Nuclear Regulatory Commission Ignores Depleted Uranium Risks
Nuclear Regulatory Commission Ignores Depleted Uranium Risks | CommonDreams.org
CommonDreams.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 18, 2009
4:24 PM
CONTACT: Institute for Energy and Environmental Research
Arjun Makhijani, IEER, 301-270-5500
Nuclear Regulatory Commission Ignores Depleted Uranium Risks
Votes to Ignore Sound Science, Its Own Prior Analysis, and Radiological Safety
Decision an Apparent Bow to Burgeoning Nuclear Fuel Enrichment Industry
TAKOMA PARK, Md. – March 18 – The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) voted today to declare that depleted uranium (DU) from enrichment plants is a Class A low-level radioactive waste — the least dangerous kind that supposedly consists mainly of short-lived radionuclides. In 2005, the NRC had concluded that large amounts of DU were not covered by its existing low-level waste rule and directed its staff to develop recommendations regarding DU classification. The Commission’s action also opens the door to classification of other dangerous radioactive wastes in the least hazardous category — Class A. Commissioner Jaczko dissented and voted in favor of a rulemaking process to determine the classification of DU within the existing low-level waste framework.
“With the exception of Commissioner Jaczko’s vote, the NRC today bypassed scientific integrity, its own prior analysis in a draft low-level waste environmental impact statement, and the simple facts about the characteristics of depleted uranium,” said Dr. Arjun Makhijani, president of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (IEER), who has studied the issue of depleted uranium disposal and testified in NRC enrichment plant licensing proceedings. “This will make DU disposal cheap for the enrichment companies. The NRC seems eager to please the burgeoning uranium enrichment industry, but it has compromised sound science and public health protection of future generations.”
“The Commission has done a real disservice to the public with this decision,” said Dr. Makhijani. “President Obama has said his administration would respect good science. With the exception of the courageous vote of Commissioner Jaczko, who voted for a process that would respect the scientific and regulatory processes, the NRC majority flouted that commitment.”
Extensive analyses done by IEER have shown that DU disposal in large amounts in shallow facilities would greatly exceed the dose limits of current NRC low-level waste regulations (see, for instance, http://www.ieer.org/reports/du/lesrpt.pdf). The 1981 analysis done by the NRC itself in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the low-level waste regulation concluded that DU in Class A waste should not exceed 0.05 microcuries per cubic centimeter. DU from enrichment plants has a concentration that is over ten times greater than that. The final rule dropped DU in large amounts from consideration because it was notconsidered a waste at that time.
Dr. Makhijani said that the NRC staff’s October 2008 finding that doses from DU disposal could result in low doses in arid climates is based on unsupportable assumptions. For instance, the analysis assumes that will be no erosion from wind, rain, flowing water, or snow for one million years at the disposal site. Another implicit assumption was that affected people would remember where the disposal took place and know not to go onto the site for a million years because the dose is calculated only for people outside the disposal area.
Currently some 740,000 tons of depleted uranium in unstable hexafluoride form are stockpiled at Department of Energy sites at Paducah, Kentucky, Portsmouth, Ohio, and Oak Ridge, Tennessee. One company, LES, is currently building an enrichment plant in New Mexico, which will generate well over 100,000 metric tons of DU. The NRC granted a license to that company for the enrichment plant in 2006. Three other companies are seeking licenses to build enrichment plants in Idaho, Ohio, and North Carolina. The NRC staff assumes that between existing stocks and DU from new plants, 1.4 million tons in all, will have to be disposed of as a radioactive waste. The radioactivity of DU grows with time because of the in-growth of the decay products of uranium-238, like thorium-230 and radium-226.
Dr. Makhijani added that the NRC staff did not do its homework regarding DU disposal impacts prior to granting a license to LES in 2006. Its counsel stated that it relied on a 1990 technical analysis done for the EnergySolutions low-level waste disposal site in Utah as being sound. Among other things, that analysis included a conclusion that an amount of uranium-238 greater that the weight of the Earth could be disposed of in fraction of an ounce of Utah soil. The staff did not back away from its reliance on the report even when the physical impossibility of the conclusion was pointed out in expert testimony by Dr. Makhijani (transcript available).
“It is a sad day because science and public health have succumbed to expediency and profit,” concluded Dr. Makhijani. “Commissioner Jaczko’s vote for a regulatory process to determine the classification of DU and update the low-level waste rule, using the proper legal, technical and public processes, is the only bright spot. We applaud him. We call on President Obama to support Commissioner Jaczko’s vote and call a halt to the process that has classified a dangerous, long-lived radioactive waste in the least dangerous Class A category. He should ask the NRC to set in motion process that will respect science and protect public health.”
