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HEAR THE SUPERFERRY TRUTH

The Superferry Chronicles - Book Launch CelebrationsWith Authors Koohan Paik & Jerry ManderMonday, Jan 12, 2009 - Kailua-Kona, Hawai`i Island - 6:30 PM - Kona Outdoor Circle, 76-6280 Kuakini Highwaywith Mayumi Oda, Dr. Lee Tepley, and Jeff Sacher - Contact Chelsea Haworth, (808)443-9984Tuesday, Jan 13, 2009 - Hilo, Hawai`i Island - 6:00 PM - Kahuina Gallery, 128 Kilauea Ave. (at Mamo)with Jim Albertini and Dr. Lee Tepley - Contact Kahuina Gallery, (808)935-4420Wednesday, Jan 14, 2009 - Hilo, Hawai`i Island - 1:00 PM - University of Hawai`i - Hilo, Campus Center 301with Jim Albertini and Dr. Lee Tepley - Contact Justin Avery, (808)990-1421Thursday, Jan 15, 2009 - Hana, Maui - 6:30 PM - Ala Kukui, 4224 Hana Highway - Contact Ala Kukui, (808)248-7841Monday, Jan 19, 2009 - Honolulu, O`ahu - 7:00 PM Native Books, Ward Warehouse, 1050 Ala Moana Boulevard with Kyle Kajihiro and Ikaika Hussey - Contact Native Books, (808)596-8885
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HAWAI`I SUPERFERRY WORDS OF WISDOM

Here's What SaveHonolua.org Says"This company shows no respect and they continue to pay the price.Last year they damaged their own vessel charging ahead in rough seas, then they damaged their docking barge and our pier, now their passengers vehicles.What's next? Whales and monk seals? No respect for the power of the ocean.They really should not even operate in these kind of rough conditions they are endangering all their passengers lives as well as our state rescue workers.Where can I get my copy of the Superferry chronicles?"Find Out Tomorrow On FreeHawaii.Info
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What makes a good blog?

E na kanaka maoli,Do you have a blog? We're trying to improve our blog and want to know what you think makes a good blog. We also are really interested in knowing what other kanaka maoli are thinking and writing about. Please visit http://tinyurl.com/7w7oaw and share with us comments on what makes a blog something you would like to read.Mahalo nui loa
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Honolulu Sewage Issue

January 7, 2009
Aloha Brotha,

Thanks for the call this morning regarding the EPA denial of the Sewage Waivers for the two Wastewater Treatment Plants in Honolulu.
It was very interesting that the mayor of Honolulu claimed that their sewage collections system was rotten and a major source of pollution that enters your beautiful beaches.As you are aware Marla jo and I have compiled a series of reports identifying the dilapidated Sewer Collections System here in Morro Bay, Cali.
The California State Water Board and the EPA had just issued Morro Bay and Cayucos another 301h sewage waiver last month.Meanwhile ignoring our reports and my sewer flow study which identifies that our Wastewater Treatment Plant is surcharging on a regular basis,hence polluting our beaches and our National Estuary.
I believe that the Kingdom of Hawaii needs to be on point with this public health and safety problem and needs to be involved in solving this health risk.


Keep Well bro, eiyah

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Hau anu, hehe'e, ukele, but not really

Back in MA, it's my second complete winter I believe, I missed the last two being in Hawai'i for most of the cold. Our son is five now, which means that he wants to kick every last bit of snow he sees on the street, and wade through every single pool of melted snow bank that has managed to pool itself in the middle of the street, or at every intersection. This is understandable since he just arrived yesterday and he was at the beach just the day before. I mean, he just can't help himself, now can he?!?He's the only kid I believe who hit the playground after school saying "I want to play!!!" although not one child was left, except this boy who was squatting in the snow, hunkered down under an umbrella waiting for one of his siblings. I pointed out to Hi'ia that there was no "play" going on, everyone having left to go home.Today it was a really nice 35 degrees outside. I say nice because 35 isn't really that cold compared to last week's negative degree wind chill temperatures and wind that turns your bones to ice. ugh. I listen to the crunch of my boots in the snow and wonder how I would talk to Hi'ia in Hawaiian about the sensations he is experiencing.Snow crunches, it hardens and ices, and when it does that it is supremely slippery. When it snows people salt their front walks so that the snow melts, some people get out their shovels and shovel the snow out of the way creating a place for folks to walk. When there's a lot of foot traffic, the ice gets packed down and hardens in places creating very slippery conditions. When a pile of snow is tamped down by people going past, like it was today, it gets really slushy and it's the contact from when your boot hits the top of the slush and it splooges out to the point where your foot actually contacts the red brick stones that you have another chance to slip and fall.I forgot all this---experiential phenomenon---so that i was a bit late to pick up Hi'ia, even though I left fifteen minutes early to pick him up at school. All your muscles work in the snow, from propelling your body forward in the cold, to the kind of control one must exercise in order to keep oneself upright and not fall. It's quite a cardio workout for sure.I dropped one of my leather gloves after Hi'ia and I got off the bus. After we had a cup of cocoa (for Hi'ia) and coffee for me, we backtracked our steps and found my sodden glove hanging from a bush. When you lose something here, usually an article of clothing, a scarf or glove or hat or baby shoe, folks tend to put them up at hand or eye level so that if you come back the way you came, you will generally find what you have misplaced.So snow....I'm looking for snow words...haukamumu: crunch-y snow. hau anu cold snow, hau hehe'e slippery snow. ukele is slush, primarily because of the sticky nature of the slush, but really it's a lepo kine word isn't it? "kele?"''o ia wale no-e.
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Aloha Kakou,For those who don't know, there is an alliance of educators, community activists, scholars, professionals and non-professionals who share mana'o on an online list serve known as the Hui Pu. The Hui Pu organized initially to protest the Akaka Bill and to educate the public. Over the years, the group has served as a "hub" for many in "aloha 'aina". I am a member of this alliance. I'm very grateful to this list of dedicated persons who are all over the world. If you'd care to become a member, please email Terri Kekoolani at napua4u@yahoo.com. Ask her what it takes to sign up.The following information I forward from the list serve with permission of those who have written. This is VERY SIGNIFICANT. The discussion is about a new group that has formed on Oahu to protest Gov. Lingle's advance and the state's appeal of the ceded lands case. The group's name is KUPU'AINA. At first glance, all seems well.In Kupu 'Aina, those who lead are seasoned, well respected 'Oiwi such as Vicky Holt Takamine and Wayne Panoke. What is dangerous is that some 'Oiwi leaders out there now 'advocate for an outcome'. They DO NOT advocate for discussions of ALL OPTIONS to our people. They settle for LESS. Therefore, you will too, if you follow. You will set your families up for a life of "servitude" of spirit. DARE to gather and assess YOUR OWN information and join hui in your community that YOU trust to enlighten on OPTIONS for 'OIWI.Hui Pu wishes to educate on the negative aspects of the Akaka Bill. This group and others advocate the promotion of TRUTH about ALL OPTIONS 'Oiwi have today! I don't know about you, but I desire to know every bit of the TRUTH of history prepared for us by our beloved Queen Lili'uokalani and others who truly loved Hawaii as I do.Why have there been, in effect, NO HEARINGS for the Bill in Hawaii? Is this PONO? 'A'OLE! And NEVER should we condone this treatment. 'Oiwi deserve nothing less than FULL DISCLOSURE OF OUR OPTIONS at this critical juncture in time.Why is it that O.H.A. advocates for the Hawaiian people in Washington D.C.? Ask ourselves this - if tomorrow, O.H.A. were penniless, who would they be among us? We did not arrive into this world with any amount of money in hand. I was reminded by a friend who said, "It didn't take money to raise a Heiau in the past."What interrupts our discussions as a people on the progress of our people? I say that it is colonization - the total displacement of the liquid within our pool of life by another liquid, that, if left unchecked - becomes toxic for all. Capitalism encourages greed. Remember the words of one of our great leaders, Kamehameha I, "fulfill their needs, do not increase their wants".What saddens my heart is the reality that some 'Oiwi leaders share LESS THAN BEST information for their own people. In that - they skew the view. That is not behavior to be modeled for KEIKI. It goes against what all Good Books of the world and Kupuna have taught us. It is PONO'OLE (NOT PONO). In my book, there's ALWAYS time for TRUTH. What's the rush? Behind the PUSH is a huge DOLLAR BILL. Hawaii and Pacific lands are precious as they are - not for what they can be sold for. THEY are who WE are. And we know that EARTH is sacred; blessed Mother - Papa - is SHE.I respect Hui Pu for their courage in committing to carry the Lamaku of Honesty and Transparency especially related to the serious - no - disastrous outcomes of the Akaka Bill. In the ABSENCE of a media for the indigenous people of Hawaii, Hui Pu group members dedicate their energies to film, record and otherwise gather information on our very important issues to then disseminate to 'Oiwi.I hope, in your dedication to learning the truth about the ominous threats to the well-being of 'Oiwi, our 'ohana, in Hawaii, you will consider becoming a member of this growing list of courageous Ones who dare to insist on truth among us and for 'Oiwi in Hawaii the homeland.'O Wau Iho,Mikahala RoyP.S.Go to NOHOHEWA.com to learn of a film (Noho Hewa) in the making that has won awards at its premier showings in Hawaii. Go to its next showing nearest you.
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FREE HAWAI`I TV - "WE WON'T LET YOU!"

