Income & Wealth Inequality!

An article entitled “Inequality Against Democracy” by Richard Eskow provides shocking facts. Below is a summary. You can read the full article here.

http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/02/08/inequality-against-democracy-10-facts-about-1-percent

      “The 0.01 percent – a tiny group of people – controls a vast amount of wealth. 16,000 Americans hold as much wealth as 80 percent of the nation’s population – some 256,000,000 people – and as much as 75 percent of the entire world’s population. A few billionaires are even wealthier. In the United States, 536 people had a shared net worth of $2.6 trillion at the end of 2015.

      “CEOs are taking up a bigger piece of the pie, and workers are getting less. Fortune 500 CEOs earned about 42 times as much on average as the typical worker in 1980. Today they earn 373 times as much. In fact, seven of this country’s 30 largest corporations paid their CEOs more than they paid in taxes.

      “The average American household is falling behind on wages. The median household income in the United States fell by more than 7 percent between 1999 and 2014. The average American owns less wealth than people in many other developed countries. The median wealth of an American adult is roughly $34,316. That’s far below that of adults in countries like Japan ($78,862), Luxembourg ($78,453), the United Kingdom ($75,734), Norway ($54,362), the Netherlands ($52,649), Switzerland ($43,700), and Australia ($47,477.)

      “More than one child in five lives in poverty. The U.S. poverty rate for children is over 20 percent, higher than that of all other major developed countries. Overall, more than 48 million Americans live in poverty.

The Challenge

      “A government controlled by wealthy individuals and large corporations will be much more likely to harm the environment and subvert democratic processes. It will cater to the defense industry abroad and the for-profit prison industry at home. It will hamper racial justice…”

      That is why runaway inequality is one of the most important issues of our time. It stifles democracy, breeds violence and wars, and leads to a more dangerous world. The time for action is now! Rise up. Unite as the 99.9%. A system that has created this kind of inequality needs to be fundamentally changed. It can be done. We are the many. They are the few. Don’t let the few continue to divide us. In unity there is strength. Never give up!

Stop Runaway Inequality!
Build a Movement for Justice, Peace and the Earth!

1. Mourn all victims of violence. 2. Reject war as a solution. 3. Defend civil liberties.
4. Oppose all discrimination, anti-Islamic, anti-Semitic, anti-Hawaiian, etc.
5. Seek peace through justice in Hawai`i and around the world.

Contact: Malu ‘Aina Center for Non-violent Education & Action
P.O. Box 489 Kurtistown, Hawai’i 96760
Phone (808) 966-7622. Email: ja@malu-aina.org

Sign up on our website to receive our posts  http://www.malu-aina.org/

Hilo Peace Vigil leaflet (Feb. 12, 2016 – 751st week) – Friday 3:30-5PM downtown Post Office

Ohana Ho’opakele (Family Rescue)
A Hawaiian Holistic Alternative to Prisons

P.O. Box 5530
Hilo, Hawai’i 96720
(808) 959-9775
OhanaHoopakele@gmail.com

February 5, 2016 For Viewpoint consideration.

Stop the Prison-Bed Business

Before the State of Hawaii attempts to embark on fast tracking the building of a $485 million new prison without broad and transparent community discussion and without even an Environmental Impact Assessment or Statement, there are actions that we in Ohana Ho’opakele propose that Governor David Ige and the the State legislature take.

1. Follow the Federal and many state examples of reviewing disproportionately long prison sentences and release prisoners in Hawaii who have already served long sentences. The Feds have already released 6,000 prisoners, as many prisoners as Hawaii has locked up today.
2. Review the disproportionate number of Hawaiians locked up. Dr. RaeDeen Keahiolalo-Karasuda, PhD says that Hawaiians, who make up 20% of the State’s population, represent more than 60% of those imprisoned. Take action to correct this racist disproportionate imprisonment and length of sentences against Hawaiians. (See A Report of the Hawai`i Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights, September 2011)
3. Follow the call of Ohana Ho’opakele and establish modern day Pu’uhonua on all islands as alternative to prisons. Also establish community-based Ho’oponopono centers on all islands to help heal conflicts and resolve small community problems before they turn into major crimes.

The above actions will save the State money, reduce crime, and help heal our communities. 40 years ago the State’s Correctional Master Plan talked about the need for alternatives to prison, but the alternatives were never seriously implemented. Don’t make the same mistake again. Before building another prison, first, take action on the above matters and there will be no need to build a new prison. Hawaiians and the general public taxpayers will all benefit when we stop the prison-bed business. We ask the public to support this effort of alternatives to prison and urge people to contact the Governor and State Legislators. Mahalo and aloha.

Palikapu Dedman

President of Ohana Ho’opakele

Good article below.  Wall Street’s pathetic worldview.

http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/34964-wall-street-worldview-why-are-people-upset

War & More War!

      While U.S. primary elections have most of the public and media attention, the U.S. is planning massive military escalation and few seem to care or notice. Distraction is the disorder of the day.

What the candidates Will Do!
What Marco, Jeb, Carly, Chris, etc. will do

     “U.S. troops are going back into Iraq, our presence in Libya is escalating, and Obama has widened the war in Afghanistan – all without much of a public debate” according to Adam Johnson, associate editor at AlterNet. And escalation in Syria too.

See (http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article44106.htm

      In 2011, the Libya “No Fly Zone” campaign quickly became regime change and the killing of Muammar Qaddafi resulting in total chaos in Libya. Glenn Greenwald of The Intercept noted that Secretary of Sate at the time, Hillary Clinton, sociopathically boasted and laughed about the mob rape and murder of Qaddafi on 60 minutes “We came, we saw, he died.” According to the New York Times, the new war effort in Libya is “expected to include airstrikes and raids by elite American troops.” Who knows how long it will last.

     Today, the escalation of war is all done in the name of fighting ISIL. How convenient for the arms makers – endless war!  According to Johnson’s article, “When the U.S. began its anti-ISIL efforts in August 2014, ISIL was in two countries. Now, after tens of thousands of aerial ordinances have been dropped on two continents, ISIS now has a presence in over 20 countries. The U.S. has even expanded its war in Afghanistan to include ISIS, the White House announced last Thursday. None of the major presidential candidates, including the most progressive member of the U.S. Congress, Bernie Sanders, outwardly opposes the U.S. current anti-ISIL efforts, including the once-unpopular drone program.” So where is the public debate about all this war and more war? And putting an end to war?

What Will We DO?

1. Mourn all victims of violence. 2. Reject war as a solution. 3. Defend civil liberties.
   4. Oppose all discrimination, anti-Islamic, anti-Semitic, anti-Hawaiian, etc.
   5. Seek peace through justice in Hawai`i and around the world.

Contact: Malu ‘Aina Center for Non-violent Education & Action
P.O. Box 489 Kurtistown, Hawai’i 96760
Phone (808) 966-7622. Email: ja@malu-aina.org

Sign up on our website to receive our posts  http://www.malu-aina.org/

Hilo Peace Vigil leaflet (Feb. 5, 2016 – 750th week) – Friday 3:30-5PM downtown Post Office