A report on the March 20, 2010 Hilo Peace Rally

A report from Jim Albertini on the March 20, 2010 Hilo Peace Rally

Aloha Peace Ohana,

More than 60 people gathered on Hilo Bayfront from 10AM till noon today for a peace rally amid a light rain to call for an immediate and unconditional withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. The rally was organized to mark the 7th anniversary of the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq and to stand in solidarity with thousands around the U.S. organizing similar rallies and marches to end the wars. Many of the signs called for cutting off the war funds and redirecting the money to human needs, such as education, jobs, health care, and stopping foreclosures.

In Hilo people held signs and banners along Kamehameha Ave. for the first hour and continued to do so the 2nd hour when a number of speakers offered insights and gave encouragement to build a movement for justice and peace. It was especially encouraging to have many local youth join the rally. Keana DeCosta spoke for UHH Global HOPE. Eric Orseske, another UHH student also inspired the crowd. Eric served in the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division both in Afghanistan and Iraq from 2001 to 2004. Eric said the best way to support the troops is to stop the wars and bring the troops home. Eric called for:

1. withdrawal of all U.S. and foreign troops from Iraq and Afghanistan;

2. Insuring adequate health care for returning veterans and their families;

3. Reparations for the Iraqi and Afghani people who have suffered tremendous losses (1.3 million Iraqi civilians have been slaughtered since the 2003 U.S. invasion);

4 Eric also called for other GI’s to know their rights and he called for investigating Depleted Uranium (munitions and contamination) and the erosion of our Bill of Rights.

Other speakers included Hanako Shibata from Nagasaki, Japan who said “war never again –peace to all!” Local building contractor, Danny Li, spoke on the economic aspects of the wars –trillions of dollars spent on war and Wall Street while human needs and basic government services are cut back. Rosylyn “Bunny” Smith, who lived in Iran and other parts of the world as a U.S. diplomat family, spoke of concern for Palestine and the similar rhetoric today about Iran like we heard prior to the war in Iraq. Lee Bowden encouraged people to not give up, to keep protesting what’s being done in our names and urged people to join the weekly Hilo Peace Vigil on Fridays 3:30-5PM at the down down Hilo Post Office.

A statement was read from Cory Harden who could not attend the rally: Cory urged public hearings for the EIS of the Army’s proposed Join High Speed Vessel (JHSV) –the militarized Superferry. At present no hearings are planned. Cory also summarized the story of depleted uranium in Hawaii and the non-functioning Pohakuloa Community Advisory Group.

I urged people to take and pass on to friends a “Call to Action” flier. The flier (see below) notes three actions:

1. Call Hawaii’s congressional delegation to demand a cut off of the war funds;

2. A Saturday, April 10th and Sunday, April 11th roving peace vigil around the island — urging people to join in their local communities for an hour during the weekend;

3. A public form –Sunday, April 25th on Military Depleted Uranium Radiation Contamination on Hawaii island.– 7-9PM at the Keaau Community Center

Following the rally’s scheduled speakers, there was an open microphone for others to come forward and share. Many did, sharing thoughts and even a few songs. The honking horns from passing cars showed widespread opposition to the wars. A lone war supporter (– part of “The gathering of Eagles”) stood in the long line of war opponents, but on this day in history the pro-war message didn’t fly in Hilo. The response was clear. People have had enough of war: Bring the troops home now. Stop the Wars! Ground the Imperial Eagle!

A Call to Action

1. Email/Call Hawaii’s Congressional delegation and demand a cut off of the war funds:

Senator Dan Inouye http:inouye.senate.gov in Washington 202-224-3934, in Hilo 935–0844, in Honolulu 541-2542

Senator Dan Akaka http:akaka.senate.gov in Washington 202-224-6361, in Hilo 935-1114

Congresswoman Mazie Hirono www.hirono.gov in Washington 202-225-4906, in Hilo 935-3756, in Honolulu 808-541-1986.

2. Join and help spread the word about the Saturday, April 10th and Sunday, April 11th Roving Peace Vigil around the island with an emphasis on stopping the wars; shifting war funds to education, health care and other human needs; and military clean up not build up in Hawaii.

On Sat. April 10th Vigil sites are:

9-10AM Bayfront Hilo

11-12AM Honoka’a (Hwy by Tex’s Drive In)

1-2PM Waimea — Fronting Parker Ranch Shopping Center (Foodland)

3-4PM Waikoloa Village – Waikoloa Rd and Paniolo Ave. by shopping center

On Sunday, April 11th Vigil sites are:

9-10AM Volcano Hwy 11 Wright Road

11-12 Na’alehu theater

1-2PM Captain Cook –across from Manago Hotel

3-4PM Kailua-Kona – Kailua pier

3. Join, and help pass the word about the forum on Military Depleted Uranium Radiation Contamination on Hawaii Island

Sunday, April 25th from 7-9PM at the Keaau Community Center

Representatives from the military are invited along with citizen representatives to give presentations and field questions from the audience.

