Family

Strong opposition is rising in the U.S. Senate to the U.N.'s Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST) that would subjugate American sovereignty to the whims of an international tribunal....

The at-sea Combat System Ship Qualification Trials (CSSQT) took place at the Pacific Missile Range Facility off the Hawaiian island of Kauai....

the U.N. and global gun banners have markedly stepped up their attack on our Second Amendment freedoms by including civilian arms in the proposed Arms Trade Treaty....

Prices have plummeted so much over the past two years that the solar panels and associated supplies cost about $8,000 for a typical 4,000-watt residential system. A qualified solar specialist or electrician should be able to install these panels for about $2,000 ....

The glorious Jones Act at work ....

Says visa process is now smoother....

Germany's Renewable Energy Feed-in Act of 2000 requires electric utilities to buy renewables from all producers at fixed, exorbitant rates and feed it into the power grid for 20 years, raising rates and undermining industrial competitiveness....

...the North Koreans "jumped" at the opportunity to get into carbon trading....

The decision, a consequence of ongoing real terms cuts to the UK science budget by the Government, will almost certainly see the Hawaii-based UK Infrared Telescope (UKIRT) cease operations in the autumn of 2013 and the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) do the same a year later, with the loss of around 40 jobs.

New Zealand established a total allowable catch (TAC) for the country, and then distributed quota permits based on compliance with the TAC....

The Pro Bowl will resume in Hawaii on Jan. 27, 2013, one week before the Super Bowl in New Orleans. But poor timing is the NFL's first mistake....

....

Satellite images of the Punggye-ri site and other data show that the tunnel that had been excavated for the test has been refilled, indicating that the nuclear device has been put in place....

Article 82 requires the United States to forfeit royalties generated from oil and gas development on the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles...many billions, if not trillions of dollars, would go to the International Seabed Authority, a new international bureaucracy created by the treaty and based in Jamaica....

...the environmental lobby now focuses its efforts on a two-pronged strategy: lessening the impact of man's activities on the environment, and reducing the number of people who perform those activities....

On Saturday night, blind Chinese legal activist Chen Guangcheng arrived in Newark, N.J., after escaping seven years of persecution in China....

The Chinese government will almost certainly retaliate. A most likely target will be the American suppliers of crystalline silicon to Chinese PV manufacturers and semiconductor industries. If this happens this likely puts Hoku Scientific at risk ....

As someone who has served both as a Member of Congress and as a soldier under NATO command in Afghanistan, I have a unique perspective on NATO’s role and future....

In Norway, male same-sex marriages are 50 percent more likely to end in divorce than heterosexual marriages, and female same-sex marriages are an astonishing 167 percent more likely to be dissolved....

Blaine Harden, Escape from Camp 14: One Man’s Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West, Viking, $26.95....

Religious freedom, suicide, gambling, LBGT curriculum, and trangender birth certificates ....

In 2009, the shift to biotech crops reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 17.6 billion kilograms, equal to the removal of 7.8 million cars from the road for a year....

They were welcomed by our vibrant MC, Miss Hawaii Lauren Cheape....

They died April 19, in southwestern Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when the UH-60 Black Hawk they were in crashed.

U.S. and British officials were deeply suspicious of this outfit, observing that the AASF – though backed by singer (ands Communist Party member) Harry Belafonte and actor Sidney Poitier – had links to a Kenyan nationalist leader….

Bishops from California, Hawaii, Nevada and Utah began their "ad limina" visits to the Vatican with prayers for courage in defending religious freedom and in sharing faith in the risen Lord.

Tibet's spiritual leader says China's 'totalitarian' policies sparked Tibetan self-immolations....

Jong-un "is more likely than his father Kim Jong-il to miscalculate during a crisis, unaware that Seoul is more likely to retaliate to a military clash than in the past."

Immediately after the launch, South Korea issued an order urging residents near the inter-Korean border to seek shelter to protect themselves from any debris that might fall from the rocket, Yonhap said....

No one except Faleomavaega knows which demands had been 'met,' as Bahrain today remains governed by an undemocratic monarchy which tortures and imprisons its citizens with impunity....

Three interceptor ships near Japan and the Philippines, as well as U.S.-based interceptors, are ready to shoot down the North Korean missile if space-, land-, and sea-based sensors determine its flight path is targeted at the United States or U.S. allies....

The Hawaii state legislature has taken dead aim at NAFTA and the provisions it requires of the state, and the protections it affords Canadians who make cross-border investments in vacation rental properties….

...

land devoted to organic farming produces 50 percent less wheat, 55 percent less asparagus and lettuce, and 23 percent less corn than conventionally farmed land....

The U.S. Department of Commerce today released tourism data revealing that international and domestic tourism spending increased 8.1 percent in 2011....

Schoenwetter was sentenced to eight years in a federal prison—a term longer than what some violent criminals could spend in lockup—for domestic regulatory offenses that did not even violate foreign law.

More than 1,000 high-school students from around the world will have the opportunity to showcase their hard work after an intense six weeks of designing and building an original robot....

The once proud and comparatively wealthy Cubans are now among the poorest in the hemisphere, definitely the least informed and, consequently, the least free. 

The Holy Grail for many cargo interests shipping by ocean in the domestic Hawaii and Guam trades is an unrequited generational quest to find a way to take advantage of the existing mainline Trans-Pacific container carriers passing regularly Westbound by the islands ....

The obvious purpose, they say, is for North Korea to test the latest version of a missile with a range that could deliver a small nuclear warhead as far as Hawaii, Alaska – or even the US west coast.

After having served in Afghanistan, after serving with real American heroes, I know that the problems and issues facing our community and our country can be fixed through solid leadership and by each and every one of us coming together to do our small part. 

China announced this week that its new defense budget would total approximately $106 billion -- an 11.2 percent increase over its previous budget....

Less than 1,000 miles from Jerusalem, the Iranian government is operating in open violation of international law in a singular pursuit of developing nuclear weapons.

"And as I have made clear time and again during the course of my presidency, I will not hesitate to use force when it is necessary to defend the United States and its interests...."

Only two European countries, Greece and Ireland, have larger budget deficits as a percentage of GDP.  Just four European countries have larger national debts than we do -- Greece and Ireland again, plus Portugal and Italy .... 

... the White House engaged with enemies and undercut allies, apologized for American exceptionalism, and favored the "soft power" of treaties and international organizations. Today we are seeing the disastrous results ....

Hawaii can learn a great deal from European countries' experiences....

...opposition to Assad continues in the face of escalating attacks, with some indications that the military is losing ground as the army loses thousands of defectors....

Hawaiian Airlines has earned the first-ever aviation based carbon credits, having reduced its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by nearly 22,000 metric tons over the past six years using an innovative, eco-friendly engine washing technology developed by Pratt & Whitney.

The legislation was introduced in the Maryland Senate last week, and Governor O’Malley has made it a key legislative priority for 2012.