Tuesday, July 25, 2017
Star-Advertiser columnist documents reasons why tech firms generally must (I repeat, must) flee Hawaii
by Larry Geller
It feels great to be validated from time to time. I’ve been pressing on this issue since 1989 and in this blog for more than a decade. It seems obvious to me: Tech firms almost inevitably find they have to relocate in order to succeed.
As a result, our state government spends a fortune promoting “high tech” only to see successful firms (or firms that want to be successful) pull up stakes and head to the Mainland.
And that’s just what those firms should do.
Usually I write something like this: “One day the bean counters will come knocking at the CEO’s door and let him know that it is not in the stockholder's interest to keep the operation in sunny Hawaii.”
Of course, that applies also to privately held operations. It doesn’t matter how much the founder likes surfing, hiking or snacking on our wonderful mangos or lychee.
That knock will inevitably come.
In today’s Star-Advertiser (paywalled) Mike Meyer relates in his Tech View column how a startup thrived after moving to San Francisco in 2015. A snip from his column:
Q: Does the San Francisco Bay Area make sense for local companies that have decided to make the move to the mainland?
A: If you are a B2B SaaS (software as a service) startup like we are, then yes, without a doubt.
Q: Can you provide some metrics as far as growth and sales that have occurred after your move?
A: Our staff grew from three to 12, and we’ve gone from six to 700 customers since moving to S.F.
Hawaii does have some financing options, but the article points out that there are more in SF. Even if a startup is backed by a Hawaii venture capitol company, the funders will expect their investment to succeed, basically. If that means the startup moving to the Mainland, then the funders will at some point push for that. So Hawaii backing doesn’t mean the entrepreneur is going to be able to enjoy surfing here forever.
Customers, suppliers, engineers, scientists, and a robust support structure are there, not here.
There’s not much to be done about Hawaii’s isolation. Nor is Hawaii unique. I imagine a tech startup in the middle of Wyoming faces similar prospects—move or stagnate. Move or close up. Wyoming probably has a lower cost of living, though. Our high costs work against tech companies remaining or relocating here.
One thing I learned from the article: Hawaii is a great place “to develop code in relative secrecy.” Ok. That might also apply to Wyoming, though.
Poor tech opportunites impact our public school and college graduates as well. STEM programs are great, and certainly, every student is entitled to have the best education. Those who become enthusiastic and those who excel in science and maybe graduate at or near the top of their class face pressure to move to the Mainland for job opportunities—shattering the strong cultural preference to keep families together.
Sure, there is some high-tech here. No contribution to our economy should be discounted. But the basic impediments remain.
And no matter how good our educational system might become, or how much we can improve venture capitol opportunities, the knock will still come one day on each door.
I often add to my many articles that there does not seem to be a solution in sight. Islands in middle of the ocean usually don’t do well. Maybe they have guano, but that doesn’t last long.
So thank goodness we have a thriving tourism industry. Or we’d be trading stone money for those mangos and lychee.
Thursday, July 20, 2017
New complaints challenge human rights abuses in Hawaii's fishing fleet
The story reports that a complaint has just been filed with the Inter-American Human Rights Commission.
Simultaneously, an agency of the Hawaii State government has denied without public hearing a petition filed by a Native Hawaiian waterman challenging the state's issuance of fishing licences to foreigners who cannot land in Hawaii. The denial will trigger an immediate court action.
The following snip is from an article in the Bangkok Post:
Turtle Island Restoration Network told The Associated Press on Wednesday that they filed the complaint last week with the Inter-American Human Rights Commission. The filing asks the panel to determine the responsibility of the US for human rights abuses against foreign workers in Hawaii's longline fishing fleet.
An Associated Press investigation into the seafood industry revealed that hundreds of men are confined to Hawaii boats that operate due to a federal loophole that exempts the foreign fishermen from most basic labour protections.
Many come from impoverished Southeast Asian and Pacific nations to take the jobs, which can pay as little as 70 cents an hour.
The fleet catches $110 million worth of luxury seafood annually.
Today attorney Lance Collins issued a press release regarding the dismissal of a petition filed with the Board of Land and Natural Resources on April 12 (see below). Not only did the BLNR delay responding for three months, but they also issued their denial without holding the customary public hearing.
Collins announced that the denial will be appealed immediately to the Environmental Court on Maui.
It is fair to say that the issue of human rights violations uncovered by an AP investigation published September 8, 2016 will stay in the public eye worldwide until the state government takes effective action to end the abuses. At the root of the problem is the illegal issuance of fishing licences by the state to foreign fishermen who are not allowed to set foot in the state.
