Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Musings: On Contrasts


Misty clouds drape the summit of Makaleha, bees in all three colonies are bringing pollen into their hives via the little saddlebags on their legs — a good sign that all is well — we've got a new moon in Cancer tonight and the ground is saturated from yesterday's lovely rain.

It's always fascinating to me how things can be really fabulous in one place, like my back yard, and totally suck someplace else, like the Midwest, where a friend reports the hay and corn fields are shriveling up in the drought and prolonged 100+-degree heat. Looks like that high fructose corn syrup is gonna be more expensive soon.

Speaking of contrasts, was talking to a guy yesterday who sailed the 62-foot Hokulea into Hanalei Bay this past weekend. He and the rest of the crew were stunned to encounter the 160-foot charter yacht Karima, replete with a helicopter that reportedly has been pissing people off by buzzing around Hanalei town.
He told me the last time they sailed Hokulea into Hanalei, they tied up to what they thought was their mooring spot, until a guy came over all outraged and said it was his. “Usually people are excited to see Hokulea,” he told me, “but not this guy. He wasn't interested in Hawaiian culture. He just wanted us out of there.”

Yeah, cause big money has its own culture.

The County Council, meanwhile, is considering giving 3.49 acres in Puhi for a Philippine Cultural Center, with former Mayor Maryanne Kusaka noting:

Filipinos have supported Kaua‘i 100 percent over many years. “It is time for us to return that to them, and support them.”

Mmmm, which is fine, but what about the Hawaiians? When are we going to support them, instead of arresting people who protest against the disinterment of iwi kupuna for a park toilet? If I recall correctly, the last thing the county did on behalf of Hawaiians was bulldoze their little fishing shacks at Wainiha.

The Puhi land was earmarked for a skateboard park, prompting Councilwoman JoAnn Yukimura to ask where that would be relocated. Oh, just put it over by the youth drug treatment center that's never gonna be built, either.

Hey, I think I've figured out why presenters have outnumbered citizens at the “public safety” meetings now being held around the island — the presenters are getting paid. And for some of the cops, it's OT pay at that. Why should the taxpayers be supporting this thinly veiled campaigning by Prosecutor Shaylene Iseri-Carvalho and Councilman Mel Rapozo?

And why should the taxpayers be supporting Assistant Police Chief Mark Begley, who is currently out on a workman's comp medical claim after siding with the mayor in his pissing match with Chief Perry, but well enough to help out at Justin Kollar's big fundraiser this past Sunday?

Getting back to the public safety meetings, the question remains: how was the Office of Prosecuting Attorney (OPA) able to pay for all those POHAKU giveaways — pens, totes, etc. — yet have no record of any expenditures associated with the program?

Here's another question: how can the office that's in charge of prosecuting those who break the law blatantly thumb its own nose at the law? Yup, for the second time in two months I've had to ask the Office of Information Practices to order OPA to respond to my request for public records. And today's the deadline, Jake.

Moving to a new question, on a different topic, how come warning signs aren't posted at Hanamaulu, Nawiliwili, Waimea, Niumalu and Wainiha streams, when the most recent batch of water samples conducted by Surfrider Kauai shows “high levels of pollution which sometimes extends out to the surfbreak (e.g The Bowl, in Hanalei, Kealia)?” You can see the numbers for yourself here. ugh

While we're on the topic of ugh, it was quite interesting to read some of the comments that accompanied the New York Times' misleadingly headlined article on research that UH marine biologist Paul E. Nachtigall is conducting into how marine mammals respond to noise.

It's a significant question, seeing as how the Navy is making really big noise in the ocean right now during the RIMPAC war games and wants to make a lot more. As the NYT reports:

In May, the Navy disclosed draft environmental impact statements (Atlantic and Pacific operations) that said planned [training] expansions could raise the annual hearing losses among sea mammals to more than one million.

Sigh.  Anyway, Nachtigall is making like he could train the animals to essentially plug their ears before they're deafened — if only he could get more money to experiment on enslaved dolphins and a false killer whale named Kina. As three commenters astutely noted:

Dr. Natchigall has been granted approximately 2.6 MM from the Office of Naval Research, 120K from Exxon, and 579K from the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers, i.e. BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Eni, ExxonMobil, North Caspian Oil Company, Shell, Statoil, and Total.

So whaddya bet the Navy, the oil industry, etc. or will use this study to say "hey, it doesn’t matter how much noise we make because the whales can regulate what they hear!"

