Peace Activists threatened with arrest at Hilo Armed Forces Day events
further contact: Jim Albertini 966-7622, ja@interpac.net
"Over a dozen peace activists were threatened with arrest for offeringpeace leaflets and peacefully sign holding at Armed Forces Day eventsin Hilo on Saturday, May 15th. The activists held signs reading"Rescue the troops from War", "Stop the War", "End U.S. Occupation",etc. along Hilo's airport road fronting the Civil Air Patrol Area ofHilo Airport from 10-11:30AM," said Jim Albertini of Malu 'Aina.
Albertini said "head of Hilo airport security Steven Satiago calledpolice and wanted the protesters arrested if they did not leave thearea where they were holding signs visible to those arriving for theArmed Forces day events and flights in and out of Hilo airport."According to Albertini, "Santiago, wearing an Army cap, also wantedpeace activists arrested for offering peace leaflets to people walkingfrom their parked cars toward the military displays."
Albertini said "peace activists stood their ground and refused to leavethe area to a more remote designated "free speech zone" citing theirfirst amendment free speech rights. Higher ups in both the policedepartment and State transportation were called and eventually theprotesters' rights were recognized."
(Copy of the peace leaflet below)
Jim Albertini
Malu ‘Aina Center for Non-violent Education & Action
P.O.Box AB
Kurtistown, Hawai’i 96760
phone: 808-966-7622
email: JA@interpac.net
Visit us on the web at: www.malu-aina.org
It's not just the troops that need rescuing from war. It's all ofus -- all of humanity, and the earth itself. The world is spendingTrillions of dollars on wars and militarism which is contributing toour global crisis with unprecedented human and environmental needsgoing unmet. The U.S. spends almost half of the world's total militaryspending. www.globalissues.org/article/75/world-military-spending
Besides the current wars consider the following: :The ongoing globalfinancial crisis threatens global economic collapse; there is aglobal environmental crisis that threatens the sustainability of lifeon the planet; an uncontrolled oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has noend in sight. Trust in religious institutions and governments to solveproblems appear at an all time low. Amid unprecedented concentrationof wealth in the hands of a few, billion dollar bonuses and bail outs,ordinary people are hurting. Look at the number of unemployed,foreclosures, homeless, and mounting debt. People are afraid, angry,and confused. Many don't know where to turn.
In the face of such crises, we need a new local and global vision ofjustice, peace, and caring for the earth, a vision that rejectsviolence as a solution to problems, a vision where the means we usemust be in line with the end we seek. The choice is now betweenembracing non-violence or non-existence. And a big question locallyand globally is can we recognize and end our addiction to war? Or willwe remain in denial?
Number of U.S. Military Personnel Sacrificed (Officially acknowledged)In America's War On Iraq: 4,715 icasualties.org/oif/
Many troops are in their multiple year deployment.
Cost of War in Iraq & Afghanistan $992,517,275,108 http://www.costofwar.com/
The Number Of Iraqis Slaughtered Since The U.S. Invaded Iraq "1,366,350"
www.justforeignpolicy.org/iraq/iraqdeaths.html
The number of casualties in Afghanistan and Pakistan are increasingdaily and there is an increasing threat of a US/Israel attack on Iran.
1. A majority of Americans says the war in Afghanistan is notworth its costs, the Washington Post reports. 56 percent ofindependents say it is not worth fighting, up from 47 percent inDecember. Among Democrats, 66 percent say it's not worth it, includinghalf who feel that way strongly.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/behind-the-numbers/2010/05/on_afghanistan_a_negative_shif.html
2) Shootings of Afghan civilians by American and NATO convoys and atmilitary checkpoints have spiked sharply this year, becoming theleading cause of combined civilian deaths and injuries at the hands ofWestern forces, American officials say.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/09/world/asia/09afghan.html
1. Mourn all victims of violence. 2. Reject war as a solution. 3.Defend civil liberties. 4. Oppose all discrimination, anti-Islamic,anti-Semitic, etc.
