U S Dept of Justice, David C Farmer, Trustee vs. Harmon

NEW DISCOVERY (05-31-10): More undisclosed “cozy relationships” between George W. Bush, the bin Ladens, and others related to this lawsuit:

JERUSALEM – Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was indicted on corruption charges Sunday, becoming the first Israeli premier to go on trial and highlighting a series of cases that have shaken the public's faith in the political system.

The charges likely end the three-decade career of a man who just three years ago seemed poised to lead his nation to a bold withdrawal from the West Bank and an aggressive push for peace with the Palestinians.

Olmert, who was forced to step down because of the case, was accused of illegally accepting funds from an American backer, double-billing for official trips abroad and pocketing the difference, concealing funds from a government watchdog and cronyism. All of the alleged crimes took place before Olmert was elected prime minister in 2006.

Olmert, 63, issued a statement professing his innocence. "Olmert is convinced that in court he will be able to prove his innocence once and for all," said a spokesman, Amir Dan.

The formal charges in the indictment include fraud and breach of trust. The Justice Ministry did not say when the trial would begin or what penalties Olmert could face. But Moshe Negbi, a leading legal commentator, said the fraud charge alone could carry a prison term of up to five years....

Olmert, a lawyer by training, has repeatedly been linked to corruption scandals throughout a three-decade career that included a lengthy stint as Jerusalem mayor and a series of senior Cabinet posts. But until Sunday, he had never been charged. He is the first prime minister, sitting or retired, to be charged with a crime.

The indictment follows a string of high-profile trials that have soured an already cynical public toward the nation's leadership.

Olmert's former finance minister was sentenced to five years for embezzlement in June, and another member of his Cabinet was sentenced to four years for taking bribes. Israel's former ceremonial president, Moshe Katsav, is being tried on rape and sexual harassment charges, and a longtime Olmert aide has been charged with illegal wiretapping, fraud and breach of trust.

The most damaging allegations against Olmert accused him of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars from an American businessman during trips abroad.

The businessman, Moshe Talansky, testified last year that he delivered the cash in envelopes and painted Olmert as a greedy politician who enjoyed first-class travel, fancy hotels and expensive cigars. The testimony helped turn public opinion against Olmert and played a large part in forcing him from office.

The indictment said Olmert used his connections to help Talansky's business, but did not charge Olmert with accepting bribes.

In another case, Olmert was charged with double-billing nonprofit organizations and the government for trips he took abroad and then using the extra money to pay for private trips for his family.

Olmert became prime minister in January 2006 after then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered a debilitating stroke. He subsequently led their newly formed Kadima Party to victory in a parliamentary election....

Olmert's spokesman said his priority is to focus on his legal battle. "Once this is over and he has proved he is innocent, then he will consider what to do next. All options are open," he said.

A coalition of activists in Hawaii has asked Hawaii's Governor Linda Lingle, currently the only Jewish governor of a U.S. state, to withdraw her invitation to former Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni to speak at Hawaii's International Women's Leadership Conference this Sept. 22.

In its sixth year, the Leadership Conference brings to Hawaii "role models" for women of Hawaii. Because of her involvement in the Israeli attacks on Lebanon and Gaza, the activists consider Livni as an inappropriate role model. The Governor has not responded to the coalition's letter demanding that the invitation be rescinded. The letter was sent three weeks ago.

As Foreign Minister of Israel, Livni was a key cabinet member in the Israeli government's decisions to conduct massive military attacks Lebanon in 2006 and Gaza in 2008. The 22-day attack on Gaza in December 2008 into January '09 killed more 1,440 people, wounded more than 5,000, made 50,000 homeless and destroyed most government facilities in Gaza. In 2006, the 34 day attack on Lebanon killed over 1,000 Lebanese citizens and destroyed a large amount of the infrastructure of Beirut and other Lebanese cities and displaced more than one million.

The Israeli government's rationale for attacking Gaza was to stop the rocket attacks from Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza that had killed 30 Israeli citizens over the past six years. The Israeli attack on Lebanon followed a Hezbollah attack in northern Israel on two armored Israeli vehicles that resulted in three soldiers being killed, two wounded and two soldiers captured. Five more Israeli soldiers were killed during an attempt to rescue the captured soldiers.

The decision to authorize the Israeli military to attack Lebanon and Gaza with indiscriminate and disproportionate military force that killed large numbers of innocent civilians has been characterized by international human rights groups as a war crime. The three-year siege of Gaza as collective punishment on the civilian population for electing Hamas as their government is also considered a violation of international humanitarian law.

The Hawaii coalition is also asking other speaker/invitees at the Leadership conference to decline to participate if the invitation to Livni is not withdrawn by Gov. Lingle....

Should the Governor refuse to disinvite Livni, coalition members will be at the conference on September 22 with appropriate signs to remind conference attendees of Livni's war background.

Two Israeli women high school graduates who refused to do compulsory military service will speak in Hawaii September 21 and 22. Both were put in prison for their refusal to do compulsory military service in Israel.

About the author: Ann Wright served 29 years in the US Army and Army Reserves and retired as a Colonel. She was a U.S. diplomat for 16 years and served in Nicaragua, Grenada, Somalia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Sierra Leone, Micronesia, Afghanistan and Mongolia. She resigned in March, 2003 in opposition to the war on Iraq. She has co-led 3 trips to Gaza since January, 2009. She is the co-author of "Dissent: Voices of Conscience.".

New Jersey has never been short of corruption scandals, but the one that unfolded yesterday was surprising even by the standards of the state that inspired "The Sopranos."

The key to the investigation: a real-estate developer who became an informant after being arrested on bank-fraud charges in 2006, according to a person familiar with the case. The developer, Solomon Dwek, wore a wire for the Federal Bureau of Investigation while offering to bribe New Jersey mayors and other public officials, that person said.

While the state has a long history of dirty politics -- in Newark alone, three ex-mayors have been convicted of crimes unrelated to the latest sweep -- the scale of the allegations shocked veterans of New Jersey's political crises....

The arrests place an added burden on Gov. Jon Corzine, a Democrat in his first term who is running for re-election this year. Mr. Corzine ran four years ago promising to quash corruption. "The scale of corruption we're seeing as this unfolds is simply outrageous and cannot be tolerated," he said in a statement....

J. Ezra Merkin has been ordered to not destroy any financial records related to the dealings of Bernard J. Madoff. Merkin is the chairman of GMAC who runs several hedge funds which invested with Madoff. The dealings came to light when one of Merkin’s clients, New York University, learned that Merkin had lost $24 million of their capital.

The suit claims that Merkin and his hedge fund, Ariel Fund Ltd. and its’ management group Gabriel Capital Corporation, failed on their responsibility of cash management by turning the money over to Madoff for investment. The Ariel Fund Ltd has already announced plans to liquidate their holdings in light of the recent scandal. The suit also mentions Fortis, who partnered with Merkin in the creation of Ariel Fund Ltd. All told, NYU had invested a staggering $94 million into the fund.

As the losses come in from the Madoff scam, the elite of New York City Jewish philanthropy are among the victims, as well as helping to perpetrate the fraud. Merkin is the grandson of Hermann Merkin who was known as a titan of Jewish philanthropy. He donated gave millions to help build Yeshiva University, and the Fifth Avenue Synagogue.

The human expense of the Madoff scheme is mounting. Charitable foundations and lives have been destroyed. Merkin clearly used his influential position and the capital of Yeshiva University to invest $1.8 billion into Bernard Madoff’s firm.

That was little consolation, however, to Yeshiva University, said to have lost $110 million of its endowment; or to Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun, the Ramaz School of Manhattan and SAR Academy in Riverdale, said to have lost substantial sums; or to several family foundations belonging to Merkin’s fellow trustees at Yeshiva University, including Robert M. Beren and Ludwig Bravmann.

Another Ascot casualty was a charitable trust founded by real-estate magnate Mortimer Zuckerman, the chairman of real-estate firm Boston Properties and owner of the New York Daily News and U.S. News & World Report. That lost $30 million.

“Without making disclosures in the quarterly reports to investors, and in the face of an extraordinary number of ‘red flags,’ Merkin, for years, simply turned over a substantial portion of Ariel’s funds to Madoff,” said NYU in their complaint.

“Mr. Merkin remains committed to obtaining for shareholders the best results possible in the wake of the terrible fraud committed by Bernard Madoff,” Andrew Levander, attorney for J. Ezra Merkin said.

It’s safe to say the the amount of damage to Jewish philanthropic organizations is significant....

Judson ON THE RECORD - VERY IMPORTANT!! New Member, Sheldon, is Pres. of YAL @ Idaho State, seeking Utah YAL...& member Judson Witham has filed the Utah lawsuit against Obama!

To: ronpaul-16-announce@meetup.com, "Vaughn & Lynda Robison" <ronpaulslcutah@yahoo.com>

Cc: sam@audiocanyon.com, letters@news-jrnl.com, stewwebb@sierranv.net, stich@unfriendlyskies.com, bobby_n_harmon@yahoo.com, blumberg@cyberport.net, Specialops@huffingtonpost.com, hwburgess@hawaii.rr.com, Ken_Conklin@yahoo.com, info@votevets.org, Hapa1234@aol.com, "MadMax@RoadWarriorRadio.com, Curt Crosby" <curtcrosby@gmail.com>, richardhayesphillips@yahoo.com, johnstadtmiller@hotmail.com, jack@cybrquest.com, stangfeedback@gmail.com, wmreditor@waynemadsenreport.com, jamesedwards@thepoliticalcesspool.org

BYU LAW LIBRARY after sending and receiving FAXES for me for YEARS, suspended my use of the FAX services et al AS Channel 5 Salt Lake called them asking about me ?? YUP BYU retaliated because ?????

My position is to UPHOLD the LAW to see to it that QUALIFIED CITIZENS are our representatives and IF NOT, well, you do the math. My filing speaks for itself.

§4. Citizenship. That all persons who were citizens of the Republic of Hawaii on August twelfth, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, are hereby declared to be citizens of the United States and citizens of the Territory of Hawaii.

And all citizens of the United States resident in the Hawaiian Islands who were resident there on or since August twelfth, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight and all the citizens of the United States who shall hereafter reside in the Territory of Hawaii for one year shall be citizens of the Territory of Hawaii.

This section was supplemented by the Act of July 2, 1932, 47 Stat 571, amended by the Act of July 1, 1940, 54 Stat 707, providing that for purposes of Act of Sept. 22, 1922, 46 Stat 1511, women born in Hawaii prior to June 14, 1900 deemed U.S. citizens at birth. But Act of Sept. 22, 1922 was repealed by Act of Oct. 14, 1940, 54 Stat 1137, which in turn was repealed by Act of June 27, 1952, 66 Stat 166 (McCarran-Walter Act), and the present provisions are contained in 8 U.S.C.A. 1435(a).

Under Art. 17, §1, of the Const. of 1894 (adapted from the 14th Am. of the U.S. Const.) all persons born or naturalized in the Hawaiian Islands and subject to the jurisdiction of the Republic of Hawaii were citizens thereof. Between 1842 and 1892, 731 Chinese and three Japanese were naturalized in Hawaii; since 1892, none. Birth certificates by the Territory of Hawaii are not controlling, and persons applying for admission to the United States with such certificates may be detained by immigration officers for the purpose of determining citizenship, 35 Ops. 69. The secretary of Hawaii may issue to persons born in Hawaii certificates of Hawaiian birth, which are prima facie evidence: HRS §§338-41 to 44, see also former law: L. 1905, c. 64; am. L. 1907, c. 79; rep. L. 1909, c. 15; R.L. 1915, p. 1487; R.L. 1925, c. 21; R.L. 1935, c. 247. A person born in the Kingdom of Hawaii of British parents domiciled there was held to be a citizen of the Republic of Hawaii although he was registered at birth at the British consulate and had never renounced allegiance to the British crown nor sworn allegiance to the Hawaiian government: 11 H. 166. On citizenship of persons born in the United States of alien parents, see 169 U.S. 649. Mere residence in foreign state after majority does not expatriate, 31 F.2d 738. But son of naturalized Hawaiian citizen became expatriated through residence in foreign country of birth. 89 F.2d 489, cert. den. 301 U.S. 682, reh'g den. 301 U.S. 713. Naturalization as Hawaiian citizen did not occur under Const. of 1894 by issuance of certificate of Minister of Interior where allegiance to native land not renounced and court order not obtained. 117 F.2d 588, reh'g den. 120 F.2d 760, aff'd by divided court, 315 U.S. 783.

Chinese who were Hawaiian citizens on Aug. 12, 1898, by either birth or naturalization, whether under the monarchy or the republic, became American citizens under this §: 23 Ops. 509; 1 U.S.D.C. Haw. 118; and their wives and children were thereafter entitled to enter the Territory; 23 Ops. 345; and such a citizen could take oath that he was such, and obtain an American register for a vessel which had a Hawaiian register on that date and was then owned and continued to be owned by a Hawaiian citizen until purchased by such Chinese; 23 Ops. 352. Son of Chinese, naturalized Hawaiian citizen, born in China in 1894 and remaining there through minority, did not become citizen and not entitled to enter U.S. 69 F.2d 681. Chinese held for deportation may set up American citizenship in habeas corpus or deportation proceedings, but the burden is on them to prove such citizenship: 1 U.S.D.C. Haw. 6; 1 U.S.D.C. Haw. 44; 1 U.S.D.C. Haw. 104; 1 U.S.D.C. Haw. 113; 1 U.S.D.C. Haw. 234; 270 Fed. 57.

Habeas corpus lies to protect immigrant's right to have question of citizenship determined; 160 Fed. 842, affirming 3 U.S.D.C. Haw. 168. See also §§100 and 101, and notes thereto; also note to Joint Resolution of Annexation, RLH 1955, page 13.

Woman of Chinese ancestry, born in Hawaii in 1894 but married to Chinese alien in 1910, could not be naturalized under the Acts cited in first paragraph of this note as they stood prior to 1940 amendment, because of her nonresidence on July 2, 1932, 88 F.2d 88.

For decisions generally on immigration and citizens see notes to §§100 and 101, and note to RLH 1955, §57-43; also, presumptions: arising from findings of Board of inquiry or certificate of identity, 29 F.2d 500; 30 F.2d 516; 49 F.2d 19 and 24; may be rebutted, 30 F.2d 65; lack of, prima facie supports right to deport, 36 F.2d 563; fraud must be alleged in complaint, 63 F.2d 375 and 377. Delay for depositions may be a matter of right, 33 F.2d 236. Proof of Chinese descent shifts burden of proof: 104 F.2d 21, 111 F.2d 707. Finding of citizenship on previous entry not binding: 124 F.2d 21; but see 188 F.2d 975.

Under the treaty with Spain and Acts of Congress, a Puerto Rican, residing in Puerto Rico on April 11, 1899, and a year thereafter, who did not declare his decision to preserve his allegiance to Spain, did not lose his political status by removing to Hawaii in 1901, but became a citizen of the United States under a subsequent Act of Congress and hence entitled to vote in Hawaii: 24 H. 21.

Although §8(a)(1) of the Act of March 24, 1934, c 84, 48 Stat 456, 462, provides that Filipinos shall be placed on the quota basis as aliens, it is specifically made inapplicable to Hawaii and immigration is determined by the Interior Dept. on basis of industrial needs.

Filipino national in Hawaii became alien by proclamation of Philippine Independence, 183 F.2d 795.

Subject: [ronpaul-16] VERY IMPORTANT!! New Member, Sheldon, is Pres. of YAL @ Idaho State, seeking Utah YAL...& member Judson Witham has filed the Utah lawsuit against Obama!!

1. Sheldon Kreger is Pres. of the Idaho State Univ. Young Americans for Liberty (YAL). He says Univ of Utah/BYU have not got a YAL organized and wants to help Utah get them started and coordinate between Utah and Idaho YAL groups. Dave used to be President of the Univ of Utah Students for Ron Paul, and organized a rally downtown for all of us on Oct. 13, 2007 (still on our calendar of past events). And David Garber & Ken were with the BYU Students for Ron Paul. We passed these names on to Sheldon. Click on his name and send him an email if you have any new details to add for helping him contact people interested in organizing YAL groups in Utah.

2. Judson Witham -- over 30 lawsuits against Obama nationwide regarding his lack of citizenship to be running for President -- the Internet listed that Utah had a lawsuit, also, and after more digging, we found that the person filing the lawsuit against Obama in Utah was our very own member Jud Witham!! How COOL is that!!!! Jud, do you need any help and/or support on this lawsuit? Thank YOU for taking a stand against those attempting to steal the US Constitution!!

(Anybody who wants to help Jud with this lawsuit, feel free to contact him. Likewise, anybody who is able to help Mike Ridgeway finish paying off his lawyer for a very successful lawsuit against the Utah GOP leaders who did their malicious scam on him---the judge declared Mike innocent last July---please feel free to contact him, also ---- Ron Paul has asked all of us to clean house with the local party first, and Mike, et.al, has been doing that for 10 years on their own--we encourage all meetup members to join with Mike Ridgeway and the others who are ashamed and disgusted at the party's corruptness in our state that must be replaced with "good, honest, and wise" leaders before we can ever get liberty-minded candidates with integrity elected here in Utah!)

HAVING UTAH INCLUDED IN THE OBAMA LAWSUITS AGAINST HIS FRAUDULENT CLAIM OF BEING A LEGAL CITIZEN IS AWESOME!!

Watch reports on this from Devvy Kidd at WND (World Net Daily). She's contacted the FBI to do a check on campaign funds fraud by Obama, she's talking and reporting about all 30 lawsuits (which include 2 more at the US Supreme Court level by a Democrat named Berg and another lawsuit by the presidential candidate Alan Keyes!!--the rest all seem to be lawsuits that are against their state's Secretary of State, demanding answers for Obama's proof of citizenship), and she's contacting the Electoral College about not voting until this is settled.

Allegedly, the Hawaii governor swore under oath 2 months ago that Hawaii does NOT have any birth certificate, and that the governor has allegedly sworn under oath that Obama was born in Kenya. This is a direct attack on the US Constitution, nothing to do with race.

It is to take down the last of the US Constitution, which is to take down the Electoral College (having the US public manipulated into demanding the "people's vote" is more important than the Electoral College vote, and to throw away the US Constitution or have it "re-written"---not realizing the "people's vote" is a rigged election), and to also take down the "natural born citizen" requirement.

Obama has hired THREE LAW FIRMS, not 3 lawyers, but 3 law firms, to handle this first lawsuit by Leo-Somebody at the US Supreme Court. There's been monkey-business with clerks stalling all of the 30 lawsuits, with the excuse that it was "not filed correctly." Leo's lawsuit was stalled by the clerk having an anthrax search on the papers/envelope he'd had filed with them.

They're stalling big time. Stalling until after the Dec. 15 Electoral College vote. Stalling until after he gets into office on January 20th.

And mainstream media had a complete blackout on this story until today (Friday, 12-5-08) when the Chicago Tribune ran the story, with the L.A. times picking up on it, and now many major papers nationwide, including "Drudge" on the Internet, are finally running this story (that started last June or before). But none of the Salt Lake papers are running any of it yet. Why is that, when we're a "red state" and allegedly all voted for McCain?

The question has already been posed as to what to do if Obama is declared unable to take the presidential office because "the US Constitution doesn't tell us what to do." Well, yes it did. It said a "natural born citizen." When you break a rule, you go back to the beginning. You don't use the broken rule as an excuse to change the rules.

Yeah, that probably means another election. We say have lawsuits filed against McCain, again (they got dismissed earlier), to undo Congress' "resolution" that stated that his illegal immigrant status was ok with them, and then have all the rest of the candidates put back on the ballot who got left off even though they were only suspending their campaign, including Ron Paul.

Don't know if that means Pelosi would be the temporary prez after January 20 until a new election is handled or not. Don't know what options are out there that are legal for this. But the "Establishment" having 2 illegals running for president at all, is beyond a reasonable doubt that this was an "accident."

--This message was sent by Vaughn & Lynda Robison (ronpaulslcutah@yahoo.com) from Utah Campaign for Liberty.

When state legislators head to the Capitol after this year's elections, they will get a 36 percent pay raise.

According to the state Salary Commission, lawmakers are eligible for a raise that takes their pay to $48,708 from $35,900. Legislators also get a legislative allowance that goes up by the same percentage - to $10,200 from $7,500.

In total, all legislators will get an additional $15,508 a year or a total annual increase of $1.17 million more.

"I don't think it is right," says Sen. Sam Slom (R, Hawaii Kai-Diamond Head), who says he has never accepted the expense account funds.

"In these difficult economic times, these increases should be delayed," Slom added. "I had concerns about the entire Salary Commission process. There were no hearings. The Legislature was not responsible for voting on it."

Other legislative leaders say the commission followed the changes that were supported by voters when the state Constitution was amended to permit a single commission to set the pay for judges, state executives and the legislature.

"I am grateful that the taxpayers supported a constitutional amendment that tied the rates of judicial, executive and legislative pay raises," said House Speaker Rep. Calvin Say.

The pay raises were needed, according to Say, because the last raise was in 2005 and before that, it had not been raised in 12 years.

"Today's increase will be beneficial for all legislators who are full-time legislators," Say said. "The raises will let them afford their rents, utilities and everything else that has gone up in price."

Senate President Colleen Hanabusa said Slom or any other legislator can introduce legislation next year to block the pay raise, but until then it will start in 2009.

"I believe they (Salary Commission members) have done their assessment as to what is proper payment and we should abide by it," Hanabusa said.

Both the Senate president and speaker of the House will get a pay differential, raising their pay to $56,208 from $43,400.

The Salary Commission recommendations took effect last year. The Legislature was not required to give a final approval because the raises went into effect unless the lawmakers actively voted to kill them.

In reaching its decision to increase lawmakers' pay, the Salary Commission noted that legislators have many demands that "restrict the ability of Legislature to supplement their salary with a profession, business or other employment."

In the future, the commission said, if pay isn't raised, it "may limit the number of qualified individuals willing to serve as state legislators."

In this election, even with the coming pay raise, 22 legislative seats were uncontested, with only the incumbent running.

The money for legislative salaries comes from the state budget, so the state Department of Accounting and General Services issues that check. But the expense allowance comes from the Legislature's own budget, so the House and Senate will have to adjust their budget for that extra expense of $205,200.

Say and Hanabusa said they have already started to discuss the budget for the 2009 session and will also go along with Gov. Linda Lingle's request that all state spending be trimmed by at least 4 percent.

To: AskDOJ@usdoj.gov, webmaster@ustaxcourt.gov, sf.nancy@mail.house.gov, Congress.org@capwiz.com, keith.i.kawachi@hawaii.gov, edo@spike.dor.state.co.us, insfraud@dcca.hawaii.gov, bobby_n_harmon@yahoo.com, rroth@hawaii.edu

Dateline: Hawaii {Filipinas Kong Mahal - My Beloved Philippines} THE POLITICS OF DECEIT: BROKEN TRUST STYLE!

Ousted Philippine President Marcos, a close ASIAN PACIFIC political associate and friend to the Hawaii Delegates to Congress, relocates to live in LUXURY lifestyle in Sovereign Blue Hawaii back in February of 1986. Hawaii / New York socialite philanthropist, Doris Duke, later donates multi-millions of dollars for the defense of MISSING Philippine Government proceeds for Imelda Marcos in New York after the Philippine Dictator dies in Hawaii.

University of Hawaii William Richardson Law School Constitutional Professor, Jon Van Dyke, author of the stealth Public subsidized Akaka Bill, with Wife, Sherry Broder, the Chief Attorney for the nonprofit Office of Hawaiian Affairs was involved earlier with obtaining stolen Marcos Government proceeds for the members of the Philippine Community in Hawaii but with little restitution funds given back to the community?

