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OHA WRONG TO PUSH AKAKA BILL Posted by Free Hawai`i on July 4, 2008 at 9:24pmSupport Voiced For Hawaiian Constitutional ConventionLet me humbly remind us all that Queen Lili`uokalani did not endure the criminal imprisonment, humility and perversion of justice by members of her own Cabinet and foreign culprits of the United States Government the last 24 years of her life, only to have her surviving people consent to colonial-assimilation in the form of U.S. Federal Recognition (e.g. The Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act)...Queen Liliuokalani left each of us the freedom of choice, and no amount of coercion and/or guilt-trip anyone try’s to throw at me will steal away this legacy left by our tupunas (elders...)For the record, I am in support of the Hawaiian Constitutional Convention presently being organized by Bumpy Kanahele. I believe this is where we as ethnic Hawaiians and native Hawaiian Nationals must convene, unite and decide the path to take for our children’s future and our survival....I do not give my consent to OHA and their various campaigns promoting Federal Recognition of native Hawaiians; nor do I give my consent to the United States of America and the State of Hawai`i; nor do I give my consent to the planned/and actual celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Hawai`i Statehood in 2009.No matter how one may rationalize, paint, spin, even coerce upon the minds of native Hawaiians that any celebration of Hawai`i Statehood is acceptable and/or pono is destructively insulting, to say the least, and a condoning and perpetuation of criminal fraud and the on-going complicity of genocide.In short, you celebrate Hawai`i Statehood…you a criminal. PERIOD! No if, ands or buts....Foster AmpongKahului, Maui
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Website Claims to Sell Hawaiian Skulls

alone.jpghttp://www.khon2.com/news/local/18917479.htmlWebsite Claims to Sell Hawaiian SkullsBy Olena RubinThe FBI along with Big Island police are searching for a man who claims he is selling native Hawaiian human skulls on the internet.A website based out of Hilo says it has a variety of native Hawaiian human skulls for sale.“You have to be sick to do that,” Trask said.Former member of the Island Burial Council, Haunani-Kay Trask, is angry because of what she saw on the website.“They are not embarrassed that they are grave robbers? Here we are come and buy it on the internet it’s just revolting,” Trask said.Andrew Walden, an editor for the Hawaii Free Press, called the number on the website and spoke with a man who called himself “Conrad.”“At first he pretended that I had the wrong number and then when I mentioned that I was calling about a website that sold skulls for $600 he said that's a good price!” Walden said.Walden set up a meeting with him...but Conrad didn't show.“He was very fearful that somebody might be a police officer trying to capture him,” Walden said.Walden called again.“He pretended not to know what I was talking about and at other times talked about having whole skeletons for sale,” Walden said.According to the Department of Land and Natural Resources..."The matter is currently being investigated...we cannot comment at this time."Federal Law says it's illegal to sell, purchase or use human remains of a Native American for profit.In 1990 an Act was passed ensuring an even higher protection for Native Hawaiian burial sites.“You don't have to be a Hawaiian to feel that grave robbing is horrific,” Trask said.A few of the images have been copied from a unrelated website based out of Berkley...they say those skulls for sale are from China and it’s legal to sell them in the US.The website claims the bones are privately collected by contracted specialists from the Imiloa Astronomy Center.Officials from the center say they “were appalled at the blatant misuse of our name and want to be clear that ‘Imiloa has no affiliation with, or knowledge of this organization, and that we strongly condemn their unethical business practices.”If caught the seller could face jail time and thousands of dollars in fines.
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RE: Haunani Apoliona
Mahalo:
Anders Kahana Thomson
Hey Uncle PonoJust wanted to let you know I was reading OHA's newspaper today and in her(haunani's) article she was mentioning names of non-supporters of Akaka Bill including yours, Andre Perez, Ikaika Hussey, Mililani Trask, etc. But she really didn't write nicely about the people she mentioned. They should probably have it up at the OHA website or something.Just wanted to let you know.
Right on Let it Be known Haunani Apoliona, is a TRADER to the HAWAIIAN RACE & SOVEREIGN NATION of HAWAI'Ihau.gifrocks2.gifOha3.jpgsteal.jpglight3.gifEA.jpghome1.gif
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What is UnKau I Noa?

unkaumekahelukelepona.jpguse3.gifhttp://www.unkauinoa.org/Aloha mai kakou!What is UnKau I Noa? UnKau I Noa is an attempt to unite those who do not agree with how the project that is "Kau Inoa" is being handled. For some, Kau Inoa was a chance to receive a free shirt. For others it was the illusion that providing your explicit consent to this cause was to build a new nation. Yet, for others, Kau Inoa was that commercial you saw. The one with the singer who said "sign up....JUST BECAUSE!!!"For most, however, Kau Inoa has caused a severe case of confusion. After repeated inquiries, it has never been made clear what Kau Inoa's plan of action is in order to obtain this new nation beyond their extremely vague multi-step plan. But! By consenting and "Kau"-ing your inoa, you've given them support for whatever that action is--may it be something as simple as implementing community based "town-hall" style meetings in order to hear from our community, or may it be something as severe as implementing the heavily flawed Akaka Bill.What's that? You don't support the Akaka Bill? Well, IF that is their plan to create the new government, your name on that list does support it. The Kau Inoa website says that Kau Inoa and the Akaka Bill are not related. However, they do say that if they find Federal Recognition a.k.a. the Akaka Bill in the best interest of the "nation," they will consider it. Furthermore, their end goal is merely this NATION-LIKE group recognized by the State. Notice, NATION-LIKE. Not an independent nation. "To Build a Nation"-- Shouldn't nation building entail building an actual nation, not just a State-recognized entity?This is where UnKau I Noa comes in. Those of us who came up with this idea originally signed up for the shirt, or because it sounded like a good idea. Now...not so much. So we created our own organization to promote "nation building" amongst the most important people in this process: those who make up this nation, na Kanaka Maoli.Hopefully, if we as a community show that we don't support this, we may be able to truly unite and find a solution that EVERYONE can agree on.**For those of you who are confused, "I NOA" is not spelled incorrectly. Kau Inoa means to "place your name" (IN POOR GRAMMAR AS A MATTER OF FACT--PROPER GRAMMAR DICTATES "KAKAU I KOU INOA), but Unkau I Noa means "UnKau so that we are FREE."Yes, it is a play on the word inoa.Yes, we are that clever.Un Kau noa Tshirts are now available. These t shirts look exactly like the OHA Kau inoa shirts but have the word Un before kau inoa, and the phone number to call to get your name off the list. Same color and design. $10. Call Ed to order at- 295 1483.ORCLICK ON BANNERunkaumekahelukelepona.jpghau2.giflight2.gif
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U.S. Military Intervention Since WWII



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A Brief History of U.S.





Interventions:
1945 to the Present


by William Blum


Z magazine , June 1999


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The engine of American foreign policy has been fueled not by a devotion to any kind of morality, but rather by the necessity to serve other imperatives, which can be summarized as follows:


* making the world safe for American corporations;


* enhancing the financial statements of defense contractors at home who have contributed generously to members of congress;


* preventing the rise of any society that might serve as a successful example of an alternative to the capitalist model;


* extending political and economic hegemony over as wide an area as possible, as befits a "great power.





"


This in the name of fighting a supposed moral crusade against what cold warriors convinced themselves, and the American people, was the existence of an evil International Communist Conspiracy, which in fact never existed, evil or not.






The United States carried out extremely serious interventions into more than 70 nations in this period.






China, 1945-49:


Intervened in a civil war, taking the side of Chiang Kai-shek against the Communists, even though the latter had been a much closer ally of the United States in the world war. The U.S. used defeated Japanese soldiers to fight for its side. The Communists forced Chiang to flee to Taiwan in 1949.






Italy, 1947-48:


Using every trick in the book, the U.S. interfered in the elections to prevent the Communist Party from coming to power legally and fairly. This perversion of democracy was done in the name of "saving democracy" in Italy. The Communists lost. For the next few decades, the CIA, along with American corporations, continued to intervene in Italian elections, pouring in hundreds of millions of dollars and much psychological warfare to block the specter that was haunting Europe.






Greece, 1947-49:


Intervened in a civil war, taking the side of the neo-fascists against the Greek left which had fought the Nazis courageously. The neo-fascists won and instituted a highly brutal regime, for which the CIA created a new internal security agency, KYP. Before long, KYP was carrying out all the endearing practices of secret police everywhere, including systematic torture.






Philippines, 1945-53:


U.S. military fought against leftist forces (Huks) even while the Huks were still fighting against the Japanese invaders. After the war, the U. S. continued its fight against the Huks, defeating them, and then installing a series of puppets as president, culminating in the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos.






South Korea, 1945-53:


After World War II, the United States suppressed the popular progressive forces in favor of the conservatives who had collaborated with the Japanese. This led to a long era of corrupt, reactionary, and brutal governments.






Albania, 1949-53:


The U.S. and Britain tried unsuccessfully to overthrow the communist government and install a new one that would have been pro-Western and composed largely of monarchists and collaborators with Italian fascists and Nazis.






Germany, 1950s:


The CIA orchestrated a wide-ranging campaign of sabotage, terrorism, dirty tricks, and psychological warfare against East Germany. This was one of the factors which led to the building of the Berlin Wall in 1961.






Iran, 1953:


Prime Minister Mossadegh was overthrown in a joint U.S./British operation. Mossadegh had been elected to his position by a large majority of parliament, but he had made the fateful mistake of spearheading the movement to nationalize a British-owned oil company, the sole oil company operating in Iran. The coup restored the Shah to absolute power and began a period of 25 years of repression and torture, with the oil industry being restored to foreign ownership, as follows: Britain and the U.S., each 40 percent, other nations 20 percent.






