Hawaiian Culture and Independence's topics - tribe.net

Ku'e in Naue You Tube Video - Protesting Burial Desecration

Hunakai — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 18:25:36 GMT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-W8Zy5_0SU

E kala mai. The right URL did not show up in my previous post. Here it is. Watch. It is heartbreaking.

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Burial Desecration Threatened in Naue, Kaua'i - Write to the Developer

Hunakai — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 18:17:33 GMT

Aloha kakou,
I've been running some quick internet searches on Joseph Brescia, the man who is trying to build over the graves in Kaua'i. Go to
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-W8Zy5_0SU.

I suggest we write letters to express our support for the people camping out to prevent his desecration of the kupuna -- show him this is getting more than local attention. This is his email:
jbrescia@aga-ca.com.

He is the president and chair of Architectural Glass & Aluminum Co, with an address in Southern CA:
2691 Richter Avenue, Suite 120, Irvine CA 92606, (949)797-9000.

And an address in Northern CA:
1151 Marina Village Parkway, Suite 101, Alameda, CA 94501 (510)444-6100.

He is also on the board of the Northern CA Glass Management Association, 5677 Horton Street, Emeryville, CA -- just a couple miles from here.

In a recent election he gave $2,000 to a series of "Rebuild CA" initiatives and said he was in Oakland. Therefore, I presume the guy is a Bay Area resident.

Is this info of strategic use? Anyone got relatives here who want to email, phone or picket any of the above addresses? We can email if nothing else!!! And be sure to use your tags and keywords to link his name with burial desecration in all internet posts -- especially those will Google ads -- this will facilitate the search engine placement.

Amy

Web References
. 1. Business licenses for State of Nevada: published June 6, 2004
www.rgj.com/news/stories/html/ - [Cached] Published on: 6/6/2004 Last Visited: 6/6/2004
Architectural Glass & Aluminum Co.: Joseph A. Brescia, 1911 Union St., Oakland, Calif.; no bond.
. 2. IUPAT Int'l - pension
www.ibpat.org/pension/about.ht - [Cached] Last Visited: 1/15/2008
Joseph A. Brescia, Corporate President, Architectural Glass & Aluminum Co., Inc.
...
Joseph A. Brescia
...
Joseph A. Brescia, Corporate President, Architectural Glass & Aluminum Co., Inc. Joseph A. Brescia, is the corporate president and chairman to the Board of Directors at Architectural Glass & Aluminum Co., Inc. (AGA). Brescia became corporate president in 1983 after control was purchased, and implemented a program of staff improvement and sales expansion from a base of $1.5 million to the current level of $60 million annually. AGA has been affiliated with the Glaziers since its inception in 1970.

Brescia is a licensed B-General Contractor, C-17 Glazing Contractor and C-61 Specialty Contractor in California and is also a licensed glazing contractor in Nevada, Alaska, Texas, Washington and Hawaii.

He is active on numerous boards all over California. In 1998, Brescia started as a trustee in Northern California and, in 2003, he became involved in the Southern California Pension Fund, serving as one of the steering committee co-chairs in bringing the fund to resolution with the employers, PBGC and IRS. In the last several years, he helped form the negotiating committee for Northern California Glass Management Association (NCGMA).

In 1972, Brescia received his B.S. in business and in 1973 received his M.B.A in marketing finance from Bowling Green State University.
. 3. Summary: Economic Turmoil Tests Markets (3/26/01)
www.enr.com/new/coverstry_3260 - [Cached] Published on: 6/7/2002 Last Visited: 6/7/2002
"Everything in this market was short, even before this power thing hit," says Joseph A. Brescia, president of Garland, Calif.-based Architectural Glass & Aluminum Inc. "Glass lead times are up, manpower is limited and everything is running at capacity or above," says Brescia. "Now we are trying to push our engineering and design production plans by a full month, at least, to insure we have materials at the jobsite."

BPA says it is likely to boost the power costs of aluminum producers to $41 per Mwh from the current $23 when contracts are renegotiated in October. Aluminum officials claim that no smelter in the region will be profitable if power prices climb above $35. The area is the nation's second largest producer of aluminum.

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Join Hawaiian Civic Club and support their work

Hunakai — Sun, 04 May 2008 15:23:50 GMT

Aloha kakou,
Ka Lei Maile Ali'i Hawaiian Civic Club is a fantastic organization founded and peopled by some of the most active and progressive folks around. Annual membership of $25 does a lot to support this great grassroots cultural club.

In August, Ka Lei Maile Ali'i is bringing its short play about the resistance of Queen Lili'uokalani to the San Francisco Bay Area. There will be two performances in Berkeley, Aug. 2 and Aug. 3. We hope one at the Redwood Room and one at Ashkenaz (this is in the process of coming together.)

I am helping to get this together. We need places for the performers to stay, and we need people to kokua, provide food, transportation and aloha to our visitors here. Please contact me if you want to help welcome and support these folks, including Lynette Cruz, Baron Kaho'ola Ching and some other notable people.

To join Ka Lei Maile Ali'i Civic Club, mail a $25 check to Piilani Kaopuiki, Membership Chair, 838 Hauoli Street, Honolulu, HI, 96826.

The website is www.kaleimailealii.net -- check it out.

Malama pono,
Amy

posted in Hawaiian Culture and Independence - 0 replies

Update on Iolani Palace -- DLNR to Maoli "you have to pay to park"

Hunakai — Sun, 04 May 2008 15:15:49 GMT

May 3, 2008 From Honolulu Advertiser
Law spelled out to protesters

Sovereignty group at palace must pay to park, DLNR warns

By gordon Y.k. pang
Advertiser Staff Writer
Officials with the Department of Land and Natural Resources are telling a
Hawaiian sovereignty group that has gathered daily since Wednesday on the
grounds of 'Iolani Palace that they need to abide by the same parking and
other park rules as everyone else.
Members of the Hawaiian Kingdom Government were told yesterday that their
cars would be ticketed if they did not feed their meters. The organization
also was told it would need to obtain a permit to assemble if it intends to
return to the palace lawn on Monday as it has announced.
"We've made it clear to them that if there are any violations, we are going
to enforce our existing rules and whether they understand those rules or had
read them previously is irrelevant," said Laura H. Thielen, the state's Land
Board chairwoman and head of the Department of Land and Natural Resources.
Mahealani Kahau, described as "head of state" for the Hawaiian Kingdom
Government, said her group has applied for a permit to assemble next week,
but stressed that it attached language from the Hawaiian Kingdom civil code
and penal code.
"We're complying with our civil code and penal code," Kahau said yesterday
afternoon. As for whether she and her staff will begin feeding parking
meters on the site, Kahau said, "if it happens, it happens. If it doesn't,
it doesn't. Everything we do is under kingdom law."
The group has occupied the mauka lawn of the palace over the past three
days, stating that it is the legitimate government and that the palace
grounds are its "seat of government."
Up to 75 of its members have spent the daylight hours of the past three
days, in the words of the group's leaders, "conducting business" on the
property, although they have not entered the palace itself. On Wednesday,
for about eight hours, it also blocked access onto the grounds to
non-Hawaiians.
A number of the group members have parked at metered stalls on the property
and not fed the meters but have not been cited, according to state
officials.
Thielen said two of her top lieutenants — Parks Division Administrator Dan
Quinn and Conservation and Resources Enforcement Division Administrator Gary
Moniz — met with leaders of the Hawaiian Kingdom Government yesterday
morning to detail the specific rules the group needs to follow if it intends
to stay over a longer period of time.
Among the areas covered by the state administrators were "parking rules,
assembly rules, (and) noise levels," she said.
The two administrators also explained areas that contain burials or cultural
or historical objects that the public is asked to stay away from "in order
to protect those resources," she said.
The group also was instructed on the procedure for applying for a permit to
conduct a First Amendment rally, required when there are gatherings of 25 or
more people.
"They also discussed the consequences for failure to follow the rules, which
include civil penalties and petty criminal misdemeanor (charges)," she said.
Thielen said group leaders were agreeable to the rules. "They understand
what the consequences are," she said, noting that yesterday's talk was one
of a series that have been held with the group since Wednesday.
The group submitted an assembly application to DLNR yesterday, but it was
returned because it was incomplete, Thielen said.
Kahau insisted that the application will point out that the group will abide
only by its laws. "They said we need to abide by administrative rules, and
we said we will abide by Hawaiian Kingdom law, which they are also subject
to," Kahau said.
Group officials have asked for office space at the Kana'ina Building as well
some free parking stalls. "We told them that request cannot be accommodated,
that these are public park lands," Thielen said. "They need to abide by the
rules like anybody else."
Thielen said she understands the group's position that it has a right to the
property. "We have told them that if they want to claim ownership to the
area, the venue they would have to take that to is the courts," Thielen
said.
Kippen de Alba Chu, executive director of Friends of 'Iolani Palace, which
has the lease to maintain and run the historic facilities as a museum, said
the Hawaiian Kingdom Government's presence has been disruptive. Some palace
volunteers uncomfortable with the presence of the group chose to stay home
this week.
Meanwhile, parking was at a premium through the week, he said. That issue
began to ease yesterday afternoon when state officers began citing cars that
were illegally parked, Chu said.
"Some of their (Hawaiian Kingdom) cars got cited and then they moved them
off the property," he said.
Group members have criticized the media for unfair reporting of the
situation. For instance, the group vehemently denies placing locks on any of
the gates to the palace grounds on Wednesday.
But Thielen said it's clear to her that the group placed chains and locks on
the gates when they arrived Wednesday morning and began turning people away.
State law enforcement officers who arrived at the palace at 6 a.m. Wednesday
"observed there were cables and locks around the gates for the four main
vehicle access gates, that people had brought in a gate for one of the
pedestrian gates, and had other areas closed and barred," Thielen said.
"These were not the state's cables or locks."

posted in Hawaiian Culture and Independence - 0 replies

Bush administration 'strongly opposes' Hawaiian recognition bill

WhiteWolf — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 18:05:18 GMT

HONOLULU: The Bush administration "strongly opposes" a House of Representatives bill that would grant federal recognition to Native Hawaiians, calling the measure discriminatory and divisive.

The White House Office of Management and Budget on Monday said the measure supported by nearly every elected Hawaii official would reverse the American melting pot, divide governing institutions and raise constitutional concerns by separating Americans into race-related classifications.

