Whaling in the Faroe Islands

Pierce Brosnan is taking aim at U.S. leader PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA in a new public service announcement for the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

In the PSA, the former 007 reminds Obama of promises he made about protecting sea-life when he was a presidential candidate.

Brosnan says, “As a candidate, you promised to end illegal whaling, and we applauded your leadership, but recent reports reveal your administration supports an international proposal, which gives Japan, Iceland and Norway the license to kill whales.”

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Source: ContactMusic News
Photo Source: Wikipedia

Hawaii has become the first state in the nation to ban shark fins.

Gov. Linda Lingle on Friday signed a bill prohibiting the possession, sale, trade or distribution of shark fins, which are used in pricey Chinese dishes.

Exceptions will be made for researchers who have obtained a permit from the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.

Lawmakers hope the new law will help prevent overfishing and extinction of sharks harvested for their fins.

Many Chinese consider shark fins to be a delicacy, served in high-end Chinese restaurants in soup and as fillets in gravy.

The bill passed the state Legislature earlier this year with broad support.

Source: CBS News

Occupancy at Hawaii hotels increased to 70.8 percent for the week ending May 22, a 3.2 percentage point increase over the same week last year.

Average hotel room rates, however, dropped by 4.6 percent from the same week last year, to $162.59.

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Source: Pacific Business News

At first glance, it does not look much like garbage. More than 20,000 tons of it have been shrink-wrapped into green bales that are neatly stacked, ready to ship about 2,300 miles across the Pacific to the mainland as an another export — “opala,” as garbage is called in Hawaiian.

But the trash’s passage has been delayed again and again since it first began piling up here in the tropical heat last September. Now, when the wind changes, it offers a pungent reminder of how Oahu’s latest plan to dispose of some of its trash has gone awry.

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Source: Michael Cooper, The New York Times

The world’s longest continuously erupting volcano, which has become a major attraction for scientists and tourists since it became active in 1983, has marked a milestone.

It was 10,000 days ago Friday that Kilauea Volcano began erupting on Hawaii’s Big Island.

The superintendent of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Cindy Orlando, calls it “a biological and geological wonder.” The scientist-in-charge of the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, Jim Kauahikaua, says it’s one of the few eruptions that can be studied up close every day.

The east rift zone vent began erupting Jan. 3, 1983, and a summit vent has been erupting since March 19, 2008.

Source: Associated Press via Google

If so, and we know you do, a new iPhone App might be able to assist you.

John Heckathorn of Hawai’i Magazine reports …

For many visitors, Hawaiian place names can be difficult. Just how do you a pronounce the name of a town that’s spelled Aiea? A road that’s named Kalanianaole? A valley called Hahaione?

Now for 99 cents, you can begin to sound like a native Hawaiian language speaker with a new iPhone app called “Speak Hawaiian Places.”

The app is easy to use. Just scroll down its interface to find the place name, touch the screen and hear it pronounced by none other than Kaupena Wong. Wong, a noted Hawaiian chanter and composer, has been named a national treasure by the National Endowment for the Arts.

If you’re even more ambitious, for $2.99 you can download an app called “Speak Hawaiian Phrases.” Want to properly say, “Thank you very much,” in Hawaiian? Just scroll to the phrase, touch the iPhone screen and Wong’s recorded voice will say, “Mahalo nui loa,” with the correct pronunciation and cadence.

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Source: John Heckathorn, Hawai’i Magazine