When opportunity knocks study the proposal and see what benefits we can get out of it. I think enough has been laid out in the media as well as in public forums to know that we, as a people, are being subjugated once again by outside forces and their collaborators. Yeah, you know who you are! Still with all the negatives Pew is getting from the locals and our leaders they continue to persist. Pew is like a baby who doesn’t know when to take NO! for an answer. I wonder what’s in it for Mr. Angelo Villagomez and the people at Pew. Yes, opportunity is knocking but we are not opening our doors anymore because when we give an inch they take a mile.
Mr. John Salas said you either want it or you don’t! WE DON”T WANT IT! What part of that does Pew not understand!? Enough is enough!!
The president’s “Blue Legacy” is his own not ours. Pew is trying to please the president at our expense. To Pew and the president: Why don’t you try making a monument on the west or east coast of the United States? God knows you have the space.
Like what Mr. Joyner said, we are managing our islands just fine by ourselves. Why in the world would we give up or accept Pew’s offer to co-manage it? We are doing fine. If we give up our islands we would be told how and when we should do anything up there. Right now we are approving permits for scientific expeditions, but under co-management they will be the approving authority.
The economic analysis is just that! An analysis. NO concrete information and NO guarantees.
Salas noted that the three islands are already protected. Is he trying to say that the monument can protect the three islands better than we can? For the record Pew has said in the past that the three islands are pristine and there are abundant life there. This indicates that we are doing a great job protecting it ourselves. SO why do we want to give up this area?
True, the three islands are not in use now but they are protected and we know this because the U.S. Coast Guard is up there regularly. One of the problems with this Pew monument is that they will bar locals from using them in the future but they are not banning the U.S. military. Why is that? Something is amiss!
Mr. David Sablan mentioned “federal initiatives” but the federal government is not in the picture talking to us. They have cronies paid by Pew to do their dirty work for them. Why aren’t federal officials talking to us?
To my fellow islanders, be careful what you ask for. Little by little they are hacking away at us. Before you know it all of the CNMI will be in outsiders’ control. Look at Hawaii, Guam, the Virgin Islands and American Samoa. Don’t forget Puerto Rico. Study Puerto Rico’s recent history. Interesting what you will find.
The monument is a good thing if there are guarantees. Our economy is in shambles and if the federal government enters into negotiation with us then the people will listen. I suspect that Pew and Mr. Villagomez will benefit tremendously when the monument is in place so again be careful what you ask for.
JOE CABRERA
Dandan, Saipan
