Friday, October 09, 2009

Hawaii - so far, Good News!


It looks that after all, they are not that stupid!

A flurry of messages and this post by the guys over at Underwater Thrills inform me that the Honolulu City Council has killed a proposal aimed at banning Shark Tours. The Council is very obviously used to dealing with whacks - like when they had to seriously vote on a xenophobic ban against smelly foreigners. Yes, you better believe it!
Good on them for not having succumbed to the demagoguery and hysteria of the Shark haters and to the shenanigans of the token Uncle Charlies!

Talking of which, read this, by a frustrated and obviously, very brave journalist.
Looks like the native ethno-scamsters are perpetuating their frauds and intimidating the politicians and the communities right across the board:

The religiously loaded word "sacred" is invoked a lot in local political disputes, on issues from astronomy development on Mauna Kea to military training in Makua Valley to Halloween blowouts in Lahaina and Labor Day parties on the Kane'ohe Bay sandbar.

As an example, check out this brazen piece of bullshit from a bill (once again supported by the ethno-whacks over in Maui) trying to ban any research on Taro (or Kalo) aimed at making it less susceptible to pests and disease. Yes, that's right: the haoles were trying to preserve the staple diet of the Pacific Islanders!

"Kalo intrinsically embodies the interdependency of the past, the present, and the future, the essence of procreation and regeneration, as the foundation of any sustainable practice. Kalo expresses the spiritual and physical well-being of not only the kanaka maoli and their heritage, but also symbolizes the environmental, social, and cultural values important to the state."

Riiiiiiiight.........
So what's next:a bill to legalize the host-cultural sacred practice of human sacrifice?

As to the shenanigans surrounding the perceived disrespect of the 'aumākua, please take the time to read this op ed by a fearless, enlightened and obviously, knowledgeable Hawaiian that once again exposes the assertions as a total fraud. This is what he writes.

For those of us honestly concerned about protecting people from sharks in the ocean, all reliable empirical and anecdotal scientific evidence suggests we should ban all near-shore human activity in the ocean, as opposed to deep-water activity like shark tours.

This means all human activity in the reefs, the open-water inside the reefs, and the open-water just outside of the reefs. Virtually all shark attacks occur in the reefs or in the open-water just outside of the reefs. The victims are almost always surfers and swimmers, and to a lesser-degree divers, especially divers who are spear fishing and drawing blood from their catch.
When sharks do venture into open-water inside the reefs, it is usually because they are following spear-fishermen, who are swimming back to shore with their bloody catches, or because of fish that surf-fisherman have hooked and are reeling into shore. Every experienced spear or surf-fisherman can tell you stories of catches they have lost to raiding sharks in the reefs and surf.

In other words, if we are honest about doing something to reduce the danger to people posed by sharks, we need to ban all forms of near-shore surfing, all forms of near-shore swimming, all forms of near-shore diving and all forms of near-shore fishing.
Of course, this ban would be ridiculous, just as ridiculous as the proposed shark-tour ban.


Good on 'ya Scott!

First Amendment anybody?
When will the majority stop soiling their pants, man up and stop the blatant reverse racism?

But back to the Shark ban.
Does that mean that this hypocritical stupidity is finally off the table and that everybody can now concentrate on reversing the ailing economy, on creating jobs and on earning tourism dollars?

Not when it comes to the lone and unsuccessful anti-Shark Councilor Charles Djou, to the infamous Shark Task Force and to the equally infamous Hawaii Kai Neighborhood Board that started the whole mess in the first place and spawned the rep. Gene Ward.
And especially, not when it comes to this man, a self professed lawyer by training and a fisherman by choice and a notorius (scroll down to "New Business" at the bottom) anti-industry zealot.

They will continue to ignore the facts, blatantly distort the truth, pander to the fears of the public and perpetuate their disgraceful ethno-scam. Wanna bet?
Nah, this is far from over - alas!

Keep watching this space!

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