Guatemala, 1953-1990s:


A CIA-organized coup overthrew the democratically-elected and progressive government of Jacobo Arbenz, initiating 40 years of death-squads, torture, disappearances, mass executions, and unimaginable cruelty, totaling well over 100,000 victims -indisputably one of the most inhuman chapters of the 20th century. Arbenz had nationalized the U.S. firm, United Fruit Company, which had extremely close ties to the American power elite. As justification for the coup, Washington declared that Guatemala had been on the verge of a Soviet takeover, when in fact the Russians had so little interest in the country that it didn't even maintain diplomatic relations. The real problem in the eyes of Washington, in addition to United Fruit, was the danger of Guatemala's social democracy spreading to other countries in Latin America.






Middle East, 1956-58:


The Eisenhower Doctrine stated that the United States "is prepared to use armed forces to assist" any Middle East country "requesting assistance against armed aggression from any country controlled by international communism." The English translation of this was that no one would be allowed to dominate, or have excessive influence over, the middle east and its oil fields except the United States, and that anyone who tried would be, by definition, "Communist." In keeping with this policy, the United States twice attempted to overthrow the Syrian government, staged several shows-of-force in the Mediterranean to intimidate movements opposed to U.S.-supported governments in Jordan and Lebanon, landed 14,000 troops in Lebanon, and conspired to overthrow or assassinate Nasser of Egypt and his troublesome middle-east nationalism.






Indonesia, 1957-58:


Sukarno, like Nasser, was the kind of Third World leader the United States could not abide. He took neutralism in the cold war seriously, making trips to the Soviet Union and China (though to the White House as well). He nationalized many private holdings of the Dutch, the former colonial power. He refused to crack down on the Indonesian Communist Party, which was walking the legal, peaceful road and making impressive gains electorally. Such policies could easily give other Third World leaders "wrong ideas." The CIA began throwing money into the elections, plotted Sukarno's assassination, tried to blackmail him with a phony sex film, and joined forces with dissident military officers to wage a full-scale war against the government. Sukarno survived it all.






British Guiana/Guyana, 1953-64:


For 11 years, two of the oldest democracies in the world, Great Britain and the United States, went to great lengths to prevent a democratically elected leader from occupying his office. Cheddi Jagan was another Third World leader who tried to remain neutral and independent. He was elected three times. Although a leftist-more so than Sukarno or Arbenz-his policies in office were not revolutionary. But he was still a marked man, for he represented Washington's greatest fear: building a society that might be a successful example of an alternative to the capitalist model. Using a wide variety of tactics-from general strikes and disinformation to terrorism and British legalisms, the U. S. and Britain finally forced Jagan out in 1964. John F. Kennedy had given a direct order for his ouster, as, presumably, had Eisenhower.






One of the better-off countries in the region under Jagan, Guyana, by the 1980s, was one of the poorest. Its principal export became people.






Vietnam, 1950-73:


The slippery slope began with siding with ~ French, the former colonizers and collaborators with the Japanese, against Ho Chi Minh and his followers who had worked closely with the Allied war effort and admired all things American. Ho Chi Minh was, after all, some kind of Communist. He had written numerous letters to President Truman and the State Department asking for America's help in winning Vietnamese independence from the French and finding a peaceful solution for his country. All his entreaties were ignored. Ho Chi Minh modeled the new Vietnamese declaration of independence on the American, beginning it with "All men are created equal. They are endowed by their Creator with ..." But this would count for nothing in Washington. Ho Chi Minh was some kind of Communist.






Twenty-three years and more than a million dead, later, the United States withdrew its military forces from Vietnam. Most people say that the U.S. lost the war. But by destroying Vietnam to its core, and poisoning the earth and the gene pool for generations, Washington had achieved its main purpose: preventing what might have been the rise of a good development option for Asia. Ho Chi Minh was, after all, some kind of communist.






Cambodia, 1955-73:


Prince Sihanouk was yet another leader who did not fancy being an American client. After many years of hostility towards his regime, including assassination plots and the infamous Nixon/Kissinger secret "carpet bombings" of 1969-70, Washington finally overthrew Sihanouk in a coup in 1970. This was all that was needed to impel Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge forces to enter the fray. Five years later, they took power. But five years of American bombing had caused Cambodia's traditional economy to vanish. The old Cambodia had been destroyed forever.






Incredibly, the Khmer Rouge were to inflict even greater misery on this unhappy land. To add to the irony, the United States supported Pol Pot, militarily and diplomatically, after their subsequent defeat by the Vietnamese.






The Congo/Zaire, 1960-65:


In June 1960, Patrice Lumumba became the Congo's first prime minister after independence from Belgium. But Belgium retained its vast mineral wealth in Katanga province, prominent Eisenhower administration officials had financial ties to the same wealth, and Lumumba, at Independence Day ceremonies before a host of foreign dignitaries, called for the nation's economic as well as its political liberation, and recounted a list of injustices against the natives by the white owners of the country. The man was obviously a "Communist." The poor man was obviously doomed.






Eleven days later, Katanga province seceded, in September, Lumumba was dismissed by the president at the instigation of the United States, and in January 1961 he was assassinated at the express request of Dwight Eisenhower. There followed several years of civil conflict and chaos and the rise to power of Mobutu Sese Seko, a man not a stranger to the CIA. Mobutu went on to rule the country for more than 30 years, with a level of corruption and cruelty that shocked even his CIA handlers. The Zairian people lived in abject poverty despite the plentiful natural wealth, while Mobutu became a multibillionaire.






Brazil, 1961-64:


President Joao Goulart was guilty of the usual crimes: He took an independent stand in foreign policy, resuming relations with socialist countries and opposing sanctions against Cuba; his administration passed a law limiting the amount of profits multinationals could transmit outside the country; a subsidiary of ITT was nationalized; he promoted economic and social reforms. And Attorney-General Robert Kennedy was uneasy about Goulart allowing "communists" to hold positions in government agencies. Yet the man was no radical. He was a millionaire land-owner and a Catholic who wore a medal of the Virgin around his neck. That, however, was not enough to save him. In 1964, he was overthrown in a military coup which had deep, covert American involvement. The official Washington line was...yes, it's unfortunate that democracy has been overthrown in Brazil...but, still, the country has been saved from communism.






For the next 15 years, all the features of military dictatorship that Latin America has come to know were instituted: Congress was shut down, political opposition was reduced to virtual extinction, habeas corpus for "political crimes" was suspended, criticism of the president was forbidden by law, labor unions were taken over by government interveners, mounting protests were met by police and military firing into crowds, peasants' homes were burned down, priests were brutalized...disappearances, death squads, a remarkable degree and depravity of torture...the government had a name for its program: the "moral rehabilitation" of Brazil.






Washington was very pleased. Brazil broke relations with Cuba and became one of the United States' most reliable allies in Latin America.






Dominican Republic, 1963-66:


In February 1963, Juan Bosch took office as the first democratically elected president of the Dominican Republic since 1924. Here at last was John F. Kennedy's liberal anti-Communist, to counter the charge that the U.S. supported only military dictatorships. Bosch's government was to be the long sought " showcase of democracy " that would put the lie to Fidel Castro. He was given the grand treatment in Washington shortly before he took office.






Bosch was true to his beliefs. He called for land reform, low-rent housing, modest nationalization of business, and foreign investment provided it was not excessively exploitative of the country and other policies making up the program of any liberal Third World leader serious about social change. He was likewise serious about civil liberties: Communists, or those labeled as such, were not to be persecuted unless they actually violated the law.






A number of American officials and congresspeople expressed their discomfort with Bosch's plans, as well as his stance of independence from the United States. Land reform and nationalization are always touchy issues in Washington, the stuff that "creeping socialism" is made of. In several quarters of the U.S. press Bosch was red-baited.






In September, the military boots marched. Bosch was out. The United States, which could discourage a military coup in Latin America with a frown, did nothing.






Nineteen months later, a revolt broke out which promised to put the exiled Bosch back into power. The United States sent 23,000 troops to help crush it.






Cuba, 1959 to present:


Fidel Castro came to power at the beginning of 1959. A U.S. National Security Council meeting of March 10, 1959 included on its agenda the feasibility of bringing "another government to power in Cuba." There followed 40 years of terrorist attacks, bombings, full-scale military invasion, sanctions, embargoes, isolation, assassinations...Cuba had carried out The Unforgivable Revolution, a very serious threat of setting a "good example" in Latin America.






The saddest part of this is that the world will never know what kind of society Cuba could have produced if left alone, if not constantly under the gun and the threat of invasion, if allowed to relax its control at home. The idealism, the vision, the talent were all there. But we'll never know. And that of course was the idea.






Indonesia, 1965:


A complex series of events, involving a supposed coup attempt, a counter-coup, and perhaps a counter-counter-coup, with American fingerprints apparent at various points, resulted in the ouster from power of Sukarno and his replacement by a military coup led by General Suharto. The massacre that began immediately-of Communists, Communist sympathizers, suspected Communists, suspected Communist sympathizers, and none of the above-was called by the New York Times "one of the most savage mass slayings of modern political history." The estimates of the number killed in the course of a few years begin at half a million and go above a million.






It was later learned that the U.S. embassy had compiled lists of "Communist" operatives, from top echelons down to village cadres, as many as 5,000 names, and turned them over to the army, which then hunted those persons down and killed them. The Americans would then check off the names of those who had been killed or captured. "It really was a big help to the army. They probably killed a lot of people, and I probably have a lot of blood on my hands," said one U.S. diplomat. "But that's not all bad. There's a time when you have to strike hard at a decisive moment.





"


Chile, 1964-73:


Salvador Allende was the worst possible scenario for a Washington imperialist. He could imagine only one thing worse than a Marxist in power-an elected Marxist in power, who honored the constitution, and became increasingly popular. This shook the very foundation stones on which the anti-Communist tower was built: the doctrine, painstakingly cultivated for decades, that "communists" can take power only through force and deception, that they can retain that power only through terrorizing and brainwashing the population.






After sabotaging Allende's electoral endeavor in 1964, and failing to do so in 1970, despite their best efforts, the CIA and the rest of the American foreign policy machine left no stone unturned in their attempt to destabilize the Allende government over the next three years, paying particular attention to building up military hostility. Finally, in September 1973, the military overthrew the government, Allende dying in the process.






