Category: DMZ-Hawai’i / Aloha ‘Aina In the News

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Recruiter misled students, a Navy investigation finds

Recruiter misled students, a Navy investigation finds

Because of the Kapolei High case, students’ information will be held unless they approve

By Susan Essoyan

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Aug 31, 2009

A military recruiter accused of using false promises to lure two Kapolei students into enlisting in the Navy has been pulled off recruiting and given shipboard duty after a Navy investigation concluded he had misled the boys.

Partly in response to that case, Hawaii’s public schools will no longer give student contact information and test scores on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery to recruiters unless students go to a recruiting station off campus and sign a form expressly requesting the information be given.

“There were cases that came to our attention, and we started investigating and came up with a consistent statewide procedure to protect student privacy,” said Helen Uyehara, information specialist in the Department of Education’s Information Resource Management Branch. “No information through ASVAB will go to the recruiter.”

In the past, the decision was left to the schools, and most of them automatically released student information and scores to military recruiters, which was the default option if no preference was indicated. Such information included a student’s phone number, address, Social Security number and career interests.

The issue of student recruiting surfaced locally in June 2008 when the Star-Bulletin reported on the case of Cory Miyasato and Joseph Mauga Jr., who said they were railroaded into joining the Navy under false pretenses. They were about to graduate from Kapolei High School when a fast-talking recruiter persuaded them to enlist, promising them a free four-year college education before going to sea, among other things.

The recruiter, Petty Officer 1st Class Jimmy Pecadeso, contacted them by phone because he had already been banned from the Kapolei campus for his questionable tactics. The boys and their parents appealed to the Navy Recruiting Command to void their contracts and investigate the recruiter.

The investigation concluded the recruiter was at fault, according to a July 31 letter from K.S. Southwell, head of the Congressional and Special Inquiries Branch of the Office of the Inspector General, Navy Recruiting Command.

“Misrepresentation or deception shall not be tolerated,” Southwell wrote in the letter, which was sent to state Sen. Mike Gabbard, who has been acting as an advocate for Miyasato. “The allegation that his Navy recruiter misled Mr. Miyasato concerning his enlistment entitlements was substantiated.”

The letter continued, “As you are aware, Mr. Miyasato has been released from the Navy’s Delayed Entry Program. We can also report that the Navy recruiter in this case has transferred out of recruiting and is currently assigned to an afloat command aboard a naval vessel.”

Last week the boys’ mothers were relieved that the recruiter had been found at fault. Both boys are doing well at Leeward Community College.

“I finally feel some peace, closure,” said Miyasato’s mother, Jayne Arasaki. “I’m so glad that we made a difference and that policies have been changed. That’s an added benefit.”

Arasaki and Mauga’s mother, Gloria, testified before the Board of Education late last year, along with other teachers and community advocates concerned about recruiter tactics and access to student information.

In January the father of a Konawaena High School student also contacted the Board of Education, incensed that his son’s personal information had been released to a Marine recruiter who he said used “unscrupulous methods” to try and enlist his son. The parent had filled out an “opt-out” form to shield his son from recruiter contact under the No Child Left Behind Act. But that form does not apply to the ASVAB test.

Starting this year, however, no student information should go to recruiters through the ASVAB test because schools will no longer release it. In addition, students will no longer have to sign the Privacy Act statement on the test that is normally required by the military before tests are scored, Uyehara said. Now students will have to go to a recruiting office and sign a form if they wish to have their scores and contact information released to recruiters.

“It puts the parents and student in the driver’s seat,” said Kyle Kajihiro, area program director of the American Friends Service Committee, which had lobbied the school board to respect student privacy. “This will benefit all the students in public education in the state of Hawaii.”

“I think this is probably one of the most far-reaching policies of its kind in the U.S.,” he said. “The key principle is prior informed consent. That’s the gold standard in terms of ensuring that whatever happens with someone’s information, they know ahead of time and they give permission for it to be released.”

Joe Stephenson, ASVAB program coordinator for the Honolulu Military Entrance Processing Station, said the test is a useful tool for all students. Most students who take the free test are not interested in military careers.

“Roughly a good 70 to 75 percent of the people who take ASVAB want to go to college or a trade or technical school,” he said. “Only about 9 percent indicate they want to use their scores to go into the military. It’s a great assessment tool, academically and occupationally. It compares them to their peers nationwide.”