Please Answer the Call. Mahalo!

For more information contact: Malu ‘Aina Center for Non-violent Education & Action

P.O. Box AB Ola’a (Kurtistown), Hawaii 96760. Phone 808-966-7622

email ja@interpac.net Visit us on the web at www.malu-aina.org

March 3, 2010

Citizens denied access to meeting protest outside Pohakuloa Training Area

http://bigislandweekly.com/articles/2010/03/03/read/news/news03.txt

Citizens denied access to meeting protest outside PTA

By Heather Nicholson

Wednesday, March 3, 2010 11:38 AM HST

About 30 people concerned with depleted uranium (DU) radiation on Pohakuloa Training Area picketed outside the Saddle Road military base Feb. 24. At the same time, the group received word that their petition to challenge the Army’s license to possess DU was denied.

Jim Albertini, group leader and founder of the non-violent education and action group, Malu Aina, expressed disappointment at the decision handed down from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), who said the petition “lacked standing.”

“It means citizens have nothing to say about this issue,” said Albertini, who went in front of the NRC with three other Hawaii residents in January calling the Army’s assessment of DU hazards inadequate.

Though Albertini and his group were not invited to the U.S. Army’s annual Community Leaders Day, various decision makers were seen in attendance, including Mayor Billy Kenoi. The attendees heard progress updates on everything from Saddle Road construction to depleted uranium.

U.S. Army spokesman Mike Egami said the DU discussion was a review of topics already on the radar, including the Army’s application to the NRC to possess and manage residual quantities of DU at various bases, including Pohakuloa Training Area (PTA).

Repeated attempts to contact Kenoi’s office for information about the meeting went unanswered. When the Army was asked to provide Big Island Weekly with a list of the attendees, we were told the group consisted of “politicos or representatives from various offices from the Mayor’s office, County Council, Congressional offices, business leaders, UH Hilo, school principals, DLNR, hunters, and members of the PTA Cultural Advisory Committee.”

“The community leaders were invited to provide opportunities for each to take back information to their respective organization and disseminate information, as well as receive comments to provide back to the military,” said Egami.

The majority of protesters opposed to the fact that the public was not invited to the meeting and stood across from the entrance of PTA holding signs that read “Where’s the transparency” and “Radiation cover up.” The group tried several times to get inside the base and was denied a list of invited attendees.

“We want this meeting that they are having about our neighborhood to be open,” said Hilo resident Stephen Paulmier. “It’s mainly about transparency in government.”

Ret. U.S. Army Col. Ann Wright stood on the side of Albertini’s picket line, concerned that the politicians invited to the meeting could not be trusted to ask the Army hard questions.

“This meeting undercuts the citizen’s right to know. It’s outrageous that no one can go in since there’s been so much public outcry,” she said.

WHAT IS DEPLETED URANIUM?

Depleted uranium is a waste obtained from producing fuel for nuclear reactors and atomic bombs. DU is extremely dense and heavy, so much so that projectiles with a DU head can penetrate the armored steel of military vehicles and buildings. It is also a spontaneous pyrophoric material that can generate so much heat that when it reaches its target it explodes.

The American military has been using DU to coat artillery, tanks and aircraft for years, and the DU found on Hawaii military bases came from The Davy Crockett, a series of recoilless guns used in 1960s training missions.

When exposed to very high temperatures, DU can go airborne. According to the World Health Organization, DU emits about 60 percent of the radiation as natural uranium. When inhaled, DU particles make their way into the blood stream and can cause health problems, especially to the lungs.

When DU was discovered at Hawaii military bases in 2006, the Army received much backlash after years of denying that any uranium weapons were ever used on island. After military testing of the remaining DU at PTA and Oahu’s Schofield Barracks, the Army contends that the radiation is too low to be a health concern.

Pahoa resident and retired Army pilot Albert Tell agrees.

“There’s more radiation in my house then there is out here,” Tell said.

Tell and about 10 other military supporters comprised mainly of ex-military personnel picketed outside PTA on Feb. 24 also. Brandishing several American flags and dressed in military fatigues, the group said they were there to support the troops, PTA and counteract any misinformation Albertini and his supporters handed out.

“I don’t know anyone who’s died from DU,” said a picketer who refused to give his name. “We have some dying from cancer but they’ve lived other places to.”

IS DU BAD FOR YOU?

