All Posts (6434)

Sort by
Our Free Hawai`i TV video last week featuring Kaleo Farias, the Office of Hawaiian Affair’s former number one recruiter for Kau Inoa, brought more response than any other we have ever aired.After watching Kaleo recant his support for the Kau Inoa registry and urging everyone to remove their names by visiting UnKauInoa.org, many viewers were upset. Many felt they had been lied to by OHA. Many had questions. Many asked to see more.We’re bringing Kaleo back again this week on Free Hawai`i TV with more new information on what he saw inside of OHA and Kau Inoa that changed his mind, how he feels about what he did, and more insider details sure to amaze and surprise. It’s all coming this Wednesday on Free Hawai`i TV – don’t miss it.Imagine returning to Maui after living in Las Vegas and meeting someone who delivers a startling message about your future. Then imagine being visited by the ancient ancestors who reveal your mission.That’s what happened to Vernon Kalanikau, and he shares his amazing story with us in our newest Voices Of Truth. It’s certainly not something that happens to everyone, but he shares it with us all this week on Hawai`i’s award winning Voices Of Truth – One-On-One With Hawai`i's Future.MONDAY, November 23rd At 6:30 PM Maui – Akaku, Channel 53MONDAY, November 23rd At 7:00 PM & FRIDAY, November 27th At 5:30 PM Hawai`i Island – Na Leo, Channel 53THURSDAY, November 26th At 8:30 PM & FRIDAY, November 27th At 8:30 AM - Kaua`i – Ho`ike, Channel 52SATURDAY, November 28th At 8:00 PM O`ahu, `Olelo, Channel 53“Message Of The Ancestors – A Visit With Vernon Kalanikau”Living the good life in Las Vegas with no interest in his culture, Vernon returned to Maui only to meet an auntie who told him his future. After a visit by ancestors in Maui’s Iao Valley, he now shares their message with all who listen. Where did Hawaiians originate? Was Hawai`i anciently part of a much larger continent? Don’t miss our visit with Vernon who reveals a fascinating tale you won’t soon forget – Watch It HereVoices Of Truth interviews those creating a better future for Hawai`i to discover what made them go from armchair observers to active participants. We hope you'll be inspired to do the same.If you support our issues on the Free Hawai`i Broadcasting Network, please email this to a friend to help us continue. A donation today helps further our work. Every single penny counts.Donating is easy on our Voices Of Truth website via PayPal where you can watch Voices Of Truth anytime.For news and issues that affect you, watch Free Hawai`i TV, a part of the Free Hawai`i Broadcasting Network.Please share our Free Hawai`i Broadcasting Network videos with friends and colleagues. That's how we grow. Mahalo.
Read more…

