Showing posts with label Hawaii. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hawaii. Show all posts
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 exercise.
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
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
"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!
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!
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
http://www.staradvertiser.com/s?action=login&f=y&id=239223231&id=239223231
Seeds Planted in 2013; Cultivate Dreams for 2014.
Women
from Hawaii have been participating in the International Women's Network
Against Militarism (IWNAM) meetings for 9 years now. This network has existed since 1997, or for
16 years.
This
past November 2013,Terri Kekoʻolani, Kim Kuʻulei Birnie and Ellen-Rae
Cachola, attended the internal meeting of the International Women's Network
Against Militarism in Baguio, Philippines.
Women from Puerto Rico, U.S., Hawaiʻi, Guahan, Philippines, Okinawa, and
South Korea were in attendance. We
clarified our vision, mission, goals, developed our leadership structure and
activated working group committees.
Some
of the issues we discussed were the use of the Pagan Island for live-fire
training by the U.S. Department of Defense, and the return of the U.S. Navy to
Subic Bay Naval Base, as well as the projected development of a new naval base in Oyster
Bay, Palawan, Philippines.
Women from Hawaii reported on the presence of the
military in Hawaii as a continuation of colonization. The expansion of the
Pohakuloa Army training base, Ospreys in Mokapu, and Aegis Missile System in
Kauai are just some of the facilities that contextualize why there is
increasing Hawaiian houselessness, military housing subsidies, military vehicle
accidents, violence against women/LGBT and military recruitment in the schools.
We
also talked about how our resistance is based on values of
decolonization,
or empowering communities to reclaim their culture and their
relationship to
the land to protect one another from perpetual militarism and violence.
We have done
this through participation in the AHA Wahine conference, delegation
report backs after the 2012 network
meeting, submission of a letter of appeal to Hawaiian representatives
attending the UNESCO World Conservation in Jeju, production of a
Passionista
Fashion Show, support for legal and cultural work to reclaim Makua and
Kahoolawe, development of the Peace and Justice Crew at Farrington High
School, and presentation of our film.
Often, it is
easier to talk about security issues happening "over there," but our
goal is to continue to talk about security here at home. On
October 26, 2013 and December 29, 2013 we
screened the film, Living Along the Fenceline, on two occasions. First, to educate people on the
relationship of militarism to domestic violence. Second, to talk about militarism and colonization.
This
year, we have created ways people can practically participate
in the movement for genuine security, through supporting and
participating in our international research, education, campaigns,
finance
and communication committees. But more than just busy work, we use this
film as
an organizing tool to raise community discussion on how people see
militarism pervade their lives, and what
they are willing to do to make a change.
Let us know if you’d like to have the film screened in
your community, or to collaborate in other ways, by commenting here or on our Facebook page.
We
are embarking on a journey to make the topic of ending militarism
relevant to the various communities that we come from, so that we can
come to
meaningful conversation with each another and build relationships; so we
can
have a stronger reach beyond ourselves. Together we can be that critical
mass to let those who govern us know--we are ready for peace and
justice. We are not going to wait for someone to give it to us.
Living Along the Fenceline, filmscreening & dialogue
Womens
Voices, Women Speak invites you to a screening of the award-winning
documentary "Living Along the Fenceline," as part of DVAC's Domestic
Violence Awareness Month programming series.
Friday Oct 25, 2013
6-8pm
The Arts at Marks Garage
1159 Nuʻuanu Ave
Featuring stories of women in Hawai'i, Guam, Philippines, Okinawa, Texas, Vieques and South Korea, this film highlights how the culture of violence in the military infuses daily life around the bases. But in women's resistance to violence, alternative ideas of peace and genuine security continue to emerge.
The film has won Best Feature Documentary, Toronto Female Eye Film Festival 2013, and has been shown at the Guam-USA International Film Festival, and Jeju Women's Film Festival. More information on the film, see http://www.alongthefenceline.com/
Brandy Nalani McDougall, Native Hawaiian poet and scholar, will open the screening with her powerful poetry, so plan to arrive early!