It’s true the long-term effects of DU radiation are largely unknown, and while some contend DU is the cause of Gulf War Syndrome there are no tests or reports to support it. Since DU goes airborne under extreme heat, some citizens are concerned that the live-fire and bombing training missions still conducted on PTA are aerosolizing DU and not only putting down-wind communities at risk, but active PTA soldiers as well.

Albertini said he won’t be satisfied until the Army allows independent scientists to conduct their own DU tests on PTA. He also wants all live-fire and bombing sessions on PTA halted until an independent DU test can be conducted.

“We have to know the extent of the health risks,” he said.

Hawaii County Council passed a resolution calling for the halt of live-fire and bombing that may spread airborne DU, however, the Army continues to do so. They said it is highly unlikely that DU will move off PTA and into the community due to military live-fire training.

“The Army has completed most of the DU investigation, but is continuing to monitor the water and air qualities at Schofield Barracks and PTA,” Egami said.

The Army is also awaiting a decision from NRC regarding their license to possess DU.

February 24, 2010

Pacific activists link up against buildup

http://mvguam.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11059%3A-regions-activists-link-up-against-buildup&Itemid=11

Region’s activists link up against buildup

Tuesday, 23 February 2010 03:08 by Mar-Vic Cagurangan | Variety News Staff

ACTIVISTS from Guam and the CNMI, joined by their supporters from Okinawa and Hawaii, are holding a protest rally today at the front gate of Pacific Command Headquarters at Camp Smith in ‘Aiea, Oahu, to oppose the military expansion in the Marianas.

Joining the Guam and CNMI groups are students from Okinawa and members of the American Friends Service Committee and DMZ Hawai’i/Aloha ‘Ain.

“The grassroots voices of our people are being ignored by the military, U.S. politicians and the mainstream media,” said Kisha Borja-Kicho’cho’, a University of Hawai’i student and a coordinator for the local organization “Fight for Guahan.”

“So, we came to deliver a message directly to the Commander of the U.S. military in the Pacific that we, the peoples of Guahan, the Northern Marianas, Okinawa and Hawai‘i reject any further military build up in the Pacific. Our islands are not weapons to be used in wars against other peoples and countries. We demand peace,” she added.

Dr. Hope Cristobal, criticized the Department of Defense’s plan to take over 40 percent of Guam, where citizens are excluded from voting in national elections.

Retired U.S. Army Reserve Colonel Ann Wright said that across the Pacific, including in Okinawa, Guam and Hawai‘I, people are opposing the military expansion in the region.

“We want Admiral Willard to hear this: No means no. When you force yourself on someone against their will, it’s called rape-rape of the people, the culture and the land. We Americans must stop our government’s military expansion in the Pacific,” Wright said.

AFSC Hawai‘i program director Kyle Kajihiro said Okinawa has been presented with false options.

“Removing bases and troops from Okinawa, does not require moving them to Guam or Hawai‘i. The military can reduce its overall footprint in the Pacific,” he said. “Clean up and give back the lands taken from the peoples in Okinawa, Guam and Hawai‘i.”

When President Obama visits Guam in March, activists will present him a petition telling him that islanders do not want more military in the Mariana Islands.

February 24, 2010February 24, 2010

Military Closed Door Meeting at Pohakuloa with politicians Protested!

Below is a press release from Malu ‘Aina and Hawai’i Island peace movement activists about an action that took place today at Pohakuloa, where the Army held a closed door meeting with the Hawai’i Island Mayor Billy Kenoi and State Representative Faye Hanohano and other officials. State Representative Josh Green sent a communication to organizer Jim Albertini that “Please alert your list that I didn’t and don’t exclude people.”

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Military Closed Door Meeting at Pohakuloa with politicians Protested!

On Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2010 more than 30 Big Island residents set up a picket line outside the Pohakuloa training Area (PTA) to protest a closed door meeting between military, county, state, federal officials, and special interests. The secret list of invitees was not released upon request. What ever happened to openness in government? Transparency? The consent of the governed? We the people…

Retired Army Colonel, Ann Wright, requested to attend the meeting to represent the interests of Malu Aina peace organization but was denied entry. Col. Wright then joined the picket. Among the attendees seen entering PTA were Mayor Billy Kenoi and State Representative Faye Hanohano.

On Feb. 21, 2010, a letter from Malu Aina (on the web at www.malu-aina.org) was sent to the commanding officer at PTA and to all county and state elected officials. The letter states: “We do not believe in ‘Democracy by invitation only.'” The letter said that “we are angry that the military continues to conduct bombing missions and live-fire without a complete independent assessment of the Depleted Uranium (DU) radiation present at PTA and without cleaning up as called for in Hawaii County Council resolution 639-08. The military has been stonewalling the community’s concerns about health and safety for years. The Davy Crockett DU weapons may just be the tip of far more widespread DU contamination.”