What happened to the Marcos' MULTI-BILLIONS OF U.S. DOLLARS with LAUNDERED missing proceeds seized at the Honolulu International Airport by Government Agencies, back in 1986, under CIA Director William Casey's tenure involved with Iran-Contra scandals, later Chaired by Hawaii U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye under the Reagan - Bush Sr Administrations.... for future leveraged Political Capital spending for vested SPECIAL INTERESTS in Hawaii and Washington DC?

MANILA, Philippines -- The Philippine government received about 3.5 million from the estate of former President Ferdinand Marcos on Friday, bringing the total amount of improperly obtained wealth recovered from the dictator to $1.93 billion since he was ousted 22 years ago, an official said.

Nic Suarez, spokesman for the Presidential Commission on Good Government, the agency assigned to recover Marcos' alleged ill-gotten wealth, said another $425 million worth of assets, including real estate and stock market shares, have been recovered but not yet sold.

An estimated $4.26 billion in cash and assets is also being sought through litigation in an anti-graft court, Suarez said.

By law, the recovered Marcos' assets are used to fund the government's 20-year-old land reform program.

"We have been very faithful in remitting to the national treasury," Suarez said.

Marcos ruled the Philippines for 20 years until he was toppled in a "people power" revolt in 1986. He and his family fled into exile in Hawaii and he died three years later in Honolulu without admitting any wrongdoing.

The Marcos funds received Friday came from the sale of shares in a holding company allegedly used as a front to hide the late dictator's interests in the Manila Bulletin newspaper. The Supreme Court declared last November the shares were ill-gotten and the government was the real owner.

A report by the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime alleged last year that Marcos illegally amassed between $5 billion and $10 billion before he was ousted.

Marcos' wife, Imelda, and their three children returned to the Philippines in 1991. Imelda and their eldest daughter, Imee, have served as members of the House of Representatives. Their son, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., is now a Congress member representing his home province of Ilocos Norte.

Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed a sister state-province
agreement with Gov. Linda Lingle

HONOLULU: The son of former Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos has been ordered to appear in federal court during a goodwill visit to Hawaii.

The order, issued Wednesday, allows Ferdinand “Bong Bong” Marcos Jr. to travel to Hawaii despite contempt-of-court charges pending against him and his mother, former Filipino first lady Imelda Marcos. It bars him from speaking in public about pending litigation, however.

Judge Manuel Real ordered Marcos to appear in court Feb. 7. Marcos is due to meet with Filipino communities and sign a sister state-province agreement with Gov. Linda Lingle during a visit Feb. 1 to 8.

Real is overseeing the distribution of assets to thousands of Filipinos who won a $2 billion (euro1.5 billion) judgment against the Marcos estate in 1995, when a Honolulu jury found the late Philippine president responsible for executions, disappearances and torture during his 14-year reign under martial law. The initial award has grown to $3.7 billion (euro2.8 billion) with interest.

Imelda Marcos and her son also were found in contempt of court in 1995 after Real ruled they violated a court order freezing their assets; they’ve been subject to a fine of $100,000 (euro76,7100) a day since then.

In December, the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco upheld a previous ruling freezing the former dictator’s assets that are being held in the Philippines and other banks around the world.

Ownership of the funds has been disputed since they were discovered in 1986, soon after Marcos was forced from power and fled to Hawaii. The deposits totaled about $356 million (euro273 million) but have almost doubled from interest and later investments...

NEW DISCOVERY (08/14/08): David Farmer’s undisclosed relationships with Marsh & McLennan; Mercer Consulting Services; Aloha Airlines; Hawaiian Airlines; Earl Anzai; Lyn Anzai; Joshua Gotbaum; AIPAC; Ben Cayetano; Linda Lingle; Judge Robert Faris, others:

The proposed merger between the state's two local airlines foundered because Hawaiian Airlines wanted to change the terms of the agreement, including eliminating the Houston consulting firm coordinating the deal, the chief executive of Aloha Airlines said in a statement today.

Hawaiian's proposal also would have given Hawaiian chairman John Adams the top spots in the merged airline, eliminating Greg Brenneman, the TurnWorks executive who had been orchestrating the merger, according to Glenn Zander, Aloha's president and chief executive officer.

"Aloha could not accept Hawaiian's new proposal because in our judgment, it was not in the best interest of the state, the traveling public or Aloha's shareholders and employees," Zander said.

The details emerged a day after Hawaiian said it was pulling out of the deal because it did not wish to extend what it called an April 18 "outside date for completing the merger." It said increasing costs and risks of the deal were factors.

The announcement surprised many in the state, including employees of both airlines and state legislators who as late as last Tuesday had held a hearing on the merger.

Today, Zander said Hawaiian's action was "regrettable" and said members of Aloha's board of directors voted unanimously to reject Hawaiian's proposal. He also praised Brenneman and TurnWorks for their work on the merger.

Hawaiian spokesman Keoni Wagner said tonight, "We don't necessarily agree with Aloha's characterization of the negotiations, but we also choose not to discuss publicly what would otherwise be private conversations."

The apparent power grab by Adams came even though he and his affiliated companies would have been the financial winners if the merger had gone through. Adams stood to receive assets valued at about $109 million. Adams, his companies and other Hawaiian shareholders also would have held a 52 percent stake in the new airline.

Under terms of the original merger, the shareholders of privately owned Aloha Airlines — many of them relatives of the company founders — would have gotten 28 percent of the merged airline, worth an estimated $56 million.

For more than a year, Aloha and its consultant have viewed TurnWorks and Brenneman as essential to the success of the merger, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission last month that outlined how the merger came about.

Aloha's consultant, Mercer Management, initially approached Brenneman in February 2001 asking whether he wanted to invest in the airline. In July, Brenneman, a former top executive with Continental Airlines, met further with Mercer to discuss a possible investment and subsequent merger with Hawaiian.

Hawaiian officials, contacted in August, initially appeared cool to the idea but after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and subsequent downturn in travel, they agreed to "discuss a possible merger involving the two airlines and TurnWorks," according to the documents.

On Sept. 22, according to the documents, Mercer and senior management officials of Aloha and Hawaiian met and Mercer proposed that both airlines should continue to include Brenneman and TurnWorks in the merger discussions as Brenneman "was likely to be an important factor in creating an agreement between the two airlines, leading the integration efforts, and running the combined carrier and in generating maximum value for shareholders of both companies."

On Sept. 25, the documents say, all parties agreed to proceed with merger talks. They also agreed "that the involvement of TurnWorks and Brenneman would be an important factor in consummating a deal, as past efforts to combine the two airlines were not successful."

TurnWorks officials said in a statement today, "We were surprised and disappointed (by Hawaiian's decision) ... The failure to extend the timetable essentially precludes completing this complex transaction....

The abrupt end to the merger, which was announced Dec. 19, leaves the future of the two airlines and of Hawai'i's interisland airline market uncertain. In announcing the deal three months ago, executives with both airlines said they needed to merge because conditions in the airline industry — and in the interisland market in particular — had made it impossible for them to survive separately.

After the Sept. 11 attacks, both airlines lost tens of thousands of dollars a day and furloughed hundreds of workers. In recent weeks, as the Mainland economy has recovered, there have been signs of improvement in the local airline market.

Still, documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission show that Aloha is financially more vulnerable than Hawaiian. The privately held airline has more debt on its books and reported a $1.25 million loss at the end of the third quarter Sept. 30. The airline also has smaller and older aircraft and fewer flights to the Mainland.

Today Zander said Aloha has its own business plan to move ahead "on a stand-alone basis." Aloha spokesman Stu Glauberman said Zander will be meeting with Aloha's employees' union executives tomorrow.

Before the announcements over the weekend, the two airlines had been working on a joint application to take advantage of a special antitrust exemption granted by Congress last November to cooperate on some operations, such as routes, scheduling and pricing....

Gov. Ben Cayetano had been a supporter of the merger and said today, "The failure of the merger had nothing to do with the U.S. Department of Justice, the state Legislature or public opposition. This was a business decision that we will have to accept. The state administration will do its best to try to assure that Hawai'i will continue to have two viable interisland carriers."

State Sen. Ron Menor, D-18th (Mililani, Waipahu, Crestview), chairman of the Senate Commerce, Consumer Protection and Housing Committee, had opposed the merger and his committee took part in statewide hearings....

The mood among workers at Honolulu's interisland terminal was split between the two airlines today, with Aloha employees grim-faced and in no mood to talk about the failed merger, and Hawaiian employees buoyant.

Baggage handlers outside the Hawaiian half of the terminal this afternoon burst into ebullient giggles when asked how they and their co-workers felt about the merger being called off.

"We still have our jobs!" said Thad Estrada, one of the Hawaiian handlers. "Everybody is pretty happy right now. There had been a lot of stress lately, and then today, even though all the schedules and everything are still the same, everybody is smiling. It sure makes the day go better."...

Outside the terminal, Tammy Castro of Mililani and Diane Halemano of Makakilo grew tired of driving around the airport while waiting to pick up relatives, and parked in a lot to talk until their cell phones rang.

"They'd have a monopoly on the fares, and we'd have no one else to go to," she said. "We need a choice. People would lose their jobs and we already have enough unemployment. Besides," she added. "No offense, but I just love Aloha."

Epistemology – the critical study of what we know (or think we know) and how we know it – is a distinctive and admirable aspect of Western culture. From Socrates to the proponents of scientific method we learn the importance of caution in reaching conclusions. In Anglo-American law, with its rules of evidence (especially its rejection of hearsay) and presumption of innocence, we see a similar restraint. But caution in reaching conclusions is not always a virtue. In some contexts, it can be a fatal mistake.

I was thinking recently about what we know and don’t know while reading about the confirmation of Judge Michael Mukasey as Attorney General. Here are some things we know with reasonable certainty:

1. We know from Jewish sources that Mukasey is an Orthodox Jew and political conservative, whose Judaism is . . . deeply felt.” He is a lifelong congregant at Kehilath Jeshurun in New York City. He attended the Ramaz School, a Modern Orthodox Jewish prep school; his wife was headmistress there, and both his children attended the school. The Mission Statement for the Kehilath Jeshurun Congregation includes the following:

“[W]e are deeply committed to our religious traditions, to the study of the Torah, the observance of Shabbat and kashrut, the love of, and support for, our fellow Jews and an unbreakable bond with the State of Israel and its citizens.

“Our identification with the State of Israel and our fellow Jews extends well beyond the more conventional UJA/Federation, Israel Bonds and tree-planting campaigns . . . KJ participates in and sponsors political action groups around the world, and runs several well-attended missions each year to Israel for the primary purpose of demonstrating solidarity and support to our brethren, especially in these incredibly difficult times for the State and its citizens.

“KJ sponsors and supports an array of other programs . . . a partial list includes: ... The Israel Action Committee [which] is the vanguard of the growing grassroots movement among American Jewish communities to incubate local, regional and even national initiatives designed to support the beleaguered State of Israel.”

2. We know that Mukasey’s sponsor for the Attorney General Position was Senator Charles Schumer of New York. Schumer is Jewish, a supporter of the Iraq war resolution, a member of AIPAC, and a strident advocate for Israel. Schumer was one of two Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee – Senator Feinstein of California was the other – to cross party lines and vote for Mukasey’s confirmation as Attorney General, despite Mukasey’s political affiliation with Rudy Giuliani and his refusal to declare that waterboarding was illegal torture. Previously, Schumer had supported the neoconservative Republican John Bolton as U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. primarily because Bolton was aggressively pro-Israel.

3. We know that Michael Chertoff, the head of Homeland Security, is the son of a rabbi, that his mother was apparently an Israeli national, that his wife was co-chairwoman of the regional Anti-Defamation League’s civil rights committee in the mid 1990s, and that his children attended Jewish days schools. And we know that Senator Schumer was a leading advocate for Chertoff’s appointment.

NEW DISCOVERY (08-07-08): Undisclosed financial, professional and personal relationships between Linda Lingle, Greg Dunn, Dee Jay Mailer, Faye Kurren, Hawaii Dental Services, Hawaii Nature Center, Bishop Museum, Timothy Johns, Judge Robert Faris, others:

Gregory D. Dunn was appointed executive director of the Hawaii Nature Center March 1, 2002. Dunn joins the Hawaii Nature Center after more than three years as executive director of the Atherton Branch of the YMCA of Honolulu. He brings to the Nature Center a strong track record in facility management, fund development, recruitment and project management. Previously he was operations manager for two new retail projects in Hawaii, the Barnes and Noble Superstores of Honolulu and NikeTown Honolulu. He is a member of the boards of Hawaii Dental Service, Inc., the Waikiki Community Center and Youth for Environmental Service. He is a trustee and chairman of the HDS Foundation. "Dunn's experience in the local community and his activities on behalf of youth in a non-profit arena made him a logical choice to lead the Hawaii Nature Center as it embarks on a plan to expand service," said Nature Center Board President, Don Carroll, also chairman of the board of Time-Warner Cable of Hawaii.

Check out James B. Nicholson, Trustee vs. Harmon - Witness Judge Susan Oki Mollway

FYI: Susan Oki, Echi Oki, Dan Mollway, Airline Industry, SEC, and the Broken Trust Asian Pacific Bamboo Legacy in collusion with AIPAC Political influence in the powerful influential Defense Appropriation Committee members {Ted Stevens and Duke Cunningham} under Hawaii U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye's leadership...... and the stealth Political, Economic, and Socialized intents for the pending AKAKA BILL in Congress, documented, again, under "A Confederacy of Dunces" {Forbes}.

Hey CB....this one is the ultimate "insiders" in Hawaii regulatory Government for the Broken Trust cabals linked to the Hawaii Legislature members including their own Federal Reps in Washington protecting their Hawaiian Hui "inside" investors from Southeast Asia to Wall Street:

I talked with the State Ethic's Commissioner / Director, Dan Mollway....Ms. Susan Oki's husband... about the BIG conflicts of interests involving our case against the State DLNR, The Ombudsman Office Director, The DCCA Rico "Investigations" with huge Political cover-ups involving the ANZAI's and the Hawaii Judicial system protecting their own regulatory local hui investors linked to the Bishop Estate Trustees.

Dan Mollway was involved with the "separate" Investigations involving the DLNR Bureau of Conveyance Public land records being ILLEGALLY manipulated and tampered for "Controlled Business" practices by the private sector {Title Guarantee Company employees with Realtors linked to Hoiku Consultant private computers being placed strategically in Public Office Government Buildings linked to the Hawaii Legislature members and the KSBE investments under Headmaster Colbert Matsumoto}.

He claimed that the State Ethics Department was still in the process of their own "separate" investigations {with vague public follow-ups since last year} while the State of Hawaii Attorney General's office conducted their own internal "investigations" in conjunction with a Third Investigations by the Hawaii Legislature members with their Union supported employees!

This again, is the same as a California PYRO MANIAC investigating his own blazing Wild Fire, while creating numerous distracted small fires around the BIG MAIN BON-FIRE, to attention away from his malicious and well calculated deeds!

The gas can {State of Hawaii DLNR Public Forgery Document Executive Order 3117 with a false Public misleading Official GAO Survey Map} with the match {The original suppressed DLNR Legal Access documents} and the remaining evidence with charred ruins {The Hawaiian Airline Pilot's family Bankruptcy proceedings implicating the KSBE and U.S. Trustees mishandling and suppressing the FRAUD} is all their for the "Investigators" conducted by the same Hawaii Buzzards and Vultures linked to the BROKEN TRUST Hawaii Legislature members, again, conducting their own Public Relation separate "investigations" for their Union memberships obtaining bribery gifts and favors {Oriental customs?}; The Hawaii State Ethics Director, linked to the Bamboo network Hawaii Judiciary system Huis with their own separate Public Relation damage control "investigations" to nowhere under the Hawaii AG's Office....promoting a Sovereign Hawaiian Bill, based on Illegal Political Constructive Fraud in Washington {1993 Simple Federal Apology Resolution to Hawaii by Senators Daniel Inouye and Akaka} while ignoring blatant Public Fraud and Political Corruption with OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE with HUGE CONFLICTS OF INTERESTS for: "SOCIAL EQUALITY AND POLITICAL JUSTICE FOR ALL" in Washington......

DOESN'T GET MUCH BETTER THAN THIS while Congress protects their own vested interests under the Political Department of Injustice cabals while helping spread American Democracy and American Values in the controversial Middle East and around the World!

Some interesting bit of side notes involving Ms. Susan Oki and her father....a former member of the famed 442 U.S. Military Regiment: My father, a former World War 11 Combat photographer in the South Pacific theatre, was married to a local Japanese during the War. He was a distant Political acquaintance and supporter for Jack Burns in Kailua, Oahu. They both belonged to the Kailua Lions Club and were both members of the private Lanikai Mid-Pacific Country Club....mostly all haole members after the War years.

My father was involved in a very fraudulent Hawaii land purchase and sale during the 1950s involving a corrupt Hawaii land surveyor and a fellow Irishman linked to the Hawaii Judges family members. After he relocated to San Francisco in the early 1960s, he retained a Hawaii attorney whom I believe was none other than Echi Oki.....from Honolulu, linked to the famed 442 Hawaii Military Brigade members whom he always supported due to the persecution of the local Hawaii Japanese community after Pearl Harbor.

Echi Oki, again, had close political links vis-a-vis their Military Service to Dan Inouye and their tight knit Hawaii 442 hui cabals.....prior and after the 1954 Hawaii Legislature Revolution. My father lost the Court case, despite the SELLER testifying in favor of my fathers allegations...... with huge conflicts of interests since the Judge was related to the Hawaii Judge {Taveras}.

Another side Note with the Airline Industry: I was personally involved with the earlier Bankruptcy proceedings with Frontier Airlines in Denver {1986} which later involved Drexel Burnham Wall Street investors linked to Frank Lorenzo and Carl Ichan in New York. Like Mr. Rodney Stich, the FAA investigator making allegations against United Airlines in Denver, I was singled out with several others for exposing blatant FAA rules and blatant Public Safety violations involving massive fraud and corruption benefiting short-cutting - Airline cost saving procedures...comprising massive Public Safety cover-ups and FAA regulatory with damage control omitted issues involving the new non-unionized, young and ignorant work force.

This all began with the across the board firings for the FAA Air Traffic Controllers soon after the Reagan - Bush Sr Tenure came into Office in 1981. The massive Airline De-regulations in Washington vis-a-vis Wall Stree profiteers, {i.e. - Michael Milken, Marc Rich, Ivan Boesky} during the roaring unregulated 1980s which became famous with the Movies: WALL STREET {Michael Douglas} and "BARBARIANS AT THE GATE".

AIPAC'S Norman Brownstein, based in Downtown Denver, vis-a-vis my former Brownstein political mole "girlfriend" , New York attorney Lisa Holstein, was responsible for helping Lorenzo with the Texas Continental Airline gang members to get out of their Prime gate and exclusive lounge commitments, including a faulty Automated Baggage system, involving more massive fraud and cover-ups at the new Denver International Airport were allowed to quietly relocate back to their Houston based "Texas Air Corp" headquarters.

In 1993, Clinton denied Frank Lorenzo, with his New York Attorney wife with Chase Manhattan Bank, as well as their Texas Air Corps - Colorado Resort land investors in Aspen & Vail {Phillip Winn Group}, to continue manipulating the SEC within the confines of the "insiders" under the lucrative "De-Regulated Airline Industry" mergers using Union Pension plans for lucrative leveraged acquisitions....compromising Public Safety and FAA violations with massive cover-ups in Washington.

Again, like former FAA investigator, Rodney Stich, doing his job, I became another Politcial liability, which is the former "inside" Dept of Justice / CIA lawyer, Norman Phillip Brownstein's expertise specialized job as Mr. Fix It at DIA; Protecting SEC Billionaire Fugitive's such as Marc Rich and HUD Director Phil Winn, while sheltering Drug Traffic cabals with Florida's Jack Devoe...for helping AIPAC's Political "cause" in Washington DC into vested SECURITY interests in the secular Middle East.....of course....always using OPM: The defrauded & obliviouos American Public Tax Payers left holding the bag on Wall Street to Main Street.

Brownstein's young, former single AIPAC New York mole attorney, Ms. Lisa Holstein, like others linked to AIPAC and David Steiner, as well as former CIA - U.S. federal prosecutor - Hawaii Public Safety Director, John Peyton, are reported deceased in New York and remote Africa?

The Rocky Mountain High - SILVERADO DNC Political Convention in Denver, Colorado, moving the Public cost over-run to a larger media exposure event with INVESCO Stadium {Bronco Pro Football Stadium...who are clients of NORM BROWNSTEIN, JACK HYATT, AND STEVE FARBER, now joined by former GOP Denver University CABALS - former Colorado RNC Chairman, Commercial Real Estate Investor and Resigned Department of Veterans Affair Director - James "De Oppressor Libre" Nicholson, linked to former Colorado RNC Chair, for convicted Swiss Ambassador - HUD Director - Phil Winn {DU Professor} with former DU Secretary of Interior Gale {CREA} Norton, as well as the latest new GOP University of Colorado connections to former U.S. Senator / UC President Hank Brown....involved in the "E Pluribus Unum" Wall Street article related to: THE 1993 Simple FEDERAL APOLOGY RESOLUTION TO HAWAII under Clinton with Political Constructive FRAUD and Public cover-up intents for the future Public subsidized AKAKA BILL in Congress....pending in Washington since 2000, after the U.S. Supreme Court decision over ruling the Hawaii Political Judicial system hidden under the Political Ninth District Circuit Court of Appeals, involving 'RICE V. CAYETANO' {Office of Hawaiian Affairs}.

