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"Traditional" Practices Aren't Neccesarily "Good" Practices

2008-07-25T16:38:00.005+10:00

You hear alot of folks nowadays throwing out how great it was in"the good old days", and hearkening back to the "traditional ways", with the intention of using this as some xenophobic tool in their arsenal to perpetuate the same ole same ole crooked practices. "We ate fish and breadfruit and we didn't need to go to the store or find work". Now that's all well and fine in the context of some morality tale, or for nostalgic purposes alone.. but certainly, not all "traditional" cultural practices should be perpetuated. In fact, many are simply abhorrent. Historic "traditional" practices of nepotistically passing on leadership, cannibalism, and hobbling are only a few examples of this. Here's another horrible "traditional" practice that I came across in the news today.. and is happening, albeit unbelievably, today.

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From the BBC:

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Twenty-five people with albinism have been murdered in Tanzania since March, a BBC investigation has found. Albinos are targeted for body parts that are used in witchcraft, and killings continue despite government efforts to stamp out the grisly practice, the BBC's Karen Allen says.

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Once, albinos used to seek shelter from the sun. Now they have gone into hiding simply to survive, after a series of killings linked to witchcraft.

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The latest victim was a seven-month-old baby. He was mutilated on the orders of a witchdoctor peddling the belief that potions made from an albino's legs, hair, hands, and blood can make a person rich.

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Sorcery and the occult maintain a strong foothold in this part of the world, especially in the remote rural areas around the fishing and mining regions of Mwanza, on the shores of Lake Victoria.

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The last adult albino to be murdered - just a few weeks ago - was Nyerere Rutahiro.

The Hog is DEAD MPLT.. Stop trying to live high on it

2008-07-23T22:16:00.008+10:00

In a Saipan Tribune article today, "MPLT Lukewarm to OPA offer of building".. MPLT Chair Alvaro Santos (yes he's still around too), during and after meetings with OPA's Mike Sablan, stated that he's concerned about the mechanism of assigning government properties. GIVE ME A FLIPPIN' BREAK ALVARO. Anyone can see that government offices have been located in the same spots for years and decades. Talk about an insincere excuse.. you know the MPLT has nothing to worry about. Basically, it sounds like you are just bent on spending funds on a brand new shiny building.. period. $700,000.00 in funds.

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Get out. The Commonwealth is crumbling right now because of decisions like this. Resign. Leave. There is no other option. Resign and hope a brighter and more sensible individual takes your place. As evidenced by this.. you are neither bright, nor sensible.

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This is just stupid. Everyone should demand that the MPLT utilize the recently renovated and free office space being offered by the Office of the Public Auditor! "Lukewarm"?.. Alvaro should be jumping for joy.

Beautiful Beach Road Saipan

2008-07-23T20:58:00.001+10:00

We get the partial news to you first

2008-07-23T13:19:00.005+10:00

The news should be out on a particular court staff who was just busted in a drug raid. Marijuana I hear. It's shocking on a number of fronts.. work-wise and family-wise. Not sure who carried out the raid.. but we understand that helicopters were used. Probably federal.

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I'll leave it at that for now, and fill in the details, when I've confirmed them.

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Update: The DEA has been conducting surveillance and raids since the weekend. Supposedly, they've made busts at areas of Capitol Hill and San Vicente. Their helicopter was spotted scouring As Matuis and Garapan over the last couple of days.

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Update 7/25/08:

From today's Saipan Tribune: "Saipan Tribune also learned from sources that during the operation on Saipan, a CNMI court employee was taken by DEA agents to their office in Garapan. A Judiciary van being used by the employee was also placed under investigation.As of yesterday it was not clear whether the court employee was arrested or was only questioned. Saipan Tribune contacted the Guam-based DEA resident agent-in-charge, Antonio Marquez, yesterday for details about the operation in the CNMI, but he was not available. Marquez didn't return a message from Saipan Tribune seeking comment.A KSPN 2 report last night identified the court employee as building superintendent Joe Guzman but there was no immediate police confirmation on this.A check with the courts yesterday afternoon indicated that Guzman did not report for work the past two days. Court employees refused to comment on his whereabouts."