The letter listed eight questions and asked the elected officials to ask the questions of the military and to “Please Get Answers.” Some of the questions asked included: Why hasn’t the Army stopped all live-fire and bombing missions ? Are there more forgotten hazards? Why is there plenty of money for new military projects, but little to clean up… When will all of the 50-plus present and former military sites, totaling more than 250,000-acres on Hawaii Island, be cleared of unexploded ordnance, toxins, and other hazards? Why won’t the military participate in public forums on community concerns about health and safety over depleted uranium and other military toxins? What’s the Army afraid of? How much Hawai’i Island land is the military planning to take? Where and when?”

The letter concluded with the following statement: ” If the U.S. stopped spending several $billion/per day on imperial wars there would be more money for county and state budget needs, jobs, and funding human needs. We urgently request that you–as public officials–speak up on these critical issues of War, Militarism and the Health of our island citizens.” With gratitude and aloha.

Military Clean-up NOT Build-up!

1. Mourn all victims of violence. 2. Reject war as a solution. 3. Defend civil liberties. 4. Oppose all discrimination, anti-Islamic, anti-Semitic, etc. 5. Seek peace through justice in Hawai`i and around the world.

Contact: Malu `Aina Center for Non-violent Education & Action P.O. Box AB Kurtistown, Hawai`i 96760.

Phone (808) 966-7622. Email ja@interpac.net http://www.malu-aina.org

Hilo Peace Vigil leaflet (Feb. 26, 2010 – 441st week) – Friday 3:30-5PM downtown Post Office

February 17, 2010

Makua panel to air on ‘Olelo

ALOHA this OHA/OLELO production will be shown on Thursday(s) February 17 and 24^th at 7:00 p.m. on Channel 53. You may also pick up the program by going to www.olelo.org a couple of minutes before airtime and clicking on Channel 53.

OHA #158

FEBRUARY 12, 2010

MALAMA MAKUA – LIVE FIRE OVER MAKUA VALLEY

Fred Dodge, Malama Makua

Sparky Rodrigues, Malama Makua

David Henkin, Staff Attorney, Earthjustice

Moderator: Lynette Cruz, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Hawaii Pacific University

Citizens ask why the Army Need Makua.

February 12, 2010February 12, 2010

Live-fire over Makua valley

As the Honolulu Weekly reported below, the community turned out to protest the Army’s plan to establish an Asia-Pacific Fusion Counter-IED center at Makua. Like a pimp, the Army is soliciting other countries to use and abuse Makua. Stars and Stripes reported that in Thailand during “Cobra Gold” joint military exercises, “U.S. Army Pacific officials briefed the Thai brass on a new Asia-Pacific Fusion Counter-IED Center now starting up in Hawaii.” Time for the Army to get out of Makua.

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http://honoluluweekly.com/feature/2010/02/live-fire-over-the-valley/

Live-fire over the valley

Citizens ask why the Army needs Mākua at all

Chris Nishijima
Feb 10, 2010

Image: Chris Nishijima

Tension was high at the Waianae Neighborhood Community Center as Waianae Neighborhood Board Chair Jo Jordan opened the Feb. 2 meeting by leading a restive crowd in Hawaii Ponoi. When the song reached its traditional conclusion and most of the room started to sit, many in attendance carried on through the deeper verses of King David Kalakaua’s national anthem.

Before the meeting, Jordan offered condolences to the family and friends of her fellow board member, Michael Anderson, who died during a hiking accident the previous week. Anderson’s empty chair set a somber tone, as did the main business of the evening–the Army’s presence in Makua Valley.

Makua Valley spans more than 4,190 acres and has been the site of military training since World War II. In recent years, Native Hawaiians and environmentalists have been pressing the Army to reduce its impact in Makua, and to halt live-fire training in particular.

“Makua is a want of the Army, not a need,” said William Aila Jr., a Hawaiian cultural practitioner who is active in the community’s attempts to reduce the Army’s presence in the valley. Aila points out that the Army has not trained in Makua at any point during the past five years.

“This is the greatest indication that they don’t need Makua,” he said. “It is a need of the community.”

Others echoed Aila’s concerns, and said that the Army is not properly respecting the area as a sacred part of Hawaiian heritage.

But Army officials insist they understand the community’s concerns.

“We are not some big evil organization,” said Col. Matt Margotta, who represented the Army’s 25th Infantry Division. “We are attempting to better understand the Hawaii community.”

Margotta explained that Makua provides a unique setting which allows the Army to simulate a war zone without taking soldiers stationed on Oahu away from their families for an extended period of time. Margotta also pointed to ways in which the Army’s presence has helped improve the community. He said that the military has spent some $7 million toward repairing roads and $10 million toward protecting Hawaii’s endangered species, 41 of which can be found in Makua Valley.

