Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Take this National Security Quiz for fun or for tears
by Larry Geller
I listen or watch Democracy Now every weekday… so I thought I’d do better than I did on this ProPublica quiz:
Name That President: Obama vs. Bush National Security Quiz
It just reminded me that the handbasket is moving even faster than I thought.
Hawaii plays Pope, decides prisoners may not marry, but ACLU is on it
“[a]s a Ward of the State incarcerated in a correctional facility, you are incapable of providing the necessary emotional, financial and physical support that every marriage needs in order to succeed.”
by Larry Geller
The ACLU filed a lawsuit today in federal court on behalf of four women who were banned by the state from marrying their fiancés, all of whom are men incarcerated at the Saguaro Correctional Facility in Eloy, Arizona.
Each of the men received a form letter from the State Department of Public Safety explaining the moral (not legal) reason for the denial:
“[a]s a Ward of the State incarcerated in a correctional facility, you are incapable of providing the necessary emotional, financial and physical support that every marriage needs in order to succeed.”
As the ACLU explained, DPS agreed to stop the denials in June of 2011 and issued a written policy on marriage applications, but despite the policy, it continues to deny marriage applications by sending prisoners the form letter. The policy was implemented as a result of ACLU intervention the prior year when the same prison officials denied an applicant the right to marry with the same form letter. The lawsuit today resulted because, despite the new policy, DPS has continued to deny marriage applications on multiple occasions.
The practice of denying prisoners the right to marry was ruled unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court in Turner v. Safley, 482 U.S. 78 (1987). Particularly where prisoners wish to marry individuals outside of prison, the Court explained, the State has virtually no interest whatsoever: “where the inmate wishes to marry a civilian, the decision to marry (apart from the logistics of the wedding ceremony) is a completely private one.”
Whether the issue is providing mental health services, conditions in the prisons, or now the right to marry, it has taken federal intervention to force Hawaii’s prison officials to obey the law.
This case will result in avoidable legal fees for taxpayers. There will be no repercussions for errant DPS officials.
It could be settled in moments by a phone call from the Governor to his DPS director (hint).
Friday, May 11, 2012
What could possibly go wrong with implementing a Smart Meter program?
Thursday, May 10, 2012
How dangerous is Fukushima 4? Dr. Michio Kaku on Flashpoints
“The reactor buildings still contain large amounts of spent fuel – making them a huge safety risk and the only protection from a future tsunami, Wyden observed, is a small, makeshift sea wall erected out of bags of rock.”—Senator Ron Wyden (OR), after visit to Fukushima
. . .
”Scientists say that there is a 70% chance of a magnitude 7.0 earthquake hitting Fukushima this year, and a 98% chance within the next 3 years.”
by Larry Geller
The alternative media is buzzing with concern over the precarious situation of Fukushima 4, literally balanced on a knife-edge after the initial earthquake and tsunami, but the commercial press maintains near-silence.
Click below to listen to this segment of a popular KPFA radio program to learn more.
Unfortunately, it’s hard for radio programs to publish transcripts of their content, so the material can’t be found in Google or referenced. So I can’t quote from yesterday’s Flashpoints program, I can only ask you to take a moment and listen to at least the beginning of it. If Disappeared News had time to do radio, I would want it to be like Flashpoints with Dennis Bernstein. But he’s already doing it. So please have a listen.
The first part of the program is an update on how dangerous Fukushima Reactor 4 is, with Dr. Michio Kaku.
As Dennis says, “hold on to your seats and stay tuned.”
(or use the KPFA player for this program here.)
The program mentions the impossibility of evacuating Tokyo’s 30 million people, representing 20% of the country’s population. The consequences of further nuclear disaster at Fukishima extend far beyond Japan, of course.
Related:
- Arnold Gundersen with the first 2012 Fukushima update; more of Dr. Caldicott’s 2011 speech in Berlin (If You Love This Planet, 2/17/2012) (audio interview)
(in this last interview, Dr. Gundersen talks about many things, including re-contamination by radioactive cedar tree pollen… yikes.)
Wednesday, May 09, 2012
Deficient financial disclosure forms still on Ethics Commission website after two months
by Larry Geller
With all the activity at the Legislature, I missed this two-month anniversary by a couple of days.
On March 1, 2012 I posted an article identifying three recent financial disclosure forms that contain rather obvious omissions that I felt the Ethics Commission should have caught.
On April 4, 2012 I posted a follow-up article pointing out that the erroneous forms are still on the Ethics Commission website, and there are no amended forms posted. As far as I can tell, there has been no action against the three legislators (though obviously, the Ethics Commission would not let me know if they did take action).
It’s now two months later, and there are no amended forms posted on the Ethics Commission website for these legislators.
Here’s a recap of the issue. In alphabetic order:
Rep. Rida T.R. Cabanilla Arakawa’s 2012 financial disclosure apparently fails to disclose income, as required
On Senator Donavan Dela Cruz’s May 19, 2011 filing he simply checked the box indicating no changes to report since last filing. But his last filing was 12/9/10 which showed him as a Councilmember. Oops!
Rep. Scott Nishimoto also just checked the same box. He doesn’t report his House of Representatives job.
Each legislator signs the bottom of the form, which looks like this:
Note that it states that it is a violation of state law if information is not disclosed and that there are statutory penalties for noncompliance.
But so what? There’s clearly no cop on the beat.
I’ll check the Ethics Commission website again next month.
Rant: Flashback to an era of public transit that worked
by Larry Geller
New York City just posted an archive of over 870,000 images spanning 160 years on its website (hat tip to researchbuzz.com). So I thought I would take a journey on the time machine to check out some of the transportation I remember we had as a kid. Why? It worked then. New York City knows transit. It would never put a line to nowhere up in the air as Honolulu is planning. I felt like escaping from the folly by going back to those comfortable days of yesteryear as a commuter in Brooklyn, NY.
At one time, portions of Brooklyn and Queens were as rural as Oahu is. Yet somehow planners managed to get the city interconnected with a web of urban transit.
When we got married, my mother’s advice to me, strongly worded, was “Never live in a two-fare zone!” As kids, we lived one block from the Church Avenue trolley, which we had to ride to get to any subway. I guess there were no transfers then, so indeed we lived in a two-fare zone. But more important, it took a ride to get to the ride. It really was inconvenient.
Of course, I’m still thinking of Mufi’s train. Since it would be one single spaghetti-strand of a line with no future of expansion, that will condemn most residents to either driving or taking a bus to get to the train. That’s what my mom warned against.
Later, we moved to Coney Island. There was a train a block away and another line nearby (you could walk or just change trains). How convenient! True, it was a long way from Manhattan where I worked, but not so bad. There was a newsstand at the station so it was an opportunity to read the New York Times on the way in to the city.
I recall (could be wrong) that we could pay the trolley or the bus fare with subway tokens. This is a 15 cent token. It was about the size of a dime. When the fare later went up, the size of the token would be changed. I saved a few of the 15 cent ones, silver plated some and soldered them to a tie clip which I wore for years, until for some reason people stopped wearing tie clips. Subway tokens were a great idea. You just tossed them into the fare box. People would depart the car from the rear (unlike The Bus in Honolulu), so that passengers could get on quickly at the front, toss a token into the fare box, and move to the middle. We have not caught up with that simple concept here in Honolulu in 2012. Oh, while I’m at it, there were ways to signal the driver to stop so you could get off, even if you were standing. That’s another thing we don’t have yet on The Bus.
Back to the 870,000 pictures… most are of old buildings, so I looked up the theater on Utica Avenue where we went on Saturdays to see three cartoons for 25 cents including free popcorn. No picture. It was converted to be a supermarket, and there are pictures on the web of that.
But there was one great picture of the Church Avenue trolley:
Where are the overhead wires??? Actually, I should ask where are the horses, I think it was pulled by horses then.
And I found this cool article about an incident between a runaway trolley car and a milk truck.