EnergySolutions, which has a low-level waste disposal site in Utah, is most likely to gain an advantage from today’s NRC ruling, since it is licensed to dispose of Class A low-level waste only. A newly licensed low-level waste disposal site in West Texas may also benefit.
###
IEER is dedicated to increasing public involvement in and control over environmental problems through the democratization of science.
Women of India take positive action to beat climate change
ENVIRONMENT-INDIA: Women Farmers Ready to Beat Climate Change
By Keya Acharya
ZAHEERABAD, Andhra Pradesh, Mar 17 (IPS) – A collective of 5,000 women spread across 75 villages in this arid, interior part of southern India is now offering a chemical-free, non-irrigated, organic agriculture as one method of combating global warming.
Agriculture accounts for 28 percent of Indian greenhouse gas emissions, mainly methane emission from paddy fields and cattle and nitrous oxides from fertilisers. The 2007 report by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says India’s rainfall pattern will be changing disproportionately, with intense rain occurring over fewer days, leading directly to confusion in the agricultural scenario.
Decreased rain in December, January and February implies lesser storage and greater water stress, says the report, while more frequent and prolonged droughts are predicted.
The report cites, as example of impacts, that a 0.5 degrees Celsius rise in temperature will reduce wheat production in India by 0.45 tonnes per hectare.
Research at the School of Environmental Sciences in New Delhi projects crop losses of 10-40 percent by 2100 despite the beneficial effects of higher carbon dioxide on growth, with the dynamics of pests and diseases significantly altered.
Adaptation is both necessary and unavoidable, says the IPCC.
In Zaheerabad, dalit (the broken) women forming the lowest rung of India’s stratified society, now demonstrate adaptatation to climate change by following a system of interspersing crops that do not need extra water, chemical inputs or pesticides for production.
The women grow as many as 19 types of indigenous crops to an acre, on arid, degraded lands that they have been regenerated with help from an organisation called the Deccan Development Society (DDS).
DDS, working in this area of India for the last 25 years, has helped these women acquire land through government schemes for ‘dalits’, and form ‘sanghas’ or local self-help groups that convene regularly and decide their own courses.
The women plant mostly in October-November, calling up the family’s help for 7 days for weeding and 15-20 days for harvesting. Farmyard manure is applied once in two or three years depending on soil conditions.
In Bidakanne village, 50 year-old Samamma, standing in her field, points out the various crops, all without water and chemical inputs, growing in between the rows of sunflowers: linseed, green pea, chick pea, various types of millets, wheat, safflower and legumes.
The sunflower leaves attract pests and its soil depletion is compensated by the legumes which are nitrogen-fixing.
“In my type of cropping, one absorbs and one gives to the soil, while I get all my food requirements of oils, cereals and vegetable greens,’’ says Samamma.
Samamma’s under-one-acre plot produces, amongst other crops, 150 kg of red ‘horsegram’, 200 kg of millets and 50 kilos of linseed. She keeps 50 kg of grains and 30 kg of gram and sells the rest in the open market.
The 5,000 women in 75 villages are now in various stages of adopting this method of agriculture.
“In the climate change framework, this system of dryland agriculture has the resilience to withstand all the fallouts of elevated temperatures”, says P.V. Satheesh, the director of DDS.
Multiple stresses from global warming in India and the Asian continent are foreseen in water scarcity, groundwater salinity, food insecurity and hunger, loss of livelihoods and problems in downstream agriculture that depend on glacial melts.
The women now run a uniquely evolved system of ‘crop financing’ and food-distribution that they have mapped out themselves.
Subscription to the Sangha is by a fistful of grain. Those borrowing grains from this community grain bank then pay back five times the borrowed amount in grain.
The collected grains are then sifted for good seed and the rest is either sold in the open market, sold to members in crisis at low rates, or distributed to poor families in the village.
“I check the earheads of grain for good seed”, says 55 year old Akkama, seed bank manager in Hulugera village. “It’s a system handed down to me from my ancestors.” The women have stored over 50 different varieties of seeds from local cereals such as millets, wheat, red gram, linseed and sorghum.
The money collected from open market sales every year is deposited in regular banks and the interest earned from them is used to finance loans for members who again complete the cycle by paying back their loan in grain over five years.
DDS has now involved the women in a monitored system of organic produce that is certified by the global Participatory Guarantee Scheme (PGS)’s Organic India Council.