FREEHAWAII.INFO PRESENTSFREE HAWAI`I TVTHE FREE HAWAI`I BROADCASTING NETWORK "We Won't Let You!"A New Group Dedicated To Stopping Both The Akaka Bill & The Sale Of Stolen Hawaiian Kingdom Lands Is Already On The March.Who Are They?Find Out Here - They're Coming To A Neighborhood Near You Soon!
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Dear President-elect Barack Obama:We, the undersigned Kanaka Maoli (Hawaiian) people and non-Kanaka Maoli hoaloha (colleague) settlers, send this Open Letter to you on behalf of many more in our Kanaka Maoli nation who welcome you home, with your Chicago ‘ohana (family), for well-deserved nanea (rest and relaxation) in our islands of your birth.We join with millions the world over to ho‘omaika‘i (congratulate) you on your election and upcoming inauguration as the 44th president of the United States of America, and to applaud your inspiring message of Hope and Change for a world in desperate need of a lasting peace that, we all know, can only blossom with pono (justice).As you share this season of renewal here with us on O‘ahu, we feel compelled to direct your attention to the plight inflicted by the U.S. on our Kanaka Maoli people and lands since 1893 when the U.S. first invaded our nation. This century-long plight has caused our people to now suffer the highest rates of homelessness, poverty, school drop-out, prison incarceration, heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, hypertension, smoking, alcoholism and drug addiction in Hawai‘i. Our people now demand redress, the context for which we respectfully herewith summarize:1. Our Kanaka movement for redress, smoldering since 1893, erupted in January 1993 on the occasion of the centennial anniversary of the U.S. armed control of our homeland, and now grows stronger every day. This 1893 intervention, carried out in shameful complicity with local haole (white) businessmen, effected the overthrow of our revered Queen Lili‘uokalani. One hundred years of political and cultural suppression later, 15,000 of us Kanaka Maoli, acting on behalf of our wronged nation, gathered in 1993 at ‘Iolani Palace in Honolulu to denounce the illegality and duplicity of that overthrow, and to reclaim our full sovereignty under international law.2. Seven months later, in August 1993, our People’s International Tribunal--composed of world public figures, including three eminent U.S. law professors, heard evidence on five of our major islands and found the U.S. guilty of the said 1893 transgression, as well as of subsequent crimes, including the 1898 illegal U.S. annexation and military occupation of our homeland, the 1959 fraudulent Statehood vote and admission process, and the continuing theft of our national lands with resulting ethnocidal effect on our people.3. Three months after our Tribunal handed down its verdict, the U.S. government itself, in November 1993, confirmed the essential truth of that verdict in an official document: U.S. Congress Apology Resolution (PL 103-150). Signed by U.S. President William Clinton, it acknowledged the agency of the U.S. in the 1893 overthrow of our sovereign government, the usurpation of our national lands, and the suppression of our people’s right to self-determination, all of this in violation of bilateral treaties as well asPage 2international law. Indeed, the Resolution expressly recognized that we Kanaka Maoli have never formally relinquished to the U.S. our sovereignty, national lands, or self-determination. Moreover, the U.S. pledged, in the Resolution, to acknowledge the ramifications of the overthrow of our monarchy so as to identify a basis for reconciliation between the U.S. and our Kanaka Maoli people.4. The U.S., however, has never fulfilled this pledge. Moreover, the Akaka Bill (now titled “Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act”) introduced in Congress in 2000, and continually revised since, attempts to close off the very opening for reconciliation that the Resolution tendered. The Bill does this in three offensive ways:a. by unilaterally specifying the terms of reconciliation (Hawai‘i’s Congressional delegation has held only one hearing on the Bill in our islands, in August 2000, when we Kanaka Maoli voiced overwhelming opposition to it);b. by providing for a sham “Native Hawaiian governing entity” on the order of existing Bureau of Indian Affairs-approved Indian tribal governments whose competence, the U.S. Supreme Court has held, is “subject to the plenary power of Congress;” andc. finally, by stating that the execution of the Bill shall constitute, on the part of our Kanaka Maoli nation, a quit-claim of all our past, present and future claims against the U.S.5. Accordingly, we Kanaka Maoli and hoaloha supporters appeal to you, Mr. President-elect, to join with us in constituting a high-level Kanaka Maoli-U.S. Commission, composed of recognized experts from our two nations, as well as from the international community, to review the ramifications of the injuries done to our Kanaka Maoli nation and people by the U.S. since 1893, and continuing through the 2000 introduction of the unacceptable Akaka Bill, and to propose pono (just) and honorable remedies without which there can be no reconciliation.6. In anticipation of the work of this Commission, we urgently ask you to bid the Democratic Party, which you head, to immediately instate a moratorium on the Akaka Bill. The tragedy which befell our Kanaka Maoli nation in 1893, the ramifications of which continue to this day, deserve the respect of careful scrutiny by the proposed Commission, and by your presidency. The shallow and unilateral instrument of the Akaka Bill will only add insult to our previous injury, and will be roundly repudiated by our people.In closing, we urge you, Mr. President-elect, even as you absorb the natural blessings of the land of your birth, to reflect on the land’s spirit which permeated you as you grew up here in Hawai‘i--the spirit of pono, alignment with that which is right and proper, just and correct.Page 3Me ka ‘oia‘i‘o (sincerely),Kekuni Blaisdell, M.D., Professor Emeritus of Medicine, Consultant, Department of Native Hawaiian Health, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawai‘i; Convenor, Kanaka Maoli Tribunal Komike.Kihei Soli Niheu, Kupuna of Pu‘ukapu; Member of Na Kupuna Moku O Keawe; Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific Board Member, representing Rapa Nui and Ka Pae‘Aina (Hawai‘i)Lynette Hi‘ilani Cruz, Ph.D., Kupuna of O‘ahu, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Hawai‘i Pacific University; President, Ka Lei Maile Ali‘i Hawaiian Civic Club.Pua Nani Rogers, Kupuna o Kaua‘i, Ahupua‘a o Kealia, Member of Na Kupuna o Manokalanipo, Founder of the Ho‘okipa Network, Kapa‘a, Kaua‘i, Hawai‘i.Maivan Clech Lam, M.A. Ph.D., J.D., Professor of International Law, Associate Director, Ralph Bunch Institute of International Studies, CUNY Graduate Center, New York, NY.J. Kehaulani Kauanui, Ph.D., Associate Professor of American Studies and Anthropology Center for the Americas, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT; Producer and host of weekly public affairs radio program: “Indigenous Politics: From Native New England and Beyond,” on WESU, CT.Jonathon Kamakawiwo‘ole Osorio, Ph.D., Professor, School of Hawaiian Knowledge, University of Hawai‘i Manoa, Honolulu, Hawai‘i.Terrilee Napua Kekoolani, founder of ‘Ohana Koa, a Hawai‘i Chapter of Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific.Noelani Kaopua Goodyear, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Hawai‘i Manoa, Honolulu, Hawai‘i.Puhipau, Kupuna of Na‘alehu, Island of Hawai‘i, and Joan Lander, of Na Maka o ka ‘Aina, Na‘alehu, Hawai‘i.Eiko Kosasa, Ph.D., Lecturer, Social Sciences Division, Leeward Community College, Pearl City, Hawai‘i.LetterToObama.01.06.09Contact: Kekuni Blaisdell, PH 595-6691, e
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HAWAIIAN INEDPENDENCE ALLIANCE PROTEST

HAWAIIAN INEDPENDENCE ALLIANCE PROTEST OBAMA FOR HIS SUPPORT OF THE "AKAKA BILL AND US GOVERNMENT OCCUPIED HAWAIIAN LAND AND REQUEST RESTORATION OF HAWAIIAN SOVEREIGNTYHIA OBAMA 12-31-08HIA OBAMA 12-31-08#2HIA OBAMA 12-31-08#3HIA OBAMA 12-31-08#4http://www.hawaiianindependencealliance.org/http://stopakakabill.comOrganized to coincide with U.S. President elect Barack Obama’s visit to the Hawaiian Islands the Hawaiian Independence Alliance, a group comprised of over nine different Hawaiian groups, will gather Friday, Dec. 26th, in front of the State Capitol to protest:(1) Republican Governor Linda Lingle’s appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a Hawaii Supreme Court ruling that barred the State of Hawaii from selling or transferring “ceded lands”—lands belonging to the once independent Hawaiian Kingdom seized at the time of the 1893 U.S. backed overthrow and currently held in trust by the State of Hawaii.(2) The U.S. Congressional Akaka Bill would extinguish the international sovereignty never relinquished by the Native Hawaiian people. Hawaii, which was an internationally recognized sovereign state before the 1893 U.S. backed overthrow, has international claims to sovereignty, which U.S. domestic legislation seeks to obscure. Obama has officially endorsed the Akaka Bill.Protestors are linking the economic recession taking hold of much of the U.S. and the State of Hawaii to the state’s attempts to sell ceded lands and resolve Native Hawaiian international rights to self-governance. As a means to make up for an over two-billion dollar deficit facing the State of Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle and Attorney General Mark Bennett are attempting to overturn a ruling by the Hawaii Supreme Court that barred them from selling “Ceded lands.” The court, citing the “Apology Bill” Public Law 103-150, ruled that the state must preserve these lands “until such time as the unrelinquished claims of the Native Hawaiians have been resolved.”,OBAMA ,KAKA BILL, ,Kupu Aina, ILLEGAL OCCUPATION, KANAKA MAOLI, KANAKA HAWAI'I, GENOCIDE, CULTURECIDE, COLONIALISM ,HAWAIIAN, KANAKA HAWAI'I ,Kupu aina,
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SUPERFERRY DENTS MORE THAN PASSENGER WALLETS