The Silence is Deafening.. and Defining

2008-07-23T12:48:00.008+10:00

Isn't it funny how a Dutch cartoon of Mohammed sends much of the fanatical Muslim world to violent protests, threats of murder, etc., but you ne'er hear a peep with regards to the U.S. fronting the Yugoslav war, the arrest of those who perpetrated ethnic cleansing, in large part against the mostly Muslim Albanians. Radovan Karadzic, the former Serb leader for example. Responsible for the architecture of a system that saw the slaughter of thousands of Albanian Muslims among others, Karadzic was recently arrested by Serbian police. Where are the cheers from the Muslim world? Where are the parades? Where is the thanks?

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Why not stand behind all U.S. Citizen Children? They are our citizens aren't they??

2008-07-23T08:07:00.003+10:00

From today's Marianas Variety:

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"Indigenous group sympathizes with parents of US children with disabilities"
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THE CNMI Descents for Self-Government and Indigenous Rights will ask the federal government to “carefully consider” the case of parents of U.S. citizen children with disabilities.
Former Speaker Oscar C. Rasa, the group’s spokesman and adviser, said they are hoping that the federal government will grant special status for these parents for “humanitarian reasons.”

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How about all of our other U.S. Citizens? Hopefully this won't promote a spur of maimings.

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Oscar Rasa.. I still can't get over that one. Comeon people, are you stuck on stupid?

Scratching an itch

2008-07-21T10:33:00.002+10:00

Kind of surprised me that I haven't done a post on this particular issue yet. It's an itch I've had for years.. I'll scratch it a bit here. What is that itch? The "airport store". The one that carries nothing you'd typically buy at an airport store, like magazines, little games, newspapers, gum, etc.

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Heading out on a 6 to 12 hour journey.. you get through check-in and the TSA nazis, and you end up in the middle of a Duty Free Shoppers (DFS) luxury goods store! No newspapers, no magazines, no batteries.. just overpriced leather goods and trinkets.

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Of course you then head out to the departure area to find a can of coke costs $4.00 and a heated up mini frozen pizza costs even more.

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It's insane. We make sure that we leave a bad taste in our tourist's mouths, from the time they arrive and get into their overpriced taxi.. to the time they depart. This whole system needs to be changed as well. It's a take what we can, and screw the future system.. that ensures we don't have tourists dying to come back here.

Small World

2008-07-20T10:29:00.006+10:00

Remember Bruce Lloyd? He was the cauliflower-nosed man who did the cable tv news back in the early to mid-80's. Used to stand at some spot outside, hold a mike and read the news from some notes in his hand. He later went on to be a "pr" person, run his own media "company", and had an online site that listed summaries of every single day's major news stories.

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Well, I just found out while surfing.. that he's in Guantanamo! No.. not as one of the prisoners who've been stripped of almost every right of due process, but as their Public Relations dude. What a small world. From "Garapan Poker Establishment Robbed" to "In case prisoners sentenced to death are found guilty.. We have a fenced off area for their graves". What a small world indeed.

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Here are a couple of excerpts from recent press statements of his that I've found online:

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The condemned men could even be buried at Guantanamo. A Muslim section of the cemetery at Guantanamo has been dedicated by an Islamic cultural adviser, said Bruce Lloyd, spokesman for the Guantanamo Naval Station. Among those buried elsewhere at the cemetery are U.S. servicemen.

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"A small area of the cemetery has been fenced off and remains ready for the burial of any Muslim who may die here and not be repatriated to another country, for whatever reason," Lloyd told The Associated Press.

