WVWS on Norwegian Press on RIMPAC


http://www.aftenposten.no/nyheter/uriks/Selv-om-vi-er-gode-pa-cocktailpartyer_-er-vi-forst-og-fremst-en-krigsmaskin-7626822.html#.U9XdfIWBi9x

TRANSLATION (from Google Translate) 
  "Although we are good at cocktail parties, we are first and foremost a war machine '

HONOLULU (Aftenposten): The Norwegian frigate "Fridtjof Nansen" has risen far the river delta in the world's largest naval exerci
se.

KRISTOFFER RØNNE BERG Evening Post's correspondent in the United States
Oppdatert: 04.jul. 2014 13:09
Admiral Harry Harris mysteries mot sun and sighed low to fremmøtte journalistene on the quay at Pearl Harbor.

- Dere vet, leaders are welcome y asking the questions will leaders want, and we have to answer them as best we can. But reach, we tatt six U.S. hittil and they have all been about China. The 20 other country will take part in this exercise, said Harris in a voice that was both mild and severe at the same time.

But the admiral does not stream to prevent China takes most part av oppmerksomheten when Rimpac, the world's largest naval exercise, reach will be launched.

It is the first time the Chinese will take part in the exercise, as the country's official bodies lenge has Ansett as a tiltak directed at their own ambisjoner in East Asia. To reach China takes part in the US-led exercise interpreted in the U.S. as be an important skritt in riktig direction to cut emissions spenningen who oppstått-operation between the Chinese and a number of other countries in this part of the Nordic world.
Fornøyd Søreide But Harris's right - there are many other countries that are included. India, Japan, Brunei, Chile and Australia are among those who have made the trip to Pearl Harbor.

And for the first time is also the Norwegian Navy represented. As the only European countries, Norway has sent a vessel all the way to the other side of the earth.

- It be noted, says Defence Ine Eriksen Søreide, who attended the opening of the navy exercise this week.

She says that the Norwegian frigate "Fridtjof Nansen" is sent to Hawaii both to gain practical experience at a level and scale that never occurs in Europe.

- But it is also a vital national security element here. We have long wanted to take Americans' attention increasingly to our region in the north. And then it's important that we can show them that we are willing to accept our share of the collective burden distribution, not only through budgets, but also by participating in geographical areas that are important to Americans, she said.
Changes attention

Admiral Harris told Aftenposten that he totally agrees.

- What is happening in the Pacific are important for Europe and what is happening in the Arctic is of importance to us here in the Pacific, he said.

Since 2011, the U.S. government made it clear that they want to focus increasingly on Asia, which has been Norway and other NATO countries to realize that the alliance with the Americans no longer something we can take for granted.

Both Søreide and Chief Haakon Bruun-Hanssen is pleased that the Chinese also participate this year. - We are very easy to point to China as an adversary. But because we want to have stability in the Pacific region. We wish you this should not evolve into an area with a military arms race, but rather an area where there is cooperation, says defense chief.

Monday invited the Norwegians to receiving the "Fridtjof Nansen". The menu was whale meat, cured meat, smoked salmon and other specialties. And among the many white-clad guests were Zhao Xiaogang, commander of the four Chinese ships participating.

- He was very nice and for contact. He said he was happy to be invited and that he wanted me to take a trip on board to him, which I intend to do, says Commanding Officer Per Rostad on the Norwegian frigate.
- Norway should have stayed home

He agrees that exercise offers a unique training opportunity for the crew. In addition, they show off the Norwegian technology in the form of NSM missile, to be launched on 10 July in the hope that some of the housemates will flock to the King's customer list.

- Although we are good at cocktail parties and receptions and stuff, so we are first and foremost a war machine, said Rostad.

This point is Kim Compoc very aware of. She was born and raised in Honolulu and strongly dislikes the 25,000 naval personnel are gathered in his home town.

- This illustrates the militarization of our society, which we must put an end to. The main purpose of this exercise is that the defense industry wants to make more money. Moreover, this is an environmental disaster. Does anyone think of the carbon footprint of this exercise creates? I wish Norway and the other countries had remained at home, says Compoc, which has strongly involved in the case through the organization Women Voices, Women Speak.