Rough seas on Sunday resulted in "minor damage" to 13 vehicles aboard the Hawai`i Superferry during its voyage from O`ahu to Maui.The company said the conditions caused some parked vehicles to shift during transit. "There was no substantive damage to the ship," said a company statement."Affected passengers have been contacted and we are facilitating their claims. This is the first incident in which significant vehicle shifting has occurred," the statement said."Vehicles are now being tied-down in affected areas on days when conditions are unusually rough to mitigate any damage."
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U.S. Secretary of State Walter Q. Gresham toU.S. President Grover Cleveland concerningthe Hawaiian Kingdom InvestigationDepartment of State,Washington, October 18, 1893.The President:The full and impartial reports submitted by the Hon. James H. Blount, your special commissioner to the Hawaiian Islands, established the following facts:Queen Liliuokalani announced her intention on Saturday, January 14, 1893, to proclaim a new constitution, but the opposition of her ministers and other induced her to speedily change her purpose and make public announcement of that fact.At a meeting in Honolulu, late on the afternoon of that day, a so-called committee of public safety, consisting of thirteen men, being all or nearly all who were present, was appointed “to consider the situation and devise ways and means for the maintenance of the public peace and the protection of life and property,” and at a meeting of this committee on the 15th, or the forenoon of the 16th of January, it was resolved amongst other things that a provisional government be created “to exist until terms of union with the United States of America have been negotiated and agreed upon.” At a mass meeting which assembled at 2 p.m. on the last named day, the Queen and her supporters were condemned and denounced, and the committee was continued and all its act approved.Later the same afternoon the committee addressed a letter to John L. Stevens, the American minister at Honolulu, stating that the lives and property of the people were in peril and appealing to him and the United States forces at his command for assistance. This communication concluded “we are unable to protect ourselves without aid, and therefore hope for the protection of the United States forces.” On receipt of this letter Mr. Stevens requested Capt. Wiltse, commander of the U.S.S. Boston, to land a force “for the protection of the United States legation, United States consulate, and to secure the safety of American life and property.” The well armed troops, accompanied by two gatling guns, were promptly landed and marched through the quiet streets of Honolulu to a public hall, previously secured by Mr. Stevens for their accommodation. This hall was just across the street form the government building, and in plain view of the Queen’s palace. The reason for thus locating the military will presently appear. The governor of the Island immediately addressed to Mr. Stevens a communication protesting against the act as an unwarranted invasion of Hawaiian soil and reminding him that the proper authorities had never denied permission to the naval forces of the United States to land for drill or any other proper purpose.About the same time the Queen’s minister of foreign affairs sent a note to Mr. Stevens asking why the troops had been landed and informing him that the proper authorities were able and willing to afford full protection to the American legation and all American interests in Honolulu. Only evasive replies were sent to these communications.While there were no manifestations of excitement or alarm in the city, and the people were ignorant of the contemplated movements, the committee entered the Government building, after first ascertaining that it was unguarded, and read a proclamation declaring that the existing Government was overthrown and a Provisional Government established in its place, “to exist until terms of union with the United States of America have been negotiated and agreed upon.” No audience was present when the proclamation was read, but during the reading 40 to 50 men, some of them indifferently armed, entered the room. The executive and advisory councils mentioned in the proclamation at once addressed a communication to Mr. Stevens, informing him that the monarchy had been abrogated and a provisional government established. This communication concluded:Such Provisional Government has been proclaimed, is now in possession of the Government departmental buildings, the archives, and the treasury, and is in control of the city. We hereby request that you will, on behalf of the United States, recognize it as the existing de facto Government of the Hawaiian Islands and afford to it the moral support of your Government, and, if necessary, the support of American troops to assist in preserving the public peace.On receipt of this communication, Mr. Stevens immediately recognized the new Government, and, in a letter addressed to Sanford B. Dole, its President, informed him that he had done so. Mr. Dole replied:Government Building,Honolulu, January 17, 1893Sir: I acknowledge receipt of your valued communication of this day, recognizing the Hawaiian Provisional Government, and express deep appreciation of the same.We have conferred with the ministers of the late Government, and have made demand upon the marshal to surrender the station house. We are not actually yet in possession of the station house, but as night is approaching and our forces may be insufficient to maintain order, we request the immediate support of the United States forces, and would request that the commander of the United States forces take command of our military forces, so that they may act together for the protection of the city.Respectfully, yours,Sanford B. Dole,Chaiman Executive Council.His Excellency John L. Stevens,United States Minister Resident.Note of Mr. Stevens at the end of the above communication.The above request not complied with.Stevens.The station house was occupied by a well armed force, under the command of a resolute capable, officer. The same afternoon the Queen, her ministers, representatives of the Provisional Government, and other held a conference at the palace. Refusing to recognize the new authority or surrender to it, she was informed that the Provisional Government had the support of the American minister, and, if necessary, would be maintained by the military force of the United States then present; that any demonstration on her part would precipitate a conflict with that force; that she could not, with hope of success, engage in war with the United States, and that resistance would result in a useless sacrifice of life. Mr. Damon, one of the chief leader of the movement, and afterwards vice-president of the Provisional Government, informed the Queen that she could surrender under protest and her case would be considered later at Washington. Believing that, under the circumstances, submission was a duty, and that her case would be fairly considered by the President of the United States, the Queen finally yielded and sent to the Provisional Government the paper, which reads:I, Lili‘uokalani, by the grace of God and under the constitution of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Queen, do hereby solemnly protest against any and all acts done against myself and the constitutional Government of the Hawaiian Kingdom by certain persons claiming to have established a provisional government of and for this Kingdom.That I yield to the superior force of the United States of America whose Minister Plenipotentiary, His Excellency John L. Stevens, has caused United States troops to be landed at Honolulu and declared that he would support the provisional government.Now to avoid any collision of armed forces, and perhaps the loss of life, I do this under protest and impelled by said force yield my authority until such time as the Government of the United States shall, upon facts being presented to it, undo the action of its representatives and reinstate me in the authority which I claim as the Constitutional Sovereign of the Hawaiian Islands.When this paper was prepared at the conclusion of the conference, and signed by the Queen and her ministers, a number of persons, including one or more representatives of the Provisional Government, who were still present and understood its contents, by their silence, at least, acquiesced in its statements, and, when it was carried to President Dole, he indorsed upon it, “Received from the hands of the late cabinet this 17th day of January, 1893,” without challenging the truth of any of its assertions. Indeed, it was not claimed on the 17th day of January, or for some time thereafter, by any of the designated officers of the Provisional Government or any annexationist that the Queen surrendered otherwise than as stated in her protest.In his dispatch to Mr. Foster of January 18, describing the so-called revolution, Mr. Stevens says:The committee of public safety forthwith took possession of the Government building, archives, and treasury, and installed the Provisional Government at the head of the respective departments. This being an accomplished fact, I promptly recognized the Provisional Government as the de facto government of the Hawaiian Islands.In Secretary Foster’s communication of February 15 to the President, laying before him the treaty of annexation, with the view to obtaining the advice and consent of the Senate thereto, he says:At the time the Provisional Government took possession of the Government building no troops or officers of the United States were present or took any part whatever in the proceedings. No public recognition was accorded to the Provisional Government by the United States minister until after the Queen’s abdication, and when they were in effective possession of the Government building, the archives, the treasury, the barracks, the police station, and all the potential machinery of the Government.Similar language is found in an official letter addressed to Secretary Foster on February 3 by the special commissioners sent to Washington by the Provisional Government to negotiate a treaty of annexation.These statements are utterly at variance with the evidence, documentary and oral, contained in Mr. Blount’s reports. They are contradicted by declarations and letters of President Dole and other annexationists and by Mr. Stevens’s own verbal admissions to Mr. Blount. The Provisional Government was recognized when it had little other than a paper existence, and when the legitimate government was in full possession and control of the palace, the barracks, and the police station. Mr. Stevens’s well known hostility and the threatening presence of the force landed from the Boston was all that could then have excited serious apprehension in the minds of the Queen, her officers, and loyal supporters.It is fair to say that Secretary Foster’s statements were based upon information which he had received from Mr. Stevens and the special commissioners, but I am unable to see that they were deceived. The troops were landed, not to protect American life and property, but to aid in overthrowing the existing government. Their very presence implied coercive measures against it.In a statement given to Mr. Blount, by Admiral Skerret, the ranking naval officer at Honolulu, he says:If the troops were landed simply to protect American citizens and interests, they were badly stationed in Arion Hall, but if the intention was to aid the Provisional Government they were wisely stationed.This hall was so situated that the troops in it easily commanded the Government building, and the proclamation was real under the protection of American guns. At an early stage of the movement, if not at the beginning, Mr. Stevens promised the annexationists that as soon as they obtained possession of the Government building and there read a proclamation of the character above referred to, he would at once recognize them as a de facto government, and support them by landing a force from our war ship then in the harbor, and he kept that promise. This assurance was the inspiration on the movement, and without it the annexationists would not have exposed themselves to the consequences of failure. They relied upon no military force of their own, for they had none worthy of the name. The Provisional Government was established by the action of the American minister and the presence of the troops landed from the Boston, and its continued existence is due to the belief of the Hawaiians that if they made an effort to overthrow it, they would encounter the armed forces of the United States.The earnest appeals to the American minister for military protection by the officers of that Government, after it had been recognized, show the utter absurdity of the claim that it was established by a successful revolution of the people of the Islands. Those appeals were a confession by the men who made them of their weakness and timidity. Courageous men, conscious of their strength and the justice of their cause, do not thus act. It is not now claimed that a majority of the people, having the right to vote under the constitution of 1887, ever favored the existing authority or annexation to this or any other country. They earnestly desire that the government of their choice shall be restored and its independence respected.Mr. Blount states that while at Honolulu he did not meet a single annexationist who expressed willingness to submit the question to a vote of the people, nor did he talk with one on that subject who did not insist that if the Islands were annexed suffrage should be so restricted as to give complete control to foreigners or whites. Representative annexationists have repeatedly made similar statements to the undersigned.The Government of Hawaii surrendered its authority under a threat of war, until such time only as the Government of the United States, upon the facts being presented to it, should reinstate the constitutional sovereign, and the Provisional Government was created “to exist until terms of union with the United States of America have been negotiated and agreed upon.” A careful consideration of the fact will, I think, convince you that the treaty which was withdrawn from the Senate for further consideration should not be resubmitted for its action thereon.Should not the great wrong done to a feeble but independent State by an abuse of the authority of the United States be undone by restoring the legitimate government? Anything short of that will not, I respectfully submit, satisfy the demands of justice.Can the United States consistently insist that other nations shall respect the independence of Hawaii while not respecting it themselves? Our Government was the first to recognize the independence of the Islands and it should be the last to acquire sovereignty over them by force and fraud.Respectfully submitted.W.Q. Gresham.
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u.s. opens new 572 million dollar embassy

