Gen. Shinseki's Silence
by Lawrence Di Rita
The announcement that retired Army chief of staff Eric Shinseki will be President-elect Barack Obama's nominee for secretary of veterans affairs has energized one of the most enduring myths of the Bush presidency. Among the media coverage in recent days: Gen. Shinseki "clashed with the Bush administration on its Iraq war strategy" (Associated Press). In "questioning the Pentagon's Iraq war strategy" (The Post), Shinseki "warn[ed] that far more troops would be needed than the Pentagon had committed" (New York Times). For his candor, he was "vilified" (Boston Globe) by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
Shinseki has a chance during his confirmation hearings to set the record straight: None of those statements is correct.
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KPD Blue: Corruption on Kaua`i?
by Walter Lewis
A rather remarkable book on Kauai political affairs was published this year. Entitled KPD Blue, it is written by Anthony (Tony) Sommer who for nearly 10 years was the reporter assigned to cover our island by the Honolulu Star-Bulletin.
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Honolulu's cost of living ranks third in the U.S., report says
Honolulu ranked as the city with the third-highest cost of living in 2007, according to new nationwide figures released today by the U.S. Census Bureau. Honolulu received a cost index of 163.1, with 100 representing the national average. The most expensive city was Manhattan in New York City with an index of 212.3.
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Councilman Djou changes his legislative staff
Preparing to run for Congress....
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Kaua`i: Committee reorganization on council agenda
Asing, who has served on the council 24 years, determined the lineup for the seven council committees. The committees are where the council does the bulk of its work on proposed legislation before passing it to the full council for final approval.
Under Asing’s lineup, the three members who picked him as chair — Chang, Derek Kawakami and Daryl Kaneshiro — are voting members on all seven committees. The two who backed four-term Councilman Jay Furfaro as chair — Bynum and Kawahara — are voting members on five committees.
Critique: Asing "martinet"
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Kona gets hospital-to-hospital life flight
The Eurocopter EC 135, a twin-engine helicopter, was dedicated Monday and will be able to fly patients from Big Island hospitals to Oahu without needing to be transferred at airports along the way...
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PC Campus: Academia’s Top 10 Abuses of 2008
Banned conservative speakers, stolen votes, assaults on religious liberty, gay English classes, and forbidden Thanksgiving & Christmas celebrations....
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Lana`i: Residency challenge to Councilman tossed by Supreme court
WAILUKU - The Hawaii Supreme Court has thrown out a challenge to incoming County Council Member Sol Kaho'ohalahala's election. In its dismissal, the court said the petition was "styled" as an election challenge, but really amounted to a challenge of Kaho'ohalahala's qualifications to serve on the council, which should have been brought before the first special election in September.
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Iao Aquifer: County seeks all unallocated water
WAILUKU - The Department of Water Supply made its bid for all the unallocated water in the Iao aquifer and the Iao high-level aquifer Tuesday....
Two Waihee farmers, however, are asking for 450,000 gpd from the same bucket.
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