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"The Military Commissions Act of 2006 sharply narrowed detainees' ability to challenge their confinement, a right known as habeas corpus to which all people on U.S. soil are entitled.The base certainly looks like America. It features a McDonald's and community housing resembling a 1950s U.S. suburb, and boasts a huge Fourth of July fireworks display. And the military does apply some U.S. laws, including the Endangered Species Act, which outlines how iguanas must be treated. The base's 25 mph speed limit is strictly enforced, which helps avoid roadkill, according to public affairs officer Bruce Lloyd."There is a very consistent effort by the command to protect the iguanas and other exotic species here, which I assume is partially driven by the federal law," he acknowledged."

On waiving the CUC reconnection fee..

2008-07-18T10:21:00.005+10:00

The Marianas Variety contained a story today, which mentioned DCCA support for a bill that would exempt low-income (or no income I suppose) families from having to pay the CUC reconnection fee. Now this is a relatively minor fee, that either way won't make an iota of difference to CUC or my family. It is symptomatic, however, of the greater problem of our system here in the CNMI. That is, the system of the continuing construction of a welfare state, instead of the thoughtful development of a system that pays workers real wages, provides skills development for those who don't work, and brings those who don't work into the workplace.

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Just as the disparity between the highly paid and those paid unlivable wages should be corrected, so to should the disparity where fees, any fees, are concerned be corrected. A fee is a fee.. and everyone should have to shoulder that fee. The fee is not the problem.. the problem is either the need to raise minimum wages, or get those people working.

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Of course there are those who are not able to work.. i.e. special needs, the very elderly. They should be exempt.. everyone else should foot the fee.

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Let's fix the problems that make it hard for people to pay those fees.. or stay on food stamps, or energy assistance, and similar "welfare" programs.

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People work hard. Standing behind a cart full of groceries, that includes shrimp and cheese, luxuries we can't afford, while the kid at that full cart holds on to two toys, and his mom fumbles through an envelope full of food stamps to pay for the cart full of food, and then to her wallet to pay for the toys.. is beyond disappointing. Of course, my three kids and I stand behind with a handbasket of bread, eggs and a pound of hamburger.. because that's all we can afford on our families salary. It's wrong. The system is so messed up, that working people are the ones being harmed most. A fight against minimum wage is our governments "battle of the day", while on the other hand the DCCA food stamp program constantly reports they need more funds. Food stamp needs LESS funds. The system needs to be changed, to get people paid reasonable salaries and get non-working people into jobs. If there "aren't any jobs".. create them. Use our resources, or the resources of those anonymous investors, more wisely.. create public works and tourism improvement projects.. or something.. and get people paid fair living wages!

Tick Tock Tick Tock Ti..

2008-07-17T14:24:00.004+10:00

So, Oil has dropped more than $10.00 a barrel in the last two days. How long will it take for the Mobil or Shell to reflect that in their pricing? They seem to up the price pretty fast. Will they reduce their prices at all? You'd think at least one of the companies would reduce their price a bit.. you know, if there was no collusion.

Update - 7/19/08: Oil has now dropped nearly $20.00 a barrel. Gas prices are still the same. Only takes the stations a few days to hike the price.. shouldn't the same apply to a drop?

We're still trying..

2008-07-14T00:08:00.005+10:00

In a Marianas Variety article, CUC Executive Director Muna says rate increases do not require the approval of the Public Utilities Commission.. despite very clear language in two public laws that states they do. In fact, Muna made it sound as if forwarding new rate schedules to the PUC, is simply a "formality". So why isn't the PUC either setting, or speaking on the current rates?
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Things don't bode well for the PUC, when their Chairperson Viola Alepuyo says "they're still trying to gather the opinions of the other members of the board". Huh? "Trying to gather"? How hard is that? How long does that take? Why is that so difficult? Can't you all powwow and toss in your "opinions". I mean it's only our public utilities, that are driving folks to flee, driving businesses under, destroying our equipment and appliances, and sending us into the dark ages.
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Do you think you can do a little more than just "try"?

MPLT to utilize PRIVATE LAND and pay $700,000 for new office? What?

2008-07-13T14:34:00.009+10:00

The Marianas Public Land "Trust" is planning on spending $700,000 on a new office? And they're going to purchase private land for this???? Does this make sense to you? Number one.. the CNMI is in no position to be spending $700,000 on a new office for anyone. And number two.. why would you even consider using private land in the first place? You hold all of the public lands! Fishy.