USA PULL OUT ? WHAT A FRICKEN JOKE ON DA SHEEPLE!BEING ILLEGALLY OCCUPIED 116 YEARZ IN HAWAI'I , I KNOW WHAT IT REALLY ALL ABOUT!http://hawaiiankingdom.org
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – The United States dedicated its new embassy building in Baghdad on Monday, a step meant to symbolize its transition from occupying power to an ally of a sovereign Iraqi government.


In recent weeks U.S. diplomats have gradually moved into the $592 million newly built compound, the world's largest U.S. embassy, leaving behind a sprawling palace they had inhabited since toppling Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein in 2003.


U.S. officials had ruled Iraq directly from the palace for a year after taking Baghdad, and their continued presence there was seen by many Iraqis as a symbol of occupation.


The opening of the new embassy is in line with a change of power that was effected on New Year's Day, when U.S. forces in Iraq officially came under an Iraqi mandate.


U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani attended the opening ceremony.


In a courtyard between two buildings in the new compound, the Iraqi national anthem was played, then U.S. Marines raised an American flag to the tune of the Star Spangled Banner.


"It is from here men and women, civilian and military, will help build the new Iraq," said Negroponte, who was U.S. envoy to Iraq in 2004-05 and is now the number two U.S. diplomat.


ERA OF EQUALS

Talabani thanked the United States for helping create a democratic Iraq "which will serve as a model for other peoples of the eastern world." He explicitly praised U.S. President George W. Bush for the "courageous and historic" decision to topple dictator Saddam.


U.S. ambassador Ryan Crocker said the embassy's opening marked a new era for ties between the countries as "equals.
"

But some Iraqis, like Basim al-Hindi, 46, a security guard working in downtown Baghdad, saw more sinister motives behind the new coral-colored compound.


"They just want to retain their control in the heart of the Green Zone," he said. "The sovereignty is all America's.
"

U.S. forces on New Year's Day handed over responsibility to Iraqi troops for the Green Zone, a fortified compound in the heart of Baghdad off limits to most Iraqis. The new embassy, like the palace that housed it before, is located in the zone.


Embassy officials defended the vast scale and cost of a compound that dwarfs the U.S. presence in much larger countries. The embassy has 1,200 employees, including diplomats, troops and staff from 14 federal agencies.


"Its scale reflects the importance of the U.S.-Iraq bilateral relationship," said U.S. embassy spokeswoman Susan Ziadeh. "It reflects a more normal situation. This is a broadening of the relationship.
"

The U.S. force in Iraq, now more than 140,000 strong, had operated until the end of last year under a U.N. Security Council resolution, but now falls under a mandate granted by the Iraqi government in a pact agreed by Washington and Baghdad.


That pact -- viewed by both countries as a milestone in restoring Iraqi sovereignty -- requires U.S. troops to leave in three years, revokes their power to hold Iraqis without charge and subjects contractors and some off-duty troops to Iraqi law.


(Additional reporting by Tim Cocks and Peter Graff; Writing by Tim Cocks, editing by Mark Trevelyan)
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March through Waikiki on January 17th

RE: March through Waikiki on January 17thAloha kakou,Massive March 1-17-09 Thru Waikiki to Kapi'olani Parkstarting @ 9am -Rally 1130-2:30pm at the park.Meet at Saratoga / kalakaua Av. by 9amCowManua2.jpgStamp.jpgHEADZ UP !!! LOTS OF MIS~INFORMATION ON THIS STAY AWAY FROMWORDS LIKE "CEDED" = IF I STOLE UR CAR AND THEN SAID YOU GAVE IT TO ME, DOES THAT MAKE IT MINE?and the AKAKA BILL WHiCH WILL TURN ALL KANAKA MAOLI INTOGOOD LITTLE AMERICAN INDIANS and GIVE UP OUR SOVEREIGN NATION and RIGHTS !'Ilio'ulaokalani Coaliton, with the support of Kupu'aina Coaliton, is organizing a march and rally to oppose the state's attemp to sell ceded lands. Organizers ask that particpaants wear their red KU I KA PONO T-Shirts, which can be ordered online at:http://stopsellingcededlands.comFor more information,call Kahoonei Panoke, 224-8068
Mahalo:
Nini'ane
Native Hawaiian groups hope to get 50,000 people to join a March through Waikiki on January 17th.The United States Supreme court takes up a ceded lands case early next year, and protestors hope to sway the new president's position.Just one month after their last capitol protest over ceded land sales, Native Hawaiians returned there Friday.That's the issue the U.S. Supreme court will decide when it hears the state's case in February. The state is appealing a Hawaii Supreme Court decision that blocks sales or transfers of ceded lands in a case that dates back 14 years.State Attorney General Mark Bennet says,"Gov. Waihee, Gov. Cayetano and Gov Lingle have all taken the same position, the state holds and owns these lands for the benefit of all of the people of Hawaii."Many native Hawaiian groups see it differently, and several of those groups converged today aiming to draw the attention of Barack Obama during his stay here.Wayne Panoke of the Lilioukalani Coalition says, "We believe it's important for him to know that going in to become the president of the United States."The state says Obama would be an unlikely ally with protestors on this legal issue -- since the united states government is among the entities that will be making oral arguments in support of the state's position before the Supreme Court.The native groups aren't stopping here though. They hope to get 50,000 people to join a March through Waikiki on January 17th.According to the Governor's office the issue of ceded lands is not among the top priorities for discussion if Obama representatives meet with her during his visit. They say the focus will remain on the economy.
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Mahalo nui to everyone who has let us know how energized you are as a result of our Voices Of Truth interview with Skippy Ioane.Skippy's commitment and advice on stolen Hawaiian Kingdom (ceded) lands we should all take to heart. Skippy is indeed the voice of a Hawaiian Kingdom patriot.So per your numerous requests, we air Skippy's show once again this week.Things are heating up so fast regarding the ceded lands issue, there's a brand new organization that has stepped forward dedicated to both exposing and stopping this theft, and a whole lot more.They've already jumped into action with great success, and they're just getting started. Find out who it is and what it plans to do this coming Wednesday on Free Hawai`i TV.Everyday people becoming activists is what the ceded lands issue is creating more of, and that's what we've got for you this week on Voices Of Truth – One-On-One With Hawai`i’s Future.MONDAY, January 5th At 6:30 PM Maui – Akaku, Channel 53"Out Of The Box – A Visit With Hinaleimoana Wong"An educator at two charter schools in Hawai`i, Hina delivers the kind of education students crave – and can get virtually nowhere else. “You don’t have to go far from home to be successful,” is the message she gives her students. As she herself says, “we want our people to live and thrive right here.”MONDAY, January 5th At 7:00 PM & FRIDAY, January 9th At 5:30 PM - Hawai`i Island – Na Leo, Channel 53THURSDAY, January 8th At 8:30 PM & FRIDAY, January 9th At 8:30 AM Kaua`i – Ho`ike, Channel 52SATURDAY, January 10th At 8:00 PM O`ahu, `Olelo, Channel 53“Vanity & Insanity – A Visit With Skippy Ioane”You never know what’s going to happen around Hawai`i Island activist and Hui Pu founder Skippy Ioane. Thrown off the steps of `Iolani Palace during our interview when he attempts to claim it as sovereign territory, Skippy offers his own unique insights about the illegal overthrow and US occupation, and tells us the single most important thing we can do today with ceded lands. Watch It Here.Voices Of Truth interviews those creating a better future for Hawai`i to discover what made them go from armchair observers to active participants. We hope 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.You can watch Voices Of Truth anytime on the web.And for news and issues that affect you, watch Free Hawai`i TV, a part of the Free Hawai`i Broadcasting Network.
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In the quest for some type of resistance

