Category: O’ahu

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Woman vet blames Karl Rove for her husband’s injuries at the Honolulu International Airport

A friend was flying out of the Honolulu International Airport the same day as Karl Rove, and shared this sad-funny story:

Karl Rove was actually in line ahead of us at security at the Honolulu airport… N pointed him out to me – I never would have recognized him, he looked just like any other washed-up sad-looking old white guy – and it seemed odd to me that someone so powerful would be having to stand in line and get searched just like the rest of us. But evidently a woman ahead of us in line had just approached him, asking him if he was Karl Rove. When he told her yes, she proceeded to tell him that her husband had been wounded while serving in Iraq, that she too served in the military, that her husband was now unable to find work, and that she held him (Karl Rove) personally responsible.  She also called him a douche-bag.

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Karl Rove protested in Honolulu

Thanks to World Can’t Wait for photos of the action at the Hilton Hawaiian Village where Karl Rove was speaking to a Republican Party function:

Protesting Karl Rove

Friday afternoon more than 25 protesters lined both sides of the entrance to the Hilton Hawaiian Village where Karl Rove was scheduled to speak at the Hawaii Republican Party’s Lincoln Memorial Dinner. Signs read: “Karl Rove – Wanted for War Crimes,” “Arrest Karl Rove,” and “Stop torture.” Protesters kept up their chanting for almost two hours, echoing off the walls of the 30-story hotel while tourists sipping their drinks looked on from lanais overhead. Several protesters in orange suits and black hoods knelt along the curb. At one point Ann Wright took a bullhorn and did some great agitation exposing Rove’s crimes. A particularly humorous moment was when one elderly tourist told Ann to “grow up” and she quickly retorted by citing her military and state department career –causing him to beat a quick escape.

Republican attendees entering the parking area had to pass within a few feet of the protesters. Some stared straight ahead, refusing to acknowledge the protesters. Many raised their middle fingers and a few even pointed their finger and pretended to pull the trigger. One well-dressed woman draped in leis rolled down her window and yelled “grow up!”. It definitely wasn’t a friendly crowd. However, many tourists and residents stopped to show their support and thanked us or enthusiastically waved from their car windows. A few made exceptionally ugly comments about wanting to “pull thumbnails,” or waterboard us. One shouted: “When we conservatives get the power we’ll just line you up against a wall and shoot you!” Response was extremely polarized.

While the banquet hall itself was on Hilton property and inaccessible to protesters, the entrance was only a short way from the street and attendees couldn’t have missed hearing the chants. Also, two UH students managed to get into the venue to scope it out and reported that the protest was being talked about by people inside.

If Karl Rove expected to escape protesters in Hawai’i he was in for a big surprise. Activists said afterwards that they not only thought THIS protest a great success, but that it was really heartening to know that we had been part of a growing effort to confront these war criminals wherever they go!

To check out some of the other protests that have been meeting these war criminals, be sure to go to www.warcriminalswatch.org. Click on their Facebook to get the latest — including a video of the demo against Rove at Santa Barbara the night before ours. There the students managed to REALLY confront him, causing him to flee the area. Having student fees pay for a talk by Rove on the UC Santa Barbara campus was obviously enough to motivate hundreds of Santa Barbara students to this protest! Following are more pictures of our demo.

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Army to shut road sections

http://www.starbulletin.com/news/hawaiinews/20100228_Army_to_shut_road_sections.html

Army to shut road sections

By Star-Bulletin staff

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Feb 28, 2010

The Army plans to close a portion of Wilikina Drive and Kaukonahua Road next month as it continues to develop an alternate route for its vehicles to travel from Schofield Barracks to Helemano Military Reservation and the Kahuku Training Area, minimizing travel on public roads.

Wilikina Drive will be closed in both directions from the intersection of Kamananui Road to Kaukonahua Road from 1 a.m. tomorrow through 5 p.m. Friday. During the road closures, motorists are advised to use Kaukonahua Road or Kamehameha Highway as alternate routes.

Kaukonahua Road will be closed in both directions from Kamananui Road to Wilikina Drive from 1 a.m. March 8 through 5 p.m. March 12. During the road closures, motorists are advised to use Wilikina Drive or Kamehameha Highway as alternate routes.

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Marine killed in motorcycle crash

Posted on: Sunday, February 28, 2010 http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20100228/NEWS01/2280349/Motorcycle+crash+kills+Marine

Motorcycle crash kills Marine

Advertiser Staff

A Marine stationed at Camp Smith was killed yesterday when the motorcycle he was riding rear-ended a car on H-1 Freeway near Kapolei.

The motorcyclist, a 24-year-old man, was thrown from the motorcycle.

He was pronounced dead at the scene, said Bryan Cheplic, spokesman for the city Emergency Services Department.

According to the Honolulu Police Department’s Vehicular Homicide Division, a 2009 Suzuki motorcycle was traveling west on H-1 just after 4:20 a.m. when it struck a 2006 Suzuki Grand Vitara from behind.