*Post-film discussion
*Live additions to the Passionista! Real Kine Security Blanket
*Tabling by organizations engaged in local genuine security efforts
Sponsored by Womens Voices, Women Speak, International Women's Network Against Militarism, Hawaiʻi Women in Filmmaking, Domestic Violence Action Center, Filipino Law Students Association,Oceania Rising, and Hawai'i Peace and Justice.
Learning together builds movement - please share with your friends and family!
Friday Oct 25, 2013
6-8pm
The Arts at Marks Garage
1159 Nuʻuanu Ave
Featuring stories of women in Hawai'i, Guam, Philippines, Okinawa, Texas, Vieques and South Korea, this film highlights how the culture of violence in the military infuses daily life around the bases. But in women's resistance to violence, alternative ideas of peace and genuine security continue to emerge.
The film has won Best Feature Documentary, Toronto Female Eye Film Festival 2013, and has been shown at the Guam-USA International Film Festival, and Jeju Women's Film Festival. More information on the film, see http://www.alongthefenceline.com/
Brandy Nalani McDougall, Native Hawaiian poet and scholar, will open the screening with her powerful poetry, so plan to arrive early!
*Post-film discussion
*Live additions to the Passionista! Real Kine Security Blanket
*Tabling by organizations engaged in local genuine security efforts
Sponsored by Womens Voices, Women Speak, International Women's Network Against Militarism, Hawaiʻi Women in Filmmaking, Domestic Violence Action Center, Filipino Law Students Association,Oceania Rising, and Hawai'i Peace and Justice.
Learning together builds movement - please share with your friends and family!
De-Militarize Hawaii
Opinion-Editorial by hauMĀNA - originally published in Honolulu Civil Beat
http://www.civilbeat.com/posts/2012/09/28/17257-de-militarize-hawaii/
De-Militarize Hawaii
If you’ve heard the long, blaring commercials, the mountain-rattling roar of fighter jet engines and perhaps even the practice blasts of simulated bombings and the “wall of fire” over the past weeks then you are likely aware that the annual Blue Angels air show is this Saturday at Kāneʻohe Marine Corp Base (KMCB).
Colonel Brian Annicharico, the Commanding Officer at Marine Corps Base Hawaiʻi describes the airshow as “A myriad of professional, civilian and military aerobatic demonstrations as well as military static displays.” But for many of us who call Hawaiʻi home, the upcoming air show is so much more than a “demonstration of aerobatics.”
Rather, it is a stark reminder of how military power in Hawaiʻi has heavily impacted our history, our land, and our people.
For many Kānaka Maoli, this blatant display of U.S. military might triggers the collective memory of our people to recall the landing of U.S. Marines in Honolulu on January 16th, 1893 to assist in the overthrow our beloved Queen, Liliʻuokalani. This military power that suppressed freedom of speech and protest against the overthrow of our Queen, is the same military power that continues to occupy the lands and minds of our people here in Hawaiʻi today.
Hawaiʻi’s value to the U.S. was, and continues to be, measured in its strategic usefulness as a military outpost and training ground. Since the 1893 landing of U.S. Marines in Honolulu, military presence and power in Hawaiʻi has grown exponentially. Currently, the military controls nearly 240,000 acres of land in our islands, upon which 161 military installations are housed. On Oʻahu alone, the military controls over 85,000 acres, or approximately 22 percent of the island’s entire land mass. This has contributed to a multitude of environmental and social justice issues across our ʻāina, including, but not limited to the contamination of our land and water resources with unexploded ordinances and depleted uranium.
For those of us who trace our genealogies back to the land and seas of Hawaiʻi, it is extremely problematic and painful to witness the military’s continued exploitation of these ancestors of ours for their live-fire training exercises. In this sense, the air show on Saturday with all its aerobatic displays, simulated bombings and walls of fire is more than just a reminder of the physical impacts of the military in Hawai’i but is also symbolic of an extreme power divide that renders those who are genealogically connected to this ʻāina, virtually powerless.