I dunno how I got so bored to search for things, only to argue with a kid about something really not that important, as he tried to dawg Hawaiians and their "incestual" past, not understanding how things work from a cultural stand point as I tried to compare it to European royalty.Monarchs of Hawaii and America's Racist OverthrowThat went on for over 24 hours, and I noticed although he and some others were pretty racists, the stupid rating system that youtube.com has, these kids were getting a lot of "thumbs up" whereas me and another guy actually being more diplomatic about it rather than immature were getting the "thumbs down". Geez, talk about kids and their form of entertainment. How I missed the days playing in the pineapple fields, playing with sticks, walking on the fishpond, catching fish, crab, opae and all those other fun, outdoor things that kids should be doing!Then came this idiot replying to my comments.thunderlizard2Anyway, one of my comments to that person was how I'm sure they are intelligent enough to know not to compare Kamehameha's unification of the islands with the US' overthrow. I only replied to that because I've been down that road so many times before yet couldn't figure out why too. Tonight when I looked at that person's profile, surprise...they had Ken Conklin's videos as their FAVORITE. Oh goodie, goodie, gum drops!He mentioned Kaumualii's son being in prison. WTF? Since when? Not unless someone can enlighten me on that, he said something about going against...I dunno what really. I told him that Keliiahonui married Kamehameha's granddaughter and was one of the members of the House of Nobles during Kauikeaouli's time. Again, maybe I missed something, but he thought he was being smart, if not smarter. He even asked me to cite sources regarding breaking the treaty. lmao Fuck that shit, I told him that he'll be quoting what Ken Conklin has found. Not fair really.I swear these people just find someone whose coat tails they can ride on. I mean, if you want to fight, fight with your own gun, use your own ammunition. *sigh* Not follow someone like Ken Conklin who constantly either updates his stupid page or now, creates videos every time someone confronts him with a new challenge. He's still trying to tout that stupid Ph.D. in Philosophy of his, as if his word is from the bible compared to the rest. And now he is actually challenged by knowledgeable people and with degrees too sometimes, he feels threatened and finds more ways to take the truth and twists it around. His only strength is relying on people's ignorance as he pretends he knows what he's talking about, confounding people in the process. Too bad not all of us are that gullible. We are actually his worse enemy.
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"Money is the ammunition of a political army."

For my family and friends... who like KNOW:"Money is the ammunition of a political army."I wish some people were not unrealistic. As much as money is diametrically opposed to what I value and what I think WE value... oiwi STILL need money in order to survive.It annoys me when some people mistakenly relay the message that it is somehow WRONG to make money. It is in order to SURVIVE. Ugh.Yes... annoying.As for land and STUFF... what I *do* is also diametrically opposed to what I value as in I do not believe in OWNING land. That is why I put I "own" land in Hilo, Washington, and Florida because I do not own the land! I am just on the title.Well What I DO is diametrically opposed to what I VALUE and I do not believe in super development. For example like Manhattan. BTW Manhattan is an island too. "They" want to make O'ahu into another Manhattan. I am against development in that way.However I am interested in development but it's not what some people think. It's development of sharing housing by and for Hawaiians in the form of condos and/or co-ops (shared ownership in a corporation.)It annoys me when people assume though.Ugh!I also don't believe in being mean to some non-oiwi who do not deserve it. I see that a lot where some people take out what the guilty have done on INNOCENT PEOPLE. Then again I was not raised dat way. Then again I was innocently crushed by a car when I was six years old by someone who was aiming to run over one of my uncles and he hit ME INSTEAD so I don't believe in taking some things out on INNOCENT PEOPLE LOL Seriously it is sooo annoying when some people do dat kine stuff.Love y'all.Latahs!


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Restore The Kingdom

Group Urges Federal Fuel Tax HikeBy JOAN LOWY,APWASHINGTON (Jan. 2) - Motorists are driving less and buying less gasoline, which means fuel taxes aren't raising enough money to keep pace with the cost of road, bridge and transit programs.That has the federal commission that oversees financing for transportation talking about increasing the federal fuel tax.A 50 percent increase in gasoline and diesel fuel taxes is being urged by the commission to finance highway construction and repair until the government devises another way for motorists to pay for using public roads.The National Commission on Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing, a 15-member panel created by Congress, is the second group in a year to call for increasing the current 18.4 cents a gallon federal tax on gasoline and the 24.4 cents a gallon tax on diesel. State fuel taxes vary from state to state.In a report expected in late January, members of the infrastructure financing commission say they will urge Congress to raise the gas tax by 10 cents a gallon and the diesel tax by 12 cents to 15 cents a gallon. At the same time, the commission will recommend tying the fuel tax rates to inflation.The commission will also recommend that states raise their fuel taxes and make greater use of toll roads and fees for rush-hour driving.Although the cost of gasoline has dropped dramatically in recent months, such tax increases could be politically treacherous for Democratic leaders in Congress. A gas tax hike was one of the reasons they lost control of the House and Senate in the 1994 elections. President-elect Barack Obama has expressed concern about raising fuel taxes in the current economic climate.But commission members said the government must find more road and bridge building money somewhere."I'm not excited about a gas tax increase, but the reality is our current gas tax doesn't pay for upkeep of the system we have now," said Adrian Moore, vice president of the Reason Foundation, a libertarian think tank in Los Angeles, and a member of the highway revenue commission. "We can either let the roads go to hell or we can pay more."The dilemma for Congress is that highway and transit programs are dependent for revenue on fuel taxes that are not sustainable. Many Americans are driving less and switching to more fuel-efficient cars and trucks, and a shift to new fuels and technologies like plug-in hybrid electric cars will further erode gasoline sales.According to a draft of the financing commission's recommendations, the nation needs to move to a new system that taxes motorists according to how much they use roads."Most if not all of the commissioners have a strong belief and commitment that we need a fundamental transformation of the current system," said commission chairman Robert Atkinson, president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a technology policy think tank in Washington.A study by the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies estimated that the annual gap between revenues and the investment needed to improve highway and transit systems was about $105 billion in 2007, and will increase to $134 billion in 2017 under current trends.Projected shortfalls in revenue led the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission, in a report issued in January 2008, to call for an increase of as much as 40 cents a gallon in the gas tax, phased in over five years.Charles Whittington, chairman of the American Trucking Associations, which supports a fuel tax increase as long as the money goes to highway projects, said Congress may decide to disguise a fuel tax hike as a surcharge to combat climate change.Transportation is responsible for about a third of all U.S. carbon emissions created by burning fossil fuels. Traffic congestion wastes an estimated 2.9 billion gallons of fuel a year. Less congestion would reduce greenhouse gases and dependence on foreign oil."Instead of calling it a gas tax, call it a carbon tax," Whittington said.Bottlenecks around the nation cost the trucking industry about 243 million lost truck hours and about $7.8 billion per year, according to the commission.Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.2009-01-02 06:31:54ALOHA Kakou, The Federal Commission must think that We The People are Stupid. This Fuel Tax Hike is to Pay Off all the Bail Outs of the Wealthy. Remember, that once the Fuel Tax becomes law, it never goes away. It's there to stay.The Fuel Tax will be added to everything. Since everything is related to Fuel. Especailly living here in Hawaii.It's time to Restore the Hawaiian Kingdom. Free Hawaii from America over taxing our people.KU I KA PONO, Jan. 17, 2008
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SUPERFERRY - HOW NOT TO DO BUSINESS IN HAWAI`I

SUPERFERRY - HOW NOT TO DO BUSINESS IN HAWAI`IShips' Survival Now In Hands Of Hawai`i CourtIf a single situation could be held up as a model to discourage enterprise and investment in the state, it is that of the Hawai`i Superferry. The Lingle administration and an equally culpable state Legislature did no one - not taxpayers, the visitor industry, businesses or public or environmental interests - any favors in their bungling of the ferry issue.Had officials simply adhered to legal requirements from the get-go, the harm imposed and that could yet be brought to the ferry company and others, and the community divisiveness their mistakes have generated would not have occurred.
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Hawaii & Lithuania Under International Law‏

