December 2007 | Small Business News
The Good, the Bad, the Ugly and the Felons in the Superferry Fiasco
By Malia Zimmerman, HawaiiReporter.com
Editor’s Note: This column was edited for space in our printed edition and is presented on our website as such; for the entire column go to HawaiiReporter.com.
Surferspath.com — a popular publication for Hawaii’s young surfers, published a controversial editorial on Nov. 5 by Jim Albertini and Lanny Sinkin entitled “Block the Hawaii Superferry.”
See the article: http://tinyurl.com/32obhw
Their nearly 800 word piece encourages Hawaii’s youth to “make the proper arrangements” before they take action against the Hawaii Superferry and the “lawless conspiracy” that has allowed it to sail.
“At the call of the governor, the Legislature passed a law permitting Superferry to violate the law as established by the Hawaii Supreme Court. Those who understand the unconstitutional, illegal, and immoral nature of this act are left to respond. We do not come to convince or discourage. We come only to urge you to follow carefully the last step of non-violent resistance. After you have examined the facts, studied the law, examined your heart and conscience, and decided that action must be taken, the last step is to fully inform yourself of the consequences and made proper arrangements.”
For those readers wondering what “proper arrangements” implies, yes the authors are talking about those who will die taking on the Hawaii Superferry and the “military, police, other law enforcement and the U.S. Coast Guard.”
“You need to be prepared for these forces (military, police and other law enforcement and U.S. Coast Guard) to act without restraint resulting in possible physical injury or death. There is also the possibility of accident in the turmoil of numerous boats, swimmers, and surfers in an ocean environment. In that sense you have to be prepared at the level of the Native American who decided when it was 'a good day to die.”
The editorial gives advice for those preparing to die: “Practically, you need to prepare a last will and testament, make ho‘oponopono with anyone you are not in harmony with, receive the blessing of your family and friends, and otherwise arrange all your personal affairs. The community, particularly the spiritual practitioners, need to provide you with a cleansing ceremony to prepare your body, mind, and spirit to greet the Spiritual Hierarchy that awaits your return.”
They warn that those people not killed by the government, may be arrested by law enforcement for protesting the Hawaii Superferry and face “a different set of circumstances” including “being charged with federal and state criminal offenses, subject to prosecution by special federal prosecutors sent to Hawaii to inflict maximum penalties on people who defied authority, even though that authority was exercised illegitimately. You will be drained of all your assets shuttling back and forth to court in Honolulu. You will be subject to conditions of bail that limit your mobility and freedom. You may receive extended sentences in federal or state prison; just violating the security zone subjects you to ten years in prison and substantial monetary fines. The felony conviction will follow you the rest of your life. There may be no possibility of parole under certain charges. You may have to be in prison up to 80 percent of your sentence before release for ‘good time served.”
Before being arrested, it is a good idea to transfer personal assets to another party so the government (a.k.a. taxpayers) will have to pay for both the prosecution and the defense, they say: “The ho‘oponopono, the family blessing, the arranging of personal affairs, transferring your assets to someone else so that you can proceed legally in forma pauperis (make the government pay for everything), and a cleansing ceremony are all part of completing your preparation.”
Even though an estimated 80 percent of the Hawaii population (according to testimony at the Hawaii State Legislature and several media polls) wants the Hawaii Superferry to sail pronto, they tell potential protesters that the “community that loves and supports your needs to take further actions to make the return of the Superferry manifest as the disgraceful and unwelcome event it truly is, whether through demonstrations, general strike, or other non-violent resistance and rejection.”
In the end of their diatribe, they conclude with the topic of death: “There is no one to stand in judgment of whatever you decide to do. As one kahuna teaches: ‘When I get to Heaven, God is not going to ask me how you did.’”
Jim Albertini of Kurtistown on the Big Island has a criminal history -- he spent a year in federal prison for jumping into the Hilo Harbor to protest the entry of a naval vessel that he says was carrying nuclear weapons. Besides boasting about his incarceration in his biography at the end of the editorial, he lists himself as the “founder and president of Malu Aina Center for Non-Violent Education and Action who has spent his entire life working for peace, justice, protection of the Earth and freedom.”
Lanny Sinkin of Hilo, Hawaii, claims he is an attorney at Law (Federal Practice) and Alii Manao Nui (Chief Advocate and Spiritual Advisor) by appointment of Alii Nui Moi (King) Edmund Kelii Silva, Jr. Technically he is not allowed to practice law in Hawaii, according to the Hawaii State Bar Association, because he is not a Bar member. But that hasn’t stopped him from acting as a lawyer in federal court claiming he is “an attorney for the United States legal system and the Kingdom of Hawaii.” He filed a federal complaint against the U.S. Coast Guard related to its protective zone for the Hawaii Superferry in Nawiliwili Harbor. He used on his petition three visitors to Kauai who claimed they were residents when in fact they live in San Diego. But likely Sinkin’s most bizarre lawsuit was filed against President George W. Bush and then Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in 2004 on behalf of whales and dolphins opposed to military sonar testing. Ninth Circuit Court Judge William A. Fletcher on Oct. 24, 2004, wrote, “...We hold that cetaceans do not have standing under these statutes....”
|
