
From: kahiwal@cs.com
29. Gambling? In Hawai'i? "Hawaiian" casinos?
Sorry - akaka bill says "NO!" - more comment

Kekahuna Keaweiwi <kekahunakeaweiwi@yahoo.com> wrote:

>I oppose gambling not only morally, but more so because we Hawaiians are
>being DENIED the RIGHT to choose for OURSELVES if we want gambling in our
>lives...or not! GAMBLING IS THE DISTRACTION....RIGHT TO CHOOSE IS THE
>SUBJECT MATTER!

If not - then why even think about discussing "self-determination" at all
levels?

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

Date: Wed, 14 Jan 2009 12:56:40 -1000
From: Kennedy Theatre <theatre@hawaii.edu>
30. "Translations" at Kennedy Theatre

A play about Ireland
about language
about place
about here...
By Brian Friel
Directed by Lurana Donnels O'Malley

Jan 21, 22, 23, 24 at 8pm
Jan 25 at 2pm

$14 Regular;
$12 Seniors, Military, UH Fac/Staff
$10 Students
$5 UHM Students with validated ID

Seating is limited! Advance ticket purchase is highly recommended.
Tickets may also be purchased at 483-7123, at outlets, or at the Kennedy
Theatre Box Office.

Tickets for all other Spring productions are on sale now online, at
483-7123, or at etickethawaii outlets.

PHONE NUMBERS

Box Office
(808) 956-7655

Publicity Office
(808) 956-2598

Department Office
(808) 956-7677

Fax
(808) 956-4234
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Wed, 14 Jan 2009 19:03:59 -0500
From: hoonanea@aol.com
31. Gambling? In Hawai'i? "Hawaiian" casinos?
Sorry - akaka bill says "NO!" - new version of the akaka bill

Sorry, I think the attachment is unreadable. Check out the new version
of Akaka bill at:
http://akaka.senate.gov/public/documents/S310.pdf
I think the gambling part was deleted.

-----Original Message-----
From: hoonanea@aol.com
Sent: Tue, 13 Jan 2009 3:44 pm

Please correct me if I'm wrong ... I think the new Akaka Bill (attached)
does not mention gambling like the old one did. Did you know McDonald's on
King St. has bingo every Sunday? I haven't gone yet, but I do love bingo
... fwiw rg
------

Date: Wed, 14 Jan 2009 21:20:57 -0500
From: kahiwal@cs.com

hoonanea@aol.com wrote:

>I think the gambling part was deleted.

It is still in there. See Sec. 9(A)(1)

ku
____________

S.310

Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act of 2007 (Introduced in
Senate)

January 17, 2007

Mr. AKAKA (for himself, Mr. INOUYE, Mr. DORGAN, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr.
COLEMAN, Mr. STEVENS, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Mr. SMITH, and Mr. DODD) introduced
the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Indian Affairs

