Ka‘ū News Briefs Thursday, October 19, 2017

Martin Luther King, who visited Hawai‘i, recognized the concept of aloha. His name was brought up by Jim Albertini at the County Council hearing on the resolution for peaceful negotiations over the Korea situation.

A PEACEFUL, DIPLOMATIC SOLUTION TO THE NORTH KOREAN SITUATION is the aim of a resolution approved Wednesday, Oct. 18, in an 8-0 vote by the Hawai‘i County Council.
     The idea was brought to the council by Koohan Paik, who lives here but grew up in Korea. She said her father was a refugee of the Korean War and after her family moved to the U.S., her father became the first Korean attorney in the nation. She said that with her family background in the Korean War, and herself an appreciative U.S. citizen, she is concerned that warships have been sent from Pearl Harbor to the Western Pacific to become involved with the North Korean situation. She urged "diplomatic talks rather than military strikes." She said she also worries about a nuclear winter that could screen light from the sun and severely reduce production of food and damage the environment, should a nuclear war break out.  

Koohan Paik suggested the resolution for diplomacy to the County Council.

     Ruth Robison, President of the United Nations Association of the U.S.A./Hawai‘i Island Chapter, said her organization supports the resolution and reminded the Council that the U.N. was founded after World War II to promote diplomacy over war.
     Jim Albertini, of Malu ‘Āina, said his organization supports the resolution. He said the United States has spent $5 trillion on war since 9/11, money that could have been spent on such domestic needs as health care, education, cleaning up the environment, including here in Hawai‘i County. "The only shelter is peace," he said. "It's time to support diplomacy not war in the Korean Peninsula and all over the world." Albertini said that Martin Luther King recommended not only looking to those perceived as enemies to stop violence but also to the people of the U.S. and the U.S. government.
     Stephanie Tabata, of Ka‘ū, noted that the resolution uses the word aloha. She said using the word aloha needs to be recognized as serious and spiritual and that Hawai‘i is also more than just a word. She said Hawai‘i is the piko - the umbilical cord of the whole world, the earth. "Tūtū Pele is still giving out life through her lava." Tabata advocated the practice "to live aloha." She quoted the late Rev. Abraham Akaka, who said "aloha is love seeking to unite what is separated in the world....Aloha is the power that unites heart with hearts, soul with souls, life with life, culture with culture, race with race, nation with nations. Aloha is the power that can reunite."
      The resolution points out that "a peaceful solution to the present situation between the United States and North Korea is of particular importance to the State of Hawai‘i given our geographic location and vulnerability in the event of a war between the two nations."
      It says that "a call by the people of Hawai‘i for a peaceful resolution to any serious conflict situation, not just this one, is in keeping with our islands’ most treasured ideal, that of aloha."
      The resolution points out that North Korea "has conducted six nuclear tests since 2006, including a recent hydrogen bomb test, and a spate of ballistic missile tests with ever-increasing range."
      It notes that the U.S. "has responded by, among other things, dispatching a naval armada to the Korean peninsula region earlier in the year, conducting bomber flights close to the North Korean border, and calling upon other countries to enact and enforce rigorous economic sanctions against the reclusive nation."

Jim Albertini, of Malu ‘Āina, said, "The only shelter is peace." Photo and see more at www.bigislandvideonews.com

      The resolution states that "global tensions and anxieties have been further heightened by the uninhibited exchange of rhetoric" between leaders of the U.S. and North Korea. It notes that on Sept. 11 this year the United Nations Security Council not only established severe sanctions upon North Korea; it also "re-iterated the importance of maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in north-east Asia at large, and its commitment to a peaceful, diplomatic and political solution to the situation through dialogue in order to reduce the tensions in the Korean Peninsula and beyond."
     Corey Harden, of Hilo, testified, that "People are probably wondering why North Korea is so belligerent. But who knows about the U.S. bombing during the Korean War?" She said that "A former Washington Post reporter calls that bombing perhaps the most of forgotten part of a forgotten war. He adds that Dean Rusk, later Secretary of State, said that The United States bombed everything that moved in North Korea, every brick standing on top of another.
     "After running low on urban targets, U.S. bombers destroyed hydroelectric and irrigation dams, flooding farmlands and destroying crops. The U.S, dropped 635,000 tons of explosives on North Korea. That's over 100,000 more tons than used in the entire Pacific during World War II. Thirty-two thousand tons of those bombs were were Napalm. General Curtis Lamae, head of the Strategic Air Command, said 'every town was burned down and one out over every five people was killed from war, or starvation, or exposure.' That's why North Korea is so belligerent," said Harden.