The trolley I remember looked more or less like this:
It was replaced by a bus, which I had to ride to the subway to get into school in Manhattan I remember the last run. I saw the trolley depart and go down the avenue with people hanging out of it. I also remember all the pennies we had put on the tracks over the years and other clever stunts I better not mention, even though the statute of limitations has long tolled. I never tried it, but some boys used to ride on the back bumper, without, of course, paying anything. The ride was smooth enough (no potholes when riding on rails, of course) that it didn’t seem dangerous, and cars behind left plenty of space if there were idiot kids riding outboard.
The trolley was cool. The diesel buses stank, were noisy, and didn’t ring a bell before they moved.
For many years the trolley tracks remained in the street. Then the city decided it would be too expensive to pull them up, so it covered the streets with a layer of asphalt. This was successful only for a while. The tracks often buckled and forced their way up out of the asphalt. So the errant rail would be ripped out and the street repaired. But then another rail would pop up, then another.
For a time, though, I could line up my 1963 Plymouth on the tracks on Stillwell Avenue, which remained in place after other streets were repaired. It was a coincidence, I’m sure, but the width of the tracks, from the outsides of the rails, was exactly the same as the space inside between the left and right tires on the car. So the car would lock onto the rails as though it were a train. I could take my hands off the steering wheel, and it would run safely down the street, with something of the feel of being on a train. The problem came when I had to make a turn. It took significant force to unlock the car from the rails.
Somehow, I don’t think we’ll have such fun with Mufi’s train. You never know. I wonder if they’ll relent and put public toilets in the stations. If not, yes, there will be stories for tourists and residents to tell.
Monday, May 07, 2012
Hawaii at great risk if another quake hits Fukushima
by Larry Geller
Could Tokyo be evacuated if there were another earthquake affecting the Fukushima nuclear plants? What can be said about the probability of another earthquake, and what would the consequences be for Japan, for Hawaii, and for the rest of the world?
For Hawaii, would tourists come if the ocean water were too radioactive to swim in? What kind of an economy would we have without tourists, and where would we go to surf? Do Hazmat suits come in aloha shirt patterns?
A coalition of Japanese citizens, Japanese and American activists and US Senator Ron Wyden sent a letter Friday to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihito Noda urging intervention to remove the spent fuel rods from Fukushima 4 sooner than the ten years or so currently contemplated.
The letter warns that the reactor building is tilted and it could not withstand another earthquake. The storage pool is located above the building at a height of six to ten stories above the ground and open to the air. More than 1500 nuclear assemblies are inside the pool. Should the pool be damaged and the fuel rods catch fire, roughly 85 times the amount of Cesium 137 released by Chernobyl could be released as the fire spreads to the other nearby units.
US Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) visited the stricken Fukushima site several weeks ago and was particularly alarmed by the slow response of Fukushima Daiichi utility owner, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), which has a several year-long plan to secure Unit 4 and its fuel pool, and urged swifter action.
"Loss of containment in any of these pools, especially the pool at Unit 4, which has the highest inventory of hottest fuel, could result in an even greater release of radiation than the initial incident," Wyden said.
The letter to UN Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, initiated by Japanese environmental groups Green Action Japan and Shut Tomari, demands that Japan ask for international support to avert disaster. The groups are urging organizations around the world to sign on.
[press release, 5/4/2012]
Hawaii should consider signing on in some official capacity. The downside risk of an event such as described would be devastating here.
What happens in Fukushima doesn’t stay in Fukushima
Hawaii is directly in the path of the radioactive plume of seawater from the original Fukushima disaster. It would similarly receive radioactive water from a future disaster.
Fukushima Radioactive Ocean Impact Map - March 2012 Update
(more info at www.asrltd.com/japan)
Water contaminated by radioactivity that entered the sea from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant will reach the Hawaiian Islands in March 2014, according to a computer simulation by the Japan Atomic Energy Agency. [...]
The researchers said 18,000 trillion becquerels of radioactive iodine and cesium have leaked from the plant into the sea.
The contaminated water will be carried by ocean currents, and the maximum radioactivity level in cesium-137 will be about 0.04 becquerel per liter when it nears the Hawaiian Islands, they said.
[ENENews.com, 4/3/2012]
That would be about 50% of the EPA’s maximum limit for drinking water.
The letter sent Friday appears to be the second one sent by the groups. The text of the first letter is here. One of the signers appears to be “Aloha from Hawaii.”
The letters urge immediate action because another earthquake near Fukushima could occur at any time. If a worst-case disaster at the Fukushima facility were to take place, it is hard to see how Tokyo could be evacuated. The population of the greater Tokyo metropolitan area, including nearby Yokohama and Kawasaki, is estimated to be between 35 and 36 million people. It is the largest metropolitan area in the world. There is no place for them to go, and an evacuation would be a logistics nightmare, if it could be accomplished at all.
How likely is another earthquake? Of course, no one can say exactly. Here is the currently posted USGS Seismic Hazard Map for Japan:
The likelihood of another earthquake should be the subject of more research, but the argument presented by the various groups is that the downside risk is so great that international assistance should be provided to stabilize the situation at Fukushima as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, the media are generally ignoring the situation.
There is no way to overstate the media's complicity in concealing critical information about the tragedy that is presently unfolding at Fukushima. If there is another earthquake, the media will certainly be every bit as responsible as the government officials who saw the danger, but chose to do nothing.
[OpEdNews, Is Fukushima's Doomsday Machine About to Blow?, 4/30/2012]
This is too important for the media to ignore. The consequence of leaving TEPCO (nearly bankrupt already) and the Japanese government to deal with Fukushima on their own could be disaster for Hawaii and much of the world economy. We should join with other groups to move that ten-year timetable forward and deal with the situation sooner, not later.
See also:
- Fukushima Daiichi Site: Cesium-137 is 85 times greater than at Chernobyl Accident
- Why Fukushima Is a Greater Disaster than Chernobyl and a Warning Sign for the U.S
- Urgent Request to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon
- Fukushima's Nuclear Nightmare Is Far From Over (or the Disturbingly Deadly Act of Placing Profits Before People)
- The Fukushima nuclear plant's slow recovery offers lessons to the US
Rep. Theilen’s memo on illegality of locating dump at Ameron Quarry
The news release below was distributed by the Minority Caucus this afternoon. Instead of me messing with it, here it is as sent. For the record, the memo itself is here (may contain OCR errors).
REP. THIELEN DELIVERS MEMO TO MAYOR DECLARING LANDFILL CANNOT LEGALLY BE LOCATED AT AMERON QUARRY
Honolulu – Hawai‘i State Representative Cynthia Thielen (R, 50th District: Kailua, Kaneohe Bay) submitted a memo today to Mayor Peter Carlisle stating that the Ameron Hawaii Quarry in Kailua should be not be on the City & County of Honolulu's new landfill site list. The memo is a legal analysis which outlines five reasons why the Ameron Hawaii Quarry should be removed from the landfill list, citing Federal law and the impact on area residents and the construction industry.
"Installing a new Oahu municipal solid waste landfill site at Ameron Hawaii Quarry in Kailua would negatively impact the water quality in Kailua's watershed and marsh lands, interfere with the U.S. Endangered Species Act's purpose, threaten the health and safety of Kailua residents, and irreparably damage the construction industry," stated Thielen.
The memo details the detrimental impact that a landfill would have on the Kawainui and Hamakua Marsh Complex, a designated Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention which recognized the Marsh as a core wetland habitat for endemic and endangered birds and containing significant cultural and environmental resources. Citing the U.S. Endangered Species Act and the high quantity of rainfall in the area, Representative Thielen points out the negative impact that runoff and leaching from a landfill would have on this significant wetland. Thielen also notes the proximity of five schools, a hospital, and numerous residences, all within one mile of the proposed landfill site.
"The best way to ensure that the environment and residential areas surrounding the Ameron Hawaii Quarry are protected from health and safety concerns is to avoid building a landfill at the Ameron site," Thielen reiterated.
