Giant Telescope Project Stalled By Hawaiian Natives (khon2.com)

Fudge Factor 3000 writes: The Hawaiian Supreme Court has pulled a construction permit for the Thirty Meter Telescope project. A vocal minority of Hawaiians has vehemently protested the construction of the telescope for religious reasons. Now, they have been successful in contesting the construction permit. The ruling reads in part: "The process followed by the Board here did not meet these standards. Quite simply, the Board put the cart before the horse when it issued the permit before the request for a contested case hearing was resolved and the hearing was held. Accordingly, the permit cannot stand."

Comments

I support the telescope

[Crashmarik]

But the hypocrisy that will come from the complaints about the "Vocal Minority" will be over the top. All I have to say to both sides on this is, "Welcome to the rule of law and individual rights"

Re:I support the telescope

[pushing-robot]

Section 7. The State reaffirms and shall protect all rights, customarily and traditionally exercised for subsistence, cultural and religious purposes and possessed by ahupua’a tenants who are descendants of native Hawaiians who inhabited the Hawaiian Islands prior to 1778, subject to the right of the State to regulate such rights. [Add Const Con 1978 and election Nov 7, 1978]”

It may be law, but it makes me uneasy when a religion becomes enshrined in law. I guess we're lucky they're not cannibals.

Re:I support the telescope

[Applehu Akbar]

If Maunakea is so sacred, why has the military been able to use it as a bombing range all these years? Could it be that astronomers are just more easily picked on than soldiers?

Re:I support the telescope

[hackertourist]

This ruling has nothing to do with religion. Due process was not followed when the permit was granted. The university is free to apply for a permit again.

Re:I support the telescope

[hackertourist]

It doesn't matter on which grounds the protest group objected to the permit. They were not heard, and that's what the Court ruled on.

Sacred ground

[sjbe]

A vocal minority of Hawaiians has vehemently protested the construction of the telescope for religious reasons.

Don't you love how people can make up nonsensical stories about how something is sacred to them to stop activities they don't like? Sometimes they even believe the nonsense they are spouting. But it's still nonsense. Personally I find scientific inquiry to be sacred ground and I can actually show how scientific inquiry benefits mankind. If they want to show how this telescope will cause some objective problem (environmental, logistical, financial, whatever) then by all means let's slow down and consider if the telescope is a good idea. But religious objections carry no weight with me.

So they have to hold a hearing so everyone can have their say. Fine. Hold the hearing. But religious objections are no grounds to stop construction of the telescope. Let them tell us how sacred this particular patch of ground is and then build the damn thing. I'm tired of people trying to trample valuable research because of their mythology.

Re:Sacred ground

[PPH]

And I'm tired of arrogant people who can't respect other people's cultures.

Science is a part of my culture. And I'm tired of people blocking its progress with silly religious objections.

Re:Where the TMT can go now

[gtall]

Pay off the natives like they wanted, build telescope, leave religion behind.

Re:Nothing being damaged here

[tarpitcod]

In a falsifiability test between 'Hawaiian Magma Gods' and String theory, my money is on Hawaiian Magma Gods.