To: "Bobby Harmon" <bobby_n_harmon@yahoo.com>, "David Farmer" <farmerd001@hawaii.rr.com>, "Michael Mukasey" <AskDOJ@usdoj.gov>, "Kevin Chang" <sa@hid.uscourts.gov>, "Robert Faris" <hib@hib.uscourts.gov>, "Barry M. Kurren" <richlyn_young@hid.uscourts.gov>, "Carol K. Muranaka" <ustp.region15@usdoj.gov>, "J P Schmidt" <insurance@dcca.hawaii.gov>, "Janet Kamerman" <HONOLULU@FBI.GOV>, "Mark Bennett" <hawaiiag@hawaii.gov>, "Hugh Jones" <hugh.r.jones@hawaii.gov>, "Linda Lingle" <governor.lingle@hawaii.gov>

"Mediation Center of The Pacific" <mcp@mediatehawaii.org>, "Sheryl Nicholson" <office@acluhawaii.org>, "Robert Bruce Graham" <bgraham@awlaw.com>, "James Wriston" <jwriston@awlaw.com>, "Andrew Winer" <winer@pacificlaw.com>, "James Cribley" <jcribley@caselombardi.com>, "Lawrence Goya" <hawaiiag@hawaii.gov>, "Pension Benefit Guaranty Association" <participant.pro@pbgc.gov>, "James B Nicholson" <jamesbnicholson@aol.com>, "Executive Office for U.S. Trustees" <ustrustee.program@usdoj.gov>, "Office of Inspector General US Dept of Justice" <oig.hotline@usdoj.gov>, "George Will" <georgewill@washpost.com>, "Haunani Apoliona" <info@oha.org>, "Leroy Colombe" <lcolombe@ckdbw.com>, "Scott Helman" <shelman@globe.com>, "Bob Nichols" <bob.bobnichols@gmail.com>, "Laura Thielen" <dlnr@hawaii.gov>, "Barry Taniguchi" <communications@hcf-hawaii.org>, "Paul Achitoff" <honoluluoffice@earthjustice.org>, "Laurie Bennett" <info@muckety.com>, "Dave Shapiro" <volcanicash@gmail.com>, "Gail Kim-Moe" <Gkim.moe@gmail.com>, "Marshall Chriswell" <mc@whistleblowers.org>, "Greg Palast" <palast@gregpalast.com>, "Dee Jay Mailer" <ksinfo@ksbe.edu>, "Laser Haas" <laserhaas@msn.com>, "Michael Moore" <mike@michaelmoore.com>, "Texas Observer" <editors@texasobserver.org>, "Brian W. Bisignani" <bbisignani@postschell.com>, "Aon Insurance Managers" <mike_coulter@agl.aon.com>, "William Burgess" <hwburgess@hawaii.rr.com>, "Brian E. Schatz" <teamschatz@gmail.com>, "Patricia Case" <pattycase@aol.com>, "Cheryl Nakamura" <CNakamura@rmhawaii.com>, "Bill Yuen" <billyuen@cymlaw.com>, "Randall W. Wulff" <rwulff@wqsadr.com>, "Karen Spiller" <karen.spiller@baesystems.com>, "Andrew Killgore" <akillgore@wrmea.com>, "Patrick Leahy" <senator_leahy@leahy.senate.gov>, "Pamela A. McCullough" <HONOLULU@FBI.GOV>, "James Duke Aiona" <ltgov@hawaii.gov>, "Ken Conklin" <ken_conklin@yahoo.com>, "William H. Donaldson" <enforcement@sec.gov>, "Ian Lind" <diary@ilind.net>, "Jim Terrack" <tnthawaii@aol.com>, "Andrew Walden" <hfpeditor@email.com>, "All Senators" <sens@Capitol.hawaii.gov>, "All Representatives" <reps@Capitol.hawaii.gov>, "Thomas Fitton" <info@judicialwatch.org>, "Stew Webb" <stewwebb@stewwebb.com>, "Judson Witham" <jurisnot@yahoo.com>, "J C Shannon" <Hapa1234@aol.com>, "Jeff Biener" <jeffandmary@ozarkopathy.org>, "V K Durham" <vkdtdht@pionet.net>, "Richard Grove" <Richard@8thEstate.com>, "Bradley Tamm" <btamm@hawaii.rr.com>, "Susan Tius" <STius@rmhawaii.com>, "Paul Alston" <palston@ahfi.com>, "John Goemans" <wip@kamuela.com>, "William K Slate" <Websitemail@adr.org>, "Lissa Andrews" <landrews@rmhawaii.com>, "John D. Finnegan" <info@chubb.com>, "Terry Mullen" <tmullen@johnmullen.com>, "Margery Bronster" <info@bchlaw.net>, "Michael N. Tanoue" <mtanoue@paclawgroup.com>, "Neil Ambercrombie" <Neil.Abercrombie@mail.house.gov>, "Lyn Flanigan Anzai" <lflanigan@hsba.org>, "Lorraine Inouye" <seninouye@Capitol.hawaii.gov>, "Samuel P. King" <leslie_sai@hid.uscourts.gov>, "Arthur Rath" <imua@spamarrest.com>, "Randall Roth" <rroth@hawaii.edu>, "Rick Daysog" <rdaysog@honoluluadvertiser.com>, "Jim Dooley" <jdooley@honoluluadvertiser.com>, "Robin Campaniano" <aigh001@aighawaii.com>, "Blossom Tong" <blossom.d.tong@marsh.com>, "Sammye Richardson" <sammyerichardson@yahoo.com>, "Daniel Hopsicker" <madcownews@gmail.com>, "Richard L Righter" <righterwmx@aol.com>, "Dirk Kempthorne" <webteam@ios.doi.gov>, "Jeffrey Sia" <Jeff.Sia@excite.com>, "Jim Babka" <downsizer-dispatch@downsizedc.org>, "Truth" <truth@grandecom.net>, "J. C. Jones" <JCJJONES@aol.com>, "Dane Field" <danefl@gucl.com>, "Jeffrey Watanabe" <jwatanabe@wik.com>

Kessner Umebayashi Bain & Matsunaga
220 South King Street, Suite 1900
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813

The Lawrence Franklin espionage scandal (also known as the AIPAC espionage scandal) refers to allegations that information regarding United States policy towards Iran was passed to Israel through Lawrence Franklin via staffers of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee [AIPAC].

Franklin, a former Defense Department employee, has pleaded guilty to several espionage-related charges and was sentenced in January 2006 to nearly thirteen years of prison. Two former AIPAC employees have also been indicted.

The investigation and prosecutions, which began in 1999, have attracted attention because critics of U.S. Israeli policy have claimed AIPAC has served as a conduit for Israel’s spying efforts with near impunity due to its powerful connections in Washington. Franklin's indictment mentioned but did not name several foreign diplomats, widely believed to be Israeli, as being involved with his efforts....

The new interim manager of the Turtle Bay Resort has determined that further development at the controversial North Shore property is necessary to keep the operation viable.

Local developer Stanford Carr, installed last week by resort lenders to head operations and find a buyer, said expansion outside of the existing resort's footprint is an option, since a new owner would need to satisfy the conditions of a 1986 agreement that calls for public parks and other amenities to be built by a developer - who would need to recoup the investment.

"It's got to have economic equilibrium - they can't maintain a vast amount of land like that," said Carr, who was recruited by the property's lenders, including Credit Suisse and Wells Fargo, because of his expertise in the Hawaii real estate market. "Raw land is probably the worst investment, you can't depreciate it. You just don't have the economies of scale at the moment."

Due diligence, feasibility studies and quantifying the costs of public improvements must be completed before determining the scope of any expansion, he said.

The isolated character of Turtle Bay located on one of the island's last remaining rural coasts has been an attraction for visitors seeking a neighbor island-type of resort on Oahu.

"It's very pristine and so that has an attraction, but again you have to have the right execution of the product," he said. "Like anything, it's got to be responsible development."

His first priority is to meet with the community to gain an understanding of their concerns and also with local representatives of resort owner Oaktree Capital Management L.P. to resolve maintenance issues at the 858-acre property with money budgeted by lenders.

New York-based Eastdil Secured LLC is preparing material to begin marketing resort assets, possibly within the month, Carr said.

Eastdil ceased marketing when Credit Suisse filed a $283 million lawsuit last December against Oaktree's local entity, Kuilima Resort Co.

Meanwhile, Gov. Linda Lingle has been campaigning for the state to acquire the resort to protect it from plans to build an additional 3,500 hotel and condominium units on the property.

Carr, a Lingle supporter, hasn't seen a proposal from the state yet, but said his role doesn't mean a state acquisition will be easier.

There is a "mutual trust" because of the long relationship he has with the governor, but the decision ultimately lies with the owners and lenders, he said.

"The state is competing much like the rest of the other interested buyers," Carr said. "Everybody wants a win-win situation. I'm born and raised here, I'm fifth generation, I'm going to do the right thing."

Want to know a few of the results of the move towards the so-called "Global Economy" which has become the nirvana Corporate America seeks? Be very careful, you might not like what you find.

According to U.N. documents, 4 million women a year are sold into sexual slavery around the world. Understand, these documents aren't discussing some Mid- Eastern potentate's harem. What we're talking about is 500,000 women "imported" into Western Europe and 90,000 into Italy, alone. These women are kidnapped and sold into prostitution for the gratification of men like the late Larry Hilblom, the founder of DHL courier service. Hilblom, it should be added, also participated in the kidnapping and sales of many young women, as well.

The majority of these women, who are mostly just young girls, come from the countries once known as client states of the old Soviet Union, such as Albania and the Ukraine. In fact, the selling of girls for the sexual gratification of wealthy men has become a major export for many of the supposedly free nations from the former Soviet bloc.

Amazingly, many of these women are moved through our ally Israel. The reason Israel is a major center for these atrocities is that Israel has absolutely no laws against the sale or ownership of other humans. Now there is wonderful reason to continue our hundreds of billions of dollars in foreign aid to this moral back water of a country.

The main reason that these crimes can so easily occur is the demand by the world's corporations that there be few or no inspections at national borders and that, with corporations buying up governments just like ours at bargain prices, they own the decisions to investigate crimes and, of course, see no reason to investigate the very crimes they, themselves, are committing.

Now, of course, America is immune from these charges, aren't we. I mean, this is the country where politicians spend their entire careers shouting about their fairy tale world of "family values", right? Our government would immediately spring into action should even a hint of this crime appear within our borders, right?

Wrong, of course. Thai women were imported into the United States and forced into sexual slavery in New York, Houston and Toronto, according to stories in the LA Times, New York Times and Dallas Morning News.

How long will it take the corporate prostitutes in Washington, D.C., to even acknowledge these crimes? How many conservatives do you think are going to stand up in protest against these horrors against humanity? How many will demand hundreds of billions of dollars to fight these crimes against humanity? What is less than none?

Unless America wakes up to these violations against humanity and demands action from the blow hards in office, nothing, whatsoever, will ever happen. Why? Because the victims do not fall within the parameters these vile people respect. These are young girls from foreign countries that don't contribute to American political coffers, nor are they related to anyone who owns enough property to matter to American politicians. If they were all Republican, Christian, wealthy wives and daughters of campaign contributors then this would be a problem of cosmic proportion. They aren't, so the problem is ignored.

These crimes against women are only the most extreme examples of the damage that is being done to people all over the world in the name of corporate profits. Add in the disease ridden fruit coming into America from countries which have little in the way of health and safety laws and food covered with the pesticides that America banned so Corporate America sold its stock to the same Third World countries now supplying us with our daily fruits and vegetables and grains.

Consider the effects that corrupt rulers the world over have regarding the financial health of your retirement and investments and, if the idiots who hate government safety nets have their way, your Social Security. Consider the damage another episode like the Hunt brothers attempt to corner the silver market would have on America if it were done by a nation or groups of nations. Finally, consider the costs of a simple computer virus invading the systems which control what will be the world's financial institution.

You, as an individual, have absolutely nothing to gain in a global economy. In fact, you will be the loser if you continue to listen to the lies and do not begin fighting the mutation of your world into a world corporation where the wealthy would rule through unlimited economic power. As in all things, it is your choice but your inaction will affect billions of people for centuries to come.

BAE Systems Funds
Six Engineering Scholarships Through University of Hawaii Foundation

HONOLULU — BAE Systems, one of the largest defense contractors in Hawaii, has donated $107,000 to the University of Hawaii Foundation for six scholarships at the university’s College of Engineering.

Of the six scholarships, four are for students who have participated in the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) robotics program. Two scholarships are for returning “kamaaina” - students studying in the continental United States - to Hawaii to contribute to the growth of intellectual infrastructure and the economy.

“These scholarships support the college’s interest in developing a larger, technology-based workforce in Hawaii,” said Peter Crouch, dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Hawaii-Manoa. “Additionally, the support for the FIRST robotics program will help top students remain in Hawaii. We are grateful to BAE Systems and look forward to working with them in the future.”

As a major supporter of FIRST robotics, and of Gov. Linda Lingle’s Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math programs, BAE Systems provides sponsorship and mentorship for four area high schools: McKinley, Iolani, Radford, and Maryknoll.

“These scholarships provide a small but important connection between the business community and the University of Hawaii, supporting the next generation of technology leaders in the state,” said Ty Aldinger, identification and surveillance site manager for BAE Systems in Honolulu.

“Especially important are the ‘Kamaaina Come Home’ scholarships, as University of Hawaii President David McClain calls them, which allow Hawaii resident students who are matriculating on the mainland to come home to finish their education at the University of Hawaii,” added Bob Putes, local site manager for BAE Systems Information Technology.

BAE Systems employs more than 750 people in Hawaii in operations that include shipyards, information technology, weapon systems, and satellite communications support....

WASHINGTON - The House Judiciary Committee on Thursday subpoenaed former White House top political adviser Karl Rove to testify about whether the White House improperly meddled with the Justice Department.

Accusations of politics influencing decisions at the department led to last year's resignation of former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

The subpoena issued Thursday orders Rove to testify before the House panel on July 10. He is expected to face questions about the White House's role in firing nine U.S. attorneys in 2006 and the prosecution of former Gov. Don Siegelman of Alabama, a Democrat.

House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers had negotiated with Rove's attorneys for more than a year over whether the former top aide to President Bush would testify voluntarily.

"It is unfortunate that Mr. Rove has failed to cooperate with our requests," Conyers, D-Mich., said in a statement. "Although he does not seem the least bit hesitant to discuss these very issues weekly on cable television and in the print news media, Mr. Rove and his attorney have apparently concluded that a public hearing room would not be appropriate."

"Unfortunately, I have no choice today but to compel his testimony on these very important matters," Conyers said.

Neither Rove nor his attorney, Robert Luskin, could be immediately reached for comment.

NEW DISCOVERY (05-10-08): David Farmer’s undisclosed connections with AIPAC and “Bush’s Brain”, Karl Rove:

Subject: Check out The Raw Story | Official probing Rove now under investigation himself

To: sf.nancy@mail.house.gov, senator@akaka.senate.gov, ustrustee.program@usdoj.gov, admin@ehawaii.gov, jurisnot@yahoo.com, bobby_n_harmon@yahoo.com, hwburgess@hawaii.rr.com, Ken_Conklin@yahoo.com, rroth@hawaii.edu}

"While Rove Fiddled; The Bush was Burning"? or........White men who can't dance?

a} Congressional Defense Appropriation Committee members, previous Bureau of Indian Affair Chairman, Veterans Affair Committees, Intelligence Committees, Special Counsels {Iran - Contra / Central America International Committees} Bishop, Baldwin, REWALD, Dillingham & Wong, for Hawaii U.S. Senator - Daniel Inouye - Defense Chairman linked to: hidden Public Pork Barrel proceeds for the lavish Hokulia Canoe for Hawaiians only programs / Women Abuse Shelters for Two Political Hawaii Legislature members involved in 1992 U.S. Senate race allegations for Sexual Harassment allegations / Private Defense Contractor Brent Wilkes - Hawaii ADSC Company fronts - Lavish Hawaiian Private Vacations - Luxury Private Accommodations - Hawaiian "Entertainment" linked to Asian Pacific Advisory Council Politicians {Prince Hotels} - AIPAC Lobbyist for Akaka Bill; {Dismissed U.S. Attorney - Frederick Black, Political Appointee under former CIA Director / Vice-President / President George H. Bush linked to former U.S. Federal Prosecutors John Peyton - Kenneth Starr in collusion with former Hawaii District Judges {deceased}: Martin Pence, Harold Fong, & California District Judge: Brian Tamahana}.

b} Alaska U.S. Senator - Ted Stevens linked to hidden Public Pork Barrel projects {Bridge To Nowhere} with family member to self serving Alaska Contractors - Home remodeling projects as well as lobbying ANWAR Bill under the Department of Interior {CREA} with members with the Defense Appropriation Committee Political links to members of Congressional Committees {I.E. - Veterans Committee Chairman - Daniel Akaka, sponsor for the stealth Akaka Bill with no Public voice or vote in Hawaii, Obstruction of Justice in the South Pacific {Jack Abramoff - Tom Delay} and the Broken Trust legacy in Hawaii, in political exchanges for continued political support for a Case of War in Iraq and the ANWAR Bill.

c} California Congressman - Duke "Dukestar" Cunningham: Defense Appropriation Committee member - Veterans Affair Committees linked to lavish Political briberies with Private Defense Contractors and CIA agents linked to Iraq War Appropriations in Washington DC, Southern California, and Hawaii lavish vacations - "Entertainment" with obstruction of justice linked to political Dismissed U.S. Attorney Carole Lam, linked to Political dismissed U.S. Attorney Frederick Black in the South Pacific involving Jack Abramoff {AIPAC} linked to Grover Norquist and Tom Delay {CNP - PNAC}.

NEW DISCOVERY (04-26-08): More regarding David Farmer’s undisclosed relationships with Linda Lingle and AIPAC:

The heads of seven Hawai'i community health centers are urging Gov. Lingle to rescind an estimated $1.5 billion in Medicaid contracts to two for-profit Mainland companies.

The board presidents from the centers wrote to Lingle last week saying they had serious concerns over the state Department of Human Services' award of the Quest Expanded Access Medicaid contracts for more than 37,000 aged, blind and disabled people. They raised a number of issues similar to those voiced by AlohaCare, a Honolulu-based nonprofit health plan that lost out in the selection process.

The state Department of Human Services awarded the contracts to the lowest bidders in February, giving part of the work to Wellcare Health Plans Inc. of Tampa, Fla., and the remainder to UnitedHealth Group Inc.

"We're just scared overall that it's going to affect the healthcare industry in Hawai'i," said Elizabeth Fien, board president of the Waimanalo Community Health Center. She said as far as she knew Wellcare and UnitedHealth had yet to contract with any service providers here. That could disrupt patient treatment.

State Department of Human Services director Lillian Koller issued a statement saying it would be inappropriate to comment in detail on the situation, since the state's Procurement Office is considering AlohaCare's appeal of the awards. She also noted that the concerns were being raised by a group with ties to the insurer.

"It is important to note that the seven health centers who sent this letter ... are among the 13 health centers who own AlohaCare," Koller said in a statement.

She said that AlohaCare filed a protest to the award on Feb. 8, and that is "still pending decision" by the state's chief procurement officer.

AlohaCare said that community health centers were its founders and that some of the centers still have representatives on its board. But as a nonprofit, it said, it does not have owners.

AlohaCare raised several concerns. Earlier this year, UnitedHealth units were accused by state authorities of claims processing failures in California and fraudulent rate-setting in New York. UnitedHealth is the largest U.S. health insurer.

Wellcare's chief executive officer resigned earlier this year and it is under investigation by the FBI and Florida officials for possible government overpayments.

AlohaCare also alleged the DHS is allowing the for-profit companies to skip paying the state's 4.265 percent premium tax, something that could amount to tens of millions of lost tax revenue.

Ed Kemper, an attorney representing AlohaCare, said that depending on the ruling, AlohaCare could seek further reviews of the contract, including going to court.

Gov. Linda Lingle planned to leave tonight for Washington, D.C., where she has a busy schedule of meetings next week with federal officials and several Republican senators and will participate in a National Governors Association conference on long-term care.

Lingle said she will also take time for a campaign fund-raiser on the East Coast.

Lingle said she will meet with U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, whom she is encouraging to open a Pacific regional office for his agency in Hawaii and to help get a special "Hawaii-only" exemption to new stricter U.S. visa requirements for business travelers and students.

She will meet with White House officials, U.S. Department of Agriculture staff and several Republican senators she hopes to convince to support legislation leading to federal recognition of native Hawaiians.

Lingle said she will be attending the governors association's long-term care panel and chairing a special subcommittee on community-based long-term care.

Going with her will be Lillian Koller, director of the state Department of Human Services, and Dr. Chiyome Fukino, director of the state Department of Health, who will serve as staff for the subcommittee's work.

"This is a year-long effort by the NGA," she said while discussing her trip earlier this week.

"(Idaho Gov.) Dirk Kempthorne, our National Governors Association president, has made this his top priority ... which fits very well with the issue that we're trying to deal with here at home," Lingle said.

The conference will include a roundtable discussion on long-term care that will be broadcast nationally, she said.

"Wherever I travel there are groups who are interested in a Republican woman Jewish governor from Hawaii, either because they are a woman's group, a Jewish group or a Republican group," she said.

NEW DISCOVERY (04-22-08): David Farmer’s undisclosed connections with AIPAC and Governor Linda Lingle:

In his "MEMORANDUM IN OPPOSITION TO DEBTOR'S MOTION FOR ORDER TO DISAPPROVE APPOINTMENT OF DAVID C. FARMER AS SUCCESSOR TRUSTEE", filed with the Court on August 24, 2007, the Trustee's attorney, Steven Guttman, Esq., of the law firm, Kessner Umebayashi Bain & Matsunaga, stated to the Court:

"... Harmon is once again attempting to create issues of conflict where none exist by attempting to draw connections between phantom dots."...

Mr. Guttman does not elaborate beyond this simple statement of HIS PERSONAL OPINION, as to WHICH of the thousands of connections I have cited that he wishes the Court to accept, without question, as being merely "phantom dots". In other court filings, Mr. Guttman has characterized my Motions as consisting of "conspiracy theories" -- again with no specific references.

Despite these unnamed "phantom dots" and "conspiracy theories", the Court has blithely and unquestionably gone along with Mr. Guttman's opinions and has repeatedly denied ALL Motions that I have made. In fact, both Courts involved have ruled that the Court Clerk shall not accept any future filings from me without the Courts' prior approval - which it has repeatedly declined to give.

Therefore, due to the fact that I continue to discover new, material FACTS almost daily, I am preparing a set of NEW EXHIBITS in which I intend to document the financial, professional, personal, and political connections between the many various entities involved in this case.

The following is a listing of named witnesses in this case who have factual connections with the subject entity. Each underlined name has been linked to a detailed description of that witness to enable the reader to more easily CONNECT THE DOTS TO...

Summary: On May 25 and with little or no press coverage, the Supreme Court delivered a huge blow to freedom. Citizens are no longer entitled to reasonable Due Process requirements for property right cases.

The case, Lingle vs. Chevron fosters Sustainable Development policies.. The high court in this unanimous decision can no longer be said to be a protector of unalienable rights but instead has effectively adopted a political - economic system where rights are granted and rescinded by ruling edict. Saving the Republic will require an increasing public exposure of how the transformation of America is occurring. Apparently, the high court will not stand in the way of the globalist scheme to withdraw American's freedom. The court has sanctioned, by this decision, the nation's transformation of the economy from free enterprise to public/private partnerships. In doing that the court has abandoned Natural Law at its core.

In this review, Attorney Ronald A. Zumbrun, founder of the Pacific Legal Foundation and now of the Zumbrun law Firm in Sacramento California analyzes the shocking decision.

NEW DISCOVERY (04-17-08) - David C. Farmer’s undisclosed relationships with John Garibaldi:

The state may have compromised its environmental policy because of pressure from Hawaii Superferry executives who were worried about financing for the interisland ferry project, the state auditor has concluded.

The auditor found that an internal June 2005 deadline imposed by Superferry executives "drove the process" and pushed the state Department of Transportation to bypass an environmental review. The deadline, according to the auditor, was tied to Superferry's agreement with Austal USA to secure financing to pay the Mobile, Ala.-based shipbuilder to construct two high-speed ferries.

The federal Maritime Administration, which approved a $140 million loan guarantee for ferry construction, wanted confirmation that no environmental assessment of harbor improvements would be required because of the risk that environmental concerns could jeopardize port access. But Maritime Administration officials told the auditor they did not set the June 2005 deadline as a condition of the loan guarantee.

"In the end, the state may have compromised its environmental policy in favor of a private company's internal deadline," state auditor Marion Higa concluded. "It remains to be seen whether these decisions will cost the state more than its environmental policy."

The performance audit was required by state lawmakers as part of a law passed in special session last fall that allowed Superferry to resume operations while the state conducts an environmental impact statement. Legal challenges and public protests had halted ferry service after the state Supreme Court ruled in August that the state's decision to exempt $40 million in state harbor improvements from environmental review was in error.

The auditor's main finding was that the June 2005 deadline was not imposed by the federal government, but related to an agreement between Superferry and Austal. The audit questions whether the state did "sufficient due diligence to verify whether the deadline was valid for the reasons Hawaii Superferry Inc. claimed."

John Garibaldi, Superferry's chief executive officer, said yesterday that Superferry has consistently portrayed the June 2005 deadline as necessary for both federal and private equity financing. He described the agreements with the Maritime Administration, Austal USA and primary investors J.F. Lehman & Co. as interrelated.