Both public and private schools offer it. McKinley High School plans to give the test on Sept. 10 on a voluntary basis to students who have permission from their parents as well as teachers, said Jenny Taufa, career coordinator at the school.

“We encourage students to take the ASVAB mainly for career exploration,” she said. “It’s a useful career tool, even if you don’t want to go into the military, because it measures all of their strengths. It is the only test that really measures everything, including mechanical strengths.”

Students, parents can block information report

Sept. 15 is the deadline for public school students to submit “opt-out” forms to prevent disclosure of their contact information to recruiters under the No Child Left Behind Act.

The form can be signed by the student or a parent or guardian and is available on the Department of Education’s Web site, doe.k12.hi.us.

Opt-out requests will be accepted at any time, but the department is required to turn over a list of secondary students’ names, addresses and phone numbers to the Inter-Service Recruitment Council in mid-October.

Source: http://www.starbulletin.com/news/20090831_Recruiter_misled_students_a_Navy_investigation_finds.html

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Army applies for permit to ‘possess’ depleted uranium

Army applies for possession permit, says it cannot remove depleted uranium

Aug 28, 2009 – 12:38 PM | by Austin Zavala | The Hawaii Independent | Ewa

For years, U.S. Army has denied there being any use of depleted uranium weapons on training grounds in Hawaii, until two years ago when rounds were found dating back to the 1960s. The military trained with an M101 weapon, also known as the “Davy Crockett,” firing off depleted uranium (DU) rounds up until 1968 when the weapon went obsolete. After finding DU on Schofield training grounds, the Army has limited the DU findings to the Barracks on Oahu and Pohakuloa of the Big Island.

Since the first discovery of the DU on the islands, the Army has submitted an application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for a possession-only license of depleted uranium. According to the impact area characterization report from the Army, the amount of DU found is roughly 300 pounds over both training areas combining for more than 55,000 acres of land. This possessed amount requires the Army to hold a license by the NRC. Once the Army receives the possession-only license, they will need to implement the preplanned environmental monitory and physical security system that provides safety and protection of the public health.

The NRC, an independent federal agency that reports directly to Congress, takes the application and goes through a three-step review. They do a safety review then a security review that is put into a Safety Evaluation Report and lastly an environmental review is performed and documented. Once all three are completed, the NRC makes the decision on the application.

Submitted to the NRC on November 6, 2008, the application was accepted for review on August 3 of this year and the NRC is now the process of completing a Safety Evaluation Report.

On Tuesday, August 25, the NRC held a public meeting at Wahiawa District Park to inform anyone that was concerned with the Army’s license application. Present at the meeting were several members of the NRC, including project manager John Hayes and deputy director Keith McConnell. Some of the public in attendance ranged from surrounding community members near Schofield to Army personnel.

Since direct contact with depleted uranium can cause damage to the kidneys and lungs, there was much concern during the meeting on the monitoring system the Army will have and if it will entirely protect the public. However, the NRC assured the people in attendance that during their review process, they would make sure the monitoring system is suitable for the area.

Kyle Kajihiro, program director of the Hawaii American Friends Service Committee and DMZ-Hawaii, was in attendance and asked why the Army or NRC couldn’t just remove the depleted uranium from the area.

“To me it just sounds common sense, if I dropped a glass on the ground I would surround the area and pick it up and clean the entire area, so no one gets hurt,” Kajihiro said.

McConnell replied: “The DU found is not an issue of safety to the public because the levels of radiation and radioactivity of the DU is so low. Since the range is currently active, decommissioning is not possible. Until the training area is inactive or not being used, it can’t be fully cleaned up.”

Kajihiro also expressed concern that many ancient Hawaiian cultural sites might be affected by the proposed security systems.

Hayes of the NRC said protection of the cultural sites is something they are going to cover during the environmental assessment so that anything already protected by the State of Hawaii will be protected in the Army’s monitoring system.

If the U.S. Army receives the possession-only license for depleted uranium, it will cover both trainings areas on Oahu and Big Island. The NRC is tasked with making sure that the proposed systems by the Army are being performed and will make necessary changes if the public is inadequately protected. The public has until October 13 of this year to request a hearing by electronically filing a complaint or comment, before the application is approved or not.

To send in any public comments or for more information on the license application contact John Hayes at (301) 415-5928 or email him at john.hayes@nrc.gov. For more information on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission visit http://www.nrc.gov.

