Hawaii Okinawa Alliance: Candlelight Peace Vigil for Okinawa

Sunset Candlelight Peace Vigil for Okinawa

Japanese Consulate Honolulu

Nu`uanu Avenue & Kuakini,

Sunday, April 25, 2010,

6pm

This Sunday in Okinawa, as well as throughout Japan, Washington, D.C. and here in O`ahu, hundreds of thousands of supporters of demilitarizing Okinawa will be rallying to close down Futenma Marine Corps Airstation in the middle of urban Ginowan City, as well as to oppose all further US military base constructions in Okinawa, particularly the proposed port in Henoko Bay. We will be showing our solidarity with the people of Okinawa, as well as all peace-seeking peoples longing for a world without militarism or foreign colonization.

This will be a simple candlelight vigil in front of the Japanese Consulate, at the mentioned intersection. Feel free to bring candles, signs, ribbons, musical instruments, etc. This will not be a “protest” per se, as the Consulate will surely be closed, but rather a simple act of solidarity and fellowship with those rallying in Okinawa. Street parking is available but limited on adjacent streets by park; carpooling or taking bus is recommended. If anything, just come & bring friends and family!

As you may know, US forces invaded Okinawa in 1945 to fight Imperial Japan, and have never left, instead imposing US military bases on approximately 20% of Okinawa Islands best, limited land, and are proposing to build yet more! Former Defense Secretary Rumsfeld described Futenma as one of the most dangerous airfields in the world, surrounded by neighborhoods, schools, hospitals, etc. that have endured the bases for decades, despite promises by the US to close down the outdated facilities. The previous US and Japanese government administrations conspired to relocate Futenma partially in rural, northern Okinawa on pristine reef home to endangered species such as the dugong, and are insisting on this construction particularly by the Obama administration now. The current Japanese Prime Minister, Hatoyama, will be making a decision in May on whether to go forward with the construction despite vehement, majority opposition in Okinawa; thus, this is why the vigils are taking place in Okinawa, with national and international support.

Your support will directly go to the solidarity with the people of Okinawa! Mahalo & may peace reign on Okinawa, Hawai`i, Guam and the 160 nations burdened with foreign US military!

For more info: Jamie @ 728-0062 or email Pete: dok@riseup.net Your ideas, energy, resources, etc. is welcomed!

Pete Shimazaki Doktor, Jamie Oshiro & Rinda Yamashiro

HOA (Hawai`i Okinawa Alliance)

Co-sponsored by American Friends Service Committee-Hawai`i

TO FIND OUT INFORMATION ABOUT OTHER OKINAWA SOLIDARITY ACTIONS AROUND THE WORLD CHECK OUT: http://closethebase.org/2010/04/15/join-us-for-a-rally-in-washington-dc-on-sunday-april-25th/

More info:

http://hoa.seesaa.net/

http://closethebase.org/

http://us-for-okinawa.blogspot.com/

http://www.jca.apc.org/wsf_support/2004doc/WSFJapUSBaseRepoFinalAll.html

April 8, 2010

Chamoru poets to read at UH Manoa

WHAT: I Kareran I Palåbran Måmi (The Journey of Our Words) Poetry Reading

WHO: Chamoru daughters of Guahan and Poets,

Angela T. Hoppe-Cruz (MSW/MA Pacific Islands Studies Candidate) and

Kisha Borja-Kicho`cho` (MA Pacific Island Studies Candidate)

WHERE: University of Hawai`i at Mānoa, Hawaiian Studies Halau o Haumea, 2645 Dole Street

WHEN: Friday, April 9, 2010

TIME: 4:45-8:00 p.m.

We will be reading pieces we have collaborated on as well as our individual poetry. Much of our work centers on the impact U.S. militarization has had on our home island community of Guahan and the Micronesian islands, which is manifest in social, economic, and environmental injustices. Light refreshments will be served. There will also be a facilitated discussion regarding the themes of the poetry. This event will contribute to our portfolio project for the MA Pacific Islands Studies program.

The event is free and open to the public! Please help us spread the word.

March 13, 2010March 14, 2010

Isle Army recruitment trend mirrors nationwide upswing

http://www.starbulletin.com/news/20100314_Isle_Army_recruitment_trend_mirrors_nationwide_upswing.html

Isle Army recruitment trend mirrors nationwide upswing

The poor economy is downplayed as a factor for enlistment gains

By Gregg K. Kakesako

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Mar 14, 2010

For Army recruiters the numbers are up.