"The administration strongly opposes any bill that would formally divide sovereign United States power along suspect lines of race and ethnicity," the White House said in a statement.

The bill, to be heard on the House floor Wednesday, is identical to the Senate's so-called Akaka bill, named after its sponsoring Hawaii Sen. Daniel Akaka.

The bill, which has failed in several previous attempts to get it through Congress, is designed to secure for Native Hawaiians the same self-governance rights held by American Indians and Alaska Natives. It provides a broad framework for creating a Hawaiian government responsible for managing about 2 million acres (810,000 hectares) of former Hawaiian lands and $15 million (€10.6 million) per year in ceded land revenue.
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If passed and eventually presented to President George W. Bush, his senior advisers would recommend a veto, the White House said.

"The president has eschewed such divisive legislation as a matter of policy, noting that 'we must ... honor the great American tradition of the melting pot, which has made us one nation out of many peoples,'" the statement said.

The White House cited a recommendation by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, which urged that Congress reject the bill because it would discriminate on the basis of race and "further subdivide the American people into discrete subgroups accorded varying degrees of privilege."

The House version was introduced by Rep. Neil Abercrombie, a Democrat, and co-sponsored by five other representatives: Democrats Raul Grijalva, of Arizona, Hawaii's Mazie Hirono and Virginia's James Moran, along with Republicans Tom Cole of Oklahoma and Donald Young of Alaska. Delegates Madeleine Bordallo, a Democrat representing Guam, and Eni Faleomavaega, a Democrat representing American Samoa, are also signed on as co-sponsor.

Abercrombie and Hirono, in a joint statement, stressed that the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act does not create a program or entitlement, require an appropriation, nor turn over assets of the U.S. government. It also does not give anyone title to anything they do not already own, the Hawaii Democrats said.

They said it simply provides a method for Hawaii to divest itself of requirements for administering land and dollar assets to a native entity, which will take full responsibility. The House members said Native Hawaiians would be able to decide for themselves the organization of the government entity to represent their interests in a relationship with the U.S. government.

"The relationship parallels that of Native Americans tribes and Alaskan Natives," they said.

The White House argued Native Hawaiians cannot be compared with other indigenous peoples, given the "substantial historical and cultural differences."

"The administration believes that tribal recognition is inappropriate and unwise for Native Hawaiians and would raise serious constitutional concerns," the White House said.

Last year, the measure was held up in the Senate on a procedural vote amid concerns from Republicans that it could lead to race-based privileges in a state known for its diversity. The Bush administration also questioned some provisions of the bill, despite strong support from Hawaii's Republican governor, Linda Lingle.

There are about 400,000 people of Native Hawaiian ancestry nationwide, and 260,000 of them live in Hawaii. No one would be required to join a Hawaiian government if the Akaka bill is approved.

___

On the Net:

HR 505: www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd
posted by:

posted in Hawaiian Culture and Independence - 5 replies

Input and Guidance

Dan — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 17:53:19 GMT

I would like to invite the people of this tribe to give me their input and if they can and wish to their guidance. The following as a paste from my blog, I find my self in a conflicted place and would like to hear what others feel.

Mahalo a hau'oli makahiki hou

******************
Well, 2007 is behind us and 2008 is all around us. My wife is to deliver our first child any day now, she was due on 12.31.07 - though it is very common for first time mothers to carry past their projected due date. By January 8th we should have our little girl in our arms, one Mia Kekai. I am sure that anyone who has children can attest to this; the whole process, the whole notion, the reality, it changes you.

I am a firm believer that where individuals come from, the cultures and places in which they are raised in have a profound impact on the development of who they become in life as either an acceptance or rebellion. Not so much what they do, perhaps that is to a lesser extent but most certainly on who they become. I believe the orientation of what I have come to refer to as their moral compass or their system of values is, to a large degree determined by where they came from and the experiences they had. A healthy dose of nurture with perhaps a pinch of nature.

For me this is true. The place and culture in which I was raised has calibrated my moral compass and guides me through my life, though admittedly there have been times when I was too clouded to listen. While not Hawai'ian by ancestry, Hawai'i is where I am from and where (by and large) I was raised. Nearly all of my living memories of growing up are there with the land and with the people; kanaka maoli, kama'aina, ha'ole, all of them. I have lived on the mainland since 1996 and the longer I am away from Hawai'i the more I find myself looking back and in doing so, learning just how important Hawai'i is to me as a priceless and powerful land and and how important Hawai'ian culture (both modern and traditional) was to the development of me as an individual.

Now that I am to be a father there is a strengthening in my desire to pick up where I left off in Hawai'i. To continue learning what being part of Hawai'i was teaching me as a young boy and struggling teenager so that I may pass this on to our little one, because these things are too important to loose. How to live with the land as steward to the land, the Hawai'ian language, Hawi'ian legend, myth and history, song, music and dance. This is an obligation I feel because I feel it is the right thing to do, to give to someone else what was given to me. Our parent's, our child's grandparent still live in Hawai'i and most likely always will. We will always go home to Hawai'i. But unlike me it is not likely our children will be raised there. I am concerned that in absence of guidance our child or children will take Hawai'i for granted as a pretty place where grandma and grandpa live that they get to visit, and that it will mean nothing more to them. The idea of this makes my heart recoil.

As with most things in life there is a duality here. At the moment this is creating a conflict within me I am struggling to resolve and just as much as I wish to give guidance and knowledge to my child, I am in need of guidance myself. Growing up, in school we learn that Queen Lili'uokulani was overthrown by the American business interests in Hawai'i and that in 1959 Hawai'i joined the Union as the 50th state. This is the white washed version of history written as history most often is in school, by the victor. The truth of the matter is that Hawai'i is not a state but rather an occupied nation. There is a political and cultural struggle going on for Hawai'ians to reclaim what they have lost in terms of land and ways of life. My own values have me siding with the sovereignty activists, because they are right. Hawai'i from a legal stand point never was state and this needs to be recognized beyond former President Clinton's 1993 paper based Apology Resolution. Sovereignty activists come in many varieties from extreme to moderate, from native to non-native residents and even non-native, non-residents who have never lived there and have no family there. Having moved to O'ahu from Alaska I was about as ha'ole as ha'ole could be so the "ha'ole go home" mentality is not new to me and does not surprise me. Most Hawai'ians are, in my experience moderate and look at people's heart, beyond their skin. As the sovereignty movement and awareness grows, I find myself trying to reconcile what is pono (right); the recognition and restoration of the Hawai'ian Nation, and the practical pragmatic fact that many non native Hawai'ians call Hawai'i their home and some of these non-native Hawai'ians have a deep rooted love for the land and culture.

I sure I am not the only kama'aina, ha'ole, or foreigner to struggle with this and in conclusion I invite and ask for the input of others, native or not. I want to go home. I want to raise my family in Hawai'i. Should financial prosperity allow it I want to buy our home and live the rest of my life there, be close to our family and the land and ocean I love. Allow my children to grow up in the same culture I did, have a Kapuna and a halau. But that would mean that I as a non-native would be buying land or a home which sits on lease held land that does not rightfully belong to the person selling it. I grew up there, as far as I am concerned I am from there, it is my home in my heart, but it is truly someone else's and I was never more than a guest. I seek guidance on the matter. Mahalo.

posted in Hawaiian Culture and Independence - 3 replies

Hawaiian Genocide

Kelea — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 20:34:56 GMT

Genocide

The following is a link to the United Nation’s Convention on Genocide which took place on Dec. 9, 1948:

http://www.hrweb.org/legal/genocide.html

It defines genocide as:

• (a) Killing members of the group;
• (b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
• (c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
• (d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
• (e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

The Historical context of this definition is the post genocide of the Jewish people during WWII. While the definition is taken by some to be mean a calculated and conscious annihilation of people of a certain group, there is actually a deeper wisdom as to the true nature of genocide found in this definition. Genocide in this definition is ANY effort made, whether conscious or not, which causes a certain group of people to be destroyed in any manner.

One method of genocide which is being experienced by the Hawaiian people is “diaspora,” which is the spreading out of people which causes them to cease to exist by assimilation into other cultures and geographic locations. As we know today (through the US Census), almost half of the Hawaiians in this world are having to live outside of Hawaii.
Another form of genocide which is especially egregious is the internment of Hawaiians in the concentrations camps that are better known as “corrections facilities.” These jails and prisons located on the Hawaiian islands consist of around 40% Native Hawaiians, while the Native Hawaiian population in total in Hawaii is only around 12-20% (statistics on Native Hawaiian population in Hawaii differ depending on where you look, although all ranges of statistics are reported by equally legitimate sources.) What is the worst of all regarding these concentration camps is that the Hawaiian people are now being forcibly removed from their land and put in facilities on the mainland because of “overcrowding.”
I recently had a conversation with a representative from Kau Inoa because I wanted to get access to the prisons in order to register Native Hawaiians living there. It turned out that the Office of Hawaiian Affairs had already tried to do this and that it was stated that no project could take place in the prisons which would heighten the awareness of racial differences due to an already apparent problem within the prison system over racial tensions.

Ironic isn’t it?

To look at this situation more abstractly – The Hawaiian people are being forced to undergo an unnatural poverty which has resulted from the robbery of our land. Poverty, no matter which way you look at it, results in certain behavioral outcomes for people. If you rob us – as a group- of our land, thereby forcing us into poverty, and then make laws against the behavioral outcomes which are natural to poverty, and then use those laws to render the “law-breakers” unable to participate in their own government, you have a formula for genocide.

I mention all this because it’s important to detect genocide in all its flavors. Last time I was home, a certain group of Hawaiian home owners were bragging to me about how they “cleaned up” their neighborhood and got all those evil drug dealers sent to prison. After they were through, they washed their hands of the whole situation.

Those evil drug dealers, however, were other Hawaiians and their being sent to prison IS genocide. Why would we be doing this to our own selves? How could the colonization in our minds become so thick that we’ve become unable to see the true process at work against us, that we should offer our own selves up as willing culprits?

posted in Hawaiian Culture and Independence - 3 replies

Recipes

sageivyberyl — Wed, 14 Jun 2006 14:53:04 GMT

As Waihili told me. There is no thread for food. This is where all of you come in. I want to learn to cook authentic Hawaiian food and the cookbooks will take awhile to get here. So, do you have a favorite recipe you would like to share with me? I would really appreciate any I could get.