But powerless we are not. Throughout history, people whose only weapon in hand is aloha for their ʻāina have united in great numbers, and have indeed made great strides towards global peace and justice. Our own history tells the story of a group of people who united, struggled and succeeded in stopping the U.S. Navy’s bombing of Kahoʻolawe. The fight for land and culture that allows people and places to thrive continues. Merely three weeks ago, 100,000 people in Okinawa and 10,000 people in Japan gathered in protest of the arrival of twelve MV-22 Osprey aircraft, expressing serious concerns over the safety and well-being of their people.  Currently, the U.S. military is proposing to station 24 MV-22 Osprey aircraft to train over the densely populated area of Koʻolaupoko, Oʻahu, and on our sacred Mauna a Wākea at the Pōhakuloa Training Area on Hawaiʻi island. This is double the number of aircraft that Japan is protesting against. Building a movement and strengthened voice focused on love for the land, aloha ʻāina, is absolutely critical to curbing the continuation of military expansion in Hawaiʻi, which will only work to consume the economic, environmental, and social values of this, our home.
This Saturday a group of students and community members will gather at the intersection of Likelike and Kamehameha Highway between 8 and 9am to demonstrate our solidarity with those who envision an independent and de-militarized Hawaiʻi whose lands, traditions, natural resources, people and deities are respected, allowed to flourish, and are protected from exploitation as training grounds for U.S. military activities around the world.
We will give space and voice to a message of Aloha ʻĀina in opposition to one that works to normalize the exploitation of land and people through the glorification of war and violence. We also stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters from Okinawa, Japan, Guam and others from around the great Pacific, who are currently engaged in resistance efforts against military expansion in their own countries.
Ours is a message of peace and it is with a deep and intimate sense of aloha for our ʻāina that we stand here today, steadfast in our opposition to any and all actions that compromise the well-being of our ʻāina and our people - past, present, and future. We invite you to join us in doing the same.
Me ke aloha ʻāina, hauMĀNA Student Movement For Aloha No Ka Aina
Noʻeau Peralto, Hawaiian Studies
ʻIlima Long, Hawaiian Studies
Kaiwipuni Lipe, College of Education
Eric Tong, Oceanography
David Kealiʻi MacKenzie, Library & Information Science, Center For Pacific Island Studies
Meghan Leialoha Au, Hawaiian Studies
Waianuhea Walk, Hawaiian Studies, Hawaiian Language
Pūlama Long, Hawaiian Language
Eri Oura, alumni, Political Science
Ileana Haunani Rueles, Sociology
Elise Leimomi Davis, Public Health
Ka'ano'i Walk, Hawaiian Language
About the author: hauMĀNA is the UH student branch of Movement For Aloha No Ka Aina (MANA), a Hawaiian Independence Movement-building organization established to achieve independence and social justice through direct action, political education, economic development, international diplomacy, and public advocacy, with a cultural and spiritual foundation.
Protest in Solidarity with Gangjeong Villagers (Korean Consulate, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi)
Yesterday, 6 September 2012, Hawaiʻi Peace & Justice organized a protest in front of the Korean Consulate in Honolulu. This protest was organized in SOLIDARITY with the Gangjeong villagers of Jeju island who are fighting against naval base construction -- read more about this at www.savejejunow.org and read Womenʻs Voices Women Speakʻs request for solidarity at http://wvws808.blogspot.com/2012/09/solidarity-requested-of-hawaii.html
CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE
Soo Sun (in the black) is talking to the Korean consul general --- NO NAVAL BASE ON JEJU ISLAND!
Korean Consul General
Soo Sun of Hawaiʻi Peace & Justice made these awesome cardboard costumes -- Steve rocked the red crab outfit!
Thatʻs a Samsung bulldozer threatening the livelihoods of all of these wonderous creatures of Jeju island
Iksoo sporting the fish! see the tear drop? naval base construction is destroying the habitats of all these rare marine animals!
Renie letting the Pali Hwy commuters know why we were there!
To the Delegates of the World Conservation Congress (from Hawaiʻi Peace & Justice)
CLICK ON THE IMAGES TO ENLARGE
WVWS Presents... Community Report Back 2012
With the support of our community, Women's Voices, Women's Speak and Hawaiʻi Peace & Justice were able to send a delegation of four women from Hawaiʻi to the 8th meeting of the International Women's Network Against Militarism held on the islands of Puerto Rico and Vieques in February. The delegation will be sharing their experiences and the information gathered at this week long meeting. Please join us and be part of the conversation to address the growing issue of militarism through the lens of women in Hawaiʻi. Come prepared to learn and share as this is an open space for dialogue.