5. Seek peace through justice in Hawai`i and around the world.
Contact: Malu `Aina Center for Non-violent Education & ActionP.O.Box AB Kurtistown, Hawai`i 96760.
Phone (808) 966-7622. Email ja@interpac.net http://www.malu-aina.org
Hilo Peace Vigil leaflet (May 14, 2010 - 452nd week) - Friday3:30-5PMdowntown Post Office
Jim Albertini
Malu ‘Aina Center for Non-violent Education & Action
P.O.Box AB
Kurtistown, Hawai’i 96760
phone: 808-966-7622
email: JA@interpac.net
Visit us on the web at: www.malu-aina.org
Comments
It's good to hear that when we pass the baton, there will be people like you there to continue the fight. Although I don' believe in violence; it's not to say it can't happen. I look on the positive aspect that it can be handled more diplomatically which isn't a sign of weakness but someone's perspective. The same with aloha; it works both ways; if not reciprocated, than it doesn't work. Nonetheless, aloha is deemed by one's conscience and is a strength and not a sign of weakness. It's part of striving to be pono.
I remember that rimpac scenario of attacking Hawaiian activists. LOL... kudos for you. They didn't hear the end of it from many of us. If you recall that piece of news was printed in the newspapers and did cause a stir in the community. Thanks for the reminder. With military rotations, new arrivals have no clue of previous issues and whether it has been resolved or passed the buck. Often they feign ignorance of those type of incidents and think change of command will erase the insults.
Mahalo for spiking a recall on that. I couldn't stop laughing about it. You're correct, it was ridiculous, offensive, and arrogant.
Ultimately, we all do what we can to achieve real justice.
Holomua,
Tane
How wonderful for me to have the humbling experience of being schooled by kupuna. I believe our goals are similar but our paths differ immensely. Unfortunately your goal will not be achieved during your lifetime. That is why I will be the one to carry the torch of "pono" and that mission will be carried out my way.
During my 20 years in the navy whenever we did military exercises such as RIMPAC there were always good guys and bad guys. The good guys were designated by the colors white and blue, the bad guys were designated by red and orange. In 1999 I was at a RIMPAC brief and the person giving the intel brief was a black female senior chief petty officer. The scenario was suppose to be the navy attacking Hawaiian activists on the island of Hawaii. There were suppose to be protesters getting out of hand along the Kohala coast and all ships were to respond and offer them the chance to surrender peacefully or be subject to bombardment. I had never imagined the navy would stoop to something so ridiculous. When I asked about the niggers, spics, kykes, japs and chinks that might be helping the notorious Hawaiians, the room went silent and everyone looked at me like I was crazy. My division officer came up behind me and asked me to leave but it was too late, I was already furious. This group was so arrogant that they would plan a war game against Hawaiians while stationed in Hawaii?! I eventaully left and was repremanded, not the first time, not the last.
I was at Pearl Harbot the day the USS Lake Erie fired a live round into the hills of Aiea. No one got hurt so nothing got done. No one in the navy lost pay or time off. It was a minor black eye that soon went away because most people forget. Most people don't understand that you cannot file a law suit against the military and win. But what you can do is make life miserable for them off the base and not feel welcome here. I guess you could do it peacefully but that is not my style. People think Hawaii is the land of aloha and that it is our responsibilty to serve it to them. Well I tell you this, "Sorry, FREEESH out of aloha". You're gonna have to earn aloha from now on.
I mean you no disrepect and I applaud your efforts because at the very least you are trying to do something and it creates a good smoke screen for the real effort. I also feel that you may be a valuable asset when references will be needed. But I believe peace can only be achieved by maintaining some viable threat that can affect the economy or valued na mea of the existing government.