“Last year was a banner year for us,” says Maj. Gen. Donald Campbell, head of the U.S. Army Recruiting Command, headquartered at Fort Knox, Ky.

In signing up 93,729 soldiers, Army recruiters recorded 107.1 percent of their goal of 87,500.

In Hawaii the numbers were equally high.

Maj. Brian Blitch, who commands the Honolulu recruiting company, said the 51 active Army and Army Reserve recruiters working out of the federal building surpassed their goal of 658 soldiers by enlisting 675.

Of that number, 481 were signed up for the active Army, while 194 chose the Army Reserve.

So far this year, Army recruiters here are 133 percent ahead of their assigned mission of enlisting 237 new soldiers this quarter.

Campbell, who is completing a two-week tour of the Asia-Pacific area after assuming command 10 months ago, told reporters last week while high unemployment contributes to recruiting, he would rather credit his soldiers and their families for exceeding recruitment goals.

“I don’t like to give the economy a lot of the credit like some of the experts do,” Campbell added. “I give the credit to the noncommissioned officers who are recruiters for us, our Army civilians, contractors and families who tell the Army story and help us recruit.”

Blitch’s company of recruiters in Hawaii ranks sixth out of 244 companies in the Army’s recruiting system.

Besides the economy and the efforts of the recruiters here, Campbell said the “large military presence” in the islands contributes to the success.

“Service to country resonates with young men and women today, and that’s what we are seeing,” he said.

Lt. Col. Rodney Laszlo, professor of military science at the University of Hawaii’s Army ROTC program, said that for the first time in a decade, this year’s commissioning ceremony of 30 new second lieutenants will take place at the Waikiki Shell because the graduating class is so large. The ceremony is May 17. There are actually 40 senior Army ROTC cadets, but some have already been commissioned, he added.

March 11, 2010

Hawaiians, mountain in ‘Avatar’-like struggle

http://www.sacbee.com/2010/03/09/2592650/hawaiians-mountain-in-avatar-like.html

My View: Hawaiians, mountain in ‘Avatar’-like struggle

By Tom Peek

Special to The Bee

Published: Tuesday, Mar. 9, 2010 – 12:00 am

If you’re one of the millions who sat riveted to James Cameron’s blockbuster movie Avatar, you probably sympathized with the indigenous Na’vi when American colonists bulldozed their magical rain forest to mine unobtanium, the prized mineral on Pandora, planet Polyphemus’ moon.

When the corporate/scientific/military confederation “negotiated” with Na’vi elders to quell growing unrest – bearing the usual “community benefits” trinket – you probably groaned. And when the invaders, unable to cajole the natives, bulldozed their Tree of Souls, where guiding ancestors’ voices could be heard, and bombed their giant Hometree dwelling, did your fists clench with rage?

Were you relieved – maybe you even cheered aloud – when the native defenders turned back the invaders before they could destroy their holiest Tree of Souls, connecting place to their deity, Eywa?

If you responded like many people did in the Hawaii theater where I saw Avatar, the answer is probably yes.

It doesn’t take a cultural anthropologist to recognize Avatar’s story line parallels in Hawaii, except that in the movie, ambitious (if sympathetic) biologists rather than Christian missionaries laid the groundwork for business and military interests, using genetically engineered human-Na’vi hybrids to infiltrate the culture. Unlike on Pandora, it took a century of bulldozing Hawaii’s revered places to finally reach native Hawaiians’ holiest spot – 14,000-foot Mauna Kea. Here, too, people connect with ancestors and deities.

Leaving the theater, I bumped into some Hawaiian friends waiting for the next show, a family with deep ancestral roots to Mauna Kea. This got me thinking about the campaign by the University of California and Caltech (allied with University of Hawaii astronomers and pro-business politicians) to bulldoze a pristine plain below the mountain’s already-developed summit cones to add another giant observatory to their science colony – the Thirty Meter Telescope, or TMT.

The California astronomers’ “unobtanium” quest – research papers revealing “the secrets of the universe” and identifying planets beyond our solar system – is certainly more noble than mining minerals, but it’s another example of promoting one culture’s notion of progress by overriding another’s reverence for the land. As in the movie, behind the Mauna Kea invaders stands the big money of a starry-eyed entrepreneur, Intel co-founder and telescope donor Gordon Moore.