"They were all dependent upon each other. No one stood on its own," Garibaldi said. "I think that's what we tried to express to people."

Garibaldi declined to comment on other findings in the audit because he had not yet seen a copy.

The auditor's descriptions of the chain of events that led the state to exempt the project from environmental review in February 2005 are similar to reports in The Advertiser in September and January.

The auditor and the newspaper received many of the same documents, which were screened by the Lingle administration for attorney-client privilege and executive privilege before being released. The administration is preparing a privilege log for the auditor and the newspaper to describe the documents that have been withheld. The Advertiser requested the documents under the state's open-records law.

Most significantly, the auditor — like The Advertiser — emphasized a late December 2004 meeting at the governor's office that included the governor's then-chief of staff Bob Awana, department officials, and Superferry executives.

Staff in the department's harbors division had wanted to require a statewide environmental assessment of the project and to get Superferry to install a stern ramp on the vessel to give it more flexibility at Kahului Harbor on Maui. But Superferry executives, according an account by a department staffer, told the state that anything but an exemption was a deal-breaker and that they would not install any ramps.

"Decisions made: We need to pursue EXEMPTION; and HSF will not provide any ramps on vessel," one department staffer told colleagues afterward in an e-mail.

The auditor concluded that department e-mails showed a decision was made at this meeting, although who made the decision is not revealed.

"Current and former department officials and employees who worked on the ferry project were either unable to recall who made the decision at that meeting or chose to invoke executive privilege when asked who directed the team," the auditor found.

The department, in its written response to the audit, rejected any inference that a decision was made at the governor's office directing the department to pursue an exemption. The auditor countered that the department's e-mails about the meeting "are self-explanatory."

"Ultimately, a decision involving the governor's office was made that directed the 'ferry project team' to pursue scenarios that would exempt the ferry harbor work from environmental review," the auditor found.

Awana, who resigned last year, told The Advertiser in January that he had no role in the decision. Barry Fukunaga, who was then the department's deputy director of harbors and is now Gov. Linda Lingle's chief of staff, has said he made the decision in consultation with his construction and engineering staff and then-department director Rod Haraga. The department also consulted with the state Office of Environmental Quality Control and county planning agencies.

Fukunaga told The Advertiser in writing last year that he did not discuss his deliberations or his eventual decision with Lingle, Awana or state Attorney General Mark Bennett.

The audit is also similar to The Advertiser's reporting last September on the Maritime Administration's loan guarantee for Superferry. Maritime Administration officials told the auditor that loan guarantees are typically exempt from environmental review because they just provide financing for ship construction. The vessels typically use port facilities already in place.

Maritime Administration officials told the auditor that harbor improvements for Superferry could have triggered an environmental assessment that could have limited ferry access to ports. So the Maritime Administration added a condition that Superferry provide confirmation that no environmental assessment was required.

"MARAD's position was that it was not willing to finance the construction of any vessel that might be unable to operate because it has no port," the auditor found.

The audit recommends that the Legislature empower a state agency to enforce environmental review laws and require agencies to update exemption lists every five years. The auditor found that the public has little involvement in the exemption process other than the right to file a lawsuit to challenge an exemption.

Higa had complained to lawmakers that she missed a March deadline for a preliminary draft of the audit because of significant delays in obtaining documents from the Lingle administration. Higa repeated those complaints in the audit and said her staff would be preparing a second phase of the audit for a later report.

Higa described the Lingle administration's cooperation as "slow and incomplete, at best." The department called that description "wholly untrue" and said any delays were based on requests by Higa that the attorney general found were "unreasonably broad in scope."

The department chose not to comment on many of Higa's conclusions. Mike Formby, the department's deputy director of harbors, said last night that the administration's wants the opportunity to review the second phase of the audit.

I think what we wanted to do was reserve the right to see the full report, because it's really risky to look at half the report and respond knowing that they're out there still doing field investigation, interviews, reviewing documents," Formby said. "And basically, they look at the response you gave, and they go out and look for a way to rebut your response."

David C. Farmer, Esq.
Office of the United States Trustee
c/o Steven Guttman, Esq., Kessner Duca Umebayashi, et al.
220 S. King Street, Floor 10
Honolulu, HI 96813

Re: 99-04339 - David C. Farmer, Trustee vs. Bobby N. Harmon
Ref. New Exhibit: “THE DIRTY MILLIONS FOR ARMAGEDDON”

Due to new discoveries regarding the Integrated Resources securities fraud and illegal U.S. political campaign funding by foreign nationals (Israel), I am adding the subject Exhibit. You will find this new Exhibit and related witness descriptions at:

Mr. Farmer, I again suggest that we try to resolve this matter through negotiation rather that your continuing indefinitely this illegal SLAPP lawsuit.

NEW DISCOVERY (04-11-08): Trustee James B. Nicholson failed to disclose that he was the court-appointed bankruptcy trustee for Defendant’s witness, Peter Savio, even though he was asked specifically if he had any business, professional, personal or political relationships with Mr. Savio:

Any interview that focuses on Peter Savio's new company, Hawaiian Island Homes Ltd., will soon focus on another Top 250 company, Central Pacific Bank. Says Savio: "They're malicious. They're vicious. I am going to become a stockholder in Central Pacific Bank. I am going to reform that institution. Their mistake was they stomped me. They didn't kill me. I'm coming back. I'm going to have fun with them."

Go back to the year 2001. Savio Inc., a holding company for eight real estate sales and development companies, was No. 56 on the Top 250, with $134.6 million in 2000 gross sales. But in 2001, Savio Inc. filed for Chapter 7 liquidation, and Peter Savio and his wife filed for personal bankruptcy protection. Savio says he was forced into the bankruptcies because CPB gave him just five days to move from his second-floor offices at 931 University Ave. Savio says he had been in a workout plan with a number of lenders after he started experiencing cash-flow problems in the mid-1990s. But CPB forced his hand.

"The only way to stop them was, I had to file for personal bankruptcy. So to save my employees and everything else, I filed for personal bankruptcy - one of the most difficult decisions I've ever had to make. But I was really pissed at Central Pacific Bank for doing that," he says.

"It was tough," he adds. "Basically I lost everything. Lost my house. Lost everything. Had to basically come back from nothing."

Today, Savio is more than back. His real estate company, Hawaiian Island Homes Ltd., lists 2002 gross sales of $177 million. Its office is downstairs in the same building that Savio Inc.'s once was. And the company is No. 27, ahead of CPB Inc. (No. 49), something Savio will rejoice to read. Savio says, "I've decided that my goal is to beat them in the Top 250. … just so we can say, 'Nannynannybooboo!'"

That's not all. "My short-term and my long-term goal is to reform Central Pacific Bank," Savio says. "I think I'm going to buy the bank."

Ann Takiguchi, Central Pacific Financial's communications officer, says, "We made every effort to work with Mr. Savio, and it is unfortunate that he is blaming us for his situation. Out of respect for our customers' privacy, we have no further comment. As a matter of bank policy, we don't comment on the affairs of our customers."

Bankruptcy court filings show that Central Pacific Bank claimed that Savio Inc. owed it about $1.5 million when Savio filed for bankruptcy in 2001. The Internal Revenue Service and Pitney Bowes Credit Corp. also listed claims of about $2,000 each.

The court-appointed trustee for Savio Inc.'s bankruptcy case, attorney Jim Nicholson, says the only unencumbered asset of the estate, a unit in the Diamond Head Beach apartment building, was sold for $375,000 in June 2003.

Gross sales for Savio's other new company, Hawaiian Island Development, were not reported for this year's Top 250, so one thing is for sure: Next year, he'll be back. Says Savio: "We're going to set up a new holding company called, 'I Hate CPB.' No, my attorney said I couldn't do that. I have a warped sense of humor, OK? But anyway, the new holding company is going to be Ohia Holdings."

Knowing Savio, there is marked symbolism in that choice. After all, the Ohia tree can be found growing in the middle of old lava flows.

NEW DISCOVERY (03-21-08): Undisclosed relationships between David Farmer and Linda Lingle:

Aloha Airlines filed for bankruptcy protection today for the second time in just over three years.

The state's No. 2 carrier filed for Chapter 11 reorganization with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Honolulu.

The airline said it hopes to protect the jobs of its 3,500 employees, honor all travel reservations and keep air cargo moving between the Islands.

In its filing, Aloha said it wasn't making enough money off inter-island routes because of "predatory pricing by Mesa Air Group's go! airline."

"In the highly competitive inter-island market, Aloha was forced to match go!'s below-cost fares at a time when the airline industry was facing unprecedented increases in the cost of jet fuel," the company said

"It is a travesty and a tragedy that the illegal actions of a competitor and other factors completely beyond our control have forced us to take this action," said David A. Banmiller, Aloha's president and CEO, in a statement.

"Through this filing, we hope to achieve a successful outcome that will protect the jobs of 3,500 dedicated employees who have made extraordinary sacrifices for Aloha, and to continue to earn the support of our loyal customers, business partners, vendors and financial backers."

Aloha said it will seek the court's approval to continue operating with financing from its principal working capital lender, General Motors Acceptance Corp.

Mark Dunkerley, president and CEO of Hawaiian Airlines, the state's No. 1 carrier, issued a written statement.

"The action taken by Aloha Airlines today reflects the difficult operating environment in Hawaii's airline industry," Dunkerley said. "It is extremely challenging and marked by high operating costs, record high fuel prices and a very competitive pricing structure."

"Fortunately at Hawaiian Airlines we have made many tough operating decisions in the past year and customers have responded positively. We know the local airline industry will continue to change and I'm confident that our employees are up to the challenge."

Gov. Linda Lingle issued a statement on the bankruptcy filing: "I am very concerned about the 3,500 employees who have sacrificed a lot over the years. I am hopeful that this action will allow Aloha Airlines to successfully emerge from reorganization as they have done in the past.

"The continued, uninterrupted service of the airline is in the best interest of the employees, Hawai'i residents and visitors and our state's economy. We will continue to monitor this situation and any potential impacts resulting from Aloha's filing today."

WASHINGTON - A Republican Jewish woman is probably looking to say thank you - or 'mahalo' - to the national Jewish political community for its support.

Linda Lingle, 49, won the Hawaii governor's race Nov. 5, beating the state's Democratic lieutenant governor, Mazie Hirono.

Lingle was one of two Jewish governors elected Nov. 5: The former mayor of Philadelphia, Ed Rendell, beat state Attorney General Mike Fisher to become Pennsylvania's next governor.

When Lingle came to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee annual policy conference in April, she mused about her Jewish support around the country.

She met a number of people at the conference who introduced her around and gave her advice. On a previous trip to New York, AIPAC and Chabad helped Lingle campaign, she said.

'My race has sort of been adopted,' she told JTA at the time. 'There is pride in having me as a Jewish candidate.'

Lingle, Hawaii's first Republican governor in 40 years, found herself attracting national attention, as Jewish, Republican and women's groups all lent their support for her run.

'She was committed to reaching out to Jewish communities across the country,' said Matthew Brooks, executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition.

The RJC leadership raised money for her and the group's political action committee gave her $6,000, Brooks said.

The Jewish vote could not have been a huge factor in the race, as there are only an estimated 10,000 Jews in Hawaii out of a total population of more than 1.2 million people.

Moreover, Hawaii's Jewish community, like the general Jewish population, tends to vote Democratic.

But Lingle, a moderate Republican who is pro-choice and against school prayer, thinks she will relate well to the Jewish community and to a lot of Democrats.

Lingle says her Jewish heritage has aided her political career in Hawaii because it has given her a better understanding of diversity, helping her connect with citizens of different religious and ethnic backgrounds.

Lingle is a member of a Jewish congregation on the island of Maui and attends Lubavitch services in Honolulu on the island of Oahu.

Gov. Lingle will pick the next chief justice unless
the people alter the Constitution

Gov. Linda Lingle says she wants the next chief justice of the Hawaii Supreme Court to be a hard-working legal scholar who will not legislate from the bench.

Candidates would not be favored if they were prosecutors, "but it wouldn't hurt their chances, either," the Republican governor said in a recent interview with the Star-Bulletin.

Although Attorney General Mark Bennett has been mentioned in legal circles as a top contender, the governor said it is too early to mention any names.

But in explaining the qualities she would like to see in judges, Lingle made clear that she believes they should interpret laws and leave legislation to elected officials.

Her remarks suggest that her appointment of the state's next chief justice could be monumental for the five-member high court. Known for a long tradition of rendering "activist" decisions, the court has been hailed by civil rights advocates but criticized by others as going beyond reviewing and applying the laws.

Lingle's appointment would be the first time that a Republican governor would name a chief justice in more than 40 years. Democratic Gov. John Burns appointed William Richardson in 1966, and Democratic governors appointed the next two: Herman Lum and the current chief justice, Ronald Moon.

The only way Lingle would be prevented from making the appointment is if state lawmakers place on this fall's ballot -- and voters approve -- a proposed constitutional amendment to lift the mandatory retirement for judges who turn 70.

Unless the state Constitution is amended, Moon must retire when he turns 70 on Sept. 4, 2010, about three months before Lingle's term expires.

The state Senate approved a controversial measure last week that raises the mandatory retirement age to 80, and sent the proposal to the state House. But key senators acknowledge that it will be difficult for the amendment to pass because voters rejected a similar proposal in 2006 that eliminated the mandatory retirement provision. Voters rejected the amendment by 80,000 votes, 58 percent to 35 percent.

"It's an uphill battle," said Sen. Brian Taniguchi, Senate judiciary chairman. "I'm not going to die if the bill dies."

Senate President Colleen Hanabusa agreed with the prognosis. "I'm not sure it will make it out of the Legislature because we just put it on the ballot," she said.

Taniguchi maintained that he views the proposal as a civil rights issue against age discrimination and a "compromise" by retaining the retirement age but raising it to 80.

Opponents, including Lingle, contend the measure is aimed at preventing her from naming the next chief justice.

Bennett and City Prosecutor Peter Carlisle, who opposed the 2006 proposal, submitted testimony in opposition to the current measure before Taniguchi's committee last month.

The proposal's supporters include the Hawaii Government Employees Association and the Japanese American Citizens League.

Republican Sen. Fred Hemmings, who voted against the measure last week, said in an interview that the proposal was "petty politics at its worst."

"I think they (Democrats) will try to do whatever they can to put it on the ballot," he said.

Taniguchi said he believes Moon is doing an "all-right job," but said the motivation behind the measure is not to keep him as chief justice. The senator noted that Moon was a Republican before he got to the bench.

The speculation that Bennett will be Lingle's choice has been fueled by his role as a trusted adviser to the governor. In addition, his was one of three names Lingle submitted to the White House for a lifetime tenure as a U.S. district judge here. In 2005, President Bush chose Michael Seabright, now a federal judge, from the list.

The speculation prompted Taniguchi to ask Bennett at last month's hearing about the chief justice's job.

In an interview, Bennett gave the same answer he gave to the senator: If the job somehow opened up now, he would not apply for it.

"My plans right now are, when I'm done as attorney general, to return to private practice and/or teach," he said. "But I would not even begin to speculate about what my feelings might be in two years."

Lingle's appointment would be subject to Senate approval. The Democratic-dominated Senate has rejected some of her appointments, including Ted Hong to the Circuit Court and Randal Lee to the Intermediate Court of Appeals.

But if Lingle gets the names for Moon's replacement early in 2010 and her appointment is rejected, she would be able to name another person from a list of four to six names submitted by the Judicial Selection Commission.

If the Senate rejects all of her choices, the commission would chose the chief justice from its list, according to the state Constitution. The commission's selection would not be subject to Senate approval.

Hanabusa said "it's almost positive" that Bennett will be appointed by the governor. She said one of the criticisms is that he is sometimes almost "overzealous" in representing the administration over the legislative and judicial branches. Hanabusa cited his efforts against the mandatory retirement amendment that was placed before the voters by the Legislature in 2006.

Hemmings, however, said he is a "big fan" of Bennett and applauded him for his work with prosecutors and police in pushing for legislation. "It's hard to deny his success and record," Hemmings said.

Another name mentioned is Mark Recktenwald, a former assistant U.S. attorney who was Lingle's director of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs before the governor named him chief judge of the Intermediate Court of Appeals last year.

Hanabusa said Recktenwald is considered a good administrator and would have support, but indicated senators might wait to see how he does as the chief appeals court judge.

Recktenwald said he has been chief judge for only about 10 months and is focused on doing a good job. "I haven't given consideration to anything else," he said.

Lingle's appointment would oversee a Hawaii Supreme Court whose history includes expanding the public's rights to beaches and surface waters; recognizing the rights of native Hawaiians go onto private property for traditional religious and food gathering practices; and striking down laws the court believed infringed on the rights of criminal defendants.

In its landmark and highly controversial case, the high court issued a 1993 decision that paved the way for same-sex marriages in Hawaii. That ruling prompted state lawmakers to complain that the court was creating new law, and it led to a constitutional amendment that essentially negated the ruling.

"I continue to try to reflect what the public would like to see in a judiciary, and that is a judiciary that really interprets the laws that elected people pass rather than try to make law as a judge from the bench," Lingle said.

Lingle notes that unlike the three previous Democratic governors, she is not a lawyer who might be familiar with judicial candidates. She suggests that helps bring a fresh prospective to her judicial appointments.

Because her appointments are for 10-year terms, the judges Lingle has selected -- and will select -- will remain on the bench for years after she leaves office.

Lingle said she wants her legacy to be that the courts will be a place where people "get a fair shake."

"I think the very highest achievement you can have for a judiciary is that the average citizen of a state or of a country will get fair treatment no matter who they are," she said.

The Judicial Selection Commission reviews and evaluates applications for all judicial vacancies, and vote, by secret ballot, to select qualified nominees. Established by a 1978 state constitutional amendment, the Commission is governed by the Judicial Selection Commission Rules.

The names of the nominees are then forwarded to the appropriate appointing authority. The governor is the appointing authority to nominate judges of the Supreme Court, Intermediate Court of Appeals, and Circuit Court for an initial ten-year term. The governor selects appointees from a list of not less than four and not more than six names submitted by the Judicial Selection Commission. The commission submits a list of at least six names to the chief justice who nominates judges for district and district family court to six-year terms. All nominations are subject to confirmation by the state senate.

The Commission also determines whether a justice or judge shall be retained in office. The Commission publicizes the fact that a justice or judge is seeking retention so that all persons who might have an interest in the matter be informed of the opportunity to comment.

Comments about justices and judges seeking appointment or retention should be submitted to:

Contact Information:
Judicial Selection Commission
417 South King Street
Honolulu, Hawai`i 96813-2902
Telephone: (808) 538-5200

The Commission is composed of nine members, no more than four of whom may be lawyers. The members, who serve staggered six-year terms, are selected or elected as follows:

The Judicial Accountability Initiative Law, J.A.I.L., is a single-issue national grassroots organization designed to end the rampant and pervasive judicial corruption in the legal system of the United States. J.A.I.L. recognizes this can be achieved only through making the Judicial Branch of government answerable and accountable to an entity other than itself. At this time it isn't, resulting in the judiciary's arbitrary abuse of the doctrine of judicial immunity, leaving the People without recourse when their inherent rights are violated by judges.

"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men."

Millions More Taxpayer Dollars to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs - When is Enough, Enough?

Unable to get the federal “Akaka Bill” through Congress and the president’s office, so they could secure “federal recognition” and more importantly billions of dollars in land, cash and ultimately casinos, OHA has focused its attention on the more friendly state government and acquired state land and money anyway to form its new nation.

Stating “it’s a good deal for taxpayers,” Gov. Linda Lingle on Friday announced the state settlement for disputed ceded land revenue to OHA of $200 million. The deal includes only $13 million in cash and the rest in vast acreage in some of the most prime real estate in the state at considerably less than market value.

Why would a state agency want so much land while fervently supporting federal recognition that would require the state of Hawaii and the federal government to negotiate the surrendering of 1.2 million acres of ceded lands now owned by all races of citizens in Hawaii to the new Hawaiian Nation?

If the Akaka Bill does not pass Congress or is vetoed by the president as expected, Plan B of OHA will provide a land base for the new Nation of Hawaii. Land is money and power in Hawaii, especially undeveloped prime real estate in Kakaako and Kalaeloa.

As a state taxpayer, I cannot even get a $1 tax rebate from the $700 million surplus of taxes in 2007, and probably not even a penny in 2008, but OHA can get a $200 million.

The governor also wants $100 million for Department of Hawaiian Homelands to build more homes for Hawaiians on top of the $600 million over 20 years all ready being paid by state taxpayers.

This is also in addition to the federal government’s $150 million a year in various programs for Hawaiians. The Federal Communications Commission is providing $400 million in rural fiber optic connections on Hawaiian Homesteads through Sandwich Isle Communications, which has an all Hawaiian Board of Directors including Kamehameha schools trustee Robert K.U. Kihune (VADM, USN, Ret) and Al Hee, Sen. Clayton Hee’s brother.

Mayor Mufi Hannemann paid over $5 million from city taxpayers to buy Waimea Valley and then gave it to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

Hawaiians on homestead properties only pay $100 a year in property taxes for the same city services I pay over $3,000 a year for, so that is another benefit not given to the rest of us.

With the billions of dollars already paid out to Hawaiians, the question is why are there still so many Hawaiian homeless on the beaches?

When Gov. Linda Lingle says “it’s a good deal for taxpayers,” I have to ask who negotiated this deal for the average taxpayer? It doesn’t sound like a very good deal to me. How much longer do the taxpayers of the state of Hawaii and the federal government have to pay for racial separatism and when will enough be enough?

HawaiiReporter.com reports the real news, and prints all editorials submitted, even if they do not represent the viewpoint of the editors, as long as they are written clearly. Send editorials to mailto:Malia@HawaiiReporter.com

Considering SMU football's struggles during the last 20 years, perhaps the wild drama that unfolded Sunday in the school's efforts to hire June Jones as its new football coach shouldn't be surprising.

As of late Sunday night, Jones was still deciding between taking the SMU job and returning to Hawaii, according to agent Leigh Steinberg.

Steinberg said he expected a decision Sunday night – or early this morning Dallas time. SMU athletic director Steve Orsini did not return a call seeking comment.

While Jones was in Dallas meeting with SMU president R. Gerald Turner, Orsini, trustees and the school's search committee and enjoying dinner with boosters at a local steakhouse, Hawaii supporters made a tremendous 11th-hour push to try to keep Jones.

It had seemed a foregone conclusion that Jones would accept SMU's five-year offer of between $1.7 million and $2 million a year, according to two sources, after reports surfaced Saturday that he had tendered a resignation letter before flying to Dallas.

But on Sunday, Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle called to intervene. David McClain, the president of the University of Hawaii system, called with a third, "amplified" offer, Steinberg said....

HONOLULU – Governor Linda Lingle announced today she will lead a 12-day business trip to Asia that will focus on increasing security and emergency preparedness partnerships between Hawai‘i and Indonesia, as well as promoting tourism and business opportunities with Japan. During the trip, which will take place from June 9 to 22, the Governor will visit Jakarta, Indonesia, and Tokyo and Okinawa, Japan. It will be the Governor’s first official state visit to Indonesia and her second official visit to Japan as Governor of Hawai‘i...

“This trip is another important opportunity to continue to strengthen Hawai‘i’s strategic role in the Asia-Pacific region,” said Governor Lingle....

The Governor will be accompanied by members of the Administration who will take part in various segments of the trip, including Major General Robert Lee, state adjutant general; Marsha Wienert, state tourism liaison; Dr. Chiyome Fukino, state health director; Sandra Lee Kunimoto, chair, Board of Agriculture; Kurt Kawafuchi, state tax director; JP Schmidt, state insurance commissioner; Craig Watanabe, captive insurance administrator, Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs; Lenny Klompus, senior advisor-communications; Russell Pang, chief of media relations; and representatives from the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.

