tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7875069982976812251.post4520623747053530990..comments2023-10-17T04:51:08.765-10:00Comments on KauaiEclectic: Musings: Lifting the Veil: Part VII (All Pau)Joan Conrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00172330100788007499noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7875069982976812251.post-74780010300392945892008-01-25T06:51:00.000-10:002008-01-25T06:51:00.000-10:00Thanks, Kyle, I appreciate your kind words.Thanks, Kyle, I appreciate your kind words.Joan Conrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00172330100788007499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7875069982976812251.post-82195049295717791792008-01-24T13:12:00.000-10:002008-01-24T13:12:00.000-10:00Aloha Joan. Thank you for your work to expose the ...Aloha Joan. <BR/><BR/>Thank you for your work to expose the military-corporate-political game behind the Superferry. As you have documented, that's where the real money is. <BR/><BR/>I find it amazing that some people like Mr. Antonson vigorously deny the obvious. The Superferry fiasco was the product of the collusion (and sometimes competition) of elite special interest groups (political, corporate, scientific and military). And average citizens and the environment end up paying the price. <BR/><BR/>It was Lehman and his "Westpac Express" plans in 2005 that got a number of people investigating this connection. And it was Lehman who said that the Superferry could carry Strykers. <BR/><BR/>I think it is also significant that Austal needed to establish a US-based shipyard to compete for the LCS contract. The Austal Alabama shipyard is only working on Superferry and an LCS prototype. The Superferry contract probably helped them to set up shop in the US. Austal was always very clear that their business plans included competing for LCS and JHSV contracts. <BR/><BR/>Another question that remains is who appropriated the money for the $140 million MARAD loan guarantee? The Bush Administration opposes the Title XI program because it is a corporate subsidy. But MARAD has been directed by Congress to make specific loan guarantees. Who got MARAD to issue the Superferry loan guarantee? <BR/><BR/>As you say, time will tell. Keep up the great work. <BR/><BR/>KyleAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7875069982976812251.post-36573232097845234362008-01-18T21:57:00.000-10:002008-01-18T21:57:00.000-10:00Just because you're paranoid doesn't someone isn't...Just because you're paranoid doesn't someone isn't out to taint you. It isn't me though. I have a professional and life long interest in communication and I find it interesting how the Military association to the Superferry started and spread ultimately to the person who suggested it to you. On October 6, 2006, Juan Wilson posted the information that became his July 28, 2007 TGI editorial. The information was accepted at face value, spread across the internet, landed on every antiSuperferry blog, and became part of the protest chants/signs. Go ahead and try to find a reference to Superferry and the Military before October 6, 2006; you won't. My post above and in other parts of your series is simply to point out that the information started out flawed and continues to be flawed. <BR/>Regards, Pete AntonsonAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7875069982976812251.post-50789429120051150422008-01-18T12:51:00.000-10:002008-01-18T12:51:00.000-10:00Dear Pete, What's Juan Wilson got to do with my se...Dear Pete, What's Juan Wilson got to do with my series? I never even saw any of his writings on this topic. If you've got a problem with his credibility, don't try to taint my efforts by smearing him. I did a lot of research.Joan Conrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00172330100788007499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7875069982976812251.post-33099408612573059092008-01-17T21:48:00.000-10:002008-01-17T21:48:00.000-10:00Lifting the other veilThere is only weak and subje...Lifting the other veil<BR/>There is only weak and subjective evidence of a military connection. It started with Juan Wilson finding a picture of the Westpac ferry leased by the Navy, seeing it looked the same, and not going any farther to find out that all 25 of the Austral ferries have the same design. Its their design. Next, he found the 2005 Lehman statement; but, didn't go after any updates. Next, he read about the Navy's LCS and thought it sounded like the Superferry. He didn't learn enough about it to realize it doesn't fit; but, the JHSV does. Juan published a lengthy essay in TGI built around these 3 flawed items. Confronted with real information, he admitted that he was a political activist, not a researcher. This was the beginning, middle and end of the "Military Connection." Until now, nobody went beyond Juan's essay...they were too busy making "No Strykers" signs. <BR/>As for John Lehman. He was an investment banker before becoming Reagon's little Navy troll. Both of Clinton's Navy Secretarys were investment bankers also. Lehman went back to investment banking for more than twice as many years as he was Naval Sec. Why not think of him as an investment banker? He became incredibly successful at it. He has the deep deep pockets to invest for the long term. There are only a handful of people that can successfully do what he can at his level for this long. You and I have no idea what happens in that world. We can't sit around in our armchairs and conclude that his investment doesn't make sense to us so he has to have a hidden agenda of which we have no proof. <BR/>The world's Navys are going to Austral and Incat because they are the best with the best designs. They don't need some vast lengthy subterfuge to make their sales.<BR/>Its true that I have a pro-ferry bias; but, I consider this to be a debate, not an argument. So far, except for invasive species, all I've seen from the opposition is flawed research with holes in as big as the ship. Invasive species are a clear and present reality; but, the debate is on the justice of having the ferry do what others don't. This is besides the point. The debate should be on what is reasonable vs unreasonable to make the ferry do for prevention; then, we decide how and when to bring the "others" up to a higher standard that offers protection. This is the debate that can make a difference; the rest of the debate is strictly intellectual. If you want to make a difference, drop all the "Stupidferry, Cuz" posturing and work on the part that is real.<BR/>Regards, Pete Antonson...........#2Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7875069982976812251.post-21571278567126158342008-01-17T17:05:00.000-10:002008-01-17T17:05:00.000-10:00You're not cynical, Joan, just observant. Both Lin...You're not cynical, Joan, just observant. Both Lingle's and HSF's actions point to a future gain. Five years down the road, when the truth becomes apparent we'll know where we read it first!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7875069982976812251.post-48712602113706980252008-01-17T12:07:00.000-10:002008-01-17T12:07:00.000-10:00I think that whether the EIS came before, during o...I think that whether the EIS came before, during or after HSF start-up, the vessel(s) would be operational in pretty much their current form. <BR/><BR/>Power, fear (of "them", thus needing additional military protection) and money are a powerful triumvate tool.<BR/><BR/>HSF will get their new harbor improvements, more ferries will arrive and go online, life will roll along as it always has. At least for the next couple of decades.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7875069982976812251.post-4904556311760054792008-01-17T09:37:00.000-10:002008-01-17T09:37:00.000-10:00Well, Gadfly, I think if the Superferry's military...Well, Gadfly, I think if the Superferry's military connection had been fully disclosed, the Legislature probably wouldn't have over-ridden the Supreme Court decision and an EIS would have been required before it started running. And yes, maybe the state wouldn't have picked up so much of the tab.Joan Conrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00172330100788007499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7875069982976812251.post-3742032469068678312008-01-17T07:51:00.000-10:002008-01-17T07:51:00.000-10:00So, do you think the end result would be significa...So, do you think the end result would be significantly different today if HSF was originally positioned as a military transport vessel that would also do public transport, thus benefitting both?<BR/><BR/>Maybe if the military had picked up some of the costs the state bore?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7875069982976812251.post-49706704770116357342008-01-16T23:55:00.000-10:002008-01-16T23:55:00.000-10:00Hot off the presses. Thanks for the final installa...Hot off the presses. Thanks for the final installation. I look for the hard copy version next week. mahalo!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com