For Hawaiians, Mauna Kea’s summit is where their genesis story took place; it’s the burial ground of their most revered ancestors. Hawaiians still conduct traditional spiritual and astronomical ceremonies there, despite the visual and noise intrusions of 20 telescopes crowding the summit. Biologists also revere the mountaintop, home to species found nowhere else on Earth, including plants and insects that rival those in Cameron’s film.

Decades of insensitive development have fueled public anguish over Mauna Kea’s industrialization, replete with weeping elders and young activists gritting their teeth in rising frustration. Two legislative audits lambasted state agencies for collusion with astronomy interests, and two courts ruled against the last UC/Caltech telescope project – the Keck Outriggers – for violating state and federal environmental and cultural laws, one ruling halting the project.

Seeking a peaceful solution to the increasingly polarized controversy, Hawaiians and local Sierra Club leaders met last year in private with TMT board chairman and UC Santa Barbara Chancellor Henry Yang, Caltech President Jean-Lou Chameau and a Moore representative, to implore the Californians to build the TMT at their second-choice site in Chile.

Ignoring all that, TMT officials decided in July to forge ahead with their Mauna Kea plans, pulling out all the stops to get what they desire. But this is America, not Pandora, so instead of enlisting military mercenaries, as in the movie, the Hawaii invaders hired an army of attorneys, lobbyists and planners to put a positive spin on their intrusive project and get around environmental and cultural laws governing the state conservation district where the telescope colony resides.

Hawaiians and environmentalists are again forced to defend in court the state and federal laws designed to protect places like Mauna Kea and native people like the Hawaiians – the same laws the last UC/Caltech project violated.

After spending tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars supporting California astronomers’ fight against the islanders, the University of Hawaii (desirous of sharing TMT’s prestige and precious telescope time), recently asked Hawaii’s legislature for $2.1 million to “ensure” the TMT bid. Local businessmen and politicians are being courted by astronomers – and pressured by powerful members of Hawaii’s congressional delegation – to back a huge project that will bring lucrative construction contracts to the summit.

Last month, the same Hawaii judge who in 2007 halted the previous UC/Caltech project dismissed islanders’ first legal challenge in the TMT battle – while observatory and construction workers picketed his courthouse with pro-TMT signs.

Whether that decision means Hawaii’s judges are now under intense pressure to support TMT is anyone’s guess. But if islanders are prevented from using the legal system to protect their sacred mountaintop, what choices remain for them?

Fortunately, no one is talking about following the Na’vi’s tactic of fierce resistance – aloha is too strong a tradition here.

Even so, peaceful civil disobedience could be just around the corner if islanders’ next day in court is like their last one.

March 11, 2010March 11, 2010

Mordor on Kaua’i?

Thanks to Juan Wilson on Kaua’i for the following post on his blog Island Breath. He compares Navy plans for Nohili, site of the Pacific Missile Range Facility, to Mordor, the land seeking to enslave the rest of humanity in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. Indeed, the military’s objective with missile defense and its other advanced technologies is nothing short of “full spectrum dominance”, which corresponds to the all-seeing eye of Sauron in the Lord of the Rings. There are plans to adopt coastal zone management plans for Nohili which could severely disrupt the marine and coastal environment, cultural practices and recreational activity. See Juan’s post below for information on submitting comments.

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http://islandbreath.blogspot.com/

Navy plans for Mordor

POSTED: 3/10/2010 EDITOR: Juan Wilson

SUBHEAD: The Navy has chosen death over life in the struggle for the future.

Image above: Near Mount Doom sits Mordor with its flaming eye searching the world for anything it can destroy. Composite illustration from GoogleEarth and New Age Cinema images by Juan Wilson. Click to enlarge.

[Editor’s Note: Besides testifying by March 22nd on this issue, you can join us for an antiwar demonstration on Kaujai on Saturday, March 13th – see link for times and places.]

By Juan Wilson on 10 March 2010 –

By now it should be clear to all… the intention of the United States is to turn the entire Earth into a military base for its operations, ensuring the unhindered extraction of resources and wealth from others. If that sounds ridiculous, you might as well stop reading right now and go find what you would rather hear somewhere else.

If you don’t believe me, just follow the trajectory of the plans of the PMRF here on Kauai since 9/11/2001 (this line of research can be expanded to include the basing of the Stryker Brigade in Hawaii and Superferry/JHSV fiasco).