They closed the country to the outside world for a week, while the tanks rolled and the soldiers broke down doors; the stadiums rang with the sounds of execution and the bodies piled up along the streets and floated in the river; the torture centers opened for business; the subversive books were thrown into bonfires; soldiers slit the trouser legs of women, shouting that "In Chile women wear dresses!"; the poor returned to their natural state; and the men of the world in Washington and in the halls of international finance opened up their check- books. In the end, more than 3,000 had been executed, thousands more tortured or disappeared.






Greece, 1964-74:


The military coup took place in April 1967, just two days before the campaign for j national elections was to begin, elections which appeared certain to bring the veteran liberal leader George Papandreou back as prime minister. Papandreou had been elected in February 1964 with the only outright majority in the history of modern Greek elections. The successful machinations to unseat him had begun immediately, a joint effort of the Royal Court, the Greek military, and the American military and CIA stationed in Greece. The 1967 coup was followed immediately by the traditional martial law, censorship, arrests, beatings, torture, and killings, the victims totaling some 8,000 in the first month. This was accompanied by the equally traditional declaration that this was all being done to save the nation from a "Communist takeover." Corrupting and subversive influences in Greek life were to be removed. Among these were miniskirts, long hair, and foreign newspapers; church attendance for the young would be compulsory.






It was torture, however, which most indelibly marked the seven-year Greek nightmare. James Becket, an American attorney sent to Greece by Amnesty International, wrote in December 1969 that "a conservative estimate would place at not less than two thousand" the number of people tortured, usually in the most gruesome of ways, often with equipment supplied by the United States.






Becket reported the following: Hundreds of prisoners have listened to the little speech given by Inspector Basil Lambrou, who sits behind his desk which displays the red, white, and blue clasped-hand symbol of American aid. He tries to show the prisoner the absolute futility of resistance: "You make yourself ridiculous by thinking you can do anything. The world is divided in two. There are the communists on that side and on this side the free world. The Russians and the Americans, no one else. What are we? Americans. Behind me there is the government, behind the government is NATO, behind NATO is the U.S. You can't fight us, we are Americans.





"


George Papandreou was not any kind of radical. He was a liberal anti-Communist type. But his son Andreas, the heir-apparent, while only a little to the left of his father had not disguised his wish to take Greece out of the Cold War, and had questioned remaining in NATO, or at least as a satellite of the United States.






East Timor, 1975 to present:


In December 1975, Indonesia invaded East Timor, which lies at the eastern end of the Indonesian archipelago, and which had proclaimed its independence after Portugal had relinquished control of it. The invasion was launched the day after U. S. President Gerald Ford and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger had left Indonesia after giving Suharto permission to use American arms, which, under U.S. Iaw, could not be used for aggression. Indonesia was Washington's most valuable tool in Southeast Asia.






Amnesty International estimated that by 1989, Indonesian troops, with the aim of forcibly annexing East Timor, had killed 200,000 people out of a population of between 600,000 and 700,000. The United States consistently supported Indonesia's claim to East Timor (unlike the UN and the EU), and downplayed the slaughter to a remarkable degree, at the same time supplying Indonesia with all the military hardware and training it needed to carry out the job.






Nicaragua, 1978-89:


When the Sandinistas overthrew the Somoza dictatorship in 1978, it was clear to Washington that they might well be that long-dreaded beast-"another Cuba." Under President Carter, attempts to sabotage the revolution took diplomatic and economic forms. Under Reagan, violence was the method of choice. For eight terribly long years, the people of Nicaragua were under attack by Washington's proxy army, the Contras, formed from Somoza's vicious National Guard and other supporters of the dictator. It was all-out war, aiming to destroy the progressive social and economic programs of the government, burning down schools and medical clinics, raping, torturing, mining harbors, bombing and strafing. These were Ronald Reagan's "freedom fighters." There would be no revolution in Nicaragua.






Grenada, 1979-84:


What would drive the most powerful nation in the world to invade a country of 110,000? Maurice Bishop and his followers had taken power in a 1979 coup, and though their actual policies were not as revolutionary as Castro's, Washington was again driven by its fear of "another Cuba," particularly when public appearances by the Grenadian leaders in other countries of the region met with great enthusiasm.






U. S. destabilization tactics against the Bishop government began soon after the coup and continued until 1983, featuring numerous acts of disinformation and dirty tricks. The American invasion in October 1983 met minimal resistance, although the U.S. suffered 135 killed or wounded; there were also some 400 Grenadian casualties, and 84 Cubans, mainly construction workers.






At the end of 1984, a questionable election was held which was won by a man supported by the Reagan administration. One year later, the human rights organization, Council on Hemispheric Affairs, reported that Grenada's new U.S.-trained police force and counter-insurgency forces had acquired a reputation for brutality, arbitrary arrest, and abuse of authority, and were eroding civil rights.






In April 1989, the government issued a list of more than 80 books which were prohibited from being imported. Four months later, the prime minister suspended parliament to forestall a threatened no-confidence vote resulting from what his critics called "an increasingly authoritarian style.





"


Libya, 1981-89:


Libya refused to be a proper Middle East client state of Washington. Its leader, Muammar el-Qaddafi, was uppity. He would have to be punished. U.S. planes shot down two Libyan planes in what Libya regarded as its air space. The U. S . also dropped bombs on the country, killing at least 40 people, including Qaddafi's daughter. There were other attempts to assassinate the man, operations to overthrow him, a major disinformation campaign, economic sanctions, and blaming Libya for being behind the Pan Am 103 bombing without any good evidence.






Panama, 1989:


Washington's bombers strike again. December 1989, a large tenement barrio in Panama City wiped out, 15,000 people left homeless. Counting several days of ground fighting against Panamanian forces, 500-something dead was the official body count, what the U.S. and the new U.S.-installed Panamanian government admitted to; other sources, with no less evidence, insisted that thousands had died; 3,000-something wounded. Twenty-three Americans dead, 324 wounded.






Question from reporter: "Was it really worth it to send people to their death for this? To get Noriega?"


George Bush: "Every human life is precious, and yet I have to answer, yes, it has been worth it.





"


Manuel Noriega had been an American ally and informant for years until he outlived his usefulness. But getting him was not the only motive for the attack. Bush wanted to send a clear message to the people of Nicaragua, who had an election scheduled in two months, that this might be their fate if they reelected the Sandinistas. Bush also wanted to flex some military muscle to illustrate to Congress the need for a large combat-ready force even after the very recent dissolution of the "Soviet threat." The official explanation for the American ouster was Noriega's drug trafficking, which Washington had known about for years and had not been at all bothered by.






Iraq, 1990s:


Relentless bombing for more than 40 days and nights, against one of the most advanced nations in the Middle East, devastating its ancient and modern capital city; 177 million pounds of bombs falling on the people of Iraq, the most concentrated aerial onslaught in the history of the world; depleted uranium weapons incinerating people, causing cancer; blasting chemical and biological weapon storage and oil facilities; poisoning the atmosphere to a degree perhaps never matched anywhere; burying soldiers alive, deliberately; the infrastructure destroyed, with a terrible effect on health; sanctions continued to this day multiplying the health problems; perhaps a million children dead by now from all of these things, even more adults.






Iraq was the strongest military power among the Arab states. This may have been their crime. Noam Chomsky has written: "It's been a leading, driving doctrine of U.S. foreign policy since the 1940s that the vast and unparalleled energy resources of the Gulf region will be effectively dominated by the United States and its clients, and, crucially, that no independent, indigenous force will be permitted to have a substantial influence on the administration of oil production and price.





"


Afghanistan, 1979-92:


Everyone knows of the unbelievable repression of women in Afghanistan, carried out by Islamic fundamentalists, even before the Taliban. But how many people know that during the late 1970s and most of the 1980s, Afghanistan had a government committed to bringing the incredibly backward nation into the 20th century, including giving women equal rights? What happened, however, is that the United States poured billions of dollars into waging a terrible war against this government, simply because it was supported by the Soviet Union. Prior to this, CIA operations had knowingly increased the probability of a Soviet intervention, which is what occurred. In the end, the United States won, and the women, and the rest of Afghanistan, lost. More than a million dead, three million disabled, five million refugees, in total about half the population.






El Salvador, 1980-92:


El Salvador's dissidents tried to work within the system. But with U.S. support, the government made that impossible, using repeated electoral fraud and murdering hundreds of protesters and strikers. In 1980, the dissidents took to the gun, and civil war.






Officially, the U.S. military presence in El Salvador was limited to an advisory capacity. In actuality, military and CIA personnel played a more active role on a continuous basis. About 20 Americans were killed or wounded in helicopter and plane crashes while flying reconnaissance or other missions over combat areas, and considerable evidence surfaced of a U.S. role in the ground fighting as well. The war came to an official end in 1992; 75,000 civilian deaths and the U.S. Treasury depleted by six billion dollars. Meaningful social change has been largely thwarted. A handful of the wealthy still own the country, the poor remain as ever, and dissidents still have to fear right-wing death squads.






Haiti, 1987-94:


The U.S. supported the Duvalier family dictatorship for 30 years, then opposed the reformist priest, Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Meanwhile, the CIA was working intimately with death squads, torturers, and drug traffickers. With this as background, the Clinton White House found itself in the awkward position of having to pretend-because of all their rhetoric about "democracy"-that they supported Aristide's return to power in Haiti after he had been ousted in a 1991 military coup. After delaying his return for more than two years, Washington finally had its military restore Aristide to office, but only after obliging the priest to guarantee that he would not help the poor at the expense of the rich, and that he would stick closely to free-market economics. This meant that Haiti would continue to be the assembly plant of the Western Hemisphere, with its workers receiving literally starvation wages.






Yugoslavia, 1999:


The United States is bombing the country back to a pre-industrial era. It would like the world to believe that its intervention is motivated only by "humanitarian" impulses. Perhaps the above history of U.S. interventions can help one decide how much weight to place on this claim.






***


William Blum is the author of Killing Hope: US Military and CIA Interventions Since World War II.




Portions of the book can be read at: http://members. aol.




com/bblum6/American holocaust.htm.