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Mike Sablan is offering up a newly renovated government building for their office.. FREE OF CHARGE. They better take it.

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On a related note.. related only through the particular person's public statements on the matter..

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I was dumbfounded to learn that Oscar Rasa.. you know, the guy who spent years in federal prison along with his brother for extortion and wire fraud, is the "spokesperson" for the "CNMI Descent for Self Government and Indigenous Rights"! These "winners" were more shady than the ground under an elm tree on a moonless night. TGCC-unpaid hotel, land cases, etc.

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I feel sorry for any of the indigenous folks who've pinned their hopes to this organization. I mean, if Oscar Rasa is your spokesperson.. yikes. We demand our federal right to obtain kickbacks!? Talk about a really bad 80's flashback.

Coincidence or Collusion?

2008-07-13T13:35:00.006+10:00

Along the same vein as my last post..

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Local Mobil and Shell have held the consistent line that they don't fix prices. So why are the prices at both of their stations exactly the same.. to the tenth of a cent? Why isn't the Shell price $5.05 and 8/10ths of a cent, instead of 9/10ths, or vice-versa? Coincidence? If it was our station, we'd undercut the other station a tenth of a cent to generate more business. Right?

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It is also odd that when the last gas hike happened, Mobil didn't raise their prices until four days after Shell did. This time, Shell waited four days.

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Does anyone actually believe there is no collusion going on between Mobil and Shell? I don't.

Time for Intervention by the World's Governments is long overdue..

2008-07-10T16:09:00.005+10:00

Petroleum..

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2000 - $17.00 per barrel and $1.14 per gallon

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2008 - $139.00 per barrel and $5.05 per gallon

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"Foreseeable Future" -

"Oil prices ‘to hit $250 per barrel’, Wednesday, June 11, 2008,
Alexey Miller, the chief executive of the world's largest energy company has issued the most dire warning yet about the soaring the price of oil, predicting that it will hit $250 per barrel "in the foreseeable future". His comments were the most stark to be expressed by an industry executive and come just days after the oil price registered its largest-ever single-day spike, hitting $139.12 per barrel last week amid fears that the world's faltering supply will be unable to keep up with demand.

Con Con Put-on?

2008-07-09T22:25:00.009+10:00

Not again. Another "Con-Con"? We don't have the money to be throwing away to:

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1) Pay for an election of delegates to a Con-Con

2) Pay for the administrative and many other costs of bringing this group together to determine what in the end.. voters will decide anyways

3) Pay for a vote on any amendments

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The last go-round.. voters nixed all of the amendments. The end result was hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on NOTHING!

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And again with Rosemond Santos.. she pushed the resolution, and once again is absent during voting. WHY?

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When the question comes up on your election ballot.. VOTE "NO". Think of all the things that half-a-million dollars could be used for right now.. a Con-Con would be pretty low on that list.

Take 'em off our streets

2008-07-08T23:17:00.005+10:00

Criminals in our community who should have the book thrown at them aren't limited only to men. Barbie Ann B. Borja and Zenita B. Cabrera were "allegedly" involved in a break-in in a Susupe establishment, where they "reportedly" stole and tried to cash the company's checks.

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..And wouldn't you know it.. one Barbie Ann Borja was charged with stealing $2,000.00 on February 13 of last year. One Zenita B. Cabrera plead guilty in a case involving a rash of shoplifting cases on Saipan. Also pleading guilty was one Barbie Ann B. Cabrera. The sentence for the shoplifting was handed down on MAY 12! You know what the sentence was? ONE DAY IN JAIL and one year of probation!

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Ridiculous. How many more crimes will our judicial system permit them to commit? Should they be found guilty again this time.. what will their sentence be in this case? Two days?

Mr. Propst "Gotcha"?