Representative Thielen observed that placing a landfill at the Ameron Hawaii Quarry site would have a significant impact on Hawaii's construction industry. "Without Ameron Hawaii Quarry in Kailua we would not have enough Grade A rock to meet the local demand. This lack of material would have a significant impact on much-needed infrastructure upgrades and material costs."
Currently, Ameron Hawaii Quarry is in the top 5 on the list of potential new landfill sites for Oahu. Thielen's memo is a pointed, evidentiary statement that the quarry should not be on the list at all.
Sunday, May 06, 2012
SB2785 will increase, not decrease, the cost of electricity on Oahu
“ ‘Do you take this woman to be your lawful wedded wife?” “Yes, with reservations.’ ”
If you read nothing else, don’t miss the short bonus video at the end of this article.
by Larry Geller
The Legislature’s passage of SB2785 will have a profound impact on Hawaii’s economy. And on the hope some of us had of staying on Oahu to retire in our old age.
Also, I can’t think of anything more discouraging to the prospects of small business in the state than boosting energy costs higher than we already have.
The Senate debate on May 3, 2012, took just 52 minutes and largely sidestepped the issue of the cost that will be passed to ratepayers. Lawmakers disregarded the negative effect of this provision for automatic rate increases contained in the bill that passes the cost and risk of this project on to those on Oahu who are already paying three times the national average in electricity costs:
§269-D Cable surcharge. (a) The commission shall establish a cable surcharge to allow recovery of the high‑voltage electric transmission cable system costs designated for recovery according to the ratemaking principles pursuant to section 269‑B.
. . .
§269-E Recovery of electric utility company costs. (a) An electric utility company may recover, through an automatic rate adjustment clause, its revenue requirement resulting from the capital costs that it prudently incurs for on-island transmission infrastructure; provided that the commission has approved the utility's commitment of capital expenditure costs for the project. (b) To provide for timely recovery of the revenue requirement, the commission shall establish a separate automatic rate adjustment clause for that purpose, or modify an existing automatic rate adjustment clause. The use of the automatic rate adjustment clause to recover the revenue requirement shall be allowed to continue until the revenue requirement is incorporated in rates in an electric utility company's rate case.
Cost to already suffering ratepayers is one of the impacts of this bill, sure to be signed into law by Governor Abercrombie. I put this first because most readers live on Oahu, but we should also note and respect that residents of Lanai and Molokai have the ongoing burden of fighting the project to prevent the environmental and quality-of-life degradation that building the wind farms on their islands will bring.
After the bill is signed, most of us on Oahu will return to complacency, but not residents of Maui County, for whom the stakes are high.
For the record, below is a video of the discussion on the Senate floor, and so that Google will find it, a transcript prepared by Sally Kaye and used with her permission. I want to thank Sally for the incredible investment of time that it took to do this, and for allowing Disappeared News to post it.
As to heroes on the Senate side, there are only three: Senators Chun Oakland, Hee and Slom were the only ones to vote against this bill.When the rate increase hits the fan, all but these threee will be responsible for the damage.
Neighbor Island senators voted for the bill, which I’m sure will lead to some discussion back in their home districts.
Click on the thingy in the lower right for full screen.
Download 20120503 SB2785 Senate Comments from Disappeared News
Special bonus video
While waiting for the Senate session video to be processed by YouTube, this short but powerful statement was posted on line by IAlohaMolokai.com. Since they permit embedding, I’ve included it here.
Aloha – with reservations?
“Do you take this woman to be your lawful wedded wife?” “Yes, with reservations.”
I think this video expresses the way many advocates may have felt at the conclusion of this legislative session after the passage of this and other damaging bills. It also expresses a commitment not to forget.
Transit lessons for Honolulu from the classics
by Larry Geller
I have to admit that I made it through high school English classes with the help of Classics Illustrated comics. For example, I just didn’t want to spend the time reading The Odyssey by Homer. I tried, really I did, but my true feeling was that this old literature should be respected but not imposed on modern kids.
Fortunately, we had excellent alternative resources available to us. No, not Google or Wikipedia, but Classics Illustrated comics. For a few cents I might even enjoy the stale old classics while getting up to speed enough to pass the quiz. In class discussions I really sounded as though I knew what I was talking about.
Probably, teachers were on to this, but what could they do? I held a paperback copy of the actual Odyssey in my hands and could find a key passage if called upon. I could fake it each time, and I did.
In the illustration above (click for larger), Odysseus stuffs the ears of his crew with beeswax so they will not hear the songs of the Sirens as their ship passes their island, and has them strap him to the mast so he can enjoy it, instructing them not to cut him down no matter how much he implores. If they were to succumb and turn the ship to the island, they would perish.
From the Wikipedia:
In his notebooks Leonardo da Vinci wrote of the Siren, "The siren sings so sweetly that she lulls the mariners to sleep; then she climbs upon the ships and kills the sleeping mariners."
Certainly, this can be a metaphor for Honolulu’s rail project. Who could resist the promise of reduced traffic on the highways that the rail sirens sing? And given the cost, both economic and to the environment, wouldn’t we perish if we succumbed to that enticing song?
This morning we caught up with the podcast of Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, in which one of the questions asked of a contestant mentioned this short quotation from Henry David Thoreau’s Walden:
“We do not ride on the railroad; it rides upon us.”
Walden was one of the few books assigned in class that I actually read. Thoreau made a lot of sense to me. And, well, because there wasn’t a Classics Illustrated comic I could substitute for actually reading the book. Nevermind. Just give me some credit. I really did read the book.
So I decided to look up the text on Project Gutenberg to see what Thoreau was getting at. He mentions railroads at several points (the on-line text is searchable, a great technological advance over the original). He seems to have an understanding not only of their utility but of their consequences.
There could be some lessons for us in this book also.
To make a railroad round the world available to all mankind is equivalent to grading the whole surface of the planet. Men have an indistinct notion that if they keep up this activity of joint stocks and spades long enough all will at length ride somewhere, in next to no time, and for nothing; but though a crowd rushes to the depot, and the conductor shouts "All aboard!" when the smoke is blown away and the vapor condensed, it will be perceived that a few are riding, but the rest are run over—and it will be called, and will be, "A melancholy accident."
In our current context, the Honolulu train, as proposed, would indeed have the effect of “grading the whole surface” of Oahu. Or at least a large chunk near where the train will go. It’s not just the space under the tracks, but the increased value of the land nearby that has lead to a great salivation on the part of developers and the politicians whom they support.
It will also come to pass that “a few are riding, but the rest are run over.” Not just the iwi who will most literally be run over, but the rest of us, whether we live near a train station or not, will have to pay dearly so that a few can ride. Many will not be able to afford it. For those, Thoreau has a useful suggestion:
I used to see a large box by the railroad, six feet long by three wide, in which the laborers locked up their tools at night; and it suggested to me that every man who was hard pushed might get such a one for a dollar, and, having bored a few auger holes in it, to admit the air at least, get into it when it rained and at night, and hook down the lid, and so have freedom in his love, and in his soul be free.
Good idea for Thoreau, perhaps, but our City Council would probably pass a law to confiscate the dwellings, since that’s their solution to poverty and homelessness in this town.
Now, much of this would hold for any form of rail transit. We’ve been warned, though, about the high expense and environmental degradation that this particular plan will bring with it. The expense, along with the design, practically guarantees that the line will not be extended and so will serve only a few. At the same time as we have to pay for the existing rail we will still have to pay for replacing sewers and for the higher cost of electricity that the state legislature is setting us up for in their “wisdom” by clearing the way for an expensive undersea power cable.
It could be a devastating combination of financial impacts, and it would do damage to the income of ordinary families, many already struggling in today’s economy.
So that’s the consequence if we answer the Siren song to build this train. The traffic won’t go away, but we will suffer the predicted fate. It’s not that we haven’t been warned, we have. But instead of resisting, we may succumb. It’s easy to listen to a pleasant song and feel good in the moment. Homer warned us not to do that. Thoreau picked up and modernized the warning:
With unrelaxed nerves, with morning vigor, sail by it, looking another way, tied to the mast like Ulysses. If the engine whistles, let it whistle till it is hoarse for its pains. If the bell rings, why should we run? We will consider what kind of music they are like. …
Although Thoreau went on and on, I’ll stop here, with thanks to the folks at Wait Wait for putting me on the trail. The classics have plenty of lessons for us, but so does common sense.