Charles “Chip” McCreery, geophysicist-in-charge, Pacific Tsunami Warning Center; Rex Johnson, president and CEO, Hawai‘i Tourism Authority; Dr. Carl Wilhelm Vogel, director, Cancer Research Center of Hawai‘i; and Major General Vern Miyagi, mobilization assistant to the commander of U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM), will also participate in portions of the trip.

In addition, officials from the East-West Center (EWC), including Terance “Terry” Bigalke, director, education programs, and Richard Baker, special assistant to the EWC president, will serve as advisors to the Governor on issues relating to Indonesia, Japan and the Asia-Pacific region....

During the course of the seven-day visit to Tokyo, the Governor and members of her cabinet will also participate in various seminars to raise awareness of new opportunities in Hawai‘i in diverse sectors such as insurance and life sciences. One seminar will provide Japanese businesses with updates on Hawai‘i’s growing captive insurance market.

Captive insurance is a type of formal self-insurance, where large companies set up their own insurance company to cover its risks. Hawai‘i has licensed more than 205 captive insurance companies, making it the top domicile in the Pacific basin for captives. Another seminar will focus on opportunities to attract new business, investments, potential partnerships, alliances and research in Hawai‘i’s life sciences....

Governor Lingle will also meet with sailors and their families stationed at the Yokosuka Naval Base, located approximately 40 miles south of Tokyo.

The final portion of the trip, a two-day visit to Okinawa, will include a celebration of the Sister-State Relationship that was established between Hawai‘i and Okinawa Prefecture in 1985. In addition, the delegation will participate in a seminar on science, technology and innovation, as well as visit with marines, airmen and their families stationed on Okinawa.

Expenses for Governor Lingle and two staff members will be paid for by the Governor’s budget [aka US Taxpayers]. Other expenses for cabinet members and government officials will be paid for by their department’s respective budgets [aka US Taxpayers].

HONOLULU -- Gov. Linda Lingle on Monday spoke for the first time at length about her former chief of staff and the extortion case, which threatened to expose an alleged extramarital affair he was involved in.

"I believe that he always conducted himself appropriately when he was on an official state trip," Lingle said.

Lingle said she and Bob Awana, her friend and closest adviser, decided together he would resign as chief of staff.

"Bob resigned because the media attention and the sensationalization of him being a victim of blackmail," Lingle said. "The issues surrounding Bob were because of something he did personally."

In October, the man who tried to blackmail Awana, Rajdatta Patkar, was sentenced to a year in federal prison.

Patkar allegedly stole e-mails from Awana to a Filipino mistress, asking that she find other women who wanted to meet married American men prominent enough to travel with Lingle.

"Did you investigate whether it was on state trips?" one reporter asked Lingle during a news conference.

"Yes I did, and I found no information that would lead me to believe that it was ever done on state trips," Lingle said.

Patkar's attorney, Pamela Byrne, has said he has agreed to return to testify in another federal case that involves an investigation in Hawaii involving young Filipino women, and what Byrne called "men behaving badly."

"I know of no investigation of the government. None of my directors or myself have ever been contacted about an investigation," Lingle said.

When a reporter asked if it was appropriate to carry on a so-called liaison with another person during a state trip, Lingle had this response:

"Well, Dave, you are asking a difficult question. You're asking a moral question first of all," Lingle said.

A federal judge has not decided yet whether to unseal e-mails and other evidence in the Patkar extortion case.

Lingle on Monday announced Department of Transportation Director Barry Fukunaga will take over as her chief of staff.

Gov. Lingle’s Chief of Staff Bob Awana Is the Victim of a Blackmail Scheme and Under Investigation for Alleged Bribery in Saipan, But So Far He's Kept His Job

Gov. Linda Lingle’s chief of staff Robert “Bob” Awana has come under fire in recent weeks for his connection to two so far unrelated federal crimes – one allegedly involving blackmail, and the other, bribery. In one he is the victim; and the other, a person of interest. Combined, both crimes, which are being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigations, involve people in Hawaii as well as other Pacific Rim countries: Japan, the Philippines, India and Saipan.

Despite concerns by many Republicans about Awana’s intentions and propensity to put politics over principal, the former Democratic political strategist and waste management consultant is considered Lingle’s closest confidant. He managed her failed 1998 gubernatorial campaign, but ran her successful 2002 gubernatorial effort, securing in a state dominated by Democrats, the election of Hawaii’s first woman governor and first Republican governor in 4 decades.

Since then, Lingle has afforded Awana tremendous power. He has the most influence over the hiring and firing of the governor’s appointees and has been accused of micromanagement; and reportedly keeps a color-coded enemies list with names of those perceived disloyal to the governor.

Most alarming to Republicans, in a 2006 backroom multi-billion deal with Mayor Mufi Hannemann, Awana brokered the passage of a controversial bill that allowed Hannemann and the Honolulu City Council to hike the state General Excise Tax by 12.5 percent – a record tax increase for the state – even though Lingle pledged 72 hours earlier to veto the measure.

Though he’s usually by the governor’s side, on Monday, June 25, 2007, in a press conference at the governor’s office, Awana was uncharacteristically absent. Lingle refused to comment on either investigation. She told inquiring reporters that Awana’s employment status with her office had not changed – he is still her chief of staff. But she would not answer questions posed by KITV’s Darryl Huff as to whether she still had “faith and confidence’ in Awana. The governor tried to put off the question by claiming she’d just returned from an extended trip to Asia, and had not spoken to Awana. But Huff pointed out that just days earlier, Awana spoke to KITV and admitted that in 2005, he met with the governor about the bribery attempt.

In an interview with Hawaii Reporter on Monday, Awana refused to comment further about either case, except to reiterate what he told other reporters: He is a “victim” of a crime, and because both investigations are ongoing, he won’t speak about them.

Rajdatta Patkar, an Indian national, was indicted by a federal grand jury more than a year ago on April 27, 2006, on 5 counts for “threatening to injure the property and reputation” of “R.A.” (Robert Awana). Court records say the “five communications sent by the defendant (on September 5, 11, 15, 18, and 26, 2005) formed the basis of the 5-count extortion.” Since the matter involved an extradition proceeding, the indictment was sealed until the defendant was located in Japan where he lives. There, Patkar was arrested in March 2007, and despite his opposition, he was extradited to Hawaii.

Indian newspapers first reported that Patkar’s family petitioned the Indian High Court and Indian Supreme Court through their attorney in hopes of bringing Patkar back to India, but those attempts failed. Stuck in Hawaii, he pled “not guilty” to the charges, but the judge ordered him detained in federal prison until his trial. While the trial is scheduled to start August 21, 2007, it won’t. Public defender Pamela Byrne has asked for more time to review the materials and mount her client’s defense.

In Hawaii, the bribery case received no media coverage until this month, in part because of the sealed records. In addition, Awana was not named – in all court records he is only referred to as “R.A.” Federal prosecutors say keeping Awana’s name a secret is standard procedure: “All cases involving victims, irrespective of whether they are high profile members of the community, the United States is obligated under the Crime Victim Rights Act to treat victims with fairness and respect for the victims’ privacy. Accordingly, it is generally incumbent upon the prosecution to abbreviate or eliminate the names of victims in all documents that may become public …,” writes U.S. Deputy Attorney Clare Connors.

Despite the federal government’s discretion, Awana’s name became public after Indian newspapers reported Patkar’s arrest, indictment, extradition to the United States and incarceration in Hawaii.

According to court documents, Patkar attempted to extort $35,000 from Awana on threat of exposing Awana’s purported “unseemly emails” that if published would “subject the victim’s reputation to unfavorable scrutiny.”

Sources close to the case say that Patkar threatened to expose the married Awana for his relationship with Jullie Mae – a student Awana allegedly met in 2005 while in the Philippines. Awana purportedly saw Mae when he represented the governor in a large delegation that went to the Philippines in 2005; Awana went again to the Philippines in 2006 with the governor’s more than 200-member delegation.

Mae, who became acquainted with Patkar through the Internet, reportedly has a web profile posted on the Chinese Kisses international dating service – http://www.chinesekisses.com/view.php?id=69357&l=en

Here Mae is listed as an 18-year-old unemployed student living in Davao, Philippines. If her age is accurately posted, she was a minor when Awana allegedly met her more than two years ago, a fact some law enforcement looking into the matter say could be problematic for Awana in the future.

Complicating the alleged blackmail attempt is reported correspondence between Awana and Mae that asks Mae to arrange escorts for two prominent married men from Hawaii.

Maui Time Weekly’s Greg Mebele interviewed Charudatta Patkar, the brother of Patkar. In a June 14 interview, he writes when “Awana and other state officials visited the Philippines, Charudatta said Mae was expected to ‘entertain his delegates.’ When I asked if this included sexual entertainment, Charudatta said, ‘Yes.’ “

Details on the case are sketchy because portions of the court records containing the emails that Patkar sent to Awana and Awana sent to Mae are sealed. Patkar, who is still incarcerated, has not been allowed to speak to the media. His federal public defender, Pamela Byrne, filed a petition on June 12, 2007, asking the federal court to “clarify whether the defendant and undersigned counsel are restricted from disseminating and/or discussing information concerning this case with anyone else.”

Byrne says the grounds for her motion are that “the government has requested that the counsel and defendant sign a proposed order in which the name of the alleged victim and certain details of the instant offense are not revealed unless and until there is a trial on the merits.”

Her motion will be heard this Friday, June 29, at 10 a.m. before Federal Judge Leslie E. Kobayashi. Byrne has not returned calls to Hawaii Reporter about this case, or, according to her own sworn statement, any media. Federal officials also are not commenting.

Awana told reporters that he went to U.S. Attorney Ed Kubo after being blackmailed by Patkar, and Kubo referred the case to the FBI. Awana said that he worked with the FBI to catch Patkar in the act by telling Patkar to charge $4,000 to his credit card as a first payment of the $35,000 that Patkar demanded. But the credit card wasn’t Awana’s – it belonged to the FBI. The whole transaction was a sting, and Patkar, according to court records, took the money.

In addition to being the subject of a blackmail attempt, Awana is being questioned by FBI officials about an alleged bribery attempt of the former Republican governor of Saipan.

Law enforcement sources confirm Awana has been under investigation – and was interviewed by FBI agents in 2006 – over a $1 million Saipan government contract awarded four years earlier to a Saipan waste management company, which Awana owns a large percentage of.

Awana told The Honolulu Advertiser last week that he did not bribe government officials in Saipan.

When asked by Hawaii Reporter about the investigation, Awana maintained his innocence.

He says he had not hired a criminal attorney to represent him and says that he is cooperating with federal authorities in both cases.

In light of Awana’s close political ties to both Lingle and Lt. Governor James “Duke” Aiona, political pundits are already debating how these federal investigations, possible subsequent trials, and the information revealed through them, might impact Hawaii’s 2010 elections.

They note the Lingle/Aiona administration promised to end corruption in government – and these investigations only hurt that pledge.

Aiona has already announced his plans to run for governor on the Republican ticket, but both investigations are placing the Lingle/Aiona administration under tremendous local, national and international scrutiny. And that won’t likely end soon.

The Friday hearing before Judge Leslie Kobayashi determining if there is a gag order on Patkar and his attorney, is sure to gain additional media attention on this case - attention that will only drag on with the delay in the August trial.

Attorneys tell Hawaii Reporter that if there is a trial in the blackmail case, several of the governor’s prominent Philippine trip sponsors and donors could be called as witnesses. That could have a chilling effect on recruiting private sponsorships for future foreign "good will" trips and on relations with donors for Aiona’s 2010 gubernatorial campaign.

Also depending on what is discovered in the blackmail trial, sources say Awana could become the target of a separate but related federal investigation – and in that case, these sponsors and donors may once again be called as witnesses.

One source close to the investigation told Hawaii Reporter: “It will only get worse for Awana from here. There is no upside for him.”

An Advertiser computer-assisted study of state and federal campaign records shows that the Superferry, its executives and several of its board members contributed more than $39,000 since 2004 to local lawmakers and members of Hawai'i's Congressional delegation.

A review of state and federal ethics filings also found that the Superferry spent more than $136,000 since 2004 to lobby state officials and the federal government.

"You're talking about an extremely large sum of money even by national standards," said Craig Holman, a campaign finance expert with Public Citizen, a Washington, D.C.-based consumer advocacy group. "At the very least, they are trying to buy access, and at the worst they are trying to buy influence."

Superferry officials said there's no connection between the political donations and any legislative efforts pursued by the company.

The Lingle administration decided in February 2005 to exempt the Superferry project from an environmental assessment, which would take months to complete. That decision was reversed by the Hawai'i Supreme Court in August and now the ferry has been banned from operating until the assessment is finished.

Lingle and state legislators may convene a special session to rewrite the law and allow the ferry to operate while the assessment is conducted.

The 350-foot ferry was to carry passengers and vehicles between O'ahu, Maui and Kaua'i and began service in August before being shut down.

The Advertiser's computer-assisted study examined contributions made to Lingle, Hawai'i's Congressional delegation and all 76 state legislators from 2004. The study found that Superferry executives and its board members made more than 30 political contributions between 2004 and 2007.

Lingle's campaign received the most money from the Superferry and its officials, even though Lingle had directed campaign officials not to accept money from Superferry executives, said Miriam Hellreich, who served as the Lingle campaign's finance director from 2002 to 2006.

State campaign spending records show that Lingle's campaign received six donations totaling $12,000, including $6,000 in donations in October 2006 from Superferry Chairman and former Secretary of the U.S. Navy John Lehman and company Director Tig Krekel.

Hellreich said the Lingle campaign's policy was to refuse contributions from companies that were negotiating with the state for contracts. Lingle also told campaign staffers not to accept contributions from Superferry executives, Hellreich said.

Hellreich said staffers made "an error" by accepting the $6,000 in 2006 because negotiations between the state and Superferry were ongoing. Some campaign staffers were not aware of the internal policy against accepting money from Superferry officials, she said.

Hellreich also noted that the Lingle campaign returned about $10,000 in donations to Superferry officials in 2005 because the state and the company were still in negotiations. Hellreich said the campaign has no plans to return the 2006 donations.

"All the donations associated with people with the (Superferry) were within the law," Hellreich said.

Superferry executives and directors also contributed $9,200 to Abercrombie's campaign, including a cluster of June 2007 donations from Lehman, Krekel and Superferry President and CEO John Garibaldi.

Abercrombie said he receives support from a broad group of interests including environmental groups.

Federal Election Commission records show that the Sierra Club's political committee contributed more than $6,000 to Abercrombie's campaigns since 1998 and that the League of Conservation Voters Action Fund has donated nearly $1,000 to his campaigns since 1998....

Superferry executives made several contributions totaling $8,800 on Aug.25, 2006, and Sept. 11, 2006, to Akaka's campaign. Akaka spokesman Jesse Van Dyke said Akaka has taken no position on the issue since it doesn't involve Congressional action and is largely a state issue.

State House Speaker Calvin Say, a Superferry supporter, received $2,000 from the company on Jan. 24, 2006. That same day State. Rep. Joseph Souki received $1,000 from the Superferry. Say, D-20th (St. Louis Heights, Palolo Valley, Wilhelmina Rise), and Souki, D-8th (Wailuku, Waihe'e, Waiehu), were not available for comment....

Lost in all the discussion over what will happen with the state Senate’s compromise bill that requires a full Environmental Impact Statement on the proposed Superferry (at taxpayer expense) but allows Hawaii Superferry, Inc. (HSF) to start operations this July is what will happen if the bill manages to make it all the way to Governor Linda Lingle’s desk. Don’t expect it to be pretty. In addition to Garibaldi’s contribution cited above, here’s what HSF principals and investors gave to Lingle during the 2006 campaign:

• David Cole (HSF Director/Maui Land & Pineapple President, Chairman and CEO): $4,000

When all that’s added to Garibaldi’s $2,800 contribution, HSF, its directors and investors gave Lingle $24,300 in total during her 2006 reelection campaign. Where I come from, that translates into the bill being Dead On Arrival when Lingle gets it.

HONOLULU – Governor Linda Lingle has appointed Allan A. Smith to serve as interim director of the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR). Smith will head the department and serve as interim chair of the Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) until the Governor names a permanent replacement for outgoing director Peter Young.

Last week Governor Lingle convened a 30-member search committee, which will be chaired by Young.

The U.S. Maritime Administration says it did not demand environmental exemption in order to back the Hawaii Superferry’s loan.

In a recent letter, Gov. Linda Lingle told state Sen. Gary Hooser that the Maritime Adminsitration placed such a condition on the loan.

But the head of the administration, Sean Connaughton, says that was not the case.

Connaughton says the maritime agency only wanted proof of the state and Superferry's prior claims that the harbor improvements could be exempted from review.

"Obviously the vessel has to meet every environmental requirement," Connaughton said. “The vessel and the operations do have to meet whatever applicable standards that may exist."

In the 2005 loan guaranty, the Maritime Administration stated “all the governmental and environmental clearances” had to be met, including “confirmation that there is no need for an environmental assessment of the port facilities.” The agency says that does not constitute a demand to avoid environmental review.

Lucky Twist of Fate for Former Chief of Staff Embroiled in Blackmail Scheme; Indian National Pleads Guilty to Extortion So There Will Be No Trial, But Awana Still Under Investigation for Alleged Bribery Deal in Saipan

In a lucky twist of fate for Gov. Linda Lingle’s former chief of staff Robert “Bob” Awana, Indian national Rajdatta Patkar pled guilty on Tuesday, July 10, in U.S. District Court to one count of extortion.

Patkar, 46, was indicted on 5 counts of extortion in 2006, but prosecutors agreed to consolidate the charges after Patkar confessed to attempting to blackmail Awana on 5 separate occasions in September 2005 and extort $35,000 from him. U.S. District Judge Michael Seabright ordered that Patkar be sentenced on Oct. 29, 2007, at which time he could face up to two years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The plea agreement means Awana’s secret emails to Jullie Mae, a young resident of Davao city in the Philippines, which he was being blackmailed over, won’t be made public in a trial.

Sources say Mae contacted by Awana to set up local female escorts for married men traveling to the Philippines who were major sponsors or donors to the governor. Awana made two trips on the governor’s behalf, once in 2005 and 2006.

Awana also reportedly was in a relationship with one of Mae’s friends -- a woman whose name has not been revealed. Earlier media reports said Mae was the woman who the married Awana was allegedly in a relationship with, but since, law enforcement sources confirm it was actually Mae’s friend who was reportedly involved with Awana, and Mae who was the contact for the escort arrangements.

Patkar, his friends tell Hawaii Reporter, was in a relationship -- at least by email -- with the woman who Awana was reportedly involved with. Her name will remain under seal as will the names of the two prominent Hawaii men who were copied on Awana’s email to Mae requesting escorts for them.

No more information is likely to be made public in this case because the court records have been sealed, the emails remain confidential, Patkar has been silenced via a court mandated “gag” order, and Awana resigned as chief of staff for the governor on June 29, 2007, after the blackmail attempt, and likely reasons behind it, became public in Hawaii.

The Honolulu Advertiser also reports in its July 11th edition that there was an additional condition to Patkar’s deal -- he agreed to “cooperate with a separate, federal public corruption probe into a Saipan waste management company that Awana partially owns.”

Awana admitted to the local media, including Hawaii Reporter, that he was in fact questioned by FBI officials in 2006 over an alleged bribery attempt of the former Republican governor of Saipan, which may have led to Awana’s company securing a multi-million Saipan government contract.

The governor would not comment further on either the blackmail or bribery cases. The only statement she issued was on June 29 when she announced Awana’s resignation. She said the state has benefited tremendously from Bob’s service and she will miss his wise counsel.

Awana, who ran Lingle’s 1998, 2002 and 2006 gubernatorial campaigns, was considered Lingle’s closest confidant and widely the second most powerful and influential person in her administration. Many Republicans were wary of him because he was an active Democrat who changed political parties for Lingle. He was the former chief of staff for Honolulu Mayor Eileen Anderson, also a Democrat.

In addition, Awana was the deal maker for Lingle with House and Senate Democrats, the Democratic congressional members and Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann. He is considered largely responsible for the record 12.5 percent GET tax hike that passed in 2005 after Gov. Lingle promised to veto the measure -- tax hike that split the Republican base and caused many Republicans to pull their support for Lingle.

Awana’s resignation also helped with damage control, not only for Lingle, but for Lt. Gov. James “Duke” Aiona’s campaign for governor planned for 2010. Several of the governor’s Philippine trip sponsors -- and the prominent married men who reportedly hired Philippine escorts -- were likely to be deposed if a trial took place, sources say.

Bob Awana, Gov. Linda Lingle's chief of staff, resigned amid controversy surrounding his alleged role in a Saipan public corruption investigation and an alleged extortion attempt against him.

In a news release yesterday, Lingle said she and Awana met Thursday and "mutually concluded it was in the best interest of all that he resign his position effective immediately."

"It is with deep personal and professional regret that I make this statement," Lingle said.

As chief of staff, Awana was the most influential member of Lingle's administration, serving as the point person on major management and political issues. He did not return calls yesterday.

In the first case, Awana was the alleged victim of an extortion attempt by an Indian national who is now in federal custody.

Rajdatta Patkar, a 44-year-old native of Mumbai, India, now living in Tokyo, attempted to extort $35,000 from Awana in 2005, according to a March 2006 federal grand jury indictment.

Patkar, who has pleaded not guilty to the charges, allegedly threatened to expose an extra-marital affair Awana had with a woman in the Philippines, according to people with knowledge of the investigation who declined to be named, citing an ongoing criminal proceeding.

Patkar learned of the affair after finding e-mails Awana allegedly sent to the woman, the people said.

Awana said he immediately notified federal law enforcement officials after the alleged extortion attempt and informed Lingle.

The details of the alleged extortion attempt would be made public if Patkar's case goes to trial, but Patkar could avoid a trial with a plea agreement.

Yesterday, Patkar's attorney, Pamela Byrne of the Office of the Federal Public Defender, filed a motion to withdraw his not guilty plea and asked that Patkar be able to enter a new plea. A hearing on the motion before federal Judge Michael Seabright is scheduled for Friday.

Awana is involved in a second controversy involving a lucrative contract to operate a landfill in Saipan.

In 2002, the Republican governor of Saipan awarded a company owned in part by Awana a $9.9 million contract to operate a new landfill. After the Republican governor was replaced by a Democrat in 2005, the contract was canceled.

A member of the Democratic governor's Cabinet said the contract given by the Republican governor was too expensive, according to the Saipan Tribune newspaper.

The awarding of the contract is the subject of an ongoing federal public corruption probe. Awana was questioned by federal investigators last year in the case.

Awana, who owns a 16 percent stake in the Saipan venture, has denied wrongdoing.

Last year, the FBI requested records from the Commonwealth Election Commission in Saipan relating to political donations to Juan Babauta, the former Republican governor of Saipan, according to people familiar with the investigation.

Awana said Justice Department investigators confiscated and reviewed his personal financial statements as well as those of the company.

Justice Department investigators also asked about a cash account kept by the company that Awana said was used for business trips and entertainment for company executives. Investigators wanted to know how much was given to elected officials in Saipan, Awana said.

HONOLULU -- Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle, who was elected on promises of clean and open government, won't talk about why her chief of staff resigned while involved in a case with accusations of blackmail, bribery and impropriety on state trips.