A BILL
To express the policy of the United States regarding the United States
relationship with Native Hawaiians and to provide a process for the
recognition by the United States of the Native Hawaiian governing entity.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization
Act of 2007'.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds that--
(1) the Constitution vests Congress with the authority to address the
conditions of the indigenous, native people of the United States;
(2) Native Hawaiians, the native people of the Hawaiian archipelago that
is now part of the United States, are indigenous, native people of the
United States;
(3) the United States has a special political and legal relationship to
promote the welfare of the native people of the United States, including
Native Hawaiians;
(4) under the treaty making power of the United States, Congress
exercised its constitutional authority to confirm treaties between the
United States and the Kingdom of Hawaii, and from 1826 until 1893, the
United States--
(A) recognized the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Hawaii;
(B) accorded full diplomatic recognition to the Kingdom of Hawaii; and
(C) entered into treaties and conventions with the Kingdom of Hawaii to
govern commerce and navigation in 1826, 1842, 1849, 1875, and 1887;
(5) pursuant to the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 1920 (42 Stat. 108,
chapter 42), the United States set aside approximately 203,500 acres of
land to address the conditions of Native Hawaiians in the Federal
territory that later became the State of Hawaii;
(6) by setting aside 203,500 acres of land for Native Hawaiian homesteads
and farms, the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act assists the members of the
Native Hawaiian community in maintaining distinct native settlements
throughout the State of Hawaii;
(7) approximately 6,800 Native Hawaiian families reside on the Hawaiian
Home Lands and approximately 18,000 Native Hawaiians who are eligible to
reside on the Hawaiian Home Lands are on a waiting list to receive
assignments of Hawaiian Home Lands;
(8)(A) in 1959, as part of the compact with the United States admitting
Hawaii into the Union, Congress established a public trust (commonly
known as the `ceded lands trust'), for 5 purposes, 1 of which is the
betterment of the conditions of Native Hawaiians;
(B) the public trust consists of lands, including submerged lands,
natural resources, and the revenues derived from the lands; and
(C) the assets of this public trust have never been completely
inventoried or segregated;
(9) Native Hawaiians have continuously sought access to the ceded lands
in order to establish and maintain native settlements and distinct native
communities throughout the State;
(10) the Hawaiian Home Lands and other ceded lands provide an important
foundation for the ability of the Native Hawaiian community to maintain
the practice of Native Hawaiian culture, language, and traditions, and
for the survival and economic self-sufficiency of the Native Hawaiian
people;
(11) Native Hawaiians continue to maintain other distinctly native areas
in Hawaii;
(12) on November 23, 1993, Public Law 103-150 (107 Stat. 1510) (commonly
known as the `Apology Resolution') was enacted into law, extending an
apology on behalf of the United States to the native people of Hawaii for
the United States' role in the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii;
(13) the Apology Resolution acknowledges that the overthrow of the
Kingdom of Hawaii occurred with the active participation of agents and
citizens of the United States and further acknowledges that the Native
Hawaiian people never directly relinquished to the United States their
claims to their inherent sovereignty as a people over their national
lands, either through the Kingdom of Hawaii or through a plebiscite or
referendum;
(14) the Apology Resolution expresses the commitment of Congress and the
President--
(A) to acknowledge the ramifications of the overthrow of the Kingdom of
Hawaii;
(B) to support reconciliation efforts between the United States and
Native Hawaiians; and
(C) to consult with Native Hawaiians on the reconciliation process as
called for in the Apology Resolution;
(15) despite the overthrow of the government of the Kingdom of Hawaii,
Native Hawaiians have continued to maintain their separate identity as a
single distinct native community through cultural, social, and political
institutions, and to give expression to their rights as native people to
self-determination, self-governance, and economic self-sufficiency;
(16) Native Hawaiians have also given expression to their rights as
native people to self-determination, self-governance, and economic
self-sufficiency--
(A) through the provision of governmental services to Native Hawaiians,
including the provision of--
(i) health care services;
(ii) educational programs;
(iii) employment and training programs;
(iv) economic development assistance programs;
(v) children's services;
(vi) conservation programs;
(vii) fish and wildlife protection;
(viii) agricultural programs;
(ix) native language immersion programs;
(x) native language immersion schools from kindergarten through high
school;
(xi) college and master's degree programs in native language immersion
instruction; and
(xii) traditional justice programs, and
(B) by continuing their efforts to enhance Native Hawaiian
self-determination and local control;
(17) Native Hawaiians are actively engaged in Native Hawaiian cultural
practices, traditional agricultural methods, fishing and subsistence
practices, maintenance of cultural use areas and sacred sites, protection
of burial sites, and the exercise of their traditional rights to gather
medicinal plants and herbs, and food sources;
(18) the Native Hawaiian people wish to preserve, develop, and transmit
to future generations of Native Hawaiians their lands and Native Hawaiian
political and cultural identity in accordance with their traditions,
beliefs, customs and practices, language, and social and political
institutions, to control and manage their own lands, including ceded
lands, and to achieve greater self-determination over their own affairs;
(19) this Act provides a process within the framework of Federal law for
the Native Hawaiian people to exercise their inherent rights as a
distinct, indigenous, native community to reorganize a single Native
Hawaiian governing entity for the purpose of giving expression to their
rights as native people to self-determination and self-governance;
(20) Congress--
(A) has declared that the United States has a special political and legal
relationship for the welfare of the native peoples of the United States,
including Native Hawaiians;