Sailors who listened to the Siren’s call succumbed. We ignore these lessons at our peril.
Friday, May 04, 2012
Hawaii Reporter investigation leads to raids on illegal gambling
by Larry Geller
Yikes! I sometimes shop at the store pictured in Chinatown Store Owner Raided By FBI Worked as An Advocate for Asian Immigrants (Hawaii Reporter, 5/4/2012). It’s the closest general store in Chinatown to where I live. Who would think that there is more to the grocery business than is obvious to a casual shopper?
Hawaii Reporter editor Malia Zimmerman and investigative reporter Jim Dooley have been on the trail of this story for at least six months. Their quest is not without risk: gambling is often big business. Think, like the Mafia. It’s organized crime.
Read the story at the link above. While you’re here, these are the two videos linked at the end of the article. They’ll give you an inside peek through the hidden cameras that recorded the backdoor operations.
Click the little thingy at the lower right for full screen.
Hawaii Reporter Undercover Investigation Exposes Illegal Chinatown Lottery
Federal investigators raid chinatown gambling ring
Thursday, May 03, 2012
OIP director disses opponents of administration anti-sunshine bill
“Cheryl Kakazu Park, the OIP director, described the reaction by open government advocates as ‘an emotional response, not a reasoned response.’ ”
by Larry Geller
I read this line, from the article Open records advocates fear information roadblocks (Star-Advertiser p. B1, 5/3/2012), a couple of times, and realized that I’m having a strong “emotional response” to Park’s statement as reported in the paper.
Testimony submitted in opposition to this bill (SB2858) included well-reasoned arguments by members of the County Council of Maui, the Mayor of Honolulu, the ADA, the Society of Professional Journalists, respected journalism professor Beverly Keever, the Big Island Press Club, and others.
This administration-sponsored bill, along with its companion, SB2859, has been described as setting back Hawaii’s sunshine laws by 24 years. John Pritchett published a cartoon devoted to this bill yesterday in the Honolulu Weekly titled “Pulling the wool over your eyes.”
This is the same OIP director who decided not to issue opinions although the law mandates her to do so, and has issued only one opinion in 2011 and none at all in 2012.
It seems the Legislature is inclined to go along with this—no surprise in a session bent on passing exemptions to ethics and environmental protections.
Today is the last day of the legislative session and the last chance for legislators to redeem themselves. Don’t hold your breath.
As I read that remark quoted in the Star-Advertiser I thought of President Bush’s many appointments to Homeland Security and other federal agencies that seemed like attempts to undermine the purpose of each agency. Governor Abercrombie may have done the same with this still controversial appointment.
Park’s predecessor stood for transparency in government, in particular stating that the Governor must release the names of judicial nominees. Abercrombie removed her and replaced her with Park, who agreed with the Governor that the names need not be released. The State Supreme Court ruled later that indeed the list must be released.
Wednesday, May 02, 2012
For May Day news, find alternative to the daily paper
by Larry Geller
Nationwide, the commercial press has imposed as much of a blackout on Occupy news as it can get away with. Our own Star-Advertiser is no exception.
Yesterday, May Day, was a big day for protests in many US cities and other countries, but all the S-A brought us (and I have a right to complain, I pay for a subscription!!) was one picture of a women allegedly hitting a police officer with an umbrella in Portland, OR.
Even allowing for a deadline, there was plenty of news besides the umbrella thing that could have appeared in the paper.
There is coverage on the Internet, and of course if you followed tweets you were practically there with the demonstrators.
An overview is on the Democracy Now website in three segments (with video and transcript):
- May Day Protests Span the Globe with Calls for Economic Justice, International Solidarity
- May Day Legacy of Labor, Immigrant Rights Joined by New Generation of Occupy for Historic Protests
- As Students Revolt over Cutbacks and Debt, NYC Occupy Stages May Day "Free University" for the 99%
Actually, it’s probably more efficient to just visit today’s web page and view the entire program or segments right there.
Automatic email language translation goes mainstream on gmail
by Larry Geller
Google already knows all about me. I don’t think that’s a good thing and am trying to avoid using Google services I can get elsewhere. Then they release another goodie… like this one, automatic language translation of your emails. (sigh)
Does grandma not speak the same language you do? Do you have (or want) friends in another country? Check this out.
Say hello (or olá or halo or salam) to automatic message translation in Gmail.
Video defending health care policy in Hawaii—call to action
by Larry Geller
It’s been difficult watching the tweets fly by about legislative agreement to one environmental exemption bill or another. More on that later. For now, there is one bill that is not dead despite what you might have read in the newspaper, and with enough support, could still go forward.
That’s SB2434 HD3, the bill that would remove voting powers from the three near-monopoly insurance companies on the Hawaii Health Connector.
The HHC will determine how health insurance is sold in Hawaii under Obama’s Affordable Care Act.
Clearly, we want the best deal possible on policies we will be mandated to purchase. Starting 2015, the state will bear the expense, so you’d think the state would also want the best deal.
And clearly, the insurance companies have a conflict of interest since they will profit from their decisions if allowed to vote on the board of the HHC.
SB2434 is not technically dead. It is a clean bill. The Senate can agree to the HD3 version. Why not let legislators know that they can do that?
Here’s a video explanation. Spread the word. Send the link to legislators. Ask Senators to agree to the HD3 amendment (“HD” means “House Draft,” it is the House Finance committee’s version of the bill).
Tuesday, May 01, 2012
Hawaii legislature uses subterfuge to pass secret amendment into (bad) law
by Larry Geller
Do you think that the Hawaii State Legislature is a democratic institution? This video may convince you otherwise.
What you’ll be seeing is secret law being passed. The Senate Water, Land & Housing Committee Chair slides a proposed amendment into HB2398 that no one has seen. And the result has stolen away the people’s power.
The bill creates a Public Land Development Corporation (PLDC) that is exempt from all permitting and zoning requirements. It gives the Governor power to transfer land to the PLDC with no public input.
It’s so bad, of course they had to do it in secret.
Check out this video. Click the little thingy at the lower right for full screen.
And there is still the requirement of the state constitution that a bill must be heard three times in each house. One day, some public-spirited attorney might challenge this, and if successful, potentially wipe out a whole bunch of state laws.
Courthouse News Service posts details of incident resulting in $100,000 settlement, but that should not be the last word
by Larry Geller
A Courthouse News article posted today details the charges of assault filed by Mitchell Kahle and Kevin Hughes which resulted in a $100,000 settlement now awaiting legislative approval.
In the context of describing the case, reporter Purna Nemani has provided the best description of the assault as described and alleged by Kahle and Huges that I have seen in print. There is also a video that has been widely viewed—see the end of this article.
I think anyone reading the article will understand why some of us familiar with the incident felt intimidated when the same Sergeant at Arms was present inside the committee room at Senator Baker’s hearing on confirmation of the Governor’s appointees to the Hawaii Health Connector. Perhaps Senator Baker felt comforted by his presence, but some of us did not. We should question why he was brought in (I assume he doesn’t attend many hearings on his own). If called by Senator Baker, then she might have pre-meditated denying community testimony and wanted protection against a backlash.
I can only quote a bit of the article, it is copyrighted material. Please click the link below to read the entire article on the Courthouse News Service website.
Kahle and Hughes called the "scuffle" a "gang-style attack" that landed Hughes in the emergency room. Kahle says he was also subjected to an unprovoked assault behind closed doors.
Villaflor, the sergeant at arms, is described as a former professional fighter and World Boxing Association champion. He allegedly beat Kahle with help from defendants Carabbacan, Naauao, Doyles Arakaki, Daniel Kwon, Raymond Schwartz and Betty Muraki.