The Republican governor has refused to say what she knew about a $35,000 extortion attempt against top aide Bob Awana in a federal case that court records say included "unseemly e-mails" between Awana and a woman in the Philippines in 2005.

Awana cooperated in the prosecution of Rajdatta Patkar, an extradited Indian national who admitted guilt in U.S. District Court July 10 to one of five extortion charges.

Neither Lingle nor Awana have commented on the case, including questions being raised about contact with female escorts during state trips to the Philippines in 2005 and 2006 that Awana took with Lingle and local business figures.

Awana, who was responsible for running state departments and advising the governor, has been her campaign chairman for the past three elections, including her re-election to a second term last November.

Awana has said he informed Lingle of the extortion soon after he received the e-mails two years ago, but she never mentioned it in public, and he didn't resign until June 28, after the extortion was reported. Since stepping down, Awana hasn't returned calls to his cell phone seeking comment.

"The public is waiting for an explanation of what happened from the governor. I think they would like to know what she knew, when did she know it and what did she do about it," said Hawaii Democratic Party chairman Mike McCartney. "There's a lot of speculation, and it isn't doing anybody any good."

As part of the agreement, Patkar, a 46-year-old computer consultant who had been living in Japan, will cooperate with authorities as they continue to investigate, said his attorney, Pamela Byrne. Patkar's connection to the Philippines did not come out in the resolution of the case.

Court documents were sealed shut by U.S. District Judge Michael Seabright, and the U.S. attorney's office in Honolulu wouldn't reveal what they are investigating, or even whether they've opened a case.

In a separate case, federal agents questioned Awana last year about how he secured a waste management contract worth more than $1 million in the Pacific island of Saipan. He has not been charged with any crime, and he denied accusations of bribing officials to secure the contract, which was awarded five years ago.

In Lingle's "New Beginning" pamphlet distributed before she became Hawaii's first Republican governor in 40 years in 2002, she pledged to "hold myself and those who serve in government accountable to the people of Hawaii for our official actions, our personal behavior, our campaign promises."

"This administration ran on ... removal of corruption in government, so any alleged appearance of impropriety has to be dealt with, and dealt with quickly and efficiently," said one of Lingle's political allies, Sen. Sam Slom, R-Diamond Head-Hawaii Kai. "That was her bestest buddy, and he was an important figure. There have been rumors and allegations for years."

It was not the first time Lingle had faced a possible embarrassing problem, but she was more open about past actions.

She asked former Rep. Bev Harbin, whom the governor appointed to fill a Democrat's seat shortly after Harbin joined the Democratic Party, to resign after it was revealed Harbin owed back taxes and had been convicted of passing bad checks.

She also told former Republican Rep. Galen Fox it would be appropriate for him to step down after he was convicted in federal court in Los Angeles of a misdemeanor sex charge for fondling a woman aboard an airliner.

This time, Lingle only issued an 87-word statement saying she and Awana "mutually concluded" he should resign. She hasn't answered reporters' questions about the case at public events in the two weeks since, except to say Awana was her friend and she was glad to hear Patkar had been convicted.

Lingle won't say anything more about Awana, said her spokesman Russell Pang on Friday.

The state Ethics Commission hasn't opened its own investigation. Dan Mollway, the commission's executive director, said he considers it a federal case and his office would "just wait and see."

Prosecutors won't explain why Judge Seabright sealed records in the case, which is typically done either because there's an ongoing criminal investigation or to protect the victim -- in this case, Awana.

"I wouldn't be able to discuss why nonpublic records are sealed. I can't discuss the reasons why they are nonpublic," said Elliott Enoki, spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office in Honolulu. "We don't generally discuss ongoing investigations that have not been publicly identified."

Information could come out if there are indictments in the Saipan case, if court records get unsealed or after Patkar is sentenced Oct. 29. He faces a maximum penalty of two years in prison, three years of supervised release, a $250,000 fine and mandatory restitution.

"I don't have any inside information because everybody is hush-hush," Slom said. "I'm afraid this whole thing will be semi-resolved and we still won't know who all the players are."

A open letter to Gov. Lingle concerning allegations
involving former Chief of Staff Bob Awana

I understand that you do not want to interfere with an ongoing criminal case and possible additional probe involving the state’s former administrative director, Bob Awana, who also served as your chief of staff. However, you have promised the public accountability and transparency.

The real policy issues and political issues are independent of these external investigations and will not be resolved by whatever happens in the criminal case which, by the way, is likely to be wrapped up this week when the defendant is expected to enter a guilty plea.

One clear policy question is whether there is any truth to the reports that Mr. Awana, the second most powerful person in state government, was directly or indirectly arranging sexual “entertainment” for members of one or more official state delegations to foreign countries known for their famous but much-criticized sex trades.

• Were you aware of allegations that arrangements for “entertainment” of delegates traveling to the Philippines were being made?

• Are members of official state delegations and trade missions asked not to partake of the “adult entertainment” as long as they serving as ambassadors of the state?

MANILA » Gov. Linda Lingle began a day of ceremony by laying a wreath at a monument dedicated to Philippine national hero Dr. Jose Rizal, the martyr whose execution led to the Philippine revolution against the Spanish.

Lingle was accompanied today by Manila Mayor Lito Atienza and an honor guard as a military band played "Pilipinas Kong Mahal" ("My Beloved Philippines").

Later today, Lingle was to meet with President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and help unveil a stamp commemorating 100 years of Filipino immigration to Hawaii.

She is also being presented an honorary degree in public management from the University of Manila, a rare honor, said deputy Honolulu consul general Eva Betita, who said she cannot remember another U.S. governor who has received the degree....

Before I begin to describe our third day in Manila, I thought I would share some highlights of last night's fabulous outdoor concert on Roxas Boulevard, across the street from Manila Bay. Our delegation mingled and danced with an estimated 4,000 Filipinos who were treated to performances by the Tihati entertainers and Jasmine Trias. While she will always be Hawaii's own “American Idol,“ it was clear from the audience's reaction that Jasmine has captured the hearts of the people of the Philippines....

She even sang a couple of songs in Tagalog. I am proud of how her career has blossomed, and how well she is representing our state and young Filipinos everywhere.

Yesterday also was highlighted by the unveiling of the commemorative centennial stamp with President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, which I touched on in my column yesterday....

Today started with a business symposium with the Mandaluyong Chamber of Commerce and the Filipino Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii.

I discussed with the members the importance of good governance and how decisions made by government should be fair and transparent. Organizations like the Chambers of Commerce have an important part to play in ensuring that businesses are treated fairly and that government fosters a good atmosphere for businesses to succeed. Whether in Hawaii or the Philippines, business drives the economy, while government can create a positive business climate.

Following the symposium, I was honored to be the first governor to be a guest on "Wowowee," one of the most popular television shows in the Philippines, where I took the opportunity to promote our state and our strong bonds of friendship with the Philippines. Popular, however, does not begin to describe the powerful connection host Willie Revilliame has with Filipinos locally, in Hawaii and around the world. Watch the show in Hawaii at 5 p.m. today on the Filipino Channel.

A member of our delegation, Joey Alcantara of Group Builders, Inc., a Honolulu general contacting firm, presented a $6,000 donation to "Wowowee" to help Filipino children in need. The donation underscores the caring nature of Hawaii's Filipinos who continue to share their prosperity with the people of the Philippines....

Late this afternoon, we boarded flights to Laoag City in Ilocos Norte province, where many of Hawaii's Filipinos trace their roots. Upon our arrival, it was apparent that the warm hospitality we received in Manila would be rivaled by our hosts in Ilocos Norte.

Governor Ferdinand "Bong Bong" Marcos Jr. hosted a dinner that featured Filipino cultural performances. The event was a celebration of the centennial, as well as the sister-state province agreement I signed with Governor Marcos when he visited Honolulu last February.

Tomorrow I will highlight how Hawaii and the Philippines are acting as partners to advance our agricultural sectors, as well as cooperative efforts to promote education initiatives in nursing and health care.

The governor honors immigrant workers as
she tours Ilocos Sur with other officials

PORT SALOMAGUE, Philippines » In a simple ceremony that brought up emotions of pride and gratitude, Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle and city and provincial officials in Ilocos Sur unveiled a statue this weekend marking the departure point for many of Hawaii's Filipino contract plantation workers.

The statue shows a plantation worker with his back bent over, holding a bolo knife to cut cane. It represents the hard work and strength of the Filipinos who came to Hawaii to make a new life for their children, said state Rep. Jun Abinsay.

Abinsay, Dr. and Mrs. Charlie Sonido, and the Ilocos Sur Association donated and raised $170,000 to have the statue cast and installed.

The mayor of Cabugao, where Port Salomague is located, said the sakadas who came to Hawaii demonstrated Filipino values of humility, hard work and frugality, and praised them for giving back to the community....

Felix Befitel, 90, who rented Lingle a room on Molokai when she first came to Hawaii, was at the ceremony. His son Nelson, director of the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, said the ceremony was an emotional one for his family.

Also at the ceremony was Nenita Carbonela of Cabugao and numerous relatives who make their living here fishing and farming. Carbonela's uncle Fred was a sakada who lives on Kauai, she said.

OUR JOURNEY to Port Salomague in Cabugao, Ilocos Sur, brought the history of the sakadas full circle. It was here in 1946 that the last group of sakadas boarded a ship to Hawaii.

In a moving ceremony overlooking the port, I joined Gov. Luis "Chavit" Singson and other officials from Ilocos Sur province and representatives from the Hawaii delegation in unveiling a statue as a tribute to the historic journey of the second wave of sakadas. They braved the uncertainty of living in a foreign land to seek a better life for their children and grandchildren.

As we left Vigan and headed to Dagupan in Pangasinan province, we stopped at towns along the way, including Santa, the hometown of Felix and Crecencia Befitel, the family I lived with during my first years on Molokai in the late 1970s. It was their first visit to Santa since they left in 1969 with their two eldest children to pursue a new life in Hawaii. We stopped at the home where Shirley and Nelson Befitel were born, and were greeted by Ezmerelda, Crecencia's sister, and her family. This reunion gave me an opportunity to gain a better sense of the family that first introduced me to the Filipino culture.

AS WITH my previous visits to Japan, China and Korea, part of our mission to the Philippines included strengthening Hawaii's role in the Asia-Pacific region. This afternoon I returned to Manila from Dagupan City in Pangasinan Province to meet with U.S. Embassy Charge d'Affaires Paul Jones.

A small group from our delegation joined me in discussing issues facing the Philippines and the important role Hawaii can continue to play in strengthening these relations.

Joined by Maj. Gen. Robert Lee, state adjutant general, we discussed the continuing military partnership between the United States and the Philippines and offered Hawaii's ongoing assistance.

It also was encouraging to hear the charge d'affaires offer the embassy's assistance to Hawaii companies that want to export products to the Philippines. Alma Caberto, president of the Filipino Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii, and Elias Beniga, chairman of the Hawaii Filipino Centennial Commission Celebration, shared with him the Filipino community's efforts to strengthen business ties, including a Hawaii-Philippines trade expo planned for December in Honolulu as part of the year-end activities marking the end of the centennial celebration.

Everywhere we went on this trip we found a Hawaii connection. At the U.S. Embassy in Manila, we found four: Tracey Bets of Kona, whose family is originally from Niihau and Kekaha, Kauai; Reichel Ogata of Honolulu; Jon Lindborg of Pukalani, Maui; and Joann Donavan of Honolulu and her husband, Frank.

Our next stop was the Philippine Women's University for the Symposium on Issues on Women Empowerment. Wherever I travel, I make it a point to meet with women leaders to discuss the challenges and opportunities women face in different parts of the world, and how we can learn from one another in our personal careers as well as to create stronger communities.

It was inspiring to hear the women's stories of overcoming obstacles and cultural barriers to achieve their dreams. And it was heartening to find common threads that cross cultural and geographic barriers. I'm glad women from Hawaii, who were not part of our delegation but who were in Manila, also participated in this forum, including Connie Lau, CEO of American Savings Bank, and Patti Lyons and Geri Marrulo of the Consuelo Foundation.

AS I PREPARE to leave the Philippines, I can say that I have gained a better understanding of the essence of the Filipino culture and the people of the Philippines....

As governor and honorary chairwoman of the Filipino Centennial Celebration Commission, I set out to represent our delegation and all the people of Hawaii.

But I soon found myself being led by the Filipinos in our delegation. Some were very familiar with the cities and towns we visited, having grown up here and made frequent return visits. They wanted to show me the places they lived, and to experience their culture, food and heritage....

A former Grove Farm executive from Kauai will serve as interim director of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources beginning Friday, Gov. Linda Lingle announced yesterday.

Allan A. Smith, 61, will fill the vacancy created when the state Senate voted down Lingle's request that Peter Young continue in the director's job he held the past four years.

Smith was visible in his Grove Farm job after the March 14, 2006, breach of Ka Loko Dam, which killed seven people on Kauai. He said at that time that Grove Farm had started taking precautionary measures for its reservoirs -- including Waita Reservoir, Kauai's largest -- soon after heavy rains began.

Some senators said the handling of dam inspections by Young's department before the Ka Loko Dam breach as one reason they opposed his reappointment.

"I appreciate Allan's willingness to step forward to serve as DLNR interim director as the search committee looks for a permanent director," Lingle said. She appointed a 30-member search committee to find a permanent DLNR director last week, with Young as its leader.

The governor said Smith's "history of leadership experience in land management and agribusiness will ensure a seamless transition as DLNR continues to work with environmental, Hawaiian, cultural, business and agricultural groups to protect, manage and enhance Hawaii's natural and cultural resources."

Smith retired as senior vice president of Grove Farm last year after 19 years with the company. He managed the company's 40,000 acres on Kauai, including land development, construction, quarrying, forestry, diversified agriculture and commercial and industrial properties, according to a biography provided by the governor's office.

Smith is a Kauai native who graduated from Kamehameha Schools and received a bachelor's degree in agricultural economics from the University of Hawaii. He also worked for Amfac Inc. on Kauai for 19 years, with positions at Lihue Plantation Co. and Kekaha Sugar Co.

Smith has supported Lingle in her statewide political campaigns and was chairman of the search committee to fill the DLNR director's position four years ago.

"Allan is a person whom I trust. He knows me well and I know him well. He also has tremendous respect not only on the island of Kauai but also throughout the state of Hawaii," Lingle said.

Smith said yesterday he hasn't decided whether he will apply for the permanent DLNR director's job.

Nearly a year after the fatal breach of Ka Loko dam, there is a clear indication no state employee will be criminally prosecuted in connection with the deadly disaster.

Mark Bennett, the Attorney General of Hawaii, told KHON2 News, “There is no evidence of any kind that I have seen that any employee of the state of Hawaii is criminally responsible for the deaths of anyone."

State attorney general investigators and hired experts have poured over Jimmy Pflueger's land to learn whether un-permitted construction triggered the collapse.

Pflueger's lawyer, William McCorriston, took the mic at a senate hearing and took a shot at the state land director, sitting just feet away.

“Why do we provide the Director of Land and Natural Resources,” William McCorriston asked, “who some might say is criminally responsible for nonfeasance, not doing his job with regard to dam inspections, with absolute immunity?”

Dam inspections fall under the land department, and McCorriston says like the leader of FEMA after Hurricane Katrina, DLNR Chief Peter Young should go.

KHON2 News asked Peter Young about that.

“Mr. McCorriston is trying to deflect attention away from his client,” Young said. “We trust the judicial system.”

The attorney general, also watching while McCorriston testified, went farther in defense of Young and his land department.

"There's no evidence that any state employees are guilty in the homicide of these individuals," Bennett told KHON2 News.

Yet Bennett says the decision whether to prosecute Pflueger or others is still pending.

“I believe when we get to the middle of this year,” Bennett said, “we will be very close to a final decision of whether to take this case to a grand jury or not.”

The legislature must fund the continuing criminal and civil liability investigations. McCorriston was making his case to those lawmakers.

“Why do these few people have a special pass,” he asked. “Why do they get a whitewash of their responsibility?”

Although they allowed McCorriston to vent, there's no indication lawmakers will turn down the attorney general request for $2 million to continue his investigation.

However, Judiciary Chairman Clayton Hee told KHON2 News his committee might examine whether the immunity from certain liability afforded to the state land director and dam inspectors, should be withdrawn.

A week after a contentious debate over a judicial nominee, one of Gov. Linda Lingle's Cabinet appointees is facing a similar fight in the state Senate.

After almost six hours of testimony, a Senate panel weighing the confirmation of Iwalani D. White to head the Department of Public Safety recessed without making a decision.

The Senate Committee on Public Safety is expected to take up the nomination again tomorrow.

White's confirmation hearing came the week after the full Senate approved Lingle's nomination of Oahu Circuit Court Judge Glenn Kim, despite rejection of his nomination by the chamber's Judiciary Committee.

Public Safety Chairman Will Espero (D, Ewa-Honouliuli-Ewa Beach) gave no indication of his intent....

For the first three hours, committee members heard from nine current and former Public Safety Department employees who were subpoenaed to appear. Espero had said he felt the subpoenas provided some level of protection to employees who might be afraid to speak out for fear of retribution.

Criticism focused on White's management style, an alleged lack of attention to mental health issues for inmates and what one testifier described as her lack of vision for the department.

"Basically, to this day the wardens really do not know what direction Ms. White wants to take the department," said Edwin Shimoda, division administrator at the Oahu Community Correctional Facility.

Others voluntarily testified against White's nomination, saying they felt treated unfairly when allegations of wrongdoing were made by disgruntled staff. All said they were ultimately cleared of charges.

"Ms. White shows no good quality of being a good leader, only flexing of her power and the old cliché 'my way or the highway," said Mark Gonzales, a guard at the Women's Community Correctional Center.

Before the hearing, the committee received more than 80 pieces of written testimony, at least 60 of them in support of White's nomination.

Among those who supported White were several deputy prosecutors, private attorneys, Democratic state Reps. Faye Hanohano and Ken Ito, Honolulu City Councilman Charles Djou, and other Lingle Cabinet members.

"I have found her to be a strong leader and one with honesty, integrity, intelligence and determination," said Attorney General Mark Bennett.

The department had been without a permanent director since the 2004 resignation of John Peyton.

On January 6, 2005 the Yooper grapevine was abuzz with news of another State of Michigan/Nature Conservancy land grab scheme involving 271,000 acres in eight counties, an amount equivalent to 502 square miles. The parcel had been carved from 390,000 forestland acres situated in ten of the Upper Peninsula’s fifteen counties.

Described by the Conservancy as an ecological treasure trove of nature’s precious jewels and pristine landscapes, the 390,000 acres, once owned by the Bishop Estate Trust (a.k.a. Kamehameha Schools Trust), includes more than 300 lakes and 526 miles of rivers and streams. However, as Paul Harvey would say, it’s time to tell the rest of the story about Governor Granholm’s “U. P. Big Deal”, also known as the Nature Conservancy’s “Northern Great Lakes Forest Project”.

Bernice Pauahi Bishop was the great-granddaughter and last direct descendent of Hawaiian King Kamehameha I. Born to high priests, Bernice was raised by a prime minister and educated by Protestant missionaries. While in her teens, she married Charles Bishop, a 28-year old New Yorker.

After her death in 1884, Charles helped establish the Kamehameha Schools and subsequent Bishop Trust according to Bernice’s last will and testament. To do so he used her substantial land holdings and his considerable wealth.

The Bishop Trust, Hawaii’s largest private landowner once estimated to be worth $10 billion or more, still operates schools and educational programs throughout the islands. Over the past several decades, the scandal-ridden Trust has been raided through convoluted schemes that almost defy unraveling.

So how did it come to pass that a Hawaiian trust fund once owned so much of Michigan’s beautiful Upper Peninsula? The answer lies in a purported friendship between Ben Benson and Mark McConaghy, a PricewaterhouseCoopers tax expert hired by the Bishop Estate trustees to keep the IRS off their greedy backs. But, I get ahead of myself.

Some of the 271,000 acres, now lauded as Granholm’s “U.P. Big Deal”, once belonged to the Calumet and Hecla Mining Company. By the late 1960’s, however, C & H could no longer afford to mine copper while meeting all the new environmental standards being put in place. Having to compete with China and other countries, which produce ore with cheap labor while ignoring environmental issues, and facing demands of better pay from its own striking miners in 1968, C & H closed its mines and sold its land holdings to Universal Oil Products.

A similar fate met miners who rode buses for up to an hour or more to the Copper Range mine near White Pine in Ontonagon County. An environmental lawsuit filed in 1995 by the National Wildlife Federation, the Michigan United Conservation Clubs, and others, plus a successful effort to agitate a band of Native Americans over environmental issues, helped end copper’s glory days there, too. But the world’s greatest source of native copper, uranium, gas, oil, and other valuable underground resources still lie waiting in the U.P. and the State of Michigan, the Conservancy, and global mining conglomerates know it.

Ben Benson, a very young New Englander, amassed some of the former C & H property in the late 1980’s, combined it with 292,000 acres purchased in 1990 from Cliff’s Forest Products (Cleveland-Cliffs), added a little bit more from here and there, and set about developing a high-tech, satellite-enhanced timbering operation, or so the tale is told.

According to Maura Singleton’s August 1999 article, “Sea Hawk”, published in the Virginia Business Magazine, 40-year-old Benson had been a dyslexic and indifferent student who dropped out of school in the ninth grade. At age 15, he stole the family car, drove from Cape Cod to Maine, and used a newly obtained credit card to buy 100 acres of rocky wilderness, which he subdivided and sold in 5-acre vacation plots.

Singleton wrote that, at age 17, Benson joined the Navy submarine corps and worked with sonar on a nuclear fast-attack sub, but his plan for a Navy career went by the wayside four years later due to allergies.

By the early 1980’s, Benson, who claimed never to have done anything for more than four years, had already run an oil company and a New Hampshire real estate development company.

He then focused attention on the state of Virginia, marrying the granddaughter of an East Shore developer, an area where the Nature Conservancy (TNC) controlled and mismanaged a great deal of land. It was here that Benson again took up work in real estate, developing exclusive coastline property.

In 1991, Benson, with title to about half-a-million U.P. acres, became involved in a partnership of sorts with the Bishop Estate Trustees through his pal, Mark McConoghy. But, in 1994 at age 35, after surviving two heart attacks within an 8-month period, he sold his U.P. land holdings to the Trust for a few million dollars and bought a 65-foot Hatteras, which he christened “Sea Hawk”.

The partnership may have dissolved, but it later caused Benson’s name to come up in Bobby Harmon’s RICO lawsuit - Civil No. 99-00304 DAE: Harmon v Federal Insurance Company, P & C Insurance Co., Inc., Marsh & McLennan, Inc., Trustees of Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate, PricewaterhouseCoopers, et al, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii.

Harmon is still immersed in litigation regarding his claims of fraud, tax evasion, racketeering and other wrongful acts involving the Bishop Land Trust. His lengthy witness list, which he adds to almost daily, includes newly appointed U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson who is a former Goldman Sachs CEO. Paulson was also a Board member of the Nature Conservancy and served as co-chairman of its Asia Pacific Council. At one time, the scandal-ridden Bishop Trust owned a great deal of Goldman Sachs stock.

When Benson was featured in the “Sea Hawk” article, he was searching for millions of dollars worth of lost treasure off Virginia’s coast and dueling with Spain for the right to do so. He’s since sold that venture, Sea Hawk, Inc., to wheeler and dealer Peter Knollenberg.

Considering that Benson had been a dyslexic, fifteen-year-old credit card-owning high school dropout and run-away, his estimated fortune, said to be around $110 million several years ago, isn’t too shabby.