2008-07-08T22:48:00.005+10:00

In a story from today's tribune, "Protest at CUC Power Plant Today", Mr. Ed Propst brings up an opinion written by the Attorney General Matthew Gregory in 2006. Gregory's opinion as written in the story.. "CUC is not an agency or instrumentality of the CNMI government and that, consequently, it may use loans from the fund for operating expenses, a move prohibited for other government offices. The loans also would not be subject to legislative approval".

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Hmmm? Not an agency or instrumentality of the CNMI government? Then why can its management be taken over by the administration at a whim, as has been done for the better part of the last two years?

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If you're scratching your head.. you're not alone, so am I. On the face of it, that doesn't seem to make sense at all. CUC is a corporation in name alone.

Test your local blog knowledge

2008-07-07T12:34:00.005+10:00

So, you think you're up on the local blogs? Get ready to test your knowledge of the local blogs, by playing in the CNMI's newest gameshow..(drumroll)............... "WHAT BLOGGER AM I?"
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A weekend of sand, sun and warm ocean can be yours if you are able to identify the blogger who made these statements:
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"..I would have had to track you down like a f#cking dog, run a bayonet up your ass and pop you open like a ripe watermelon."
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and,
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"Is that the same 4 year old you were f#cking out back of your trailer house last week"
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To make things a bit easier.. here's a clue: The blogger has been able to draw humor from the death of a man whose situation and circumstances, he felt, drove him to set himself on fire at the department of labor.

The Worst tool used to perpetuate cheap labor

2008-07-05T19:23:00.009+10:00

I keep hearing this nonsense about "locals" not wanting to work. Not wanting to do any laborious work. It is just that.. nonsense. "Locals", like most other people, will do any kind of work.. for the right pay. Any kind of work. The problem here is, corporate and business entities do not have to operate in an atmosphere that competes for workers. They never have. They've set up a system where they could pay $3.05 an hour to a non-resident, for a job that they would have probably had to pay $6 to $8 to a resident/local for, and probably more today.

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If "locals won't do hard work".. than how do you account for all of the residents who serve in the military? That is one of the toughest jobs you can have. What's the difference?.. the military provides an adequate salary and benefits. In fact it was a friend of mine heading back to Missourri, who motivated me to write this. She's from Saipan, but lived in Missourri about two years, up until last year when she returned to attend to a sick relative. She was telling me that she's heading back to Missourri. She said it was because things were great there, she worked at a Ross for two years as a clerk and made "great money". A cashier's job, a job that is often considered on the low end of the ladder where pay and status are concerned. It is also usually considered difficult work. She loved her job.. because she felt fairly compensated.

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Might there be a need for training.. there always is.. everywhere. It's a fact however, that all over the world, in a wide variety of capacities.. employees are hired and trained. This is again, not an excuse to not utilize the local populous. It is another excuse used by business to justify keeping locals out of the workplace.

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So you might ask.. "How can Lil be for granting special status to long-stay workers" and rail against big business for their dirty practice of fostering a cheap labor system? The answer.. 1) I understand that the CNMI needs additional workers and certain skills, and 2)It is improper to uproot people who've been allowed to live here for a long period of time. Granting long-stay workers special status, will both address our need for workers, and at the same time give these workers the ability to quit, to apply for other jobs, to negotiate, etc.. making the workplaces competitive for all workers, resident and non-resident alike. Contractual workers should be limited to specific highly technical positions, that are permitted only through a thorough justification process.

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Claiming residents here will "not do work", is not only a bogus argument used by those that seek to perpetuate cheap labor.. but it is one of the worst tools. It is one that wrongly demeans people and the community. Wrongly because, it is not the hard work people are adverse to.. but the inappropriate wages for specific work. If you need a job done, and you pay the right amount of money.. you are going to find more than one person willing to do that job.

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Cheap labor will come to an end.. soon. We need to remember all of those who worked hard to keep this poisonous system in place, and who worked hard to dismantle it. A system that invested scheming-to-eek-out-profits, over investment in the people of the community they do business in. Remember, the general history of business has been.. it will try to get away with whatever it is allowed to get away with.. slavery, child labor, toxic chemicals, unsafe or unfit workplaces, etc.. In almost every instance, it took intervention by decent (or pressured) people in government to change these things.