Source: http://www.thehawaiiindependent.com/local/read/Ewa/army-applies-for-possession-permit-says-it-cannot-remove-depleted-uranium/

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‘I Want To Live’ – Micronesians sit in Lingle’s office waiting for meeting

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Photos: Ikaika Hussey/Hawaii Independent

Today, Micronesians United held a demonstration at the State Capitol and sat in Governor Lingle’s office to protest the state’s plans to cut of crucial health care for Micronesians in Hawai’i, which they are entitled to under Compacts of Free Association with the U.S.   The Hawaii Independent has excellent coverage of the action.

Under the Compacts, Micronesians can travel to the U.S. and have access to services. This was part of the deal when the U.S. gained control over the islands after World War II and established a special “Strategic Trust” over the former Japanese territories, in contrast to the United Nations trusts established for the decolonization of non-self-governing territories.

Rather than provide for true self-determination and the possibility of independence for these countries, the U.S. secretly and deliberately stunted the development of Micronesian nations in order to maintain their dependency on (and subservience to) the U.S.    Driven strongly by military strategy and interests, America turned the entire Pacific ocean into an “American Lake”.  The Marshall Islands have a special claim to health care due to the U.S. nuclear testing in their islands that have caused an environmental health catastrophe for many islanders.

Below is an article from the Honolulu Advertiser.

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Updated at 4:01 p.m., Friday, August 28, 2009

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RICHARD AMBO | The Honolulu Advertiser

Micronesians sit in Lingle’s office waiting for meeting

Advertiser Staff

Micronesians United rallied at the state Capitol today against a new state plan that will cut back on health care benefits to some 7,500 adult Micronesians who are part of the Compact of Free Association.

About 30 members of the group also sat in the governor’s offices for more than an hour after requesting to see her, but aides said she was in a meeting and couldn’t speak to them. No administration officials came out to speak the group.

Elma Coleman, a member of Micronesians United, said she was disappointed the governor didn’t speak to the group. She said they would be back on Monday morning to again seek a meeting with the governor.

i-want-to-live

RICHARD AMBO | The Honolulu Advertiser

“It seems like she doesn’t care,” Coleman said.

Meanwhile, Lawyers for Equal Justice told Micronesians United members that they were looking into filing suit against the state over the health care cuts.

The new Basic Health Hawaii program would save the state $15 million but limits monthly services to 12 outpatient doctor visits, 10 hospital days, six mental health visits, three procedures and emergency medical and dental care. It does not allow for “life saving” dialysis or chemotherapy treatments.

The new plan is to start on Tuesday.

Source: http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20090828/BREAKING01/90828019/Micronesians%20sit%20in%20Lingle%20s%20office%20waiting%20for%20meeting?GID=3K8YwfKsSiikRo2gb+CSFOfYLZkQuxMph1AiAtEH8Rk%3D

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Chain Reaction: Nuclear regulators hold hearings in the Islands after the Army’s depleted uranium problem is uncovered by chance

Joan Conrow wrote this excellent piece in the Honolulu Weekly about the Nuclear Regulatory Commission public meetings in Hawai’i to take comments on the Army’s application for a permit to “possess” nuclear material, in this case, Depleted Uranium (DU), since they don’t intend to clean up the DU that contaminates O’ahu and Hawai’i island.

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Chain reaction

Nuclear regulators hold hearings in the Islands after the Army’s depleted uranium problem is uncovered by chance.

Joan Conrow

Aug 26, 2009

Environment

The Army doesn’t know how much depleted uranium it has lost in Hawai‘i.

After years of denying the existence of depleted uranium (DU) at its installations in Hawaii, the Army is now seeking a permit to possess tons of the radioactive material.

DU has been confirmed at Schofield Barracks and the Pohakuloa Training Area, and is suspected at the Makua Military Reservation and Kahoolawe. The toxic material was used to make M101 spotting rounds for the Davy Crockett recoilless gun, one of the smallest nuclear weapons ever built. Soldiers were trained on the weapon in Hawaii and at least eight other states throughout the 1960s.

“Enough depleted uranium remains on the sites to require an NRC possession license and environmental monitoring and physical security programs to ensure protection of the public and the environment,” according to a press release from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which this week is conducting hearings in Hawaii on the Army’s application.

The material is of concern because it has been found on active firing ranges, including the area where the Stryker Brigade plans to train at Schofield. When DU is burned or exploded, it creates tiny particles of depleted uranium oxide (DUO) that travel on the wind and can penetrate skin, respiratory masks and protective clothing, said Dr. Lorin Pang, a medical advisor to Hawaii County on the issue of DU.