Furloughs

Finally, some action from our Governor! It's a relief to know that Gov. Lingle is actually putting some initiative into our state. So, as the newspaper says, she is in favor of ending the furlough's and giving people back their full work week. Of course she has an opposing party in this, but there always is one. I can understand why too. I'm sure that there will be repercussions of Gov. Lingle ending the furlough's. Our Country is at war and our economy is suffering due to the nature of the costs to keep our men and women overseas. Who knows when this madness will eventually end, but our childrens' educations and our livelihood have been greatly impacted and affected from this and enough is enough already. Maybe some form of compromise can be reached with the furlough's, at least i would hope so, it's hard enough to find a job right now and for those fortunate to still have theirs, it's a struggle to bring home a decent paycheck and provide for their families. Our state is in over it's head as I see it. People have lost jobs, and even their homes over this travesty of finance. How long will it take for our economy to bounce back from this? Is it possible that we're going to go thru another "Great Depression"? I can only hope not. I have heard many stories from my father and my tutus of what it was like and how much of a struggle thhat it was to make a living and to make ends meet back then. Prices are way higher than back in that time. It would be hell to go through that at this day and age. May God be merciful.
Read more…
The National Caucus of Native American State Legislators (NCNASL)is made up of American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian StateLegislators from 18 states and is organized to provide a forum fordiscussion, education and increased communication. Additionally, theNCNASL identifies and proposes legislation and administrative actions to eliminate barriers to achievement of a better quality of life for Native people.
(This means compliance to the WASP society and values of the U.S.A. as perceived by them.)
******
******
******
******
******
******
WHEREAS to this day, Native Hawaiians remain subject to the final authority of the federal government; and
(It goes further than that; it's about nation TO nation which the U.S.should enter into a treaty situation and of honoring the one it alreadyratified recognizing the Hawaiian Kingdom as a peer to it and thus,relations are dealt by the Secretary of State. This subjugation is thecontinuance of the Manifest Destiny Doctrines as wards of the U.S.,which includes the Papal Bulls of Terra Nullius, Dum Diversas, RomanusPontifex, and Inter Caetera.)
*******
*******
WHEREAS on May 7, 2009, Hawaii’s congressional delegation introduced legislation that would clarify the legal and political relationship between Native Hawaiians and the United States; and
(This has already been determined in its treaties of friendship andcomity and its recognition of the Kingdom of Hawai'i as its peer;subject to its Constitution as the Supreme Law of the Land. The AkakaBill doesn't address this but dictates how it will deal with Hawaiinationals that are native Hawaiians and dismissing those that don'thave the blood.)
******
WHEREAS the measure, otherwise known as the "Akaka Bill," aims toextend the federal policy of self-determination and self-governance toHawaii’s indigenous, native people – Native Hawaiians, therebyestablishing parity in federal policies towards Native Hawaiians,Alaska Natives and American Indians; and
(Here again they promote the myth and deception. The Federal Policy isexpressed in the so-called Peace Treaty of 1871 whereby the U.S Senatedeclares that Indian nations will no longer be recognized as independentpowers with whom treaties can be contracted and assigned Christianmissionaries the task of working with the tribes. This reduces thestatus of the Hawaii nationals to the ranks of a U.S. tribal peoplesubject to the plenary authority of the U.S. Congress and under theSecretary of the Interior and not relations with the Secretary ofState. The notion of a nation within a nation is actually defined as abelligerent occupation. Hawaiians are NOT indigenous tribal people butaboriginal nationals/subjects of the Kingdom of Hawai'i. The Doctrinesof Manifest Destiny prevail in this case.)
WHEREAS the Akaka Bill would:
(1) Authorize the Office of Native Hawaiian Relations in theDepartment of the Interior to serve as a liaison between NativeHawaiians and the federal government;
(It's like dealing with the British subjects but not its government;people of other countries and ignoring their government or nationalstatus.)
(2) Establish the Native Hawaiian Interagency Coordinating Group – aninteragency group to be composed of federal officials from agenciesthat administer Native Hawaiian programs and services; and
(This doesn't fulfill the definition of self-determination and self-governance.)
(3) Establish a process for the reorganization of the Native Hawaiian governing entity; and
(This is a usurpation of the still existing, legitimate Kingdom of Hawai'i.)
WHEREAS while the United States Congress has traditionally treated Native Hawaiians in a manner parallel toAmerican Indians and Alaska Natives, the federal policy ofself-governance and self-determination has not been formally extendedto Native Hawaiians; and
(While this is true; it's a charade of hiding the facts of belligerentoccupation, the violations of Hawai'i's neutrality, the act ofethnocide and genocide of the native aboriginal Hawaiians, andprevention of our human rights.)
WHEREAS the Akaka Bill would remedythis discrepancy and extend to Native Hawaiians the policy ofself-governance and self-determination currently practiced by AmericanIndians and Alaska Natives; and
(The only remedy would be for the U.S. to de-occupy the Kingdom ofHawai'i, make restitution and reparations to restore it to its lawfulstatus and its people.)
WHEREAS the Akaka Bill establishes a process for the reorganization of the Native Hawaiian governing entity for the purposes of federal recognition; and
We already have ratified treaties that recognize our sovereignindependence and perpetual friendship by the U.S.A. which is anotherterm for federal recognition.)
WHEREAS the Akaka Bill itself does not extend federal recognition;rather, it simply authorizes the process for federal recognition; and
( More double-talk! Which is it if it doesn't extend federalrecognition but only authorizes a process for it? It would take anotherbill for federal recognition? Why have the Akaka Bill at all? This ismore myths; disinformation and being disingenuous to obfuscate facts.)
WHEREAS the federal government already treats Native Hawaiians as an indigenous population in many respects; and
(If this is true; then why have the Akaka Bill?)
WHEREAS the United States Congress has enacted over one hundred sixtylaws designed to address the conditions of native populations includingNative Hawaiians; and
WHEREAS these federal laws mandate the provision of health care,education, job training, the preservation of native languages, theprotection of Native American graves and the repatriation of NativeAmerican human remains; and
(We aleady see how effective these laws are as it is. Maybe we shouldadvise DLNR of these facts; evidently, they are ignorant and inept intheir ability or desire to carry these things out; of course, we can'texpect much from them as it is.)
******
WHEREAS the National Caucus of Native American State Legislatorsbelieve that the United States Congress and the President of the UnitedStates should favorably consider the Native Hawaiian GovernmentReorganization Act of 2009 to facilitate Native Hawaiians formalfederal recognition as indigenous people, self-governance, and redress;now
(This has nothing to do with proper and legal redress. It's a farcicalactions to do unlawfully what it cannot do lawfully; even by redefiningwho we are.)
 
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE NATIONAL CAUCUS OF NATIVE AMERICANSTATE LEGISLATORS that the inherent sovereignty of Tribes as recognizedthrough historical treaties and legal relationships that exist betweenTribal Nations and the United States of America is undeniable; and
(Everything that they present is false and contrary to our status; it's deniable that we fit under these definitions.)
**********
 
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, upon passage of the Native HawaiianGovernment Reorganization Act of 2009, the United States Congress andthe President of the United States are urged to expeditiouslyfacilitate Native Hawaiians formal federal recognition as indigenouspeople, self-governance, and redress.
(This defies sanity, intelligence, rational and reasoning powers. It iscomical if only that they are taking this seriously and morally correctas ultracrepidarian critics.)
Sponsored by: Sen. Brickwood Galuteria (HI), Rep. Pono Chong (HI), Rep.Mele Carroll (HI), Rep. Karen Awana (HI), Rep. Faye Hanohano (HI)
Approved date is: September 25, 2009
Certified by Caucus Chair: Rep. John McCoy (WA)
Ratified certified by: The NCNASL, September 25, 2009
(By signing this, they have joined the snollygoster club ofunscrupulous,unprincipled persons suffering from synesthesia and thefatal oneirataxia.)
 