Prolonged Occupations: Hawai‘i and the Baltic StatesLead Investigator: Kūhiō VogelerFrancis boyleWhat I am going to do is go on speaker phone, I have it next to the recorder. There is a consent form, I will send as a PDF form. Here are the basic background questions.InterviewsBackground:What’s your name? Francis Boyle.Where do you live (what city)? Champaign, IllinoisWhen were you born? Chicago, ILWhere were you born? 1950.Of what nationality are your parents? US.Where do you work? How long have you worked there? What do you do there? I am a professor of Law at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.Where have you attended school? What is the highest academic degree? And what was the area of study, if any. I have a bachelor’s degree from the University of Chicago, Doctor of Law from Harvard Law School, and a Ph.D. in political Science specializing in international relations from Harvard.Have you ever served in the military? If so, for which country? No.What languages do you speak? My French is kind of rusty and my Latin is rusty. English.Of what ethnicity, if any, do you consider yourself a member? Irish-American.KV: I have read a few of the things that you have written over the years. One of them, I am trying to get a copy of, from 1994.FB: The speech I gave at Mabel Smith Hall advising the Kanaka Maoli they had a right to establish their own independent state. You can find on the website on the Nation of Hawaii. That was later published with footnotes at the St. Thomas Law Review.KV: That was what I was looking for. Thank you. The version with the footnotes. Volume 7, I am writing that down.FB: The actual text you can find on the Nation of Hawaii.KV: I just wanted to get the version with the footnotes because it will be so handy. As far as the. those were the introductory questions as far as the background but these are the questions as far as the dissertation goes. In school what were you taught about the United States’ relationship to Hawai‘i?FB: Actually, I had already studied this as part of my dissertation at Harvard and had studied the theft of the Kingdom of Hawaii by the United States. I was familiar in a general sense with what had happened, the US government illegally overthrew the Kingdom and then stole Hawaii. I was familiar before I got involve in the issue itself.KV: So that was part of your doctorate degree or as part of getting.FB: Actually, back in high school I had done a detailed study of. I head written a paper on the history of US imperialism from the Spanish American war into, I guess, the 1920’s. I studied what was done to Hawaiian. I was familiar with the situation. I did not study it in great detail but I knew enough to figure out it was stolen.KV: That paper is online, yes?FB: The high school paper? No. It later became my book, if you read it. Foundations of World Order which was part of doctoral dissertation at Harvard. There is a section on the overthrow of Hawaii. The genesis of that book went back to the high school paper. In the forward, I thank my high school teacher for having me study this imperial era of American Foreign Policy. I thank my high school. I think it was in 1967.KV: Growing up, what did the media tell you about the relationship between the United States and Hawai‘i? (for example, newspapers, T.V., magazines, radio, etc.)FB: What the media still tells you today, that Hawaii is still a part of the United States, that it is the 50th state and all that propaganda.KV: Growing up, do you have any memories of your family discussing the relationship between the United States and Hawai‘i?FB: No, I really don’t.KV: These are the same exact questions I asked in the Baltic States so that is why they are phrased the way they are. Growing up, did you learn about the relationship between the United States and Hawai‘i from any other sources?FB: No I had, in the preparation of the…this was an advanced placement history course and the paper was a year long paper. I made a very detailed study of the history of American imperialism starting in the Spanish American War in 1898. The overthrow of the Kingdom was in 1893 but the US used the Spanish American War as a pretext to annex Hawaii in 1898. I was familiar with what had happened. I studied more since that time but certainly not familiar with all the details as I became when I was retained by the Hawaiian Sovereignty Advisory Commission 1993 to give an opinion on the right of the Kanaka Maoli to set up their own independent state.KV: Who was that history professor that got you going on this?FB: His name is in my book. John Mohan. I think he is now retired in my book because that book sparked my interest in the history of American Imperialism. That paper, I guess, the impetus for that was President Johnson’s illegal invasion of the Dominican Republic in 1964. That sparked my interest in studying the history of American imperialism going back to the Spanish American War and in the course of that looked into what had happened to the Kingdom of Hawaii.KV: Great. You were doing this so long ago. Did you ever visit places outside of US control? And did these visits, did they lend any insight into the relationship between Hawaii and the US?FB: The first time I was in Hawaii was in 1991 but that was on an antiwar court martial at Kaneohe Bay for a marine corporal who was the first resister to go 401. what really did force me to spend a lot more detail was when in 1991, the American Indian movement set up an international tribunal to prosecute the US government for genocide, for inflicting crimes against indigenous peoples in North America. And they asked me to serve as the prosecutor in light of the 500th anniversary of Columbus.As a result of that, the American Indian Movement invited the Kanaka Maoli to send a delegation to the tribunal and it was under the chairmanship of my friend, Dr. Kekuni Blaisdell, and so I did argue before the tribunal that the united states government had inflicted genocide upon the Kanaka Maoli and the tribunal agreed with me unanimously on that. That was the start of my personal as opposed to my academic involvement in Hawaii.In 1993… that was October of 1992 and then a year later the Hawaiian Sovereignty Advisory Commission, one of the commissioners, Bumpy Kanahele, contacted me and asked if would be willing to come out and give an opinion on the right of the Kanaka Maoli to establish an independent state. I agreed to do that so the next time I went to Hawaii, specifically to deal with the Native Hawaiian situation. I set aside a week because I asked Mr. Kanahele that I wanted to go out to the different islands and meet his people all around. To see how they lived, to talk with them and evaluate their situation. I really had no direct personal experience prior to that trip. You can see the Nation of Hawaii website or just Google under my name you can see the Affidavit that I submitted on Kanahele’s case detailing these events and my first visit to Hawaii and that nature.KV: Thank you. I have come across some of the things Googling you but I have not…I did not scroll down enough to find that one.FB: It was the Affidavit in the Kanahele case. It is comprehensive as of 1994 or so, the beginning of my involvement but it does not cover my work with Dr. Blaisdell and his people.KV: thank you.FB: By the way, you are asking the question on the Baltics, I grew up on the south side of Chicago and was fully aware of the tragic plight of the Lithuanians since so many people living on the South side was Lithuanian. In fact, my aunt was Lithuanian. In 1991, when President Landsbergis declared independence and President Gorbachev had paints (?) on the Parliament, I did volunteer my services to Landsbergis free of charge. I had never been to Lithuania but the south side of Chicago was like a little Lithuania and I had known what had been done to them as well as Latvia and Estonia.KV: Did you go out there?FB: No, not at that time. I worked with through their ambassador in the United states, starting though January 1991 through their independence. And then what happened, Landsbergis decided not to run again. Ambassador Stasys Lozaraitis ran, I guess this was in 1992. he lost and the people voted into power the communist. I have not had any contact with the Lithuanian Government since then. I did do a great deal of legal work for them pro bono during that time.KV: Did you know Bill Hough?FB: Who?KV: Bill Huff was another international law scholar that was helping him out.FB: No, I was working with Lozoraitis and then he conveyed my work directly to Landsbergis.KV: At one time, did you believe that the Hawaiian islands were part of the US?FB: Well, certainly, as a kid growing up I believed that it was the 50th state of the union as of 1959. But once I had started to study the situation in high school, I realized that the united states had stolen the Kingdom of Hawaii, destroyed the kingdom, stole its land, inflicted near genocidal conditions on its people.KV: That was in high school.FB: It was part of the study I did on US imperialism.KV: At that time, did you think that the US would remain in Hawaii throughout your lifetime.FB: I cannot say I really thought of it one way or the other because I was not actively involved in the Hawaiian sovereignty movement. I just chalked it up to another example of US imperialism like the invasion of the Dominican Republic or the Bay of Pigs Invasion in Cuba that I had seen. I did not know how long it would last. Or the theft of Puerto Rico. I also got work down in Puerto Rico with the Puerto Ricans to help them. So how long it lasted, I had not thought about one way or another. But it was clearly stolen.KV: Sure, sure. When did learn that Hawaii was occupied or do you believe that Hawaii is occupied right now?FB: Sure its occupied. Since 1893, it has been under the illegal, colonial, belligerent occupation of the United States since then. I did not study the laws of war until I went to Harvard Law School. My teacher, Richard R. Baxter, was an expert on the laws of war so began to study in 1974 and studied the laws of war, belligerent occupation and things of that nature.KV: Was it then that you realized that Hawaii was occupied or when did you realize this?FB: I really organized my thoughts on Hawaii when the Hawaiian Sovereignty Advisory Commission invited me to come out there and give them this public lecture. I am a lawyer, I work on problems as they come to me. It was only then when I was invited to give the public lecture and to spend morning privately answering the questions of the commissioner that I began to formally turn my area of expertise, international law, laws of war and things of that nature, to the situation in Hawaii.KV: So, what was your first reaction when you started doing your research and you were ready to come out to Hawaii and you realized that ‘heh, Hawaii is occupied, this is a belligerent occupation, violating the laws of war?’FB: You can read all that in the lecture in the Mabel Smith Hall. There it is, spelling out the consequences for the Native Hawaiians, where they stood?KV: What was your reaction? Did your views of the world change, or of the US or understanding of yourself, did any of that change?FB: One reason Mr. Kanahele