“If it’s inhaled, then it’s in your lungs,” Pang said. “[It’s] insoluble and persists in the body for decades and becomes the most dangerous form of radiation of all, because it’s in the body.”

The Army is pursuing a single permit to possess and manage residual quantities of DU at all of its American installations. The Army’s disclosure responsibilities under the permit application are limited to the big Davy Crocket round, even though uranium munitions are used in more than 24 weapons systems. The Army’s application does not address DUO.

“It seems like the Army is trying to do the minimum possible on this,” said Cory Harden of the Sierra Club’s Moku Loa group. “Overall, this should be a wakeup call. If something like this was forgotten [from decades past] what else was forgotten?”

Some 29,318 M101 spotting rounds containing 12,232 pounds of DU remain unaccounted for, according to the Army’s permit application. The Army is seeking permission to possess a maximum of 17,600 pounds of DU.

It’s unclear how much DU is located in the Islands, or exactly where. Initial surveys were conducted at just three Hawaii installations, and the effort was severely limited by dense vegetation, rugged terrain and what the military characterized as “safety considerations” due to unexploded ordnance.

“This is exactly the problem,” said Kyle Kajihiro, executive director of the American Friends Service Committee. “If you don’t look, you don’t find and you don’t have to report and be accountable for it.”

Kajihiro said NRC officials advised him they likely will issue the permit because the material is already here. But the agency can impose conditions on how it is possessed and monitored.

The Hawaii County Council has asked the Army to conduct no live fire training in areas contaminated with DU in order to minimize the creation of DUO. But absent a public outcry, Kajihiro believes it’s unlikely the NRC will impose such restrictions, given the strong political support the military enjoys in Hawaii.

The existence of DU in the Islands came to light inadvertently through the ongoing litigation over live fire training at Makua. Kajihiro said the Army has stalled Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests he made in 2007 seeking more details about contamination at Schofield and Pohakuloa.

“There’s just been a sustained effort to keep the public in the dark and bury this,” Kajihiro said. “There needs to be some sort of call to account by the Army: why was this material here and why didn’t you know about it?”

Harden concurred. “The Army has appeared in rather controlled situations where it’s difficult to ask questions. We have repeatedly invited them to a public forum. They’ve been putting us off. Yet they make statements that there’s no risk to public health.”

Kajihiro said the discovery of DU underscores the ongoing environmental contamination issue at Hawaii’s military sites.

“It’s really the toxic cocktail of all the hazardous material out that there that we’re concerned about, with DU one of the more insidious ones,” Kajihiro said. “We need to be prepared to deal with this toxic legacy for a long time and just insist on the highest level of clean-up that’s possible. This stuff wasn’t here to begin with. We shouldn’t have to live with it. It’s a basic decency issue.”

Pang believes it’s “virtually impossible” to clean up the DU, which is why he’s urging the Army to “stop the activities that create DUO” and conduct meaningful air monitoring programs.

Comments on the permit will be accepted through Oct. 13. Submit to John J. Hayes, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Mail Stop T8-F5, Washington, D.C., 20055-0001 or [email: John.Hayes].

To review the application and other documents, visit [www.nrc.gov], click on begin ADAMS search and enter ML090070095, ML091950280, ML090900423 and ML091170322.

Source: http://honoluluweekly.com/feature/2009/08/chain-reaction/

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Hawaiians protest statehood and push for freedom

See the video at the KHNL website:

http://www.khnl.com/global/story.asp?s=10973362

Hawaiians protest statehood and push for freedom

Posted: Aug 21, 2009

HONOLULU (KHNL) – Statehood united Hawaii with the rest of the country. But it has also divided many of our island residents for five decades.

Many Hawaiians did not want to become a part of the United States 50 years ago. They fought against it then, and that fight continues today.

Protestors marched with a mission to the Hawaii Convention Center.

Yelling slogans, and chanting in Hawaiian, hundreds made their voices heard, as they called for an end to statehood.

“We didn’t want to be part of the United States and yet we are,” said Lynette Cruz, with the Hawaiian Independence Alliance.

Among the shouting for independence for our islands, there were also symbolic gestures these protestors took to make their point. Cutting out the 50th star from the American flag. Knocking down a symbol of Uncle Sam’s hold on countries around the pacific.

They also highlighted, what they call ‘the third major crime’ committed against the Hawaiian people.