Tane
Read more…

Obama and the 2011 Asian Pacific Summit

Read this little snippet in the Maui News and couldn't help but react negatively to the part where it states, "Obama told representatives of APEC's 21-member nations that he looks forward to seeing them in flowered shirts and grass skirts."Here we are, attempting to change the worldview of what Hawaiian culture is and he makes a comment like that! It upsets me that with his high profile, he's not giving thought to how HE portrays the Hawaiian culture and the traditions and values, some of which have been embraced by non-Hawaiians.We're constantly bombarded by images that are not accurate. For example, hula adornments and clothing doesn't include wearing coconut bras and mini pareus, nor do we as a cultural group wear grass skirts everyday. Thanks to advance technology, these are the type of images that people expect when they come to visit. There's a big difference between hula and Tahitian, and unfortunately, outsiders consider Tahitian more exciting and more entertaining. This must also be the reason why Obama had "Tihati" performing at the White House, and on national TV, news reporters identified some of the dancing as hula when in fact it was definitely not! There must be something we can do to change marketing strategies to be more "politically correct."I seem to recall that the Native Hawaiian Hospitality Association is attempting to change some of its marketing to be more sensitive to the Hawaiian culture, but don't quote me. I know that Hawaii Tourism Authority is making some effort to perpetuate and support Hawaiian culture, but they also need to pay attention to the images they're using.Obama might have grown up in Hawaii, but we shouldn't assume that he totally supports the native Hawaiian cause either. What a shame if this is true, especially when facts have surfaced to negate Hawaiian history as was "told" to us. I cannot wait to see the progress of Hawaiian sovereignty because we're currently at a disadvantage.Oia wale no.
Read more…
TESTIMONY BEFORE THE BOARD OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCESITEM D-1: RIGHT OF ENTRY PERMIT TO U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERSON LANDS ENCUMBERED BY EXECUTIVE ORDERS 1225, 1588, AND 3092KULANI CORRECTIONAL FACILITY – TMK: 2-4-008:009My name is Kat Brady and I am the Coordinator of Community Alliance on Prisons, a community initiative working to improve conditions of confinement for our incarcerated individuals, improve the quality of justice in Hawai`i, and enhance public safety by promoting smart justice policies.Community Alliance on Prisons has been following the closing of Kulani Correctional Facility very closely. We have been seeking to understand why the administration would close a minimum security prison with a better success rate that most prisons in Hawai`i. A facility with work programs that teach marketable job skills and a sex offender treatment program with a less than 2% recidivism rate since 1988.Kulani is known as a giving facility. The skilled worklines from Kulani have built roads, buildings, and even the Pahoa pool. Kulani has provided millions of dollars in labor to the county of Hawai`i. This labor cannot be replaced with the jail population because they are incarcerated for a year or less. In these austere economic times, how will the county manage its projects without this available skilled labor?The decision to close Kulani appears to have been made with no planning. We just heard that incarcerated individuals from HCCC are being bussed up to Kulani to help with the closure since all the Kulani inmates were transferred to other facilities. We also learned that sixty-three years of records are being burned in a newly dug pit.Incarcerated individuals who were told their sex abuse treatment program would be uninterrupted are sitting idle and program-interrupted. Same thing with those in the substance abuse treatment program – told their programming would be uninterrupted at Waiawa but were told upon arrival that they would have to start over. What the heck is going on?Why would the state turn over such a valuable asset that needs constant upkeep with only a two year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for an educational program for youth? Something is very wrong here and we don’t want this public trust asset to be lost.USACE APPLICATION FOR A RIGHT-OF-ENTRY PERMITNow comes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) applying for a right-of entry permit to do a remedial investigation/feasibility study under the Defense Environmental Response Program and the Military Munitions Response Program.Why?The Army Corps of Engineers hasn’t been interested in this property for sixty-three years when there were hundreds of people living and working there. Why do they want to get in there now?Is the as-yet-unfinished, Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Youth Challenge program a smoke screen, kind of like the burning pit of sixty-three years of history at Kulani?WHAT IS THIS REALLY ABOUT?As stewards of the public trust, you are entitled to know what the full plan for Kulani is. Everything about the closure has been haphazard – the staff found out about the closing in the newspaper, the closing process is not thought out. You need to press for full disclosure of the future plan for the 8,000 acres of Kulani before you open the door, even a crack.This application appears innocuous, but to those of us who have been in the trenches we see what could happen. We see how a quick decision without thinking about its implications could result in the loss of this incredible forest that is being discussed as a candidate for Natural Area Reserve (NAR) designation, mandating an even higher level of protection.The public has a right to know what is going on. This decision has been made and executed behind closed doors, even to those most affected by it. There is and has been no transparency, no discussion, no way for the public to be heard. All doors are shut. And locked. This is an affront to democracy, to the public who rely on you, and to you, who are entrusted with the protection of these of these precious and rare resources.A TWENTY-FIVE YEAR COMMITMENT?Community Alliance on Prisons has learned from reliable sources that this is just the beginning. The military is contemplating a twenty-five year commitment. Is the Corps of Engineers assessing Kulani for some larger military purpose? Shouldn’t the public be informed and involved?YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO BE HEROESPlease don’t forget that we are talking about pristine rainforest. This `aina is our rare treasure. Together we need to speak for those living things with no voice. This is our obligation. This is the duty we pay to be part of the earth community – a small cost to be able to share in the earth’s bounty in return.Chair Thielen and members of the Board that is why you must ask for the full plan. This is your opportunity to preserve one of the most special places on earth. Most people never get the opportunity that you have before you. You have the opportunity to be hero to future generations. You have the opportunity to make a thoughtful and well-reasoned decision that will impact your family and your heirs. You have an opportunity to make a decision based on your sworn commitment to be a trustee of these fragile resources. Please don’t be deceived and hand off our legacy.Community Alliance on Prisons, therefore, urges you to defer any decision on this application until the full plan for Kulani is made public. There must be community discussions before any action is taken. The community must be given the opportunity to speak, to submit comments, and to receive written responses to their concerns. Mahalo for this opportunity to testify.
Read more…
Of the 40,000 non Kingdom subjects in Hawai`i at the time of the illegal 1898 overthrow, only 1,928 or so were US nationals as documented by the 1900 census.They represented less than 3% of the entire population.The rest of the non US aliens were not supportive of the illegal annexation of Hawai`i by the US.The resulting illegal "Republic of Hawai`i" had less than 2,000 citizens.This means that less than 3% of the population, US aliens, hijacked the Hawaiian Nation against the wishes of almost everybody else.
Read more…