Mahalo.

posted in Hawaiian Culture and Independence - 8 replies

i want to get traditional hawaiian tattoes

jeremy kimo — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 07:47:44 GMT

i want to get traditional hawaiian tattoes
in the traditional way the way the ancients did it
can anyone help me or point me to the right direction

posted in Hawaiian Culture and Independence - 3 replies

VERY IMPORTANT! Letters of support needed!

Hunakai — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 03:00:20 GMT

Aloha kakou,
This forward, which I received from Jack Kelly's Green Flash service, is of the utmost importance. Please read it and if you are moved to send a ltter of support please, please do! Please tell the Pacfica Hotel Corp. that Mikahala Roy must remain "kahu" of Ahu Ena heiau at the King Kamehameha hotel site, which was originally a very sacred site (and still is).
Mahalo!

July 2, 2007

The following Press Release from the Kanaka Council is of Utmost Importance. If you are concerned about this ongoing threat to Hawaiian culture please address your comments to:
Mike Bernard, president of the Pacifica Hotel Co. Pacifica Hotel Company 1933 Cliff Dr. Suite 1 Santa Barbara, CA 93109 (805) 957-0095 Fax: (805) 899-2426. Let him know to not interfere with Hawaiian sacred sites!

Press Release:

Rally to Support Continuity at Ahu’ena Heiau in Kona

July 1, 2007 Kailua-Kona, HI

A Rally was held yesterday to support Kulana Huli Honua in their care of Ahu’ena Heiau, beginning at 4:00pm. The rally, Ke Alo Naue I Ka Honua (meaning The Presence that Moves the Earth) was attended by Hawaiian heavyweights Kale Gumapac of Hui Pa’a and the Kanaka Council, Palikapu Dedman of the Pele Defense Fund and Kanaka Council, Jimmy Medeiros, of Protect Keopuka Ohana and the Kanaka Council. Also in attendance was Uncle George Naope, Kumu Hula, is the Founder of the Merrie Monarch Festival and a Hawaiian Living Treasure. All were there to lend their support to Mikahala Roy as Kahu (caretaker) of Ahu’ena Heiau.

The King Kamehameha Hotel was built on the site in 1975 in conjunction with the restoration of Ahu’ena Heiau. David Kahelemauna Roy, Jr. supervised the project with the Bishop Museum. Ka’imi Spinney was Kahu of the heiau until his passing, when David Roy was recognized as Kahu. Mikahala Roy has been Kahu of the heiau since April 6, 2005, when David Roy named Mikahala Roy and Kaleokalani Nakoa as his successors at his passing.

The new corporate owners of the hotel, Pacifica Hotels Co., claim that they will provide their own caretaker for the heiau.

The rally began at the Kona pier adjoining the heiau. Mikahala said that the Hawaiian people, their customs and sacred sites are endangered species in Hawaii. 70% of Hawaiians live without houses. This pier (black asphalt) was constructed on Kamakahonu, Eye of the Turtle. This site was chosen by Kamehameha the Great because of its sacredness and mana. “Under this concrete is a turtle stone. How old is that stone? What is your connection to it?” She asked the crowd. “How many places can you go to see a pier? How many kamakahonus are there? This is what we are talking about”. The desecration of our holy places by people who only understand greed and who do not know what they are taking away.

Jack Kelly stated that the new owners needed to be taught the ways of this place. “They are from out of town. There is a way of doing things in Hawaii that they do not know. It is our job to educate them, as it is better for them, the community, their business and the people.” “This is our Kahu,” he said, his hand on Mikahala’s back.

“We’re all here to support Mikahala Roy as Kahu,” said Kale Gumapac. “Our ancestors brought us together to do this sacred task. Our ancestors are up there talking to each other right now! We all came to Hawaii for a reason, and today that reason was made clear, to protect this sacred site“.

“So many people here are concerned with the disappearing species of plants. It’s time that they also become concerned with the disappearing people. We have a government that doesn’t support or protect the Hawaiian people,” said Palikapu Dedman.

“There should be more Hawaiians here,” said Uncle Naope George. He later added, “The Creator made this place and made it holy.”

Barbara Moore, proprietor of the Dragonfly Ranch, said that though she had lived in Hawaii for 38 years, she was humbled by how much she still had to learn. She said that many of people were there because they know that the disappearing Hawaiians and their culture is likely the very culture that will save the future. She stated her intention to fly to Oahu to talk to the new owners of the hotel to help them understand what this place is and means, as her offering.

“This is my religion,” said Jimmy Medeiros, highlighting the importance of the event. No outsider would tell the Vatican to replace their caretaker, nor would anyone allow it.

Kealoha Pisciotta, Kahu of Mauna Kea, said it is time to send light to the new owners and to enlighten them. There are only 6000 full blood Hawaiians left! There are so many people who come here for healing and for paradise. Paradise is a consciousness, a way of being, it is aloha. By taking away the people who live aloha, our culture and our sacred places, it is taking away the very reason that people want to come here.

Mikahala Roy asked for prayers. Some attendees, who missed the initial gathering at the pier but were interested in the rally, asked what was going on. When informed that the new corporate hotel owners appointed a new caretaker of the heiau, a man laughed and said, “Kind of like the Chinese Government appointing the next Dalai Lama.”

This year the carvings encircling Ahu‘ena are draped in white. The effect is very brilliant. Mikahala said she was looking for maaloa plant to make the whitest tapa. She said they pray that it still exists.

The group then moved to the heiau for prayers. Though the rally was scheduled to end at 5:30pm, many attendees lingered much later, until around 8:00 and still others until 11:00pm. The feeling of Ohana was very tangible.

If you are moved to lend support to the continued stewardship of Ahu’ena Heiau, send a letter to Mike Bernard, president of the Pacifica Hotel Co. Pacifica Hotel Company 1933 Cliff Dr. Suite 1 Santa Barbara, CA 93109 (805) 957-0095 Fax: (805) 899-2426. Let him know to not interfere with Hawaiian sacred sites!

###
Media Contact Information:

Lizz Christed; living.rose@hotmail.com; (402) 981-3424 cell (808) 328-8760
Kale Gumapac; moku_okeawe@hotmail.com; (808) 982-9020 (808) 896-7420

posted in Hawaiian Culture and Independence - 2 replies

MONK SEAL SIGHTED AT PUNALU`U -- X-post

PatriciaRavarra — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 20:29:51 GMT

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MONK SEAL SIGHTED AT PUNALU`U
YOUR HELP IS NEEDED
September 19, 2007
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MONK SEAL IS ONE OF ONLY 2 FEMALE SEALS ON ISLAND
-- STAY AT LEAST 150 FEET FROM SEAL
-- PUNALU`U IS IMPORTANT HABITAT FOR MONK SEALS
-- PASSAGE OF RESOLUTION 169-07 PROTECTS HABITAT

According to Dr. Jason P. Turner, Assistant Professor Department of Marine Science University of Hawai'i at Hilo: "We need everyone's help in monitoring an endangered monk seal female that has recently been hauling out around Punalu'u. I developed the Hilo Marine Mammal Response Network in conjunction with NOAA and DAR and have several UH-Hilo students monitoring monk seals throughout the Big Island. The pup that was sighted at Punalu'u was born at Papaikou last summer and is one of only 2 female seals known to inhabit Hawaii Island. It is essential that we collect information regarding her whereabouts and protect her from well meaning visitors and tourists.

Any information people can provide regarding where the seal is located would be greatly appreciated. You can contact me directly at 808-217-6812 (cell) or 808-933-3114 (office) or call the student network coordinator Melissa Netze (808-756-5961 -cell). Melissa will be surveying Punalu'u and areas around South Point tomorrow (Thursday 9/20) and would appreciate any information anyone can provide. She also plans to be down at the beach on Thurs., Sept 20th. Thanks and again I appreciate any help you can provide."

STAY AT LEAST 150 FEET FROM SEAL
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

While seldom seen along the shores of Punalu`u, the Hawaiian monk seal (Ilio-holo-i-ka-uaua) is known to use the area as a habitat and has been sighted along the coast of Ka`u. Researchers are discovering that the population of monk seals in the main Hawaiian islands is less than fifty, but may play a critical role in the survival of the species. The Hawaiian monk seal, Monachus schauinslandi, is Hawaii's only pinniped. It is a species that is considered endemic to the islands and is believed to have evolved there. The monk seal is one of Hawaii's two endemic mammals. Hawaii's only other endemic mammal is the Hoary bat.

PLEASE STAY AT LEAST 150 FEET FROM SEAL

Learn More About Monk Seals

PUNALU`U IS IMPORTANT HABITAT FOR MONK SEALS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The population of the Hawaiian monk seal is currently estimated to be between 1,500 and 1,200 individuals. They are considered an endangered species and nearly all live and breed in the remote Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The monk seal is extremely sensitive to human activity. Mothers often abandon preferred pupping and haul out areas and even their pups prior to weaning, when disturbed by human visitors. Therefore, in order to help protect the species, it is important to enjoy monk seals from a distance, and give them the solitude they need to survive. Scientist believe the population in the main Hawaiian islands may be increasing, making the isolated and sandy coves around Punalu`u critically important to the monk seal's survival as it is one of the last undeveloped beaches left in Hawai`i.

Learn More About the Critical Habitat at Punalu`u

PASSAGE OF RESOLUTION 169-07 PROTECTS HABITAT
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Just two days after the Monk Seal was sighted at Punalu`u, the Hawaii County Council passed Resolution 169-07 that will protect this important habitat at Punalu`u forever.

Contact Information
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
email: danny@kaupreservation.org
phone: (808) 928-8144
web: http://www.kaupreservation.org
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

posted in Hawaiian Culture and Independence - 0 replies

Puna Unity and Liberation @the Shire Sept 28, 29, 30

iriseve — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 22:04:20 GMT

Aloha Family
I want to let y'all know about the gathering September 28, 29 and 30th @ the Shire..
This will be an awareness raising and community sharing event, dealing with the very real invasions of homes and families in Puna, due to a plant the earth grows naturally. Testimonies will be shared by individuals who have been affected by this including mothers and children. Many bands soon to be announced. Activism ideas and support by Roger Christie and others. High Times magazine will also be coming to do an article about the event. Any singers, dancers, musicians, poets or other creative souls who want to contribute, share testimony, support or learn can contact me for more info here on tribe or at www.myspace.com/irisohana

posted in Hawaiian Culture and Independence - 0 replies

Punalu`u on YouTube

Steven — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 03:07:02 GMT

My friend has been working with Ka`u preservation and has uploaded some videos. Check em out....
http://www.youtube.com/kaufilms

posted in Hawaiian Culture and Independence - 0 replies

Good news on Mauna Kea

Hunakai — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 13:54:01 GMT

Mauna Kea Ruling Halts Telescope Expansion

Hawai‘i Land Board Rebuked for Ignoring Law Requiring Comprehensive Planning

Building new observatories atop Mauna Kea will now be more difficult after a Hawai‘i judge ordered the state’s Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) to come up with a comprehensive plan that protects the mountain’s natural and cultural resources.