Press Release 7/20/2017
The Board of Land and Natural Resources denied Native Hawaiian waterman Malama Chun's petition seeking to stop the Department of Land and Natural Resources from issuing commercial fishing licenses to non-resident fishermen who are confined to boats at Honolulu and Hilo harbors when at port. The Board refused to address the substantive issue of its Division of Aquatic Resources illegally issuing commercial fishing licenses to non-resident fishermen who are not legally allowed to enter the United States and as a consequence of their status are held in prison-like conditions on their boats while docked in Honolulu and Hilo. The Board also did not hold a public hearing to deny the matter – going against its traditional custom of making its decisions at public meetings.
On April 12, 2017, Malama Chun, a Native Hawaiian waterman, who fishes, filed a petition with the state Board of Land and Natural Resources challenging DLNR's Division of Aquatic Resources practice of issuing licenses to foreign fisherman who have been refused permission to land in Hawai'i by U.S. authorities and have been ordered deported.
State law restricts the issuance of commercial fishing licenses to persons “lawfully admitted to the United States” Foreign fishermen working in the longline fishing industry are refused permission to land in the United States by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and are also ordered deported. However, using a loophole, they authorize the fisherman's boat captain to hold the fisherman's passport and the deportation order and allow the boat captain to determine when the deportation is to occur. To enforce the deportation order, the piers at which the fishing boats dock are heavily militarized and access is restricted.
Chun said, “The members of the BLNR must have been too ashamed to make their decision at a public meeting. The situation is bad for these fishermen and its bad for Hawaii's people. And I know in their hearts they know its wrong which is why they didn't give us a public hearing before deciding.”
Chun's attorney, Lance D. Collins, added: “The Board's claim that Mr. Chun has no interest in their illegal issuance of commercial marine licenses is not only erroneous but absurd. We will be appealing this decision to the Environmental Court immediately.”
Sunday, July 16, 2017
Hawaii might look to Europe for offshore wind power innovation
Europe’s offshore wind power industry recently achieved a major milestone: three projects to be built without government subsidy. Bent Christensen, who is responsible for energy-cost projections for Siemens’s wind power division, credits industry-wide cost cutting that has outstripped expectations. “We’re three to four years ahead of schedule,” says Christensen.
Part of the cost breakthrough is due to recent innovations in power transmission technology.
Hawaii cannot count on local development to make offshore wind power feasible. Staying in touch with European leaders may work well for us and help reduce the outrageous rates we pay for electricity at present.
Tuesday, July 04, 2017
Hawaii should fear a "knapsack" attack more than a N. Korean ICBM
In Hawaii we probably should be worrying about our vulnerability as a future missile target. We should, however, also be concerned about a more immediate potential threat: conventional targeting of tourist or military facilities in conventional terror attack.
Do you think it couldn't happen here?
Watch the sky tonight, particularly if you live on the upper floor of a condo or anyplace high over the city. I'll bet there will be plenty of illegal aerials, as usual.
Even though they have long been outlawed there seems to be no way to stop them.
Clearly, it's pretty easy to bring them in. Your neighbor may be buying them and then shooting them off each year with impunity.
We can't keep them out it seems.
This inability to keep out explosives could be a more immediate threat than expecting a N. Korean atomic bomb to be launched in our direction one day.
Tourism clearly is a common terrorist target, as we all too often read in the news. Terrorism is aimed now at innocent gatherings of civilians and at places popular with tourists. ISIS leader Al-Baghdadi declared a jihad against tourism. It works very well for the evildoers, who seek the media attention the attacks bring even more than the death toll they can achieve.
Professor Johan Galtung named what I am describing as "knapsack" attacks. That is, someone brings the material into Honolulu and then uses it to blow something up.
The lesson from the repetitive display of illegal fireworks is that this may be very easy to do.
The targets might be malls, PXs, Waikiki beaches or hotels, or Chinatown nightclubs or gatherings.
Any such incident would likely have a lasting impact on tourism, the driver of the state's economy.
A "knapsack" attack is very low-tech and doesn't risk nuclear counter-attack. Why anyone would concentrate on developing and then dropping a missile on us escapes me, to tell the truth.
What to do about this? I suggest we begin talking and not just waiting for it to befall us.