Here on Kauai the 2004 Mana Plain land grab by the Navy gave them control over the 6000 acres of the Mana plain. It set the stage for expansion of several strategic projects that help cement US military domination in the Pacific and will ultimately make billions for a handful of US military contractors (Ratheon, ITT, General Dynamics, etc.).

These new projects will require the design, testing and refinement of new missile systems. New Telecommunications facilities will be needed; new launchpads, new tracking stations, new targets and all the rest that is needed to expand the weaponization of this island.

The plans for the Mana Plain indicate the further erosion of the public’s access to Polihale State Park. There will be times when it will simply be unavailable to the public. There will be security sweeps to make sure of that whenever it is required. If you could avoid being dragged away you might be crushed be the soundwaves of the tests that are envisioned. Below is a detail section from Figure 3.1.1.1.9-1 of the PMRF Intercept Test Support Coastal Zone Management Act Review Document. Note that during test all of Polihale State Park will be subject to at least 92 dbA of sound energy. The southern end of the park could get over 100dbA.

Image above: Detail of Fig. 3.1.1.1.9-1 showing anticipated test sound levels.

This would hardly be anything to worry about compared to the danger of a missile exploding at low altitude over the launch site. The hazardous area surrounding the planned launch site has a 6000 foot and 10,000 foot radius marked on Figure 3.1.1.1.7-1. More than half of Polihale State Park falls within these circles. Below a detail of that figure is reproduced. Note that the area hatched in black vertical lines is the Restrictive Easement area. When this area is activated it will simply cut the State Park off from the rest of the island. Anyone within the area will be extracted.

Image above: Figure 3.1.1.1.7-1 defining the hazard and restricted area created by the planned test facility.

Call it Dr Strangelove, Star Wars, The Death Star, or Mordor. What it comes down to is the cynical investment of all our nation has left in the forces of destruction. Instead to saving the megafauna of the Pacific (whales, dolphins and monk seals), we choose to challenge them. Instead of restoration of the coral reefs and protection of photoplankton in our oceans, we have chosen to to ignore problems that could lead to the death of the oceans.

We in Hawaii are not the only islands being dominated in this way. Guam, and Diego Garcia are totally under the heel of the US military as crucial strategic bases. On Diego Garcia, for their convenience, the Navy even forced all the native people off the island.

It is interesting that the Navy chose as the strategic location for their effort the stretch of land between the Mana Plain to Makaha Ridge (and beyond). Centered there is Polihale. From wikipedia there is this… “This beach has a strong basis in Hawaiian mythology. Polihale means ‘House of the Po’, and Po is the Hawaiian afterworld. Spirits travel to the coastal plain adjacent to the shore, and stay in the temple (heiau) at the end of the beach. From there, they climb the cliffs to the north, jump off into the sea to get to the mythical Po. So strong was this belief that all the homes built on the Mana Plain would have no east facing doors, so that a traveling spirit could not become trapped within.” I don’t imagine the Navy has made that consideration as part of their plans for Barking Sands and Makaha Ridge.

I am not a religious person, and I don’t consider myself superstitious… but Polihale is the at the center of my spiritual life, and has been for many years. I cannot shake off the idea that the Navy and its weapons developers, as well as the GMO corporations and their subcontractors, have bit off more than they can chew with the abominations that they encourage in Mana. Kauai may shake them off like fleas off a dog when the time comes.

Your comment deadline is March 22, 2010.

Federally mandated deadlines require that comments be received by the 22 March 2010. Send comments to Office of Planning, Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.

Planning Office Hawaii DBEDT
P.O. Box 2359, Honolulu, HI 96804
email: jnakagaw@dbedt.hawaii.gov
fax: (808) 587-2899

INFORMATION:
For general information about CZM federal consistency, please call John Nakagawa at 587-2878 or the CZM staff person listed below.

For neighbor islands call toll-free:
Kauai: 274-3141 x72878,
Lanai & Molokai: 468-4644 x72878,
Maui: 984-2400 x72878, or
Hawaii: 974-4000 x72878.