The method is a system of third party certification by organic growers themselves, initiated in India in 2006 by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the Indian ministry of agriculture in consultation with farmers and NGOs.
PGS groups are a worldwide phenomenon, operating in countries like the United States, New Zealand, Brazil and France. New initiatives are coming up in Vietnam and South and East Africa.
In Zaheerabad, the organically certified staples and grains are packed and labeled with the PGS certification, taken by a mobile van to be sold in retail to consumers in Hyderabad city 150 kms. Satheesh says the women are swamped with orders.
And yet, these women have come from the poorest rungs of society. Narsamma, 55, says she worked as a labourer 25 years ago, earning a pittance.
She heard about DDS’s self-help group in a neighbouring village and approached the organisation for help.
She has now provided education for five children, two of whom work in NGOs, built a new house and bought cattle and land with DDS and government-support.
” Now, when landlords come to me for borrowing seed, now I can laugh,’’ says the feisty woman who has traveled to London, Peru, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, talking to local farmers about the ecologically sound agriculture practiced by the women of Zaheerabad.
Mattthews messages of hope
/Hello Everyone ….. some days we get a little down and so we
forget what we know. Maybe these little excerpts from Matthew’s
messages will help cheer us up. /
//
//
/*May 21, 2008*/
//
Free will choices of the majority have been made and now, without
influencing those choices one whit, we can reveal that in the
_energy field of potential_, Obama?s momentum always was
unstoppable, and we can tell you that this highly evolved soul with
many lifetimes as a wise and just leader came from a spiritually and
intellectually advanced civilization specifically to rise to his
current prominence.
At soul level he knows this is his mission, but consciously he is
aware only of his innate leadership abilities and genuine intent to
serve his nation as he so states; in time he will become consciously
aware of his origin and purpose for embodying in this lifetime. Once
he is in office, some darkly-intentioned persons expect to control
him just as they and others before them have controlled a succession
of US presidents and many members of Congress. However, that vicious
kind of governing is at an end, and contrary to the protestations of
Hillary Clinton that this race is not over, she and other top
Illuminati know they are witnessing the demise of their ?secret
government?; therefore, the Obama family members are among the most
intensely light-protected persons on Earth.
//
/While that election is of undeniable importance, foment leading to
benevolent changes in other countries? governments is of paramount
significance too. The myriad reforms underway span the globe?WORLD
transformation is what is occurring?_and in time, every leader in
every nation will be a lighted soul._/
//
/*November 21, 2008*/
//
/Prior to birth/ all peoples now on the planet (that means ALL of
us) knew the soul who would incarnate as Barack Obama and joyfully
agreed to his becoming president of the United States to lead that
country and the world into the Golden Age.
All participant souls were born with that knowledge, but it was
forgotten in the adjustment to ?life in the flesh? and its needs,
and even more so, indoctrination by family, educators, religion and
society. But they all knew that would happen because it is inherent
in third density embodiment; therefore, according to the plan, light
in ever increasing intensity has been provided by beings throughout
the universe to merge Earth peoples? consciousness with their soul
level knowingness.
So what is considered in your world to be a recent political event
had its beginnings long ago in your counting of time and is far, FAR
more than Obama?s imminent presidency!
Think of the innumerable times ?historic? has been used to describe
this, and rightly so! However, most people have no idea how truly
historic it is?they have not yet reached their soul?s knowledge that
includes what I just explained or what I and other sources of
messages have told you through our receivers: /This era on Earth is
unique, what is happening is unprecedented in the universe. /
Replace your concerns about his safety with gratitude for the shield
of protective Christed light surrounding him, and yes, the light in
your prayers does indeed add to his well being.
_We encourage you to be patient while everything unfolds_, knowing
without any doubt whatsoever that the light is in control!
This applies to the global economic situation too. There is no way
to sugarcoat the bleak news that this is worsening, however, we do
ask that you remember what was in a recent message (see next
paragraph) about your agreement to experience this and your innate
ability to handle it.
*Excerpt from October 22, 2008 message*
We have been asked how people around the world will weather the
effects of what finally is called what it is, an international
economic crisis, and we can only say that this is like in any other
situation on the planet: The universal law of attraction, or ?like
attracts like,? which is totally neutral and constantly in
operation, will serve each individual in accordance with his or her
perception of and reaction to personal situations. The energy sent
forth by those who see themselves as tragic victims will zoom out
and draw to itself the energy of thought forms in the ?universal
soup? that match the individual’s thoughts and feelings, and the
energy combination will manifest ?tragic victim? circumstances for
the person to deal with. Those who feel genuine gratitude for what
they have will be provided with more to be grateful for, and the
energy of sharing with an open heart has the same positive result.