Follow Chris on Rønneberg Correspondent The World

Statement by Womenʻs Voices, Women Speak Kollin Elderts March


July 11, 2014

We are Womenʻs Voices, Women Speak and we are here today to express our support for the family of Kollin Elderts. It is with heavy hearts that we deliver this statement. We know that their grief has surely not lessened since that horrible night in November 2011 when this precious young person was brutally murdered. No amount of solidarity will bring back this son, brother, cousin, friend. Nevertheless, we know that at times like these, we must let this family know that they do not grieve alone. This Kanaka Maoli family does not walk to that American courthouse alone. As a compassionate community, we walk with this family today, encircling them with the care and protection of our bodies, protection we could not offer to dear Kollin that night Christopher Deedy took his life away.

Our friends at the Parents of Murdered Children recently reminded us that once your family has been impacted by deadly violence like this, you never feel secure again. Imagine that? To never feel secure again. That is how it feels when your child is murdered. Now imagine that it is the government – this illegal occupying government - who did the killing, and now that same government refuses to call it murder.

As we march today, we know very little can make things better for the Eldertsʻ family. But unfortunately, we are reminded that there are many things that can make it worse. And going through two trials is surely making things worse. Having Christopher Deedy still on the job and with his badge and carrying this gun is making things worse. And having to listen to media and the defense team make disparaging remarks about Kollin is making things worse.

Why was Christopher Deedy not tested for drugs and alcohol? Apparently, as a special agent, he could refuse to do so! He also had the good fortune of being alive to tell the tale. Poor Kollin, on the other hand, is subject to any number of allegations about his behavior that night, but he is no longer here to defend himself. This is a violation of his basic human rights and dignity. While we are outraged by his murder, we are also outraged by the way he is now bombarded with these insults against his character.

We are an organization that stands for “genuine security.” What does that mean to us? It means that we believe quality food, water, housing, and education are the highest priorities for human beings to feel safe and secure in a genuine way. We also believe that people’s fundamental human dignity should be honored and cultural identities respected. We are an organization that stands up against militarism, and any notion that the US military is a “natural” presence here.

The APEC conference represents the opposite of these priorities. They represent the 1%, the mega-rich, the corporations, those with the money to protect their assets and their agenda. And sure enough, a militarized police force was hired at great expense - at our expense - to protect their agenda. With Christopher Deedyʻs help, they knew they could aim their guns at anyone suspected of getting in their way and shoot with impunity. Many of us did not know how serious they were about this agenda until they took Kollin away from us.

Why is it important to think about security? Because this government commits these heinous acts in the name of “national security” or “regional security” or “public safety” – and they depend on us not to complain or protest or call them out on their lies. But we are here to let them know we demand Justice for Kollin Elderts! We demand genuine security, genuine peace and genuine sovereignty for our families, our communities, and our precious island home.

Mahalo and mālama pono.

"We Need To Ask Hard Questions About RIMPAC" en español


We Need To Ask Hard Questions About RIMPAC

By Kim Compoc and Shelley Muneoka

"We need to ask hard questions about the environmental cost of 48 ships, six submarines, and hundreds of aircraft invading our shores. What is the carbon footprint of RIMPACʻs live-fire training, sunken ships, explosive ordnance disposal, and expended fuel? What are the impacts on the military personnel who are exposed to such toxins every day?"

http://hawaiiindependent.net/story/we-need-to-ask-hard-questions-about-rimpac

Support HB 1775, support real security for Hawai’i!

People Over Profits Rally 
Hawai’i State Capitol
1/29/2014

By Khara Jabola Carolus

Imagine an American-controlled city on an island in the Pacific Ocean. Here the trees are black and the mountains are flat, barges of trash from Japan are dumped into the central bay, people have to rally for breathable air, and the capitol is so congested that drivers spend an average of 1,000 hours a year stuck in traffic. Here journalists are slaughtered for their words, entire villages are wiped out by hurricanes that exceed all weather scales, and the government is the country’s largest human trafficker. Here, if you’re like me, the daughter of a former American serviceman and a Filipino woman, your whiteness is your mother’s scarlet letter because people will always wonder if she’s your nanny, a mail-order-bride or what the American soldiers called a “LBFM PBR” --- that is, a Little Brown Fucking Machine Powered By Rice.

Thankfully, these islands are not Hawai’i. Unfortunately, they are real. They’re the Philippines today.

Hawai’i is connected to the Philippines by its history of conquest and because the militarization of our everyday lives is connected to the U.S. imperialist project abroad. I’m here to talk today about people to people solidarity and the next wave of militarization in Hawai’i.