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purpleball.gifWilliam Blum page


purpleball.gifForeign Policy watch

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Haoles

http://www.myspace.com/kealaulaHaolesI'm sick of hearing about Hawai'i locals being arrested for getting into fights with continental U.S. foreigners and being portrayed in the media as "racists" for using the word "haole", or even getting a higher penalty for using the word. It is NOT a racial slur. It is simply our word for "foreigner". Basically, if you are a foreigner, you ARE a Haole. If you've aggravated us that's when it turns into "fucken Haole" which still doesn't change the definition. But regardless of the situation, who the hell are the foreigners to tell us the definitions of our words? It has so commonly been translated loosely to mean "fair skinned person" or "Caucasian" but in actuality, if you are from France, China, Guam, Samoa or Micronesia etc. ANYWHERE but Hawai'i…you ARE a Haole.In most cases, I find that the media does NOT show the full story nor do they tell both sides to a story. In most of the clashes that occur with Hawai'i locals vs. a foreigner(s), I feel it is simply because of differences in mentality which leads to the unfortunate miscommunication. Fact is, both cultures are different in most ways and when we feel something was done rudely or disrespectful, we'll react. Like the saying goes, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do"…the same goes for here in Hawai'i.And if you feel you were discriminated against for doing nothing but being a tourist; get over it because wherever anyone goes, the locals of the area will look at you differently because to them, you are different…they're sick of seeing tourists and foreigners everywhere. I know everyone should get along and share cultures and what not, but these islands, people and culture have been and are continually being choked, exploited, plotted against and GOVERNED by foreigners. Just look at our beaches, streams, roads, stores, and country sides of the islands, they are slowly slipping away and are being over crowded with foreigners. If the government won't help, then the locals will take it into their own hands to regulateKea3.gif
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As a journalist since 1969 (including a decade as CNN Radio's New York-based correspondent) I've reported, the good, the bad, the beautiful and the ugly. Now, as news and programming director at Paltalk.com I host a daily online show, News Talk Online, where I interview newsmakers and offer commentary. As with the show, this blog reflects my personal thoughts. I hope it stimulates rhetoric and debate. You are invited and encouraged to post comments.

CLICK & LEARN

Monday, April 7, 2008

David Keanu Sai Who Believes Hawaii Should Be An Independent Kingdom On Paltalk


Sai


There's actually a movement which argues that Hawaii is not, lawfully, one of the 50 states of the United States. A leader of that movement, David Keanu Sai, will be my guest on News Talk Online on Paltalk Friday April 11th.


Sai is the "acting interior minister" of the Hawaiian Kingdom government, which he says is operating "within the occupied state of the Hawaiian Islands."


Sai argues that since the Spanish-American War, his "nation" has been under prolonged occupation by the United States of America. He says the Hawaiian Islands "reluctantly" serves as the headquarters of the U.S, Pacific Command, largest of the nine unified military commands of the United States armed forces.


In 2001, the Hawaiian Kingdom Government filed a complaint against the United States with the United Nations Security Council over what it calls the U.S. occupation of the Hawaiian Islands.


To talk to Sai at 5 PM New York time Friday April 11th CLICK HERE. There is no charge.


Paltalk is the largest multimedia interactive program on the Internet with more than 4 million unique users.


News Talk Online is also syndicated by CRN Digital Talk Radio coast-to-coast across the United States to an additional 12 million households.

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no this is usa , THEY DONT CARE WHO OR WHAT THE HURT OR KILL !IN OUR SOVEREIGN ILLEGALLY OCCUPIED NATION.......FRICK YOU USA !!!!thankyou for da infoz1.jpgz6a.jpgErased1.gifstate.gif141890498O102093375.jpgGUMALULANIDate: Mar 5, 2008 11:03 AMESS WHAT? MY HUSBAND WENT TO THE HILO DUMP AND IT WAS CLOSED AND HE HEARD WHY IT WAS CLOSED ON THE RADIO. THEY FOUND BOMBS AND AMONITION AT THE DUMP IN HILO!! THIS IS SO CRAZY, DON'T YOU THINK?MALULANIDate: Mar 5, 2008 11:03 AMUpdated at 10:53 a.m., Wednesday, March 5, 2008Hilo landfill closed after old military ammo foundAdvertiser StaffHILO, Hawai'i — County officials closed the Hilo landfill, transfer station and recycling center this morning after construction crews discovered old military ammunition at the site.Crews have been installing utilities near the transfer station as part of a larger project to construct a sort station to boost county recycling efforts.Neil Gyotoku, spokesman for county civil defense, said initial reports suggested a crew uncovered old .50-caliber machine gun rounds, but it was unclear whether other old ammo or explosives might also be at the site.Gyotoku said crews specializing in unexploded ordnance disposal are being called in from the Pohakuloa Training Area to dispose of the ordnance.The county landfill and the facilities round it are closed until further notice, he said.
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CLICK and LEARNdu-1.gifRadiation.jpgamericatheblindbyfangedwu5.jpgRALPH_WHITLEY_DEPLETED_URANIUM_ALER.jpgAloha peace Ohana,Please call Hawaii County Mayor Harry Kim 961-8211Hawaii County Council members 961-8225State legislators and Hawaii's Congresspeopleand urge action as called for in the open letter below. MahaloMalu `Aina Center for Non-violent Education & ActionP.O. Box AB Ola`a (Kurtistown), Hawaii 96760Phone 808-966-7622 email ja@interpac.net www.malu-aina.orgAN OPEN LETTER TO COUNTY OF HAWAII MAYOR HARRY KIMAloha Mayor Kim: March 3, 2008This is an urgent appeal for you to take immediate action to stop the spread of radiation contamination at the military's 133,000-acre Pohakuloa Training Area (PTA) in the center of Hawaii Island. You are aware that on August 20, 2007, the Army confirmed the presence of radiation from weapons training at PTA. Presently, the full extent of the contamination is not known due to the massive size of the range, incomplete testing, and poor record-keeping by the military. Given the fact that all branches of the military have trained at PTA for more than 50 years, the history of the military lying on such things as secret nerve-gas testing in the Hilo watershed, and stonewalling other public concerns in Hawaii, it is reasonable to believe that the extent of radiation contamination at PTA is far more than we are being told.Currently, live-fire training by 2,000 Marines is taking place at PTA, including the use of big cannons. More live-fire training by the U.S. Army is planned following the Marines' training. Such actions risk spreading the radiation contamination at PTA.We urge you to speak out publicly and urge other elected officials and political candidates to join you in calling for the following action: All live-fire and aerial bombings of the entire Pohakuloa range should be immediately stopped until a thorough, objective and independent survey has been funded (via the military budget) and completed, in order to assure real public safety.Hawaii, is a rare jewel of the planet, a true paradise on earth, of unmatched natural beauty. And now it is being poisoned. Mayor Kim, this is your day in the sun. Please do the right thing for the people of Hawaii and for all the world. Speak out to stop this reckless endangering by the U.S. military. Some scientists say that radiation contamination is one of the major issues of our lifetime, one of the greatest challenges facing civilization today.We look forward to your positive actions. Mahalo and aloha..Jim Albertini, Daniel H.C. Li, Galen and L.V. Kelly, Paul W. Normannfor Malu `AinaKale Gumapacfor the Kanaka Councilcc: elected officials and political candidatesnews media

Jim Albertini
Malu `Aina Center For Non-violent Education & Action
P.O. Box AB
`Ola`a (Kurtistown), Hawaii 96760
Phone 808-966-7622
email ja@interpac.net
www.malu-aina.org