But always _the foundation of weathering any distressing situation
is staying out of fear about it_! The magnified energy of fear
assures that the law of attraction will bring fear-filled
circumstances to the fearful person. How long it will take to reach
the end of the tunnel and what you will encounter during the
transition from the totally corrupt system that is collapsing to an
honorable system that will serve all peoples fairly we don’t know.
If we could give you a timetable, we would, but exactness in your
time for completion of all details cannot be determined in this
moment. The darkness that for millennia has produced dire situations
for Earth and her resident life forms to contend with cannot be
undone overnight?that is, not by the energy of third density
thoughts. Few people know the phenomenal power of their thoughts or
know that never before have changes the magnitude of world
transformation and spiritual renewal come with the astounding speed
and scope of the Golden Age plan. We urge you to look within and
reach what your souls know: This is a time not for impatience or
doubting? /and especially not fear!?/but for steadfastness in hope,
optimism, gratitude and LOVE!
I believe it is well worth my repeating something else: Earth?s
ascension is assured and on pace; it is up to each individual to
decide to physically accompany her. If it is your wish to do so, the
energy of fear or other negative attachment is not your ally because
it blocks the light that bodies require to survive in the higher
frequencies of Earth?s journey to her destination.
Absorbing light is as simple as living from your heart, the seat of
your soul, and souls are made of light energy. You need not study
spiritual or metaphysical material, perform rituals or find a guru
or other mentor. You need not spend years looking for some elusive
entry into the light?you ARE light! You need only to know this and
live by it! It isn?t by chance that the Golden Rule was so named, or
that despite all the dark manipulations of the Bible?s original
content and intent, /?Do unto others as you would have them do
unto you? /remained. The guidance of the Golden Rule, in all its
simplicity, is part of the elaborate plan that already has
manifested Earth?s Golden Age in the continuum.
(Reminder: In Matthew’s language, “continuum” means something
already so, done, actualized, can’t go back, be cancelled, be turned
around, it is so.)
Earth has reached energy levels where the higher frequencies are
accelerating everything, and whatever is in your thoughts is
manifesting more quickly than previously?/be careful what you
think!/ Not only is it important to focus only on what you /want/ in
your life and your world, but also to refrain from thoughts of
retribution, revenge, or punishing others. Those carry the heavy
negative energy attachments that account for generation after
generation of violence, brutality and oppression as one side
retaliates for what the other side?s ancestors did to the first
side?s ancestors, thus incurring karma upon karma for all those
souls to deal with. While we understand the desire to hold
accountable President Bush and others operating within the
Illuminati for their actions that amount to crimes against humanity
itself, we encourage you to let the judicial system do what it will
and be content with that.
When the Golden Age plan was formulated, Bush and those other strong
souls willingly agreed to fill their roles as long as necessary,
then join the light forces. Those roles were essential to the part
of the plan that covered third density karmic completion and
subsequent reconciliation of darkness and light within balance,
wherein all is light.
Whatever ?punishment? you may feel ?fits the crime? committed by
Bush and all the other like-minded individuals, we tell you that
they have imposed upon themselves unimaginably harsher consequences
than any of your legal systems could ever conceive, and that is why
time and again we have urged you to send them light.
//Let your thoughts be of peace, love, honor, abundance, fairness,
goodness?all the beautiful, harmonious facets of life you want for
yourself and your world?and know that we are among the myriad light
beings who lovingly are by your side in every moment.
*/January 20, 2009/*
On the inauguration of Barack Obama as president of the United
States, we ask that you fill your hearts with love and gratitude and
direct those feelings to him and his family and to the individuals
who will assist and advise him. The outpouring of those kinds of
energy streamers is like a blanket of golden filaments surrounding
your world. By sending that energy to the Obama family and the new
administration, you are radiating light to guide, protect and
contribute to their success in governing wisely and honorably; and
the light in their efforts beams out to the world, thus benefiting
all souls and Mother Earth herself.
Although inauguration day is a specific date in linear time, in a
universal context it is a major part of the master plan devised by
the spiritual hierarchy in conjunction with physical civilizations
in the timelessness of the continuum. (There’s that word again)
Obama?s willingness to come from a spiritually and intellectually
highly evolved civilization to take on the primary leadership role
in your world is part of that plan, which all of you knew and agreed
to prior to your birth. The soaring hope of peoples around the world
when he was elected has grown exponentially, and Mother Earth
herself is feeling uplifted by the surge of harmonic waves from her
residents and from all light beings throughout the universe.
