Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Musings: Fed Up

Soft rain falls in the night, feeding the green. Waterfalls streak the face of Makaleha, feeding the stream. Bees gather on their stoop in the first rays of morning, preparing to gather the nectar that will become the honey that feeds them, and if there's enough extra, me.

Farmers feeding their livestock genetically modified (GM) soy and corn, and people feeding themselves the same mix, might want to think twice now that a new study has found stomach and uterine changes in pigs given GM feed.

The first of its kind study — conducted to reflect “real world” feeding conditions — found GM-fed pigs had a 20 percent higher rate of severe stomach inflammation than pigs on a GM-free diet, and uteri that were 25% heavier. Why should you care? Pigs are physiologically similar to human beings, especially our gastrointestinal systems, and GM corn and soy are ubiquitous in the foods that most Americans consume from cradle to coffin.

Kind of amazing that after all this time of being told GMOs are safe, we're only now seeing some legit feeding trials.

I noticed MidWeek had a lengthy piece on feeding your face at Oasis on the Beach in Waipouli, though no mention was made at all of the dozens of iwi disturbed to build that resort. Perhaps because a reminder of the desecration might turn people's stomachs? Bon appetit!

The Kauai County Attorney's office is apparently keen to keep feeding the coffers of Honolulu law firms, seeing as how it has a whopping five requests before the County Council today for special counsel funds totaling $107,944. Gulp. 

The total includes $29,944 for personnel matters related to the County Auditor's office and $26,000 to fight Councilman Tim Bynum's lawsuit against the county. Of that, $11,000 is earmarked to defend the defeated and disgraced former prosecutor, Shaylene Iseri-Carvalho. Looks like her attorneys are burning through the county's money fast, seeing as how the Council authorized an additional $10,000 for her defense just two weeks ago. Gag.

If these latest requests are approved, the county's expenditures will be hovering near $200,000 on the Bynum case, and it hasn't even gone to trial or settlement. Must be getting awfully close to hitting the county's insurance deductible, at which time County Attorney Al Castillo can wash his hands of a case he's afraid to settle because Shay might scream.

I really wouldn't mind, except I keep thinking of how the good folks at the Humane Society will have to kill hundreds, if not thousands, of cats because the Council didn't have enough money to fund a cat control program. Yet the county has a seemingly bottomless pit of cash for special counsel.

The resolution calling for a special investigation into the vacation rental debacle is on the Council agenda today, too. Council Chair Jay Furfaro helpfully delayed it long enough for the planning department to cook up a load of crap to feed the Council about how it's really gonna get its act together this time, so no need look too closely. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

What's that old saying, Jay? Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me; fool me five or six times and I really should be forced to resign from county government, or at least as Council chair.

I don't think the votes are there for an investigation, and I can understand why some members are reluctant to pursue it. But surely they're aware of the elephant in the room. Just in case they aren't, though, I'll point it out them:

Not one of the 25 applicants investigated in the Abuse Chronicles provided the documents required by law to show they were eligible to receive a TVR certificate. Not one. Or to make it even clearer, we're looking at a 100 percent failure rate thus far.

So if people never proved they were eligible, do they still get to keep that valuable certificate for life?

I have a feeling this issue will be going on for a while, most likely extending into the next campaign season. And then the voters can decide if they're finally fed up — or willing to let the same little piggies keep feeding at the county trough.

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

I told you all that Jay is no good. He learned from his predecessor Kaipo and is now replicating his acts.


The TVR ponzi scheme will be covered up like the Gas theft, trout theft, Koloko Dam, and the many unsolved murders. This is what the POWERS do Best.

Anonymous said...

All mistaken or illegal granting of TVR's should be revoked ASAP.

As far as legal strategy is concerned, there should be at least three separate lawsuits for each illegal TVR: one from the FED's for tax evasion, EPA septic tank violations, and endangering lives in the flood zone, one from the State for state tax evasion & illegal encroachment onto state beaches, and a county lawsuit for Fraudulent documentation, tax evasion, and non-conformance to county building laws. Individual lawsuits for being duped by realtors and sellers could also come into play. Let all these law breakers bleed in lawsuits!

Anonymous said...

Joan, thank you. A big mahalo for doing what the garden island is afraid to do. Jay Furfaro keeps up a good acting job but rest assured he's part of the good 'ol boy network. Time for Jay & Bernard to find another line of work. They are entirely incapable of doing what only those with big you know what can do. Backbone, integrity, leadership are three words I would never use to describe these two. I could add more names to the list but these two are in top leadership positions and continue to fail Kauai. Mike Dahilig is a joke. I repeat, he's a joke who is stalling on the advice of Bernard and no one on the council will call him out for it. Ross & Nadine certainly won't upset the apple cart. Gary, Joanne, Mel and Tim: this is your chance to do what you were elected to do.

Andy Parx said...

One of the biggest "jokes"- if I understood it correctly- was that Dahilig said that it doesn't matter that they essentially lied on their applications (to say they were in compliance with all land use laws) because they apparently didn't sign affidavits saying they were telling the truth (or at least the affidavits aren't in their files. Pretzel Logic anyone?

Elaine Albertson said...

The real problem in this mess is that TGI is not giving up any column inches to the factual data thus far, except for passing lip service, and thus the public is still not really aware of what is going on. I conducted a (very unscientific, but nonetheless real) verbal survey on my two bus rides today...both of which were SRO. The question...how many of y'all are aware of the Transient Vacation Rental permit discussion...or scandal, if you want to use that term? Results...out of a total of over sixty people, ten raised their hands, and of that ten, six had become aware through KauaiEclectic or Facebook. A number of them didn't know what a TVR was in the first place. This is our voter base, bunkies.

Anonymous said...