FREE HAWAI'I TV - "HE CHOSE TO EXPOSE"

FREE HAWAI`I TVTHE FREE HAWAI`I BROADCASTING NETWORK "HE CHOSE TO EXPOSE"We Told You Last Week They're Starting To Speak.You Won't Believe Who Now Claims Kau Inoa Deceit.OHA's Former #1 Recruiter Has Turned Straight Shooter.Watch & You'll See It's No Surprise Kau Inoa Is Full Of Lies.Then Send This Video To One Other Person Today.
Read more…

Something About Me

My name is Beverly Stickham. I'm not a lesbian or what, but I admit I had an experience kissing a girl or girls kissing with each other. It happened when I was still young when my best friend (who is also a girl) and I asked me that she wanted to practice kissing with me and how does it feel kissing girl. Well, we got so carried away while kissing each other, we forgot about every thing else for that moment. It was like nothing I had felt before, soft and gentle, head spinning kisses. We never took it any further, just lots of sneaky kissing when we could.
Read more…

Mau'i Land and ?????

So Maui Land and Pine is shutting down, what's to become of all their land and property? More housing is what i am lead to believe. I'm sure that this is one of the possible outcomes for the greedy landowners. how about agricultural farming land for the local community? HC&S already takes enough of the islands water supply, so why shouldn't Mau'i Land and Pine use the water that their crops will no longer be needing toward a good potential? Local agriculture businesses will thrive if they have the opportunity to invest in land with such fertile soil such as that which our own pineapple crops once used. Our island is already overrun with housing, and who wants to see Mau'i one day turn into another Honolulu? Keep the Valley Isle the Valley Isle. Personally, i'm not fond of tourism and all that comes along with it, but i have talked with many visitors, and they have stated that compared to O'ahu, they enjoyed Mau'i much more for its landscapes and how beautiful it is to see so much of the island and not a city and miles of housing. How helpful this would be to us if we didn't have such people making decisions on what "they" believe is best for us and our aina. Poho! They only think about self-recognition and their pockets swelling is what i believe. Find out what the local communities input and ideas are. ask children what they need. Our island is abundant with resources, yet, we are unable to access or utilize them for ourselves unless we can afford to do so..... auwe!
Read more…