Before the attack, "Kahle had not committed any violation of law and sheriff deputies did not have probable cause to arrest [him] for any crime," according to the complaint. But Kahle says the officers took him in handcuffs into a rotunda elevator, where they "slammed Kahle, face first, against the side wall of the elevator," and "took turns assaulting [him] ... giving him body blows."
When the elevator door opened, Kahle says, he was taken "down the hallway to a Public Safety Office, located in the basement (chamber level) of the Capitol." (Parentheses in original.) He says the assault resumed there, with officers "slamming Kahle to the floor so hard that he spun around and crashed into a cabinet, breaking the cabinet door."
[Courthouse News Service, State Wants to Settle With Religious Objector, 5/1/2012]
I have been repeatedly impressed with the articles posted by Courthouse News Service about Hawaii cases, and in particular by the work of this reporter.
After reading this account, my impression is that the state is getting a bargain with a $100,000 settlement. The Legislature should hurry up and approve this.
Unfortunately, it isn’t known what disciplinary action, if any, has or will be taken against the alleged perpetrators. The Senate doesn’t enforce its own rules and seems to have an unfortunate tolerance even for potential law-breaking by its own members (e.g., filing of false financial reports). So what can we expect? We can expect that nothing will be done.
The only ones punished are taxpayers, who must cough up the expense of settlements against the state.
That’s not a particular Hawaii problem. States and municipalities across the country seem willing, for example, to allow police to act brutally and unconstitutionally and then settle with the victims later, as a cost of doing business. Although the news doesn’t get into our daily paper, police law-breaking has become standard operating practice against Occupy demonstrators, for example.
I no longer refer to police officers as “law enforcement” because of this—they are often armed as though they were military and have little respect for laws or civil rights. There is seldom accountability for this law-breaking.
The defendants in the Kahle-Hughes suit were, and presumably still are, state employees. We should be able to know how the state is dealing with responsibility for the incident. Payment of the $100,000 settlement doesn’t close the matter without accountability and public disclosure.
If the Senate does nothing, then it is enabling whatever illegal activities or misconduct may have taken place, and it shares in the responsibility. Of course, the Legislature should approve the settlement. But it needs to go further. Let me say also that giving away environmental exemptions that may be challenged in court (and result in legal fees to be paid by—who else—we taxpayers) is part of the problem. Lawmakers ought to have some basic respect for the law themselves.
Click the thingy in the lower-right for full-screen.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Star-Advertiser reports another suit filed related to assault on activists in 2010
by Larry Geller
Taxpayers will no doubt have to fork up more money for state misconduct in this new lawsuit, filed by activist Mitchell Kahle and videographer Kevin Hughes against then Senate President Colleen Hanabusa.
In April 2010, Kahle was forcibly ejected from the Senate gallery after protesting the prayer with which the Senate opened each session (the Senate has since given up the practice). From today’s Star-Advertiser breaking news:
Kahle and Hughes reached a $100,000 settlement earlier this year with the state in their lawsuit against Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Ben Villaflor, his subordinates and sheriff's deputies.
Kahle was arrested in connection with the April 2010 incident, but later acquitted of a disorderly conduct charge. Hughes video recorded Kahle protesting the prayer and said several Sergeant-at-Arms employees attacked him and broke his camera.
[Star-Advertiser, Activist Mitchell Kahle and videographer file lawsuit against Hanabusa, 4/30/2012]
This is the incident I referred to in Contemplating violence? Who, us? (3/27/2012). The Sergeant-at-Arms was standing near the door during the Senate confirmation hearing for Hawaii Health Connector nominees chaired by Senator Roz Baker. Due to the reports of the settlement, the actions of this man were fresh in the minds of several of us, and his presence could not help but be intimidating.
So now there is a new suit. It could end in another settlement. Would Hanabusa pay that out of her own pocket?
Of course not. The state takes the money from our pockets to pay these settlements.
As long as I mentioned the intimidation…
At the confirmation hearing, three insurance company appointees were confirmed for the board of the Hawaii Health Connector despite the obvious conflict of interest and over community objections. See Sen. Roz Baker Blasted Over Hearing Conduct (Civil Beat, 3/27/2012). At present, SB2434, which would remove the three insurance company representatives, has not gone to conference. Unless the Senate agrees with the House version, the three will be seated.
If you’re not totally worn out by the various legislative battles this session, why not drop an email to sens@capitol.hawaii.gov and ask Senators to please agree with the House version of SB2434 HD3, which will eject (with no violence, I promise) the insurers from the board of the Hawaii Health Connector. Why? Because the HHC will set the conditions under which insurance is sold in Hawaii under Obama’s Affordable Care Act.
And don’t feel too sorry for them. The way the federal law is set up, insurers make out like bandits no matter what.
Hawaii Reporter: Rescuing child trafficking victims in Thailand
by Larry Geller
Malia Zimmerman continues her focus on human trafficking over at Hawaii Reporter. Check out this guest article, posted today: Hawaii Family Rescuing Child Trafficked Victims in Thailand Gives an Update on Their Mission Work (Hawaii Reporter, 4/30/2012).
The article is a report by Ron Boyer, former head of Hawaii’s Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, now living and working with his family to rescue child trafficking victims in Thailand.
Today in Hawaii’s history: April 30, 1900—president McKinley signs resolution of annexation
by Larry Geller
Hawaii was annexed to the United States by the signing of a resolution of annexation, providing a government "for the Territory of Hawaii," on April 30, 1900. A treaty of annexation was never passed, as required by the US Constitution.
These days it is convenient to ignore the racism that prevailed at the time of annexation. By modern standards, expressions such as in the pull-quote above are considered unfit for print, and so we are denied an understanding of our own national character and history. Nor is this material to be found in our schools or libraries—the closest cataloged copies of the history below are in California, 2400 miles away. It is a kind of self-censorship that guarantees that history will be repeated because we are kept ignorant of it.
Using the Disappeared News time machine, and a clip from The Great Republic by the Master Historians, Vol. 4 (downloadable here or in a for-pay collection from Google Books). Since the material is free of copyright, I can include the whole chapter on Hawaii. Note: there may be OCR errors.
You’ll have a taste of US imperialism and racism as it was at the time of writing, along with a description of labor conditions that remains important in view of human trafficking accusations against Hawaii farm owners that are currently in federal court or still under investigation. Clearly, the racist and other views of the writers cannot necessarily be extrapolated to the government as a whole, but here it is, you be the judge. Nor, of course, can we say that this version of history is free of error or bias.
This account demonstrates also a lack of understanding of history—for example, early on in its assumptions about the reduction in population of Native Hawaiians. Take it for what it is, an explication of attitudes likely prevalent at the time, rather than as an accurate historical statement.
Sitting down? Fasten your seat belts as we enter the time warp. This is not easy reading. (From The Great Republic by the Master Historians, published by R.S. Belcher Co., 1902.)
THE ANNEXATION OF HAWAII.
[The history of the Polynesian islands, which Captain Cook named in honor of the Earl of Sandwich, is an extraordinary example of the transforming powers of modern civilization. Physically, the natives were splendid specimens of humanity, morally they ranked below other races who were their intellectual inferiors. After Captain Cook's visit the natives quickly developed modern ideas. First they paid the white man homage as if to a god, afterwards they killed him, though the religious leaders continued to venerate his bones. A powerful chief, Kamehameha, became king by conquering the chiefs of the lesser islands, making Hawaii the seat of power from the beginning of the nineteenth century.
Kamehameha encouraged the visits of ships from England and other countries. The voluptuous charms of the women of Owhyee, as the name of the island was at first written, the beauty of the scenery, and its salubrious climate, soon made it a favorite stopping place. The king gladly traded with the foreigners, and welcomed American and English missionaries, to whose labors the present high level of native civilization are mainly due. Cannibalism was discontinued, the licentiousness that used to prevail has been minimized, education soon began to show good results and the people were not slow to avail themselves of every advantage offered. Nevertheless the race Captain Cook introduced to civilization is doomed to extinction. The sins of their ancestors have been slowly but surely sapping the vitality of the later generations. The colony of hopeless lepers tells a pitiful tale, the barbarian cannot fight against the law which awards the future to the fittest among men and nations.