(B) has identified Native Hawaiians as a distinct group of indigenous,
native people of the United States within the scope of its authority
under the Constitution, and has enacted scores of statutes on their
behalf ; and
(C) has delegated broad authority to the State of Hawaii to administer
some of the United States' responsibilities as they relate to the Native
Hawaiian people and their lands;
(21) the United States has recognized and reaffirmed the special
political and legal relationship with the Native Hawaiian people through
the enactment of the Act entitled, `An Act to provide for the admission
of the State of Hawaii into the Union', approved March 18, 1959 (Public
Law 86-3; 73 Stat. 4), by--
(A) ceding to the State of Hawaii title to the public lands formerly held
by the United States, and mandating that those lands be held as a public
trust for 5 purposes, 1 of which is for the betterment of the conditions
of Native Hawaiians; and
(B) transferring the United States' responsibility for the administration
of the Hawaiian Home Lands to the State of Hawaii, but retaining the
exclusive right of the United States to consent to any actions affecting
the lands included in the trust and any amendments to the Hawaiian Homes
Commission Act, 1920 (42 Stat. 108, chapter 42) that are enacted by the
legislature of the State of Hawaii affecting the beneficiaries under the
Act;
(22) the United States has continually recognized and reaffirmed that--
(A) Native Hawaiians have a cultural, historic, and land-based link to
the aboriginal, indigenous, native people who exercised sovereignty over
the Hawaiian Islands;
(B) Native Hawaiians have never relinquished their claims to sovereignty
or their sovereign lands;
(C) the United States extends services to Native Hawaiians because of
their unique status as the indigenous, native people of a once-sovereign
nation with whom the United States has a special political and legal
relationship; and
(D) the special relationship of American Indians, Alaska Natives, and
Native Hawaiians to the United States arises out of their status as
aboriginal, indigenous, native people of the United States; and
(23) the State of Hawaii supports the reaffirmation of the special
political and legal relationship between the Native Hawaiian governing
entity and the United States as evidenced by 2 unanimous resolutions
enacted by the Hawaii State Legislature in the 2000 and 2001 sessions of
the Legislature and by the testimony of the Governor of the State of
Hawaii before the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate on February
25, 2003, and March 1, 2005.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:
(1) ABORIGINAL, INDIGENOUS, NATIVE PEOPLE- The term `aboriginal,
indigenous, native people' means people whom Congress has recognized as
the original inhabitants of the lands that later became part of the
United States and who exercised sovereignty in the areas that later
became part of the United States.
(2) ADULT MEMBER- The term `adult member' means a Native Hawaiian who has
attained the age of 18 and who elects to participate in the
reorganization of the Native Hawaiian governing entity.
(3) APOLOGY RESOLUTION- The term `Apology Resolution' means Public Law
103-150 (107 Stat. 1510), a Joint Resolution extending an apology to
Native Hawaiians on behalf of the United States for the participation of
agents of the United States in the January 17, 1893, overthrow of the
Kingdom of Hawaii.
(4) COMMISSION- The term `commission' means the Commission established
under section 7(b) to provide for the certification that those adult
members of the Native Hawaiian community listed on the roll meet the
definition of Native Hawaiian set forth in paragraph (10).
(5) COUNCIL- The term `council' means the Native Hawaiian Interim
Governing Council established under section 7(c)(2).
(6) INDIAN PROGRAM OR SERVICE-
(A) IN GENERAL- The term `Indian program or service' means any federally
funded or authorized program or service provided to an Indian tribe (or
member of an Indian tribe) because of the status of the members of the
Indian tribe as Indians.
(B) INCLUSIONS- The term `Indian program or service' includes a program
or service provided by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Indian Health
Service, or any other Federal agency.
(7) INDIAN TRIBE- The term `Indian tribe' has the meaning given the term
in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance
Act (25 U.S.C. 450b).
(8) INDIGENOUS, NATIVE PEOPLE- The term `indigenous, native people' means
the lineal descendants of the aboriginal, indigenous, native people of
the United States.
(9) INTERAGENCY COORDINATING GROUP- The term `Interagency Coordinating
Group' means the Native Hawaiian Interagency Coordinating Group
established under section 6.
(10) NATIVE HAWAIIAN-
(A) IN GENERAL- Subject to subparagraph (B), for the purpose of
establishing the roll authorized under section 7(c)(1) and before the
reaffirmation of the special political and legal relationship between the
United States and the Native Hawaiian governing entity, the term `Native
Hawaiian' means--
(i) an individual who is 1 of the indigenous, native people of Hawaii and
who is a direct lineal descendant of the aboriginal, indigenous, native
people who--
(I) resided in the islands that now comprise the State of Hawaii on or
before January 1, 1893; and
(II) occupied and exercised sovereignty in the Hawaiian archipelago,
including the area that now constitutes the State of Hawaii; or
(ii) an individual who is 1 of the indigenous, native people of Hawaii
and who was eligible in 1921 for the programs authorized by the Hawaiian
Homes Commission Act (42 Stat. 108, chapter 42) or a direct lineal
descendant of that individual.
(B) NO EFFECT ON OTHER DEFINITIONS- Nothing in this paragraph affects the
definition of the term `Native Hawaiian' under any other Federal or State
law (including a regulation).
(11) NATIVE HAWAIIAN GOVERNING ENTITY- The term `Native Hawaiian
Governing Entity' means the governing entity organized by the Native
Hawaiian people pursuant to this Act.
(12) NATIVE HAWAIIAN PROGRAM OR SERVICE- The term `Native Hawaiian
program or service' means any program or service provided to Native
Hawaiians because of their status as Native Hawaiians.
(13) OFFICE- The term `Office' means the United States Office for Native
Hawaiian Relations established by section 5(a).
(14) SECRETARY- The term `Secretary' means the Secretary of the Interior.
(15) SPECIAL POLITICAL AND LEGAL RELATIONSHIP- The term `special
political and legal relationship' shall refer, except where differences
are specifically indicated elsewhere in the Act, to the type of and
nature of relationship the United States has with the several federally
recognized Indian tribes.