“The Army recognizes that we have an impact on the community,” he said, “We are trying to change that.”

But many of those in attendance were not satisfied, and voiced concerns over the military turning the area into what they said amounts to a munitions trash heap.

“What you need to do is go back to Kahoolawe and clean it up!” said Shirley Nahoopii of Waianae. “You have not fulfilled your promise to clean up there after you were finished with it! Is Makua going to end up the same way?”

Concerns about the dangers of unexploded ordnances, or UXOs, left over from Army training are widespread in areas surrounding the Makua Valley. That’s why Apple, Inc., is donating more than 300 Apple MacBook computers, each equipped with a unique question-and-answer system, to select public schools.

“The students will be required to answer one question regarding UXOs before signing in,” said Tom Burke of the Hawaii Veteran’s Society, who announced the program at the meeting.

Despite these efforts, some found the program itself, which features a caricatured version of a Native Hawaiian, to be controversial.

“If this is a native, I think it is rather tasteless,” said Johnnie-Mae Perry, a member of the board.

The Army has yet to release a date to resume training in Makua. Another meeting with representatives of the 25th Infantry will announced by the Waianae Coast Neighborhood Board within 60 days.

February 6, 2010February 6, 2010

Researcher warns: Right wing “populist moment” could get worse

Message to the Left: stop whining and organize!

Last night in Honolulu, Chip Berlet, senior researcher of Right wing movements for Political Research Associates and veteran organizer, spoke about the Right wing populism in the U.S. and its current resurgence in the so-called “Tea Party movement” and attacks on President Obama. He described the history of populist moments in the U.S. as volatile and unpredictable. Often these moments could tip either to the Left or the Right depending on which camp is best able to frame the message and organize legitimate anger. He cautioned that the Left dismiss or ridicule Right wing populists at their own peril. The Tea Party movement, like other populist moments, arise from real anger and insecurity about economic and social conditions. However, the Right has tapped this anger and (mis)directed it towards scapegoated groups – Jewish banking conspiracies on the one hand (elite parasites) and immigrants, gays and lesbians, Muslims, and the poor (lazy, sinful, subversive parasites). If this trend continues, he warns, conditions could get much worse, veering towards the abyss of fascism.

Berlet described how Right wing movements typically mobilize fears about losing some form of unfair privilege, whether it be economic, political power or social status. They turn this into a neat rhetorical trick whereby victimizer becomes victim.

The solution, he challenged the audience at the Honolulu Friends Meeting House, is not to make ourselves feel morally superior by dismissing or insulting people who join these movements, which is just a form of retreat, but rather to out organize them. There is no reason why the Left should not be able to build broad coalitions and movements by taking on the real grievances of the people and directing the anger towards more just systemic change.

Regarding the Right wing attacks on Obama and Left wing disappointment, Berlet said that we should “have his back, and kick his butt.” That is challenge racist attacks on Obama, but also protest and push him on progressive issues. Berlet faults the centrist Democratic insiders that surround Obama for insulating him from the upwelling anger rather than making him take on these issues. This has isolated Obama and made him appear aloof and “out of touch” with the struggles of ordinary folk.

He told a story about important lessons from the fight to defeat the anti-gay ballot measure 9 in Oregon in 1992. A Christian right group called the Oregon Citizen’s Alliance put a constitutional amendment on the ballot to make homosexuality illegal in Oregon. Gay rights political heavyweights from national organizations did the polling and concluded that with the support of liberal urban centers of Portland and Eugene, they could defeat the ballot measure. They framed a message that amounted to “smart liberal city folk wouldn’t vote for such an ignorant and bigoted measure”. Basically, the pollsters and spin doctors were calling everyone outside of the cities ignorant red necks. This would have been a disaster. most of the state is rural and fairly culturally conservative. Such an arrogant and short sighted tactical decision would have alienated 80% of the counties and made it impossible to organize for progressive issues for decades.

Instead, progressive organizers pushed the national groups out and decided that their long term success meant organizing on principled unity between a broad coalition of groups, in other words, solidarity. This was tough because there were contradictions and prejudices against gay rights among many constituencies in the state. The organizers decided that it was better to fight in a way that built a grassroots movement based on principled unity and solidarity for the long term and possibly lose at the ballot than to pick the politically expedient tactic to win the ballot measure, but poison the political water for decades – a courageous decision and a heavy burden for the organizers to bear. Ballot Measure 9 was defeated.

Berlet said that the research shows that the best way to win people over and get them to join your group or movement is through face-to-face encounters and respectful, principled dialogue and debate. Sorry, “internet warriors”. The point is not to convert the ideologically consolidated leadership, but rather to win over the people who may have reactionary politics on some issues, but who have not yet hardened in their ideological stance.