Jeff
If you read below the headlines, it's self-explanatory. That encompasses the situation of U.S. war-mongering throughout the world and a call for peace and not war. Yes, there are no troops that need rescuing in Hawai'i; they are here as a belligerent occupant. In 1893, President declared that U.S. military actions, invasion and belligerent occupation in Hawai'i, was an act of war. Thus, the U.S. occupation of Hawai'i is still ongoing since that time till today.
It's evident that your history lessons are limited and askewed. The U.S. actions in 1893 against another member (Hawaii) of the Family of Nations by violating its treaties, invading and unlawfully occupying this nation-state is the fact. In doing so, the U.S. is bound to the rules of occupation and the laws of neutraliy which it also disregarded. So, there is a process that's in place for de-occupation according to the Laws of War and Occupation.
Contrary to what you believe, the Kingdom of Hawai'i still exists and acknowledged by the Hague and in agreement with the definitions by a few of the nations that investigated the circumstances. Since there is no lawful treaty of annexation and the citizens protested against it, and the condition of belligerent occupation, it is deemed that the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Hawai'i still exists. Everyone within our territory are bound to follow our laws and constitution which needs to be up-dated. Some of the kingdom's laws are still used today. The "horse" is de-occupation and the "cart" is the transition. There is a process for the restoration of the Kingdom of Hawai'i. If you were familiar of these guidelines, you wouldn't be asking those frivolous questions and wondering about the contingency plans..
Typical of a U.S. American, your solution is to use violence and war-mongering instead of diplomacy.
I know Jim and like him. He live's on the Big Island and I live on O'ahu. Under international laws of occupation, U.S. Americans are labelled "hostile occupiers"/settlers and in violation of those laws. Jim as others will have the choice of expatriating from the U.S. and naturalizing to the Kingdom of Hawai'i. We would welcome Jim if he chooses to do that.
One doesn't need to be in the navy to know what's going on with the military. O'ahu is inundated by the miitary, dependents, retirees, and civil service people. Sometimes loose lips sink ships. There are also eye-witness accounts. I am well-aware of the EPA and they are a bunch of kukae as are many government agencies like FDA, NRC, etc. I have attended a few of the superfund meetings and know quite a few people within the military and civilans involed with it. The internet is a great tool for research. I and many people have long-term memories unlike many of the public at-large. Being old enough to be much older than your father; I have witnessed some things; like the tunnels on O'ahu, the incident when the navy "accidently" fired a DU-tipped round into the hills above Aiea Heights; When the army trained in Wahiawa area and the conditions they left the mountains; the spraying of toxins such as Sarin gas and others for their training which spread near some residential area; I've witnessed the glare of the atomic bomb testing on Johnston Island; the oil slicks in Pearl Harbor and pollution of other chemicals; dumping off our leeward coast. Heard from good sources that the army used DU arsenal in Wahiawa area; syringe dumping in our stream from Tipler Hospital; and several cases that the military acknowledged because they wee found out and couldn't deny it anymore. The list goes on.
I know, as many others do, what the sphere is on top of Mt. Ka'ala. It's common knowledge and not from the movies; I know the difference between fantasy and reality; sales and marketing schemes; fiction and non-fiction books. Naturally, the sphere's purpose to intercept communications; not to visually find WMD or Bin Laden; that's the job of Nasa's satellite station. We know the U.S. can easily find WMD in its back yard and that i can destroy the whole planet 20 times over. We know Bin Laden is a false flag and friend of the Bush family. Besides, The ex-Prime Minister Bhuto of Pakistan was interviewed before her assassination already told the public he was already assassinated by some of his adversaries. His health was already failing anyway and Bush lost interest in pursuing him.
With enough of the people protesting; things change. That's how the Vietnam war finally ended, Civil Rights was created. People's movement can make changes; don't be so pessimistic. If I do get to Hilo; I'll try to get to the park and help you.
