Ka`u News Briefs Sunday, March 5, 2017

    The size and location of this morning's earthquake sequence suggest a source that may be related to the ongoing pressurized magma storage system beneath the Kīlauea summit area. According to Tina Neal, HVO Scientist-in-Charge, the earthquakes caused no significant changes in Kīlauea Volcano's ongoing eruptions. No changes in deformation or ground surface cracks were observed in the area.
     For more information on recent earthquakes in Hawaii and Kīlauea eruption updates, visit the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory website at http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov.

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ALOHA WAS THE MESSAGE AT PROPHET MUHAMMAD DAY on Sunday, with a keynote speaker from Hawai`i. Ka`u's Representative in Congress, Tulsi Gabbard, delivered the address at the Tenth Annual Prophet Muhammad Day event at Rutgers University in New Jersey, hosted by Muslims 4 Peace. According to a statement from Gabbard, the celebration focused on "bringing communities together to celebrate the legacy of compassion, mercy, and justice of the Prophet Muhammad, and to stand together against anti-Muslim rhetoric and policies."

The first Hindu in the U.S. Congress Photo from Tulsi Gabbard

     During her speech, Gabbard pointed to terrorists, saying. "Sadly, as we look around us at the chaos in the world today, we see people who are inflicting violence and terror upon others in the name of religion and identity. On Jan. 29, six people were killed and 19 wounded as they were fired upon while they prayed in a Quebec City mosque. On Feb. 16, an ISIS-affiliated suicide bomber killed at least 75 people while they worshipped at a shrine to the Sufi saint Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Pakistan—a place that was tragically targeted for embracing worshippers of all faiths and sects side by side.
     "Since the beginning of 2017, hundreds of tombstones have been toppled at Jewish cemeteries in Philadelphia and St. Louis and nearly 100 bomb threats have been called into Jewish schools and community centers across our nation. In February of last year, ISIS beheaded a senior Hindu priest named Jogeswar Roy at a temple in northern Bangladesh, and injured two others. Just a few months before this, ISIS conducted attacks on Shia mosques and shrines in Bangladesh killing and injuring worshippers.
     "The perpetrators of these horrific actions have no connection with the spiritual love that lies at the heart of all religions—the love that has the power to overcome differences and bring people together," she said. "No matter where you're from, no matter what religion you practice, your ethnicity, race, or anything else—what is it that can bring us together as people? It is, what we call in Hawai`i, aloha... sincere, deep love and respect for other people as children of God."
     She said, however, that there is "not one place—not even our own nation—that is immune to the poison of religious bigotry. Abraham Lincoln was attacked with accusations that he was not a Christian. When John F. Kennedy ran for President, his political opponents tried to foment religious bigotry against his Catholicism. When Barack Obama ran for president in 2007, people accused him of being Muslim, as if that would somehow disqualify him from becoming president.Said Gabbard, the first Hindu in the U.S. Congress, "When I first ran for Congress, my Republican opponent stated in a CNN interview that I shouldn't be allowed to serve in Congress because my Hindu religion 'doesn't align with the constitutional foundation of the US government.' Last year, my Republican opponent stated that, 'a vote for Tulsi is a vote for the devil,' because of my Hindu faith."

Ka`u's member in the Hawai`i House of Representatives, Tuslsi Gabbard, speaks at Prophet Muhaamad Day at Rutgers  University on Sunday. Image from Tulsi Gabbard

      Gabbard said, "The message in each of these situations was simple: you will be punished politically for being of the wrong religion. Nothing could be more un-American than this.
     "The only way to defeat this dark cloud of religious bigotry and hatred is when we stand together in the light of love. As Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."
   Gabbard insisted, "We must stand with people of all religions who are committed to pluralism and individual free choice. People like: Mahmoud Al 'Asali who was assassinated for courageously speaking out against ISIS' brutal treatment of Christians in Mosul; Khurram Zaki, a prominent Pakistani journalist and human rights activist who was assassinated because he was one of many Muslims courageously advocating for a pluralistic, tolerant, secular Pakistan; Kenyan Muslims who shielded Christians from the attack of terrorists; Jewish and Christian leaders in Victoria, Texas who opened their synagogue and churches to the Muslim community whose mosque burned down.
ATTORNEY GENERAL JEFF SESSIONS is getting a call from Sen. Mazie Hirono to answer more questions about his alleged ties with Russia. She said, "I would welcome Jeff Sessions' resignation as Attorney General, but we need to get to the bottom of Russia's interference in our democracy -- starting with Jeff Sessions coming back to the Judiciary Committee to testify under oath and continuing with an independent investigation."     
     Hirono sits on the U.S. Senate's Armed Services and Judiciary committees.
     Hirono said on MSNBC on Friday, "I find it incredibly inconsistent that candidate Trump kept talking about massive voter fraud with no factual basis for that and yet when there is a factual basis for interference with out elections - Russian interference with our elections, President Trump shows no interest in getting to the bottom of it." In calling for an independent investigation on the matter, Hirono said the Russians have also interfered with elections in France and Germany "and will do it again." She said she questions the ability of the U.S. Attorney General's office to conduct a fair investigation.
     Rep. Tulsi Gabbard tweeted and posted: "In order to reduce the divisiveness in our country and increase the people's faith in our Justice Department, it would be best if Senator Sessions resigned. The sooner the better." Sessions recused himself from overseeing investigations into alleged ties between the Trump campaign and administration with Russians attempting to interfere in U.S. elections."
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Hawaiian Cordage Workshops, Tue, Mar 7/28, 1 – 4 p.m., Volcano Art Center. With Gary Eoff. 967-8222

Unforeseen Consequences of Sandalwood Trade, Tue, Mar 7, 7 p.m., Kīlauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Paul Field, park volunteer and retired professor of History at Windward Community College, discusses how the sandalwood trade impacted relations between commoners and chiefs, altered the concept of mana and led to the first official interference of the U.S. government in affairs of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Free; park entrance fees apply.

Weave Coconut Fronds (Ulana Niu), Wed, Mar 8, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m., Kīlauea Visitor Center lānai in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Learn how to weave coconut fronds into useful and beautiful items with local expert Cathy Gouveia. The coconut palm is one of the most useful and important plants in the world. Free; park entrance fees apply.

Jazz in the Forest, Sat, Mar 11, Volcano Art Center. With Jean Pierre Thoma & The Jazztones. 967-8222