“Statehood was a crime, it was the third crime. First, crime overthrow, for which the US government apologized. Second came the annexation of Hawaii. Third is statehood,” said Kekuni Blaisdell, a Hawaiian Activist.

While many were fired up for Friday’s protest, organizers say in order for their efforts to be successful, they must continue to push just as hard for independence in years to come.

It’s a battle Native Hawaiians have been fighting for the past 50 years. And it’s one they plan to keep on fighting until Hawaii is free from US rule.

“The US and the State of Hawaii has to get ready for change. We’re not going to back off until its fixed,” added Cruz.

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No cause for celebration

For some, statehood no cause for celebration

By Michael Levine – The Garden Island
Published: Friday, August 21, 2009 2:10 AM HST

LIHU‘E – Fifty years ago, Hawai‘i became a state, and the people rejoiced.

Well, not everybody.

A half-century after becoming de-facto citizens of America’s 50th state, some Hawaiians still believe joining the union was a poor decision, arguing it was illegal and has undermined Hawai‘i’s rich cultural heritage.

“I’m against Hawai‘i commemorating statehood because I don’t know why anybody would commemorate lie and theft,” said lifetime Kapa‘a resident Puanani Rogers. “History will tell the true story of the lies of annexation and the lies of statehood. They were all done illegally and people have been hoodwinked by the state … about their so-called ownership of our ‘aina and our nation.”

A number of kanakas reached by The Garden Island this week argued that statehood is based on lies, and said educating Hawai‘i’s youth about the true nature of the Islands’ history is key to preserving the local culture.

“I really encourage them (young people) to get involved in speaking up and voicing their opinions and start thinking that they have broader horizons than just being servants,” said Aunty Louise Sausen, a Ha‘ena resident. “Go to school, study, we need a lot of people. If we’re going to be in this government, we need to infiltrate the government with people.

“The children are our future so they should really study and become lawyers, doctors, different fields than just the tourism field,” she said. “That’s what they end up and that’s as far as they go.”

Mike Grace, a self-described “Native Hawaiian musician and fisherman” who has lived in Anahola for a quarter century, said statehood was a “forced choice” and that Hawaiians didn’t know what they were getting themselves into 50 years ago, when he was 12 years old.

“I love my country just like they love their country,” Grace said. “I wasn’t born in America, I was born in Hawai‘i.”

Healani Trembath, a 73-year-old Lihu‘e resident who was born in Hawai‘i but left for a large chunk of her life to travel the world as a “haole” before coming home, said she only remembers a party on Admission Day, but now believes Hawaiians have become “low on the totem pole.”

“The Queen says we’re still a country, and we are, but we don’t have leaders,” Trembath said Thursday. “Kupuna are quiet-minded but they do know what their birthright is. They need leaders, but we don’t have them because everybody is fighting against themselves.”

For today, at least, some of that infighting could be directed out toward the state and federal governments, common enemies to various splintered groups in favor of Hawaiian sovereignty.

Protesters have announced plans to march along Honolulu’s streets today, sharing Hawaiian chants and demonstrating in support of Hawaiian independence outside a conference at the Hawai‘i Convention Center.

Kaua‘i will see similar dissent, with the Kaua‘i Alliance for Peace and Social Justice, Reinstated Hawaiian Government and Polynesian Kingdom of Atooi joining together to spearhead a “Fake Statehood” rally to be held this afternoon at various points around Lihu‘e.

According to Rogers, one of the event’s coordinators, protesters are being asked to wear black and meet at the airport intersection at noon for a sign-holding demonstration. The group will move over to the old county building for a pot-luck picnic lunch and kukakuka at 1 or 1:30 p.m., then move back to the airport intersection at around 4 p.m.

Mahelani Sylva, a Lihu‘e resident who hosts the Na Leo Hawaiian Issues radio show on KKCR on Saturday afternoons, said the issue is personal to her because her grandmother was forced to leave Hawai‘i in the 1940s for speaking out against American occupation and educating Native Hawaiians about their land rights.

“Justice hasn’t been done here on this island for 117 years. There is no justice here. There is no truth here,” Sylva said Thursday afternoon. “So those of us who value truth and justice will stand tomorrow for a free island maybe in the future, and I really hope it’ll be in my grandchildren’s day.

“We are celebrating, but we’re celebrating the unity and freedom of our country,” Sylva said, referring not to America, but to Hawai‘i.

