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Abercrombie and officials from the Hawai'i Tourism Authority (HTA) ... met with representatives of various Japanese agencies that are key partners in the visitor industry.

it's vitally important to quickly enact the three pending U.S. trade agreements with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea. These FTAs have been sitting on the President's desk since 2007 for no good reason. President Obama has finally made them a priority by sending them to Congress last Monday night....

Abercrombie will travel to Asia from October 9 – 21, 2011 ....

Steve Jobs, who died yesterday at the too-young age of 56, was a living refutation of all what liberals constantly tell us about our country ....

As the United States Army's mission in Iraq winds down, soldiers find themselves giving up progressively more of their creature comforts. At Contingency Operating Station Garry Owen, Iraq, Soldiers from 215th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Advise and Assist Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division are “getting lean” in preparation for that day.

U.S. intelligence officials, aware of other planned attacks, had arrested several Muslim American converts who returned here after "studying" in the Sudan....

Orsi said Sept. 20 that there were no parties in advanced talks to buy AnsaldoBreda and that the unit’s newly appointed CEO, Maurizio Manfellotto, is working on an updated business plan.

American-born al-Qaida cleric Anwar al-Awlaki was killed Friday by a U.S. airstrike in Yemen, administration officials say.

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“The recent inclusion of the Republic of Korea in the Visa Waiver resulted in double number of visitor arrivals from Korea,” said Councilman Tom Berg....

...Mullen declared that the military intelligence service of this supposed U.S. partner is directing the Haqqani network, a militant group responsible for attacks on Americans, including the 20-hour assault on the U.S. embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, that left 27 dead....

(The UN) doesn't only cast Israel as the villain; it often casts real villains in leading roles: Gadhafi's Libya chaired the UN Commission on Human Rights; Saddam's Iraq headed the UN Committee on Disarmament. 

Among the 20,000 Chinese with at least 100 million yuan ($15 million) in individual investment assets, 27 percent have already emigrated and 47 percent are considering it, according to a report by China Merchants Bank and U.S. consultants Bain & Co. published in April.

The President's words yesterday come after nearly three years of being weak on Israel, failing to condemn those who threaten the country's existence, and failing to draw a distinction between a freedom-loving nation and those who seek to wipe it off the map.

“If something goes haywire, say so.” – Sen Dan Inouye, August 25, 2011

This is actually the fifth time in modern history that we've seen widespread fear that the world was running out of oil.

Al Gore treated the globe to “24 Hours of Reality” Wednesday and Thursday, but before the finale, Mother Nature stepped in with a show of her own.

Even theoretically, returning Hawaii to a prehuman existence would be impossible. Ecosystems change over time, with or without the involvement of mankind, so no one can tell what Hawaii “should” look like.

Obama has refused to submit the agreements until the House goes further and re-authorizes Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) at the 2009 stimulus spending levels. Pre-2009 TAA is still in place to assist workers who lose their job as a result of foreign competition.

Weakened militarily and ignored in the mostly peaceful Arab Spring revolutions, the organization, they say, is becoming irrelevant....

The remembrance calls for governments and businesses, houses of worship, railways, fire and police departments, and others to ring bells and sound sirens for one minute on Sunday, Sept. 11, starting at 7:00 am Hawai'i Standard Time (1:00 pm EDT). Members of the public are asked to cease activity during that minute and reflect upon the events of 10 years ago.

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A U.S. government gun-trafficking investigation gone horribly wrong has resulted in the death of a U.S. Border Patrol officer, some 2,000 firearms in the hands of criminals, and the dismissal of a 24-year veteran law enforcement official. This is the story of Fast and Furious....

...Since September 11, 2001, at least 40 Islamist-inspired terror plots aimed at the United States have been thwarted....

Lucrative state and federal contracts funded by American taxpayer dollars should not be awarded to companies doing business with a regime that is aggressively pursuing a nuclear weapons program, training and supplying weapons to terrorists who are killing U.S. troops, and engaging in egregious human rights abuses inside its own borders.

While the U.S. is dumping billions of dollars into wind farms and onshore and offshore wind turbines, this energy source is being cast aside as a failure elsewhere in the world.

The Battleship Missouri Memorial will commemorate the 66th anniversary of the end of World War II with a free ceremony on Friday, Sept. 2, 2011, from 8 to 9 a.m., on the Mighty Mo’s forward main deck. 

Myths about the dire effects of genetically modified foods on health and the environment abound, but they have not held up to scientific scrutiny. These crop modification methods are not dangerous.

Mosab Hassan Yousef, son of terrorist Hamas founder and leader Sheikh Hassan Yousef, will be speaking at Calvary Chapel Honolulu, 98-1016 Komo Mai Drive, Aiea -- Wednesday at 630PM.

