Goldmangate - No Hope

Election Day in New York.  The Crown is being prepared...

Clinton's greed does not make her a bad candidate.
She's an American capitalist! 

But Hillary evades & minimizes her rich relationships.
Corporatist Hillary is squarely on the side of the bosses.

Same old, same old -- or even worse.
When America needs Big Changes Now.

Tired whine. Thanks for your efforts Hillary.
Please find private sector work.

Goldmangate

Testing Japanese PM Abe

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzō Abe (安倍 晋三), puppet of American militarism, chauvinist of Yamaguchi, has a great chance in the present earthquake crisis to grow & lead.

Don't expect much, but Let's See...  Remember Abe was born to a supremely powerful (and wealthy) political dynasty, grandson of WWII architect & Class A war crimes captive Nobusuke Kishi.  He's sought forcefully and repeatedly to generate new tribalism in an already highly-homogeneous society that has low tolerance for variation.
Good Luck Japan!

Hillary's GOLDMANGATE

Will Hillary Clinton's speeches to Goldman Sachs poison her candidacy?  

In 2013, Clinton spoke at three Goldman Sachs events for US$675,000.

Former Senator Hillary Clinton still claims solidarity with working folk & asserts (link): "I did stand up to the banks. I did make it clear that their behavior would not be excused."

Seth Abramson writes (link) that if we saw Clinton's Goldman Sachs speech transcripts, "it could end her candidacy for president."

Goldmangate !

Assorted transcripts & tapes of other Clinton speeches now pepper the internet. But the three Goldman talks (reportedly each an hour-long, @ $225,000 each) were "private" sessions not open to the public. Nice work if you can get it -- but surely not a working class wage.

Major problem is seeking to hide the fact she's highly-corporatist.

Worse for Clinton, the financial services industry is belatedly under huge negative attack from the Panama Papers, Oxfam ("Broken at the Top" - link), and the Bernie Sanders campaign. Self-regulation by Big Business is a dirty joke, considering Enron, the four Trump business bankruptcies, disastrous corporate-led trade agreements (TPP, TTIP), and public bailout of private firms. Now Americans wake up to the rude fact they've heavily subsidized top businesspeople. Surely the Clintons , who've lived top of the world now for 25 years, poorly represent typical citizens. They work hard, but protect the backs of big finance, the banking industry, etc. Hillary's big-money endorsements and coziness with big financiers show she herself is a wealthy oligarch -- no time to befriend the common man, and a tough sell when full-time work doesn't pay a living wage.

http://www.oxfamamerica.org/explore/research-publications/broken-at-the-top

A&B = Corporate PIG

The people of Hawai'i are troubled by water problems. Many areas are dry and in constant fire alert status, large segments of Maui are brown and suffer from desertification.

Some problem is sugar industry diversion of water to their extensive private plantations. Biggest user Alexander & Baldwin (A&B d.b.a. Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. and East Maui Irrigation Co.), has enjoyed favored access to public water supplies for over a century. Protected by political connections, and using their leverage on Maui as supplier of agricultural work for hundreds of people, they've diverted streams and tapped into aquifers. They reportedly (link) divert 160 million gallons of water from 100 streams every day.


This same local power allows them open burning of cane fields, a process that fills the air with smoke, ash, and unknown carcinogenic substances (pesticide residues & miles of plastic pvc pipe and black polyethylene are burned with the cane). Subsequent dust is a further problem - blowing offshore and fouling Hawaiian reefs. Their sloppy land stewardship led to generations of complaints, many claimed local health problems, and continuing scars on the beautiful Maui landscape & offshore.

Now A&B are cutting back. They'll soon stop growing sugar cane. But they still demand continuing priority supplies of fresh Maui water.

Hawai'i's State Legislature should no longer give this billion-dollar-plus corporation open-ended authority to divert an unlimited supply of needed public water for their private operations. 

mauitime magazine cover, 27 Sept 2012

Zapata !

Emiliano Zapata was assassinated on 10 April 1919 age 39.

Zapata struggled for a better world. RIP

Hawaiian Self-Government

Please consider the argument for Hawaiian self-government. Hawai'i's ruled from east coast USA, 5000 miles (8000km) away.

I support Native Hawaiian sovereignty, and have much sympathy for Hawaiian Kingdom activists and the sovereignty asserted & protected by a treasured minority over many decades. But since the 1893 illegal overthrow of Queen Lili'uokalani, it's been 123 years. We've not achieved operational Hawaiian self-government. Controlling a cul-de-sac or a few hamlets is insufficient.

If Native Hawaiians ratify our Kumu Kānāwai (proposed constitution), we then start to form a government. We must expect resistance. Some people probably fear this stage because we're open to infiltration, and entrenched interests will surely seek advantages. We don't wish to trade one set of captors for another. But when the alternative plan is decades more abuse & diminishment from far & near with minimal response, or begrudging Aloha, I'm ready to forge forward now.

Those elected to serve the Native Hawaiian people will be responsible for community reconciliation, and for developing better relationships among the nations of the world, including with the USA. I personally hope we can pilot our lāhui & nation to full & complete independence, maintaining peace, and one day celebrate the shutdown of US military bases. (Others disagree.) Predictable future difficulties include promotion of a complex economy, and the huge challenge to govern unruly Hawaiians. And yes, we may be outmaneuvered once again. But I speak confidently for many Hawaiian warriors --
We will Never Give Up!