2012 Delegates: Terri Kekoʻolani, Elise Davis, Kim Kuʻulei Birnie, & Eri Oura
This event is a pre-event to the Umematsu & Yasu Watada Lecture Series on Peace, Social Justice & the Environment.
For more information, email Eri Oura at eriola808@gmail.com.
Mahalo nui!
COMPLETE PRESS PACKAGE AVAILABLE AT: https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B-K0TmHJlFSUU19WaGk2WUZzeWM
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Official Press Release for the event.
WOMEN’S VOICES WOMEN SPEAK
C/O HAWAI‘I PEACE & JUSTICE
2426 O‘AHU AVENUE
HONOLULU HI 96822
WVWS808.BLOGSPOT.COM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 21, 2012
Contact: Terri Keko‘olani 808-227-1621
Eri Oura 808-542-0348 eriola@gmail.com
Hawai‘i Women Share Experiences from Puerto Rico (Honolulu, O‘ahu). Four Hawai‘i women returned home recently after meeting with other members of the International Women’s Network Against Militarism (IWNAM) at the organization’s 8th annual meeting in Puerto Rico. They will share their experiences with the community Friday evening, June 1, 6:00 PM at the Church of the Crossroads in Honolulu.
The International Women’s Network Against Militarism (IWNAM) was formed in 1997 when forty women activists, policy-makers, teachers, and students gathered in Okinawa to strategize about the negative effects of the US military on their respective communities. The network—a collaboration among women active in their communities and who share the mission to promote, model and protect genuine security—includes women from the Philippines, South Korea, Okinawa, Japan, Guam, the continental United States, Puerto Rico and Hawai‘i.
“With the increasing militarism in so many of our communities, the opportunity to stand in solidarity with others who face issues similar to ours here in the islands,” said long time activist Terri Keko‘olani, “helps us to put our work into perspective.”
In addition to meeting around organization and strategic planning for the near future, the attendees participated in excursions to several storied places of Puerto Rico, such as El Yunqué Forest and a healing labyrinth in the mountainside village of Barranquitas. They participated in a protest against the building of a natural gas line in the city, met with survivors of domestic violence, former political prisoners, various women’s groups for peace, and others leading their communities in providing health screenings and services.
“Puerto Rico and Hawai‘i have much in common, as island economies that are dependent on importing basic necessities and vulnerable to unsustainable development and military interest,” Elise Davis, a public health educator, was particularly struck by the health concerns brought up by communities that experienced extensive military weapons testing. “Vieques has a 27% higher rate of cancer than mainland Puerto Rico, and no one can say with certainty that it is not related to the weapons testing.”
Communities, such as Ceiba, introduced them to the struggles to reclaim and reuse land no longer being used by the U.S. military. “There are so many similarities between Vieques and Kaho‘olawe,” shares Kim Ku‘ulei Birnie, a member of Protect Kaho‘olawe ‘Ohana. “They have Ceiba, Culebra and Vieques; we have Kaho‘olawe, Mākua and Pōhakuloa. We have so much to share with one another.”
The group also made presentations on the status of militarism in their respective countries, held at the University of Puerto Rico in San Juan, and at the museum on Vieques.
“There’s a strong partnership between the local communities and the university among the network in Puerto Rico. We met Puerto Ricos most involved and passionate activists and scholars who believe in the right to self-determination and actively resist further Americanization of their people and lands,” explained Eri Oura. “We were even greeted by the mayors of Barranquitas and Vieques.”
Terri Keko‘olani, Eri Oura, Elise Davis and Kim Ku‘ulei Birnie will share their impressions on Friday, June 1st, from 6:00-8:00 PM at the Church of the Crossroads in Honolulu, 1212 University Avenue.
This is a pre-event to the Umematsu & Yasu Watada Lecture Series on Peace, Social Justice & the Environment. The public is invited.