Third Circuit Court Judge Glenn S. Hara issued his final order this week, voiding BLNR’s permit for six new Keck “outrigger” telescopes proposed by NASA, the University of California, Caltech and the University of Hawaii. In issuing the order, Hara affirmed his January 19, 2007 ruling on the permit and rejected a UH Institute for Astronomy petition to reconsider it.

The order comes at a time when astronomers are vigorously pushing two new summit projects, an Air Force telescope to scan the sky for near-space objects and a giant University of California/Caltech thirty-meter optical-infrared telescope.

The judge rejected BLNR’s approval of the outriggers because BLNR failed to adopt a comprehensive management plan that conserves the natural and cultural resources of the summit, a state-designated “conservation district.” The judge ruled that BLNR’s approval was “not consistent with the Legislature’s stated purpose for managing the Conservation District” and that “the resource to be conserved, protected, and preserved is the summit area of Mauna Kea.”

He further affirmed that appropriate management is for the promotion of the long term sustainability of the protected resources of Mauna Kea. The 14,000-foot volcano, sacred to Native Hawaiians, is home to fragile ecosystems and ancient cultural and religious sites.

“Judge Hara’s order makes clear that Mauna Kea must be managed in the public’s interest for conservation, not to promote observatory development for international astronomy,” said Kealoha Pisciotta of Mauna Kea Anaina Hou, which joined Sierra Club, the Royal Order of Kamehameha I and several Native Hawaiians as a plaintiff in the lawsuit that led to the order.

The ruling challenges the legal status of the University of Hawai‘i’s 2000 Master Plan and the UH Office of Mauna Kea Management the plan created—neither reviewed nor approved by BLNR. Environmentalists and Hawaiians have long urged Hawai‘i’s Legislature to create an independent management authority composed of representatives of the conservation district’s legally defined rightholders—Hawai‘i citizens, in whose interest the district was created, and Native Hawaiians who by law are beneficiaries of Mauna Kea’s ceded lands. Funding for the proposed agency would come from lease rents assessed on existing observatories who now pay the state only one dollar a year and forfeit some observatory time to UH in exchange for their district subleases.

“This ruling is significant for all conservation districts where astronomy development is proposed, including Haleakala as well as Mauna Kea,” said Clarence Ching, a Native Hawaiian practitioner who was a plaintiff in the suit.

The judge’s order also overruled BLNR’s 1995 attempt to transfer their authority to manage Mauna Kea to UH, which later created its Office of Mauna Kea Management. “Now maybe UH will stop spending public funds to circumvent laws meant to conserve our vulnerable resources for future generations,” said Deborah J. Ward of Sierra Club.

Hara’s ruling opens up the question of what to do about telescopes built under the university’s now defunct master plan, including the Gemini Telescope and at least two of the Smithsonian Institution’s submillimeter antennas. The last BLNR approved plan, created in 1985, allowed only eleven major telescopes (and two then existing small 24 inch telescopes). Depending on how they are counted—a longstanding bone of contention—as many as twenty telescopes now exist on Mauna Kea.

Hara’s ruling was the second legal setback for the observatories. In 2003, Honorable Susan Oki Mollway judge of federal district court, district of Hawai`i, found NASA’s environmental assessment for the outriggers inadequate, a decision that compelled NASA to prepare the first federal EIS ever submitted for a Mauna Kea telescope. Previous U.S. government projects that violated U.S. law requiring such reviews include the NASA Infrared Telescope, the Smithsonian Institution’s Submillimeter Array, the National Radio Astronomy Observatory’s Very Long Base Array and the Gemini Telescope. Both decisions reflect continued public discontent about the way Mauna Kea has been managed by BLNR and UH.

“We pray the state and federal governments take these court decisions to heart,” said Paul Neves of the Royal Order of Kamehameha I, “so people will be relieved of the burden of going to court to force these agencies to do their jobs and protect the people’s rights and resources.”

posted in Hawaiian Culture and Independence - 1 reply

Looking for People who do Hawaiian String games and Figures!

Wiremu — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 04:29:08 GMT

Aloha, Kia ora and warm greetings from Aotearoa NZ.

I am currently researching for a documentary I'm making on String games and figures from around the world. The doco focuses on indigenous stories about people who have an interest in string games. I am looking for people in Hawaii who practise or love doing traditional Hawaiian string games and figures. I would love to hear from anyone who has an interest in string games! Any help is appreciated!

Mahalo
Naku noa

Thank you!
Wiremu!
wiremu.tekiri@maoritelevision.com

posted in Hawaiian Culture and Independence - 0 replies

Hi Statehood Vote: FWD Scott Crawford's letter to Maui News

Hunakai — Sun, 27 May 2007 14:19:26 GMT

This is a copy of a letter independence activist Scott Crawford sent to the Maui News:

Looking beyond totals makes vote suspect

Wendell Nakamura writes that “94 percent of the people of Hawaii voted yes to becoming the 50th state” in 1959 (Letters, May 18). Fact check: Only 22 percent of the population even voted in the so-called plebiscite for statehood.

More importantly, though, are the questions of who was allowed to vote, and for what. Any U.S. citizen who had resided in the islands for a year was allowed to vote, which included large numbers of American military servicemen and their families, who were essentially the occupation force that has held Hawaii since the purported annexation in 1898. Imagine U.S. soldiers being allowed to vote in Iraqi elections today!

The question on the ballot was: “Shall Hawaii immediately be admitted into the union as a state?” Yes or No? Yet, the U.N. resolution guiding the process for removal of territories from the List of Non-Self-Governing Territories under which Hawaii was administered (Resolution 742) stated: “the manner in which Territories . . . can become fully self-governing is primarily through the attainment of independence.”

Why was the option of independence not on the ballot in 1959?

But with the wrong question asked of the wrong population, even the vote in 1959 was not a valid act of self-determination, and did nothing to legitimize the occupation or legally transfer Hawaii’s sovereignty to the United States.

Scott Crawford

Hana

posted in Hawaiian Culture and Independence - 0 replies

Important FWD -- one Kupuna's response to Akaka Bill

Hunakai — Sat, 12 May 2007 17:05:12 GMT

Dear Sirs:

Subject: Testimony in Opposition to S.310

Time and Place: Hearings being held in Washington DC on May 3, 2007.

From: Clarence Ching, PO Box 6916, Kamuela, HI 96743

Email: kahiwal@cs.com

1. I object that these hearings are being held in Washington, DC - a great distance from the bulk of native Hawaiian people - the principle peoples who are supposedly whose issues are the subject matter of the proposed legislation.

2. I object that S.310 has been designed, drafted, being heard, and is being totally acted upon in Washington DC. The proposed legislation is sooo far removed from the people that it supposedly will affect - that it is immoral and dishonest to carry out these hearings.

3. I object that no Workshops have been held in Hawaii or anywhere else - so that the people - the native Hawaiians - would be assisted in understanding what this proposed legislation is all about.

4. I object that the Senatorial sponsors of this bill have not had the honesty and openness to educate those who are to be affected by this bill.

5. I object that there have been no press releases, editorials of any kind in any media - that would explain what the bill is all about and how it would affect the subject peoples.

6. The United States of America, by any of its divisions, is in violation of its "supreme" law (Constitution and Treaties) by attempting to provide a process by which the non-suspecting peoples involved in that legislation are encouraged to modify their existing government (a separate nation/state than the United States - being the Kingdom of Hawaii) - that the United States actually "recognizes" by supporting such modification.

In other words - by this proposed legislation - the United States is interfering in the internal affairs of a different and separate nation/state.

7. Hawaii is NOT part of the United States of America.

While the United States has historically shammed the Annexation of Hawaii - nothing meeting the minimal requirements of international law pertaining to annexation has ever taken place.

For background - Hawaii declared itself to be constitutional monarchy in 1840 - First Constitution. In 1843, Hawaii was recognized as a full-fledged member of the Family of Nations (by England, France and the United States). Hawaii declared itself to be a "neutral" nation in 1850 - and therefore could not be conquered by war.

Therefore - the only legal process for annexation of Hawaii by anyone would have to be by Treaty of Annexation and a majority plebiscite vote of the people.

There has been NO Treaty of Annexation regarding Hawaii NOR a plebiscite approving of such "ficticious" Treaty.

While the United States attempted to "annex" Hawaii by a Resolution - a domestic instrument that is in noncompliance with the "supreme" law of the land - such "fiction" does not pass the test of annexation as set forth by accepted international law.

Therefore - this attempted legislation is WITHOUT necessary jurisdiction in international law.

8. Hawaii is "Occupied" by the United States - just as Iraq is today.

9. An occupying nation must comply with the laws of the "occupied" nation-state. And any attempt to creat legislation in opposition to the laws of the "occupied" nation is illegal.

10. This proposed legislation is non-compliant with the "supreme" laws (the Constitution) and treaties (for instance - treaties with the Kingdom of Hawaii that the United States has violated) - of the United States.

11. This proposed legislation violates the "supreme" (Constitution and Treaties) law of the (United States) land.

12. This proposed legislation should be placed delicately in the round file (trash can).

Thank you for this opportunity to express my sincere and correct by the standards of international law regarding this "sham" legislation.

It is decidedly unfortunate that such a "fictitious" attempt as this - to attempt to "correct" the mistakes of the United States of the past - to even see the light of day in the United States Senate.

/s/ Clarence Ching
DATED: May 2, 2007 at Paauilo, Hawaii.

posted in Hawaiian Culture and Independence - 2 replies

FWD Article on "The New Land Rush"

Hunakai — Mon, 14 May 2007 20:35:10 GMT

This article addresses a little known consequence of global warming. We have to oppose this new use of the "doctrine of discovery."
-----

The New Land Rush

By Robert J. Miller <http://www.alternet.org/authors/8347/> ,
TomPaine.com <http://www.tompaine.com/> . Posted May 7, 2007
<http://www.alternet.org/ts/archives/?date[F]=05&date[Y]=2007&dat\
e[d]=07&act=Go/> .