Post-parade Wrap-up Coming Soon!

2008-07-04T20:34:00.006+10:00

This post was going to be solely about the parade, with some pretty pictures of floats and my opinion on the problems with the event. That's going to be tapered off a bit, so I can address a greater problem related to the parade and similar events..
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What is this problem you ask?
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The f#ckin' pigs who leave all of their trash along the roadway and at their campsites! It is two days after the parade, and both the east side and west side of beach road are littered with trash, trash bags heaping with trash, trash piled up against trees, etc. The former "campsites" have scattered litter and heaps of trash piled around trees.
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To the f#ckin' pigs who camped along the beach and left that trash.. you bring down the quality of life for everyone in the CNMI. Yes, you. If you can't take away the trash you accumulated camping out at the beach for a week.. stay away from the beach. Pile up garbage around your own house.
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I just don't understand it. Doesn't anyone feel a little bit guilty about leaving that beautiful beach in a condition worse than they found it? A beautiful beach along a main thoroughfare. It's disgusting.. and those people are DISGUSTING. The police need to do a little detective work. Sift through the bbq bones and find any document that might link the trash to someone and ticket them. I and many others have photos of the parade route and campers.. use the crimestoppers program to get copies of those photos and fine the individuals whose sites were left littered.
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Alright.. on to the parade. What's there to say.. when will the Mayor's office put a stop to permitting the car companies from simply driving their regular car models in the parade? Why are any businesses regular vehicles aloud to participate? Take the "Saipan Sweet Shrimp" pickup truck for example.. a plain old pickup with a two foot banner on the side? That should have been excluded. If "Saipan Sweet Shrimp" wants to participate.. decorate that truck, or turn it into a shrimp-float or something. PTI was another huge LOSER.. Brad on the Hummer was funny.. but the line of plain ole cars, one car after another with advertising banners in-between was horrible. If PTI, or any business or government office wants to participate.. they should meet some participation criteria. They should have costumed marchers or entertainers, or a float.. PERIOD.
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It was highly disturbing to see all the government SUV's driving by.. the Municipal Council for one. Who Cares about the Municipal Council? STOP WASTING FUEL YOU MORONS!
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What floats there were, were beautiful. My favorite was the lively one with the Carolinian dancers. The Department of Corrections float, which won the competition, was nice.. but they could have done without handcuffing one of the prisoners that did the decorations to the float. He was the guy at the back, whose arm was permanently resting on the back of the float. It was disappointing to see the absence of many of the grand Filipino floats. Representation by that community was whittled down to one small float. The hotels and tan holdings were also notably absent.
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My final beef is with the groups of marchers wearing regular clothes or just t-shirts, who do absolutely nothing, but walk. Wear costumes or something. You don't add to the parade, you take away from it. Most of us don't want to see you or your t-shirt.. do something to entertain us.. or don't participate.

Today in the Headlines

2008-07-03T20:52:00.009+10:00

representative Stanley Torres, From "Pew poll on national monument, rigged", Marianas Variety:

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"It’s not their ‘public land’ that would be given away should this [marine monument] be enforced by Bush."

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Are you sure it's not your high school diploma that was "rigged"? Have one of your staff read the proposal for you.. the "land" isn't included you xenophobe sorry-excuse for a "lawmaker".. hence the word "MARINE".

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From the Marianas Variety:

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"New Rotary Officers Vow to "Make Dreams Real"

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Wow.. now that's some ambition right there. So are these the dreams of improved public utilities? Maybe a reduction in gas prices? World peace? Well it's "Bingo Boob" Babauta, the Rotary's new pres, who made the proclamation, so I'm assuming those dreams probably have something to do with..

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"Instant Massive Bingo"!!! 4:00 pm - midnight, Friday, Saturday and Sunday!!! Liberation Day Carnival Grounds! $50,000 Black-Out and $2,000 guaranteed payout each and every game!!! WIN WIN WIN!!! Be There or Be Square!!!

