U.S. Chamber: Law of the Sea Treaty Will Pass

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The head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce– the nation’s premier group representing business interests — said Thursday that he believes the U.S. Senate will pass the Law of the Sea Treaty during its next session.

Despite Tom Donahue’s prediction, the international treaty has been languishing in the Senate for three decades. Just last month, a total of 34 Republican senators went on record as opposing the treaty — and since a two-thirds vote of the Senate is needed to pass it, the treaty seemed as dead as ever.

Donahue told a breakfast of the American Security Project, a bipartisan think tank, that he believes some of those Republicans will change their minds, although it’s hard for them to align themselves with the nation’s top Democrat during a presidential election year.

According to Donahue, passing the treaty is vital to America’s economic and security interests. He says that without it, the United States will not have a seat at the table when it comes to developing offshore oil and gas beyond its 200-mile territorial limit.

Alaska Sens. Mark Begich and Lisa Murkowski both welcomed the news, although a spokesperson for Begich seemed doubtful that Republicans could manage such an about-face.

But Murkowski, a moderate Republican, said she thought such a turnaround could indeed take place. She says that modifcations to the treaty have made it a much better deal for the U.S., and that it would be foolish for the U.S. not to adopt the updated version of the treaty.

“We have been doing serious mapping off the coast of Alaska off our northern waters,” Murkowski said. “And (the treaty provides) the opportunity to claim an area about the size of the state of California, that we could effectively annex as part of an area that would be able to control.”

More conservative Republicans disagree including Joe Miller, Murkowski’s former rival for her Senate seat.

“To transfer two-thirds of the earth’s surface over to the governance of the United Nations is just a crazy thought,” Miller said Thursday. “And whether or not there’s some short-term economic benefit, (it) is a terrible thing to do, if you love this country and are really supporting its continued sovereignty.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Sen. Mark Begich: I’m worried about Joe Miller & the entire national right-wing attack machine

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Photo credit: aflcio

Sen. Mark Begich is worried about Joe Miller and “the entire national right-wing attack machine.” Those are words he used in a recent letter soliciting funds for his 2014 reelection bid. Instead of starting with his positions on current issues and a list of his accomplishments, Begich devoted the first dozen sentences of the letter to how his opposition is preparing to take him down. But the underlying message in this uninspiring introduction is how the commercialization of our society is corrupting our democratic process.

As a Democrat in a Republican leaning state, Begich knows he’ll likely be the underdog in the race to retain his U.S. Senate seat. What will make his battle more difficult, he says, is that the GOP will be “spending millions of Washington dollars to distort [his] record and promote Joe Miller.” It’s a scenario he should be partly familiar with because that’s how the Democrats helped him four years ago while the FBI was investigating possible corruption by the late Sen. Ted Stevens. And just as he claims the GOP at the national level doesn’t “care about what’s important to Alaskans,” the D.C. Democrats back then didn’t either.

What will be different in his 2014 race is how campaign money will come into the state from undisclosed sources. That’s because the 2010 Supreme Court decision in the Citizens United case equated political contributions with free speech. The transparency problem created by the ruling could have been corrected before the election that year. Indeed, the Supreme Court actually advised Congress to pass new legislation that would have required sufficient disclosure so the voting public could determine which candidates might wind up beholden to special interests. But Senate Republicans defeated such a bill crafted by Democrats in 2010 and more recently shot down a similar proposal.

Begich may be sounding early alarm bells because Alaskans really won’t see much of the effect of Citizens United in this year’s national elections. But around the rest of the country, billionaires, large corporations and every other well financed special interest group are prepared to spend enormous sums of money to influence the outcome of other races. And while political analysts believe Republicans will benefit most from the lack of transparency in campaign spending, blaming them for the deterioration of our democratic process is too easy. There are other entities who for decades have been contributing of demise of our electoral politics.

Let’s start with the advertising industry. They’re drooling at the prospect of revenue from record breaking spending this year. It would be one thing if they were hired to honestly portray a candidate’s record and position on the issues. But the vast majority of their television and radio ads will be totally void of substance. Worse yet, the most effective ones are often those that slyly distort the truth. In other words, the most sought after advertisers are those who can legally deceive most of the people most of the time. New York Times columnist David Brooks put it this way — “the ad-makers now take dishonesty as a mark of their professional toughness.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Alaska’s GOP Rep. Young endorses extreme-liberal Democrat for US Senate (+video)

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Today, Alaska’s long-time lone U.S. Representative Don Young endorsed pro-gay marriage, pro-abortion, and pro-Obamacare Democrat Mazie Hirono in the contested U.S. Senate Race in Hawaii.  Young’s shocking support of a liberal Democrat is even more surprising given the fact that this candidate received an “F – –” – that’s right an, F minus minus – from Gun Owners of America.

