Cold Calling Honolulu

What is ASEAN?

The international community who are not so familiar with the acronym of ASEAN may be wondering what it stands for? While the standard joke among the informed, floating around is an Association of Southeast Asia Authoritarian Nations.

Perhaps it is partly true now that the Burmese Junta’s representative with its waving Gaung Baung (Burmese headdress usually wear by dignitaries to prove that they are no longer in uniforms) will soon be chairing this Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Nothing has changed in Burma except that instead of the soldier’s helmet they wear Gaung Baung.

The Burmese Generals have plenty of rationale and hypothesis in chairing the group. Vietnam and Laos, under the iron grip of communist-ruled governments since the mid-1970s have a similar election system, and Brunei, an absolute monarchy, appear far from opening up to political change. People’s Republic of Laos had a tightly controlled election for its national assembly and there was no hint of an opposition.

The same in Vietnam as last national assembly election (May 22nd ) demonstrated and while other ASEAN members like Cambodia and Singapore are largely one-party, authoritarian states. The simple logic being, if the Singapore’s supremo, Harry Lee, resigned and take on the chairperson of Government Investment Team (whose salary, if not power are much more than the Head of State) and control the country from behind, why shouldn’t Than Shwe control Burma from behind? Beside there is an ample of evidence of his previous predecessor Ne Win with his Burmese Socialist Programme Party .

Thailand’s democracy has been hampered by military interference setting the world record of 18 military coups, 23 military governments and 9 military-dominated governments since it became a constitutional monarchy in 1932. The Indonesian people are still struggling to defend their freedom, and the country is not yet a democracy except in name.

So when Burma launched its sham election, which is neither free nor fair, but surely with the democracy facade, ASEAN eulogise it, in view of the fact the group can now legally continue to exploit the country’s human and natural resources. For after all this is ASEAN’s Constructive Engagement part of the Asian value of putting the economic well being of the elite first. The existing systems of ASEAN are all working in favour of the Burmese military dominated regime.

Nestor Garcia: Turning Over the Honolulu City Council Chair Reins ...

–  THANK YOU MR. CHAIRMAN. THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS I WOULD LIKE TO SHARE WITH YOU ALL – BUT TIME IS SHORT, AND THERE IS STILL MUCH OF THE DAY AHEAD FOR US TO ENJOY.

I REMEMBER THE DAY I SAT OVER LUNCH LAST SEPTEMBER WITH THEN COUNCILMAN TODD APO – OUR PREVIOUS CHAIRMAN.  IT WAS DURING THAT TIME THAT I LEARNED OF HIS DECISION TO LEAVE.  COINCIDENTALLY – I WAS TO LEAVE FOR A TRIP TO CHINA THAT SAME DAY.

I ASSUMED THE POST OF THE CHAIRMANSHIP AFTER HE LEFT IN NOVEMBER – AND WAS GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO EXTEND MY SERVICE TO YOU AS YOUR PRESIDING OFFICER AT OUR FIRST MEETING OF THE NEW YEAR.

I LEARNED THAT THERE IS MUCH TO DO AS CHAIRMAN – AND I WILL SHARE A NUMBER OF PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS WITH YOU IN A DETAILED EXIT REPORT TO THE COUNCIL.

ONE OF THE FIRST ITEMS ON THE TO-DO LIST WAS HOW TO DEAL WITH THE METHOD BY WHICH WE DELIVER OUR MESSAGE OF ALOHA –

-       WITHOUT INVITING PROTEST FROM THOSE WHO WISH TO SEPARATE CHURCH FROM STATE.  I WAS ABLE TO SETTLE THAT ISSUE BEFORE OUR FIRST MEETING IN JANUARY.

THAT TO-DO LIST IS RATHER LENGTHY – FOR IT ALSO INCLUDED SUCH ITEMS AS:

-       THE PREPARATION OF THE COUNCIL BRANCH TO BETTER DEAL WITH NATURAL AND MAN-MADE DISASTERS, FOLLOWING THE TSUNAMI GENERATED BY THE EARTHQUAKE THAT HIT JAPAN.  A DRAFT OF THE EMERGENCY OPERATIONS PLAN WILL BE PLACED TODAY ON YOUR DESK;

-       THE HARDENING OF CERTAIN OFFICES AND AREAS WITHIN THE COUNCIL IN THE EVENT OF A VIOLENT ENCOUNTER;

-       UPDATING OF OUR ADMINISTRATIVE MANUAL;

-       DISCUSSIONS WITH THE MAYOR’S STAFF TO WORK TOGETHER IN LIGHT OF DEVELOPMENTS INVOLVING THE TELECASTING OF OUR WORK ON BEHALF OF THE CITY;

-       THE MOVE FOR MORE TRANPARENCY, AS EVIDENT BY THE EFFORT TO ENSURE THAT THE PUBLIC IS MADE AWARE OF FLOOR DRAFTS NOT LISTED IN OUR COUNCIL SESSION AGENDAS – WITH COPIES TO BE

MADE AVAILABLE FROM THE OFFICE OF THE CLERK FOR ALL THOSE INTERESTED IN THE PROPOSED FLOOR DRAFTS;

-       ENSURING THAT THERE WOULD BE FUNDS NECESSARY IN THE COMING FISCAL YEAR TO HOLD A STRATEGIC PLANNING SESSION – TO IMPROVE UPON THE WAY WE DO BUSINESS IN THE COUNCIL – FOR OUR CONSTITUENTS; AND,

-       AS A MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF OUR UMBRELLA ORGANIZATION – THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES – AS WELL AS NACO’S CO-CHAIR OF THE INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TASK FORCE – I COLLABORATED WITH OUR STATE’S MAYORS, THEIR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTORS AS WELL AS EACH OF THE COUNTIES’ RESPECTIVE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BOARDS, AND THE HAWAII STATE DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND TOURISM, TO STAGE A SISTER CITIES SUMMIT IN SEPTEMBER, IN CONJUCTION WITH THE STATE’S CLEAN ENERGY CONFERENCE, IN ADVANCE OF THE ASIA PACIFIC ECONOMIC COOPERATION MEETING THIS YEAR.

Blue book of American shipping, marine and naval directory of the United States; statistics of shipping and shipbuilding in America

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