March 2, 2010February 17, 2016

Women’s Rights Groups Urge the Philippines to Rethink Guam Military Buildup Bid

For Immediate Release

Contact: Ellen-Rae Cachola

Women’s Rights Groups Urge the Philippines to Rethink Guam Military Buildup Bid

By Ellen-Rae Cachola and Terry Bautista

March 1, 2010

In his statement to the press, Mayor James Gordon Jr. spoke with nostalgia about U.S. military presence in Olongapo and across the Philippines. He said that for Olongapo, the Guam military buildup represents the “third wave of progress,” and that “first, when the Americans built their bases here, Olongapo became a city. Second, when they left, we were able to convert their facilities into a free port zone. Now, we are going to supply most of their skilled labor.”

But these waves of “progress” have had troubling consequences on the health, environment and safety of communities surrounding U.S. bases, like Olongapo. Women’s organizations in the Philippines have first hand accounts on the adverse affects of US bases in Olongapo and Subic. U.S. bases have led to a rise in sex trafficking, prostitution, and violence against women and children. Women who have worked in the industry say that catering to the bases and “Rest and Recreation” of soldiers were the available jobs. Effects of these industries were sexual exploitation, sexually transmitted diseases and reproductive health issues. Many Amerasian children have not been recognized nor received assistance from their soldier fathers. Also, these bases have left behind toxic pollution that raised serious concerns for long-term environmental and public health. Grassroots groups in the Philippines, including Metro Subic Network and BUKLOD, have worked to address these issues and push for responsibility. But today, the Philippines is tied to U.S. military aid because of treaties like the Visiting Forces Agreement. Now, this third wave of “progress” will heavily impact Guam, a Pacific Island neighbor to the Philippines.

Filipinos and Guam share histories of colonialism under Spain, Japan and the U.S. Both countries have been used for geopolitical strategy, wars, market expansionism, and natural resource extraction. Residents in both countries were recruited into the U.S. military for economic purposes. As Filipinas living in the U.S., we are products of Filipino military servicemen, and workers who were able to gain U.S. citizenship through their labor. Many times, immigrants and refugees come to the U.S., open businesses in poor neighborhoods, and alienate those already residing in these more depressed sections of urban areas. The Philippine nation has incurred so much debt from the World Bank and other development loans, that the pressure to achieve economic independence has been delegated to its individual citizens. What is happening in Guam is like a “frontier” in which previously colonized peoples are able to act as settlers, to participate in the profits of modern development. However, blind complicity to this will silence how people in the Philippines and Guam are actively seeking alternatives to U.S. military and corporate development.

In September 2009, the 7th International Women’s Network Against Militarism (IWNAM) met in Guam, convening women leaders from communities in Australia, Belau, Chuuk, Hawai’i, Japan, Okinawa, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, South Korea and mainland United States to discuss and strategize about the U.S. historic and impending military build up in their countries. The military build up in Guam is to relocate a Marines Base from Okinawa. Lisa Linda Natividad, PhD, says that the history of U.S. military development in Guam has furthered “dispossession of [CHamoru] people from ancestral lands, alarming rates of diseases, environmental contamination and degradation, a segregated school system, suppression of traditional methods in fishing and hunting, and the ongoing deferment of the CHamoru right to self-determination as defined by the United Nations.” People in Guam are now demanding a stop to the military build up because of the ecological, health, cultural and moral impacts that base expansion would have upon an already fragile island ecosystem. The island is only 30 miles long and approximately 5 miles wide. According to Olongapo Mayor James Gordon Jr., about 20,000 workers are needed to build the naval base for 14,200 Marines and their dependents. “Genuine security does not come from military security,” says Sabina Perez of Chamoru organization Famoksaiyan; “it comes from healing and nurturing our communities.”

The Philippines bid to aid the US military buildup of Guam, without reconsidering its negative impacts, turns a blind eye to the history and present day impacts of U.S. military bases in the Philippines. Governments in U.S., Guam and Philippines should support new ways to forge economic development that is not based on exploitation or perpetuating wars. Citizens in these countries are already thinking of alternatives. It is up to governments and leaders in the community to be accountable to their citizenry.

For more info: Contact Ellen-Rae Cachola at ellenraec@yahoo.com or visit Women for Genuine Security, http://www.genuinesecurity.org

__._,_.___

February 28, 2010

Time: The War Within for women in uniform

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1968110,00.html

The War Within

By NANCY GIBBS Monday, Mar. 08, 2010

What does it tell us that female soldiers deployed overseas stop drinking water after 7 p.m. to reduce the odds of being raped if they have to use the bathroom at night? Or that a soldier who was assaulted when she went out for a cigarette was afraid to report it for fear she would be demoted — for having gone out without her weapon? Or that, as Representative Jane Harman puts it, “a female soldier in Iraq is more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire.”