The future of Hawai’i is above us. In fact, 2014 has been dubbed “the year of the drone” for Hawai’i. Drones can be used for a myriad of applications such as invasive species control, search and rescue, and even pizza delivery but we must fully examine the policies and stakeholders behind the push for domestic drone use. The benefit to society is undeniable but the threat is also enormous.

This past December, without the people’s input or consent, Hawai’i was approved as a drone testing site for the Federal Aviation Administration’s drone program, which will integrate drones into our airspace by 2015. The Electronic Frontier Foundation anticipates that 30,000 drones will be flying inside the U.S. by 2020 as a result of the opening of airspace through the FAA test program. On the mainland U.S., it is now common practice for federal agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security to loan Predator drones to state and local law enforcement for everyday crime prevention. In the past three years, it has loaned out Predator drones at least 700 times. One such loan was used for the first drone-assisted arrest in 2011. Note that this Predator-assisted arrest targeted the political activity of individuals perceived as threats to the status quo.

The Predator drone is the infamous hunter/killer model used to terrorize our brothers and sisters living through the horror of U.S.-led wars in the Philippines, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen.
The U.S. Congress estimates that ten to thirty percent of drone casualties abroad are innocent civilians. One Pakistani child recently testified before U.S. Congress: “Now I prefer cloudy days because the drones don’t fly. When the sky brightens and becomes blue, the drones return and so does the fear."

The push for domestic drone use is being driven by a campaign to rid the U.S. of drugs and unauthorized economic refugees crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. This supposedly contributes to the security of our communities.

In Hawai’i we know all too well that expanded law enforcement means increased incarceration and increased insecurity for our communities. If Hawai’i was an independent country, it would be the 5th largest jailer in the world. Native Hawaiians and Filipinos account for over half of those imprisoned in Hawai’i, most for drug-related offenses. The number of incarcerated women in Hawai’i is double the national number and women are the fastest growing segment of prison populations in every state under U.S. control. One third of these women are incarcerated for drug offenses.

Militarized  law enforcement is not a solution to substance abuse--- which is a public health problem, nor is it a solution to poverty, houselessness, lack of education, and other so-called aggravating factors for criminal activity. Militarization will never bring genuine security to Hawaii and drones are a wasteful giveaway of taxpayers dollars to defense contractors. To reject drone surveillance is to reject the fiction that the only way for our economy to thrive is by fomenting wars and developing war industries.

Currently, there are no laws protecting us from drone surveillance by law enforcement. This Legislative session there are a number of drone bills but HB 1775 is where the protection of Hawai’i’s high standard of privacy, the protection of economic refugees, and the fight for indigenous self-determination intersect.

• It restricts law enforcement use of drones to emergency and lifesaving situations
• It bans drone collected evidence from state courts to preempt backdoor collusion x fed’l
agencies and state law enforcement)
• It bans weaponization of drones
• And it sets up a robust reporting regime that keep legislators and the public engaged

Join me in saying no to economic dependence on unsustainable industries that profit from the stolen land and labor of other island people.
No militarized policing!
No mass surveillance!
No mass incarceration!

Support HB 1775, support real security for Hawai’i!

Okinawa’s Revolt: Decades of Rape, Environmental Harm by U.S. Military Spur Residents to Rise Up

"Nearly 70 years ago the United States took over the Japanese island of Okinawa after one of the bloodiest battles of World War II. More than 200,000 people died, mostly Japanese civilians. Today the United States operates 34 bases on the island and is planning to build a new state-of-the-art Marine base, despite mass protests. A multi-decade movement of Okinawa residents has pushed for ousting U.S. forces off the island, citing environmental concerns and sexual assaults by U.S. soldiers on local residents. Broadcasting from Tokyo, we are joined by two guests: Kozue Akibayashi, a professor and activist in Japan with the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom and the Women’s International Network Against Militarism; and John Junkerman, a documentary filmmaker currently working on a film about U.S. military bases in Okinawa."

View Video and read more on Democracy Now: 

http://www.democracynow.org/2014/1/16/okinawas_revolt_decades_of_rape_environmental

Article from Star Advertiser: "State expanding outreach" to improve isle military facilities

"A new airstrip at Pohakuloa Training Area on Hawaii island, a return to live-fire training at Makua Valley on Oahu, a strong state-military-business partnership, and military "liasons" in Hawaii and Washington, D.C. are being pursued as the state seeks to maintain $8.8 billion in annual military expenditures amid defense budget cuts." - Star Advertiser, January 8, 2014

http://www.staradvertiser.com/s?action=login&f=y&id=239223231&id=239223231