Others echoed Sylva’s upbeat tone, expressing optimism and hope for a future free from what Sausen described as “suppression, oppression and depression” at the hands of American invaders.

“Our Hawaiian nation still exists,” Rogers said. “Nobody can ever shake that truth out of us, not ever.”

• Michael Levine, assistant news editor, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) or mlevine@kauaipubco.com.

Source: http://kauaiworld.com/articles/2009/08/21/news/kauai_news/doc4a8e5728500f5888157899.txt

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Nagasaki mayor calls for nuclear abolition

AFSC Hawai’i and ‘Ohana Koa / Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific attended the Hiroshima atomic bombing commemoration in Honolulu on August 6th. The event featured Mayor Mufi Hanneman, representatives of different religious denominations, representatives from Hiroshima and an Hibakusha (nuclear survivor).  The speeches talked of the horror of the atomic bombing and celebrated peace and friendship. A student from the Pacific Buddhist Academy spoke clearly to the immorality of using the atomic bomb on Japan.

However, the speeches did not address the ongoing suffering and struggles of the many other nuclear survivors:  the Navajo uranium miners;  the U.S. downwinders who were intentionally exposed to radiation to study the human effects; the Marshall Islanders suffering from the horrible health effects of the 67 nuclear tests the U.S. conducted in their islands, who are still struggling to win just and adequate compensation from the U.S. for their ongoing suffering and hardship.   None of the speakers talked about America’s continuing policy of nuclear terrorism and the failure of the U.S. and the other nuclear powers to adhere to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty provisions calling for steady reductions of nuclear arms as the trade off for non-nuclear powers foreswearing the pursuit of nuclear arms.  In May 2010, the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty Review Conference will meet in New York.  Activists and nongovernmental organizations from around the world will convene there to push the nations to adhere to the promise of disarmament.    Let us remember Hiroshima and Nagasaki and resolve “Never Again”.

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Kyle Kajihiro from the American Friends Service Committee holds WWII atomic bomb photos during the 64th anniversary marking the bombing of Hiroshima. JEFF WIDENER | The Honolulu Advertiser <http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Site=M1&Date=20090806&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=908060804&Ref=PH&Params=Itemnr=2#gallerytop>

The Nagasaki commemoration tomorrow should be a different affair, more grassroots and political.  Marsha Joyner of the Martin Luther King Jr. Coalition has organized the Nagasaki commemoration for many years.  As you can see from the article below, the tone of the commemoration in Nagasaki speaks much more clearly to the action that is needed today.   We need to hold Obama to his hope to make the world nuclear weapons free.  The U.S. has the most nukes. The U.S. is the only country to have used its nukes against an enemy.  The U.S. must lead nuclear disarmament by example and take the world back from the precipice of nuclear annihilation.

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Updated at 8:30 p.m., Saturday, August 8, 2009

Nagasaki mayor urges worldwide nuclear arms ban

Associated Press

TOKYO – The mayor of Nagasaki called for a global ban on nuclear arms at a ceremony marking the 64th anniversary of the devastating U.S. attack on the Japanese city that killed about 80,000 people.

In a speech given just after 11:02 a.m. – the time when a plutonium American bomb flattened Nagasaki on Aug. 9, 1945 – Mayor Tomihisa Taue said some progress toward eliminating nuclear weaponry had been made but more needed to be done.

He cited a speech by President Obama in April calling on the world to rid itself of atomic weapons, but also noted a nuclear test blast by North Korea in May.

“We, as human beings, now have two paths before us. While one can lead us to a world without nuclear weapons, the other will carry us toward annihilation, bringing us to suffer once again the destruction experienced in Hiroshima and Nagasaki 64 years ago,” he said.

The atomic attack on Nagasaki came three days after one on Hiroshima, in which 140,000 people were killed or died within months. Japan surrendered on Aug. 15, ending World War II.

At Sunday’s ceremony, Nagasaki observed a moment of silence at the moment of detonation 64 years earlier, while a large bell in the city’s Peace Park was rung repeatedly.

Taue invited leaders of countries possessing nuclear arms to come to Nagasaki and speak to survivors of the attack.

Prime Minister Taro Aso and other dignitaries also addressed the crowd of thousands that had assembled for the ceremony.