He challenged the audience to take risks and build broad coalitions to fight for justice and peace. He shared the story of the White Rose Society to make his point. The White Rose Society was a Catholic student movement in Nazi Germany that courageously educated and organized against Nazism, fully certain that they would be defeated and most certainly killed. But they felt that morally and politically, they had no choice but to resist the fascist tide. The leaders were executed, but they inspired others to resist. And anti-fascist movements grew. The emblem of the white rose has become the international symbol of anti-fascism.

What does all this have to do with demilitarization? If Right wing populism becomes more powerful and virulent, it may one day turn the existing infrastructure and mechanisms of authoritarian rule and military power into a nightmare of state violence. One of the “first principles” of the Tea Party movement is “National Defense”, which includes endless wars, runaway military spending, torture and extraordinary rendition, warrantless spying and other attacks on civil liberties. To rephrase the famous admonition from the radical labor organizer Mother Jones, “Don’t whine, organize!”

Resources for organizers can be downloaded here: http://www.publiceye.org/movement/handouts/berlet.html

Berlet will speak twice on Hawaii island:

Monday, February 8, 2010

2 pm University of Hawai’i – Hilo, UCB115

7 – 9 pm Keaau Community Center

January 14, 2010January 14, 2010

Depleted Uranium: Residents accuse Army of covering up contamination

http://www.westhawaiitoday.com/articles/2010/01/14/local/local02.txt

Residents accuse Army of covering up contamination

DEPLETED URANIUM: ‘The burden should be on the Army’

By NANCY COOK LAUER

WES T HAWAII TODAY

ncook-lauer@westhawaiitoday.com

HILO — Four Hawaii residents charged the U.S. Army with trying to cover up its discovery of depleted uranium and then taking a cavalier attitude about cleaning it up during a five-hour hearing Wednesday before a panel of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The Army is seeking an after-the-fact license to possess the radioactive material that was used in weapons training at Schofield Barracks on Oahu and Pohakuloa Training Area on the Big Island. The DU spotting rounds were used in the 1960s and have been emitting low levels of radiation since.

The Army contends the radiation is too low to pose a safety hazard.

“We’ve been open, transparent and we believe accountable with the steps we have taken,” said Lt. Col. Kent Herring, representing the Army’s Environmental Litigation Division. “The Army has kept the public informed. …There’s no purposeful withholding.”

But the Army’s contention is disputed by the petitioners, Kurtistown resident and peace activist Jim Albertini; Cory Harden, representing the Sierra Club; and two Native Hawaiians: Isaac Harp, of Waimea, and Luwella Leonardi, of Waianae, Oahu.

They say the Army has never proven the radiation is not harming those who live and travel near the military installations and they criticized the Army for sampling less than 1 percent of the 133,000-acre PTA installation off Saddle Road between Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea.

“The burden should be on the Army to prove no harm. The Army says there is no harm because they haven’t looked and don’t want to look,” said Albertini. “A license to possess depleted uranium is a nuclear waste dump.”

The three-member Atomic Safety and Licensing Board grilled the Hawaii residents, Army staff and NRC staffers alike. A decision on whether the petitioners have standing to participate in the license application will be made next month.

The petitioners participated by videoconference from a cramped video booth at the University of Hawaii at Hilo, while the federal officials participated from a Rockville, Md., hearing room.

Both the Army and NRC staff attorneys contend the petitioners didn’t prove they have a right to intervene in the license application process. Just living nearby is not enough, they said. Nor did the residents prove there is greater health risks to them because of the Army’s actions.

“Their claims cannot be entirely speculative,” said NRC staff attorney Kimberly Sexton.

Harp was hesitant to believe the Army’s position that there was no health hazard associated with the DU contamination. He noted that the military has a long history of conducting biological and chemical warfare experiments on the Big Island under code names such as Blue Tango, Yellow Leaf, Green Mist and Tall Timber.

“No one knows how many may have become ill, disabled or died from these experiments because only the military and their partners knew about them,” Harp said.

Harden produced documents showing the government knew about the DU at Schofield as early as 1996, not 2005 as the Army claims.

“I think if it was gold and not radioactivity, I think they would have found a lot more of it,” Harden said.

Even the administrative judges weren’t completely satisfied with the Army’s position that it was using a conservative estimate of how many rounds were even used at the two sites. The Army can account for 714 rounds — containing 299 pounds of DU — shipped to Hawaii. But it doesn’t know if that’s all that was sent to the state, because the records have been lost.

“I’m still troubled by the uncertainty of the numbers,” said Judge Anthony Baratta.

Herring said the Army is not dumping any DU contaminated soil off-site, but it has started collecting some of it into 55-gallon drums that are being stored at Schofield.