The first day of new presidential leadership is an event of
paramount importance in a series of on-target powerful developments
in the plan?s goal of spiritual renewal and reformation in your
physical world, but in the /*continuum*/, /its success already has
been achieved!/ [/Note: The November 21, 2008 message in
?Matthew?s Messages? on //www.matthewbooks.com/
<http://www.matthewbooks.com/>/ explains the plan./] Nevertheless,
all of the forward movement is operating in /your /concept of time,
and in this respect, your every thought, feeling and action is
creating not only your personal lives, but collectively are the
stepping stones to Earth?s ?future? world. All those steps are being
taken at one pace or another, and holding your light steady in trust
and patience as events unfold within the new US administration will
heighten the collective consciousness. The higher the collective
consciousness of a peoples, the higher the vibrations they radiate
and attract in kind, all the while assisting Earth?s ascension into
the increasingly higher frequencies that you perceive as time
passing faster and faster.
Abundance is the God-given right of souls, and joyful living
circumstances for /every/ person on the planet is part of the master
plan that includes the election of Obama.
_From a purely ?3D? perspective_, his administration is facing one
of the gravest situations the world has ever encountered. And
indeed, it is a huge mess that must be cleaned up!
_However, what we see from our vantage point_ is that Earth is far
healthier today than she has been for millennia, and due to the
massive infusion of off-planet light that guided individuals into
generating their own light, the turn-around in Earth?s condition has
happened with speed that is unprecedented in the universe. Again,
this is all according to the master plan, and every soul on the
planet is participating one way or another.
The population as a whole is seeing the economic situation, as it is
reported by mainstream media, with unemployment, retail sales and
real estate statistics along with various analysts? forecasts.
Therefore, in the collective consciousness the situation appears
dire?by some estimates, the spiraling downward will continue for as
long as two years and the overall impact will be felt with leveling
out stages over the next ten or twenty years.
The analysts are calculating in accordance with economic history and
they see the resolution as combined government and corporate efforts
to return to what they consider the soundness of the global system
that existed prior to the meltdown.
You know better!
You know the economic system is collapsing to end the Illuminati?s
long stranglehold on all aspects of commerce, taxation, investments,
and such, and that _a new foundation based in light is rising out of
those ashes. _
You know that the increasing light in your world is propelling Earth
to her fifth density destination;
you know about the universal law of attraction and the advent of
on-planet assistance from the same advanced civilizations that have
been helping from afar for sixty-some years.
By living in consonance with this awareness, the light in your
optimism and trust has raised the vibrations within the collective
conscious
?your contribution has been phenomenal!
We want to clarify some misunderstandings prevailing even among the
most faithfully dedicated lightworkers about the economic reforms
underway. Some persons still do not know the magnitude of what is
commonly known as NESARA. In previous messages I have recommended
reading the explanatory messages about the true NESARA, but we
understand your time constraints and I have been requested to
summarize that material [Special NESARA Edition in ?Matthew?s
Messages? below September 11, 2006 message on www.matthewbooks.com
<http://www.matthewbooks.com/>]. Most succinctly stated*, NESARA is
that master plan for manifesting spiritual renewal and world
transformation. *
Underlying all of the death, destruction and tyranny in the Middle
East is the extremely heavy karma being played out. Long before your
recorded history, the inhabitants of those lands battled savagely
for supremacy, and ancient blood permeated the earth. The resultant
negativity had to be released in massive degree so Earth could move
out of deep third density, and souls who lived in those early
civilizations have returned time and again with the chosen mission
to reduce the accumulated negativity. The inhabitants of those lands
today came in for the same purpose, but this time, they are here to
complete the release and achieve karmic balance as individuals and
for Earth.
We know that overview seems dispassionate in light of the extensive
pain in Gaza, just as in Iraq and Darfur and all other places on
Earth where darkness still has a toehold. Even though we know that
the individual and area-wide karmic balancing taking place is
essential and we know that the souls who participated in accordance
with original or amended contracts have achieved leaps in spiritual
growth, we weep for those who are living in the midst of trauma
because they are not aware of their loved ones? magnificent
accomplishments or their very own. The balance to our deep sadness
for them is our joy in the assurance that one day they will know
what we do, whether they are in spirit lifetimes or in Earth?s
Golden Age that they helped to manifest.
Now, in the same spirit of exultation and brilliant light of hope
that is pervasive in your world, we bid you farewell even as we
lovingly accompany you every moment along your pathway. Matthew.