Source: http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20090808/BREAKING/90808045/Nagasaki+mayor+urges+worldwide+nuclear+arms+ban

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New policy will shield students from some unwanted military recruiter contact

Good news! The State of Hawai’i Department of Education confirmed that starting this year all public schools in Hawai’i that choose to offer the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB), the military-sponsored career aptitude test, must designate “Option 8” on the test that no student information or test results will be released to military recruiters.  (See the memo from Hawai’i schools superintendent Pat Hamamoto below)  Students may still choose to take the test and release their test results to the military.  In order for a student to take the test and have it scored, the student must request an authorization form from the military recruiting office, sign it and turn it in.

In the past, students who took the ASVAB test routinely had their information and test results forwarded to military recruiters without their knowledge or consent, even if they opted out of military recruitment lists under the No Child Left Behind Act.   Here is a list of schools in Hawai’i that administered the ASVAB in 2006-07. Parents and students in these schools might want to ensure that the schools are properly protecting student information and privacy if the ASVAB continues to be offered.

The tricky thing about the ASVAB test is that it is exempt from FERPA, the law that governs privacy of information in schools.   So student’s (even minors) signing the test answer sheet (a requirement for having the test scored) are authorizing that their information would be made available to the military: “To compute and furnish test score products for career/vocational guidance and group assessment of aptitude test performance; for up to 2 years, to establish eligibility for enlistment (only for students at the eleventh grade or higher and only with the expressed permission of the school); for marketing evaluation, assessment of manpower trends and characteristics; and for related statistical studies and reports.”

Last year, in the wake of recruiter abuse cases at Kapolei High School, AFSC Hawai’i worked with parents, counter recruitment activists and other concerned community members on a campaign to educate the Board of Education about the problem and to call for changes that close this loophole in the ASVAB policy. We submitted model policies to the Board of Education and warned that the release of student information through the ASVAB tests were a violation of student privacy and a liability to the DOE.

As some predicted may happen, a parent from Kona threatened to sue the DOE for the release of his son’s information to recruiters even after opting out of the No Child Left Behind military recruitment lists.  In this case, military recruiters had invited several youth to a pool party and told them to lie to their parents about their whereabouts. When parents found out that their children had signed up for the Marine Corps at this “pool party”, they were obviously quite upset.

The combined pressure led to the DOE adopting a new policy to make the “no release of student information” option the default on all DOE sponsored ASVAB tests. This parent had given us an early notice of these changes, but this is the first public confirmation we have seen.

Thank you and congratulations to all who testified and advocated for protecting the rights of youth and parents. This is a big win for peace advocates and an important measure to protect students.

Also, please note that the deadline for opting out of No Child Left Behind military recruitment lists is September 15, 2009.   The notification will not be as widely distributed this year.  So please help to inform students and parents of their right to protect their privacy from military recruiters.

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STATE OF HAWAII
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
P.O. BOX 2360
HONOLULU, HAWAII 96804

D A T E
08/05/2009 Action Required
Originating Office: Office of Information Technology Services,
Branch: IRMB

TO:
Complex Area Superintendents
Principals (all)
School Counselors
Testing Coordinators Due Date:
c:
Assistant Superintendents
Superintendent’s Office Directors
Deputy Superintendent
Charter School Administrative Office
Office of Curriculum, Instruction and Student Services
Office of Information Technology Services

F R O M:
Patricia Hamamoto, Superintendent
Office of the Superintendent

SUBJECT: ARMED SERVICES VOCATIONAL APTITUDE BATTERY (ASVAB) TEST ADMINISTRATION IN THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION (DOE) SCHOOLS

The ASVAB test is a voluntary aptitude test available to high school students. The results of the ASVAB test provide career/vocational guidance and establish eligibility for enlistment into the military.

Effective immediately, all DOE schools that administer the ASVAB test will choose “Option 8” for test administration. This option means that no student information will be released to the military services through the ASVAB test unless a student chooses to opt-in. Schools may also choose not to administer the ASVAB test.

The ASVAB test administration requires a student who chooses to take the test to sign a privacy act statement which reads, “Purpose: To compute and furnish test score products for career/vocational guidance and group assessment of aptitude test performance; for up to 2 years, to establish eligibility for enlistment (only for students at the eleventh grade or higher and only with the expressed permission of the school); for marketing evaluation, assessment of manpower trends and characteristics; and for related statistical studies and reports.” Without the student signature on the privacy act statement, his/her test will not be scored. School principals must be aware of this and notify the student and parent that they must opt-in for release of information in order to take the ASVAB test.