Kina (false killer whale) is half deaf/half insane after decades of sound torture (aka testing) she had to endure. Hawaii lab has been funded by the Navy for ages, and is responsible for the majority of studies on hearing worldwide, the conflict of interests cannot get any worse than that. The Navy also cites these studies in their applications for sonar use. The timing is not a coincidence either: the Navy is getting several large permits for sonar testing in Hawaii/Cali/East Coast and worldwide.

My sentiments, exactly.

And finally, when are we going to start listening to some sense regarding the “drug wars?” 

As an article in Business Insider International reports, in the 11 years since Portugal decriminalized all drugs, the number of addicts has been halved:


Portugal's drug usage rates are now among the lowest of EU member states.

Drug related diseases including STDs and overdoses have been reduced even more than usage rates, which experts believe is the result of the government offering treatment with no threat of legal ramifications to addicts.

In a country like America, which may take the philosophy of criminalization a bit far (more than half of America's federal inmates are in prison on drug convictions), other alternatives must, and to a small degree, are being discussed.

Very, very quietly.

67 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't understand your racist remark regarding Filipinos. There's really nothing for them and few cultural programs for them whereas every where you look there are programs for other ethnic groups. Filipinos & part Filipinos make up 20-30% of the population here so wise up. Stop your racist remarks.

Anonymous said...

There were no racist remarks made about Filipinos.

Anonymous said...

So they haven't given any land for a Hawaiian community center but they will give some to a differnet one?

That stinks of corruption in this government.

Anonymous said...

" in the 11 years since Portugal decriminalized all drugs, the number of addicts has been halved"

Wow. That SHOULD be impossible to ignore. But wait, then all of those taxpayer-paid prison guards and VICE cops would lose their jobs...... oh no... they might even have to lower taxes.

Who cares if we're doubling the rate of addiction by our stupid outdated drug laws. And the police chief and prosecutor oppose medical marijuana for chronic pain patients on top of it all too. Can you say "police state".

Anonymous said...

Any land the county thinks it owns is ceded lands. Give it back to the Hawaiians instead of locking it up for 99 years for culture center for Filipinos.

Anonymous said...

I went to the Koloa Neighborhood center meeting. It was actually really informative. I went in ready to yell at them for paying more attention to handing out traffic tickets than the drug van that's always down at shipwrecks. I found out that the county doesn't recieve any money at all from traffic tickets, and they're just trying to prevent accidents. Everyone there was really nice, especially since I got almost exclusive attention.

Anonymous said...

I can't blame Filipinos for organizing and mobilizing to get what they want, but when Hawaiians do the same thing, their pleas fall on deaf ears.

Anonymous said...

No racist remark was made. Joan merely pointed out that land is given to the filipino community to honor their heritage while the native people are arrested and convicted of honoring their cultural beliefs and practices. Ironic isn't it? As a kanaka I'm pretty fed up with being marginalized in my homeland. At least the filipino community has a motherland that they can go visit. This is it for us and our values, beliefs and practices are overrided by everyone else's.

Anonymous said...

I guess someone needs a history lesson on where they came from. How can you answer so ignorantly and not even know it. Oh yeah I guuess that's a rhetorical question.

Anonymous said...

The Hawaiians are divided and that's why they cannot establish a sovereign nation. Their people are no longer pure, only in niihau and that's the way the caucasions want it.

Anonymous said...

It's all propaganda, just look in the arrest blotter and you will see familiar names commit dangerous crimes over and over again and again. These guys are related to the people in office thats why they getaway with crimes. Example a guy steals a atm machine and several months later gets busted for robbery then a few weeks ago gets busted again for robbery. This is the kind shibai that needs to be voted out of office. These are the families that ruin Kauai and corrupts the whole County of Kauai and destroys people lives, property, and names.

Anonymous said...

I think you people are so ignorant about hawaiian homes, lands, scholarships, schools, and other programs that it's a waste of time to educate you.

Anonymous said...

What did the Filipinos say to Mrs Thronas?

Puck You we no bote por You.

How come Filipinos do not have a county councilman representing them?

Because they Cayetano and too busy at chicken pight.

Anonymous said...

Yhea like all filipino's can agree on all things all of the time. Kanaka Maoli can't re-establish their Kingdom because the military of the USA will not relinquish rights to our strategic islands in their plan for Pacifici-Asia dominance. Its all about world dominance today as it was in 1893. The powers in Washington will never freely give us our sovereignty no matter how unified we are.

Anonymous said...