This fall, Hirono will face one of two Republicans in the general, either pro-life former state legislator John Carroll or former GOP Governor Linda Lingle.

In the below-advertisement for liberal Hirono, Representative Young explains that his support for Hirono arises out of their bipartisan efforts on native issues.  In other words, they’ve been working aggressively together to continue the cycle of government dependency in Alaska and Hawaii.  And just why is Representative Young so confident that he’ll escape accountability this fall for his endorsement of a Democratic US Senate candidate that supports all the wrong issues?  Because he apparently believes any successful Alaskan candidate needs only the support of the crony capitalists, establishment types, and Alaska native corporations to win.  Looks like Don Young thinks he learned something from Alaska’s 2010 US Senate race.

Here’s the video:

State of Alaska Ignores Voter Fraud…Again: Illegal Alien Cop Skates on 41 Felonies

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Alaska No IDRecords from the Alaska Division of Elections reveal that a former Anchorage Police Officer convicted on federal charges for false claims of citizenship and passport fraud has voted repeatedly in federal, state, and local elections in Alaska dating back to 1991. Raphael Mora-Lopez – a.k.a. Raphael A. Espinoza – voted most recently in 2010, casting ballots in the local municipal elections as well as both primary and general state-wide elections. In all he voted no less than 41 times over a 20-year period.

Though the State pressed charges relating to $27,000 fraudulently obtained by Mora-Lopez from Alaska’s Permanent Fund Dividend payouts, he was sentenced to only 24 months in jail with all 24 months suspended. State prosecutors subsequently declined to press charges on at least 41 counts of voter misconduct in the first degree, a class C felony in the State of Alaska.

This new information raises grave concerns about elections integrity in Alaska, and about the level of seriousness among State officials with respect to voter fraud. One might view the State’s inaction as an oversight had the Associated Press not reported the fact as early as June 2011, ostensibly citing federal court records. But given that the Alaska Division of Elections has since purged Mora-Lopez from the voter rolls, it is certain that State officials were not in the dark.

The fact that State prosecutors would turn a blind eye to such an egregious case not only casts doubt upon the integrity of the Department of Law, but makes a mockery of Alaska’s election laws.

In 2010, US Senate candidate Joe Miller raised similar concerns only to have them summarily dismissed by State officials. The fact that the charges against Raphael Mora-Lopez in April 2011 came on the heels of the State’s internal investigation of the 2010 general election in which the State denied having a problem with illegal felon voters may account for the State’s reticence to raise the profile of this case by pressing charges.

However, such a scenario offers little comfort for concerned citizens. For if the State would sweep 41 felonies under the rug to protect a local police officer, or perhaps just to save face, what might it cover up to protect a United States Senator?

 

Photo credit:  Joe Miller, All Rights Reserved

The Northern Lights improve our mental health, help us overcome stress

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A jaw-dropping moment really can make time appear to stand still – or at least slow down, new research suggests.

Regular “awesome” experiences may also improve our mental health and make us nicer people, claim psychologists.

The findings raise the prospect of “awe therapy” to overcome the stressful effects of fast-paced modern life.

Awe is the emotion felt when encountering something so vast and overwhelming it alters one’s mental perspective.

Examples might include experiencing a breathtaking view of the Grand Canyon, taking in the ethereal beauty of the Northern Lights, or becoming lost in a dazzling display of stars on a clear, dark night.

Read more from this story HERE.

Photo credit: Schwebbes

Welcome to Barrow, AK: Coast Guard Finally Establishes Presence in the Arctic

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Barrow, Alaska – When the United States Coast Guard arrived in this remote corner of the Arctic this month to begin its biggest patrol presence in the waters north of Alaska, only one helicopter hangar was available for rent, and it was not, to put it mildly, the Ritz. Built by someone apparently more familiar with the tropics than the tundra, the structure had sunk several feet into the permafrost, with the hangar entrance getting lower as the building sank. Squeezing two H-60 helicopters into the tiny space? Think of parallel parking a stretch limousine. And for this — the only game in town, take it or leave it — the owner demanded $60,000 a month, a price that made Coast Guard leaders gasp.

“Not perfect, but you’ve got to learn to do it somehow,” Josh Harris, a Coast Guard aircraft mechanic, said as he stood surveying his first and not entirely straight attempt at towing in an aircraft.

In the land of the midnight sun, the Coast Guard’s learning curve is steep indeed.