Nations are racing to plant flags and claim the "new world" of
islands and sea routes that are emerging as Arctic ice melts.
Recent news reports state that global warming and the shrinking
Arctic icecaps are opening new sea lanes and making barren
islands suddenly very valuable. In fact, the international
community might experience a new race of exploration, conquest
and acquisition for this "new world" -- these newly available
lands and sea routes. Conflicts could arise over shipping lanes,
islands, fish stocks, minerals and oil that are now becoming
accessible and commercially exploitable.
Governments are even now engaged in asserting their sovereignty
over these areas and assets. Canada, Denmark and the United
States are already involved in diplomatic disputes over these
issues. For example, Canada and Denmark have sent diplomats and
warships to plant their flags on tiny Hans Island near
northwestern Greenland.

In 1984, Denmark's Minister for Greenland Affairs landed on the
island in a helicopter and raised the Danish flag, buried a
bottle of brandy, and left a note that said "Welcome to the
Danish Island."

Canada was not amused by this assertion of Danish sovereignty. In
2005, the Canadian Defense Minister and troops landed on the
island and hoisted the Canadian flag. Denmark lodged an official
protest. In addition, Canada, Russia and Denmark are claiming
waters all the way to the North Pole.

Moreover, the United States and Canada are disputing Canadian
claims that the emerging Northwest Passage sea route is in its
territory. The U.S. insists the waters are neutral and open to
all but Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper states that he
will place military icebreakers in the area "to assert our
sovereignty and take action to protect our territorial
integrity."

This kind of conduct is nothing new. It mirrors exactly the
actions taken by European and American governments in the 15th --
20th centuries in their race to claim the lands and the assets of
the New World of the Americas, Africa, and other areas.

That race was conducted under the international legal principle
known today as the Doctrine of Discovery. Under various papal
bulls, Spain and Portugal could establish claims to the lands of
indigenous, non-Christian, non-European peoples by merely
"discovering" the lands.

Spanish, Portuguese, and later English and French explorers
engaged in numerous types of Discovery rituals upon encountering
new lands. The hoisting of their flag and the cross and leaving
evidence that they had been there was part of the Discovery
process.

In 1776-78, for example, Captain Cook established English claims
to British Columbia by leaving English coins in buried bottles.
In 1774, he erased Spanish marks of ownership and possession in
Tahiti and replaced them with English ones. Upon learning of
this, Spain dispatched explorers to restore its marks of
possession. Furthermore, in 1742-49, French military expeditions
buried lead plates throughout the Ohio country to reassert the
French claims of discovery dating from 1643. The plates stated
that they were "a renewal of possession."

Americans also engaged in discovery rituals. The Lewis & Clark
expedition marked and branded trees and rocks in the Pacific
Northwest to prove the American presence and claim to the region.
They also left a memorial or memo at Fort Clatsop in March 1806
and gave copies to Indians to deliver to any whites that might
arrive to prove the U.S. presence and claim to the Northwest.

The memorial stated that its "object" was that "through the
medium of some civilized person ... it may be made known to the
informed world" that Lewis & Clark had crossed the continent and
lived at the mouth of the Columbia River on the Pacific Ocean.
This was nothing less than a claim of discovery and possession of
the region and a claim of ownership under the Doctrine of
Discovery.

A decade later, as the U.S. and England argued over the Pacific
Northwest and the possession of Fort Astoria at the mouth of the
Columbia, Secretary of State John Quincy Adams and President
James Monroe took actions based directly upon the principles of
Discovery.

In 1817, as they despaired that England would voluntarily return
Fort Astoria, Adams and Monroe ordered an American diplomat and
naval captain to sail to Astoria "to assert the [American] claim
of territorial possession at the mouth of Columbia River." Adams
wrote that this mission was designed "to resume possession of
that post, and in some appropriate manner to reassert the title
of the United States."

Accordingly, Monroe and Adams ordered the American diplomat John
Prevost and Captain James Biddle to sail to the Columbia and to
"assert there the claim of sovereignty in the name of ... the
United States, by some symbolical or other appropriate mode of
setting up a claim of national authority and dominion."

The President and Secretary of State were ordering them to engage
in Discovery rituals. Prevost and Biddle did as they were
ordered. In August 1818, Captain Biddle arrived at the north side
of the mouth of the Columbia River and in the presence of Chinook
Indians he raised the U.S. flag, turned the soil with a shovel,
and nailed up a lead plate that read: "Taken possession of, in
the name and on the behalf of the United States by Captain James
Biddle." He repeated this Discovery ritual on the south shore of
the Columbia and hung up a wooden sign declaring American
ownership of the region.

John Prevost arrived at Fort Astoria in September 1818 and with
the cooperation of the English he proceeded to use Discovery
rituals to reclaim the fort for the United States. First, the
English flag was lowered and the U.S. flag was hoisted in its
place. Then the English troops filed a salute, the American flag
was taken down and the Union Jack was returned to its place, and
the American diplomat sailed away with his Discovery mission
accomplished.

In 1823, the United States Supreme Court in Johnson v. M'Intosh
declared that the Doctrine of Discovery had been the law on the
North American continent since the beginning of European
exploration and controlled how Europeans and Americans could
claim and acquire land from the Indian nations.

Discovery is still the law in the United States today and in the
international arena as is well demonstrated by the actions of
modern day countries attempting to claim new lands and assets in
the Arctic. We appear to be at the start of a new race to
establish claims to this "New World" of the Arctic as the icecaps
retreat, and it is evident that the rituals and principles of the
Doctrine of Discovery provide the legal framework for claims to
newly discovered lands and assets.

posted in Hawaiian Culture and Independence - 0 replies

FWD from Noelani: Doe vs. Kamehameha Schools Lawsuit Settled

Hunakai — Mon, 14 May 2007 19:59:20 GMT

Sharing a FWD from Noelani Jai, who has been an inspirational and tireless activist on this issue.
----------

Doe v. Kamehameha Lawsuit Settled

Aloha kakou,

Kamehameha Schools and John Doe's attorneys have reached an agreement whereby John Doe has withdrawn his petition for certiorari to the Supreme Court. This means:

(1) First and foremost, Princess Pauahi's intended beneficiaries will continue to be blessed by her visionary gift of education.

(2) The majority opinion of the Ninth Circuit Court ruling of December 5, 2006 will be the last legal word on the Kamehameha Schools' admissions policy. That is, it can be cited as strong precedent for support of Kamehameha Schools' unique mission to serve the indigenous people of Hawai'i, with the blessing of Congress and the ongoing support of the U.S. courts.

[To clarify, John Doe will not be admitted to the Kamehameha Schools, because he already graduated from high school in 2006].

The Kamehameha Schools admissions preference has unfortunately been caught up in a larger political movement seeking to strip aboriginal peoples of the few resources remaining after colonization. The current political climate is not favorable to Native American Indians, Native Alaskans or Native Hawaiians. Therefore, I support the Kamehameha Schools' decision to avoid any further risk associated with fighting this particular lawsuit.

It has been my highest pleasure to serve our community by keeping us united in prayer during these 21 months since the original Ninth Circuit Court ruling. From marching alongside thousands in the heart of San Francisco, to our many prayer vigils (from the islands to different locations on the continent to Iraq), I have been blessed beyond measure to see our people unite at the foot of the cross of Jesus Christ.

As I shared at the San Francisco march and rally, we were at a crossroads as a people. I believe we chose wisely. We put aside our own differences, worked hard to forgive as we've been forgiven, and turned to Ke Akua alone in our distress. I believe He has heard the prayers of His peple, and answered by giving us this opportunity to put this matter behind us....starting today.

I pray His blessings on each one of you I've met (in person, or via the web), until we meet again.

Imua Kamehameha! Imua Hawai'i!

Me ke aloha pumehana o 'Iesu Kristo,
Noelani (Loo) Jai, KS '83
Noelani@HawaiiansUnite.com
www.HawaiiansUnite.com

posted in Hawaiian Culture and Independence - 0 replies

FWD Radio Shows from notable Hawaiian scholar and activist

Hunakai — Sat, 12 May 2007 17:11:26 GMT

FROM J. KEHAULANI KAUANUI - " I will be a guest on the radio
show, Native America Calling, next Wednesday May 16th from 1-2pm
EST. The show can be heard online live stream:
http://www.nativeamericacalling.com/
<http://www.nativeamericacalling.com/>
I will be addressing the problems with the Akaka bill and
speaking out in support of full self-determination under
international law.
http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096414877
<http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096414877>

In addition, I will use the slot for my own radio program
"Indigenous Politics: From Native New England and Beyond" next
week (Friday from 4-5pm EST) to focus on the Akaka bill as well.
Folks can also listen live online:
www.wesufm.org <http://www.wesufm.org/> "

posted in Hawaiian Culture and Independence - 0 replies

Waianae, O'ahu, demands cleanup of munitions

Hunakai — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 16:11:50 GMT

The Honolulu Star-Bulletin | www.starbulletin.com

Vol. 12, Issue 104 - Saturday, April 14, 2007

Waianae demands cleanup of munitions

The neighborhood board tells the Army to present a plan and hold a town meeting

By Gregg K. Kakesako
gkakesako@starbulletin.com
The Waianae Neighborhood Board has told the Army that it wants an "immediate cleanup of all munitions," including chemical weapons, that are in the waters off the Leeward Coast.

The board, in a two-page letter signed Thursday by chairwoman Patty Teruya, demanded that Lt. Gen. John Brown, commanding general of U.S. Army Pacific, present by June 1 "a coherent strategy and plan for cleaning up the munitions and tangible responses to the legitimate concerns this community has voiced on an array of venues over the past 18 months."

The Waianae board also told Brown that it wants the Army to conduct a town hall meeting within the next 30 days.

Sara Fishburne, Army spokeswoman, said that Ted Davis, Army deputy assistant secretary for environment, safety and occupational health, intends to convene a forum within the next month with all relevant parties, including representatives of the Waianae community, to review a recent National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration report. Last month the Army released the results of a two-week study done in June by NOAA, the University of Hawaii, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources and the Army that said there was no immediate danger to the public.