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Mahaloz: KEALOHAMELE
Haleakala TimesMay 08, 2007No peace in paradiseThe military presence in the Hawaiian IslandsKanaka Maoli activist Kaleikoa Kaeo described the U.S. military in hawai'i as a monstrous he'e (octopus), its head represented by the Pacific Command Headquarters, its eyes and ears the mountaintop telescopes, radar facilities, and underwater sensors, and its brain and nervous system the supercomputers and fiber optic networks that crisscross the islands. The tentacles of the he'e stretch from the west coast of North America to the East coast of Africa, from Alaska to Antarctica.Today the enormity of the U.S. military presence in Hawai'i is staggering: According to the U.S. Department of Defense, the combined military branches in 2004 have 161 military installations in Hawai'i. The military controls 236,303 acres in Hawai'i, or 5.7 percent of the total land area. On O'ahu, the most densely populated island, the military controls 85,718 acres out of 82,148 acres, or 22.4 percent of the island. The military also controls vast stretches of ocean, including Defensive Sea Areas in Kane'ohe Bay, from Pearl Harbor to Koko Head, and off the west shore of Kaua'i. The entire Hawaiian archipelago is surrounded by 210,000 square miles of ocean military operating areas and 58,599 square miles of military special use airspace.Combined with the 116,000 retired military personnel living in Hawai'i, the military-connected population totals 217,030, or 17 percent of Hawaii's total population. The 2000 U.S. Census found that Hawai'i has the largest percentage of its population in the military among the states.Taking LandThe military land grab is a major source of conflict in Hawai'i. In 1898, the U.S. seized nearly 1.8 million acres of government and crown lands of the Kingdom of Hawai'i. These so-called "ceded lands" are held in a quasi-trust status by the Federal government and the State. In 1959, when the U.S. incorporated Hawai'i as a state, the military retained control of approximately 180,000 acres of the "ceded lands", while the rest reverted to the State as trustee. Approximately 30,000 acres of the land returned to the State were simultaneously leased back to the military for 65 years. In most cases, the rent paid by the military was a token one dollar for the term of the lease. Today, more than 112,173 acres, or roughly 54 percent of military-controlled land in Hawai'i consists of the former government and crown lands of the Hawaiian nation. During World War II other private parcels of land were seized by the U.S. to further its war aims.Threats to Native Hawaiian Cultural SurvivalThe displacement of Kanaka Maoli from their ancestral lands has resulted in the loss of subsistence and cultural resources. The cultural conflict over 'aina (land) goes much deeper than a simple matter of property rights or land use. There is a fundamental contradiction between Kanaka Maoli and western world views about the environment itself. In the Kanaka Maoli cosmology, the 'aina is the ancestor of the people, the physical manifestation of the union between the gods Papahanaumoku (Papa who gives birth to islands), the earth-mother, and Wakea, the sky-father. As a living ancestor, the 'aina could not be owned, sold or defiled. By severing the genealogical ties between Kanaka Maoli and their 'aina and by disrupting their ability to practice and transmit their culture to future generations, the military seizure of land continues to have profound impacts on the cultural survival of Kanaka Maoli. Military destruction of land is a form of violence against the people themselves.Forced cultural assimilation of Kanaka Maoli has contributed to cultural disintegration. Statistics illustrate the legacy of this occupation: Kanaka Maoli have the highest rates of homelessness, poverty, disease and crime in Hawai'i. They have the lowest educational achievement and life expectancy in Hawai'i. Kanaka Maoli make up 36.5 percent of persons incarcerated for felony charges. In the century since the U.S. occupation began, the flood of settlers stripped Kanaka Maoli of their self-determination. The scenario resembles the population crises of other occupied nations like Tibet, East Timor, and Palestine. A combination of economic, cultural and political pressures has pushed nearly one third of Kanaka Maoli into diaspora.By generating population transfer of U.S. nationals to Hawai'i, the military has also had a profound impact on Hawaii's culture and political demographics. Between 1900 and 1950, migration to the Hawaiian Islands from the continental U.S. and its territories totaled 293,379.Environmental ContaminationThe U.S. military is arguably the largest industrial polluter in Hawai'i. The 2004 Defense Environmental Restoration Program report to Congress listed 798 military contamination sites at 108 installations in Hawai'i, 96 of which were contaminated with unexploded ordnance. Seven of the military contamination sites were considered "Superfund" sites. According to the Navy, the Pearl Harbor Naval Complex alone contains approximately 749 contaminated sites and is treated as a giant superfund site. numbers are low because they do not include contaminated sites that have not yet been listed for cleanup responses. Military installations made up five of the top ten polluters in Hawai'i responsible for releasing persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) chemicals, which include lead, dioxins mercury, and polycyclic aromatic compounds. Military contamination hazards include unexploded ordnance, various types of fuels and petroleum products; organic solvents such as perchloroethylene and trichloroethylene; dioxins and PCB; explosives and propellants such as RDX, TNT, HMX and Perchlorate; heavy metals such as Lead and Mercury; napalm, chemical weapons, and radioactive waste from nuclear powered ships.Cobalt-60, a radioactive waste product from nuclear-powered ships, has been found in sediment at Pearl Harbor. Between 1964 and 1978, 4,843,000 gallons of low level radioactive waste were discharged into Pearl Harbor. 2,189 steel drums containing radioactive waste were dumped in an ocean disposal area 55 miles from Hawai'i. The military recently disclosed that from 1941 to 1972 it had dumped more than 8,000 tons of chemical munitions, including blistering agents mustard gas and lewisite, in the shallow seas off O'ahu island.Fishermen have been burned when they accidentally raised this toxic catch. For many years, the military denied ever using depleted uranium in Hawai'i. However in January 2006, activists forced the Army to admit the presence of depleted uranium contamination on O'ahu. Military contamination sites are concentrated in and pose the greatest threat to Kanaka Maoli, immigrant Asian and Pacific Islanders and other low income communities. Many Asians and Pacific Islanders subsist on fish and shellfish from Pearl Harbor's contaminated waters. The Wai'anae district, where a third of the land is occupied by military installations, has the largest concentration of Kanaka Maoli and some of the worst health, economic and social statistics in Hawai'i. In the late 1980s, powerful Navy radio transmitters in Lualualei valley were suspected to be the cause of a childhood leukemia cluster in the nearby Hawaiian Homestead.ProstitutionAs with other military base towns, prostitution in Hawai'i is fueled by the large military presence. During World War II, the military regulated prostitution in designated red-light districts. In recent years, prostitution has become more decentralized. A proliferation of strip clubs, massage parlors, escort services, hostess bars as well as street prostitution caters to military, tourist and local customers. One former prostitute estimated that in the downtown area at least 60 percent of those seeking prostitutes were from the military, and in Wahiawa, near Schofield Barracks, she estimated that the percentage jumped to 70 to 80 percent. She recounted how she was strangled by a military client until she hit him and escaped. According to an agency that helps prostitutes to get out of commercial sexual exploitation (CSE), Hawai'i is particularly susceptible to CSE and the trafficking of women and children due to the large tourism industry and military presence.Threats to Native Ecosystems and Endangered SpeciesHawai'i is considered the endangered species capital of the world. Because of its geographic isolation, unique species and ecosystems evolved in Hawai'i over millions of years. More than 1,100 species, which represents around 82 percent of all native species in Hawai'i, are endemic to the islands. Military training activities threaten native ecosystems with fires, erosion, the alteration of habitats and the introduction of alien species. Makua valley, for instance, where the military has conducted live fire training for more than 70 years, is home to over 40 endangered species. More than 270 military fires over the last 10 years have destroyed most of Makua's dryland forests except for the highest ridgelines.Militarization of YouthHawai'i has historically had a high rate of military recruitment. In 2006, Hawai'i ranked 13th among states in the number of Army recruits per 1,000 youth. Military recruiters have targeted low income communities of color who lack educational and career opportunities and are especially vulnerable to the economic enticements offered by recruiters. Military recruiters now have unprecedented access to students through the military recruiter access provisions and student personal information disclosure requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act. Furthermore, the Pentagon has hired private data mining companies to compile a database on students. In Hawai'i, the militarization of youth through reserve officer training corps (ROTC) programs, theproliferation of military imagery in popular culture and aggressive recruitment practices have also functioned to accelerate the assimilation and Americanization of local populations. In the 1920s, Commanding General Summerall of the Army Hawaiian Department created Hawai'i's second Reserve Officers Training Corp (ROTC) unit at McKinley High School, which was nicknamed "Little Tokyo" for its predominantly Japanese student body. Summerall wrote, "There is no better way of securing the loyalty of such people than to incorporate them in our military forces."Economic DependencyHawai'i's extreme economic dependency on military spending has distorted the social, environmental and cultural priorities of policy makers, a condition some have likened to an addiction. Since September 11, 2001, U.S. military spending in Hawai'i has increased. As a result, in 2003, military expenditures, the second largest "industry" in Hawai'i behind tourism reached $4.5 billion, a 13 percent increase over 2002. "In 2003, Hawaii ranked second in the United States, with $2,566 in per-capita defense spending, behind only one other state, Virginia, home of the Pentagon, headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense." The high rate of federal spending in Hawai'i has boosted industries like construction which have been detrimental to the preservation of cultural sites and natural resources. Housing subsidies for military personnel are indexed to market values, which tends to inflate the cost of housing, exacerbating homelessness in recent years.Military personnel in Hawai'i do not pay state income taxes. So the costs of public services are subsidized by local residents. This adds particular strains on the public school system which depends on state general funds. Federal Impact Aid that is supposed to offset the cost of providing services for military families, only makes up one tenth of the actual cost of educating military children.Past Resistance to Militarization in Hawai'iKaho'olaweKaho'olawe measures approximately 128,800 acres and is the smallest of the eight major islands in the Hawaiian archipelago. The island is sacred to Kanaka Maoli as an embodiment of the sea god Kanaloa. Kaho'olawe was also key to Polynesian navigation and settlement of Hawai'i. Kaho'olawe contains some of the richest cultural sites in Hawai'i. Originally part of the government lands of the Hawaiian Kingdom, the Navy seized the entire island for target practice on December 8, 1941. In 1976, the Protect Kaho'olawe 'Ohana launched the first of several rescue landings on Kaho'olawe to protest the bombing. After years of direct action, demonstrations and lawsuits, President George H.W. Bush stopped the bombing in 1990. $400 million was appropriated for the clean up unexploded ordnance and restoration of the cultural sites and native ecosystems of theisland, but the Navy failed to clean up the island to its stated goals. Instead only one tenth of the island is now safe for human use.The movement to protect Kaho'olawe was seminal to the Hawaiian cultural renaissance, the emergence of the contemporary Hawaiian sovereignty movement, and other demilitarization struggles.Makua ValleyThe Kaho'olawe movement helped to inspire resistance to the Army in Makua valley on the west end of O'ahu. The name "Makua" means "parents." It is believed to be one of the places where Papa and Wakea came together to create life on Earth. Makua has been used as a military training area since 1929. In 1942, the remaining residents of Makua were forcibly evicted by the military. Their homes and a church were used as targets. All types of munitions have been fired and disposed of in Makua. As a result the valley is littered with unexploded ordnance and toxic chemicals. The rich cultural sites and nativeforest have been destroyed or seriously damaged. Since the 1970s Kanaka Maoli have fought for the clean up and return of Makua valley. The struggle continues today as the Army pushes for expanded training in Makua.Halawa Valley / H- FreewayThe H-3 Freeway project was conceived in 1963 as a defense highway to connect the Marine Corps Base in Kane'ohe with Pearl Harbor. Although activists successfully asserted cultural and historic preservation laws to block the freeway from passing through Moanalua Valley, the project was realigned to Halawa Valley instead. Despite initial successes at challenging the new route, activists were trumped by Senator Daniel Inouye who passed legislation that exempted the H-3 project from applicable environmental laws. The Halawa Coalition, which was led by Kanaka Maoli women, occupied the Hale-o-Papa heiau - a women's temple in the path of the freeway from April 1992 until their arrest in August of that year.Hale-o-Papa was saved but other sacred sites were destroyed. After a 37-year struggle, the H-3 was completed at a cost of $1.3 billion, or $80 million-a-mile, the most expensive roadway everbuilt.Nohili / Pacific Missile Range FacilityIn the early 1990s, a coalition of Native Hawaiian and environmental organizations mobilized to block the Army Strategic Target System (STARS) missile launches at the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF). At issue were Kanaka Maoli burial sites in the sand dunes of Nohili, endangered species and contamination and accidents from the missiles. Thirty-five protesters were arrested for civil disobedience during the first two missile launches. Although the STARS program was de-funded by President Clinton in 1996, new threats emerged as PMRF's capabilities were expanded and as work on missiledefense programs later accelerated under George W. Bush. Post-September 11 security measures have blocked cultural, subsistence and recreational access to beaches at Nohili and have sparked new activism. The Navy is expanding ocean training maneuvers and intensifying its use of sonar, which would be extremely dangerous to marine mammals.Waikane ValleyWaikane in windward O'ahu contains many Kanaka Maoli sacred sites and traditional agricultural production. During World War II, the military leased 1,061 acres in Waikane and adjoining Wai'ahole for maneuver and live fire training until 1976. The Kamaka family, which owned 187 acres of the most heavily impacted areas, asked the Marines to clean up the unexploded ordnance as stipulated in the original lease. Instead, theMarine Corps condemned the parcel over the objections of the Kamaka family. In 2003, the Marine Corps announced plans to conduct "jungle warfare" training in Waikane as part of its war on terrorism in the southern Philippines. This triggered strong protest from the community. In a public meeting held in March 2003, the community demanded that the Marine Corps cleanup and return the Kamaka family lands in Waikane. Anotherimportant development was the solidarity from Filipinos/Kanaka Maoli youth protest against a Marine Corps amphibious landing at Bellows Air Force Base in Waimanalo. Many of those living in Hawai'i challenged U.S. intervention in the Philippines as well as the training in Waikane.The Marines eventually cancelled their plans for training in Waikane citing safety concerns, but they have not cleaned up the unexploded ordnance.PohakuloaPohakuloa on the island of Hawai'i is a vast plain of lava fields and native dryland forest located on the "saddle" between three sacred mountains - Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa and Hualalai. Established in 1956, the Pohakuloa Training Area (PTA) encompasses 116,341 acres, of which 84,815 acres are "ceded lands."PTA is the largest U.S. military training area in Hawai'i and the largest outside of the continental United States. Although the range is used for all types of live fire training, thousands of cultural sites have been identified within the PTA. It is the home to 21 endangered species of plants and animals. With Army proposals to expand the training area by 23,000 acres, Pohakuloa has again become a focus of resistance.Current Military Expansion ThreatsThe U.S. strategic rivalry with China, its hostility toward North Korea, the "second front" war on terrorism in Southeast Asia and the realignment of U.S. military forces and bases in East Asia has created added pressures to militarize Hawai'i.Stryker BrigadeThe Army is proceeding with plans to station a Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT) in Hawai'i that would bring 328 Stryker vehicles, 800 additional soldiers plus their dependents, and 28 construction projects to upgrade training, maintenance and housing facilities. One reporter called it "the biggest Army construction project in Hawai'i since World War II."Strykers are 20-ton light armored combat vehicles designed for rapid deployment and suppression of urban unrest. They will be stationed along with a new squadron of C-17 cargo aircraft and new high speed attack ships to provide transport for the brigade.The Army plans to seize an additional 25,000 acres of land - 1,400 acres in Central and Northern O'ahu and 23,000 acres adjacent to the Pohakuloa Training Area on Hawai'i Island. The extent of the Strykers' impacts would stretch the entire length of the North Shore of O'ahu. On Hawai'i Island, the Stryker trail would go from the port at Kawaihae on the western flank of Mauna Kea to the Pohakuloa Training Area.Despite the discovery of numerous hazardous chemicals from live fire training, proposed munitions use in Hawai'i would increase by 25 percent. The Army's own studies concluded that cultural sites will be destroyed and that there will be serious impacts due to fire, erosion and other environmental damage. Navy University Affiliated Research Center (UARC) The University of Hawai'i (UH) administration wants to establish a Navy University Affiliated Research Center (UARC) at UH.The proposed Navy UARC would conduct Navy weapons related research, including development and testing of various components of the "star wars" missile defense program and other advanced military research programs. This would haveharmful impacts to Mauna Kea and Haleakala where astronomy and astrophysics research is conducted, and the sand dunes of Nohili and the oceans off the north shore of Kaua'i, where missile launches and undersea warfare and sonar experiments are conducted. A coalition of students, faculty and community launched a series of actions to protest the UARC that culminated in a week-long occupation of the UH President's office demanding cancellation of the UARC. The UH Administration has continued to pursue the UARC, but contract negotiations have been delayed due to the continued protests."Star Wars" Missile DefenseHawai'i used to test a number of missile defense programs including the Groundbased Midcourse Defense, the Aegis Missile Defense, and Theater High Altitude Area Defense programs. U.S. officials have continuously demonized North Korea as an "axis of evil" country that poses a threat to Hawai'i in order to generate fear and justify the expansion of these missile defense programs.The 'star wars' facilities span the island chain: Pacific Missile Range Facility in Nohili, radar tracking stations at Koke'e, Makaha Ridge, and Ka'ena Point, the Air Force Optical Tracking Station on Haleakala mountain, and the supercomputer at Kihei, Maui. Lasers are tested on Haleakala. Target missiles are launched from Kaua'i.Aircraft Carrier Strike GroupOne of the largest militarization threats facing Hawai'i is the proposal to homeport an aircraft carrier strike group in Hawai'i or Guam. A carrier strike group would include a nuclear powered aircraft carrier, a cruiser, two destroyers, an attack submarine and a fast combat support ship and aircraft. In addition to the 3,000 officers and crew of the carrier, the air wing would bring 2,600 persons. Overall, the carrier strike group could increase the population by as many as 20,000 military personnel and their family members. Because Pearl Harbor is not large enough to homeport an aircraft carrier, major dredging and construction would be required, causing adverse environmental impacts. Due to the insufficient air base facilities to house the fighter air wing, politicians have offered to turn over the recently closed and transferred Barber's Point Naval Air Station back to the military. The final decision will be determined in the near future.Ku'e: Current Resistance to MilitarizationDMZ-Hawai'i / Aloha 'Aina is a network of organizations and individuals working to demilitarize and reverse the negative impacts of the enormous military presence in Hawai'i. The network was conceived at the Rethinking Militarism in Hawai'i Conference in 2000, organized by American Friends Service Committee that brought together activists representing various movements and communities in Hawai'i as well as international resource people. The DMZ-Hawai'i / Aloha 'Aina network unitedenvironmental, peace, anti-nuclear, womens', religious and Kanaka Maoli sovereignty and independence groups for the common purpose of demilitarization.The term "DMZ" stands for Demilitarized Zone, a term reclaimed from its usual military context. "Aloha 'Aina" expresses the core Kanaka Maoli value of "love for the land" and places Hawaiian cultural and political struggle at the center of this diverse grouping.The main campaigns of DMZ-Hawai'i / Aloha 'Aina are: opposing the Stryker Brigade, opposing the Navy UARC at the University of Hawai'i, and supporting the struggle for clean up and return of Makua valley. Actions have included pickets, marches, civil disobedience, lawsuits and Kanaka Maoli cultural forms of resistance.-Kyle KajihironoSTRYKERZ.jpgDU1.jpgDU2.jpgDU3.jpgDU.gifSTOPWAR.gif
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Bitten_Bunnies.jpg{ 20 MILION GENOCIDED THRU CIA Black Op's ,Schools Of Asassins ,NATO and UN with USA & UK as the BACKERS !}greed-2.gifGreed3-1.jpggreed-1.jpgNew World Order - the 4th branch videoNew World Order - Time to blow the coverStop the Genocide on Stolen Aboriginal LANDPLEASE GIVE THIS TO YOUR FAMILY & FRIENDZ ,"WAR" !PEACE WILL NEVER HAPPEN TILL WE MAKE SO!School of AmericasThe Illuminati and the New World Orderwarstopnow.gifclonepeace2.gifkisses-2.gifHuman.gifSTOPWAR.gif
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UH is chosen as site for new security center