Corey Harden pointed to the U.S. damage to North Korea during the Korean War as a reason for belligerence. Photo and see more at bigislandvideonews.com

      She asked, "Why is the U.S. so belligerent?" and pointed to Pres. Donald Trump, contending that he undermines negotiations and calls out the North Korean leaders. She said that voters must work on resisting Trump, through voting for those who would remove him.
     The resolution, introduced by County Council members Valerie Poindexter and Aaron Chung will be sent to President Donald Trump; Kim Jong-un, Supreme Leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea; Secretary of State Rex Tillerson; Secretary of Defense James Mattis; Sen Mazie Hirono; Sen. Brian Schatz; Rep. Tulsi Gabbard; Rep. Colleen Hanabusa; Gov. Daid Ige; and Mayor Harry Kim.
     See testimony on the resolution at bigislandvideonews.com.

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Rapuano told Hirono that DOD will ensure that all contractors receive notice of new cybersecurity requirements.

SEN. MAZIE HIRONO TOOK U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL JEFF SESSIONS TO TASK on Wednesday during his testimony before the U.S. Judiciary Committee where she is a member.
   She reminded him of his comment regarding Judge Derrick Kahele Watson when Watson, a federal judge in Hawai‘i, stopped the implementation of Pres. Donald Trump's first travel ban. She quoted Sessions saying last April, "I'm amazed that a judge sitting on an island in the Pacific can issue an order that stops the President of the United States from what appears to be clearly his statutory and constitutional power." Said Hirono, "When a public official like you makes a statement like that, it tends to legitimize the views of people who think that the great ethnic and racial diversity in my state makes us somehow less American."

Sen. Mazie Hirono questioned Jeff Sessions Wednesday on travel ban, firing U.S. Attorneys and DACA.

    Sessions responded that it was not about Hawai‘i but his concern that "just one in 600 federal district judges in the country can stop the entire process."
    Hirono also asked Sessions on Wednesday why all U.S. Attorneys were dismissed without warning several months into the Trump administration. Sessions admitted that he did have something to do with the firings.
    Regarding Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, Hirono told Sessions that when undocumented immigrant young people signed up for DACA to stay in the country they relied on the government and believed that information given would not be used to target them. She called it a bait and switch should the information be used to deport them. Sessions said the answer in solving the DACA situation is with Congress and that Homeland Security is responsible for carrying out the DACA program.
     After the hearing, which was designed to review Sessions' work as U.S. Attorney General to date, Hirono posted, "As Attorney General, Jeff Sessions has demeaned our independent judiciary, and continues to attack DREAMers. We will continue to hold him accountable."
     See testimony on the resolution at bigislandvideonews.com.

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THE ANNUAL KAUAHA‘AO CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH fundraising bazaar in Wai‘ōhinu has been announced. The date is Saturday, Nov. 18, from 9 a.m. to  2 p.m. on the church grounds. The church is located on the corner of Māmalahoa Hwy, Kama‘oa Road and Pinao Street just above the Wong Yuen Store and Gas Station.
    Individuals, schools, clubs, and sports/athletic groups are invited to be a vendor at the "flea market" on the church grounds. The charge for a 10' X 10' space is $10. Vendors are responsible for bringing their own tent, table and chairs, and if power is needed, a generator. Vendors can sell anything except hot foods/plate lunches.
    The Church will be selling Kālua Pig plate lunch and containers of Kālua Pig, as well as baked goods, produce, and crafts. Throughout the day, there will be free entertainment "provided by our talented community groups," said Walter and Debbie Yuen at 928-8039.

FRIENDS OF THE KA‘Ū LIBRARIES will man a booth at the annual Kauaha‘ao Congregational Church fundraising bazaar in Wai‘ōhinu on Saturday, Nov. 18. Donations of baked goods, books and good condion, slightly used, reusable rummage are being accepted to raise money for Friends of the Ka‘ Libraries.
     Drop off donation at Nā‘ālehu Public Library or Pāhala Public and School Library no later than Friday, Nov. 17, by 3 p.m. or bring to the Libraries tent on, Nov. 18, at Kauaha‘ao Congregational Church grounds at 8 a.m. For more info, call Linda Morgan at 785-2058.