retained me, or the Hawaiian Sovereignty Advisory Commission, is that I had worked with the Palestinians in setting up the Palestinian state. Because of that experience, they wanted my position on the what, if any right, did the Hawaiians have to do the same thing. I had been through this type of situation with the Palestinian, it was nothing new. Nothing surprised me about the US government. I had been studying the American Foreign Policy back to the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. Having lived through that and threatened with extermination I had concentrated my attention.The Cuban Missile Crisis, there was already the Bay of Pigs, the Vietnam War, the US invasion of the Dominican Republic…nothing surprised me.KV: As far as you know, did the number of people who understood that Hawai‘i is occupied increase, remain the same, or decrease?FB: Well, certainly after my lecture the people in the audience, and the audience was pretty packed…the people in Hawaii began to understand these issues. I presented a formal legal opinion as to their situation. To the best of my knowledge, it was the first time an international lawyer had gone out and done that. As I said, I was retained formally by the Hawaiian Sovereignty Advisory Commission which was set up by the State of Hawaii. They paid my expenses and a modest honorarium. And the check was signed by Governor Waihee, a Native Hawaiian himself. I made a Xerox of that check. I thought it was pretty cosmic to be invited by the State of Hawaii to find out why Native Hawaiians had the right to take Hawaii back and set up their own state.KV: Did some people believe that Hawaii was no different than the other states in the US?FB: Sure. When I got out there, Mr. Kanahele’s and his group, Ohana..his organization. You had the Trask sisters and their organization and Dr. Blaisdell. Already Native Hawaiians did not believe that Hawaii should be part of the United States. But they did not have the legal training that I had to articulate those arguments. Again that is why I was retained by the Native Hawaiian Sovereignty Advisory Commission of the State of Hawaii to come out there and give that opinion which was in the lecture. It is online, they have a transcript. If you hit Mr. Kanahele’s web site, it is on there.KV: I went to the web site, I must have missed it. Just so I have this clearly, your contention is that Hawaii Sovereignty is still intact.FB: Yes, and if you are interested you can try the website Kingdom of Hawaii, Keanu Sai… and the papers we filed with the US Supreme Court in 1998 on the 100th anniversary of the illegal annexation asking for the restoration of the Kingdom of Hawaii. The legal arguments are on there.KV: That is the Writ of Mandamus.FB: No, he did a Writ of Mandamus that was his. What else can we do here. I changed that a formal complaint submitted under the original jurisdiction clause of the United States Constitution permitting the foreign sovereign here, the Kingdom of Hawaii, to sue the US. I was not involved in his separate issue. But we did do the other one together. You will see the bill of complaint that I drafted with the US Supreme Court that I filed with the US Supreme Court. The arguments in favor of the continuing existence of the Kingdom of Hawaii.KV: That is great, thanks. Those people who think that Hawaii is the 50th state, did you have conversations with those types of folks?FB: Yes, every time I am out in Hawaii. It is the same type of people in the former Soviet Union who believe that Lithuania was part of the Soviet Union. Lithuanians never saw it that way. In the work I did for President Landsbergis, I went back and read all the treaties with the Republic of Lithuania with the Soviet Union. If you read these treaties, it is clear that Lithuania never signed any treaty giving up its independent existence as a state and was always careful to preserve its existence as the Republic of Lithuania even under the most brutal occupation possibly imagined under Stalin and Molotov. The Soviet Union shipped 200,000 Lithuanians off to Siberia and never to emerge again. Outright genocide.They are roughly analogous. So sure, the Soviet Union insisted for years that Lithuania was part of the Soviet Union. No-one accepted that. Everyone knew Lithuania was independent starting with 1919 and was illegally annexed, conquered by Stalin in 1939. The haoles out in Hawaii was like the Stalinists. I was over in the Soviet Union in 1989 and arguing Lithuania as well. I got some Soviet lawyers to agree with me, finally, when Gorbachev admitted that there was a secret protocol to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact carving up Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia and Poland between Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia. I argue that point in the Soviet union in 1989 when I was invited over there once.KV: You cant see me right now but there is a big smile on my face because you are the first person who has, in doing these interviews, participated in both in the capacity of international law and you understand the context and that is refreshing.The next question here: what political groups have been actively trying to end the occupation?FB: You have Kanahele’s group, you the Nation of Hawaii, Kekuni Blaisdell, Mililani Trask. Those are the groups that I worked with primarily over the years, and there are differences of opinion. There are other groups as well. I have been back to Hawaii twice, since then, and travelled around and met many of the organizations, groups, individuals, and kupunas. They are all over Hawaii. You have to go out there and find them and talk to them. The ones that I worked with closed with are Kanahele, the Trask sisters and Kekuni.KV: And you mentioned the argument with the Supreme Court with Keanu Sai and those folks.FB: Yes, I worked with Keanu Sai and he is going back to school, I guess. I worked with him as well. He still gets involved but is not as actively involved as he used to be. He still speaks out.KV: He is finishing up his dissertation.FB: He started to get a Ph.D, and has somewhat retreated from activist work. But before he decided to get his degree, he was in the vanguard. I have great respect for him as well.KV: Do you believe these groups; any of these groups have been effective?FB: Sure they have been effective. They have all been effective. They have turned around the debate in Hawaii. You talk with any Hawaiian and they say they are entitled to sovereignty and they are all entitled to their land back. For fifteen years I have been involved with this movement myself. You have to understand that this tragedy was inflicted by the US in 1893, 115 years ago, and it is not going to be solved tomorrow. Look at Lithuania. In 1939 the Molotov pact and the illegal invasion and annexation of Lithuania and it was not until 1991 that Landsbergis proclaimed independence and in 1992 the Soviet Union collapsed and Lithuania was free. We are talking about 50 plus years for Lithuania. It is a long process.If you look at it historically, it took that many years from 1939 -1992 for Lithuania. It took 1893 until I do not know when for Hawaii. Eventually it will happen. For the same reason. The point is this, under international law, in the absence of sovereignty, it is a people living on their own land and asserting their own rights and that is what the native Hawaiians are doing as we speak. This is what happened in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia and it happened in Palestine and I believe it will happen in Hawaii.KV: As far as you can remember, did pressure from other countries cause changes within Hawai‘i?FB: Before the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii, there were large numbers of other countries that had diplomatic relations with Hawaii, nations with the Kingdom of Hawaii. I know Sai and several people are trying to reestablish diplomatic relations or at least relations with some of those things. I am not personally involved with that. I have contacted a few of them one way or another. It is obviously political because they do not want to irritate the US.KV: Sure, sure. A very good point. I have talked with a few folks who have mentioned work that has been done outside of Hawaii. It is difficult. Was there a moment when you understood that the US occupation of Hawai‘i will end, that the US government and military will leave?FB: Just based on my experience with Lithuania, I think it is mostly analogous. I know after Gorbachev sent the tanks to storm the parliament, it was a desperate situation. We were not sure what was going to happen. And working on the worst case possible scenarios that you can think of. Out of nowhere, the Soviet Union collapsed and Lithuania was free. I told this story repeatedly in Hawaii, if Lithuania can resume its independence, Hawaii can too. It is the way historical forces are working. We will have to see what happens.I can’t predict the future but I have worked with the Palestinians on the creation of their state. Today they are recognized, the state of Palestine, 127 other states, they have a de-facto relations from most of Europe. They have all the rights of UN member states except the right to vote. The only thing keeping Palestine out of the UN is the threat of the US veto to get in. they were actually, Palestine as a state, was invited to attend, by the International Court of Justice, in their proceedings on the advisory committee to serving Israel Apartheid war. They proclaimed their state, in November 15, 1998. I was the legal advisor, and did all the legal work on that project. All the same processes are at work here.KV: So there has not been a moment where you realized that the US has definitely going to leave but you are saying it is analogous to what took place in the Baltic States and what took place in Palestine. But there wasn’t …FB: Just last week President Omer said that we are going to have to leave the West Bank in Jerusalem. It is inevitable and everyone knows that. It will take time because the overthrow was 1893 and it is now 2008 and I can’t say how long it will take. The Native Hawaiians are not going anywhere and they are not giving up.KV: Very good. As far as you know, what factors changed so that the US government could no longer control Hawai‘i?FB: it is the non consent and the non position of the native Hawaiians themselves. That will make it clear. It is really for them to do it for themselves. I am only an advisor and gave them representation. They have to do these themselves and there are leaders there. We have gone through them, and I don’t mean to exclude others that I met and have a lot of respect for. I am not in charge of the timetable, they are. It will be up to them to decide and to let the US know that it is time for them to go home. One thing I have pointed out and if you read my Mabel Smith lecture is that they really needed to study Gandhi in India and his technique, true force, which I argued in 1993, was similar to Aloha in Hawaii. Applying aloha, I felt the native Hawaiians I felt the Hawaiians could throw the US out of Hawaii, similar to how Gandhi threw the British Empire out of the Indian subcontinent.Again, they have to decide