Monday, July 03, 2017
Repost 2017: History that should not—and will not—disappear: July 4, 1894, illegal overthrow of Hawaii completed
by Larry Geller
![Cannon on the steps of Iolani palace[3][6]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOdQkCeeN7IlCxqnn0-N0DTrfJKg47CQtaNbMDJvVoZsuXLoQNEyAeyCBRc553ULtHwIBkl_93scP7AJWNve49w5g2eQUyCAJ0cZv75QtP84ZWLBOS7RRbI1HBtb0r-vS55ACjPw/?imgmax=800 "Cannon on the steps of Iolani palace[3][6]")
Cannon on the steps of the occupied Iolani Palace
On July 4, 1894, the Republic of Hawaii was declared, with Sanford B. Dole as president. The illegal overthrow of the independent nation of Hawaii was complete.
Yes, although your daily paper may want you to forget this, it is history that should not be ignored. There’s even a federal law confirming the truth of the history they refuse to print.
From the Apology Resolution, United States Public Law 103-150:
Whereas, in a message to Congress on December 18, 1893, President Grover Cleveland reported fully and accurately on the illegal acts of the conspirators, described such acts as an "act of war, committed with the participation of a diplomatic representative of the United States and without authority of Congress", and acknowledged that by such acts the government of a peaceful and friendly people was overthrown... President Cleveland further concluded that a "substantial wrong has thus been done which a due regard for our national character as well as the rights of the injured people requires we should endeavor to repair" and called for the restoration of the Hawaiian monarchy.
Whereas, the indigenous Hawaiian people never directly relinquished their claims to their inherent sovereignty as a people or over their national lands to the United States, either through their monarchy or through a plebiscite or referendum.
A treaty of annexation was never passed by Congress, and President Grover Cleveland withdrew the treaty. Then on this day in history…
On July 4, 1894, the archipelago's new leaders responded to this rebuff by proclaiming a Republic of Hawaii, with Sanford Dole as president. Under its constitution, most legislators would be appointed rather than elected, and only men with savings and property would be eligible for public office. This all but excluded native Hawaiians from the government of their land… [From Overthrow, a book by Stephen Kinzer]
What was the motivation? Need you ask? Why is the US in Iraq?From the Washington Post review of Overthrow:
As Stephen Kinzer tells the story in Overthrow, America's century of regime changing began not in Iraq but Hawaii. Hawaii? Indeed. Kinzer explains that Hawaii's white haole minority -- in cahoots with the U.S. Navy, the White House and Washington's local representative -- conspired to remove Queen Liliuokalani from her throne in 1893 as a step toward annexing the islands. The haole plantation owners believed that by removing the queen (who planned to expand the rights of Hawaii's native majority) and making Hawaii part of the United States, they could get in on a lucrative but protected mainland sugar market. Ever wonder why free trade has such a bad name?
The road leading up to the declaration of the Republic of Hawaii was rocky, and can’t be summed up in a short blog article. Did you know, for example, that a US Senate investigation revealed that a bribe had been offered to Queen Liliuokalani to turn against her people and support the Republic? This snip is from a New York Times article on the Senate investigation, dated 1/29/1894:
![Bribe_thumb3[2][4]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNSP4SaIF0RB3SRbR_QfAWbgM3K1iT_nUGut7EHE4bI6dW9ApwRoBgBKTfwdhz0hVDivQXZVNt0OV5l-TYKZ_wGIX6lun84uXh0yBGmESVYxCYjhpYpEUu4aTR4VAS_zWXC50edA/?imgmax=800 "Bribe_thumb3[2][4]")
The declaration of the Republic was not a single, static event. There was considerable debate in Congress on resolutions condemning the overthrow and proposed annexation. For example, this snip from the 1/25/1894 New York Times will give you an idea of the complexity that we lose in simplifying Hawaii’s history:
![Debate_thumb2[2][8]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGGkpFyH1Mbca6BP8Z0-GrHCM316sZfuWneAIYyFSDoIVh_WLmCcLXI2bQMBksBwMkDMStpKoG3n9r7Jf2JHeu4-1xOta3WV6IEmOhyOqOrsWe6zUvEur5EmcY_46KAgTWSuTFXQ/?imgmax=800 "Debate_thumb2[2][8]")
Each article is much longer than the snips above. It would be worthwhile to skim the New York Times for a complete account of the Congressional debate. No doubt this has already been done. If not, the articles are available on-line for the harvesting..
If you’re not familiar with Hawaiian history, beware of websites that work hard to re-write it. The true picture of the overthrow is not pretty, nor can the acts of the US government be justified or whitewashed. Google cautiously.
Let your children know that there is more to July 4 than barbeques and fireworks. It is a holiday that tears people apart here in Hawaii. See how you can work this history into your celebrations and festivities, so that it will never disappear.