After Benson sold his U.P. holdings to the Bishop Trust, Benson Forest Products became known as Munising based Shelter Bay Forests, which managed the trust’s U.P. land holdings with “gentle timbering” technology until the forestland was put up for bids in the fall of 2002.

Although Governor Engler, the Conservancy, and an “undisclosed timber company” formed a “private-public” partnership to bid on the Bishop Trust land, they lost out to Forestland Group LLC, which closed on their deal during the summer of 2003.

Founded in 1995, Forestland Group is a North Carolina based forest investment management organization (TIMO) that purchases property through its various Heartwood Forestland Funds. As of April 2005, Forestland Group owned 560,000 Upper Peninsula acres; 78,110 acres in Houghton and Keweenaw Counties bought from Mead in 1998, 91,117 acres in Iron, Ontonagon, Houghton and Baraga Counties bought from Ned Lake Timber and Land Company in 2001, and the remainder being the former Bishop Trust holdings of 389,202 acres bought in the summer of 2003.

Within a few months of closing on the Bishop Trust deal, Forestland Group offered its prize to the State of Michigan, and by January 2004 the Michigan Chapter of the Nature Conservancy had already secured at least one grant toward the purchase. That’s not surprising, however, considering that a January ‘05 news article written by George Gallagher for the Council of Michigan Foundations lauds several foundations that had taken an active role to help TNC’s Michigan chapter in their then four-year public/private partnership initiative to get their biscuit hooks on the Upper Peninsula Bishop Trust timberland.

Upon learning in 2002 that the public/private partnership lost the bid, Phil Powers, then chairman of the MI-Nature Conservancy, said Forestland Group could fit in with the Conservancy’s goals. “Our sense is they’ve got a first-class track record of putting in place solutions like the ones we’re working on. We in the Nature Conservancy are looking forward to working out a partnership with them,” said Powers.

Tina Hall, the U.P. director of the MI-Nature Conservancy, said the idea of securing recreational access easements to portions of the property was not dead. “…We know the Forestland Group so well, we feel we can work with them,” said Hall.

As the story behind the “U.P. Big Deal” unfolded, it was claimed that key players met at Governor Granholm’s office in November 2003. And, though she had to put the parties in separate rooms when negotiations broke down and shuffle back and forth with offers and counter-offers until she got them to make a deal, an agreement was finally made between the two who’ve been bed partners for years - the State of Michigan and the Nature Conservancy - in tandem with Forestland Group LLC, whose President and CEO is none other than Thomas Massengale, a former Nature Conservancy senior executive and founder of it’s North Carolina Chapter.

Of the 390,000 Bishop Trust acres for which Forestland Group outbid the State, the Nature Conservancy, and their “unnamed” timber company partner, the Conservancy, with multi-billion dollars in tax-exempt assets, will own fee interest (includes mineral rights) in 23,338 acres in the Big Two Hearted River watershed and will manage the State’s conservation easement on 248,000 acres still owned by Forestland Group.

A campaign to fund Granholm’s “U.P. Big Deal” land grab for the Conservancy’s $57.9 million “Northern Great Lakes Forest Project” got underway without anyone asking state citizens if they approved of her Big Deal or not.

LINGLE, LINDA : INDUSTRY: Insurance

Total number of records: 14

Top of Form 1

Bottom of Form 1

Contributor / Industry	Recipient	Amount	Date
DIVERSIFIED INSURANCE BROKERS Insurance	LINGLE, LINDA	$6,000	05/03/2005
HAWAII MEDICAL SERVICE ASSOC/HMSA Insurance	LINGLE, LINDA	$4,600	04/13/2005
FIRST INSURANCE CO OF HAWAII Insurance	LINGLE, LINDA	$3,900	06/28/2005
KING, HARVEY C Insurance	LINGLE, LINDA	$3,800	04/22/2005
HAWAIIAN INSURANCE & GUARANTY CO Insurance	LINGLE, LINDA	$3,000	11/16/2005
MONARCH INSURANCE SERVICES Insurance	LINGLE, LINDA	$2,000	06/27/2005
ZEPHYR INSURANCE CO Insurance	LINGLE, LINDA	$1,000	11/29/2005
ISLAND INSURANCE CO Insurance	LINGLE, LINDA	$1,000	03/23/2005
INSURANCE ASSOCIATES Insurance	LINGLE, LINDA	$1,000	06/09/2005
HAWAII EMPLOYERS MUTUAL INSURANCE CO Insurance	LINGLE, LINDA	$1,000	05/03/2005
HAWAII INSURERS COUNCIL Insurance	LINGLE, LINDA	$1,000	05/02/2005
FIRST INSURANCE CO OF HAWAII Insurance	LINGLE, LINDA	$1,000	05/25/2005
ZEPHYR INSURANCE CO Insurance	LINGLE, LINDA	$200	05/25/2006
RICHARD K Y LAU INSURANCE AGENCY Insurance	LINGLE, LINDA	$200	05/27/2005

September 30, 2003

HAWAII

By Dave Donnelly

SPEAKING of actors, attorney David Farmer has been nominated for the Mea No'eau Awards for his role as the mountain climber who asks a guru at the top the meaning of life. It's for Cutter Ford and Farmer came on like Harrison Ford. The gala presentation of awards will take place at the Academy of Arts Theater on Nov. 8, as part of the Hawai'i International Film Festival ...

Farmer also has a principal role in an independent film, "Cry for the Gods," which stars Donalyn Delacruz, who's left KHON to pursue an acting career ...

http://starbulletin.com/2003/09/30/features/donnelly.html

~ ~ ~

November 15, 2002

Forward 50

[Jewish] Forward

The 50 most influential Jews in America, as decided by this Jewish ethnic newspaper. Paul Wolfowitz (Deputy Secretary of Defense), Thomas Friedman (New York Times reporter), Andrea Levin (chief propandist at CAMERA ("Committee on Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America), Norm Coleman (new senator from Minnesota), Lois Frankel (Florida State House Minority Leader), Senators Frank Lautenberg, Joe Lieberman, and Cal Levin; Linda Lingle (new governor of Hawaii), Nita Lowey (head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee), lawyer Eliot Spitzer, Stanley Gold (Board Chairman of the University of Southern California), and on and on ...

http://www.jewishtribalreview.org/jpower.htm

~ ~ ~

March 17, 2002

Lingle campaign
funds flow from
out-of-state donors

Records show more than $422,000
came from outside sources

By Rick Daysog, Star-Bulletin

Tapping into the political networks of former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and Dole Food Co.'s billionaire Chairman David Murdock, Republican gubernatorial candidate Linda Lingle raised more than one out of eight dollars outside Hawaii during the 1998 election.

Now she's setting a more ambitious goal for her mainland fund raising for this year's race.

Since 1996, the former Maui mayor collected more than $422,000 from about 400 out-of-state Republicans, according to a Star-Bulletin computer-assisted analysis.

The amount is more than double the offshore donations raised during the past six years by either Gov. Ben Cayetano, who defeated Lingle by about 5,000 votes in 1998, and Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris, who plans to run for governor as a Democrat this year.

The out-of-state money also highlights the national attention to this year's race for Washington Place, which has been occupied by a Democrat for more than four decades.

Lingle, who raised $3.1 million total from Hawaii and mainland interests for the 1998 race, hopes to collect $5 million this year, with about $1 million of that coming from the mainland.

With Harris' campaign mired in controversy over his political fund raising, high-profile GOP players are flocking to Lingle's aid. Connecticut Gov. John Rowland hosted a lunch on Lingle's behalf last week, while Arizona Gov. Jane Hull will hold a fund-raiser for Lingle later this week.

But Giuliani -- Time magazine's "Person of the Year" for his efforts after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks -- will likely play a more prominent role than any other mainland politician.

Giuliani, a moderate Republican like Lingle, will host a fund-raiser for her in New York in April and may travel to Honolulu to host an event later this year.

In 1998, Giuliani held a $1,000-a-person fund-raiser for Lingle and helped raise $65,000 from dozens of prominent New York Republicans, state campaign spending records show. They included:

>> Leveraged buyout king Henry Kravis, who gave $5,000;

>> Richard Parsons, AOL Time Warner Inc.'s Chief Executive and a former University of Hawaii student, $1,000;

>> New York developer Tishman Speyer Properties, $5,000;

>> Republican fund-raiser Georgette Mosbacher, $2,500;

>> David Neeleman, chief executive of low fare carrier JetBlue Airways Corp., $2,500;

>> Jonathan Tisch, chairman of Loews Hotel Corp., $1,000. Parent company Loews Corp. also chipped in $1,000.

"These are the kind of people who I want to talk to about investing in Hawaii, creating jobs here and seeing the islands as a bridge between the U.S. and Asia," said Lingle.

Bob Watada, state Campaign Spending Commission executive director, has a problem with so much campaign money coming from the mainland.

Voters and regulators, he said, have a hard time telling whether any of the donations are linked to corporations with a vested interest in an election.

Watada, who supports a complete ban of all corporate contributions for local elections, said he began an informal inquiry into Lingle's mainland contributions nearly three years ago. He also took a look at more than $400,000 in "soft money" donations that the Republican National Committee and various state Republican parties gave the Republican Party of Hawaii in 1998.

But Watada said he dropped the inquiry after he determined that Lingle and the local Republican Party did not violate any state laws.

Lingle defended her use of mainland money, saying it shows the importance that people there place on Hawaii's governor race.

Compared to local congressional leaders and mainland politicians, the proportion of out-of-state contributions is not that high, she added. Former U.S. Rep. Robert Dornan, for instance, raised about 70 percent of his campaign funds outside of his home state of California.

Lingle noted that a vast majority of her contributions come from local residents and since she has been out of office for four years, she did not receive that many contributions from government contractors.

What's more, nearly 75 percent of the 4,200 donations to her campaign during the 1998 campaign were for $200 or less, indicating widespread grassroots support, she said.

With the exception of Parsons, whose company AOL Time Warner owns Oceanic Cable, and Kravis, whose investment banking firm owns the 781-room Grand Wailea Resort & Spa, the mainland contributors do not have significant business interests in Hawaii. But many share Lingle's middle-of-the-road political views.

For instance, Kravis, a leading financer of GOP centrist causes, helped bankroll the Republican Leadership Council as a counterweight to the influence of the conservative movement.

But the donors' connections go beyond political philosophy. Several are part of Giuliani's inner network and sat on city boards during Giuliani's tenure.

Abraham Biderman, who gave $400 to Lingle on Sept. 15, 1998, was a member of the 1999 New York Charter Revision Committee, while developer Alan Friedberg, who gave $1,000 to Lingle on that same day, was a member of the Metropolitan Transit Authority's board in the Giuliani years.

Yeshoshua Balkany, a well-known Jewish activist in New York and dean of the Bais Yaakov Academy in Brooklyn, gave $3,000. Balkany was dubbed the "Brooklyn Bundler" by Common Cause magazine for his expertise in serving as an intermediary who rounds up political contributions from friends, family and associates.

Balkany told the Star-Bulletin he has never met Lingle. All he can recall is that he was asked to attend a fund-raiser by a Giuliani associate.

"I remember speaking to somebody who said that they needed to help somebody coming in who was running for office in Hawaii," Balkany said.

Charles Lewis, executive director of the Center for Public Integrity, a nonpartisan, Washington, D.C.-based political watchdog organization, likens such contributors to "accidental donors." While they may not know the candidate, they end up giving because of their loyalty to the fund-raiser.

"It gets somewhat intriguing when you have someone like (Giuliani) shaking the trees," Lewis said. "You don't know if they're giving money for the candidate or because of Giuliani."

Lingle also benefited from the largesse of Dole Food's Murdock. According to Campaign Spending Commission filings, people affiliated with Dole Food, Murdock's privately owned Castle & Cooke Inc., and Murdock himself made 21 contributions totaling $31,050. They included:

>> A $2,000 donation by Murdock on Aug. 5, 1998;

>> Another $2,000 from Dole Food on the same day;

>> And more than $17,000 in contributions by Dole director Ed Hogan, his immediate family and Hogan's company, Pleasant Hawaiian Holidays.

A Dole spokeswoman said contributions by Murdock and various Dole board members were made on a personal basis. Murdock could not be reached.

Lingle said that, compared to the millions he has raised for mainland Republicans, Murdock's donations to her are modest. She noted that Murdock often contributes to local candidates in both political parties.

Castle & Cooke owns 95,000 acres in Hawaii including most of Lanai, which is in Maui County. Publicly traded Dole Food owns another 28,500 acres in Hawaii.

Calling her relationship with Murdock cordial over the years, Lingle said: "We didn't always agree, but we always got along."

http://starbulletin.com/2002/03/17/news/story2.html

~ ~ ~

July, 2004

DHHL Gets 3.3 Acres for $1

Building Industry Hawaii

The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) purchased a 3.3-acre parcel, which will be used to create 20 new affordable homes, from the Consuelo Zobel Alger Foundation (Consuelo Foundation) for $1 in late May.

“The Consuelo Foundation seeks to assist individuals in need, and like the DHHL, they understand the importance of establishing a solid base from which people can build good lives,” said Gov. Linda Lingle, who spoke on the benefits that go beyond homeownership. “This is more than just building homes. It is about building strong and healthy communities, about a foundation upon which future generations can use as their base.”

The property is located on Plantation Road in Waianae and hopes to yield 20 low to very low-income homes on lots of 5,000 square-feet. The Consuelo Foundation, founded by the heir to the Ayala Corporation, Consuelo Zobel Alger, began its charitable work by creating shelter for street children in the Philippines in 1987; now, for entire families in Hawaii.

“We are confident that DHHL is in the best position to help fulfill our mission, which is to operate or support programs in Hawaii and the Philippines that improve the quality of life for disadvantaged children, women and families,” said Jeff Watanabe, Consuelo Foundation, chair of the board of directors.

The DHHL has an aggressive plan to put more people on the land, including people at or below the average median income. We wanted to be a part of that plan.”

Consuelo Foundation’s confidence in DHHL is what caused the closing at such a nominal price.

“Obtaining this land is an unexpected opportunity for us to help our beneficiaries,” said Micah Kane, DHHL commission chairman. “This is good for native Hawaiians, good for the community and good for the state.”

www.buildingindustryhawaii.com/deepfreeze/bi074/binews.asp

~ ~ ~

May/June 2004

Fear & Favor 2003: The Fourth Annual Report

More examples of media's
vulnerability to power

By Peter Hart and Julie Hollar

It’s no secret that advertisers, media owners and powerful political figures pressure journalists to ignore critical stories or sing the praises of a corporate pet project. With diminished journalistic resources available due to corporate cost-cutting in the media industry, news outlets often put commercial or political priorities ahead of journalistic ones.

Each year, FAIR puts together a collection of specific incidents of interference, in order to provide real-world illustration of the pressures on working journalists, and to encourage the exposure of such efforts to muzzle journalists and shape media coverage. This report is nowhere near an exhaustive recounting of all such abuses in the past year, but it does illuminate some of the critical threats facing independent journalism....

• When the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau sent Gov. Linda Lingle to Japan to drum up tourism, they wanted news coverage back home. A trip to Japan can be expensive, but ABC affiliate KITV was happy to comply—because the government picked up the tab. The governor’s press secretary, Russell Pang, said the idea came from the station: “KITV called us originally,” Pang said. Speculation arose that the trip was KITV ’s reward for airing a 17-minute speech by the governor the previous week, a speech three other local TV news stations rejected, “judging it political rather than public service in nature” (Honolulu Advertiser , 7/10/03).

KITV agreed to pay its own way after Democratic lawmakers pointed out that accepting taxpayer money for television coverage of the governor raised ethical questions for both the station and the government. “We don’t think there’s a conflict of interest, but the perception of a conflict of interest is something we can’t live with,” station manager Mike Rosenberg said. At the same time, Rosenberg acknowledged, “Had we considered going on this trip originally, knowing the cost involved, I’m not sure [we would have gone]” (AP, 7/10/03).

Apparently KITV was not the first station to cozy up to the Hawaiian government: The Advertiser (10/26/03) reported that the Maui Visitor’s Bureau had paid KGMB-TV to fly to New York to cover Maui’s float in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. The former director of the MVB who oversaw the deal now serves as Governor Lingle’s tourism czar.

www.fair.org/index.php?page=1178

~ ~ ~

February 26, 2003

Lingle urges Senate to pass ‘vital’ Akaka bill

By Elizabeth Wolfe, Associated Press

WASHINGTON >> The Hawaiian recognition bill now before Congress is vital to the survival of the native Hawaiian people, Gov. Linda Lingle told a Senate committee yesterday.

"It is vital to the continued character of our state, and it is vital to providing parity and consistency in federal policy for all native peoples in America," Lingle said in testimony before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs in support of the so-called Akaka bill to federally recognize a native Hawaiian governing entity.

Approval of the bill will bring about "what is righteous, what is practical and what is just," she said.

The legislation would establish an office in the Department of the Interior to address native Hawaiian issues. It also would create an interagency group composed of representatives of federal agencies that currently administer programs and policies affecting native Hawaiians.

As Hawaii's new Republican governor, Lingle thinks she can sway the Bush administration to do more for native Hawaiians, she said after her testimony.

Lingle said she was "more optimistic and hopeful" after conversations this week with Attorney General John Ashcroft, Interior Secretary Gale Norton and presidential adviser Karl Rove.

Sen. Daniel Akaka, who introduced the bill and for whom it is named, said the bill extends the "process of reconciliation" that began with a 1993 congressional resolution apologizing for the U.S. government's role in overthrowing the Kingdom of Hawaii a century earlier.

Micah Kane, director-designate of the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, said there is broad support for the bill from Hawaii and non-Hawaiian communities and both Democrats and Republicans. He also said the Akaka bill would eliminate legal problems and uncertainties that have adversely affected the Hawaii economy.

http://starbulletin.com/2003/02/26/news/story7.html

~ ~ ~

July 30, 2005

Governor Lingle Participates in
Groundbreaking Ceremony

The Governor joined the Department of Defense and a private-owned, Hawai`i-based development firm, the MacNaughton Group at a landmark groundbreaking ceremony for the redevelopment of the Moanalua Shopping Center. The new project, a first-time lease agreement between the DOD and the private sector, will consolidate several Navy facilities on and around Pearl Harbor into a single location, while maintaining commercial space for shopping, dining and community activities.

http://www.hawaii.gov/gov/news/enewsletter/2005/copy_of_July30-August5

~ ~ ~

October 2003 Feature - Hawaii Business Cover Story

Hawaii’s Powerbrokers (List)

OVERALL

1) Walter Dods
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer,
Bancwest Corp.

2) Daniel Inouye
U.S. Senator

3) Linda Lingle
Governor, State of Hawaii

4) Calvin Say
Speaker of the House

5) Michael O'Neill
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer,
Bank of Hawaii Corp.

6) Constance Lau
President and Chief Executive Officer, American Savings Bank

7) Warren Haruki
Former President, Verizon Hawaii

8) Colbert Matsumoto
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Island Insurance Co. Ltd.; President, Island Holdings Inc.

9) Alvin Awaya
Trustee, Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Foundation

10) Jeffrey Watanabe
Managing Partner, Watanabe Ing Kawashima & Komeiji LLP

BUSINESS

1) Walter Dods
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer,
Bancwest Corp.

2) Michael O'Neill
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Bank of Hawaii Corp.

3) Jeffrey Watanabe
Managing Partner, Watanabe Ing Kawashima & Komeiji LLP

4) Warren Haruki
Former President,
Verizon Hawaii

5) Constance Lau
President and Chief Executive Officer, American Savings Bank

6) Duncan MacNaughton
Chairman, The MacNaughton Group

7) Colbert Matsumoto
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Island Insurance Co. Ltd.;
President, Island Holdings Inc.

8) Bert Kobayashi
Chairman, Kobayashi Development Group LLC

9) W. Allen Doane
President and Chief Executive Officer, Alexander & Baldwin Inc.
Chairman, Matson Navigation Company, Inc.

10) H. Mitchell D'Olier
President and Chief Executive Officer, Kaneohe Ranch, Harold K.L. Castle Foundation

POLITICS

1) Daniel Inouye
U.S. Senator

2) Linda Lingle
Governor, State of Hawaii

3) Calvin Say
Speaker of the House

4) Robert Bunda
Senate President

5) Neil Abercrombie
U.S. Representative

6) Jeremy Harris
Honolulu Mayor

7) Harry Kim
Big Island Mayor

8) Walter Dods
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer,
Bancwest Corp.

9) Daniel Akaka
U.S. Senator

10) Colleen Hanabusa
State Senator

COMMUNITY

1) Walter Dods
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Bancwest Corp.

2) Alvin Awaya
Trustee, Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Foundation.

3) Colbert Matsumoto
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Island Insurance Co. Ltd.;
President, Island Holdings Inc.

4) Constance Lau
President and Chief Executive Officer, American Savings Bank

5) June Jones
Head Football Coach, University of Hawaii

6) Kelvin Taketa
Chief Executive Officer, Hawaii Community Foundation

7) Duane Kurisu
Chairman, PacificBasin Communications
(PacificBasin Communications is the company that owns Hawaii Business)
Partner, Kurisu & Fergus

8) Ruth Ono
Vice President Emeritus, The Queen's Health Systems

9) Evan Dobelle
President, University of Hawaii

10) Wayne Cordeiro
Senior Pastor, New Hope Christian Fellowship

SEVEN TO WATCH

Richard C. Lim
Lim, the president and chief operating officer of City Bank, is known as the insider's insider, working behind the scenes to put together lasting coalitions. Lim is largely responsible for assembling CB Bancshares' powerful board of directors, which has so far resisted a hostile takeover by rival Central Pacific Bank.

Kitty Lagareta
Not only does the CEO of public relations firm Communications Pacific manage the messages of many of Hawaii's largest and most powerful companies, she also helped craft candidate Linda Lingle's call for change during last year's gubernatorial election. Her company maintains close ties to the new administration. Lagareta also has ties of her own, having recently been appointed by the governor to the University of Hawaii Board of Regents.

State Sen. Donna Mercado Kim
Some shook their heads when Kim, the chairperson of the State Tourism Committee, started asking common-sense questions about how state-supported agencies were marketing the Islands to the world. After a scathing review from the state auditor and the subsequent resignation of Tony Vericella, CEO of the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau, people aren't shaking their heads anymore.

U.S. Rep. Ed Case
The four-term Manoa representative shocked everyone when he nearly beat establishment candidate Mazie Hirono for the Democratic nomination for governor last year. In January he ran again and won a special election to fill a full, two-year term in Congress. Will insider Washington politics tame Mr. Outsider?

State Rep. Brian Schatz
The former executive director of Youth for Environmental Service, Schatz is a crusader for the environment and a tireless advocate for a diversified economy, especially the high-tech sector. As the economy grows and matures, Schatz may no longer be a voice in the wilderness.

Randy Roth
UH Manoa law professor Roth co-authored both the "Price of Paradise" series and the "Broken Trust" essay, documents that crystallized the public's growing dissatisfaction with Hawaii's political and social status quo. Now he's a policy adviser to Gov. Linda Lingle. Will Roth prove to be as good at solving problems as he is at identifying them?

Herman Frazier
Nothing lifts Islanders' spirits more than when their hometown team wins big. Frazier heads a $19-million-a-year athletic program, which seems on the brink of the big time. But it isn't just a matter of winning the hearts and minds of rabid fans. When the Warriors are winning, the state's economy scores.

http://www.hawaiibusiness.com/archivearticle.aspx?id=94&qr=

~ ~ ~

September 18, 2002

Gay and lesbian
voters struggle
with ballot choice

Candidates from the major parties
are courting their support

By Richard Borreca, rborreca@starbulletin.com

Ken Miller of the Gay & Lesbian Community Center says he has never seen so much support from the major candidates in the Hawaii race for governor.