The fight over “Don’t ask, don’t tell” made headlines this winter as an issue of justice and history and the social evolution of our military institutions. We’ve heard much less about another set of hearings in the House Armed Services Committee. Maybe that’s because too many commanders still don’t ask, and too many victims still won’t tell, about the levels of violence endured by women in uniform.

The Pentagon’s latest figures show that nearly 3,000 women were sexually assaulted in fiscal year 2008, up 9% from the year before; among women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, the number rose 25%. When you look at the entire universe of female veterans, close to a third say they were victims of rape or assault while they were serving — twice the rate in the civilian population.

The problem is even worse than that. The Pentagon estimates that 80% to 90% of sexual assaults go unreported, and it’s no wonder. Anonymity is all but impossible; a Government Accountability Office report concluded that most victims stay silent because of “the belief that nothing would be done; fear of ostracism, harassment, or ridicule; and concern that peers would gossip.” More than half feared they would be labeled troublemakers. A civilian who is raped can get confidential, or “privileged,” advice from her doctors, lawyers, victim advocates; the only privilege in the military applies to chaplains. A civilian who knows her assailant has a much better chance of avoiding him than does a soldier at a remote base, where filing charges can be a career killer — not for the assailant but the victim. Women worry that they will be removed from their units for their own “protection” and talk about not wanting to undermine their missions or the cohesion of their units. And then some just do the math: only 8% of cases that are investigated end in prosecution, compared with 40% for civilians arrested for sex crimes. Astonishingly, about 80% of those convicted are honorably discharged nonetheless.

The sense of betrayal runs deep in victims who joined the military to be part of a loyal team pursuing a larger cause; experts liken the trauma to incest and the particular damage done when assault is inflicted by a member of the military “family.” Women are often denied claims for posttraumatic stress caused by the assault if they did not bring charges at the time. There are not nearly enough mental-health professionals in the system to help them. Female vets are four times more likely to be homeless than male vets are, according to the Service Women’s Action Network, and of those, 40% report being victims of sexual assault. (See pictures of an army town coping with PTSD.)

Experts offer many theories for the causes: that military culture is intrinsically violent and hypermasculine, that the military is slow to identify potential risks among raw young recruits, that too many commanders would rather look the other way than acknowledge a breakdown in their units, that it has simply not been made a high enough priority. “A lot of my male colleagues believe that the only thing a general needs to worry about is whether he can win a war,” says Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez of the Armed Services Committee. “People are not taking this seriously. Commanding officers in the field are not understanding how important this is.”

But there are some signs that both Congress and the Pentagon are getting serious about this problem. It is now possible for victims to seek medical treatment without having to report the crime to police or their chain of command. More field hospitals have trained nurse practitioners to treat the victims; more bases have rape kits. “More than ever,” Sanchez says, “I believe that our leadership at the very top is beginning to realize that they need to be proactive.”

According to a report by the Defense Task Force on Sexual Assault in the Military Services, the progress made so far remains “evident, but uneven.” The failure to provide a basic guarantee of safety to women, who now represent 15% of the armed forces, is not just a moral issue, or a morale issue. What does it say if the military can’t or won’t protect the people we ask to protect us?

February 3, 2010March 20, 2010

UPDATED: Rise Up! Roots of Liberation – Youth Camp for Justice and Peace

UPDATE: Thanks to a special gift from the Hawai’i Peoples Fund, we able to offer a $150 stipend to participants who successfully complete the program.

DEADLINE EXTENDED TO MARCH 1st, 2010

youth camp for justice and peace

March 15 – 19, 2010

Camp Kokokahi, Kane’ohe

Who: Youth ages 15 – 19 with a passion for peace, justice and aloha ‘aina.

What: Be Real: Liberate the power of our histories, cultures and identities.

Be the Change: Gain knowledge and skills to help grow our movement for peace & justice.

Connect: Meet other youth who also care about making Hawai’i and the world a better place.

Download the application forms here.

Program eligibility

Youth the ages of 15-19 years old.
Must be self-motivated and able to work well in a team towards a common goal.
Must have the desire to work for justice and peace, protect the environment.

How to apply

1) Complete the application form. Download the application forms here. Have a teacher/adviser complete the recommendation form. Applicants under 18 years of age must also fill out and return a signed parent permission form .