Something About Me

I'm a proud member of an online dating site. I just want to share my experience the first tim,e I joined an internet dating site. At first, I came in here just for my nightly social chat line. I wasn't really looking for a relationship; but guess what happen? I simply open up my heart, and be myself; and someone out there came in that totally understand me to the point of being that missing jigsaw piece of my heart; that will make me feel whole. I was lucky to find my other half, without even searching!
Read more…
STOCKHOLM – With a solemn ceremony in Stockholm's antiquities museum, Sweden marked the return of 22 skulls looted from a native Hawaiian community more than a century ago.The symbolic ceremony on Saturday — attended by guests from Hawaii and the Nordic countries' own indigenous Sami population — was part of Sweden's increased efforts to return indigenous remains collected by scientists across the world.The Swedish government in 2005 ordered its museums to search through their collections, and has since returned more than 20 human remains, mainly to Australia.The Hawaiian skulls had been returned privately earlier Saturday so that the Hawaiian delegates could perform a ritual according to traditional customs.Museum director Lars Amreus said he hoped the return would help "fulfill the spiritual circle" of those whose graves had been violated by the Swedish scientists."We know that they were collected, although by today's standards: they were looted," Amreus said.Greeting Amreus at the ceremony with the traditional nose-to-nose — or breath-of-life — greeting "Ha," Hawaiian delegation head William Aila thanked the Nordic country for helping to recover the remains of their ancestors."I cannot adequately express the thankfulness. .. for a very, very worthy endeavor, and that is to greet our ancestors and accompany them home," Aila said in a speech during the ceremony in the museum's round-walled "Gold Room."Five of the skulls were returned by the museum itself, while 17 came from Stockholm's medical university Karolinska Institutet. They were not on display during the ceremony.Aila said the skulls would "be reburied in the soil of their birth" back in Hawaii.Of the 22 skulls, at least 15 had been taken from the Pacific islands by Swedish scientists in the 1880s during an expedition around the world. The museum received five of them through a donation in 1997, while it was unclear when Karolinska received its collection.On Wednesday, Sweden will return to New Zealand a near complete skeleton, a skull and three skeleton parts all believed to have been from the indigenous Maori population. A similar ceremony involving representatives from the Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa, is planned.
Read more…
STOCKHOLM – With a solemn ceremony in Stockholm's antiquities museum, Sweden marked the return of 22 skulls looted from a native Hawaiian community more than a century ago.The symbolic ceremony on Saturday — attended by guests from Hawaii and the Nordic countries' own indigenous Sami population — was part of Sweden's increased efforts to return indigenous remains collected by scientists across the world.The Swedish government in 2005 ordered its museums to search through their collections, and has since returned more than 20 human remains, mainly to Australia.The Hawaiian skulls had been returned privately earlier Saturday so that the Hawaiian delegates could perform a ritual according to traditional customs.Museum director Lars Amreus said he hoped the return would help "fulfill the spiritual circle" of those whose graves had been violated by the Swedish scientists."We know that they were collected, although by today's standards: they were looted," Amreus said.Greeting Amreus at the ceremony with the traditional nose-to-nose — or breath-of-life — greeting "Ha," Hawaiian delegation head William Aila thanked the Nordic country for helping to recover the remains of their ancestors."I cannot adequately express the thankfulness. .. for a very, very worthy endeavor, and that is to greet our ancestors and accompany them home," Aila said in a speech during the ceremony in the museum's round-walled "Gold Room."Five of the skulls were returned by the museum itself, while 17 came from Stockholm's medical university Karolinska Institutet. They were not on display during the ceremony.Aila said the skulls would "be reburied in the soil of their birth" back in Hawaii.Of the 22 skulls, at least 15 had been taken from the Pacific islands by Swedish scientists in the 1880s during an expedition around the world. The museum received five of them through a donation in 1997, while it was unclear when Karolinska received its collection.On Wednesday, Sweden will return to New Zealand a near complete skeleton, a skull and three skeleton parts all believed to have been from the indigenous Maori population. A similar ceremony involving representatives from the Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa, is planned.
Read more…
AND WHO WILL DO THE HONORS?___________________Free The Forgotten Bird Of ParadiseBy John PilgerNovember 16, 2009 "Information Clearing House" -- When General Suharto, the west’s man, seized power in Indonesia in the mid-1960s, he offered “a gleam of light in Asia”, rejoiced Time magazine. That he had killed up to a million “communists” was of no account in the acquisition of what Richard Nixon called “the richest hoard of natural resources, the greatest prize in South-east Asia”.In November 1967, the booty was handed out at an extraordinary conference in a lakeside hotel in Geneva. The participants included the most powerful capitalists in the world, the likes of David Rockefeller, and senior executives of the major oil companies and banks, General Motors, British American Tobacco, Imperial Chemical Industries, American Express, Siemens, Goodyear, US Steel. The president of Time Incorporated, James Linen, opened the proceedings with this prophetic description of globalisation: “We are trying to create a new climate in which private enterprise and developing countries work together for the greater profit of the free world. The world of international enterprise is more than governments . . . It is a seamless web, which has been shaping the global environment at revolutionary speed.”Suharto had sent a team of mostly US-groomed economists, known as the “Berkeley Boys”. On the first day, salutations were exchanged. On the second day, the Indonesian economy was carved up. This was done in a spectacular way: industry in one room, forests and fisheries in another, banking and finance in another. The ultimate prize was the mineral wealth of West Papua, almost half of a vast and remote island to the north of Australia. A US and European consortium was “awarded” the nickel and gold. The Freeport company of New Orleans got a mountain of copper. Forty-two years later, the gold and copper make more than a million dollars profit every day.For the Indonesian elite, enrichment was assured. From 1992 to 2004, Freeport provided $33bn in direct and indirect “benefits”, much of it finding its way to the Indonesian military, the real power in the land, which “protects” foreign investments in the manner of a mafia. The reward for the people of West Papua has been a rate of