And Herring said all live round exercises now under way at the two sites do not fire high explosives into the contaminated areas, but they do use 50-caliber machine guns, spotting rounds that have just enough explosive to create a puff of smoke and 120 mm mortar rounds.

“No high-explosive rounds will be fired into DU areas,” Herring said.

January 13, 2010

AP: Clinton was met by protesters

The AP reported:

Speaking on a hillside terrace at the East-West Center on the campus of the University of Hawaii, Clinton was met upon arrival by a few dozen protesters lining the street and shouting “End the wars!” and hoisting signs demanding that the U.S. withdraw its military forces from Okinawa. None attended the speech.

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http://www.philly.com/philly/wires/ap/news/nation_world/20100112_ap_clintonacceptsjapansdelayonusbasedecision.html

Posted on Tue, Jan. 12, 2010

Clinton accepts Japan’s delay on US base decision

ROBERT BURNS

The Associated Press

HONOLULU – Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday the Obama administration feels assured of Japan’s commitment to a continuing security alliance with the United States, even as Tokyo weighs abandoning a 2006 deal on a U.S. Marine air base.

“The Japanese government has explained the process they are pursuing to reach a resolution” on relocating the Futenma air station, “and we respect that,” she told a news conference after meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada at a Honolulu hotel.

Clinton apparently received no explicit promise from Okada that Japan would not force Futenma off its territory entirely. The U.S. military views Futenma as critical to its strategy for defending not only Japan but also reinforcing allied forces in the event of war on the Korean peninsula.

Okada told reporters that he reiterated his government’s pledge to reach a decision on relocation of Futenma by May. He said Tokyo would determine the future of the air station in a way that would have “minimal impact on the U.S.-Japan alliance.”

In a nod to Japanese sensitivities, Clinton said it was important for the U.S. to maintain its role in contributing to stability in the Asia-Pacific region while keeping in mind the need to reduce the impact of jet noise and other inconveniences to local communities near U.S. bases.

Clinton also delivered a speech designed to clarify the Obama administration’s views on modernizing the groupings of Asian and Pacific nations in ways that would enhance their cooperation on a wide range of issues, including regional security, trade and the environment.

Speaking on a hillside terrace at the East-West Center on the campus of the University of Hawaii, Clinton was met upon arrival by a few dozen protesters lining the street and shouting “End the wars!” and hoisting signs demanding that the U.S. withdraw its military forces from Okinawa. None attended the speech.

Clinton stressed that the first U.S. priority in the Asia-Pacific is to maintain the country-to-country alliances it already has, while exploring ways in which the United States can play a role in any new or reconfigured associations.

“The ultimate purpose of our cooperation should be to dispel suspicions that still exist as artifacts of the region’s turbulent past,” she said.

No country, including the U.S., should dominate in the region, she said. But the role of the United States is irreplaceable, she added.

“We can provide resources and facilitate cooperation in ways that other regional actors cannot replicate, or in some cases are not trusted to do.”

She described the region as a source of potential instability.

“Asia is home not only to rising powers, but also to isolated regimes; not only to long-standing challenges, but also unprecedented threats,” she said.

For decades the main U.S. ties to the Asia-Pacific region have been through security and trade agreements with individual countries, such as the 50-year-old security treaty with Japan that allows the basing of U.S. forces on Japanese territory.

The case of Futenma air station, on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa, has become particularly sensitive. That it must be moved is not in dispute , the two countries signed a deal in 2006 to relocate it on the island. The problem is where to put it. And the U.S. position is that it cannot be shut down until a replacement is established elsewhere on Okinawa , an idea most Okinawans oppose.

A new left-leaning Japanese government that took office in September is reassessing the U.S.-Japan alliance.

It also is investigating agreements long hidden in government files that allowed nuclear-armed U.S. warships to enter Japanese ports, violating a hallowed anti-nuclear principle of postwar Japan. The findings are due out this month.

At her news conference with Okada, Clinton played down the friction over Futenma, stressing the many other areas of long-standing cooperation between the two countries. And she made clear that satisfying U.S. needs for the Marine base is equally in Japan’s own interest.

“We look to our Japanese allies and friends to follow through on their commitments, including on Futenma,” she said. “I know Japan understands and agrees that our security alliance is fundamental to the future of Japan and the region.”

The Hawaiian setting for Tuesday’s meeting, in the 50th year of the U.S.-Japan defense alliance, inevitably stirred memories of darker times. After her session with Okada, Clinton visited the World War II memorial to the sunken USS Arizona, which still lies in Pearl Harbor with its dead. She chatted briefly with two survivors and laid a wreath before a wall containing names of those who died on the ship.