2) Mail, fax or email your completed application packet to:

Mail: American Friends Service Committee -Hawai’i Area Program

Rise Up! Roots of Liberation – Youth for Justice and Peace

Attn: Kyle Kajihiro

2426 O’ahu Avenue

Honolulu, HI 96822

Fax: 808-988-4876

Email: kkajihiro@afsc.org

Video: Send us an online video of your response to the application form. You must still submit signed teacher/adviser recommendation form and if you are under 18 years of age, a parent/legal guardian permission form.

3) DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS EXTENDED: MARCH 1, 2010

This program is FREE. Spaces are limited. Applicants will be selected based on your application packets. We may also call to interview finalists. Applicants will be notified by March 5, 2010 whether they are admitted to the program.

Thanks to a special gift from the Hawai’i Peoples Fund, we are able to offer a $150 stipend to youth participants who successfully complete the program.

For more information: Call 808-988-6266. Email: kkajihiro@afsc.org

January 12, 2010January 13, 2010

Protest greets Hillary Clinton at the East West Center

Angela Hoppe Cruz, a Chamorro student at UH, demonstrates her solidarity against U.S. military bases in Okinawa as well as Guam, her homeland. Photo: Eri Oura

Today in Honolulu, a lively protest outside the East West Center greeted U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who delivered a speech on the U.S. vision for the Asia-Pacific region. Protesters represented a wide range of groups and issues including anti-bases movements in Okinawa, Guam, The Philippines and Hawai’i, Palestinian support groups, peace and anti-war groups and Hawaiian sovereignty groups.

Col. Ann Wright (Retired) and the American Friends Service Committee – Hawai’i called the action with very short notice to send a message to the Obama administration that the peoples of the Asia-Pacific demand peace, not endless war and militarization.

A critical issue for Clinton on this visit was the disagreement between the U.S. and Japan over the fate of U.S. military bases in Okinawa. Earlier in the day, she met with Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada to discuss Futenma air station, but was unable to reach a deal.

The U.S. has urged Japan to stick to an earlier agreement negotiated by the previous Japan and U.S. administrations that would relocate Futenma base to the pristine coral reefs of Henoko, Okinawa, and move thousands of marines and other facilities to Guam. However, the new ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), which recently ended a fifty-year reign by the conservative Liberal Democratic Party, has called for abandoning the agreement and seeking the complete removal of the Futenma base from Okinawa. The Japanese government has delayed its decision on the fate of the Futenma air station. If Futenma were to be moved off of Okinawa, it would most likely be relocated to the American colony of Guam, although the Japanese government has been scouting several of Japan’s smaller off-shore islands as possible relocation sites.

However many of Guam’s indigenous Chamorro people are deeply concerned about the devastating environmental, cultural and social impact of the proposed military expansion. They feel that Chamorro culture would drown in the flood of militarization. Ongoing public hearings on a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed buildup have been packed, with the overwhelming majority opposing the military expansion.

Photo: Eri Oura

Today’s demonstration in Honolulu highlighted solidarity between movements in Hawai’i, Okinawa and Guam and called for a different alternative: the reduction of the U.S. military footprint in the Pacific. This would allow for bases to be removed from Okinawa, without moving the impacts and problems to Guam, Hawai’i or another location.

Kisha Borja-Kicho`cho` and Angela Hoppe Cruz, Chamorro students at the University of Hawai’i, sang a song in their native language. Borja-Kicho’cho’ also recited an angry poem opposed to the military expansion. “We don’t want your military bases!” she said over the bullhorn as Clinton was greeted at the East West Center.

Ann Wright said “We want peace in the Pacific, not more militarization and wars. Get your bases out of the Pacific!”

Prior to Clinton’s arrival, security was thick. Only invited guests were allowed within 100 feet of the Imin Conference Center. However the line of banners and signs were visible to the attendees, and demonstrators chanting “Stop the wars! Bases Out!” echoed between the buildings as Clinton was whisked from her car. The chants continued to disrupt the event until security gave a final warning to the group to turn off the bullhorn.

The main banner read “Asia – Pacific Vision: Peace”, “Bases Out – Guam – Okinawa – Hawai’i”, and “End the Wars.” Another sign out in the shape of the endagered Okinawan Dugong, said “Peace for Okinawa”, “No Bases in Okinawa”, “Save the Dugong” and “Nuchi du Takara” (Life if most precious). Another sign had the outline of Guam with “Asia – Pacific Vision, No Military Build-up”. Groups also held signs opposing the militarization of Hawai’i, calling for an and to the wars and torture, and calling for the U.S. to stop supporting the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories. One demonstrator waved the upside-down Hawaiian flag, a sign of the nation in distress.