impoverishment double that of the rest of Indonesia, says a World Bank report. At Bintuni Bay, where BP is exploiting natural gas, 56 per cent of the people live in abject poverty. “More than 90 per cent of villages in Papua do not have basic health facilities,” the report noted. In 2005, famine swept the district of Yahukimo, where virgin forests and gas deposits deliver unerring profit. The suffering of West Papuans is seldom reported; the Indonesian government bans foreign journalists and human rights organisations such as Amnesty from the hauntingly beautiful territory known by its indigenous people as “the forgotten bird of paradise”.When the carve-up of its natural wealth took place, West Papua was not part of but merely claimed by Indonesia, whose former colonial masters, the Dutch, recognised no historical or cultural ties to Jakarta and began to prepare the territory for independence. The Indonesians were having none of it; neither were the Americans, the British and the Australians, who invented a cold-war tale that the Russians were coming. In 1962, the Dutch handed the colony to the United Nations, which promptly gave it “on trust” to Indonesia on condition that the West Papuans would vote on their future.In 1969, an “Act of Free Choice” took place. The Indonesians hand-picked 1,026 West Pa­pu­an men and ordered them to vote for integration with Jakarta. Guns were pointed at heads, literally. When two West Papuans escaped in a light aircraft, hoping to reach New York and alert the UN general assembly, they were detained by the Australian government after landing at nearby Manus Island, which Australia administered. West Papuan villages wanting a genuine “act of free choice” were strafed and bombed by Indonesia’s US-equipped air force.West Papua would have slipped into oblivion had it not been for a resistance, the OPM, or Free Papua Movement, whose endurance has defied almost impossible odds. The Indonesians have been unsparing in their oppression, aided by British-made machine guns and Tactica water cannon vehicles. When Suharto was deposed in 1998, the people on the island of Biak celebrated by singing hymns of thanksgiving and raising West Papua’s Morning Star flag. For this, 150 of them were murdered by the ­Indonesian military. In 2004, Filep Karma and Yusak Pakage were sentenced to 15 and ten years respectively for raising the flag, an immeasurable act of bravery in a country effectivelly controlled by a Gestapo-style force known as Kopassus, which conducted the genocide in East Timor. According to a study by Yale University, the destruction of West Papuan society is also genocide.The post-Suharto regime in Jakarta likes to regard itself as a respectable democracy and is vulnerable to pressure on West Papua. In Britain, the mining giant Rio Tinto, formerly a shareholder in Freeport, retains a joint-venture interest that has earned fortunes for the company. On the rare occasions that the British Foreign Office is challenged about the behaviour of Jakarta in West Papua, officials drone about “respecting the territorial integrity of Indonesia”, echoing decades of Foreign Office mendacious apologies for the slaughter in East Timor. The US State Department's reponse is the same.And yet East Timor slipped Suharto’s leash and is now free, thanks to the resilience of its people and an international network. The people of West Papua deserve nothing less. On 1 December, which West Papuans call their independence day, those exiled in Britain and their supporters will break the silence outside the Indonesian embassy in London.The Free West Papua Campaign website is www.freewestpapua.org To help, email office@freewestpapua.orgwww.johnpilger.com
Read more…
AND WHO WILL DO THE HONORS?___________________Free The Forgotten Bird Of ParadiseBy John PilgerNovember 16, 2009 "Information Clearing House" -- When General Suharto, the west’s man, seized power in Indonesia in the mid-1960s, he offered “a gleam of light in Asia”, rejoiced Time magazine. That he had killed up to a million “communists” was of no account in the acquisition of what Richard Nixon called “the richest hoard of natural resources, the greatest prize in South-east Asia”.In November 1967, the booty was handed out at an extraordinary conference in a lakeside hotel in Geneva. The participants included the most powerful capitalists in the world, the likes of David Rockefeller, and senior executives of the major oil companies and banks, General Motors, British American Tobacco, Imperial Chemical Industries, American Express, Siemens, Goodyear, US Steel. The president of Time Incorporated, James Linen, opened the proceedings with this prophetic description of globalisation: “We are trying to create a new climate in which private enterprise and developing countries work together for the greater profit of the free world. The world of international enterprise is more than governments . . . It is a seamless web, which has been shaping the global environment at revolutionary speed.”Suharto had sent a team of mostly US-groomed economists, known as the “Berkeley Boys”. On the first day, salutations were exchanged. On the second day, the Indonesian economy was carved up. This was done in a spectacular way: industry in one room, forests and fisheries in another, banking and finance in another. The ultimate prize was the mineral wealth of West Papua, almost half of a vast and remote island to the north of Australia. A US and European consortium was “awarded” the nickel and gold. The Freeport company of New Orleans got a mountain of copper. Forty-two years later, the gold and copper make more than a million dollars profit every day.For the Indonesian elite, enrichment was assured. From 1992 to 2004, Freeport provided $33bn in direct and indirect “benefits”, much of it finding its way to the Indonesian military, the real power in the land, which “protects” foreign investments in the manner of a mafia. The reward for the people of West Papua has been a rate of impoverishment double that of the rest of Indonesia, says a World Bank report. At Bintuni Bay, where BP is exploiting natural gas, 56 per cent of the people live in abject poverty. “More than 90 per cent of villages in Papua do not have basic health facilities,” the report noted. In 2005, famine swept the district of Yahukimo, where virgin forests and gas deposits deliver unerring profit. The suffering of West Papuans is seldom reported; the Indonesian government bans foreign journalists and human rights organisations such as Amnesty from the hauntingly beautiful territory known by its indigenous people as “the forgotten bird of paradise”.When the carve-up of its natural wealth took place, West Papua was not part of but merely claimed by Indonesia, whose former colonial masters, the Dutch, recognised no historical or cultural ties to Jakarta and began to prepare the territory for independence. The Indonesians were having none of it; neither were the Americans, the British and the Australians, who invented a cold-war tale that the Russians were coming. In 1962, the Dutch handed the colony to the United Nations, which promptly gave it “on trust” to Indonesia on condition that the West Papuans would vote on their future.In 1969, an “Act of Free Choice” took place. The Indonesians hand-picked 1,026 West