Why did Lenny Rapozo bull doze the hawaiian fishing camp?mustabeen a 'together we can "thing

Anonymous said...

The war on drugs has got to be one of the stupidest causes in the history of this country, with no end in sight.

Anonymous said...

Wait a minute Begley joins the team that he was against.

So I'm trying to put this deception together.

Begley disobeys the Chief cause the Mayor told him to, the Chief suspends Begley for insubordination, The Chief disliked Iseri before she came to his aid during the Mayor-Chief-Darla fiasco, Iseri and Jake is under investigation then the chief comes to their aid to show support, The Mayor and his cohorts is accused of stealing gas and is being investigated, one of the attorneys that Iseri despises gets a front page ear licking, While the PA blames the Pohaku program on another attorney, Beth releases a statements to Joan that stealing gas was the normal thing to do since the 80's so thats a why they been doing it, Begley is on paid medical leave but shows in a public meeting with no health ailments, Mel and Kipu tries to block a investigation of the PA, Mel and Kipu receives county and state funding from PA in their private jobs, The county hires undereducated non qualified people to fill positions based on ?, quid pro quo is a norm for people to get promoted and rewarded in county and state positions and some of this acts are criminal, and this shit keeps rolling along.

Anonymous said...

American Indians have done it, various religious groups have done it, amish have done it, radical mormons have done, heck even the KKK, The philipines, other countries have done it. So what's your excuse again? Anything is possible.

Anonymous said...

5:51 PM

Welcome to Kauai corruption 101, seems you got most of the relevant points, don't forget the rampant racism.

Don't forget there are a few tokens they can control or pay off.

Pathetic and sick, those are our elected officials.

Anonymous said...

A lame duck croonie, brah da shadow gotta tells these Donkeys what's wrong. Every so often Da Shadow's report is printed in TGI, and thats an embarrassing tell of the Nepotism on Kauai.

Anonymous said...

Nancy Reagan was brilliant "Say No to Drugs" is a total success.

Anonymous said...

Not that long ago KPD had only Hawaiians and Japanese as officers. The other Race of people could only dream of being apart of this group.

Hop Sing would be proud and his detractors are spinning to keep the power in control.

Anonymous said...

This seems like a Kauai Furlough or at least the Big Fat Lie.

Will the peopple of Kauai be fooled like the LifeGuards who took a pay cut when the county had 60 million in surplus.

If you have followed what the county of Kauai has been going through since the kunimura days then you will understand why we are where we are today. All screwed up, like an abused redheaded step child.

Anonymous said...

Only if Oprah said this maybe we could get a county council to vote on the decriminalization law. One more beer and I will get this to go through, oh wait get some more beers in the cooler cheeeehuuuuu it might be awhile now

Anonymous said...

Didn't the girl who stole the KAUAI Ms Filipino crown related to someone who had friends on the judges panel.

Name is Familiar, hopefully another family member won't be the new HR director.

You dirty Rats!

Anonymous said...

From "Einstein, insanity and the war on drugs" by Bernd Debusmann
Reuters, December 3, 2008:

Albert Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results. His definition fits America’s war on drugs, a multi-billion dollar, four-decade exercise in futility.

The war on drugs has helped turn the United States into the country with the world’s largest prison population. (Noteworthy statistic: The U.S. has 5 percent of the world’s population and around 25 percent of the world’s prisoners). Keen demand for illicit drugs in America, the world’s biggest market, helped spawn global criminal enterprises that use extreme violence in the pursuit of equally extreme profits.

Over the years, the war on drugs has spurred repeated calls from social scientists and economists (including three Nobel prize winners) to seriously rethink a strategy that ignores the laws of supply and demand.

Mr. Bernd wrote this 3 1/2 years ago. Here we are, four years later, no mo' money for schools, roads, sewers, drug treatment centers, etc., but we can throw people in jail like there's no tomorrow. Insane.

Anonymous said...

The other alternative is to allow
soldiers to shoot anyone who uses illegal drugs (or drugs illegally for you prescription pill poppers). If we're at war, why waste time with the cops and court system. Kill 'em all. Moms and dads, kids in school, ravers, clubbers, politicians, judges, doctors, journalists, cops, every single one of them.

Anonymous said...

If the Mayor and one of his dept heads stole gas then I wonder who elseelse was stealingin gas? Was it Gary Heu, Beth Tokioka, who else is in gas theft ring and who is the ring leader?