As the only qualified offeror, SCOA’s decision not to appeal should in no way be interpreted as loss of interest. To the contrary, SCOA will remain ready to fulfill its commitments should the City not be able to proceed with Ansaldo due to any problems that might prevent them from fulfilling their offer.

The Administration’s short-sighted effort to score a quick and easy military victory over Qadhafi’s regime failed to end the threat to civilians in “days not weeks,” as President Barack Obama promised. The administration now must scramble to develop and implement a long term strategy for a post-Qadhafi Libya.

What does a worn out and debunked fraud scheme do when it has exhausted its welcome around the world? It comes to Hawaii, of course.

Ghaddafi is/was the fourth-largest shareholder of Honolulu Rail contractor Ansaldo.  It appears that Ghaddafi's Libyan Investment Authority is undergoing a change in management ....

...as NASA sends its shuttles to museums, China is making great strides in its space program—with preparations under way for the launch of a Chinese spacelab in the next few weeks....

We must remember how we stood as a nation with a shared purpose and intensity on September 12, 2001 and in the days following. That collective and eternal vigilance is still essential. Never quit.

“Some years back a Greek finance minister, fed up with his country's waste and extravagance claimed that he could save money by shutting down the national railway and driving around its passengers in taxis.”

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On Thursday, United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) called on Japanese high technology conglomerate Hitachi to end its business in Iran. Hitachi maintains an active presence in Iran, having provided Iran with gas turbines and induction motors used in its oil and gas sector.

A growing list of women leaders from across the state have joined the Executive Advisory Council for Hawai‘i’s 8^th annual International Women’s Leadership Conference (IWLC), taking place on September 20, 2011 at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel and Resort.

A new unprecedented statewide research survey on child abuse and neglect in Hawai‘i reveals that child abuse is a pervasive and serious issue. Nearly 40% of residents know a victim of child abuse, 9% say they experienced abuse themselves, and 80% of residents think child abuse is a major problem in society. 

This bill would authorize the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission to compensate residents of Guam and their descendants who were injured or killed in World War II.

Last night, President Barack Obama and U.S. congressional leaders failed to reach agreement on a deal to raise the nation's debt limit. Meanwhile, it has been more than 800 days since the U.S. Senate passed a budget, liberals in Washington are pushing for higher taxes, unemployment is soaring, the deficit keeps growing, and America is careening toward an economic future as the Europe of the West.

Back in Nairobi, says one government official, Obama Sr. would “slam his fist on the table” and claim that a rival “knows nothing about math or economics”; he would go on to describe other colleagues as “intellectual dwarfs.” As college friend and current Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie tells Jacobs, Obama Sr. could never “contain his irritation with people who were not as facile as he, and he did not hesitate to say so.”

“Subject got his USC wife ‘Hapai’ [Hawaiian for pregnant] and although they were married they do not live together and Miss Dunham is making arrangements with the Salvation Army to give the baby away,’’ according to a memo describing the conversation with Obama written by Lyle H. Dahling, an administrator in the Honolulu office of what was then called the US Immigration and Naturalization Service.

A flotilla is determined to sail to the Gaza Strip this weekend in breach of Israel's naval blockade on the Hamas-controlled territory. This decision comes in spite of growing international pressure to stop the campaign, damaged ships and fewer passengers than expected. 

HONOLULU – Lesley Jane Seymour, Editor-in-Chief of More magazine, will address delegates at Hawai‘i’s 8th annual International Women’s Leadership Conference (IWLC), taking place on September 20, 2011 at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel and Resort.

The nation’s two highest-ranking military commanders have gone on record raising serious concerns about President Obama’s flawed plan to bring 33,000 troops home from Afghanistan by September 2012.

Iran has also improved its launch capabilities, recently placing a data-gathering satellite into space with its powerful Safir booster rocket. The move will accelerate Iran's program for intercontinental ballistic missiles, bypassing the U.N.'s efforts to control the Islamic Republic and giving it the capability to hit the United States....

"One Member of Congress, Delegate Eni Faleomavaega from American Samoa, a co-chair and driving force behind the creation of the Central Asia caucus, particularly stands out. In the 2010 election cycle, two of Faleomavaega’s top organizational contributors had been under contract with the Republic of Kazakhstan...."

Senate conservatives proudly call themselves “Reagan Republicans” because of Reagan’s “Peace Through Strength” military policies. But in Leon Panetta, whose nomination comes up for a full Senate vote for Secretary of Defense on Tuesday, they are being asked to endorse a man whose Congressional career was dedicated to fighting Reagan’s defense build-up and anti-communist policies.