For many years the Hawaiian Islands have been drifting by natural law under the American flag. The transformation of semi−savages into a remarkably progressive people was mainly accomplished by the efforts of American missionaries early in the century, who taught the growing generation to read and write, and become proficient in the domestic arts. Former customs have rapidly died out before the march of American civilization. To all intents and purposes Honolulu has been an average American city for a quarter of a century past.
The inhabited islands of the group are eight in number, and their total area in square miles is rather more than that of Connecticut. They are Hawaii, the largest, and the one on which the great volcanoes, Kilauea and Mauna Loa, are situated; Maui Kauai; Molokai, famous for its leper settlement; Lanai; Kahulawi; Niihau, and Oahu, on which is Honolulu, the capital and principal city. The area of Hawaii island is 4,210 square miles, and the total area is 6,740 square miles.
The first discoverers were Spaniards in the sixteenth century. When visited by Captain Cook in 1778 the native population was about 200,000. The natives are dying out at a rapid rate, the last census, that of 1896, putting the total at 31,019, out of a total of 154,000. The total in 1866 was only 63,000. Besides the 31,019 Hawaiians there were in the islands 8,485 part Hawaiians, 24,407 Japanese, 21,616 Chinese, 15,191 Portuguese, 5,260 Americans, 2,257 British, 1,432 Germans and 1,534 of other nationalities — a total population of 109,020, of whom 72,517 are males. Divided in respect to occupation, agriculture accounts for 7,570, fishing and navigation 2,100, manufacturers 2,265, commerce and transportation 2,031, liberal professions 2,580, laborers 34,437, miscellaneous pursuits 4,310, without profession 53,726.
Honolulu is 2,089 miles from San Francisco, a voyage of five and a half days.
In both the census of 1890 and that of 1896 the pure Hawaiian percentage of survivors was the lowest of all nationalities represented in the islands. An encouraging outlook for the Hawaiians exists in the fact that out of
6,327 owners of real estate in 1896, 3,995 were pure Hawaiians and 772 part Hawaiians. The facts are significant as showing the ownership of homes by so large a number of pure Hawaiians and the evident tendency of the race to acquire homesteads.
The total valuation of real and personal property in Hawaii subject to ad valorem assessment in 1900 was $97,491,584. The receipts from taxes are estimated at $1,341,650.
The commerce of Hawaii is shown for the period between January 1 and June 14, 1900, as follows: Imports, $10,683,516; exports, $14,404,496; customs revenues, $597,597. With the exception of the production of sugar, rice, fire−wood and live stock, and the promotion of irrigation, the development of the natural resources of the Hawaiian Islands is stated to have scarcely begun.
The present aggregate area of public lands is approximately 1,772,713 acres, valued at $3,569,800.
The grand argument for annexing these islands was the fact that possession of Hawaii will "definitely and finally secure to the United States the strategical control of the North Pacific."
Of seven trans−Pacific steamship lines plying between the North American continent and Japan, China, and Australia, all but one call at Honolulu. When a canal is made either at Panama or Nicaragua, practically all of the ships that pass through bound for Asia will be obliged to stop at Honolulu for coal and supplies.
The problem of labor perplexes the local authorities. Chinese and Japanese field laborers threaten to increase too rapidly for the welfare of the people. The question of self−government was taken up by Congress soon after the annexation by a joint resolution of Congress, July 6, 1898. Queen Liliuokalani had been deposed and a republican administration set up in place of the monarchy, but the American flag was allowed to float over the islands, despite the petitions of the people.
The President appointed a commission in July, 1898, consisting of Senators Cullom and Morgan, Representative Hitt, with President Dole and Justice Frear, of Hawaii, to investigate and report on the form of local government most desirable. Their recommendations were not acted upon by Congress for over a year, chiefly because they contained provisions for granting to Hawaii a delegate in Congress, as allowed to our Territories. It was objected that this would lead to the admission of Hawaii as a State. The labor problem was the source of other objections. The Supreme Court of Hawaii had stopped the immigration of Chinese into the island. After prolonged discussion an act providing a government "for the Territory of Hawaii" was signed by the President on April 30, 1900.
Section 3 of the Act declares that "A Territorial Government is hereby established over said Territory, with its capital at Honolulu, on the Island of Oahu." All persons who were citizens of Hawaii August 12, 1898, are declared to be citizens of the United States. The Constitution, except as in the act otherwise provided, and the laws of the United States not locally applicable, shall have force and effect in the Territory. The Constitution of the Republic of Hawaii and its laws which are not in conflict with the Constitution and laws of the United States shall continue in force, except a large number which are repealed, and those remaining are subject to repeal by the Legislature of Hawaii or the Congress.
General elections, beginning in 1900, were provided for, also the election, qualifications, powers, and duties of members of the Legislature.
The Legislature shall be composed of two houses—the Senate of fifteen members, to hold office four years, and the House of Representatives of thirty members, to hold office two years. The Legislature will meet biennially, and sessions are limited to sixty days.
The executive power is lodged in a Governor, a Secretary, both to be appointed by the President and hold office four years, and the following officials to be appointed by the Governor, by and with the consent of the Senate of Hawaii: An Attorney−General, Treasurer, Commissioner of Public Lands, Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry, Superintendent of Public Works, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Auditor and Deputy, Surveyor, High Sheriff, and members of the Boards of Health, Public Instruction, Prison Inspectors, etc. The duties of these officials are defined in the act. They hold office for four years, and must be citizens of Hawaii.
The judiciary of the Territory is composed of the Supreme Court, with three judges, the Circuit Court, and such inferior courts as the Legislature shall establish. The judges are appointed by the President. The Territory is made
a federal judicial district, with a District Judge, District Attorney, and Marshal, all appointed by the President. The District Judge shall have all the powers of a Circuit Judge.
The election of a Delegate in Congress is provided for, and the Territory is made an internal revenue and customs district.
Provision is made for the residence of Chinese in the Territory, and prohibition as laborers to enter the United States as follows:
Sec. 101. That Chinese in the Hawaiian Islands when this act takes effect may within one year thereafter obtain certificates of residence as required by "An act to prohibit the coming of Chinese persons into the United States," approved May 5, 1892, as amended by an act approved November 3, 1893, entitled "An act to amend an act entitled 'An act to prohibit the coming of Chinese persons into the United States,' approved May 5, 1892," and until the expiration of said year shall not be deemed to be unlawfully in the United States if found therein without such certificates: Provided, however, That no Chinese laborer, whether he shall hold such certificate or not, shall be allowed to enter any State, Territory, or district of the United States from the Hawaiian Islands.
It was provided that the act should take effect June 14, 1900.
The regulation of the traffic in alcoholic liquors is left to local option.
The qualified voter must be able to speak, read, and write the English or Hawaiian language, and must have lived one year in the Territory.
The peculiar conditions of the labor question, which, in view of the liberal provisions in the matter of the suffrage, is likely to continue a trouble for a long time to come, are set forth in the following extract from a report by W.W. Taylor, Secretary of the Bureau of Immigration in Hawaii.]
"THE ordinary manual work on a plantation is performed by unskilled labor, which may be divided into two classes—contract and free.
"Contract labor, consisting of Japanese, Chinese, Portuguese, Italian, Hungarian, Hawaiian and others, is held under contract for three years when coming direct from foreign countries under agreement, and for the same or a shorter period when contracting after a previous sojourn in this country.
"Free labor, consisting of the same nationalities mentioned above, is employed by the day or month, without contract, and has come into the country as free labor or has fulfilled a previous three−years' contract and is then free to work where employment may be obtained.
"This free−labor contingent is a fluctuating and uncertain quantity − here to− day and there to−morrow—working at will, and seeking the places where most favorable conditions and highest wages are in vogue. The laborers receive higher pay than contract men, but may be discharged at a moment's notice, and the plantation owes them nothing but shelter and wages for work done.