The effort, called Arctic Shield, began this month as a pilot project combining search and rescue responsibilities with disaster response and maritime safety enforcement. It will presumably only expand, Coast Guard officials say, as global warming melts these once ice-locked waters.

With air operations based here in the nation’s northernmost community, more than 300 miles past the Arctic Circle, the assignment is expensive, logistically complicated to supply and far from backup should things go wrong.

Read more from this story HERE.

Photo credit: Juliancolton2

Alaska Native Corporations suffer devastating loss of billions in federal contracts

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As I predicted in 2010, federal money to Alaska Native Corporations (ANC’s) has begun to dry up.  This year, the drop has been dramatic, falling from $4.4 billion in fiscal year 2011 to $1.8 billion for the first three quarters of 2012.

The gravy train for the ANC’s, sole source contracts over $20 million, took even a bigger hit.  These no bid contracts, illegal in the European Union and widely criticized in the US  due to suspicions that “illegal or immoral means [are used] to exclude competitors (usually by cronyism or bribery),” cratered from $2.5 billion in 2011 to $587 million in the first three quarters of 2012.

Why has this happened?  Because of limitations imposed after Senate investigations revealed that ANC’s “passed much of their work to large, non-Native companies, failed to employ Alaska Natives to work on the contracts and returned only minimal benefits from the businesses to Alaska Natives.” Sound familiar?

To make matters worse for Alaska’s native corporations in coming years, Senator Claire McCaskill, chairwoman of the contracting oversight subcommittee, is working to ensure that even fewer of these sole source contracts are awarded to the ANC’s in 2013.  Her objective is to “eliminate ANCs’ ability to receive sole-source contracts larger than what other companies get in the Small Business Administration’s 8(a) Business Development program.”

All of this has led to additional workloads for procurement officials as many contracts, formerly sole source, are now open to competition.  But it has also brought significant federal cost savings, the objective of the budget hawks who have pushed for the contracting reforms.

Given the impending loss of even more federal dollars and the fact that their current contracts “fail to employ Alaska Natives,” what should the ANC’s do?  My perspective is that ANC’s need to abandon crony capitalism and join forces with Constitutionalists who seek to regain state control over natural resources.  Removal of federal regulatory restraints on resource development within the State of Alaska would spur explosive economic growth.  The ANC’s could then leave the federal handouts behind and focus on creating real, productive jobs for shareholders and other Alaskans.

The true power of self determination that so many Alaska Natives fought for at ANCSA’s inception is getting back more control over our lands here in Alaska, so that all those who live here can chart their own course, together, as Alaskans.

 

Sealaska awarded federal grant to rewrite history of 1869 Wrangell conflict

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A largely forgotten piece of Wrangell history may soon come to light, as the Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) has been awarded a grant to research the 1869 Bombardment of Wrangell.

Sealaska Heritage Institute was the recipient of a one-year National Park Service (NPS) Battlefield Preservation Grant to document 1869 Bombardment through oral history work with elders in partnership with the Wrangell Cooperative Association (WCA). This is the first ever Battlefield Preservation Grant awarded to an organization in Alaska to study a U.S. military conflict with a Native American tribe.

The 150-year-old conflict between the U.S. Army and Tlingits of Wrangell was a National news story at the time, but it was not a story that was retold to generations of Wrangellites. According to a report compiled by Vincent Colyer, Secretary to President Ulysses S. Grant, on Christmas night in 1869, just over a year after Alaska became a U.S. Territory, a member of the Stikine tribe bit off the finger of white woman, a stunt that eventually led to the deaths of two Stikine men, a white male killed in retaliation named John Smith, and the military threatening to completely destroy Fort Wrangel until Smith’s murderer was finally hung.

The final report generated through the grant will be given to the WCA and community of Wrangell to allow them to determine what could be done to preserve, market, develop or memorialize the conflict for the community’s advantage. Some Battlefield Grant recipients in years past have gone on to build memorials, or be recognized as a National Historic Site, like Chief Shakes Tribal House.

Zachary Jones, Sealaska Heritage Institute Archivist & Collection Manager and PhD student in Ethnohistory at University of Alaska Fairbanks focusing on Tlingit and Russian relations, will serve as the primary investigator on the Bombardment and believes “past writings do not do the situation justice. Reports out there now largely represent only one side of the story. They didn’t go far enough. One needs to understand Tlingit law, the cultural context and aspects of Federal Indian policy to address the whole situation. I look forward to working with and serving the WCA and community of Wrangell in bringing this complex issue forward.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Law of the Sea Treaty, Supported by Alaska’s Governor, Lt. Governor & Congressional Delegation, now DOA

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The United Nations Law of the Sea Treaty now has 34 senators opposed to it and thus lacks the Senate votes needed for U.S. ratification, a key opponent of the treaty announced Monday.