More than a dozen previously undetected munition clusters were found during a sonar survey and sea-floor mapping. Nine were found near the shoreline in shallow waters ranging from 24 to 60 feet in depth. Five other clusters were found in deeper waters near the area where the Army Corps of Engineers discovered most of the munitions five years ago.

During that survey, conducted in 2000 by the Army Corps of Engineers, more than 2,000 conventional or nonchemical munitions were identified.

But Leeward residents were not impressed by the latest survey, and say the fish caught there shouldn't be eaten.

The board's letter says that at its proposed town hall meeting it wants the Army to provide the experts who:

» conducted analysis and testing of marine life and ocean waters, since the board does not believe the test results;

» can brief the community on the Army's plan to remove munitions from the ocean, including a specific timetable and where and how the munitions will be destroyed;

» can talk about the Army's plan to produce and distribute educational materials for schoolchildren to warn them of dangers posed by munitions and what to do if they find them.

Article URL: http://starbulletin.com/2007/04/14/news/story06.html
© 1996-2007 The Honolulu Star-Bulletin | www.starbulletin.com

posted in Hawaiian Culture and Independence - 2 replies

FWD: Native Hawaiians Maintain Their Inherent Sovereignty

Hunakai — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 16:29:09 GMT

http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096414877&print=yes

Indian Country Today
April 20, 2007

Native Hawaiians maintain their inherent sovereignty

by: Gale Courey Toensing / Indian Country Today

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Why should Native Hawaiians who have never
relinquished their inherent sovereignty settle for the lesser status
of federal recognition that is being put forward in the ''Akaka
Bill''?

They shouldn't, says J. Kehaulani Kauanui.

Kauanui, a Native Hawaiian and an assistant professor of anthropology
and American studies at Wesleyan University in Middletown, presented
a short history of Hawaii/U.S. relations and her views of the Akaka
Bill in a talk called ''The Politics of Native Hawaiian
Self-Determination: U.S. Federal Policy v. International law'' at
Yale University on April 4.

She began with thanks to the event sponsors - the Yale Group for the
Study of Native America and the Program in Ethnicity, Race and
Migration - and acknowledged the land now known as New Haven as the
original homeland of the Quinnipiac people.

A heated debate about Hawaiian sovereignty now centers on the
proposed Hawaiian federal recognition bill reintroduced into Congress
by Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, in January after six years of defeat
in the Senate, Kauanui said.

The Hawaiian sovereignty movement is split between those who support
federal recognition and those who want full independence from the
United States based on decolonization and de-occupation under
international law, Kauanui said.

''At the heart of this division between federal recognition and
independence is the debate as to whether or not, and if so, how
Native Hawaiians fit into U.S. policy on Native American governing
entities,'' Kauanui said.

A compelling argument against federal recognition is how federally
recognized tribes are treated now, Kauanui said.

''You have a backlash against tribal nations in this area who are
absolutely entitled to federal recognition and you have the state
bearing down on them, and the courts continue to erode tribal
sovereignty. So the challenge for me, intellectually, legally and
politically, has been how to formulate my critique of federal
recognition for Hawaiians without it ever being misinterpreted as
something that can be used against tribes here, because I support the
federal recognition of tribes here,'' Kauanui said.

But the central argument against federal recognition rests on ''the
particularity of the Hawaiian claims given the legal history of the
Hawaiian kingdom,'' Kauanui said.

Those particularities are embedded as facts in Public Law 103-150 -
an apology to the Hawaiian people that was signed in 1993 by
President Bill Clinton.

The apology acknowledges the illegality of the U.S. government's
military-backed regime change of ''the sovereign Hawaii nation'' in
1893 and its support for the illegally created ''provisional
government'' in violation of treaties and international law. The
insurgents were wealthy American and European financiers and
colonists who owned sugar plantations.

The key statement in the apology reiterates Hawaii's continuing
independence: ''The indigenous Hawaiian people never directly
relinquished their claims to their inherent sovereignty as a people
or over their national lands to the United States, either through
their monarchy or through a plebiscite or referendum.

''This legal genealogy makes the current push for federal recognition
as reflected in the Akaka Bill extremely problematic,'' Kauanui said.

The word ''people'' itself puts Hawaiians in line with international
law that says all

peoples have the right to determine their political structures.

''When you say 'people,' you're saying a nation. A people is not an
ethnic group,'' Kauanui said, quoting Lumbee legal scholar David
Wilkins, who outlined four elements that set American Indians apart
from racial minorities.

''Indians are nations, not minorities,'' Wilkins said, because they
were the original inhabitants of the land; their pre-existence
necessitated the negotiation of political compacts, treaties and
alliances with European nations and the United States. As
treaty-recognized sovereigns, Indian peoples are subject to U.S.
trust doctrine, which is supposed to be a unique legal relationship
with the federal government that entails protection; and, stemming
from the trust relationship, the United States asserts plenary power
of tribal nations, which it deems exclusive and pre-emptive.

Native Hawaiians who want to pursue self-determination through
international law contest this U.S. use of the ''doctrine of
discovery'' to indigenous peoples' lands and U.S. assertion to legal
title to those lands while only recognizing tribal nations' use of
the land, Kauanui said.

The ''provisional government'' ceded 1.8 million acres of Hawaiian
lands to the United States in 1898, but those lands have never fallen
into private hands.

''These are lands the U.S. government accepted from the people that
stole them from the Hawaiian monarchy. Never has a penny exchanged
hands and never has a case about the legal title of these lands ever
been adjudicated so this is a major outstanding land claim - 1.8
million acres of some of the most expensive real estate in the world
and one of the most militarized place in the world,'' Kauanui said,
referring to the massive U.S. nuclear base in Honolulu, which is the
central command for U.S. military interests in the Pacific Ocean.

Supporters of federal recognition say there is nothing in the Akaka
Bill that would compromise or foreclose Hawaiian national claims
under international law, but U.S. actions in asserting its plenary
power to keep tribal nations both domestic and dependent belie that
claim, Kauanui said.

Hawaiians may not be able to realize their independence right now,
''but just because you can't see it come to fruition right now
doesn't mean you throw it down the toilet. You protect the claims.
I'd rather stick with the status quo for the moment and work on
cultural sovereignty, get the people stronger and work on educating
people about their political rights,'' Kauanui said.

Under the Akaka Bill, Hawaii could never have casinos, never have
criminal and civil jurisdiction, never petition the secretary of the
Interior Department to take land into trust and never be able to make
land claims under the 1790 Non-Intercourse Act, which would mean
''there goes those 1.8 million acres,'' Kauanui said.

No competing Hawaiian sovereignty group would have legal standing in
any domestic court or at the United Nations. The Native Hawaiian
government would be formed by a commission appointed by and
answerable to the Interior secretary, unlike federally recognized
Indian tribes who determine their own leadership and membership. And
Hawaiians could not have their own civil or criminal jurisdiction.

''Why should we do that? It seems a more critical time than ever for
Hawaiians and all U.S. citizens to critically question why there
should not be a Hawaiian embassy in Washington, D.C. Instead of
negotiating with the Department of the Interior, Hawaiians have the
un-extinguished right to negotiate instead with the U.S. Department
of State,'' Kauanui said.

posted in Hawaiian Culture and Independence - 0 replies

Jan. 2008 -- Solidarity Fast to Support a Free Hawai'i

Hunakai — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 22:20:35 GMT

Aloha kakou,
A few days ago I posted the notice below in the events section. Since then, I've been checking in with a few elders and feel confident about this as a thing that can help, spiritually and politically. I will begin to organize information on safe fasting for those who are thinking about participating. You can be anywhere to do this. But I'm hoping small groups of people will gather together and sit during the fast, here or over there, in Hawai'i.

Please contact me if you want to participate, either as a faster, a "kokua" to help watch over the fasters, or if you have a place where people can gather peacefully and quietly for Jan. 16-18 next year. I am interested in knowing who wants to do this so that I can offer support and information to you.

Of key importance is this: search for your stone, the one that will be with you when you fast. Ask permission to move it, if you are going to move it. And ask permission to have it with you during the fast. You will be feeling the stone's energy during your fast. The stones will ground us and teach us.

If this sounds odd to you, please feel free to contact me and ask questions. And spread the word about the fast!

I am dedicating my fast to the memory and guidance of Gwen Leialoha Burrows, as well as to the restoration of the kingdom.
Mahalo!
Waihili
---------

Aloha kakou,

On Jan. 17, 18, 19 in 2008 -- the anniversary of the forcible seizure of the Kingdom of Hawai'i -- people who wish to protest the illegal takeover, annexation, statehood and current condition of the colonized Kingdom of Hawai'i may wish to conduct a one to three day fast in solidarity with "na kanaka maoli" -- the native people -- as well as with the other multi-cultural descendents of Hawaiian nationals (citizens of the Kingdom). These people and their ancestors have lived through generations of brutal repression and exploitation at the hands of American business and military interests. Our fast will ask that this stop, and for the Kingdom to be restored.

Hawai'i's famous protest song, "Kaulana Na Pua," talks about "eating the stones of the land" instead of signing the enemy's paper. There is "mana" (energy) in stones and we will be asking permission to use the energy of chosen rocks to help us in our effort. Of course, water, and liquids which provide electrolytes, will also be important in our fast!

Please contact me for details on training and safe fasting, and the spiritual underpinings of this effort, as well as future logistical details. Anyone who has a place on any of the islands where fasters may sit in peace for three days during this time, please also contact me.

As well as dedicating my fast to the restoration of the Kingdom, I will also be dedicating my efforts to the memory of a friend, an independence activist who passed away on Feb. 5 on Kaua'i. I believe she may have sent me the inspiration for this fast, and the message about the energy of the stones to sustain us in this effort. May Na Akua bless us in this effort and may it be pleasing to Na Aumakua and Na Kupuna, our ancestors and elders, whom we hold in aloha and respect.

With great humility and gratitude,
Waihili

posted in Hawaiian Culture and Independence - 0 replies

The passing of a real fighter, Gwen Leialoha Burrows

Hunakai — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 15:16:38 GMT

Aloha kakou,
The woman below passed away in February, but I didn't know it until just today. Aunty Gwen Leialoha Burrows was my friend, even though we had never met. We knew each other through a Hawai'i Independence list and over the years I've been stunned with admiration at her crusty, feisty spirit and "take no prisoners" modes of communication. She was a passionate advocate for Hawaiian independence and did not mince words. And yet she had another side, warm hearted and deeply spiritual. She had access to other realms, and over the last year and a half shared a lot with us, and gave some particular attention to me, as I struggled to make sense of certain inexplicable occurances in my own life. I began to rely on her guidance and insight, and her hope that Light would triumph.