I guess we are gonna see the Shaylene Iseri Carvalho trick. All of the thieves wants attorneys, don't want to answer questions, points at previous admins as the examples of excellent thievery, will testify of how Kauai has Laws and has not been following them but needs to now that the hypocrites got caught, or say we had a surplus of gas and was using it wisely because the county has bought electric cars and wont need the extra gas so it wont be missed just ask the accountant.

More than Likely this will be another covered up story, Unsolved Gas theft, Superficial Gas Theft, nothing to see here move along, we can handle this we've done his many times before. Just another county coroner report bites the dust

Anonymous said...

You must be from Southside Kauai, Say No to Crack! Crack Kills!

Anonymous said...

The New Slavery

Prison Induxtrial Complex

Learned from Third World Countries on How Corporations get free Labor while its paid for by Taxpayers

How Countries can control societies through judicial enslavement

Anonymous said...

And why is Obama cracking down on medical marijuana dispensaries? Financial crooks wreck the economy and get a free pass but don't you dare grow, smoke, sell or give away marijuana.

Anonymous said...

"Their people are no longer pure"

Wow. you realize of course that that's what chapped the Nazi's asses, too.

Anonymous said...

"Hey, I think I've figured out why presenters have outnumbered citizens at the “public safety” meetings now being held around the island — the presenters are getting paid"

the presenters are salaried. They get paid a set amount per year. It's not like they'er drawing a paycheck for showing after hours to a town hall.

Nice stretch, though.

Stretching is important for overall health

Anonymous said...

"It's not like they'er drawing a paycheck for showing after hours to a town hall."

They showed up voluntarily? All of them? How . . . civic minded. Shay does her best to nurture that in people.

Anonymous said...

The Hawaiians are divided and that's why they cannot establish a sovereign nation.
please stop spouting this crap. Are the americans divided because thy have democrat, republicans, green party, and oh no, more that one faction?,get a grip, Hawaiian people are not limited in governance because they are undivided. It's a story that's repeated far too often. Hawaii is not a sovereign nation because it is america's military training grounds, and no amount of unity will change that.

Joan Conrow said...

10:23 pm wrote: the presenters are salaried. They get paid a set amount per year. It's not like they'er drawing a paycheck for showing after hours to a town hall.

Whether they are salaried or not doesn't change the fact they're getting paid to be there. In the case of the police, I checked with the chief and if attending the meeting requires them to work beyond their normal 8 hours, they are paid OT. So they are, indeed, drawing a paycheck for showing after hours.

Anonymous said...

Kalapaki had a zero reading? How trustworthy are those tests?

Anonymous said...

Joan even you realize your statement "they're getting paid to be there" is misleading right? Like, grossly misleading?

They're on salary. Are you suggesting they're also getting paid to sleep at night? To shit in the morning, and have sex on the weekends?

You should be ashamed of that stretch in logic.

Joan Conrow said...

County workers only get to have sex on the weekends? Poor tings dem.

Anonymous said...

" I checked with the chief and if attending the meeting requires them to work beyond their normal 8 hours, they are paid OT. So they are, indeed, drawing a paycheck for showing after hours."

Wow. Disgusting waste of tax money. OPA and KPD think our tax money is like a blank check.

Anonymous said...

If they didn't volunteer then their paycheck depended on their attendance.

Anonymous said...

Overtime pay for going to a meeting, this is a solid waste mistake. I want the police commission to review this and the police budget during this time period.

Who is robbing, who and who is stealing from whom? Gas theft, overtime pay theft, supply theft, what else are you good ol boys stealing?

Can i get some, oh oops that called receiving stolen property, book em Dano! OPA let's get these tools into the Pohaku program immediately.

Anonymous said...

Logically speaking? You should be ashamed of yourself? Did you read what you wrote? Reread it and then think about it for a minute then go to sleep, shit, have sex, then reread it and think some more. Now do you get it!

Anonymous said...

Kalapaki is a cesspool and it will never have an accurate bacteria test reading. Do you know what main industry that thrives and would be affected greatly if a true and accurate test result became public.

Anonymous said...

Can I take a guess?

Would it be the tourism industry?

Anonymous said...

I May or Shall Guess, does the family name starts with an R and ends with an O.

Am I hot,cold, or warm?

Anonymous said...

If that is so, then no wonder these couny officials sexually harass coworkers during the work week.

Anonymous said...

I read on craigslist that a police commissioner was having sexual affairs during business hours and after business hours, did he get paid overtime for this extracurricular activities.

Is that double dipping? It's hard work being a pimp these days but I guess someone has to do it.