Hope you enjoyed this excerpt. Looking forward to Matthew’s next
message around March 20th, my birthday season, Spring, the Equinox,
more Light, Flowers. Hooray! Love ‘n hugz … Joline
LOVE and PEACE
Suzanne Ward
________________________________________
*Joline Stone*
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inspiration from a man with no arms and no legs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnlhZyW959k
inside scoop about Hawaiian Lands case
Lanny Sinkin wrote:
Below are two commentaries on the recent oral argument at the U.S. Supreme Court in the Kingdom Lands case. The second piece arrived without information on the author. I am told that Keanu Sai is the author of that piece.
I have attached a transcript of that oral argument as well.Aloha,
Lanny
WHAT REALLY HAPPENED AT THE U.S. SUPREME COURT
By Leon Siu
February 27, 2009
Washington, D.C., USA
Reading the newspaper accounts of the State of Hawaii v. the Office of Hawaiian Affairs oral arguments at the Supreme Court I asked myself, were they in the same courtroom that I was? Hawaii papers put a phony, positive spin on what actually went down. The stories were written with the kind of provincial slant… home-town-team, win-or-lose, they’re-our-boys and we’re-darn proud-of- ‘em and we-love- ‘em.
Well, we do love ‘em, but those of us who were there saw a very different picture than the hometown news reported. The fact is, the state and OHA choked.
Hawaii’s little league ball teams do much better in rallying and coming through in the clutch in their world-series encounters. But the State and OHA got dirty lickins playing in this big league, world-series- level of court. They performed like a bunch of amateur scam artists, but in nice suits.
In essence, the Supreme Court justices appeared not just skeptical, they seemed to be downright annoyed at the state’s convoluted arguments and manipulative efforts to have the federal court undo the results of 14 years of dragging through the state courts.
The justices took their line of questioning way outside the expectations and comfort zone of both the state and OHA. Neither party was prepared to (or wanted to) address the issue of title except to reinforce the state’s claim to so-called “perfect title” as “a given.” So they did some fancy footwork to try to dodge the title issue; which did not amuse or make any points with the court. Neither was the court pleased when the state and OHA tried to steer the justices back to the actual narrow question on deck about state’s rights.
The state’s whole case is built upon the premise that the State of Hawaii has “indisputable perfect title” to the “ceded lands.” Well guess what? If their title was “indisputable” and “perfect” why are they in court? And why have they been in court over this issue for 14 years? Because there is a dispute! There is a question of title!
The injunction leveled against the State of Hawaii by the State Supreme Court in January 2008 caused the State to run crying to the U.S. Supreme Court saying, “No fair, no fair! The Apology Law would force us to give Hawaiians back the lands stolen from them over 100 years ago! It’s ours fair and square because the U.S. gave it to us! The Apology means nothing. We have “perfect title!”
[Ironically, this is the very Apology Law that the state embraces in their support the Akaka Bill. But that’s another story.]
The Apology Law undermines the state’s “perfect title” claim. The State Court ordered the injunction because the Apology Law clearly shows that there is a dispute — a big one! The Apology Law flatly says that the seizure of Hawaii was illegal and that the native Hawaiians never gave up their claims (title) to the lands of Hawaii.
These two glaring admissions of fact, framed within this federal Apology Law (USPL 103-150) don’t merely suggest a problem of land title; they cast serious doubt on the very legitimacy of the State of Hawaii. How can something that results from an illegal act now be considered legal, or in this case, perfect?
The illegality of the initial act (the seizure of the lands of Hawaii) means that anything else based on that illegal act is likewise, illegal; and that means the State of Hawaii and its construct, OHA are illegal entities. That means the only valid, lawful claimant to the lands and jurisdiction of the Hawaiian Islands is, after all these years, the still-existing Hawaiian Kingdom.
That is why the state claimed right off the bat that it had “indisputable” “perfect title.” The state was desperately trying to keep the court from inquiring about any other option regarding title by eliminating that, first off, as a point of contention. But the court’s refusal to wear such blinders was unnerving to the state. You could almost hear the state attorney general saying to the court, “focus! focus!”
But just because the state took a beating, doesn’t mean OHA fared much better.
Probably the most egregious action that day was by OHA when it chose to agree with the state’s “perfect title” position and by doing so, failing to present the Native Hawaiians’ un-relinquished claims as a challenge to the state. They virtually abandoned the Native Hawaiian land claim implicit in the Apology Law! By doing so, they virtually abandoned the Native Hawaiians; the clients they purport to represent!
