http:\/\/www.counterpunch.org\/lummis11042008.html November 4, 2008<\/p>\n
Nuchi du Takara<\/p>\n
Full Moon Over Okinawa<\/p>\n
By DOUG LUMMIS<\/p>\n
The Tenth Annual Okinawa Full Moon Festival will be held at Sedake Beach, northern Okinawa, November 8 and 9.\u00a0 This is a festival of traditional, folk, and rock music in protest of \u2013 or better, in celebration of the opposition to \u2013 the construction of a new US Marine Corps helipad nearby.<\/p>\n
The helipad, designed to be home to the Marines\u2019 accident-prone Osprey, is to be built by filling in a part of the pristine Oura Bay which is, among other things, the northernmost habitat for the endangered mammal, the Dugong.<\/p>\n
The local fisherfolks, with some outside help, have carried on a continuous protest sit-in officially since 2004, and in fact from some time before that.\u00a0 They have also been going out day after day in sea-kayaks and small boats, getting in the way of survey boats and divers, and doing whatever they (legally) can to interfere with and slow down the process.\u00a0 The strategy has been exhausting and dangerous, but effective: construction is way behind schedule.<\/p>\n
The annual festival is held on full moon night partly to overcome the isolation of this Okinawan movement.\u00a0 The full moon, the sponsors say, happens everywhere.\u00a0 So people in any country, in any hemisphere, can participate in the festival.<\/p>\n
They would like to ask you to step outside your door one of those evenings \u2013 if with a few friends, better yet! \u2013 look at the moon, think about the music festival going on in Okinawa, think about Okinawa\u2019s long, hard history, and the people\u2019s belief in the principle, Nuchi du Takara: Life is the Treasure.<\/p>\n
And if you think you are likely to do that, they would appreciate it very much if you send them a message of solidarity in advance.\u00a0 They already have promises from South Korea, the Philippines, Hawaii, Guam, and a number of cities in mainland Japan.\u00a0 If you send a message to them, they will probably read it out at the Festival.<\/p>\n
TEL\/FAX:\u00a0 +81-98-055-8587
\nHome Page:\u00a0 http:\/\/mangetsumatsuri.ti-da.net\/
\ne-mail; claphands2@yahoo.co.jp<\/p>\n
Doug Lummis<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
http:\/\/www.counterpunch.org\/lummis11042008.html November 4, 2008 Nuchi du Takara Full Moon Over Okinawa By DOUG LUMMIS The Tenth Annual Okinawa Full Moon Festival will be held at Sedake Beach, northern Okinawa, November 8 and 9.\u00a0 This is a festival of traditional, folk, and rock music in protest of \u2013 or better, in celebration of the opposition to … <\/p>\n