Pa­pu­an men and ordered them to vote for integration with Jakarta. Guns were pointed at heads, literally. When two West Papuans escaped in a light aircraft, hoping to reach New York and alert the UN general assembly, they were detained by the Australian government after landing at nearby Manus Island, which Australia administered. West Papuan villages wanting a genuine “act of free choice” were strafed and bombed by Indonesia’s US-equipped air force.West Papua would have slipped into oblivion had it not been for a resistance, the OPM, or Free Papua Movement, whose endurance has defied almost impossible odds. The Indonesians have been unsparing in their oppression, aided by British-made machine guns and Tactica water cannon vehicles. When Suharto was deposed in 1998, the people on the island of Biak celebrated by singing hymns of thanksgiving and raising West Papua’s Morning Star flag. For this, 150 of them were murdered by the ­Indonesian military. In 2004, Filep Karma and Yusak Pakage were sentenced to 15 and ten years respectively for raising the flag, an immeasurable act of bravery in a country effectivelly controlled by a Gestapo-style force known as Kopassus, which conducted the genocide in East Timor. According to a study by Yale University, the destruction of West Papuan society is also genocide.The post-Suharto regime in Jakarta likes to regard itself as a respectable democracy and is vulnerable to pressure on West Papua. In Britain, the mining giant Rio Tinto, formerly a shareholder in Freeport, retains a joint-venture interest that has earned fortunes for the company. On the rare occasions that the British Foreign Office is challenged about the behaviour of Jakarta in West Papua, officials drone about “respecting the territorial integrity of Indonesia”, echoing decades of Foreign Office mendacious apologies for the slaughter in East Timor. The US State Department's reponse is the same.And yet East Timor slipped Suharto’s leash and is now free, thanks to the resilience of its people and an international network. The people of West Papua deserve nothing less. On 1 December, which West Papuans call their independence day, those exiled in Britain and their supporters will break the silence outside the Indonesian embassy in London.The Free West Papua Campaign website is www.freewestpapua.org To help, email office@freewestpapua.orgwww.johnpilger.com
Read more…
The idea that ancient Hawaiians could have made the 4,400-mile journey south shouldn't surprise anyone familiar with recent travels by modern-day voyagers using traditional navigation methods, according to lead researcher Deborah Rogers of Stanford University's Biology Department."These guys were incredible navigators and naturalists. They could tell when they were approaching a group of islands 100 miles out, maybe even more," she said.In fact, members of the Polynesian Voyaging Society took the double-hulled sailing canoe Hokule'a from Hawai'i to New Zealand during a two-year expedition in the 1980s.Crew member Ben Finney, who pioneered the reconstruction and sailing of Polynesian voyaging canoes, said that because of the long distances involved, the trip was made with extraordinary planning and preparation."It's possible but not in one shot. We had to sail very carefully by different legs, and each leg had to be timed by season to get the appropriate winds," said Finney, an anthropology professor emeritus at the University of Hawai'i.New Zealand, or Aotearoa, was the last Polynesian island group to be settled, and it's not clear who got there first.Various theories, including a direct Hawai'i link based on similarities in language, mythology and oral history and genealogies , have been promoted and dismissed over the past century. Most experts now believe New Zealand was colonized from the Cook or Society Islands around 1000 A.D.Rogers said her study had two purposes, the first being to see if cultural data can be used to reconstruct population histories, just as genetic data is used in a similar manner. She said the approach could be successful only if using cultures, such as the Pacific island groups, that are isolated enough to maintain core traditions despite a certain degree of cultural exchange with neighboring societies.The second purpose of the study was to see if the cultural data — in this case, traditional canoe designs — could reveal a settlement sequence for Polynesia.Researchers gathered data on functional and symbolic canoe design characteristics for 11 island groups from the authoritative "Canoes of Oceania" by A.C. Haddon and James Hornell, which was published in three volumes from 1936 to 1938.A data matrix noting the presence or absence of nearly 140 design traits was created for each island group, Rogers said. The traits included whether vessels were adorned with geometric or human figure carvings, plants, feathers or shells; whether hull seams were caulked or joined together by sennit; and whether the booms (" 'iako" in Hawaiian) attached directly to the float ("ama").The researchers also developed new techniques to assess how much distances between the islands affected the likelihood of cultural exchanges, she said.A series of analyses done without regard for existing knowledge of Polynesian migration produced results that, for the most part, were consistent with current thinking on the subject, with a few surprises.Fiji, at the western edge of Polynesia, is generally accepted as the jumping-off point for settlement of the islands to the east. (The first people of Fiji were from Melanesia.)According to Rogers, the new research suggested colonization spread from Fiji to the nearest islands — Tonga and Samoa — followed by the Marquesas, the Tuamotus and the Society Islands, which include Tahiti. The study also indicated that voyagers from both the Society Islands and the Tuamotus may have sailed to Hawai'i. (The migration to Hawai'i is believed to have occurred around 400 A.D.)"It's well-accepted that Hawai'i was settled from the Societies but not so much from the Tuamotus," Rogers said.She noted the low-lying Tuamotu atolls were populated by master mariners familiar with open-ocean voyaging, making it plausible they could have sailed north to Hawai'i. "They were really getting around and their canoe designs were prized by other groups," Rogers said.The study also found "a really strong connection" between Hawai'i and New Zealand, "but, of course, it doesn't prove it happened that way," she said.Finney, an anthropologist, was hesitant to comment on the findings, since the study is based on highly technical methods familiar to biologists."Many people have tried to use canoe traits to trace migration and so far it has been a resounding failure," he said. "I have no idea whether this is a better method. The main conclusion suggested, that of Hawai'i-to-Aotearoa settlement, seems odd in the light of other evidence Either it tells us something we have not noticed, or the method is inappropriate."Rogers' research partners are Marcus Feldman and Paul Ehrlich. Their study, "Inferring population histories using cultural data," appears in the Nov. 7 journal of Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.Reach Christie Wilson at cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com.
Read more…
HonoluluAdvertiser.com