National surveys estimate the gay and lesbian voters base to be between 5 percent and 9 percent of registered voters. Miller says he agrees with those figures, which in Hawaii would translate into 32,000 to 57,000 possible voters, a group that candidates cannot ignore.

Democratic candidates Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono and Rep. Ed Case showed up for interviews at the Gay and Lesbian Community Center. Republican Linda Lingle also attended. Democrat D.G. "Andy" Anderson filled out a questionnaire, but did not attend a forum.

Miller said gay and lesbian voters are usually Democrats, but this year "it is very difficult."

"We are continuing to dialogue in our own community; we will wait until the general election to make a decision about who we will support," Miller said.

Originally, Miller said, he expected gay and lesbian voters to support Hirono, who had come out strongly against a constitutional ban to same-sex marriages, but then after Hirono left the governor's race to take aim at the Honolulu Mayor's Office, support swung to Case.

When Hirono came back in the governor's race, the gay and lesbian vote was split, Miller said. It became even more confusing with Republican Linda Lingle's moderate position. Despite opposition from some Republicans, Lingle encouraged the formation of a Hawaii chapter of the Log Cabin Republicans, a gay and lesbian GOP political group.

Jeffrey Bingham Mead, the local head of Log Cabin Republicans, said that in Hawaii the gay and lesbian vote will be crucial.

"It will be just as vital as the native Hawaiian vote and the women's vote," Mead said.

And there is no assurance that the vote will be Democratic, according to Mead.

"I am here to tell you there is no monolithic gay and lesbian Democrat vote," Mead said.

Miller, who said his group doesn't agree with many of the positions taken by the Log Cabin Republicans, acknowledged that Lingle's support has caused the gay and lesbian vote to be up for grabs by all three candidates.

"We really want change, so it is a very difficult decision," Miller explained.

Anderson said he thought the gay and lesbian vote would be supporting Case and Hirono.

"They both support same-sex marriage and there is no way I would. I am vehemently opposed to same-sex marriage," Anderson said.

Hirono notes that even if Lingle says she favors domestic partnerships, she was against allowing same-sex marriages.

"My record is very clear, I support equal justice and equal rights," Hirono said. "Also, are they forgetting that Linda Lingle was for the constitutional amendment. That is a big one," Hirono said.

In 1998, voters overwhelmingly approved a state constitutional amendment giving the Legislature the power to restrict marriage to people of the opposite sex.

Lingle responds that her support for domestic partnerships doesn't extend to same-sex marriage.

"As for the question of same-sex marriages, I voted with the 70 percent of the people who are against same-sex marriages. If Mazie wins the primary, there obviously will be a difference: She voted with the 30 percent and I voted with 70 percent of the people," Lingle said.

Case, who had argued against moving the traditional-marriage constitutional amendment to voters, said, "The gay and lesbian community will have two candidates that have advocated for them. I have made the tough votes and generated a lot of heat. There is no question that I damaged myself politically by taking these positions."

http://starbulletin.com/2002/09/18/news/index9.html

~ ~ ~

September 8, 1998

Lingle Admits Rumors Not Gov's

NewsPlanet Staff (with thanks to Martin Rice)

SUMMARY: The evidence that was supposed to support a Hawai'i Republican gubernatorial candidate's charges that the incumbent was calling her a lesbian fails to bear fruit.

Hawai'i Republican gubernatorial candidate and Maui County Mayor Linda Lingle's campaign finally admitted last week that rumors she is a lesbian did not stem from incumbent Democratic Governor Ben Cayetano's campaign.

For two weeks, twice-divorced Lingle's campaign claimed to have had a memo from an anonymous Democrat indicating smear efforts from Cayetano's side over more than a year, which the Governor's campaign has vociferously denied.

On September 2, Lingle campaign manager Bob Awana -- previously vocal about the alleged smear campaign -- capitulated, telling the "Honolulu Advertiser" that, "If they're [the Cayetano campaign] saying they're not spreading the rumor, I accept it." He added, "We're proud of the way we ran our campaign and if they disclaim any involvement in spreading the rumors, then that's fine. We're going to put this behind us and we're going to work on the real issues of the campaign."

But it was too little, too late to satisfy Cayetano campaign co-chair Ann Kobayashi, who said, "When you are caught in a lie, you're supposed to apologize."

The Cayetano campaign had repeatedly challenged Lingle to produce her evidence, but instead the so-called "hit piece" entitled "The True History and Modus Operandi of Linda Lingle" was mysteriously faxed to newspapers from a copy shop on August 29. Lingle confirmed September 1 that it was the same memo even though it was 5 pages instead of 8 and anonymous rather than from a Cayetano committee, as her campaign had indicated previously -- and it made only the briefest of references to what it called "only rumor" that she might be bisexual.

Kobayashi herself deemed the ungrammatical, misspelled document "a lot of trash" which should not be circulated. She also said, "There's no proof in that report that we did it. We would never put out a report like that."

Various individuals have also attested to hearing rumors about Lingle's sexuality dating back five to eight years, compared to the year or year-and-a-half Lingle's campaign accused Cayetano's campaign of spreading them. The current high-profile controversy began when Lingle responded to a questioner in a public forum August 20 that she is not gay -- for which she received loud applause.

An August poll saw Lingle leading Cayetano by a whopping 20%, but the accusations against the Cayetano campaign may well have hurt her. She still faces a Republican primary against Honolulu Mayor Frank Fasi in on September 19.

All of Hawaii's gubernatorial candidates support the upcoming ballot initiative to authorize the state legislature to amend the state constitution to prohibit legal same-gender marriage.

http://www.planetout.com/news/article-print.html?1998/09/08/2

~ ~ ~

Governor Linda Lingle is expected to testify regarding her business, professional, personal and political relationships with William Crockett *; Richard Cutter; Marr Hipp Jones & Wang; Nainoa Thompson; Jack Abramoff; Ken Mehlman; Dennis Hastert; Mark Foley; Duke Cunnningham; Norm Brownstein; Jim Nicholson; Henry Kissinger; Dirk Kempthorne; Claude Allen; Tom DeLay; Mark Souder; Bill Frist; Tom Cole; Dan Inouye; Jared Jossem; Robert Katz, Torkildson Katz Fonseca Jaffe Moore & Hetherington; Hiram Fong, Sr.; Hiram Fong, Jr.; Hawaii Pride, LLC; Titan Corp; L-3 Communications; James “Duke” Aiona*; Tony Rutledge*; Bob Awana **; David M. Louie, Roeca, Louie & Hiraoka, LLP; Robert Fishman, Mark Recktenwald; Ted Liu; Moya Gray; Les Kondo; Stanley Hong; Judith Neustadter Fuqua*, James “Kimo” Apana*; Faye Watanabe Kurren*; Tesoro Hawaii; Elizabeth K. Lindsey Buyers; Dee Jay Mailer; Bill Mills; Oaktree Capital Management; Everett Dowling; James Haynes II; University of Hawaii; George W. Bush*; Dan Akaka*; Micah Kane*; Office of Hawaiian Affairs; Jon Kyle; Ben Nighthorse Campbell; Karl Rove *; John Ashcroft *; Gale Norton *; Dick Cheney *; James A. Baker; Noshir S. Gowadia *; Galen Fox **; Jeff Watanabe *****; Sam Peters, Jr.******; Mark Bennett*; Chevron-Texaco*; Caltex*; Margery Bronster; Norman Mineta; Hawaii Superferry; John Garibaldi; Becky Hayashida; Francis Oda; Group 70 International; Actus Lend Lease; Outrigger Enterprises; The Queen Emma Foundation; Jeremy Harris; Benjamin Cayetano; J.P. Schmidt; Maui Planning Commission; Charles Ota; Colbert Matsumoto; Edwina Clarke; Robert Clarke; Hawaiian Electric Industries; Admiral Thomas Fargo; Admiral William Crowe, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroy; Maui Electric Co.; John D. Marshall, Nagle & Marshall; Hale O Kaula Church, David Jenkins, Benjamin Cayetano, Anthony Ching, Kessner Duca Umebayashi, Bain & Matsunaga; Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate; Lokelani Lindsey, Robert Herkes, Hamilton McCubbin, Lyn Anzai, Nathan Aipa; Colleen Wong; Guy Lam, Susan Tius, Guido Giacometti, Sukamto Sia, Paul Alston; Alston Hunt Floyd & Ing; Aon Risk Managers; Jeffrey Case; Hawaii Office of Safety & Health (HIOSH); Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii; Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii; Walter Dods; Eddie Flores; Kitty Lagareta; Robin Campaniano, AIG; Steve Case, AOL Time Warner; Suzanne Case; The Nature Conservancy; Kekoa Paulsen; Peter Savio; Edward Y.C. Chun; David M. Louie; The Ocean Conservancy, Jean Rolles, Leighton Mau; Daniel Case; Case Bigelow & Lombardi; Ed Case; Tokyo Green Co.; Glenn Taguchi, Dept of Land & Natural Resources, State Parks; Takeshi Sekiguchi, Industrial Bank of Japan, Grand Wailea Resort on Maui; Kevin Showe, National Housing Corporation; Jeff Stone, Ko Olina Resorts; Colleen Hanabusa; Richard Wong; James Paul, Cades Schutte Fleming & Wright; Carol Asai-Sato; Gensiro Kawamoto, CB Richard Ellis, Gene & Nora Lum, Ron Brown, George Ariyoshi ****; John Waihee, Alexander & Baldwin; Marsh & McLennan; Terry Mullen, John Mullen & Co.; Prudential; Royal SunAlliance Insurance, Haunani Apoliona, Gil Tam, Robert Kihune, Sandwich Isles Communications, Summit Communications, Richard Frunzi, Hale Nani Partners, Evets Ltd., Dan Omer, William Newsom, Bob Greene, Hana Ranch, Maui Coastal Land Trust, Oprah Winfrey, Land Use Research Foundation of Hawaii, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Peter Young, Hawaii Department of Land & Natural Resources, Bonnie R. Newman, Pacific Primate Sanctuary; Jeffrey Watanabe; Maui Humane Society; William Bonnett, Hawaiian Electric Company******; Neil Hannahs, Kamehameha Schools; Molokai Ranch******; Kenneth Kupchak; Ted Hong; Jane Tatibouet, Edward Sultan, Peter Baldwin, Piiholo Ranch; Kenneth Williams, Warren Suzuki, Maui Land & Pineapple Co., Inc.; Molokai Ranch; Stanford Carr, Stanford Carr Development, LLC; APCOA; DFS Hawaii; Warren Luke, Loyalty Development Co; Benjamin Matsubara, Judge Samuel King, Brook Hart, EG&G Technical Services, Judge Kevin Chang, Judge David Ezra, Judge Barry Kurren, Judge Patrick Yim, Tom Ridge, Mitch McConnell, John Peyton, Corrections Corp. of America, Larry Mizel, Leonard Millman, Invesco, Morgan Lewis & Bockius,* Kathleen Sullivan, Chevron Texaco, Carol Muranaka, Curtis Ching, James Nicholson, Bob Ney, Ben Benson, Greg Dunn, Governor Jennifer Granholm, Cecil Santos, Mark Hemmeter, Al Hoffman, Al Hoffman, Jr., Carl Icahn, Henry Kravis, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., David Murdock, Donald Evans C.V. Starr, Conrad Black, David Black, Frank Bridgewater, Mike Rosenberg, John McCain, Nelson Befitel, Grove Farm, Steve Case, Stephanie Case, Jeffrey Case, Alan A. Smith, Steven Griles, James Wriston, Malia Zimmerman, Judge Michael Mukasey, Larry Silverman, Rudy Giuliani, Kenneth Conklin, Allan Smith, Bruce Graham, Nancy Graham, Stephen Ross, Joseph Verner Reed, Jr.; Merck Pharmaceutical Co., Randy Stone, David Farmer, David Banmiller, Aloha Airlines, James Baker, Robert Katz, Sue Arrigo, MD, Jon Corzine, AIG, Robin Campaniano, The Freeman Foundation, Ramon Obusan, Susan Ichinose, Jo Ann Uchida, Valerie U. Katz, Rabbi Peter B. Schaktman, The Weinberg Foundation, Alvin Awaya, and others to be named upon discovery.

Internet References:

VISIT

THE PEREGRINE GALLERY

To View More Birds of Prey!

JACK ABRAMOFF - HENRY PAULSON - GALE NORTON

FAYE KURREN - NANCY JOHNSON - PETER SAVIO

BRUCE BABBITT - BEN BENSON - DAVID COLE

HAUNANI APOLIONA - JEFF WATANABE

COLBERT MATSUMOTO - JAMES WATT

LINDA LINGLE - JAMES NICHOLSON

(...with more to come!)

* * * * *

IRS - PricewaterhouseCoopers, Arm’s Length and Intermediate Sanctions

www.kycbs.net/IRS-Intermediate-Sanctions.pdf

www.kycbs.net/IRS-11-10-97.htm

www.kycbs.net/KSBE-INTERROGATORIES.htm

http://starbulletin.com/98/11/03/news/story2.html

www.kycbs/AAA-IRS-10-10-0.htm

www.kycbs/Claim-IRS-3-28-5.htm

IRS Closing Agreement for Kamehameha Schools

www.kycbs.net/KSBE-IRSagrmnt.pdf

www.kycbs.net/KSBE-IRSagrmnt2.pdf

Bias Complaints / Motions to Recuse

www.kycbs.net/Lindsey-Motion-Recuse-Ezra.pdf

www.kycbs.net/CV05-00030-Complaint-Chang-5-16-5.htm

www.kycbs.net/CV05-00030-Complaint-Ezra-6-6-5.htm

www.kycbs.net/CV05-00030-Motion-Recuse-Ezra.htm

www.kycbs.net/CV05-00030-Motion-Recuse-Chang.htm

www.kycbs.net/BK-Motion-Recuse-Faris.htm

Documents, News Articles and Related Links

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linda_Lingle

http://www.hkchcc.org/hongkong-china31.htm

http://www.khon2.com/news/local/9637577.html

http://starbulletin.com/2003/02/26/news/story7.html

http://www.hawaii.edu/cgi-bin/uhnews-arc?20060315111923

www.kycbs.net/AIG.htm

www.kycbs.net/Apartheid-Hawaii.htm

www.kycbs.net/Conrad-Black.htm

www.kycbs.net/Dirty-Millions.htm

www.kycbs.net/Integrated-Resources.htm

www.kycbs.net/Kajima.htm

www.kycbs.net/The-Peoples-Temple.htm

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/011282.php

www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/10/24/bush.hawaii.ap/

www.usm.maine.edu/~gramlich/caltex/reply.htm

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060404/ap_on_el_ho/delay

www.alternet.org/story/35458/

www.smallbusinesshawaii.com/2006/July2006-2.html

www.pacificislands.cc/pm12003/pmdefault.php?urlarticleid=0015

http://starbulletin.com/2007/06/30/news/story01.html

http://starbulletin.com/2006/06/22/news/story08.html

http://starbulletin.com/2006/03/09/business/story01.html

http://starbulletin.com/2006/02/22/business/story01.html

http://starbulletin.com/2006/01/09/news/whatever.html

http://starbulletin.com/2006/01/07/editorial/special.html

http://starbulletin.com/2006/02/16/news/story02.html

http://starbulletin.com/2005/12/11/news/story01.html *

http://starbulletin.com/2004/05/21/news/story9.html

http://starbulletin.com/2004/02/11/news/story1.html

http://www.starbulletin.com/2004/03/28/news/index2.html

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http://starbulletin.com/98/08/10/news/story1.html

http://starbulletin.com/1999/05/24/news/story4.html

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http://starbulletin.com/2003/07/31/news/story1.html

http://starbulletin.com/2003/10/19/news/story3.html

http://www.doi.gov/news/040112a.htm

www.kycbs.net/Paradise.htm

www.kycbs.net/AAA-12-16-3.htm

http://multinationalmonitor.org/mm2001/01may/may01bushcc.html

www.theantechamber.net

www.rangeguide.net/bushflow.htm

www.kycbs.net/Hollinger.htm

www.kycbs.net/Thorns.htm

www.kycbs.net/Bush-Crime-Family.htm

www.kycbs.net/Bush-Daisy-Chain.htm

www.kycbs.net/Bush-Satan-Worship.htm

www.kycbs.net/Vampires.htm

www.kycbs.net/WCI.htm

http://starbulletin.com/2003/04/08/news/story5.html

http://starbulletin.com/2003/05/27/news/story10.html

http://starbulletin.com/2003/07/18/business/story4.html

http://starbulletin.com/2003/07/20/news/index5.html

www.ilocostimes.com/sep13-sep19-04/feature.htm

http://www.environment-hawaii.org/1294cond.htm ******

www.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/1997/04/07/daily8.html

www.starbulletin.com/98/06/08/business/

http://starbulletin.com/98/07/13/editorial/viewpoint.html

http://starbulletin.com/98/09/11/news/story2.html

http://starbulletin.com/98/10/22/news/story2.html ******

http://starbulletin.com/1999/07/28/news/story1.html

http://starbulletin.com/2002/01/17/news/index1.html *

http://www.starbulletin.com/2002/01/18/business/ *

http://starbulletin.com/2002/07/18/editorial/special.html *

http://www.starbulletin.com/2002/08/29/business/

http://starbulletin.com/2002/11/03/news/index6.html

http://www.starbulletin.com/2002/11/08/business/ *

http://starbulletin.com/2002/12/10/news/story5.html *

http://starbulletin.com/2003/03/12/business/story1.html

www.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2003/04/21/daily37.html

www.kpua.net/news.php?id=317

http://starbulletin.com/2003/05/17/news/story11.html

http://starbulletin.com/2003/07/18/business/story4.html

http://starbulletin.com/2003/07/22/news/story4.html *

www.hawaii.gov/ag/press_releases/news_htm/news_080103.htm

www.usm.maine.edu/~sb/didnotknow.pdf *

www.state.hi.us/ag/press_releases/news_2004/news_062204.htm *

www.usdoj.gov/osg/briefs/2004/3mer/1ami/2004-0163.mer.ami.html *

www.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2004/03/15/daily87.html

www.theinsurance-news.com/news-about-Lingle.htm

http://starbulletin.com/2002/09/22/business/story1.html

http://starbulletin.com/2003/01/10/news/index4.html

http://starbulletin.com/2003/07/22/news/story4.html ******

http://starbulletin.com/2003/07/18/business/story4.html

http://starbulletin.com/2003/09/04/news/story10.html

http://starbulletin.com/2003/09/30/news/story3.html

www.kycbs.net/Akaka-Bill-Dunces.htm *

www.piiholo.com/News.NRTMAPR.htm

http://starbulletin.com/2005/01/11/news/story1.html

http://starbulletin.com/2003/07/18/business/story4.html

www.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2004/03/15/daily87.html

www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096410836

http://starbulletin.com/2005/08/24/news/index5.html

http://ilind.net/2005/november/oct30-nov05.html

http://starbulletin.com/2005/11/04/news/story02.html ******

www.ilind.net/2005/november/oct30-nov05.html ******

http://starbulletin.com/2005/11/01/news/story01.html **

http://starbulletin.com/2005/11/03/news/story03.html **

http://starbulletin.com/2006/02/07/news/story01.html

www.mauitime.com/story.aspx?story_id=1149

http://starbulletin.com/98/06/22/editorial/editorials.html **

http://www.mediacouncil.org/ ***

http://starbulletin.com/2003/02/01/news/briefs.html ***

http://starbulletin.com/2003/09/30/news/story3.html ****

http://starbulletin.com/2004/03/28/news/index2.html *****

http://starbulletin.com/2005/10/28/news/story01.html *

http://starbulletin.com/2005/03/02/news/story5.html *

http://starbulletin.com/2004/02/11/news/story1.html *

www.harrywalker.com/articles/archive/Hughes_3.pdf *

http://www2.hawaii.edu/~irohter/ROVE3_WWW.htm *

http://www.oha.org/pdf/kwo04/0406/18.pdf

www.kycbs.net/AlohaHarken.htm *

www.kycbs.net/CIA-Behavior-Control-Experiments.htm

www.kycbs.net/Hawaii-Super-Ferry.htm

www.kycbs.net/Kajima.htm

www.kycbs.net/SS-KKR.htm

www.kycbs.net/SS-TXU.htm

www.kycbs.net/Tesoro.htm

www.kycbs.net/The-Peoples-Temple.htm

www.kycbs.net/Pentagon.htm *

www.kycbs.net/IndianAffairs.htm *

www.kycbs.net/Queen-Emma-Foundation.htm

www.maui.net/~haltimes/vol5_98/mcr.html *

www.oilempire.us/karlrove.html *

www.indianz.com/News/2005/010557.asp

http://starbulletin.com/98/05/08/news/briefs.html *

www.state.hi.us/dbedt/fia98/alpha-j88.html

www.mauinews.com/print_version.aspx?id=12736 *

www.mauinews.com/print_version.aspx?id=12759 *

http://starbulletin.com/2005/03/25/business/story3.html *

www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/01/05/hawaii.corruption.ap/ *

http://starbulletin.com/1999/04/17/news/story12.html *

http://starbulletin.com/2001/01/17/news/story5.html *

http://starbulletin.com/2002/06/25/news/story1.html

http://starbulletin.com/2002/11/03/news/index6.html

http://starbulletin.com/2003/01/28/business/story3.html *

http://starbulletin.com/2003/02/23/news/story3.html *

http://starbulletin.com/2003/05/17/news/story2.html *

http://starbulletin.com/2003/09/30/news/story3.html *

http://starbulletin.com/2003/02/25/news/story1.html *

http://starbulletin.com/2003/02/26/news/index7.html

http://starbulletin.com/2003/10/25/news/story1.html *

www.drugrehabresources.com/content.php?cid=991&state=Hawaii *

www.kycbs.net/AAA-12-4-3.htm *

http://starbulletin.com/2003/12/28/news/story7.html

http://starbulletin.com/2004/04/11/news/story1.html

http://starbulletin.com/2004/05/15/news/story2.html

http://starbulletin.com/2004/07/15/news/story7.html

http://starbulletin.com/2004/08/19/news/story1.html

www.b2bchinadirect.com/lindalingle.htm

http://starbulletin.com/2005/01/08/news/story1.html

http://starbulletin.com/2005/01/11/news/story1.html

http://starbulletin.com/2005/01/13/news/story9.html *

http://starbulletin.com/2006/01/06/news/story03.html

www.environment-hawaii.org/104developer.htm

www.angelfire.com/hi2/hawaiiansovereignty/arakaki2ohadhhl.html *

http://hotspotshawaii.com/mauirpt.html *

http://starbulletin.com/2003/10/17/business/story1.html

Chairperson
Rosemary T. Fazio	Chairperson
Philip Hellreich	Vice-Chairperson
Shelton G.W. Jim On	Secretary

Member	Term	Appointing/Electing Authority
Susan Ichinose	04/02/07 - 04/01/13	(Bar)
Frederick Okumura	04/02/07 - 04/01/13	(CJ)
Melvin I.Chiba	04/02/02 - 04/01/08	(Senate)
Rosemary T. Fazio	04/02/03 - 04/01/09	(Bar)
Thomas Fujikawa	04/02/03 - 04/01/09	(House)
Philip Hellreich	04/02/03 - 04/01/09	(Governor)
Shelton G.W. Jim On	04/02/05 - 04/01/11	(Governor)
Ralph R. LaFountaine	04/02/05 - 04/01/11	(House)
Sheri N. Sakamoto	04/02/05 - 04/01/11	(Senate)
Frederick T. Okumura	04/02/07 - 04/01/13	(CJ)