I will miss her so much.
-------------

GWEN LEIALOHA BURROWS, 66, of Kaua'i, died Feb. 5, 2007. Born in Ho'olehua, Moloka'i. A cafeteria worker with the state Department of Education. Survived by son, Ashley Place; daughters, Tenley Amaki, Shelley Thomas, Chris and Robyn Nihi; brothers, William Jr. and Thomas Ahyee, James, Frank and Jesse; sisters, Ruth Soares, Willimina English, Billy-Jo and Susan Ahyee; 10 grandchildren; one great-grandson. Visitation 2 to 3 p.m. Saturday at Borthwick Mortuary, Koloa; service 3 p.m. Service 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. May 26 at Kamalo Wharf, Moloka'i; scattering of ashes to follow. Lei welcome. Casual attire. Arrangements by Ultimate Cremation Services of Hawai'i.

posted in Hawaiian Culture and Independence - 1 reply

Jan. 14 -- A Commemoration of Sovereign Sunday

Hunakai — Sun, 14 Jan 2007 18:38:59 GMT

January 10, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Lynette Cruz
Phone 284-3460

A Commemoration of Sovereign Sunday

114 Years After the Overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom

On January 16, 1893, United States diplomatic and military personnel
conspired with a small group of individuals to overthrow the
constitutional government of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Under the
direction of the American Minister, John L. Stevens, U.S. Marines
were directed to land at Honolulu Harbor, ostensibly to protect
American lives and property. This action led to the subversion of
the constitutional Government of Hawaii in the interests of
annexation to the United States.

The following is an excerpt from a paper written by Poka Laenui in
1984 that is timely today:

"The movement began with the awakening of my spirit when I read Queen
Liliuokalani's Hawaii's Story. I read first with curiosity, followed
by confusion, then much anger, and finally resolve of what needed to
be done. Here is what I discovered of Hawaii's history.

On January 16, 1893, over 160 American marines landed in peaceful
Honolulu armed with Gatling gun, Howitzer cannons, double cartridge
belts filled with ammunition, carbines and other instruments of war.
The protest by Hawaii's Queen that such landing was a breach of
treaty and international law was simply ignored. The troops marched
along the streets of Honolulu, rifles facing the Queen's palace.

The following day, the resident conspirators numbering 18, mostly
Americans, sneaked to a government building a few yards from where
the American troops lodged the night before. There, an American
lawyer, who had been a resident of Hawaii less than a year previous,
proclaimed they were now the government of Hawaii. Calling
themselves the
"provisional government" and selecting Sanford Dole president, they
were to exist for the explicit purpose and until terms could be
arranged with the U.S. for annexation.

Before the full declaration had been read, the U.S. marines marched
into the building to protect and support them. American Minister
Plenipotentiary and commander of all U.S. forces in Hawaii, John L.
Stevens, gave them immediate recognition as the government of Hawaii
as had been planned. He than joined in their demand that the Queen
surrender under threat of war with the U.S."

This year, the commemoration of the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom
will take place on Sunday, Jan. 14, beginning at `Iolani Palace and
continuing to Queen Lili`uokalani's statue at the State Capitol. All
are invited to offer ho`okupu at the Palace near the Queen's bedroom
at 3:30 pm. A short walk will follow to the Queen's statue for the
rest of the program at 4 pm. It is the intention of the Living
Nation to forever tell this story.

The event will feature music by Pekelo, from Maui, who has written a
song about the Queen, speakers, a reading of Grover Cleveland's
speech before Congress following the overthrow in 1893, and a
re-enactment of the drama "Ka Lei Maile Alii-The Queen's Women",
depicting a meeting of the women of Hui Aloha Aina who were
responsible for gathering many of the signatures on the Great
Petitions (Ku`e Petitions) protesting annexation of Hawaii to the
United States.

Participants are asked to bring folding chairs or mats to sit on and
refreshments to share. For more information, call 284-3460 or
284-8722.

For more information about this important event, visit
<http://www.hawaiiankingdom.org/>www.HawaiianKingdom.org. Citation
from Poka Laenui can be found at
<http://www.opihi.com/sovereignty/sovereig.txt>www.opihi.com/sovereignty/sovereig.txt.

posted in Hawaiian Culture and Independence - 3 replies

FWD: Online website for Free Hawai'i Bumperstickers and buttons

Hunakai — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 17:32:04 GMT

NOW! AN EVEN EASIER WAY TO ORDER FREE HAWAI`I STICKERS & PINS!

The Koani Foundation Presents -

www.FreeHawaiiStickers.com

The New & Easy Way To Order Your Free Hawai`i Stickers & Pins Online!

Check Out Our Gallery Of Free Hawai`i Photos

Stickers & Pins Are Still Absolutely FREE At

www.FreeHawaiiStickers.com

Order Yours Today!

posted in Hawaiian Culture and Independence - 0 replies

FWD from Noelani. Favorable Ruling for Kamehameha Schools

Hunakai — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 23:52:57 GMT

A forward from Noelani Jai, who has taken a leading role in advocating for Kamehameha Schools. Good news indeed!
----------
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Ninth Circuit Rules In Favor of Kamehameha Schools!

All praise and glory to Ke Akua, for He has done marvelous things!

I write this morning with wonderful news. The Ninth Circuit released its ruling just a few hours ago in the Doe vs. Kamehameha lawsuit. Justice Graber (who wrote the dissent in the original 8/2/05 ruling for the Ninth Circuit) wrote a wonderful majority opinion, in which she was joined by 7 other justices of the en banc panel. Four dissenting opinions were authored by Justices Bybee, Rymer, Kleinfeld and Kozinski, and they were joined by Justices O'Scannlain, Tallman and Callahan.

In other words, the ruling was 8 to 7 in favor of upholding Kamehameha Schools' admissions policy.

The majority opinion found that because the Schools' are a "wholly private K-12 educational establishment, whose preferential admissions policy is designed to counteract the significant, current educational deficits of Native Hawaiian children in Hawai'i," and because of overwhelming evidence that Congress itself has enacted laws recognizing its unique trust relationship with Native Hawawaiians, THE ADMISSIONS POLICY IS JUSTIFIED AND VALID.

Is the battle pau? Well....John Doe's attorneys have previously vowed to "take this all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary," so please continue to pule and stay informed on this important lawsuit.

But for today (at least).....let's kanikapila!!!! Mahalo Ke Akua ! Mahalo everyone for your support, pule and kokua!!!

Many blessings of Ke Akua (truly),
Noelani

posted in Hawaiian Culture and Independence - 2 replies

11/26 La Ku'oko'a - Hawaiian Independence Day Celebration at 'Iolani Palace

Hunakai — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 18:49:31 GMT

From: "Lcruz" <palolo@hawaii.rr.com>
Date: Tue, 21 Nov 2006 22:57:59 -1000
Subject: La Ku`oko`a - Hawaiian Independence Day Celebration

Press release...

November 21, 2006 Contact: Lynette Cruz

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Phone (808)284-3460

The Living Nation Celebrates

La Ku`oko`a: Hawaiian Independence Day

The Living Nation will celebrate La Ku`oko`a, Hawaiian Independence
Day, on Sunday, November 26, 3 - 7 pm on the grounds of `Iolani
Palace. Melvin Kalahiki, chair of the Living Nation, notes that "we
are privileged to remember and commemorate the life and work of
Timoteo Ha`alilio, a national hero, and to highlight the relationship
of this Hawaiian Ali`i and Ambassador to His Majesty, King Kamehameha
III."

The original celebration of Hawaii's independence took place during
the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1843, after England and France recognized
Hawaii as a member of the European family of nations, and as an
independent country equal to England, France, and the United States.
The day continued to be an annual celebration from about 1844 to
1895, and for some years afterward, unofficially.

La Ku`oko`a marks the day, November 28, 1843, that the Ali`i Timoteo
Ha`alilio, sent as part of an envoy by King Kamehameha III, succeeded
in obtaining the signatures of the authorities of Great Britain and
France on a treaty recognizing Hawai`i as a sovereign nation.
Ha`alilio, with the missionary William Richards along as his
secretary, traveled through Mexico on foot and donkey to Washington
D.C., where they met President John Tyler. Ha`alilio and Richards,
armed with his agreement, then went on to Europe, to Belgium, Paris,
and London, where the treaty was finally signed. They returned to the
United States to cement U.S. agreement. On the journey home Ke Ali`i
Timoteo Ha`alilio died, on December 3, 1844.

The Treaty of Independence was a substantial achievement under
international law, recognized by the government of the Kingdom
through the official celebration of La Ku`oko`a. After the overthrow
in 1893, the so-called Republic of Hawai`i government announced that
November 28, 1895-a Thursday-would no longer be celebrated as La
Ku`oko`a. Instead, Thanksgiving would become the official national
holiday. The po`e aloha `aina-the thousands of Kanaka Maoli opposed
to the illegal haole government-were incensed. They ignored the
government's orders, and continued to hold celebrations of La
Ku`oko`a. At those gatherings, they told the story of Ha`alilio's
journey and significant achievement. James Kaulia of the Hui Aloha
`Aina said that "the Kanaka Maoli recalled with gladness the
restoration and perpetuation of the independence of Hawai`i, but
their happiness was mixed with feelings of distress because the right
to independence had been snatched from their shoulders." He said,
further, "Ke ku nei ke kanaka Hawaii me he kuewa la, aohe ona aina:
The Hawaiian person stands as a homeless vagabond, one who has no
land." The thieves of 1895-1896 not only deprived the Kanaka Maoli
of a national holiday, they enacted laws that caused the loss of our
language and the related loss of our own history. That process caused
us to be deprived of even the memory of this national holiday.

In our current process of de-occupying, we reject the occupier's
holiday, and resurrect La Ku'oko'a instead.

As a result of the recognition of Hawaiian independence the Hawaiian
Kingdom entered into treaties with the major nations of the world and
established over ninety legations and consulates in multiple seaports
and cities. Celebrating our own holidays is one way to raise
consciousness of a history that has been erased from the standard
American textbooks and from the local Hawaii school system.