The driver of the car, a 31-year-old man from Kapolei, was taken to an area hospital in serious condition.

Police said speed was a factor in the collision. It is not known whether drugs or alcohol also were involved.

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56th ‘BRAVO’ Nuclear Survivors Remembrance Day

Nuclear Survivors Remembrance Day


bravo

March 1, 2010

56th anniversary of the ‘Bravo’ nuclear blast

Hawaii State Capitol Rotunda

10:00 am – 1:00 pm

All are invited to this solemn commemoration of the ‘Bravo’ nuclear test in remembrance of the survivors of the 67 nuclear blasts conducted by the U.S. in the Marshall Islands between 1946 and 1958. This occasion marks the 56th year since Marshallese people on Rongelap and Utrok atolls were exposed to radioactive fallout from the U.S. hydrogen bomb test code-named ‘Bravo’. Bravo’ was 1000 times more powerful than the A-bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima. The radioactive legacy of the U.S. nuclear tests conducted in the Marshall Islands continues to wreak havoc on the health of Marshallese  people and all Micronesians.

Special invited guests include the Honorable Jurelang Zedkaia, President of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (to be confirmed) and retired UH Professor Beverly Keever, author of News Zero.  Survivors will tell their stories, and allies will share their thoughts.

Coordinated by RMI Consulate Office and ERUB II (Enewetak, Rongelap, Utrok and Bikini, the 4 atolls that were directly impacted by the U.S. military nuclear test program in 1946-1958).

For more information call the RMI Consulate office 808-545-7767, Gloria Heine 808-953-8807 or ERUB II: 808-224-6402

Download the poster for the 56th Nuclear Survivors Remembrance Day

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Solidarity Action Against U.S. Military Buildup in Pacific

Please come out and spread the word to make a statement of solidarity of the peoples of the Pacific against the U.S. military buildup in this region. Mahalo.

PRESS RELEASE

IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 20, 2010

CONTACTS:

Kyle Kajihiro, American Friends Service Committee and DMZ Hawai‘i/Aloha ‘Aina http://www.dmzhawaii.org/ Tel. 808-542-3668, Email: KKajihiro@afsc.org

Kisha Borja-kicho’cho’, Fight for Guahan, Email: fightforguahan@gmail.com, Website: We Are Guahan www.weareguahan.com <http://www.weareguahan.com>

Colonel (Ret.) Ann Wright, Email: microann@yahoo.com Tel. 808-741-1141

NO MILITARY BUILDUP IN THE MARIANA ISLANDS

guam air

WHEN: 9:30AM, Monday, February 22, 2010

WHERE: Main gate of the U.S. Pacific Command, Camp Smith, Aiea, Oahu

On Monday, February 22, 2010, at the front gate of Pacific Command Headquarters at Camp Smith, ‘Aiea, Oahu, a delegation from Guam and the Northern Marianas, joined by students from Okinawa and members of the Hawai’i community including American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) and DMZ Hawai’i / Aloha ‘Aina, will deliver the message to the U.S. Pacific Command that the people of Guam and the Marianas Islands oppose the catastrophic military expansion in their islands.

University of Hawai’i student Kisha Borja-Kicho’cho’, a coordinator for the local organization “Fight for Guahan,” said, “The grassroots voices of our people are being ignored by the military, U.S. politicians and the mainstream media. 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 said that the media has misrepresented the level of support for the military buildup by Guam residents: “The truth is that most do NOT want their island’s population to increase by 25% with 8,000 U.S. Marines and 34,000 Marine families and contractors moving to Guam from Okinawa.”

Borja-Kicho’cho’ and other Guam citizens will place at the front gate of the Pacific Command dramatic photos of unique and pristine areas of Guam that will be seized and destroyed by live fire training and other military activities should the U.S. military build-up take place on Guam.

Dr. Hope Cristobal, a psychologist from Guam, who is featured in the PBS documentary “The Insular Empire: America in the Mariana Islands,” premiering 4pm, Sunday, February 21, 2010 commented: “The Department of Defense plans to have 40% of Guam and become the largest landowner on an island where its citizens have no right to vote for President or Congress because it is an Unincorporated Territory-an occupied land and the occupiers are taking more land.” Dr. Cristobal has testified before the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization.

Retired U.S. Army Reserve Colonel Ann Wright said, “Across the Pacific – in Okinawa, in Guam, in Hawai‘i – people are saying ‘NO’ to military expansion in our 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.”

The U.S. wants to move the controversial Futenma military base to a pristine coral reef area of Okinawa and transfer some Marines from Okinawa to Guam. Okinawans nearly unanimously oppose the relocation of the base within Okinawa. The new Japanese administration is also opposed to a base relocation within Okinawa and wants to renegotiate a base relocation agreement negotiated by the previous Japanese administration.

AFSC Hawai‘i Program Director Kyle Kajihiro said, “We’ve 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. Clean up and give back the lands taken from the peoples in Okinawa, Guam and Hawai‘i.”