Nearly 2,400 Americans were killed and almost 1,180 injured when Japanese fighters bombed and sank 12 naval vessels and heavily damaged nine others on Dec. 7, 1941. The Arizona, which sank in less than nine minutes after an armor-piercing bomb breached its deck and exploded in the ship’s ammunition magazine, lost 1,177 sailors and Marines. About 340 of its crew members survived.

January 13, 2010January 13, 2010

Clinton: APEC meeting is a chance for Hawai’i to showcase its ‘diversity’

“Diversity”! I guess that’s our cue to bust out the flower shirts and grass skirts. Cliches like “aloha spirit” and “diversity” have been so overused and abused by powerful interests in Hawai’i that they have lost their meaning, become empty, irritating and even dangerous ideas, weapons to be used against the rebellious. When Native Hawaiians express anger at the historical injustices that continue to afflict them, they are scolded: “where’s your aloha spirit?” But when business or politicians want to window dress their event or program, they wrap themselves in the idea of Hawai’i’s mythic “diversity” without having to deal with the messy inequalities, contradictions and conflicts that always simmer below the surface stoked by Hawai’i’s troubled past. APEC will highlight Hawai’i’s dual nature as victim and accomplice of Empire.

Oh, yeah. The following article mentions that a “small group” held a solidarity demonstration. It added to the “diversity” of the event.

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http://www.starbulletin.com/news/20100113_Isles_should_grab_spotlight_Clinton_says.html

SECRETARY OF STATE VISITS HAWAII

Isles should grab spotlight, Clinton says

Next year’s Asia-Pacific forum is a chance to demonstrate the state’s potential, she says

By Susan Essoyan

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Jan 13, 2010

Hawaii has a chance to showcase its diversity and act as a model for the region when it hosts the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum next year, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said yesterday at the East-West Center in Manoa.

“The opportunity for Hawaii, which is such a meeting place for East and West, is just extraordinary,” Clinton said after giving a speech that stressed the need to strengthen regional institutions such as APEC.

The 50th state, Clinton said, can display not only its “culture and the history, but the diversity, the extraordinary mixture of people from across the Asia-Pacific regions.” “Certainly with the values that our country has and the aloha spirit that Hawaii exhibits, this could be a model for the imagination of what could be in the 21st century for many of the countries who will be visiting,” she said.

Clinton spoke on the lanai of the Hawaii Imin International Conference Center, overlooking its picturesque Japanese garden, to an invitation-only audience of about 150 people. Among the guests were East-West Center students, alumni and staff, as well as Gov. Linda Lingle, Mayor Mufi Hannemann, U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka, U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie, former Govs. George Ariyoshi and John Waihee, ambassadors and consuls general.

The East-West Center was chosen as the site for her speech in part because it is marking the 50th anniversary of its founding by Congress in 1960 to strengthen relations among nations of Asia, the Pacific and the United States.

“I think it’s wonderful that we have this opportunity at the very beginning of our anniversary year to have a visit by such an important person,” said Gordon Ring, alumni officer at the East-West Center. “The Asian countries are aware of the East-West Center, but people on the U.S. mainland aren’t as aware of it. I think this really is going to help build our profile in the United States.”

Honolulu is the first stop on Clinton’s Pacific tour, her fourth trip to Asia since becoming the chief U.S. diplomat a year ago. She leaves today for Papua New Guinea. “I don’t think there is any doubt that the United States is back in Asia, but I want to underscore that we are back to stay,” she said.

“We are starting from a simple premise: America’s future is linked to the future of the Asia-Pacific region, and the future of this region depends on America,” Clinton said. She said the United States intends to play an active role, adding with a smile, “I don’t know if half of life is showing up, but I think half of diplomacy is showing up.”

Clinton emphasized the need to make organizations such as APEC and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations more efficient and effective. “No country, including our own,” she added, “should seek to dominate these institutions, but an active and engaged United States is critical to the success of these institutions.”

She highlighted dramatic changes in the region, “from soybeans to satellites, from rural outposts to gleaming mega-cities, from traditional calligraphy to instant messaging and, most importantly, from old hatreds to new partnerships.”

“We believe that Asia’s rise over the past two decades has given the region an opportunity for progress that simply didn’t exist before,” she said. “There is now the possibility for greater regional cooperation, and there is also a greater imperative.”

“APEC has been very focused on trade, which is important, but I am also focused on sustainable prosperity, broadly shared prosperity,” she said in response to a question. “We do not want to see the inequalities of the previous century being replicated among the steel and glass skyscrapers of a new age.”

Across the street, a small group held signs calling for the United States to shut its military bases. “Asia Pacific Vision: Peace,” read one. “U.S. bases out of Guam, Okinawa and Hawaii.”