The Native Iowan

Likely Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich conceded Saturday that he made conflicting statements about U.S. involvement in Libya, but he blamed them on contradictions in President Obama’s policy.

The former House speaker called for a no-fly zone early this month after Obama said that Moammar Kadafi “must leave.” Last week, Gingrich backtracked, saying he would not have intervened using U.S. and European forces.

Addressing an audience of conservative activists, Gingrich explained that when he advocated the no-fly zone, he was merely “trying to follow Obama” and did not favor intervention. But once Obama said the Libyan dictator should go, Gingrich said, “he pitted the prestige and power of the United States against a dictator who’s been anti-American for over 40 years.”

Gingrich joined other potential GOP contenders at a daylong conference in Iowa, the first state in the presidential nomination process.

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), who is moving closer to a presidential run, gave Libya a lightning-fast fly-by in a speech devoted largely to “tea party” themes of spending and taxes.

Noting that Obama had just engaged U.S. military forces in a third conflict, she quipped, “Talk about March Madness,” a reference to the NCAA college basketball tournament. “Can anybody say Jimmy Carter?”

Later, in a brief interview, Bachmann said she would not have intervened in Libya “primarily because we don’t know who the opposition forces are.” The three-term congresswoman, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, said the government “didn’t have enough intelligence to know the outcome of what U.S. intervention would take. So, we need to have an endgame before you can go.”

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, another likely 2012 Republican contender, confined his remarks to domestic issues and never mentioned Libya. In a brief interview, he blamed a strict time limit for the omission.

Barbour said that before commenting further he wanted to see what Obama had to say in his speech to the nation Monday night. But Barbour said that “if we’re going to commit our resources, our people, particularly, we need to lead, we need to decide; we don’t need to dither while we’re waiting for the Arab League to tell us what to do. We need to be very careful about nation-building in Libya or anywhere else.”

Gingrich has been one of the few potential Republican candidates willing to say what he would do about Libya if he were president, and the backlash against his comments may suggest why party rivals have been more cautious.

“When the president decides to take the country to war,” Gingrich said, “it’s a serious and pressing national dialogue and it ought to be discussed as a public policy issue.” He declined to second-guess others for not speaking out.

In his remarks to the Des Moines conference, organized by Iowa Republican Rep. Steve King, Gingrich called for the use of U.S.-trained and -equipped Arab troops from Egypt, Morocco, Jordan and Iraq as ground advisors to the rebels, and for “using all of Western air power as decisively as possible.”

To whistles and cheers from the audience, Gingrich ridiculed what he portrayed as Obama’s uncertain leadership in the crisis.

“We need a commander in chief with the courage to tell the truth, not a spectator in chief who is confused about whether his job is kicking a soccer ball or leading the United States,” he said.

Most of the Republican contenders, including Gingrich, have criticized Obama for being slow to consult with Congress about the U.S.-led enforcement of a no-fly zone.

“To say to us Americans he’s relying on a collection of dictators called the Arab League and a corrupt institution called the United Nations — and by the way, he didn’t quite get around to consulting the U.S. Congress — that is a fundamentally false model of American government,” Gingrich said to applause.

He told reporters that he had consistently favored U.S. aid to the anti-Kadafi rebels, without the use of American forces.

“If the Western alliance wants to get rid of Kadafi, the fact is they’ll get rid of Kadafi. It’s just a question of how fast they want to do it, whether or not that’s their goal. I mean, I can’t tell what their goal is,” Gingrich said.

Conspiracy move against Abana

ONE prominent member of the Opposition Group had secretly planned the move to remove its leader, Steve Abana.

A well placed source told The Solomon Star yesterday it was evident the member wanted to take the leadership since day one when Abana was appointed as leader of Opposition.

The name of the member could not be revealed for confidential purposes.

Our source said the member conspire with the member for East Honiara, Douglas Ete to use the media to remove Abana.

In the media statement, Ete had called on Abana to step down citing a need to revive the Opposition group under a new Leader on Monday.

Mr Ete said that it is important for the Opposition group to perform its watchdog role effectively to ensure an effective government.

Our source said Abana decided to resign by himself because his reputation was spoilt in the media.

However, our source said most of the members in the Opposition Group did not agreed with the move to remove Abana.

Mr Abana was instrumental in an early attempt to topple the Danny Philip led government over what he described as “questionable dealings by certain individuals in government.”

Mr Abana, now in his second term as MP, contested for the Prime Minister’s post in early December, loosing narrowly to Prime Minister Danny Philip.

He said there was an understanding reached within the group that if the Opposition bid to oust the Government was successful he would not be vying for Prime Ministership and even if it was unsuccessful he would still relinquish leadership.

“It’s common sense that if I am still remain the leader and we successful to take over the government, then our group will need to choose someone,” he said.

“Therefore we have reached an understanding to choose someone now so that he can lead us on wards.

“It’s not something to make a big issue out of it as we can sorted out internally as a group,” Abana said.