Anonymous said...

or offer to sell their co-workers pot...harrassment? or just Aloha...

Anonymous said...

hrmm, okay, let's think about this. The police and prosecutors are holding meetings with the public to answer their questions about law enforcement. That serves the legitimate purpose of educating the community and increasing public safety. Why wouldn't they get paid to do that? That's part of the performance of their duties. As for the salaried guys, they're actually doing extra work, after hours, that they are NOT getting paid for, because they'll get the same pay if they go or if they don't. So....what's ur gripe?

Anonymous said...

Nice dodge Joan, way to deflect the very accurate and deserved criticism with a (not so) witty quip that says nothing in your defense other than "i know it's poor, flawed logic, but the readers of my blog will cling to any criticism of OPA i write b/c they're all my pro-koller supporting friends, so i don't care."

Anonymous said...

It's a campaign for Shay disguised as a community event. This is another way they circumvent the system, they get overtime pay when it is not needed. Fraud waste and abuse, everybody gets what they want kind of deal. The only people that get screwed is the taxpayers.

The Chief use to have a letter answering the county of Kauai citizens concerns but I guess after he got his it was no longer a viable way to get support for his agendas.

It was a good political game plan and it worked for the Chief but Kauai suffers more crime than was is really being written in TGI.

Anonymous said...

I don't like either of the choices for PA but you have to choose the lesser of two evils, so it's a no brainer Justin WINS by Default.

Anonymous said...

Police commissioner's are volunteers you dimwit.

Anonymous said...

The Police Commissioner that thought he was Tiger Wood and was messing around with whores has a county/state job.

Who's the Dimwit now?

Anonymous said...

Police Commissioner is his volunteer/appointed job.

Anonymous said...

Does he work for the liquor commission?

Anonymous said...

Those Portuguese are enlightened. America's drug policy? Not so much.

Anonymous said...

More talk about sh&t. Must be Shayke talking to the media again. What a role model.

Anonymous said...

The gripe is the people getting paid our tax money to be there en masse when practically no one on the community - those you say need educating - show up. The presenters outnumber the participants. Like father makenzie writing the words to a sermon that no one will hear. Except we are paying for it and if u complain you get a rice cooker ticket.

Anonymous said...

Lucky for the chief no one taped him when he used to tell people how he really felt about Shay.

Anonymous said...

Yeah I remember the Solid Waste employees cheating during furloughs and was getting all kinds of overtime, sick leaves, and what not.

Is this why the county now charges 12 dollars a month for a single trash container to pick up our trash when this is already implented in county property tax.

Is the new 12 dollars a month a way to fund more familiy/friends/girlfriends/fathers girlfriends to have county jobs.

The County is the single largest employer on Kauai, this is insane. Kauai needs to reduce government size and drug test it's county workers.

Why does the county need to have more storage places when they practically own most of the rice st buildings.

Nepotism and Cronyism needs to end in 2012.

Anonymous said...

KPD and The OPA will use friends, family, coworkers, aquaintences, and whomever they can to tape record people without the person knowing.

A way to notice it is when that person who is setting you up will start asking you questions like an interrogation so all you have to do is make up shit and give them false information.

If the person is a coworker then that person is violating company policies and will be liable in a civil suit.

These are the dirty games they play in the OPA and at KPD to retaliate against people.

Anonymous said...

Now that is scary.
To have citizens afraid to talk to prosecutors, or even their friends, because they are being secretly taped. Are victims being secretly taped as the reveal sensitive, scary accounts of crime? I read Shay said she has tapes too.
Who thought of the operating procedure?
It can't be good to have prosecutors running around with hidden tape recorders. No one is gonna want to trust them or even communicate with them - anything sensitive, if this is really true. That secret taping is gonna come back and bite them one of these days.

Anonymous said...

This was actually a copy of a procedure used by an asst police chief to illegally install secret recording device(s) that bugged people for retailliation using family members, just ask some officers but protect their identity and their families identity.

Anonymous said...

Is this asst chief one of Shay's supporters?

In the book KPD Blue some officers was planting drugs on people but was told by other police officers that the KPD officers committed crimes to set people up and retaliate against them.

Anonymous said...

Dirty cop have been given rapid promotions and citizens are offered county jobs.

This stuff is out of control, you can't trust the people who swear an oath to follow state and federal constitutions as well as laws.

That's why the FEDS needs to take down the Cosa Nostra in the County of Kauai and they are called the GOB.