Women’s Voices Women Speak is a group of Hawai‘i women who organize around Kanaka Maoli sovereignty and demilitarization in Hawai‘i from women's perspectives.
www.wvws808.blogspot.com
Women for Genuine Security is the U.S.-based partner in the International Women’s Network Against Militarism.
www.genuinesecurity.org
# PAU #
"Jam Docu Gangjeong" Hawaii Premiere
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For Immediate Release
February 23, 2012
Contact: Renie Wong
Hawai'i Peace and Justice
(808) 988-6266
hawaiipeaceandjustice.org
“Jam Docu Gangjeong” Film Shorts: A Jeju Island Village Struggles with the Imposition of a South Korean/U.S. Naval Base
Documentary Film Shorts “Jam Docu Gangjeong” premiering for the first time in Hawai‘i will be shown at The ARTS at Marks Garage on March 17, 2012 6:30-8 PM in a free screening co-sponsored by Hawai'i Peace and Justice in collaboration with Hawai‘i Women in Filmmaking and DMZ Hawai'i / Aloha 'Aina. Light refreshment will be offered.
Banned from theater showings for 40 days by the Korean Film Commission, Jam Docu Gangjeong just recently received approval (January 31st) for showing in South Korea. Although Jeju was named an “Island of Peace” in 2005 by the South Korean government and listed as a UNESCO World Natural Heritage site, the Korean government has pushed ahead with plans to build a huge naval base in Gangjeong Village for the use of both the South Korean military, as well as US naval warships and destroyers.
The island is home to a unique dialect and culture off the tip of South Korea, but also presents a microcosm for the tragic legacies of the Korean War. Residents of Gangjeong Village have put up peaceful resistance to the base construction, but faced brutal suppression by the police and mainland military, and been heavily fined for the "obstruction of governmental affairs." For the villagers, the naval base threatens to disrupt not only the reef ecosystem, and the way of life by elderly haenyo (women divers), but to destroy the social fabric of the village, recalling the scars of the Korean War and Jeju’s treatment during that period. While the ostensible justification for the base is the North Korean threat, the implications for a shifting geopolitical balance in the region is that the US would gain access to a base in proximity to China.
For Docu Jam Gangjeong, eight independent filmmakers in South Korea responded to the situation by making short films about the people’s struggle over the course of 100 days. The filmmakers present an array of stories from their time living among the villagers and capturing the beauty of the threatened coastline.
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IWNAM 2012 Hawaiʻi Report Back video
this year, we decided to use the medium of video to report back to the network. i created a video using interviews with local activists and images that represent the conditions that Hawaiʻi has been facing for several decades.
mahalo nui loa to interviewees:
Kat Brady
Kalamaokaʻaina Niheu
Seiji Yamada
Joe Estores
Leandra Wai
Fred Dodge
photo credits:
Amber McClure
Terri Kekoʻolani
Melisa Casumbal
Grace Caligtan
Calvin C. Rilveria
Kyle Kajihiro
Summer Mullins
Darlene Rodrigues
Leticia Flores
Ikaika Hussey
Google.com
music credits:
"The Beast" by the Fugees
"The Land" by Kalalea Kauhane ft. Paula Fuga
"King, Queen & Standing Army" by Liko Martin
"Visualize (Whirled Peas)" by AmenRaw and ZenChambers
special mahalo nui loa to our support organizations:
Hawaiʻi Peace & Justice
Mana Maoli
Pua Mohala i ka Pō
English Transcription/Spanish Translation of video by Leticia Flores:
mahalo nui loa to interviewees:
Kat Brady
Kalamaokaʻaina Niheu
Seiji Yamada
Joe Estores
Leandra Wai
Fred Dodge
photo credits:
Amber McClure
Terri Kekoʻolani
Melisa Casumbal
Grace Caligtan
Calvin C. Rilveria
Kyle Kajihiro
Summer Mullins
Darlene Rodrigues
Leticia Flores
Ikaika Hussey
Google.com
music credits:
"The Beast" by the Fugees
"The Land" by Kalalea Kauhane ft. Paula Fuga
"King, Queen & Standing Army" by Liko Martin
"Visualize (Whirled Peas)" by AmenRaw and ZenChambers
special mahalo nui loa to our support organizations:
Hawaiʻi Peace & Justice
Mana Maoli
Pua Mohala i ka Pō
English Transcription/Spanish Translation of video by Leticia Flores:
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