UH is chosen as site for new security centerAfraid.jpgahuigo2.gifWHO'S HOMELAND are WE TALKING ABOUT!usa CONTINUES covert and overt opperations against the SOVEREIGN and NEUTRAL SOVEREIGNTY of the ILLEGALLY OCCUPIED NATION and Kingdom of HAWAI'I...UH with Dealing with usa and Military "Navy & Monsanto Co." brought Agent Orange and G.M.O., just to name a few ! to Poison our AINA, thus POISON US, IS HEWA !RE: UH is chosen as site for new security center
Mahalo: Nini'ane
UH is chosen as site for new security centerBy Craig Gima, Star Bulletin, 27 February 2008Some criticize the selection decision by the Department of Homeland SecurityThe University of Hawaii at Manoa is one of two universities selected for a new Department of Homeland Security research center, U.S. Sens. Daniel Inouye and Daniel Akaka announced yesterday.The Center of Excellence for Maritime, Island, and Port Security could bring up to $2 million a year during a four- to six-year period for "problem-solving research" into maritime and island security issues, according to a news release issued by the senators.However, opponents of a Navy research center at UH-Manoa said the new homeland security center raises similar issues."We don't believe that public universities should be turned into an agent of the national security state," said Kyle Kajihiro of the American Friends Service Committee and a member of the Save UH/Stop UARC Coalition.Kajihiro said there's a concern about whether research at the center would be classified. He is also concerned about the increasing amount of research money that comes from the military and homeland security agencies, which he said comes at the expense of funding for more basic research.Jim Gaines, the UH system vice president for research, and Gary Ostrander, the UH-Manoa vice chancellor for research, did not return phone calls yesterday asking for details of the new center.The news release does not indicate if the center will perform classified research or how it will be funded.Inouye cited UH's location, research expertise and its experience in natural disaster research in tsunami and earthquakes as reasons to locate the center at UH-Manoa.Inouye is a senior member of the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, and chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, which has jurisdiction over homeland security issues involving the nation's transportation infrastructure and telecommunications.Akaka, a member of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security, added that UH-Manoa was selected "after a highly competitive selection process. That demonstrates UH has the intellectual muscle to be on the front lines in helping to secure our country."The Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J., is the other center and will be responsible for research into port security.
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RE: Princess Ka'iulani film outrages some Hawaiians"Barbarian Princess" the Continuation of Racism through JollyWood and the neverending Glory. " propaganda 101TV.jpgWhen you go back on your Word & Break Treaties in World Court, Imprison a Queen on Trumped up Charges,Auction the Palaces contents & Riches over a ten year span. and then to have the Gaul to Lable the "ILLEGALLY OCCUPIED and in SLAVED " as " BARBARIANS " and CONTINUE TO ILLEGALLY OCCUPY & FORCIBLE RULE, WITH A TRUMPED UP RACIST PUPPET GOVERNMENT, THAT CONTINUES TO PRACTICE ITS SICKENING RACIST GENOCIDAL COLONIAL PROGRAM ON OTHER NATIONS & COUNTRIES THROUGH OUT OUR WORLD ???MAKES YOU PROUD TO BE AMERICAN IN GOOD OLE USA , THE OTHER ILLEGALLY OCCUPIED ONCE GREAT NATION , "AMERIKA" !nwo.gifPrincess Ka'iulani film outrages some Hawaiianshttp://www. honoluluadvertiser. com/A movie about Princess Ka'iulani currently filming on O'ahu has angered a small group of Hawaiians who say filmmakers are distorting the story of a beloved ali'i.High on their list of complaints was the movie's proposed title — "Barbarian Princess" — which was changed last weekend in an effort to ease tensions. The $9 million film now is titled "The Last Princess."But Hawai'i entertainer Palani Vaughan, who has complained about the film's script since he read it in February, said he is not convinced that English director Marc Forby will accurately portray the life and times of Ka'iulani."A non-Hawaiian is trying to interpret in an un-Hawaiian way what he is supposing has happened," Vaughan said. "Forby is coming and coloring it in a way that he would like to see it."Vaughan has organized several Hawaiians who plan to voice their concerns tomorrow outside 'Iolani Palace, where the film will be shot next week. The group is also concerned that filming inside the palace could damage irreplaceable artifacts.Ka'iulani, who died at age 23, witnessed the overthrow of the monarchy in 1893 and tried to restore Hawaiian self-rule. The filmmakers say the movie about her short life "is a breathtaking romance about an unlikely heroine and her unwavering fight to defend the independence of her people."Former Hawai'i resident Q'orianka Kilcher was cast as Ka'iulani. Kilcher portrayed Pocahontas in the 2005 film "The New World."The film is being made by Matador Pictures and Island Film Group.Vaughan, who turned down the part of King Kalakaua, said filmmakers sprinkled the script with behavior unbefitting a princess and those around her, including one scene in which she tells the king she hates him and another in which her father, a non-Hawaiian, strikes her.Vaughan strongly objected to a lovemaking scene and was told it would be removed."I have no personal agenda," Vaughan said. "We just want this film to represent Hawaiian people both past and present in a true and accurate light. It is for the good of our people and the future."Hawaiian activist Henry Noa said he is worried about the interior of the palace."They will have all these people coming in and out of the palace that we revere," he said. "That is a part of who we are. It is the pride and care we are concerned about. If it is damaged, who will be held accountable for that?"Leilani Forby, an executive producer and the wife of the director, said everyone involved with the film has worked with cultural advisers, University of Hawai'i scholars and Hawaiian language experts for the past four years to foster accuracy."We have the utmost respect for Hawaiians," said Forby, who grew up in Kailua. "That is what is driving the story. We want the world to know what happened."But the movie is a drama, she said."This is not and never has been intended to be a documentary," Forby said. "I wouldn't say things have been twisted. We have had to take several historical events and compress time just to get the important events on film."Forby said the film does not contain a love scene or any sexual reference."There is a love interest and there are tender scenes of this love blooming, but this is not going to be an R-rated film," she said.Protecting the palace is a top priority, Forby said. Everyone involved will wear soft booties to preserve the floor varnish as well as gloves. Replica furniture is also being made for interior use."We are going to have an inside crew and an outside crew and never the twain shall meet," Forby said. "Once you are in, you are in and if you go out, you are out."The filmmakers have worked with palace caretakers to ensure that lighting does not overheat the interior and have hired an equipment manager from England who is familiar with filming inside national treasures, she said.Kippen de Alba Chu, executive director at the palace, said it would be protected. Palace staff will always be on hand to escort the film crew, inside and outside."They will not harm anything," he said. "We will make sure of that."Reach Mike Gordon at mgordon@honoluluadvertiser.com.
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THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE !WE DEMANED TOTAL DEOCCUPATION and REPARATION !!OUR AINA CLEANED OF ALL USA ~HEWA~BECAUSE OF DA USA HAWAI'IANS & THE TRUE HAWAI'I WILL BE EXTINCT!= NO MORE ALOHA :(418916312_l.jpgEarthjustice claims win in Makua military lawsuitAssociated Press, March 12, 2008http://starbulletin.com/2008/03/12/news/story08.htmlA federal judge told the Army yesterday to quickly expand cultural access to native Hawaiian sites at its Makua Military Reservation on Oahu, according to Earthjustice, which represents the community group Malama Makua.The environmental law firm said U.S. District Judge Susan Oki Mollway gave the Army until April 15 to identify high-priority sites for clearing unexploded ordnance in order to increase access to cultural sites.Mollway also ruled the Army must provide a good-faith plan to clear the ordnance from the sites by July 15, it said.A message seeking comment from a U.S. Army Pacific spokesman wasn't immediately returned.Earthjustice said the Army had been required to expand access under a 2001 settlement with Malama Makua."We're glad the court will be holding the Army's feet to the fire to make sure it finally keeps its promises and expands opportunities for cultural access to Makua's sacred sites," said Malama Makua's president, Sparky Rodrigues."Without access to sites, we cannot connect with our ancestors, aumakua (family gods) and akua (gods)," he said. "The Army's failure to keep its word these past seven years has been like locking the door to our church."Earthjustice attorney David Henkin said the order reaffirms the Army is not above the law."Nearly seven years ago, the Army pledged it would move quickly to expand cultural access at Makua," he said. "Instead of honoring that pledge, the Army used every excuse it could concoct to keep native Hawaiian practitioners from the valley's sacred sites."We are hopeful that, with the firm guidance the court provided today, we will finally be able to work with the Army to fulfill the 2001 settlement's promise of restoring cultural life to Makua," Henkin said.Malama Makua sued the Army in 1998 to force it to complete an environmental impact statement before continuing to use the valley for live-fire training.A judge ruled in favor of the group, though soldiers and Marines were allowed to resume live-fire training after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to prepare for Afghanistan deployments.But the Army had to stop using the area again more than three years ago because it hadn't conducted the environmental study. It has been sending soldiers out of state for live-fire training while it finishes the report.INOUYE4.jpg
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OHA Trying to Revive Bill‏ ,Ceded-land accord supporters may retrytruth.jpg
Less than 24 hours after a stunning defeat for the state Office of Hawaiian Affairs before the Legislature, supporters of the proposed $200 million ceded lands settlement, including OHA officials themselves, held out hope that the agreement could be salvaged during the remaining month-and-a-half of the legislative session.
Meanwhile, opponents of the proposal said yesterday that OHA officials need to spend more time talking to the agency's beneficiaries after the legislative session to get the agency's priorities right.
After five hours of testimony, three major committees of the state Senate voted Monday night to shelve the plan, which would have had the state transfer three parcels valued at $187 million, $13 million in cash and at least $15 million annually, to OHA as its share of revenues derived from ceded lands.
In exchange, OHA and other Hawaiians would no longer be able to make further claims to those revenues.
Those opposed to House Bill 266 said Monday that the measure was giving up too much for too little and that it would have additional ramifications.
Two of three committee chairmen, Jill Tokuda, D-24th (Kailua, Kane'ohe), and Clayton Hee, D-23rd (Kane'ohe, Kahuku), said they wanted to OHA to go back to the drawing board after session.
But OHA Administrator Clyde Namu'o said agency officials want to talk to Senate President Colleen Hanabusa and House Speaker Calvin Say to see if there's still any chance of the settlement passing this session.
"When and if that is exhausted and there is no relief, the trustees will determine, based on counsel's recommendation, what the next course of action might be," Namu'o said. Asked if that might include a lawsuit, Namu'o replied: "Whether or not there is a cause of action that OHA might assert, that is what the attorneys need to determine and recommend accordingly."
He added: "Honestly, we would prefer not to go there. We really would prefer a legislative solution, and we don't think it's too late."
House Majority Leader Kirk Caldwell, D-24th (Manoa), said House Democratic leaders have also not given up on an amended bill that they helped craft.
"There are 26 days left in the legislative session, that's a little less than half," Caldwell said. "Many things can happen." House leaders have yet to discuss whether to hold hearings on Senate Bill 2733, the Senate's version of the agreement which crossed over from that chamber earlier this month, he said.
Procedurally, the House could change the language of the Senate bill to reflect House Bill 266. If that happens, House and Senate members could try to hammer out an agreement in conference committee at the end of session. But that could only be done if the Senate leadership assigned conferees to discuss the matter, and it would not be required to do so.
Almost as stunning as the committees' abrupt decision Monday was the tone of the meeting. At a House hearing on the same bill also held in the Capitol auditorium on Feb. 23, hardly anyone spoke in opposition. Before the Senate on Monday, a majority of the speakers testified against it.
Kamaki Kanahele, chairman of the Sovereign Councils of the Hawaiian Homesteaders Assembly, said what drew scores of homesteaders to the hearing was OHA's refusal to acknowledge that they, as beneficiaries of the ceded lands, should have been consulted more thoroughly and early on.
"They refused to recognize us, associate with us, to work with us," Kanahele said.
Namu'o said that in response to a request from lawmakers, OHA is holding more than 50 meetings statewide to discuss the issue with beneficiaries and the public.
"I would say that anecdotally, many of the people who attended the meetings did not have any solutions to improve the legislation," Namu'o said.
Tamar deFries, vice president of the Merchant Street Hawaiian Civic Club who helped rally opponents by passing out copies of the bills in Native Hawaiian communities in recent weeks, said beneficiary consultation "involves a two-way flow of information and opinion exchange that can lead to several levels of participation, including the involvement of drafting policy and legislation."
That has not been done, deFries said.
The interim will allow stakeholders to "begin a process of truth that includes: a full and complete inventory of the ceded lands, an audit of all gross revenues generated by the ceded lands, and beneficiary consultation with stakeholders," she said.
Reach Gordon Y.K. Pang at gpang@honoluluadvertiser.com.