At best it was a stupid legal maneuver; at worst it was a shameful betrayal.
OHA never challenged the state’s “perfect title” claim and argued instead that according to state laws, the state had a “fiduciary duty,” sort of a moral obligation, to take care of the Native Hawaiians.
That led Justice Ginsburg to ask, “The Native Hawaiians — they do get 20 percent of the proceeds, correct?” And the OHA attorney to answer, “That’s correct…as a matter of State law they get 20 percent of the revenue from the ceded-lands trust…” (we all looked incredulously at each other…since when?) Then he clarified, “…though the amount of that revenue has itself been the subject of protracted and unresolved litigation.” Oh, so we get 20%, but not yet! The check’s in the mail…
Later, Justice Kennedy stated to the OHA attorney: “Your whole case rests on a cloud on the title in favor of your clients. But you — you ignore the cloud on the title that has been entered against the State.”
So, OHA’s strategy is: don’t press for the Native Hawaiian’s outstanding claim on the land, but instead, shift to begging for handouts from the state because, according to “state law,” the state has a “fiduciary duty” to take care of Native Hawaiians. OHA in essence was making a pitch (in the Supreme Court of the United States!) for a welfare claim, not a land claim!
In my opinion, both the state and OHA were way out of their league in this court. But you can’t blame them. They had a flimsy case to begin with; one in which they are trying to defend a situation that resulted from a long series of illegal actions. It’s very hard to defend a string of lies.
Two good things came from this: 1) the state and OHA have proven they have nothing to stand on, and 2) there is now a gaping doorway for the Hawaiian Kingdom to walk through, assert itself and claim its rightful title the lands of Hawaii.
Malama pono,
Leon
The Myth of Ceded Lands and the State of Hawai`i’s
Claim to Perfect Title
In the recent Ceded lands hearing at the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on
February 25, 2009, Attorney General Mark Bennett repeatedly asserted in the hearings
that the State of Hawai`i has perfect title to over one million acres of land that were
transferred to the United States government upon annexation in 1898 and then transferred
to the State of Hawai`i in 1959. This is an incorrect statement. This falsehood, however,
is not based on arguments for or against the highly charged Hawaiian sovereignty
movement; rather, it is a simple question to answer since ownership of land is not a
matter of rhetoric but dependent on a sequence of deeds in a chain of title between the
party granting title and the party receiving title. In fact, the term “perfect title” in real
estate terms means “a title that is free of liens and legal questions as to ownership of the
property. A requirement for the sale of real estate.”
What determines a perfect title is a chain of title that doesn’t have a missing link. Here in
Hawai`i all titles originate from the Hawaiian Kingdom government whether by Royal
Patents or Land Commission Awards and all subsequent conveyances between
individuals are registered at the Bureau of Conveyances located at the corner of
Punchbowl and Beretania Streets on the ground floor of the Kalanimoku Building. An
example of a chain of title would be the Hawaiian Kingdom government to Joe Smith,
Joe Smith to Alex White, Alex White to Alapa`i, Alapa`i to Yao Wong, Yao Wong to
Jonathan Judd. If there is no record of the deed between Alapa`i and Yao Wong there is a
break in the chain of title and therefore Jonathan Judd cannot claim to have a perfect title,
which is a “requirement for the sale of real estate.”
For so-called Ceded Lands, being the Hawaiian Kingdom government and Crown lands,
the chain of title is supposedly from the Hawaiian Kingdom government and Queen
Lili`uokalani to the Provisional government, the Provisional government to the Republic
of Hawai`i, the Republic of Hawai`i to the United States, the United States to the State of
Hawai`i. In this chain, however, there are two missing links and not just one. On January
17, 1893, the Provisional government seized control of the Government and Crown lands
without conveyance, but through revolt, and after investigating the revolt, President
Cleveland reported to the Congress on December 18, 1893 that the Provisional
government was neither de facto (a successful revolution), nor de jure (the lawful
government), but self-proclaimed (committing the crime of high treason). On November
13, 1893, U.S. Ambassador Albert Willis began to negotiate with the Queen, on behalf of
President Cleveland, to grant amnesty for these criminals and an agreement to restore the
Hawaiian Kingdom government was concluded with the condition that the Queen grant
amnesty after the government was restored.