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From the Marianas Variety:

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"Senator: Inos will be given a chance to defend himself"

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.. Right after he receives an adequate public flogging? Pretty please?

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From the Marianas Variety:

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"Villagomez no longer committed to Covenant Party"

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Th, Th, Th, That's All Folks?

2008-07-01T22:18:00.010+10:00

Did my prediction that "Porky's" would be closed within two years come to fruition? I'm not holding my breathe.. could just be a "relocation". That's the word on the "street" however. A fellow "boycotter" even sent me some pics yesterday. The signs are gone.. even the tiny trademark infringement one. She said it looks like it's been closed for days. Even the "Yap" says it's closed. I'm trying hard to encourage a tear.. maybe it'll come when the smile fades. Again, if it's true.. I won't be so pompous as to attribute it entirely to the boycott. You can't deny however, that more than a few of the folks are left with a bad taste in their mouth when it comes to Porky. My guess.. it's a relocation. Let's just cross our fingers. Good riddance to bad rubbish.
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On an unrelated-related note - I came across these "words of advice" doled out by the Porks to Kap a little over a year ago. Funny.. how he didn't seem to follow his own advice.

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March 2007, Sosaipan Blog: Bruce A. Bateman said... "..please don't make the 'content moderation' mistake that Ed has made over at saipanblog.com. It has reduced readership and comments to near nothing. Censorship seldom works, unless followed up with ruthless violence."

Beautiful Migrant

2008-06-29T21:49:00.006+10:00

I spotted this monarch butterfly today. I've never seen monarchs here before. I know they're a North American species of butterfly, and one that is usually in the company of many other monarchs.. sure enough, I counted eight in the distance. And they are definitely monarchs.. as I did a careful comparative analysis of their wing-patterns. This one is a male.
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Beautiful butterfly.. wonder how long it's been here?

Beach Road Eyesore

2008-06-29T21:09:00.008+10:00

Driving down Beach Road on Friday, I couldn't figure out why many of the trees were strewn with bright yellow and orange police tape. That is until we passed some tents, and I figured that there was some type of parade or event this weekend.. maybe something to do with the Oceania Games.

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I found out today that they're their for the Liberation Day Parade.. which takes place in a week!

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Can you just string the trees with police tape and reserve space a week in advance? It's not even about the reservation.. but how ugly the tape looks. It's trashy. If you want to pitch tents and camp in your spot for a week.. great. But to string 50 feet of tape 25 feet along beach road.. and leave, is ludicrous. In fact, it is littering, and the police should enforce the littering law.

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At the very least.. they should take that garbage down. We depend on tourism, and Beach Road is a major highlight. Folks should have more sense than to litter it with plastic tape for a week.
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UPDATE: Some good soul.. I don't know whether they were from the Mayor's Office, DPS or Parks.. took down all of the tape late this morning (Monday).

"I'm ready to go"

2008-06-28T15:30:00.005+10:00

“When the time comes that I need to go, I'm ready to go." This was a quote by Mr. Tony Muna, new CUC Executive Director, in a Saipan Tribune story today. Of course he determines that time to be when the Governor determines it.

Now I have nothing against Mr. Muna.. in fact, I almost feel sorry for him. In the end, however, you can only feel too sorry for him.. he opted to accept the job after all.

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I don't feel his - I'm there until the Governor says otherwise, so tough, attitude - very comforting either. It is arrogant, semi-apologetic and defeatist, all wrapped into one. I've read some of the articles of Ed Propst, and he's right.. our utilities are in such a poor state, the hiring of an experienced utilities professional should have been way up there on the priority list. Someone who would come in with decades of knowledge and experience in the operation of utilities, and someone who could put together and spell out a plan. Someone who really was "ready to go". And I don't mean the most experienced in the CNMI either.

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Sometimes folks need to know when to say when. Sometimes that "when" is before you even accept the job.