SEC. 4. UNITED STATES POLICY AND PURPOSE.

(a) Policy- The United States reaffirms that--
(1) Native Hawaiians are a unique and distinct, indigenous, native people
with whom the United States has a special political and legal
relationship;
(2) the United States has a special political and legal relationship with
the Native Hawaiian people which includes promoting the welfare of Native
Hawaiians;
(3) Congress possesses the authority under the Constitution, including
but not limited to Article I, section 8, clause 3, to enact legislation
to address the conditions of Native Hawaiians and has exercised this
authority through the enactment of--
(A) the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 1920 (42 Stat. 108, chapter 42);
(B) the Act entitled `An Act to provide for the admission of the State of
Hawaii into the Union', approved March 18, 1959 (Public Law 86-3, 73
Stat. 4); and
(C) more than 150 other Federal laws addressing the conditions of Native
Hawaiians;
(4) Native Hawaiians have--
(A) an inherent right to autonomy in their internal affairs;
(B) an inherent right of self-determination and self-governance;
(C) the right to reorganize a Native Hawaiian governing entity; and
(D) the right to become economically self-sufficient; and
(5) the United States shall continue to engage in a process of
reconciliation and political relations with the Native Hawaiian people.
(b) Purpose- The purpose of this Act is to provide a process for the
reorganization of the single Native Hawaiian governing entity and the
reaffirmation of the special political and legal relationship between the
United States and that Native Hawaiian governing entity for purposes of
continuing a government-to-government relationship.

SEC. 5. UNITED STATES OFFICE FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN RELATIONS.

(a) Establishment- There is established within the Office of the
Secretary, the United States Office for Native Hawaiian Relations.
(b) Duties- The Office shall--
(1) continue the process of reconciliation with the Native Hawaiian
people in furtherance of the Apology Resolution;
(2) upon the reaffirmation of the special political and legal
relationship between the single Native Hawaiian governing entity and the
United States, effectuate and coordinate the special political and legal
relationship between the Native Hawaiian governing entity and the United
States through the Secretary, and with all other Federal agencies;
(3) fully integrate the principle and practice of meaningful, regular,
and appropriate consultation with the Native Hawaiian governing entity by
providing timely notice to, and consulting with, the Native Hawaiian
people and the Native Hawaiian governing entity before taking any actions
that may have the potential to significantly affect Native Hawaiian
resources, rights, or lands;
(4) consult with the Interagency Coordinating Group, other Federal
agencies, and the State of Hawaii on policies, practices, and proposed
actions affecting Native Hawaiian resources, rights, or lands; and
(5) prepare and submit to the Committee on Indian Affairs and the
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee
on Resources of the House of Representatives an annual report detailing
the activities of the Interagency Coordinating Group that are undertaken
with respect to the continuing process of reconciliation and to effect
meaningful consultation with the Native Hawaiian governing entity and
providing recommendations for any necessary changes to Federal law or
regulations promulgated under the authority of Federal law.
(c) Applicability to Department of Defense- This section shall have no
applicability to the Department of Defense or to any agency or component
of the Department of Defense, but the Secretary of Defense may designate
1 or more officials as liaison to the Office.