this for themselves. I give advice and what they do is up to them.KV: That is so interesting because my masters were in religious studies, studying Gandhi. So to make sure I have this clear as to what factors would have to change – once Hawaiians decide should leave, that is the primary force, or is it education or anything else.FB: It is all these factors together. Are you in Hawaii now?KV: Yes.FB: You have to take a tour of Mr. Kanehele’s village in Waimanalo and see what he and his people are doing in terms of building their state from the ground up. That is what they are doing. They are educating their people, reviving language and culture. And they are making their state that is all parts and parcel of the same phenomena.KV: This question is unique because you can answer it in two ways. You helped out in the Baltic States as well. As the occupation ended, did you participate in the reestablishment of the independent Baltic or Hawai‘i government?FB: As I said I did large numbers of position papers for the Republic of Lithuania on these types of issues. From shortly after Landsbergis proclaimed independence until the collapse of the Soviet Union. I have a file here – the attorney-client thing. I have many files dealing with the many problems that would confront them. As I said, the people voted the former communists back in power afterwards, I never heard back from the Republic of Lithuania. I have had no further contact since then.KV: Like I said, I met with Landsbergis and he is working with the EU now. But he is busy, very busy. He does not seem to have slowed down at all.FB: Is he in the European Parliament now?KV: Yes, he is Lithuania representative, or if he is at-large. But he is working with the European parliament now.FB: I worked closely with the Lithuanian Ambassador to the US and he had Landsbergis ear… since then he has died but have not had contact since then.KV: I have a few more questions here. You are so unique because you helped out with both.Did the ending of the occupation affect issues relating to language, culture or ethnicity? You can answer that whether...FB: Yes, those are serious issues. I did do a memorandum for the Republic of Lithuania. Clearly, they did a better job in protecting the basic human rights of the ethnic Russian population and the Lithuanians as opposed to the Latvians or Estonians. Of course they are the population; Russians populations were higher because of the genocide and the colonialism. But it is a serious problem. You have to respect the basic human rights of the ethnic Russian population of Lithuania and they have tried. There have been diplomatic communications back and forth but I do not think there have been Lithuania and Russia today. Second you do not want to irritate Russia to give them a pretext. I did do work on these matters.If you look at the Nation of Hawaii website, Mr Kanahele did ask me to do a draft of the constitution for Hawaii. And trying to figure out the deal with the white people who might remain in a restored Kingdom. You might want to look at that. I have had to deal with these kinds of issues of the Palestinians; I was the advisor for the Palestinians to the Middle East negotiations from 1991-1993 and had to deal with those types of issues including Jewish settlers remaining in the Palestinian state. I have dealt with these issues and elsewhere.KV: Coming back from the Baltic States, especially Latvia, there are five dissertations there are five dissertations just dealing the fact of citizenship. It is so complex.FB: It is a difficult issue but my issue Lithuania has been more progressive and it has not been such a big issue like in Latvia and Estonia.KV: Estonia has its troubles too.FB: Lithuania has not to the same extent.KV: When I went over there they said for us not to do what they did. For instance, in Latvia, they said do not do what we did for citizenship. And this goes into the next question…. As far as you remember, how did the ending of the occupation affect real estate?FB: I have not worked on that issue in Lithuania. I did not a memorandum for them on suing Russia and the Soviet Union at the world court on their compensation claims for the occupation. Lithuania has not done it. I have dealt with that issue with Mr. Kanahele. It is a draft constitution, how we decided to handle that. You can look at it there. I do not know what to say. Once the former communists were elected into power, I was dropped like a hot potato. I was not getting paid for Landsbergis so it did not bother me.KV: As far as you remember, how did the ending of the occupation affect the economy?FB: In Lithuania?KV: Yes.FB: I think they are doing okay today, aren’t they?KV: Yes, I was surprised when I went over there that when you go and do the calculations and the exchange rate and looked at bananas and when you work out all the differences, they cost about 89 cents a pound over there, which is what it would cost over. I mean if you do the conversion I was surprised.FB: (muffled – basically did not have any contact after the communist election in 1992)KV: Was there a moment that led you to believe that Hawai‘i or the Baltic States was free again?FB: It was clear with the collapse of the Soviet Union; it was a miracle from heaven. Here we were fighting to keep Lithuania alive and all of a sudden the Soviet Union collapsed. They were free, it was clear.KV: How did you feel?FB: It was great, wonderful. It was remarkable to see… I actually have a little photograph here in my office. We had a rally here on nation’s day for Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania in 1991. I was speaking at the rally there, with the flags. It was a wonderful experience, I was aware of what happened at a young age, had studied their history. Having growing up on the south side of Chicago fully aware.KV: In Hawaii, have you experienced anything like that?FB: after coming, after my Mabel Smith lecture, if you see the affidavit I submitted for Mr. Kanahele, you can see that he and his people, the Ohana Council, proclaimed independence. And they are moving in that direction. Keanu Sai is moving that direction. Dr. Blaisdell is moving in that direction. The Trask sisters, they have another approach, but still are moving to establish sovereignty as they see it. I am encouraged but I can’t predict the future. You can see the Baltics, the Palestinians. They re moving in the same direction. When I first started working with the Palestinians, no-one believed they were going to have their state. But now everyone believes they will have their state, eventually.KV: Are there any questions that you would like to ask me? Or is there something that you would like to tell me that was not covered in this interview?FB: No, not really. I would be interested in reading your dissertation when it is done.KV: Thank you. The information you provided and the fact that you worked in the Baltic States and in Hawaii is just great. It is a real person who has worked in both issues dealing with international law.FB: And this dissertation is going to be submitted where?KV: It is at the University of Hawaiian and I should be done at the end of this year. I finished two chapters and have three more to right. The first chapter is going to be last. I am just compiling the interviews I did in the Baltic States and the interviews I did here and checking…going back with what you are saying. I am going back to check the circumstances to see how they lined up. Other people have brought up the similarities with the Baltic States before.FB: Hawaiian independence, this is not a case of cessation. The Soviet Union never had title to Lithuania in the first place. It is not like the American south like in the civil war. Hawaii is not seceding from the United States. The United States has to pick up and go home as did the SU picked up and left Lithuania.KV: I am interviewing all kinds of folks; I have interviewed Jon van dyke, and William Burgess. Even through I am making this comparison, there are some differences. Back then there were two super powers, now there is just one.FB: It looks like the United States might be collapsing as well.KV: And the USSR is not the same as the US. Even though I am making this comparison, I am trying to hold back any judgments that way until I am able to take all this information in and understand fully. So far these interviews have gone great and in the Baltic States. What I have seen so far, there is a great deal of information they shared that might be applicable to Hawaii.FB: That is for sure. Who is your dissertation chair?KV: Dr. Chadwick.FB: I am not familiar with him.KV: It is an odd thing going on in Hawaii. You actually have some Hawaiians that are not favorable to looking at Hawaii in terms of international law.FB: What can you do? Most of them do. I have been all over the islands and have watched repeatedly, the kupuna, on all the islands. Most pretty much agree with the analysis that I bring to bear.KV: They view Hawaii as being colonized, these topics of international law, and some Hawaiian academics they feel this discussion of international law goes contrary to Hawaiian values.FB: I do not know why. The Kingdom of Hawaii and participated in the system of international law as it existed from the creation of the Kingdom to the overthrow. They had diplomatic relations all over the world, and treaties. I do not see how this was inconsistent with what they were doing before 1893.KV: Absolutely. But as I said, these interviews are going well. I should be finishing up the dissertation at the end of the year. I am looking forward to the end, to see how everything lines up.FB: Well send me a copy and I will read it. I would be very interested to see what you had to say.KV: Thank you so much. And so, I will go double-check the nation of Hawaii to get your talk and will follow up with the footnotes.FB: One other point, the Supreme Court in Hawaii just rendered a decision on the Native Hawaiian Apology Resolution and they agreed, and it came down this year, with what I had to say in 1993.KV: I will take a look at that.FB: Of course, the State of Hawaii has now appealed hoping that the US. Supreme Court will overturn the Hawaii State Supreme Court. Well okay. But the significant point is that they pretty much agreed with what I was saying in 1993 about the meaning and significance of the resolution.KV: I will go and do that. That is what I am doing, is going back to the interviews and as people mentioned particular articles or particular events, I do the research and follow up so I can make sure I understand the context here.FB: Okay. I do think you would want to talk to Kanahele, The Trask Sisters, Kekuni and Mr. Kanehele.KV: I have called Mililani and I have sent the questions to Mr. Kekuni Blaisdell and am supposed to follow up with him today or tomorrow. I talked with Poka Laenui already. It is all going great. If there is anything you can think of or any article…you have my email address.FB: And tell me when it is done, I would like to read it.KV: Thank you so much.ENDFrancis A. BoyleLaw Building504 E. Pennsylvania Ave.Champaign, IL 61820 USA217-333-7954 (Voice)217-244-1478 (Fax)(personal comments only
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