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demand4.gifhau.giftruth3.gifoha4.gifOHA’s Mismanagement and Poor Judgment ContinuesMarch 5, 2008Posted to: http://ohalies.blogspot.comOn behalf of Administrator Clyde Namu‘o, Deputy Administrator of Beneficiary, Advocacy, and Empowerment Mona Bernardino announced on Monday, March 3, 2008 via email to OHA staff that she has been appointed the person in charge of the Grants Department, once known as Planning, Research, Evaluation, and Grants (PREG).The Planning, Research, Evaluation components of PREG have been assigned to Special Assistant to the Administrator Stanton Enomoto. OHA Chair Apoliona congratulated Bernardino and Enomoto via email from Washington D.C., upon receiving Bernardino’s email declaring her command of the Grants Department.Beneficiaries and the general public must be concerned that Namu‘o and Apoliona would strengthen Bernardino’s power in OHA, knowing that Bernardino was allegedly released as acting principal from Ka Waihona O Ka Na‘auao New Century Charter School, because she allegedly committed fraud.According to several individuals who reside in the community that Ka Waihona O Ka Na‘auao New Century Charter School serves, Bernardino allegedly approved and accepted on her own behalf an estimated dollar amount ranging from $150,000 to $160,000 beyond her approved salary in less than an estimated six months.Many Leeward Coast residents familiar with these allegations are patiently waiting for a formal complaint to be filed against Bernardino.Namu‘o and Apoliona continue to display mismanagement and poor judgment by giving more power to Bernardino over the dissemination of OHA’s trust funds through the Grants Department that will total an estimated 3.7 million dollars, essentially 10% of OHA’s total Board of Trustees approved operating budget for one fiscal year (July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009).Bernardino’s record at Ka Waihona O Ka Na‘auao New Century Charter School and her questionable usage of the Hawaiian Governance Small Grants Program that disseminated an estimated $340,000 in unreported grants ranging from $1,000 to $25,000 to buy political and community favors for Administrator Namu‘o and Chair Apoliona, while serving as the Director of Hawaiian Governance, ought to cause grave concern to all those who care about the management of OHA’s public trust and expect a fair and impartial grant process.Beneficiaries and the greater public need to understand that Bernardino will subjectively operate the Grants Department according to the wishes of Administrator Namu‘o and Chair Apoliona, which will not align with the needs of the Hawaiian community, but align with their personal agenda that includes the passage of the Ceded Land Settlement and Akaka Bill.Furthermore, let it be known that grantees submitting favorable testimony in support of OHA’s agenda will most likely continue to receive grants, as Bernardino maintains a detailed list of all grantees that submitted testimony favorable to OHA’s agenda for Namu‘o and Apoliona to access and review.The time is now, beneficiaries and the greater public, we need to call for a fiscal and management audit of OHA. We must urge the Hawai‘i Legislature to hold all lands and revenues in receivership or escrow until such audits are completed.Otherwise, it will be business as usual at OHA – secret negotiations, million dollar contracts approved in executive sessions, misuse of company credit cards, unreported grants to buy political and community favors, first class travel and overnight stays at luxury resorts, nepotism, staff intimidation and bullying, unreported expenditures pertaining to OHA’s nation-building campaigns, grantee pressure and coercion, staff surveillance, administrative demands for personal loyalty – and the list goes on...on behalf of linda gomes
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Army Sued to Clear Ordnance from Hawaiian Temples