President Obama will visit Guam in March on his trip to Indonesia and Australia and will be given a petition from tens of thousands of islanders telling the President they do not want more military in the Mariana Islands.

For more information, please see the following websites:

We Are Guahan:   http://www.weareguahan.com

Peace and Justice for Guam and the Pacific:  http://decolonizeguam.blogspot.com/

DMZ-Hawai‘i/Aloha ‘Aina:   www.dmzhawaii.org

US for Okinawa: http://www.us-for-okinawa.blogspot.com/

Insular Empire:   www.theinsularempire.com

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Marine commander says U.S. troops are a benefit not a burden to Okinawa

The AP reported  (“US Marine general says Okinawa troops not a burden“) that the commander of the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Pacific  argued that the military presence in Okinawa was a blessing, not a burden to the Japanese. 

The U.S. troop presence on Okinawa should not be seen as a burden but as a benefit, a senior Marine Corps general said Friday, despite calls from some Japanese leaders to move a major American base off the crowded southern Japan island.

Lt. Gen. Keith Stalder, commander of the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Pacific, said the more than 13,000 Marines on Okinawa play a key role in securing the region from threats such as North Korea, and said the presence should continue.

“I’m frequently concerned when I hear the word burden used as a description,” Stalder said. “I suggest that it is an obligation under the alliance to do the hosting and basing of U.S. forces. And for that, the government of Japan gets the services of one of the best and biggest militaries in the world.”

Tell that to the Okinawans.   It reveals the arrogance of power that governs US strategy and military policies in the region.   Stalder is based at Camp Smith.   Under his command it is not surprising that the Marines in Hawai’i are trying to redraw the boundaries of the Kanaka Maoli burial sites in Mokapu so that they can build a training facility. It may also explain why the Marines chose to take concrete slabs that contained crushed bone fragments from Kanaka Maoli iwi kupuna and use it as fill for construction projects. 

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Soldier on trial for luring child for sex

http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/Global/story.asp?S=12009156

Trial opens for National Guard member accused of trying to lure child for sex

Posted: Feb 18, 2010 2:54 PM Updated: Feb 18, 2010 9:02 PM

By Minna Sugimoto

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Trial is underway for a Hawaii Air National Guard member accused of using the Internet to solicit a child for sex.

Matthew Lewis, 34, is charged with electronic enticement. If convicted, he faces a mandatory 10-year prison term.

It’s been rare for Hawaii jurors to hear this type of case. In the past, many electronic enticement suspects pleaded guilty. But after the legislature created a stiffer punishment for the crime, more and more cases are going to trial.

Detective Sandi Fujitani’s job is to take down child predators on the Internet. She says she was posing as a 14-year-old girl online, and met Matthew Lewis who was using the screen name ML808.

According to the transcripts in evidence:

ML808: “What kind of underwear would you be wearing?”

Undercover officer: “You want me to wear a thong? I have one.”

ML808: “Ok, what color?”

With the help of a representative from the Attorney General’s office, Fujitani read transcripts of the online conversations she says she had with Lewis. The Hawaii Air National Guard member is accused of soliciting sex from the child.

Undercover officer: “Can we go slowly?”

ML808: “Up to you.”

Undercover officer: “Yeah, I guess I’m kind of scared, nervous.”

Undercover officer: “How do I know you’re not going to hurt me?”

ML808: “I won’t. I just want to have fun.”

Prosecutors say the undercover officer repeatedly told Lewis that she was 14 years old.

ML808: “For a 14-year-old, your typing and grammar are good.”

Undercover officer: “Hello? LOL. What you think, private school.”

Officers arrested the suspect at his mother’s karate school at the Chinatown Cultural Plaza in October 2008. Several days earlier, they say he drove from his Waipahu home to the Zippy’s Restaurant in McCully to meet the girl in person.

“At the time of this meeting, had you ever seen ML808’s face during any of the chats?” Albert Cook, deputy attorney general, asked.

“No, I didn’t,” Fujitani replied.

The defense argues that Lewis never intended to hook up with an underage person for sex. Attorney Harrison Kiehm says his client drove into the Zippy’s parking lot, but quickly left without ever getting out of his car.

“Circled the whole lot, to the rear of Zippy’s, back up the side, went towards the front again, slowly drove past the front of Zippy’s, and then exited,” Fujitani described.

The 34-year-old is expected to testify in his own defense on Friday.

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Ann Wright to speak on Violence Against Women in the Military

Violence Against Women in our Military Community

Join retired US Army Reserve Colonel Ann Wright as she talks about violence against women in the military, military families and women civilian contractors.

Thursday, February 25, 2010, 6:30pm

Location: Quaker Meeting House

2426 O’ahu Avenue, Honolulu,  HI 96822-1967

Sponsored by American Friends Service Committee, Kyle Kajihiro, 542-3668

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Makua panel to air on ‘Olelo

ALOHA  this OHA/OLELO production will be shown on Thursday(s) February 17 and 24th 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.

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