Musings: Righting Wrongs

There's nothing quite like meandering down the road in that fresh, untouched time between night and day, our way lit by a white moon floating behind a thin luminous quilt, the ambient noise equal parts chirping crickets and crowing roosters, dogs getting their fill of sniffs, houses still dark. It helps me feel, for a time, that all is still right with the world.

A United Nations investigator is calling upon the U.S. to begin righting the wrongs it's perpetrated against indigenous peoples by returning some of the land stolen from American Indian tribes, and perhaps kanaka maoli as well. As The Guardian reported:

James Anaya, the UN special rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples said that in nearly two weeks of visiting Indian reservations, indigenous communities in Alaska and Hawaii, and Native Americans now living in cities, he encountered people who suffered a history of dispossession of their lands and resources, the breakdown of their societies and "numerous instances of outright brutality, all grounded on racial discrimination".

"It's a racial discrimination that they feel is both systemic and also specific instances of ongoing discrimination that is felt at the individual level," he said.

I was particularly struck by this observation, because it brought to mind the utterly abysmal coverage of kanaka maoli issues by Hawaii media, as well as the snarky remarks so often left in comments:

“The idea that is often projected through the mainstream media and among public figures that indigenous peoples are either gone or as a group are insignificant or that they're out to get benefits in terms of handouts, or their communities and cultures are reduced to casinos, which are just flatly wrong."

Anaya is going to present a plan for land restoration in his final report to the UN human rights council in September. Of course, it's likely to meet stiff resistance considering that not one member of Congress would meet with him.

Meanwhile, as companies like Google, Facebook and Yahoo solidify their control over Internet users, they, in turn, become easier for the government to control. As CNET reports: 

The FBI is asking Internet companies not to oppose a controversial proposal that would require firms, including Microsoft, Facebook, Yahoo, and Google, to build in backdoors for government surveillance.

The FBI general counsel's office has drafted a proposed law that the bureau claims is the best solution: requiring that social-networking Web sites and providers of VoIP, instant messaging, and Web e-mail alter their code to ensure their products are wiretap-friendly.

The requirements apply only if a threshold of a certain number of users is exceeded, according to a second industry representative briefed on it.

Of course, this is all for own good, in the name of public safety and national security, and the Feds will never use it without the proper court orders. Uh huh. Ya right.

While we're on the issue of trust, Adam Asquith, the Ph.D.-holding taro farmer and biodiesel entrepreneur who is suing KIUC over smart meters, responded to the utility's recent guest editorial with his own letter:

The audacity of the KIUC Board of Directors, demeaning member concern and participation, pushes vexation into the sublime. In the end, you can only laugh at their hubris.

Other than some Third-World banana republic, what brand of elected leadership believes that the one and only input from constituents is on election day?

It is pathetic when our Board of Directors must stoop to belittling member efforts at communication, such as this letter, and offer only their own propaganda (e.g. Currents) as an alternative.

I've gotta say that I've heard a lot of people express similar sentiments, with the words “propaganda” and “condescending” most often used to describe the guest editorial. What KIUC critics most frequently tell me is they want a co-operative that is more, um, cooperative, as in let's sit down and figure this out together, as opposed to, butt out and let the elected board handle it.

At least one person is trying to get the County Council to weigh in on smart meters, as some California municipalities have done, but Chair Jay Furfaro wisely punted to the PUC. No sense the Council getting involved when it can't even do stuff that's squarely under its purview, like calling Prosecutor Shaylene Iseri-Carvalho back for questions before deciding whether to grant her budget increase or fund programs like POHAKU.

Speaking of which, the County Council has an executive session to discuss POHAKU tomorrow. It will be its second confidential briefing on the matter.

One of the biggest potential problems with the program focuses on the procurement process. As I reported on April 21, I found no record of a request for proposal (RFP) related to the POHAKU program, and no contracts for services related to the POHAKU program.

County procurements are governed by HRS 103D, which generally requires competitive bidding. Violations can carry misdemeanor charges.

So I sent an email to County spokeswoman Beth Tokioka asking, “Is the procurement issue involving POHAKU program being investigated by finance or referred to AGs office for investigation?” I got this response:

When the Purchasing Agency is made aware that there may have been a deviation from standard procedures, they generally initiate a discussion with the department involved to determine what actually happened and if corrective action needs to be taken.

In the case of POHAKU, the Purchasing Agency is in discussions with the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney to better understand any issues that may exist. Those discussions are ongoing at this time.


Finally, many thanks to those who offer me words of support and encouragement in comments and out in the community.