Hawaii palace takeover leader couldn't find throne

AP via SFGate ^ | 8/17/8

[SmithL]

Honolulu (AP) -- The leader of a Hawaiian pro-sovereignty group that broke into a historic palace once home to royalty said he planned to chain himself to the throne but couldn't find it because he had never been in the palace before.

But palace officials said three locks, including those securing the throne room, were damaged. No artifacts were damaged or stolen, but the group broke into a barracks building and raised a flag on the flagpole, officials said.

Police arrested 23 people during the stunt, in which members of the Kingdom of Hawaii locked the gates to the Iolani Palace on Friday.

[SmithL]

Let's have a show of hands of everyone who has been unable to find their throne.

[count-your-change]

aahh...down the hall on the left.

[randomhero97]

I’ve passed out with my head over my throne.

[MindBender26]

Michael?

[Free State Four]

Well, sticking to Lazamataz’ theory of “proudly posting without reading the article”, I must say this: I have many times had difficulty finding the throne. I just have never been arrested for it (yet).

[longtermmemmory]

future trouble makers ala aztlan or palastinais or skopians all vying for territory grabs.

these idiots should have called soros first.

[ruination]

The Throne Room is off the Grand Hall.

[Irishgirl]

I absolutely love Hawaii but have long been aware that it is really a “socialist kingdom.” I just returned from a visit to Oahu and the Big Island and noticed that the sovereignty movement is much more prominent than it has been in the past. Had a discussion about this with a libertarian-leaning friend who lives there. It is amazing that they would want to secede from the U.S. Who would provide them with all the social services, military defense, aid from natural disasters,etc. if they were to secede? We both concluded that another country, probably China, would move right in and “buy them up” and for all intents and purposes, take them over. They are sweet people with a wonderful culture but seem so naive. I also read something over there that explained the socialist culture. The long history of working on the plantations and living in plantation-supplied housing and benefits. (Sound familiar?) It is really sad to me in many ways. There has been much done to give the native Hawaiians reparations but so many of them are contributing to this movement. And what would be the outcome?

[hometoroost]

Every now and then the public education system actually helps us out.

[listenhillary]

When I’m in that state, I just pee outside. Safer and less risky than mistaking a closet or something else for the throne.

[sheana]

We own property just south of Hilo, Big Island and visit there about twice a yr. Down beside Vernas at Kalapana there is a separatist group. We wandered in there once and wandered around. We had a nice conversation with a very nice man about their goals. You are right, they are very naive and the movement seems to have grown everytime we go over.

[dfwgator]

Do they still have “Kill Haole Day” there?

[Jubal Harshaw]

On the one hand, this could be defined as treason; taking over a landmark with the intent to establish oneself as King could broadly be interpreted as waging war against the United States, and thus could be interpreted as treason.

On the other hand, this is also just plain old pathetic. You want to be King, but can’t get further than taking over a museum from the terrified elderly docents who volunteer there? And even then, you can’t find the throne room, the location of which is available from the internet?

People actually follow this moron? The story says the ringleader, James Kimo Akahi, had 23 confederates; apparently none of them could spare a few minutes to talk to the docents to find out where the throne room was before busting in and making fools of themselves.

I believe I could train chimpanzees, or perhaps gorillas, to do a better job of taking over a state than these idiots were able to pull off. At least the monkeys could be trained to do some basic recon before making their presence known.

[fieldmarshaldj]

"Hawaii palace takeover leader couldn't find throne"

I find the bushes will do in a pinch.

[Beeline]

The Hawaiian Govt. near about 1900 had a King who was
negotiating an alliance with Japan at the time. This and
other things brought about a series of coups. At no time
did the Hawaiians fight for their freedom.

You’ve got to think that history has been very kind to them.
Consider what the Japanese would have done to them as they
did to all other asians.

[This Just In]

You are incorrect in stating that the Hawaiians did not fight for their freedom.

Read ‘Hawaii’s Story’ penned by Queen Liliuokalani and you will understand how the Hawaiians were swindled out of their land and sovereignty.

I am of Hawaiian decent; born and raised on O’ahu. I am also a proud American, but the overthrow of the monarchy was nothing less than a travesty of justice.

Actually, during King Kalakaua’s trip around the world, he met with officials from China as well as other countries in order to promote trade, recognizing the opportunity to further secure and sustain the Hawaiian economy and the kings subjects.

I must say that I do not support the Hawaiian Sovereignty Movement. Due to it’s strategic location militarily, the island would always have been of major interest to different countries. I would rather be an American than a communist, or a socialist. And yet, this does not justify the way in which the islands were taken.