"The contract man occupies quite a different position with reference to his employer. He is assured of steady work at a fixed sum per month. He can claim and receive not only unfurnished lodging for himself and family, but fuel, water, taxes paid, medical attendance and certain other privileges; and for this he must work, when able, a certain number of days per month, wherever it pleases the employer, and fulfil in other respects the terms of his contract.
"When contract laborers are needed from abroad, application is made to the government for permission to import laborers of the desired nationality. If permission is granted, the order to recruit them is given to immigration companies authorized by law, who employ recruiting agents in the localities whence the men are to be drawn. These companies are then responsible for the delivery of the required number of men to the final employer.
"In obtaining European labor the planters have the benefit of the authority, forms and official connection of the board of immigration; and, while all expenses are met by the planters in the first instance, afterwards a sum, not to exceed $130 for each family, is paid by the government to cover recruiting expenses and passage of women and children accompanying the immigrants. In this case the immigrant contracts with the board of immigration and signs his agreement before the Hawaiian consul at the port of departure in his own country. In this case, also, steerage passage, food and medical attendance are furnished free to his destination, and oftentimes a money advance is given— this to be repaid in small monthly installments. The board of immigration assigns these laborers to their several employers, and they are at no expense until they reach their field of labor.
"The quarters furnished by the plantation are grouped together in camps, located with reference to convenience to work, and for the most part with regard to drainage and sanitary conditions.
"The kind of building varies with the class of labor. European labor has for a family, or for two single men, two rooms in a four−room cottage. Chinese, being single men, are housed in barracks with from six to forty men in a room. Single Japanese are often provided for in the same way—sometimes, however, only two occupying the same room. Married Japanese are furnished with a small room for each family.
"These houses are rough frame buildings, shingle or iron roofed, with covered porches six feet wide, extending their whole length. All lately erected buildings are well raised from the ground. Most have walls eight to ten feet high from floor to roof−plate. The height of ridge−pole above this is from four to six feet. Beneath the roof there is no ceiling, and when divided into rooms these are all open at the top, with a clear space above from end to end of the building. Cottages have partitions reaching to the roof. All walls are whitewashed. Often the space between the rafters above the roof−plate is left open for ventilation.
"These quarters furnish only a shelter and a place of rest. Nothing more is attempted. In barracks where many single men are collected a platform six to eight feet wide and raised two feet above the floor runs the length of the building, and each man has about three feet in width of space for himself to sleep on. The floor space is common property. Again, tiers of shelves three feet wide along the sides of the room, sometimes three or four tiers high, with some slight, low partitions, give about three by six feet for a man.
"In the family rooms is a platform two feet above the floor taking up about two− thirds of the floor space. On this the family sleep and live when at home. The above is for the Japanese. The European cottages are often supplied with rude box bedsteads and perhaps a table and bench. All else must be furnished by the laborer. Generally a piece of straw matting serves for a mattress, a blanket or quilt for covering and a hard neck rest, common to Japan and China, answers for a pillow. Mosquito nettings are a necessity and are found everywhere. The European fills
a tick with hay, and a pillow of the same with a blanket convinces him that this is all that a healthy man needs for a bed. Comforts and conveniences very with the ambition and tastes of the laborer, and are of course measured generally by the length of the purse.
"Contract laborers are expected to do agricultural and mill work. The former comprises clearing land, cutting wood and brush, grubbing out roots, moving rocks and brush, teaming and plowing, care of horses, ditching, hoeing, irrigating, fertilizing, planting, stripping and cutting cane, loading and unloading cane cars and any other necessary farming operations. In and about the mill they are occupied in feeding the cane carriers and furnaces, tending any of the mill machinery, handling sugar, loading cars, etc.
"From the contract−labor class the carpenter, blacksmith, engineers and sugar boilers select their assistants, and these, as they learn and become competent, obtain higher wages and often command from $30 to $60 per month.
To the question, "Have the natives been consulted?" Mr. James replies: "No, but were the American Indians consulted in the early days here, or the natives of Alaska in later times? The natives have proved themselves to be incapable of governing and unfitted for the condition of civilization
"When the profit−sharing system is in practice contract men, if deserving, are allowed to take these special contracts and have made from $25 to $35 per month. In a few places men have been allowed to take small pieces of land and cultivate them at their leisure. In order to do this, they are compelled to work early and late, Sundays and holidays, and the mill buys the cane at a fixed rate per pound.
"Between one−third and one−half of the women work in the field and about the mill at the lighter kinds of labor. There is no compulsion. They have many ways of earning money in the camp.
"The number of hours is settled in the contract, being usually ten hours in the field and twelve in the factory. "The day begins at an hour varying with the season, taking advantage of the light in the early morning. A rising bell or whistle wakes the men at, say, 4:30 a.m. At 5:30 they are ready to proceed to the field, and at 6 o'clock the work− day commences. From 11:30 to 12 noon there is an intermission for lunch in the field; then they work till 4:30 p.m.
"The mill man begins at 5:30 a.m. and is relieved by the night shift at 6 p.m. Overtime is paid for at a contract rate. In some cases time is counted from the time of departure for the field.
"Wages vary according to the supply of labor, and in many instances are governed by the price of sugar. The contract price is now $15 per month for oriental and $18 for European laborers. Old contracts call for only $12.50 for oriental; but in most cases a $2.50 bonus is given to these latter, conditioned on good behavior. Women
receive $7.50 to $10 per month. Only actual time spent in labor is paid for. A man receives no pay for enforced idleness, whether caused by sickness or anything else. A plantation official, called a timekeeper, keeps strict account of working time and the pay−roll is made out from his report.
"Generally the wages are paid on a fixed and convenient day between the 3d and 15th of every month, for the previous calendar month. The individual presents his identifying tag and receives the amount that is to the credit of that number.
"Whether in the field or in the mill the men work in gangs varying in number and supervised by an overseer, who directs their work, corrects mistakes, instructs the ignorant and stimulates the lazy. He leads them out in the morning and gives them the signal for cessation at the proper times. The overseers are generally white men, and a successful one must be patient, firm, fair, energetic and judicious. Often he is timekeeper and always a monitor. The character of the overseer frequently determines whether there is contentment or trouble among the laborers.
"Force, in constraints, is not allowed and is fast giving place to other methods. Tact, a withdrawal of privileges and recourse to legal fines and imprisonment are the means used. Rewards for good behavior are not uncommon."
The total number of laborers is reported at 35,987, of whom 20,641 were contract and 15,346 day laborers. According to nationality they are divided as follows: Japanese, 25,654; Chinese, 5,969; Portuguese, 2,153; Hawaiians, 1,326. They are divided according to sex thus: Men, 33,201; women, 2,534; minors, 252.
The skilled laborers number 2,019, divided according to race: Americans, 405; Hawaiians, 219; British, 252; Germans, 218; Portuguese, 305; Scandinavians, 71; Austrians, 16; Japanese, 416; Chinese, 94; other nationalities,
23.
The President appointed Sanford B. Dole, ex−President of the Hawaiian Republic, to be Governor of the Territory of Hawaii.
[A highly important discussion arose over the legal interpretation of the status of Hawaii under its new government with respect to this country. The difficulty arose on similar grounds to those stated in the section on Porto Rico, and the cases went up to the Supreme Court in January, 1901. The particular point in that case was on the right to exact customs dues. The New York and Porto Rico Steamship Company also raised the question of pilotage, claiming exemption from pilot−boat charge in New York harbor on the ground that Porto Rican ports had ceased to be foreign. Another case was one covering the entry of goods from Hawaii, consisting of whiskey, brandy and jam, at the customhouse at New York on April 26, 1900, and was the only Hawaiian case in the list. Duty was assessed under the provisions of the Dingley law. The importers protested against collection of duty on the ground that the Hawaiian Islands were a part of the United States; that the provision of the annexation resolution, which continued the customs laws of the Republic of Hawaii in force until Congress should legislate, was unconstitutional.