But the treaty’s main Senate proponent denies the treaty is sunk, saying plenty of time still exists to win support before a planned late-year vote.

The Law of the Sea Treaty, which entered into force in 1994 and has been signed and ratified by 162 countries, establishes international laws governing the maritime rights of countries. The treaty has been signed but not ratified by the U.S., which would require two-thirds approval of the Senate.

Critics of the treaty argue that it would subject U.S. sovereignty to an international body, require American businesses to pay royalties for resource exploitation and subject the U.S. to unwieldy environmental regulations as defined.

The list of treaty opponents has been growing, and on Monday, Sen. Jim DeMint, South Carolina Republican and a leader of efforts to block it, announced that four more Republicans have said that they would vote against ratification: Sens. Mike Johanns of Nebraka, Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, Rob Portman of Ohio and Johnny Isakson of Georgia.

Read more from this story HERE.

Photo credit:  Department of Defense

Time for Alaska’s Congressional Delegation to Stop Discriminating Against Alaska Natives

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For the last four decades, Alaska’s congressional delegation, in concert with so-called Native leaders, has taken actions that discriminate against Alaskan Natives.

In 1976 corporate leaders successfully exempted Native corporations from federal security laws. When seeking the exemption, corporate officials told Congress they would obtain State legislation that would provide their shareholders protections from corporate mismanagement, misrepresentations and omissions. Of course, this false promise was never fulfilled. To this day, Native shareholders receive no protections from federal security laws and the State of Alaska refuses to enforce the Corporate Code against Native corporations.

Fundraisers and corporate perks to politicians paid off in 1986 when Senator Stevens enacted special legislation for the Native corporations to sell net operating losses (NOLs). Sen. Stevens told Congress the legislation would cost the federal government a loss of about $50 million. His payoff to the corporations ended up costing the US government more than $1.25 billion. It was reported that Native corporations sold properties at losses of approximately $3 billion. Native stockholders were never informed of the properties that were sold, selling prices, appraisals, losses, or even the names of the purchasers of the properties. And the shareholders did not get to vote on the sales of their properties at huge losses. For any non-native corporation, this would have violated a host of federal and state disclosure laws.

Native corporations spent large sums of corporate money to lobby for the ANCSA Amendments of 1987. Many of the amendments were harmful to Native shareholders. The amendments extended stock restrictions, extended the exemption of federal security laws, and shareholders lost rights that were included in ANSCA. This was done without the knowledge or consent of Native shareholders. The amendments to ANCSA have placed corporate management in a position where they control and dominate their shareholders.

In 2010, Native corporations directly donated over $1.2 million (and untold millions in indirect donations) to defeat Joe Miller who had consistently argued in favor of Native shareholder rights throughout his campaign. In 2012 CIRI hosted a fund raiser for Senator Begich and rose over $100,000. Native corporations do not disclose the amounts of corporate funds that are donated to politicians and the donations are not brought before the shareholders for a vote.

ANCSA divided Alaska Natives. Natives born before the Act were directly awarded shares but those born after the Act were not. The number of shareholders is increasing in the Native corporations but at the same time, the number of shares held by Native shareholders is decreasing. For example, CIRI’s original shareholders numbered 6,280 and now numbers over 8,100. Approximately 500 shareholders are non-natives and 1,000 shareholders own 10 shares or less. In another generation, our Native children and grandchildren will own fewer shares. With corporate managers selling lands and resources, there simply won’t be much left for our grandchildren.

The main benefactors of ANCSA have been the managers of the corporations. Many of them have become multi-millionaires and politically powerful by using the wealth of the shareholders. For example, in 2000, CIRI’s five senior managers were paid an astounding $16,875,848.

It’s time to end discrimination and misuse of Native corporation monies, land and resources. Alaska Natives need to stand up and demand equal rights, unrestricted stock, constitutional rights, fair elections, accountability and transparency in regards to their moneys, lands and natural resources.

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Bob Rude is a lifelong Alaskan native who has seen the transformation of Alaska through statehood, ANCSA, and the Ted Stevens legacy.  He was one of the founders of the Cook Inlet Regional Corporation and a Director for close to 30 years, in addition to being founder and past president of Cook Inlet Tribal Council. He’s been a Director of Anchorage Native Assembly, Crime Stoppers, and Alaska Federation of Natives Human Resources Board. He is the co-author of “ANCSA: Sovereignty and a Just Settlement of Land Claims or An Act of Deception” (1999). In 1957, he was chosen Alaska’s Most Valuable High School Basketball Player while attending Anchorage High School.