November 15, 2009

Hawaiians may have settled New Zealand

Study of Polynesian canoe designs indicates they made the 4,400-mile voyage south

By Christie Wilson
Advertiser Staff Writer
A new study of Polynesian canoe designs suggests that New Zealand may have been settled by sea-faring Hawaiians.
The idea that ancient Hawaiians could have made the 4,400-mile journey south shouldn't surprise anyone familiar with recent travels bymodern-day voyagers using traditional navigation methods, according tolead researcher Deborah Rogers of Stanford University's BiologyDepartment.
"These guys were incredible navigators and naturalists. They could tell when they were approaching a group of islands 100 miles out, maybe evenmore," she said.
In fact, members of the Polynesian Voyaging Society took the double-hulled sailing canoe Hokule'a from Hawai'i to New Zealand during a two-yearexpedition in the 1980s.
Crew member Ben Finney, who pioneered the reconstruction and sailing of Polynesian voyaging canoes, said that because of the long distancesinvolved, the trip was made with extraordinary planning and preparation.
"It's possible but not in one shot. We had to sail very carefully by different legs, and each leg had to be timed by season to get theappropriate winds," said Finney, an anthropology professor emeritus atthe University of Hawai'i.
New Zealand, or Aotearoa, was the last Polynesian island group to be settled, and it's not clear who got there first.
Various theories, including a direct Hawai'i link based on similarities in language, mythology and oral history and genealogies , have beenpromoted and dismissed over the past century. Most experts now believeNew Zealand was colonized from the Cook or Society Islands around 1000A.D.
Rogers said her study had two purposes, the first being to see if cultural data can be used to reconstruct population histories, just as genetic data isused in a similar manner. She said the approach could be successfulonly if using cultures, such as the Pacific island groups, that areisolated enough to maintain core traditions despite a certain degree ofcultural exchange with neighboring societies.
The second purpose of the study was to see if the cultural data — in this case, traditional canoe designs — could reveal a settlement sequencefor Polynesia.
Researchers gathered data on functional and symbolic canoe design characteristics for 11 island groups from the authoritative "Canoes of Oceania" by A.C.Haddon and James Hornell, which was published in three volumes from1936 to 1938.
A data matrix noting the presence or absence of nearly 140 design traits was created for each island group, Rogers said. The traits includedwhether vessels were adorned with geometric or human figure carvings,plants, feathers or shells; whether hull seams were caulked or joinedtogether by sennit; and whether the booms (" 'iako" in Hawaiian)attached directly to the float ("ama").
The researchers also developed new techniques to assess how much distances between the islands affected the likelihood of cultural exchanges, shesaid.
A series of analyses done without regard for existing knowledge of Polynesian migration produced results that, for the most part, were consistentwith current thinking on the subject, with a few surprises.
Fiji, at the western edge of Polynesia, is generally accepted as the jumping-off point for settlement of the islands to the east. (The firstpeople of Fiji were from Melanesia.)
According to Rogers, the new research suggested colonization spread from Fiji to the nearest islands — Tonga and Sämoa — followed by the Marquesas, theTuamotus and the Society Islands, which include Tahiti. The study alsoindicated that voyagers from both the Society Islands and the Tuamotusmay have sailed to Hawai'i. (The migration to Hawai'i is believed tohave occurred around 400 A.D.)
"It's well-accepted that Hawai'i was settled from the Societies but not so much from the Tuamotus," Rogers said.
She noted the low-lying Tuamotu atolls were populated by master mariners familiar with open-ocean voyaging, making it plausible they could havesailed north to Hawai'i. "They were really getting around and theircanoe designs were prized by other groups," Rogers said.
The study also found "a really strong connection" between Hawai'i and New Zealand, "but, of course, it doesn't prove it happened that way," shesaid.
Finney, an anthropologist, was hesitant to comment on the findings, since the study is based on highly technical methods familiar to biologists.
"Many people have tried to use canoe traits to trace migration and so far it has been a resounding failure," he said. "I have no idea whether thisis a better method. The main conclusion suggested, that ofHawai'i-to-Aotearoa settlement, seems odd in the light of otherevidence Either it tells us something we have not noticed, or themethod is inappropriate."
Rogers' research partners are Marcus Feldman and Paul Ehrlich. Their study, "Inferring population histories using cultural data," appears in theNov. 7 journal of Proceedings of the Royal Society B: BiologicalSciences.

Read more…