In his argument for the government, the Solicitor−General asserted that it was obviously the intention of Congress as soon as practicable to treat the territory as part of the United States for legislative purposes, so that the revenue and commercial laws which apply in the United States should operate there. But before these laws could be put in operation in the Hawaiian Islands it is necessary that a period of preparation should intervene after the passage of the resolution of annexation. It is obvious that if the resolution of annexation immediately abrogated the customs laws of the islands the territory would have been left without any customs law, open to the ships of the world. If, then, the resolution of annexation threw open the ports of Hawaii to the world, at the same time, according to the contention of opposing counsel, it threw open the ports of the United States to ships coming from Hawaii.
The Solicitor−General argued that this sort of the should not be permitted, and he expressed the opinion that if Congress had believed that such a consequence would ensue, the resolution of annexation would not have passed when it did, not until arrangements could have been made to put in operation customs and commerce regulations immediately. He called attention to the act of annexation, saying that it did not make the Hawaiian Islands a part of the United States, but a part of the territory of the United States. "It is," he said, "obvious that territory annexed or ceded to the United States becomes a part of the territory of the United States, but does not become 'part of the United States' either in a constitutional or legislative sense until Congress shall so determine."
It was not until the passage of the act of April 30, 1900, that the islands became a part of the United States for customs purposes by the extension of our laws to them.
In the discussion of the Hawaiian question the opponents of annexation made much of the argument that the acquisition of the islands would involve this country in immense expenditures for fortifications and naval defense. Mr. Schurz contended that the annexation of Hawaii would present to hostile powers a vulnerable point such as it is inadvisable to present to any foreign nation which may wish us ill.
"The Hawaiian Islands are 2,000 miles distant from our nearest coast. If we acquire them we cannot let them go again without great humiliation, for, after all that has happened, they will appear as an especial object of our desire, to be held at any cost. In their present unfortified condition they would be an easy prey to any hostile power superior to us in naval force. But even if well fortified, their defense would oblige us to fight on a field of operations where the superiority of our land forces would be of no avail, unless we had a navy strong enough to protect the communication between our western coast and Hawaii against any interruption. Our situation would be somewhat like that of Russia during the Crimean war. The allied armies would have had little, if any, chance of final success had they attempted to invade the interior of Russia. But, forcing Russia to a fight at an exposed point, the communications of which with the interior of the empire were at that time so imperfect as seriously to impede the use of Russia's vast resources, they succeeded in forcing Russia to submit to a humiliating peace. For similar reasons the possession of the Hawaiian Islands by the United States would not serve to deter a foreign power from attacking us, but rather be calculated to invite attack, for it would offer to a foreign enemy the possibility, not now existing, of forcing us to a fight on ground on which we cannot bring the superiority of our resources into play, and of gaining by a rapid stroke at the beginning of a war an advantage extremely embarrassing to us. In this respect, we shall by annexing Hawaii simply acquire a vulnerable point.
"It may, indeed, be said that, if annexed, Hawaii would not remain in an unfortified state. That is true. But, as the history of our harbor and coast defense shows, it will require years to put those distant islands into a reasonably secure condition. And then it will require a big war fleet to make those fortifications really tenable, and to keep the communication between Hawaii and our continent safely open in case of war. Such a big fleet we can build, too. We can do all these things. If the people are willing to pay the bills and to endure the effects to that sort of policy, we can do this, and much more. But is not the really important question whether as a sensible people we should do it? Should we adopt a policy obliging us to do it, instead of maintaining the safe ground on which we now stand?"
So far as the commercial advantages promised by the annexationists, the coaling stations, etc., are concerned, it was argued that these benefits might have been had without annexation just as well as with it.
In the North American Review, Mr. Arthur C. James sets forth on the other side of the question what he conceives to be certain advantages of annexation.
He states that before his visit to Hawaii he was strongly opposed to annexation, but that he returned to this country an ardent annexationist. He has become convinced that the Hawaiian Islands would bring to the United States great commercial and industrial advantages. They are situated in the most fertile part of the world, and are capable of producing all the sugar and coffee that this country can consume, besides large quantities of rice and tropical fruits. They have three excellent harbors, and would control the cable communication of the Pacific. Even more significant than the commercial importance of Hawaii is her strategic position in relation to the protection of the Pacific coast of the United States, and this Mr. James regards as another reason why we should desire annexation. To the objection that annexation would be a radical departure from our traditional policy Mr. James replies by citing the cases of Alaska, Louisiana, New Mexico, Texas, California, and other States, whose value at the time of their annexation was less apparent than is Hawaii's value to−day. Even now Alaska is farther away and less accessible than Honolulu.
To the question, "Have the natives been consulted?" Mr. James replies:
"No, but were the American Indians consulted in the early days here, or the natives of Alaska in later times? The natives have proved themselves to be incapable of governing and unfitted for the condition of civilization, as is shown by their rapid decline in numbers and their inability to adapt themselves to changed conditions; and the importance of their supposed opinions on annexation has been greatly exaggerated. Numbering 500,000 in the time of Captain Cook, they are now reduced to about 30,000, and occupy much the same relation to the white population as our Indians do here. Indolent and easy− going, they are perfectly content with any form of government which allows them to sun themselves, bedecked with flowers. This view is borne out by the failure of the recent mass−meeting in Honolulu, organized solely for the purpose of proving that the native Hawaiians are actively opposed to annexation. It is natural that the white man should become the governing power; and in the exercise of this power it is equally natural that he should wish to turn over his territory to a strong civilized nation for protection and advancement, since, if they rely solely on their ability to defend themselves, it is impossible for the islands to maintain their independence for any length of time."
The question is, to what country shall Hawaii be annexed—to Japan, to England, or to the United States? Annexation to one or the other is inevitable.
That the mixed character of the Hawaiian population is a real drawback Mr. James admits, but the difficulties, he holds, are not insuperable.
"The Chinese are not yet dangerous. Their numbers are large; but they are a peaceable people, without cohesion, and would give no more trouble than the same race does in our Western States, where the battle has been fought and the question is now practically settled. If annexed, they would be readily amenable to our laws. The Japanese element is by far the most serious difficulty. Since the war with China these people have become exceedingly arrogant and self− assertive, and the spirit of national aggrandizement extends from the Mikado to the lowest coolie. From the standpoint of the Japanese, this spirit may be most commendable, but it will have to be firmly met by the United States when our own interests are at stake. The Portuguese are a harmless element. I can see no reason why we should not expect people of the Anglo−Saxon or German race to become dominant, not only in power, but also in numbers, as soon as the question of government is finally settled."]
Mr. Townsend, Inspector−General of Schools in Hawaii, stated in an article we are unfortunately unable to identify, that as plantation laborers the Portuguese were entirely satisfactory when first they arrived. They numbered over 15,000 in 1896, but most of them took to the mechanical crafts and many are now prosperous overseers, merchants and property owners.
Mr. Townsend admits that some of the objections urged against the Chinese population have validity, but he believes that as a rule the Chinese of Hawaii are superior to those of California, while economic conditions are essentially similar. The Japanese are more troublesome. The objection to them, however, is not that they are Japanese, but that so large a percentage of them is of the lower classes. Have not similar complaints against the immigrants coming into the United States from Europe resounded for the past twenty years? And are not such complaints well founded? The Japanese are reasonably industrious and well disposed. As a class they are law−abiding, though individuals of this nationality commit a fair percentage of our crimes. Yet the officers of the law have never encountered any serious resistance to their authority at the hands of the Japanese. Sudden outbursts of temper have caused a number of them to commit the most serious crimes during the past year. These crimes have been directed against their own countrymen, and in most instances have been attributable to the disparity of the sexes, there being four times as many men as women. In all such cases the law takes its even course, being scarcely resisted by the criminal himself and never meeting with any organized resistance on the
part of the Japanese. Men sleep in safety of property and person in houses unlocked, and women travel unattended and without fear in every district of the islands.
The Americans, British, Germans, and Norwegians who constitute the remainder of the population number only about 7,000 men, women and children, of whom 2,200 are of island birth. These people control the destinies of Hawaii.