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Other coverage of Clinton’s visit and the demonstrations:

Hawaii News Now mentioned the demonstration: “Protestors also showed up. About two dozen people held anti-war signs and chanted to attract attention. They weren’t allowed in to hear the speech.” The full story is here: http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/Global/story.asp?S=11813005

The Honolulu Advertiser coverage of Clinton’s visit is here: http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20100112/BREAKING/100112045/Clinton+reaffims+U.S.-Japan+relations

And here: http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20100112/BREAKING01/100112050/Clinton+pledges+to+strengthen+Asia-Pacific+relationships

The Honolulu Star Bulletin coverage quotes Clinton as she restates the “indispensable nation” thesis:

“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,” she said.

In an AP article published in the Honolulu Star Bulletin, the headline was failure: “Clinton accepts Japan’s delay on US base decision”

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http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE60B5AE20100112

Military base deal eludes Clinton, Okada in Hawaii

HONOLULU

Tue Jan 12, 2010 3:52pm EST

HONOLULU (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada failed to reach a deal on Tuesday on a dispute over a U.S. military base, but pledged not to let it derail the broader relationship.

Clinton, after an 80-minute discussion with Okada in Hawaii, said she had again urged Tokyo to follow through on a deal to relocate the Marines’ Futenma base on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa, but allowed that this could take time to fully resolve.

“This is an issue that we view as very important,” Clinton told a news briefing. “But we are also working on so many other aspects of the global challenges that we face and we are going to continue to do that.”

Okada repeated that the government of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama had pledged to make a final decision about Futenma by May, and remained committed to the broader U.S.-Japan security pact, which marks its 50th anniversary this year.

“We will come up with a conclusion by May so that there will be minimum impact on the Japan-U.S. alliance,” Okada said through a translator.

U.S. officials say relocating Futenma to a less crowded part of Okinawa — rather than off the island as many residents demand — is an important part of a broader realignment of U.S. forces amid China’s rising power and uncertainties over North Korea.

(Reporting by Andrew Quinn; Editing by Eric Walsh)

December 23, 2009December 27, 2009

Protest the War, Torture and Militarism at Obama’s Kailua vacation getaway

World Can’t Wait and other peace groups are calling for a demonstration near President Obama’s winter vacation site in Kailua, O’ahu:

Spread the Word!

Tell Obama what’s on YOUR mind!

Speak Out Against War, Torture and Militarism!

Saturday, December 26

10am

President Obama is scheduled to arrive in Hawai`i on December 23rd and will be staying in Kailua. We urge people to take this opportunity to speak out against the escalation of the war in Afghanistan, the continuation of the U.S. occupation of Iran, torture, support for Israel’s war against the Palestinian people – and the expansion of U.S. militarism everywhere everywhere (including in Hawai`i and Guam). And there are many more issues you may want to speak to!

Where? Kailuana Pl. in Kailua If you’re driving from Honolulu, go across the Pali and through Kailua town to Kalaheo Avenue (you’ll dead end and have to go left or right). Turn left on Kalaheo Avenue. Kailuana is just before Mokapu Blvd and runs along the right side of the canal so if you cross the canal you’ve gone too far. Turn right on Kailuana and go as far as you can. We’ll be at the security check point. From Kaneohe or the H3 take a right turn on to Kalaheo Ave off of Mokapu Blvd, cross over bridge. You’ll probably see police vehicles. Then right after crossing the canal take a left turn onto Kailuana Pl. There will be limited parking because this is a neighborhood. We strongly suggest carpooling. You may have to drop your passengers off near the checkpoint and then go back and park your car in the neighborhood. If you can’t figure out these instructions, just enter Kailuana Place, Kailua, 96734 in mapquest.

BRING SIGNS! We’ll have a limited number of signs against the wars in Afghanistan, the bombing of Pakistan, the occupation of Iraq, torture, and U.S. support for Israel. Bring your own signs with the message you want heard.

There’s a possibility that the plans will change. Today there’s some talk that Obama will delay his Christmas trip until after the health care vote (expected Christmas Eve?). If you have any doubt about whether the protest will happen go to 534-2255.