In addressing the growing number of individuals who seek independence; the influence most responsible for this, in my eyes, is the local government and public education system. Hawaii is by large an ultra-liberal state. Social engineering in converting young minds into little socialists/communists have been in place for decades. Hawaii is now bearing the fruit of that intent.

Although, in defense of a number of my family and friends; their are Hawaiians who are proud to be American.

TJI

[This Just In]

their=there

[ckilmer]

Price of Apology: Clinton, Obama, and the Hawaiian Quid Pro Quo

The bill to create a Hawaiian Indian reservation is a financial boondoggle. But state bigwigs hope contributions will persuade Obama or Clinton to sign it if elected.

March 22, 2008 - by Andrew Walden

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With Tony Rezko on trial, the national media is beginning to skim the surface of the dirty deals paving the rapid ascent of Democratic presidential frontrunner Barack Obama. But Chicago, Syria, and Iraq are not the only places to look. There is also a $9-billion story in Hawaii and in spite of Obama’s recent 3-1 victory in the Hawaii Democratic caucuses, both Obama and Clinton are still clawing for the prize.

Obama’s Hawaii supporters sought to leverage the limited contribution pool of their small state by latching on early. Calling Obama “Hawaii’s third senator”, they began raising early money for a presidential bid as soon as Obama won his Illinois Senate seat in 2004. But of course they want something in return. At the top of their agenda in discussions with Obama in December 2004 was the multi-billion-dollar tropical land and money grab which would be made possible by passage of the so-called Akaka Bill.

Congress is now considering another “Apology Resolution” — for American Indians. The degree to which the Hawaiian Apology Resolution and the fight for the Akaka Bill have distorted the presidential race should be a sharp warning against passage. The Indian Apology Resolution is amended to S 1200 by Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS). The House version is contained in House Joint Resolution 68 being pushed by Rep. Dan Boren (D-OK).

The Akaka Bill (Senate Bill 310 and House Bill 505) would create a Hawaiian Indian reservation. Its backers claim they are righting historical wrongs done to Hawaiians. Its opponents claim the Akaka Bill is racially discriminatory. Both groups miss the point. A more accurate assessment comes from the Akaka Bill’s chief proponent in the House of Representatives, Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-Honolulu). Abercrombie explained to the House Committee on Natural Resources on May 2, 2007, “The bottom line here is that this is a bill about the control of assets. This is about land, this is about money, and this is about who has the administrative authority and responsibility over it.”

The bill in different forms has passed the House several times since 2000 — most recently on October 24, 2007. It is now again before the Senate after coming up four votes short in 2006.

Contrary to popular opinion, Indian reservations have a history in Hawaii. An Oct. 12, 1999, article in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin describes the 1995 efforts by corrupt trustees controlling America’s largest charitable trust — Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate (KSBE) — to evade state and federal oversight. And not without reason: trustees’ salaries were over $1 million per year. KSBE money, along with trustees’ personal funds, had been invested in a pornographic website. Spending on the Kamehameha School was being cut. One trustee was running rampant in the school, micromanaging teachers and administrators. The trustees’ self-dealing and their investments with Goldman Sachs — at the time headed by current New Jersey Democratic Governor John Corzine — had brought losses of $264 million in 1994 alone. Investigators were starting to ask questions. Hawaiians were beginning to protest. The trustees’ plan? Get the IRS and the state attorney general off their backs by moving KSBE’s legal domicile to an Indian reservation.

The Star-Bulletin on October 12, 1999, explains:

Verner Liipfert, whose local office was at the time headed by former Gov. John Waihee, identified the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation as the top relocation prospect.

[…]

Gregg Bourland, chairman of the Cheyenne River Sioux tribal council … said there is good reason for an entity like the Bishop Estate to make inquiries about changing its domicile to the South Dakota reservation.

[…]

Since the 1800s, the Cheyenne River Sioux have had a government-to-government relationship with the United States, which allows them to operate their own police force, court system, and legislative functions.

It would be politically impossible to remove KSBE — the estate of Hawaiian Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop — from Hawaii. Nothing ever came of the effort and it remains a little-noted footnote in recent Hawaii history. By 1999 state and IRS investigations and protests by native Hawaiians forced the removal of all five trustees. The affair became known as “Broken Trust” and is the topic of a Hawaii best-selling book of the same name.

Within a few months of the trustees’ ouster, the first version of the Akaka Bill was introduced into the U.S. House and Senate. Sen. Akaka, who introduced his namesake bill in the U.S. Senate, had for years been a low-key defender of the corrupt trustees. Rep. Abercrombie, who introduced the House version of the Akaka Bill, had been a close associate of disgraced KSBE trustee Dickie Wong. If the trustees could not move KSBE to an Indian reservation, they were going to build an Indian reservation around themselves.