SEC.

From: <Saved by Windows Internet Explorer 7>
Subject: Search Results - THOMAS (Library of Congress)
Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2008 22:38:17 -1000
Content-Location: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/F?c110:1:./temp/~c110uhGfc9:e408:

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Date: Wed, 14 Jan 2009 15:21:12 -1000
From: Lc <lcruz@hawaii.edu>
32. keokea new years' last one for DD e
then for Gwen aue

hope this comes through...

nice photos of didi.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Laurel Douglass" <douglassl001@hawaii.rr.com>
Sent: Wednesday, January 14, 2009 3:04 PM

[ Part 2, Image/JPEG 199KB. ]
[ Part 3, Image/JPEG 195KB. ]
[ Part 4, Image/JPEG 194KB. ]
[ Part 5, Image/JPEG 130KB. ]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Wed, 14 Jan 2009 17:54:21 -0800 (PST)
From: Kekahuna Keaweiwi <kekahunakeaweiwi@yahoo.com>
33. Gambling? In Hawai'i? "Hawaiian" casinos?
Sorry - akaka bill says "NO!" - more comment

...I'm all for discussing gambling, What I am saying is let us Hawaiians
decide on whether we want it or not...not the oppressors.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Wed, 14 Jan 2009 18:06:12 -0800 (PST)
From: Kekahuna Keaweiwi <kekahunakeaweiwi@yahoo.com>
34. Kahului AIRPORT - East Ramp

fyi....interesting.

One with a conspiritorial mind may presume a meeting like that of Jeckel
Island, SC may be in the works here on Maui.

--- On Wed, 1/14/09, Dick Mayer <dickmayer@earthlink.net> wrote:

There has been a lot of talk about a recession,

but this view of the corporate jet$ parked

at Kahului Airport give$ a rather different per$pective.

[ Part 2, Image/JPEG 505KB. ]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Jan 2009 22:08:38 -0500 (EST)
From: HIAHAWAII@aol.com
35. Military vehicle sinks during exercise in
Waimanalo

http://kgmb9.com/main/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13163&Itemid=40
Military Vehicle Sinks During Exercise
Written by KGMB9 News - news@kgmb9.com
January 13, 2009 07:10 PM

Strong surf is being blamed for a Marine Assault Amphibian Vehicle sinking
off the Bellows Training area. The AAV, similar to this one sunk just
after 6:30 Monday night.

Military officials say no one was hurt, and that a large wave caused the
vehicle to hit the reef. The AAV then started to take on water before it
lost power. It sank about 200 yards off shore. The coast guard is helping
with the recovery operation to pull the vehicle out of the water.
________________________________________________________________________________

Date: Wed, 14 Jan 2009 20:27:26 -0700
From: Clayton Dewey <claytondewey@gmail.com>
36. Hope From People: Celebrate People's History and
Build Popular Power at the Inauguration

On the topic of Inauguration activities, here's something that is going
on. More info, including actions and events being organized can be found
at http://hopefrompeople.com
----

Hope From People: Celebrate People's History and Build Popular Power Bloc

An open letter to those seeking to build a world from below, in which
many worlds are possible

We call on all anarchists, horizontalists, autonomists, anti-capitalists,
anti-authoritarians, and others organizing a world from below to bring
our best creative spirits to the project of a "Celebrate People's History
and Build Popular Power" bloc on January 20, 2009, in Washington, DC^×or
in your hometown, if you can't make it.

As people striving toward a nonhierarchical society, yes, we can^×and
should^×be rigorously critical of Barack Obama. It goes without saying
that we want a world without presidents; we want worlds of our own
constituting via directly democratic structures, not states. But not all
heads of state are alike, and if we fail to recognize both the historical
meaning and power of this particular moment, we will ensure our own
irrelevance.

We can^×and should^×also be in critical solidarity with people who have
been violently marginalized, who see in the Obama campaign the
possibility of their own agency. The inauguration affords a unique space
for us to stand with a diverse group of activists inspired by Obama, many
new to political organizing, even as we maintain our views on the limits
of change from above.