Tane
Apparently you watched a different video than the one I saw and you must have read a different article other than the one above. I admit, I have not done research on your group and what you stand for but the article above clearly stated that the peace activists held signs reading, "Recue the troops from
War", "Stop the War" and "End US Occupation". There are no troops in Hawaii that need rescue. There is no War in Hawaii. The is no US Occupation in Hawaii. The article refers to troops over seas, possibly Iraq or Afghanistan.
Here is a history lesson I learned. After Kamehameha united the islands through war he did not occupy the outer islands, he was King. The USA assisted greedy businessmen in taking Hawaii and making it part of their country. If you don't like it, take it back. You must take it back or buy it back, no one will ever agree to give it back.
There is no Kingdom of Hawaii. You need a King to have a kingdom. A king needs an army or some kind of military force to be recognized and support his position. Until then you will not be recognized by the USA or the rest of the ruling govenrments of the world and will only be considered a nuisance. You must be a legitimate threat which your group is not. If the US were foolish enough to give Hawaii back to your group, how would you enforce peace? Who would be bound to follow your rules? What are your rules? You put the cart before the horse when you cry for freedom from the US without having a contingency plan.
When Russia invaded Afghanistan the Afghans went to war with the will to die for what they believe in. Are you willing too do the same?
The video I watched showed JimAlbertini talking about his farm and his desire to preserve it. He did it basking in his aloha shirt, under the shade of a tree in Kalakaua Park, a park where I have often picked up trash and helped to maintain. Whenever I did this, I don't recall seeing Jim there. He looks healthy, he speeks well, he did not seem to be in a wheel chair and he owns a farm with acreage. Apparently life under US Occupation has been OK for Jim. Jim even stated that he use to be a teacher at one time. I don't know what he taught but listening to him speak it sounds like he was teaching in a public school somewhere. This means he was being paid by the same govenrment he is complaining about which is his right as a tax paying American citizen. Good for Jim.
I was in the navy for 20 years and unless you were I don't believe you could possibly begin to imagine the abuse the military dumps on our islands. Do you know that there are two EPA offices in Hawaii? One in Honolulu and one on Pearl Harbor. Ponder that if you will. I know Pearl Harbor quite well and the ships in Pearl get away with murder to the environment becuase of the personal EPA office. Back in the 80's whenever we went on deployment we would onload our nuclear weapons from North Island and off load them there upon return. After deploying in 1985 we off loaded our nucs at West Lock. Who knows where they ended up from there. Is this why you claim Hawaii to be the most heavily nuclear armed place in the world? The spy sphere? Too many movies Tane, take it easy. Our spy sphere couldn't find weapons of mass destruction and still can't find Bin Laden.
I understand your desire for peace but it is unrealistic for you to demand peace without a means to enforce it. Come help clean the park sometime.
What makes you think we are basking in luxury of paradise when we are belligerently occupied? Who is more aware of the U.S. foreign policy, pre-emptive war, U.S. Aggression, and its Manifest Destiny doctrines saddled with imperialism and expansionism than we Hawai'i nationals?
The U.S. is devastating our lands to train for wars somewhere else. Because of the military, Hawai'i is the most heavily nuclear armed place in the world and missiles facing all the major countries along the Pacific Rim. They have a spy sphere that taps into all the countries throughout the Pacific and its perimeter.
The U.S. has put us in harm's way throughout its occupation of our country. Remember Pearl Harbor? That was also a false flag to gain U.S. American support to go to war during WWII.
Because of their training here, they have used Agent Orange, various toxins, and DU (which they will continue to use). They have escalated their militarism within our islands and it has affected our health, lands, and oceans from all the toxic and hazardous use and dumping.
So, don't be so smug in your remarks about us basking in the luxury of paradise and whineing about war somewhere else. Hawai'i is being used for war somewhere else because the U.S. feels we are expendable and merely colateral damage.
Now, if you want to help us continue to try to correct the wrong committed by the U.S.A. to us, we'd be most appreciative. We've been fighting to get the U.S. to de-occupy our nation-state and stop using our islands and territory for military use.