When Obama was a longshot, his valuable early-money Hawaii support came from a group of Democrat politicos including Waihee cronies, officers of Hawaiian Electric — a company deeply interconnected with KSBE — Abercrombie, failed Democrat congressional candidate Brian Schatz, and all coordinated by Andy Winer, former chief of Senator Daniel Akaka’s 2006 campaign.

Their effort closely parallels the high-risk/high-reward gamble Waihee took as an early-money backer of Bill Clinton’s successful 1992 bid for the White House. But the “old boys” have all their bases covered. Although Waihee cronies are prominent among Obama backers, Waihee himself is still loyal to Clinton, as is Hawaii’s senior senator Daniel Inouye (D). Hawaii’s other two representatives, Senator Akaka and Rep. Mazie Hirono (D-rural Hawaii), are remaining neutral until the dust clears.

As told in the 1997 PBS Frontline special “The Fixers,” the story of Clinton’s Hawaii early-money support begins in the late 1980s and early 1990s with poor Hawaiian farmers’ leasehold homes being bulldozed and cattle being slaughtered as Honolulu police stand by with fraudulent eviction notices. The evictions made way for the Maunawili Valley Oahu golf course funded by Japanese investors overflowing with yen at the top of Japan’s bubble economy.

The Maunawili Valley deal was the beginning of a long run for Waihee “fixers” Gene and Nora Lum. They bought support for the project in the Hawaii state legislature with $50,000 in contributions. Governor Waihee’s 1985 signature on the Lums’ bill declaring golf courses to be a legitimate use of agricultural land raised the value of the Maunawili property by about $43 million overnight.

Within a few years the Lums were recruited by Ron Brown — later named Clinton’s commerce secretary — to spearhead efforts to raise Clinton donations from Asian sources. Their gamble on Clinton’s candidacy even as the Maunawili evictions were ongoing in 1990 and 1991 raised thousands from Waihee associates.

PBS’ “The Fixers” ends with President Clinton in 1996, ten days after winning his second presidential term, stopping in Honolulu on his way to Asia and insisting on playing a full 18 holes of golf with Waihee in the pouring rain on the Maunawili Valley course where it all started.

The Lums ended up in prison in 1997, but backing Clinton paid off handsomely for Waihee and his cronies. Clinton in 1993 signed the so-called “Apology Resolution,” which fixes a single government-dictated interpretation of history and formally admits a U.S. role in the 1893 overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom. It also apologizes for the overthrow, thus implicitly placing Hawaii statehood in question and making the U.S. liable to native Hawaiians — or more accurately, to those who claim to represent them.

The Apology Resolution, in 1993 dishonestly pitched to Congress by Senator Daniel Inouye as “a simple resolution of apology,” has over the years provided the justification for politically motivated intimidation by gangs of thugs and for connected Hawaii political operators to capture ownership of tens of thousands of acres and rake in millions operating lucrative state and federally funded programs, and even private companies pretending to benefit native Hawaiians by claiming to address what Congress and President Clinton had admitted were past wrongs.

One deal alone, Sandwich Isles Communications, got $500 million in federal funds to provide nearly useless fiber optic connections to tens of thousands of Hawaiian Homelands residential lots — most of which are undeveloped. Costs are estimated at $278,000 per utilized connection.

The Hawaii state legislature is now considering handing over even more valuable shoreline acreage to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) this session. Meanwhile, rising real estate costs are driving native Hawaiian families to live in tents on the beach. Last year ten thousand locals left Hawaii for opportunity on the mainland. About half of native Hawaiians are gone from the state. One might ask just what does it take to drive people out of Hawaii? At a recent OHA public hearing in Hilo, protesters gave a partial answer by shouting and carrying signs demanding: “OHA stop stealing from Hawaiians.”

But Sandwich Isles is small potatoes compared with the operations potentially enabled under a highly sovereign Hawaiian tribal government with government-to-government relations modeled on those of the Cheyenne River Sioux Indian Reservation. Not only could such a government shield trustees of KSBE from state and federal oversight, but it could also end up owning anywhere from 10% to 40% of Hawaii’s highly valuable real estate under the formulas being discussed.

The Apology Resolution is the cornerstone of the case for the Akaka Bill, despite Sen. Akaka’s floor statement during the 1993 debate: “Are Native Hawaiians Native Americans? This resolution has nothing to do with that.” In fact the record of the very short 1993 Senate debate contains a point-by-point litany of denials from Akaka and Inouye of almost everything which has since come to pass.

Just as the Apology Resolution was the return favor given to Hawaii Democrats by Clinton for their early-money support, Hawaii early-money supporters of Obama are hoping that a President Obama would be quick to repay the support they gave him when he was a long shot by signing the Akaka Bill. Obama has pledged to sign the Akaka Bill in order to “establish a federally recognized government-to-government relationship with the United States.”