Perhaps, as people working to build a world from below without
electoralism or statecraft, we also need to listen on January 20. It is
neither the time nor the place to critique hope or excitement on the part
of people who have engaged in grassroots struggles in so many ways and
won a substantial victory. The inauguration marks a watershed event in
the often cruel history of these United States, and the whole world will
be watching, hoping that we've done just a little to grapple with the
legacy of slavery, lynching, segregation, displacement, and racism in
general, both of the personal and institutional varieties.

There'll be a true rainbow coalition on the streets of DC, made up of
exactly those people who the libertarian Left has always aligned itself
with and always should: those who are not radicals but who have been
exploited, oppressed, and relegated to powerlessness. So instead of
breaking things, if we're serious about building visionary social
movements, doing meaningful anti-racism work, and honoring those who have
resisted and dreamed before us, we should break bread with those millions
globally who will feel moved by Obama's inauguration^×many of whom were
also moved enough to participate politically (well beyond voting) for the
first time in this election.

With our bloc^×using banners, photos, artwork, zines, theater pieces,
posters, armbands, and other visual expressions^×let's illustrate the
many moments when people on this continent and across the world aspired
to better approximations of freedom, via their own forms of collective
organizations and mutual aid. Let's create and display images of social
movements, cultures of resistance, and especially our experiments to
institute the new society in the shell of the old: from popular
assemblies to self-managed workplaces, from freedom schools to free
clinics, from autonomous villages to reappropriated land, and much more.
And let's remember all those many moments throughout history when we took
to the streets, factories, schools, and neighborhoods; when we built
movements ranging from abolition and civil rights to the American Indian
Movement and the Black Panthers, from Zapatismo to Ya Basta!, from No One
Is Illegal to anti-capitalist mobilizations, from Argentina's factory
occupations to Oaxaca's federated assemblies; and when we reclaimed the
commons and, in the process, ourselves.

For if we aspire one day to live in a world without borders and prisons,
without states or capitalism^×or presidents for that matter^×we must
stand in solidarity on January 20 with those most impacted by hierarchy
and institutional oppression. Then, in the days beyond, we'll join with
millions of others in demanding fulfillment of, as Obama put it on
election night, the possibility of change, as we support the growth of
social movements toward a free and directly democratic society.

POINTS OF UNITY:

^Ö We believe that human freedom and happiness would be best guaranteed
by a society based on principles of self-organization, voluntary
association, egalitarianism, and mutual aid. And thus, we reject all
forms of social relations premised on systemic violence and hierarchy,
such as the state, capitalism, and white supremacy.

^Ö On January 20, we will actively seek to cooperate with as well as
support anyone who is working to create a more liberatory world, and in
fact, to learn from them and each other.

^Ö We will gather as a bloc, unmasked and with open arms, respecting the
celebratory spirit of the day^×presence rather than protest^×and will
encourage others who want to honor social struggles from below to join
us.

To sign on to this call, please send us an email at hopefrompeople [at]
gmail [dot] com.

For the bloc's meeting place and time, ideas for celebratory images, and
upcoming details on the post-inauguration teach-in and party, keep
checking this Web site.

The Celebrate People's History & Popular Power Bloc will meet on January
20th at 10am at the northwest corner of McPherson Square, 15th St NW at K
St NW.

Network mailing list
Network@lists.edliberation.org
http://lists.edliberation.org/listinfo.cgi/network-edliberation.org
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sat, 17 Jan 2009 23:05:52 -1000
From: Lc <palolo@hawaii.rr.com>
37. Invitation to view Trisha Kehaulani's Picasa Web Album - Ceded
Lands March

choke pix!

----- Original Message ----- From: Trisha Kehaulani
Sent: Saturday, January 17, 2009 10:14 PM

You are invited to view Trisha Kehaulani's photo album: Ceded Lands March

Ceded Lands March
Jan 19, 2008
by Trisha Kehaulani

If you are having problems viewing this email, copy and paste the
following into your browser:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=kehaulani.watson&target=ALBUM&id=5292466127885490577&authkey=Ahcp93TQ6ME&feat=email
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~-------------------

Date: Sun, 18 Jan 2009 01:23:40 -1000
From: Lc <palolo@hawaii.rr.com>
38. Photos from today's march and rally in Waikiki

If you can't see the pictures in this email, click here to see it in a
web browser:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=bhucg3l.5brid0w9&x=0&y=u5kwy8&localeid=en_US

Click to view my photos Waikiki March (1 album)
Lynette has shared photos with you.
You're invited to view my online photos at the Gallery.
Enjoy!
- Lynette
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sun, 18 Jan 2009 01:45:24 -0800
From: `Ehu Kekahu Cardwell <ehukekahu@koanifoundation.org>
39. Thousands Say "No!" To Stolen Lands Sale On
"Voices Of Truth - One-On-One With Hawai`i's Future"

Aloha `aina,

Don't miss Sovereign Sunday events at `Iolani Palace today! Details at
our Free Hawai`i blog.