JoAnn Yukimura needs to go.

Anonymous said...

anon 10:02 AM:

For the record, Kaipo voted AGAINST the tvr ordinance when most of these jackasses voted for it. Number one proponent - Tim Bynum (reason why I don't vote for him anymore). Now we're stuck with a pile of shit that these same jackasses don't want to deal with. They don't want the public to see just how wrong they were about this policy. The incompetence of it all is shameful and the incompetence continues in the way they are handling or mishandling the issue today.

Anonymous said...

I remember you being quoted recently saying something to the effect of "the activist need to get a grip". I was hopeful with a statement like that that you would really set an example for those crossing the line lately. You have proven what a effective investigator you can be with all of the abuse chronicles. It would have been better to not have jumped the gun on the pig/gmo study and dig in deeper. Junk studies only prove to undermine genuine efforts. http://gmopundit.blogspot.com.au/2013/06/pigs-in-real-world-feed-them-different.html?m=1. Even Andy is calling out this study on gmo free Kauai as suspect. Why jeopardize your message with such unreliable references?

Anonymous said...

Sickening display at Council today. Joanne, Ross, Nadine, Jay, pull your head out of the sand and SEE WHAT'S GOING ON!! People will DIE because you are so weak and blind.

Joan Conrow said...

5:29 PM --- I have no doubt that people will try to find fault with that study, which, if you read it, called for more animal feeding trials to confirm the results. As for Andy, his concerns seemed to have been relieved when he posted the link to this supporting statement from Consumers Union:
http://consumersunion.org/news/consumers-union-statement-on-new-long-term-study-of-feeding-ge-grains-to-pigs/

Anonymous said...

Nobody will die unless we have an earthquake right off Kauai's north shore. When the last tsunami warning sounded, there were about 5 to 6 hours between the warning and the waves. Not saying that it's not screwed up, but exaggerated statements won't get you anywhere.

Dawson said...

"Nobody will die unless we have an earthquake right off Kauai's north shore. When the last tsunami warning sounded, there were about 5 to 6 hours between the warning and the waves. Not saying that it's not screwed up, but exaggerated statements won't get you anywhere."

It's naive to believe that in a tsunami the only threats to lives and limbs are the waves themselves.

Combine the dead of night, a tsunami evacuation warning, the overcrowded North Shore, narrow roads, and a tourist population (and their rental cars) that has been woefully under-counted thanks to unknown numbers of high-density TVRs.

It's a no-brainer for deaths, injuries and lawsuits.

Anonymous said...

We had a tsunami warning at night last year and nobody got hurt during the evacuation.

Anonymous said...

yup, joanne kinda made ass when she declared the hurricane would miss, then an hour or two later to expect a direct hit, and the thing w/ the containers of ice being refused didnt make sense to me....i like her personally but at the time of crisis seemed to not have the force to move, too femme for me as a leader as well as nadine seems more reactive and a bit aloof. mels a cop w/ sordid past, gary still has people pissed for shoving the kauai times down the throat and driveways w/ the blue bags, and to show how the kauai voters lean, how the fuck did dickie get on the council. is it low info voters or do we end up choosing the best of the worse, maybe the county manager idea will come into play next time around and some thinkers will come forward, hey ray , you still kickin ?

Anonymous said...

The NOAA predicted Inikis path. Kauai Times wasnt Hoosers idea. How can one be reactive and aloof at the same time?

Evan said...

Please read the following study done at MIT by one of their top researchers studying "Western Disease." This study lends a lot to the fact that the main argument made by Chemical companies is that glyphosate effects the shikimate pathways, which are not present in the cells of the Human body. What this study shows is, though that may be true, our bacteria throughout our body, and most importantly in our stomach, DO HAVE shikimate pathways, and the introduction of glyphosate causes them to behave irregularly, and produce harmful chemicals instead of vitamins etc, which it is being better understood across the board, leads to a whole host of "Western Diseases." Since GMO's and Chemicals are sold as a package, just the fact that this food is sprayed, and that spraying is required by the company when you purchase the seed, we at least know FOR A FACT that the indirect consequences of GMO's ARE DANGEROUS, and do pose an extreme risk to the human body. Please read the study if you truly wish to be informed on this subject, and for those that continue to warn against dis-information and bad sources, we no longer have that problem, it is just taking time for these studies to see the light of day, and most of them are open for peer review, so the REAL statistics will be flowing in soon. Thank you again Joan for presenting us with information, and I hope we can all continue to lift the veil!

http://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/15/4/1416

Anonymous said...

re; 12:50....maybe im wrong but i remember hoosers kauai times and the community complaining about the unwanted rag littering their driveways in protest, like im not going to pick up the blue bag and hope they get the message not to keep 'shoving it down our throat'...i believe he went to court where the judge ruled that he had the right to do it ...and if he wasnt in charge why was he responsible for paying the taxes(which he didnt and got busted for) for 11 yrs.....and sure the NOAA monitored the path but wouldnt a sensible person wait for the all clear declaration ubtil there was certainty the threat was gone ? as it was obviously not the case...and....aloof/reactive, well remember when you were a kid watching tv then your mom came in and told you to clean up youre room?

Anonymous said...

We're spending a lot of money to vindicate either Tim or Shay. What a messed up situation. I like Shay bitching about plane fare and having her lawyer threaten to take the case to trial and make the County look bad if they settle. Shay, if it was so important, why not pay for your own ticket? You spent enough of the County's money on free trips to Vegas and other "training". Plus you got to drive a County car and use County gas so you must have saved thousands.

Anonymous said...

Why can't Shay pay her own legal fees? She's no longer employed by the county right? If not, why can't she pay or take loans out and pay her own way like all the taxpayers do?