What the trustees need is an indebted president — and Obama is their man. Meanwhile, what Hawaii needs is a brigade of lean and hungry federal prosecutors, a multi-pronged civil rights investigation by the Department of Justice, and prison space to house much of the state’s political and economic elite for the next 10-20 years.

Let us hope that Congress has learned its lesson.

Andrew Walden is Editor of the Hawai`i Free Press in Hilo, HI and may be reached at andrewwalden@email.com.

[This Just In]

Business as usual. My family has expressed the desire to move back to the islands. I have said time and again that I would never move back due to the economic and political state the islands are in at present.

It pains me deeply because Hawaii is my home, and as a child growing up in the islands, I have wonderful memories. The local people are generally welcoming and very hospitable.

The Hawaiians very own leaders, along with individuals serving self-interests, use the general population as props. Think of it as Jesse Jackson and the like in Aloha shirts.

I thank the Lord that ultimately, there’s Paradise that can’t be corrupted.

TJI

[piasa]

I guess lost in all this is the fact that the “Native Hawaiians” created their unified Kingdom through conquest of other tribes. They were all warrior societies, not bunches of pansy pacifist flower children. They treated captives in ways that are brutal by any standard. They didn’t apologize for doing it, and oddly enough the double-standard liberals don’t want to pressure them to do so.

The not-quite-king of Hawaii tried to conquer the King of Mauii in the 1770s and landed his army on Mauii. But he was ambushed and his regime change effort failed.

The not-quite-Kingdom of Hawaii continued to eye Mauii enviously for some years. Finally, the Hawaiian not-quite king Kamehameha in 1790 , aided by an Englishman and a Welshman and an assortment of weapons including a canon, Kamehameha beat the Mauiians, forcing the survivors to flee to Oahu and Molokai.

He didn’t pursue them because he had to go back to Hawaii to try to consolidate power there- he had a cousin, Keoua, who was a rival and the cousin was tearing up the place while he was gone. The Hawaiian not-quite king ultimately bested the cousin when Keoua’s forces were gassed by a volcanic emission that was interpreted as a sign the volcano goddess wasn’t on the side of the rivals.

While Kamehameha was occupied with that, the Mauiians tried to exact revenge for their earlier defeat. The Mauiian king had acquired the help of a European gunner. they went at each other at sea but the battle wasn’t all that conclusive. The Mauiians went back to Oahu.

Kamehameha went back to trying to conquer all of Hawaii. He tried a different tactic this time; he decided to appease the war gods with a new temple. Once built, he invited his rival cousin Keoua to help in the dedication ceremony and to negotiate peace. Keoua ended up getting killed and his body was used as the sacrifice to the war gods, leaving all of Hawaii in Kamehameha’s hands.

But the King of Maui was still out there. He enlisted the help of an English private merchant with an armed frigate.
Kamehameha went to the American Captain George Vancouver for help. They were stalemated for a few years, and Kamehameha used the time to consolidate power in Hawaii, building up his forces, arming them with guns, and bringing in more foreigners to train his people. He enlarged his fleet of war canoes and added European boats to the force.

When the King of Maui died, a civil war on Oahu broke out between his son and his half brother. The son won out thanks in part to the Englishman’s frigate, but after beating his father’s half brother, the son turned against his own ally the Englishman and tried to take the frigate. They failed and were forced to shore by the crew. The Mauiians, thus weakened by war were vulberable enough for the Hawaii king to make hihs move; he took Maui & Molakai, then went after Oahu, where the son and the warriors of Oahu were defeated, literally driven off a cliff.

The King of Hawaii then turned to take Kauai. that didn’t work out so well because of the weather and because a rebellion broke out back home in Hawaii led by his own brother. He had to take time to crush that before he could go elsewhere. So, invasion on hold, he spent several years building an even bigger fleet which he moved to Maui, made some threats to King Ka’umu’ali’i of Kauai, and then moved his fleet to Oahu in prep to launch an invasion against Kauai. But an epidemic broke out, devestating his forces there.

King Ka’umu’ali’i of Kauai, meanwhile, knew what Kamehamena was up to but not being in a good position , enlisted the help of Russian agents to build a fort. English and American traders became nervous thinking the impending conflict would disrupt the sandalwood trade, and a negotiated settlement was obtained in which the King of Kaua’i acknowledged Kamehameha as sovereign while he was allowed to rule Kaua’i until his death. To ensure there would be no further disputes Kaua’i’s son went to Kamehameha as a hostage.

After almost 30 years of war and conquest he now ruled all of the islands. He established laws aganst murder, plundering, etc to settle his realm, and issued the Mamalahoe Kanawai, a law that noncombatants - the elderly, women and children- should not be subject to attack.