HereÕs this weekÕs schedule for Voices Of Truth - One-On-One With
Hawai`iÕs Future.

MONDAY, January 19th At 6:30 PM - Maui - Akaku, Channel 53

"Carrier Of The Culture - A Visit With Sabra Kauka"

Sabra shares about the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, DC.
and the phenomenal Ho`okahi Kapa - the contemporary kapa exhibit at
Bishop Museum with incredible photos, as well as Nu`alolo Kai, an ancient
Kaua`i valley left untouched for hundreds of years.

MONDAY, January 19th At 7:00 PM & FRIDAY, January 23rd At 5:30 PM -
Hawai`i Island - Na Leo, Channel 53

"Kawainui Magic - A Visit With Chuck ÒDocÓ Burrows"

What is it about Kawainui marsh thatÕs so irresistible? Certainly the
unparalleled beauty and ecological importance, but thereÕs something
else. Join us as we visit with long time Kawainui caretaker Chuck ÒDocÓ
Burrows as he explains the marshÕs deep cultural history and reveals why
itÕs a special place like no other. Watch It Here.

THURSDAY, January 22nd At 8:30 PM & FRIDAY, January 23rd At 8:30 AM -
Kaua`i - Ho`ike, Channel 52

"Coming Full Circle - A Visit With Sam Ka`ai"
A Kanaka Maoli practitioner extraordinaire, Sam Ka`ai is a Pacific
voyager and cultural ambassador, whoÕs devotion to keeping alive the
ancient ways of old Hawai`i is truly beyond compare, who, when in his
presence, time seems to stand still and the ancestors come forth and
speak. Watch It Here.

SATURDAY, January 24th At 8:00 PM - O`ahu, `Olelo, Channel 53

ÒVanity & Insanity - A Visit With Skippy IoaneÓ

You never know whatÕs going to happen around Hawai`i Island activist and
Hui Pu founder Skippy Ioane. Thrown off the steps of `Iolani Palace
during our interview when he attempts to claim it as sovereign territory,
Skippy offers his own unique insights about the illegal overthrow and US
occupation, and tells us the single most important thing we can do today
with ceded lands. Watch It Here.

Voices Of Truth interviews those creating a better future for Hawai`i to
discover what made them go from armchair observers to active
participants. We hope youÕll be inspired to do the same.

If you support our issues on the Free Hawai`i Broadcasting Network,
please email this to a friend to help us continue. A donation today helps
further our work. Every single penny counts.

Donating is easy on our Voices Of Truth website via PayPal.

You may view Voices Of Truth on the web anytime.

And for news and issues that affect you, watch Free Hawai`i TV, both a
part of the Free Hawai`i Broadcasting Network.

Ho`oku`oko`a,

`Ehu Kekahu Cardwell

The Koani Foundation

Visit FreeHawaii.Info

Watch Free Hawai`i TV

Voices Of Truth online

The Free Hawai`i Broadcasting Network
------------------------------------------------------------------------

40. Check out VIDEO: Hawaiian Kingdom overthrow anniversary protests
ceded lands (fwd)
Date: Sun, 18 Jan 2009 13:38:14 -0500 (EST)
From: HIAHAWAII@aol.com

_VIDEO: Hawaiian Kingdom overthrow anniversary protests ceded lands in Hilo
- Big Island Video News_
(http://www.bigislandvideonews.com/hilo/20090117cededlands.htm)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gabrielle Welford, Ph.D. (support "Noho Hewa: The Wrongful Occupation of
Hawai'i" by going to www.nohohewa.com and clicking on "donate")
blog:
www.greenwom.blogspot.com
books:
_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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local stuffs list

Sunday, January 18, 2009

local stuffs

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