For more information about this important Holiday, visit
HawaiianKingdom.org. Funding for this project has been provided by
the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

posted in Hawaiian Culture and Independence - 3 replies

Leading Democrats say "No to Impeachment of Bush.. it is off the table"

Alexander — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 00:45:25 GMT

Leading Democrats say "No to Impeachment of Bush.. it is off the table"

Conyers Toes Party Line: No Impeachment
Something Is Extremely 'Rotten In The State Of Denmark'

Steve Watson
Infowars.net
Friday, November 10, 2006

The latest Democrat "saviour" to flip flop 180 degrees in light of
their victory is Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich. Presumed to become
chairman of the House Judiciary Committee in January, Conyers today
said that impeachment of President Bush "is off the table."

"In this campaign, there was an orchestrated right-wing effort to
distort my position on impeachment, " Conyers said in a statement
released by his Judiciary Committee spokesman. "The incoming speaker
(Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.) has said that impeachment is off the
table. I am in total agreement with her on this issue: Impeachment
is off the table."

Conyers seems to have forgotten that last December he laid out the
grounds for impeachment in a 350 page long report called "The
Constitution in Crisis: The Downing Street Minutes and Deception,
Manipulation, Torture, Retribution and Cover-ups in the Iraq War"
and later updated to add "illegal domestic surveillance. "

For a while Conyers was the darling of left leaning bloggers and
readers everywhere:

At this site, we are especially proud of the new Conyers
Report, "The Constitution in Crisis." By purchasing this book, you
have the opportunity to own a part of history and help the
Congressman hold the Bush Administration accountable. Your
assistance in helping Congressman Conyers become the next Chairman
of the House Judiciary Committee will bring us one step closer to
getting the American people the answers from this Administration
that they deserve.
- www.afterdowningstr eet.org

Conyers is so admirable. One of the very few in Congress who still
has integrity and principles. It is too bad that he does not get
more MSM coverage but why would they do that? He might upset the
Republican and Corporate plans for total control and could expose
their nefarious doings.
He is risking much by not following the official DNC program too, in
addition to challenging the Bushies.
- Huffington Post

In december 2005, upon release of the report, Conyers stated:

The Report concludes that a number of these actions amount to prima
facie evidence (evidence sufficiently strong to presume the
allegations are true) that federal criminal laws have been violated.
Legal violations span from false statements to Congress to
whistleblower laws... The Report also concludes that these charges
clearly rise to the level of impeachable conduct... In response to
the Report, I have already taken a number of actions. First, I have
introduced a resolution (H. Res. 635) creating a Select Committee
with subpoena authority to investigate the misconduct of the Bush
Administration with regard to the Iraq war and report on possible
impeachable offenses.

So Conyers was already underway with setting up investigations into
impeachable offences, but now he says that impeachment is off the
table? Clearly he has been given orders to toe the party line or
face the consequences.

Despite the fact that 86% want to see the President impeached,
leading Democrats have already ruled this out. The same leading
Democrats that voted for the war in Afghanistan, for the Patriot
Act, for Homeland Security and against a bill that simply condemned
torture of prisoners in Iraq.

After Nancy Pelosi and Howard Dean, Conyers is the latest Democrat
to show us their true colours once in power.

Conyers and the other Democrats highlight precisely why we need to
regroup, consolidate and redouble our efforts in light of the
theatrical shift of power in Washington to the left. Because as soon
as this happened, overnight, the truth movement lost a great deal of
support from those that believe the job is now done.

Taking note of many reader comments over the past few days I have
noticed a startling uprise in the amount of negative and dismissive
feedback from some readers. Evidently those who expected us to be
out dancing in the streets at the news of a Democrat landslide in
Washington have been bitterly disappointed.

We have never once suggested that the solution to a corrupt and
fascist Neocon leadership is a passive and capitulating Democrat
sideshow leadership, so why is it any surprise that we are
continuing on the same course as before?

Comments such as the following emphasize my point:

"You can only have it one way. What the hell is up with you people.
The whole time the Bush regime was in power you begged for change.
Now you have it, but your still complaining. "

Yes we are seeking change, but not a simple change of personnel as
we have witnessed this week. As we reported yesterday "There's no
doubt about it, to see frothing Neo-Cons who have been strutting
around like John Wayne for the past five years finally eat humble
pie is a breath of fresh air, but let's not be so deluded as to
think that the Neo-Con agenda, which took decades to craft, was
simply brushed aside by the victory of a party that has supported
Bush every step of the way on major issues."

Seeing Bush on TV admitting he'd took a hell of a beating was great,
for about five minutes, then he started laughing and joking about it
and talking about pushing forward to work closely with a new crowd.

Is rolling over and going back to sleep going to get Bush impeached?
Should we shut down the websites now and go save the whales or
something else we'd all love to be doing if we didn't have to
relentlessly keep fighting to stop our leaders killing our freedoms?

Within hours the Democratic elite have shown us that they don't give
a damn about holding the Bush administration up to scrutiny. With no
effective opposition in the form of a political party it is up to
the people to continue to demand justice and to continue to attempt
to reign in those who have heinously abused their power.

Thomas Jefferson described Congress as "a body to which the people
send one hundred and fifty lawyers, whose trade it is to question
everything and yield nothing."

In light of this how can any representative say something like
impeachment is 'off the table?'

found at
http://www.infowars.net/articles/november2006/101106Rotten.htm

Nancy Pelosi on YouTube and Howard Dean

Nancy Pelosi on the YouTube saying "NO TO IMPEACHMENT... ITS OFF THE TABLE"
http://youtube.com/watch?v=R-4vw2qw3Wc
or
http://youtube.com/watch?v=mAGCgY4PDNA

Howard Dean Says No Impeachment Of Bush
Lapdog Democrats to waste two years on minimum wage and mass illegal amnesty, no to Iraq inquiry, no to police state rollback, no to bringing troops home

Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet
Thursday, November 9, 2006

Howard Dean last night said there would be no impeachment proceedings against President Bush under a Democrat controlled Congress, echoing the pledge of Nancy Pelosi to protect the administration that lied a nation into a war and dismantled the very fabric of America.

Here's the exchange from Dean's appearance on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart last night.

STEWART: "How long in your mind do you feel it's gonna be before power corrupts you absolutely?"

DEAN: "Well, you know...."

STEWART: "The last guys did it in three and a half days, what are you guys aiming for?"

DEAN: "Longer than that."

DEAN: "I know half the audience wants us to impeach the President and all that kind of stuff but we're not gonna do that - we're not gonna do that."

Dean is toeing the party line first crystallized by Nancy Pelosi when she told the 60 Minutes program, "Impeachment is off the table....it's a pledge....it is a waste of time."

When will jubilant mindless liberals realize that their darling Democrats have been installed as ringers to halt the momentum of the anti-war and 9/11 truth movements while committing to shielding the Bush administration for the very crimes and misdemeanors that supposedly cost them the House and Senate in the first place?

Democrats have already clearly stated how they intend to "get to work" over the next two years - by helping Bush push through a mass amnesty for illegal aliens - something his own republican House even prevented him doing - and also wasting time on the non-issue of the minimum wage.

Will raising the minimum wage and legalizing all illegal aliens help rollback the devastation the Bush administration has wrought on the U.S. Constitution?

Will raising the minimum wage and legalizing all illegal aliens bring the troops home?

Will raising the minimum wage and legalizing all illegal aliens re-instate the nine amendments to the Constitution that were abolished under the Military Commissions Act?

Will raising the minimum wage and legalizing all illegal aliens do anything to can the unconstitutional domestic eavesdropping program?

Will raising the minimum wage and legalizing all illegal aliens do anything to claw back the out of control deficit?

We were told the Republicans were abandoned because of corruption and Iraq and yet the Democrat shills have completely avoided specifics about how they intend to address these issues and on the question of impeachment have vowed to protect Bush. Empty rhetoric about a "policy change" in Iraq is nothing more than hot air betrayed by a legacy of Democrat support for keeping the troops in the quagmire - exemplified no better than Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi, who both support imperial jaunts in the name of the "war on terror."

British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett has already stated that Blair's government will not co-operate with any move to withdraw troops from Iraq and Afghanistan and she needn't worry because the Democrats are not going to even try it.

The Associated Press reports that Pelosi and Bush have already proclaimed reconciliation and are now "making nice" and devising how they can work in tandem. Tuesday's vote and its superficial euphoric aftermath was not about a populist reaction to six years of abuse and deceit - it was a sad indictment of the fact that a majority of Americans, particularly the establishment left, still buy the hoax that the Republicrats and the Democons are anything more than two different CEO's bidding for control of Slavery Incorporated.

http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/november2006/091106deansaysno.htm

posted in Hawaiian Culture and Independence - 1 reply

Just back from Moku o Keawe (Big Island)

Hunakai — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 19:56:00 GMT

Aloha kakou,
I just got back Tuesday night, late, from a trip to Hawai'i island. There are so many things that happened, so many rich impressions, that I am still staggered by what I experienced. I am going to put my thoughts in order and share them here in a day or two.

posted in Hawaiian Culture and Independence - 0 replies

Bumpy Kanahele, Candidate for OHA board of trustees thread

Hunakai — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 19:51:44 GMT

BUMPY KANAHELE is a candidate for an at-large seat on the board of
trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

http://bumpykanahele.com/bumpy_oha_campaign.php

WAIMANALO

Come Talk the Walk with

Pu`uhonua Dennis "Bumpy" Kanahele
Candidate, OHA At-Large

Saturday, October 14, 2006
12:00 to 4:00 p.m.
Pu`uhonua O Waimanalo
41-1300 Waikupanaha Street
Waimanalo

Refreshments: Beef Stew & Rice

For more info call 259-9018 or 259-6309

"A Change You Can Bank On!"

LAHAINA

Friends for Bumpy Kanahele
OHA At-Large Candidate

Fundraiser

Monday, October 9, 2006
Lahaina Civic Center
5:30 p.m. to pau

Chili & Rice Dinner

Donation: $5

For more information, contact Patty Nishiyama at 281-1567.

Bumpy has received the endorsement of the Iron Workers Stabilization
Fund and the Ironworkers Union Local 625.

Request an absentee ballot here:

http://www.hawaii.gov/elections/voters/voteabsentee.htm

posted in Hawaiian Culture and Independence - 1 reply