The other missing link is that there is no record of conveyance from the so-called
Republic of Hawai`i to the United States when the Hawaiian Islands were supposedly
annexed in 1898. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the term cede is “to
yield or give up by treaty.” In order for countries to cede territory to the United States it
must be made by treaty, e.g. Louisiana Purchase from France in 1803, or the Alaska
Purchase from Russia in 1867. For Hawai`i, there are two failed treaties of cession, the
first in 1893 and the other in 1897, but the first was permanently withdrawn from the
Senate by Cleveland in March of 1893, and the second was not able to be ratified by the
Senate because of protests by the Queen and Hawaiian subjects. Instead, the United
States enacted a Congressional joint resolution proclaiming that the Hawaiian Islands had
been annexed. The joint resolution of annexation is not a treaty or conveyance from the
so-called Republic of Hawai`i. It is a unilateral declaration that was used to seize and
occupy the Hawaiian Islands during the Spanish-American War. The United States today
could no more annex Iraq by a joint resolution than it could annex the Hawaiian Islands
by joint resolution in 1898. Congressional laws have no effect beyond the borders of the
United States.
If there is no record of a deed from the Hawaiian Kingdom government and the Queen to
the Provisional government transferring Government and Crown lands, there is a break in
the chain of title and therefore the State of Hawai`i cannot claim to have a perfect title,
which is a “requirement for the sale of real estate.” As far as the term “Ceded lands,”
there is no such thing because the Government and Crown lands were never “yielded or
given up by treaty” to the United States in the first place. Confusing cession for
occupation is tantamount to confusing adoption for kidnapping. This is not a case of
semantics, but ignorance of the legal and political history of Hawai`i.
–
Lanny Sinkin
P. O. Box 944
Hilo, Hawai’i 96721
(808) 936-4428
lanny.sinkin@gmail.com
Attorney at Law
Ali’i Mana’o Nui by appointment of Ali’i Nui Mo’i Edmund Keli’i Silva, Jr.
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Bush and Cheny, ‘WANTED’ in Vermont
Subject: Wanted
This made me smile………. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXOkhP3WfwM&feature=channel_page <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXOkhP3WfwM&feature=channel_page>
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-_TSjAZwNM>
Flouride (rat poison) in your water (or toothpaste)?
My Oahu friend, Richard Deihl, sent this to me:
I object
to having our water supply being adulterated with fluoride. I also
object to the concept of involuntary mass-medication. It has no place
in a free society. People who want fluoride should be free to eat as
much as they want, but at the same time, those of us who do not want
it should not have it literally forced down our throats.
There are ample studies available that show not only the
ineffectiveness of fluoride but its toxicity. Fluoride is a hazardous
waste by-product of the phosphate fertilizer and aluminum industries
and is a key ingredient in rat poison.
I’ll let Dr. Joseph Mercola conclude my testimony:
In 2005, eleven unions within the EPA publicly called for a ban
of water fluoridation, over concerns that it may cause bone cancer.
And in 2006, the American Dental Association warned parents of
infants not to use fluoridated water when mixing baby formula.
As award-winning journalist Christopher Bryson revealed in his
book The Fluoride Deception, there has been a multi-tiered effort –
or as Bryson says, an abuse of power — by military and industry
scientists and public health officials to shamelessly promote
fluoride to the dentistry field and the American public with little
regard to the implications it would have on human health.
Just what are those potential implications?
* An increased risk of bone cancer
* Fluorosis, a discoloring of your teeth and breakdown of
their enamel (between 30 percent and 50 percent of children have
dental fluorosis on at least two teeth in “optimally fluoridated
communities”)
* An increased risk of osteoporosis
* Developmental problems such as lower IQ
But that’s not all. According to Paul Connett, PhD:
1. Fluoride accumulates in your bones and makes them more brittle
and prone to fracture. Lifetime exposure to fluoride will contribute
to higher rates of hip fracture in the elderly.
2. Fluoride accumulates in your pineal gland, possibly lowering
the production of melatonin, a very important regulatory hormone
3. There are serious concerns about a connection between
fluoridation and the current epidemics of both arthritis and
hypothyroidism.
4. In animal studies fluoride at 1 ppm in drinking water
increases the uptake of aluminum into your brain.
5. Counties with 3 ppm or more of fluoride in their water have
lower fertility rates.
6. The fluoridating agents most commonly used in the United
States not only increase the uptake of lead into children’s blood but
are also associated with an increase in violent behavior.
Of course, the main reason why fluoride is reportedly added to
the U.S. water supply in the first place is to prevent cavities. Yet,
data compiled by the World Health Organization shows no difference in
tooth decay in countries that use fluoridated water compared with
countries that don’t use fluoridated water. So not only is fluoride
unsafe, it is ineffective as well.
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