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Army Sued to Clear Ordnance from Hawaiian TemplesEnvironmental News Service, February 20, 2008Today, community group Malama Makua asked the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii to order the U.S. Army to move quickly to expand cultural access to Native Hawaiian sites at Makua Military Reservation on Oahu.This access is required under the October 4, 2001 settlement that resolved Malama Makua's lawsuit challenging the Army's failure to prepare an environmental impact statement for training at Makua.Instead of clearing unexploded ordnance to open new sites to cultural access, as the settlement requires, the Army has, since February 2005, used the possible presence of unexploded ordnance as an excuse to eliminate nearly all access.After years of fruitless negotiations with the Army, Malama Makua is seeking the court's assistance to compel the Army to keep the promises it made when it voluntarily entered into the settlement."By denying access, the Army is denying our right to practice our religion," explained Malama Makua president Sparky Rodrigues. "To connect with our ancestors, 'aumakua [family gods] and akua [gods], we have to be able to walk up to cultural sites, oli [chant] and present ho'okupu [offerings]. That's why, when we settled the case in 2001, we insisted that the Army agree to give us access to cultural sites and promptly remove unexploded ordnance to expand our opportunities for access.""Instead of honoring its word, the Army has tried to keep us out, locking the door to our church," said Rodrigues.Makua, which means "parents" in Hawaiian, is a sacred area, rich in cultural resources. Over 100 Native Hawaiian cultural sites have been identified at in the Makua Valley, including heiau [Hawaiian temples], ahu [altars], burials and petroglyphs.For over three years, from the settlement's entry on October 4, 2001 until February 27, 2005, the Army allowed Malama Makua and others access to over a dozen cultural sites, without incident.Then, claiming unexploded ordnance posed a safety threat, the Army suddenly cut off access to all but a single site.The Army has been slow to clear ordnance to allow access to resume, reopening only three sites for the first time on February 9, 2008, after three years of closure.The other nine sites to which cultural practitioners formerly had access remain off-limits, and the Army has refused to commit to a schedule for their reopening."In the six years since the settlement was entered, the Army has failed to open access to a single new site at Makua," said Earthjustice attorney David Henkin, who represents Malama Makua. "Instead, it has moved in the opposite direction, barring cultural practitioners from sites they had visited for years. The Army's delay violates both the letter and the spirit of its agreement."Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2008.
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New Arizona law pressures Latinos to move

I THINK THIS IS AN EXCELLENT IDEA ! SINCE USA and ITS MILITARY ARE HERE ILLEGALLY ,THUS WE MAY APPLY THE SAME LAWS !usa.jpg141890498O102093375.jpgHAWAII was NEVER part of usa ,Prove me wrong !

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New Arizona law pressures Latinos to move

Exodus from jobs, schools after Arizona cracks down on illegal immigrants
The Associated Press
updated 1:28 p.m. HT, Fri., Feb. 29, 2008

PHOENIX - Parents are pulling students out of school. Construction workers are abandoning their jobs. Families are hastily moving out of apartments.

Two months after Arizona enacted a law punishing employers who hire illegal immigrants, the law is already achieving one of its goals: Scores of immigrants are fleeing to other states or back to their Latin American homelands.

Gaby Espinoza, who has been unemployed since November, is among those affected. She gave up looking for a job because of the law and may have to return to Mexico.

Espinoza's husband works here legally, but the law means that employers must ask her for papers, and she faces the daily fear of being deported.

"There's no work over there in Mexico," said Espinoza, who has three U.S.-born children. "People there live so poorly. Here, my kids have health insurance and Medicare. Over there, there's nothing."

Jose Perez Leon, a laborer in Phoenix who wants to return to his home in Mexico City, said jobs were plentiful when he came to Arizona about 18 months ago but began to dry up in the last three months.

"I don't like it here anymore because of everything that's happening," he said. "There's no work."

Challenges to the law
The Republican-controlled Legislature and Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano approved the law last summer out of frustration with federal efforts to curb illegal immigration. It took effect Jan. 1.

The law suspends or revokes the business licenses of violators and was intended to reduce the economic incentive for immigrants to sneak across the border. Illegal immigrants account for an estimated one in 10 workers in Arizona, which is the nation's busiest gateway for illegal immigration.

Business groups have challenged the law. While awaiting a ruling, prosecutors agreed to hold off bringing cases to court until at least March 1.

Republican state Rep. Russell Pearce designed the law to reduce spending on educating and providing health care for illegal immigrants and their families, and to encourage them to leave Arizona.

"Why in the world do (illegal immigrants) think they have a right to break the law? And we are the bad guys for insisting that the law be enforced? The public doesn't agree with that," Pearce said.

School enrollment drops
Many school officials believe the law has played a role in falling enrollment. The state's struggling economy and slumping housing market are other factors. Several districts reported losing more than 100 students at least in part because of the law.

The Isaac School District in central Phoenix, with a student body that is 96 percent Hispanic, lost 500 students, said district spokesman Abedon Fimbres.

The departure of so many students upsets people like Jackie Doerr, who is principal at Andalucia Primary School, which is in a separate district in west Phoenix. She said teachers had made progress teaching English to many of the children.

"They have to leave and start all over again. It's just so frustrating when you see how far they have come," Doerr said. "They are probably going to lose it, especially if they go back to Mexico. They are definitely going to have problems."

Driving Hispanics away
The law has also contributed to rising vacancies in Phoenix. The slow economy and a market overloaded with rental homes have exacerbated the problem, said Terry Feinberg, president of the Arizona Multihousing Association, a rental housing industry group.

Even so, property managers have reported that the law has also driven away Hispanics who are legally in the country, Feinberg said.

The construction industry says some of its workers are leaving, too, for California, Nevada, Colorado or Texas.

Veronica Avalos, an illegal immigrant who has lived in Arizona for 13 years, has been caring for her three children alone since January. Her husband's Arizona employer closed its doors. He now works in San Antonio building swimming pool decks.

Avalos and her children plan to join him in the coming months, but she worries how the move will affect her 11-year-old son, who is partially blind and has mild mental disabilities.

"We need to look for a school, services and programs for him. He has all those things right now," Avalos said. "But I don't know what will happen in Texas."

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23411209/

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