However, Opposition Press Secretary, Deli Oso said she’s not aware of anything like this.

She said Abana decided by himself to resign since January after five MPs from the Government joined the Opposition.
“Abana said that if Opposition bid to oust the Government was successful he would not be vying for Prime Ministership and even if it was unsuccessful he would still relinquish leadership,” Ms Oso said.

“The problem is Opposition don’t have a convenient time to hold elections because the members are busy with their constituencies matters.

“Now Parliament was about to start, the members can come together to elect a new leader,” she said.
Attempts to talk to Mr Ete was unsuccessful

Central market used as brothel

THE Honiara Central Market is being used as a brothel where people are allegedly using the premises to perform sexual activities at night.

This was raised by vendors at the market who used to look after their produces over night at the market.

In a letter to the Solomon Star a concerned parent Francis Samora whose daughter was a regular vendor at the market claim the city’s main market had turned into a brothel where night goers regularly use the premises to have sex.

Mr Samora said his daughter told him that people who used to perform their sexual activities there allegedly went to the extent of also doing it in front of the market vendors.

“Some of them just don’t care where they do it and they just do it anywhere even in front of men, women and children.

“This is embarrassing and because of our diverse culture these people should be ashamed of themselves,” Mr Samora said in a letter to the Solomon Star.

He said the illegal sexual activities at the market pose a serious question to the Honiara City Council as to who is responsible for providing security at the market at night.

Mr Samora alleged that some security guards at the market were also involved in the sexual activities.

“This is very serious and I’m appealing to the City Council to investigate the matter because I believe security guards are paid to look after the market area.

“Therefore, why haven’t they act on such immoral acts unless they themselves are involved,” Mr Samora said.

Mr Samora said the Central Market should be respected as the common place where people come to sell their vegetables to consumers.

“I think the market is beginning to lose its real meaning,” he said.

The city council’s supervising clerk Charles Kelly said the city mayor Israel Maeoli had a long executive meeting yesterday so he would be commenting on the issue today.

18 Driftwood At Sea

And I get to head west. I get to go out in small boats in the big ocean and have fun. I get to wear my arm out casting that dern fly on the end of that dern little line. I get to spend a couple nights under a sago leaf roof in a mosquito net. I’ll be getting up way early and be walking the flats well before sunrise. I’ll be feeling like a predator, a hunter, a man with a mission. And I’ll get to kill something big, I hope. A nice mamulla or even a king fish… on a fly line.

Can’t wait!

But for now… Stuck in Honiara. Grace is in Gizo. Will have the grandkids this weekend so it will be a bbq and pool this eve then a mass pass-out in front of the TV and a blisteringly early morning tomorrow…

Life is guuud…

Former Israeli president Katsav jailed for rape

TEL AVIV: Former President Moshe Katsav was sentenced on Tuesday to seven years in jail for rape, a case that brought shame to Israel’s highest office and sent a firm message to a transfixed public that no one was above the law. Katsav had denied charges he twice raped an aide when he was a cabinet minister in the late 1990s, and molested or sexually harassed two other women who worked for him during his 2000-2007 term as president. But a three-judge panel said on convicting him in December on what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described as “a sad day for Israel and its residents”—that his testimony had been “riddled with lies.” “When a woman says no, she means no,” the panel said in its ruling. Katsav, 65, was also convicted of obstructing justice, for trying to confer with one complainant about her testimony to police. Netanyahu said at the time the verdict showed that “all are equal before the law”. Rape carries a minimum prison term of four years and a maximum of 16 years in Israel. Though the scandal had forced Katsav’s early retirement in disgrace, it had little impact on Israeli government functions, as the presidency is largely ceremonial. reuters

Brief-17-YTH-0311

YOUTHQUAKE: will Melanesian democracy be sunk by demography?

In its latest briefing paper, the Pacific Institute of Public Policy (PiPP) looks at the need for political reform to governing systems across Melanesia as its young population booms.

It asks a troubling question – will democracy be sunk by demography?

The Pacific in general, but Melanesia in particular faces a serious demographic challenge. More than half the population is under 24 and in broad terms, urban populations are doubling every 17 years while national populations are doubling every 30 years.

The combination of pressures on land, jobs, geopolitics and a failing Westminster system of government is creating anger and frustration with consequences for continuing democratic rule in the region.

As the Great Arab Revolt unfolds on the other side of the world, with young people at the heart of calls for democracy, Melanesia seems to be moving in the opposite direction – from democracy towards autocracy. Right now, the trend in Melanesia is moving more towards Frank’s Fiji than Julia’s Australia.

There is real danger that left unchecked, the rising tide of youth and other frustrated citizens will want autocracy rather than democracy if service delivery continues to fail and there are no options for regional labour migration.

PiPP suggests a need for new thinking is revitalising democracy and governing systems in the region and an urgent need to manage generational change.

The full discussion paper (number 17) is attached.