Students who opt-in to take the ASVAB test will be allowing their personal information to be released to the military through the ASVAB test and to be contacted by a military recruiter. Students who wish to opt-in to take the test must visit their local military recruiting office for the appropriate forms to do so. Attached are sample copies of the Form 680 to opt-in and Page 2 of the ASVAB test answer sheet.

If you need further assistance, please contact Karl Yoshida, Director, or Helen Uyehara, Information Specialist, Information Resource Management Branch, at 692-7263, or via lotus notes.

PH:HU:mc

Attachments

ASVAB answer sheet, pg2

Form 680 to authorize release of ASVAB information to military recruiters

Posted on

Illegal landfill yields clues

July 12, 2009

Illegal landfill yields clues

Years-old dump in Wai’anae filled with hazardous waste

By Will Hoover
Advertiser Wai’anae Coast Writer

The state Department of Health is trying unravel the mystery of who’s behind a large illegal landfill in a remote region in Wai’anae. For years, the site has been the end point of hundreds of tons of buried hazardous waste materials, officials suspect.

On Thursday, the state got an assist from a group of educators, students and residents who inspected the dump site on their own and uncovered documents that could lead to those who’ve been getting rid of commercial waste on the sly.

One member of the group phoned in a complaint from the scene. But it wasn’t the first time state officials had heard complaints about the landfill.

Steven Chang, chief of the Solid and Hazardous Waste Branch for the DOH, said the materials appear to be construction demolition debris dumped illegally on Department of Hawaiian Home Lands property.

He said his branch had previously sent letters to DHHL alerting them to the situation.

“We are going to be meeting with Hawaiian Home Lands people next week at the site, probably, to take a look at what’s going on,” Chang said. “Apparently, this has been going on a long time.”

Chang said investigators would be trying to determine who’s responsible. He said the massive amount of waste dwarfs the state’s definition for illegal dumping – which is anything more than one cubic yard.

The previously secret landfill is on the north side of of Highway 782 about a quarter of a mile east of where it intersects Wai’anae Valley Road. Access to the dirt road leading to the dump site is blocked by a pipe fence latched with a combination paddle lock and a “No Trespassing” sign.

Carroll Cox, an environmental activist and president of EnviroWatch Inc., was with the group that inspected and photographed the landfill on Thursday.

He described the site as a years-old “active landfill” about two acres in size and filled with “hundreds and hundreds of tons of hazardous solid waste and potentially toxic materials” dumped inside a gated and locked setting.

The materials include concrete blocks, old painted wood, asphalt, rebar, cast iron, hollow tile bricks, roofing materials and green matter. While much of the debris is covered with dirt, several recent mountains of rubble also decorate the canyon landscape.

“What’s happened is that they buried the stuff and spread the dirt over it,” Cox said.

“You can see where they’ve graded this. I mean, whoever’s doing this is pretty bold. They are going in there with heavy equipment after they’ve dumped, and then bury it – smash it down and spread it out and put dirt on it.”

Lucy Gay, director of Continuing Education & Training at Leeward Community College in Wai’anae, learned about the landfill from a colleague who hiked the isolated area over the July Fourth weekend and stumbled across huge debris piles.

Gay and area Hawaiian activist Alice Greenwood investigated the site on their own and contacted Cox. The three returned on Thursday, along with the students.

“We want to know who are the guys who are dumping all this stuff on the land,” Gay said. “This is a big dump.”

Gay, Greenwood and Cox uncovered documents among the materials that they think will help investigators locate the trash haulers.

“This is one of those difficult-to-find dumps that the Wai’anae Coast has been plagued with for years,” Cox said. “Every canyon has played host to illegal dumping of this type. But this is one of the most clandestine examples I’ve ever seen.”

Source: http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009907120363

Posted on

Wai’anae Aunties Expose Illegal Dump site

The Concerned Elders of Wai’anae, one of the core groups of the Wai’anae Environmental Justice Working Group, discovered and reported an illegal dump site in Wai’anae.  It appears that construction and demolition debris has been dumped in a remote corner of land near the Lualualei Naval Magazine on Department of Hawaiian Home Lands land.  Ka Makani Kaiaulu o Wai’anae, the summer youth environmental justice project of the American Friends Service Committee was there to support the Elders.

Here’s the story on KITV news from June 10, 2009:  http://www.kitv.com/video/20022567/

And the first story on KITV from June 9, 2009: http://www.kitv.com/video/20011403/index.html

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