Annual Christmas Appeal

December 2015  

Dear Friends,                                                                      

Once again, I write to ask for your help to sustain the work of Malu ‘Aina.   As an all volunteer organization, Malu ‘Aina has been planting seeds, sharing food with people in need, and standing for justice, peace, and Aloha ‘Aina (Love for the Land)  and a living planet for the past 35 years.  We know we can’t do it alone.  It takes money, people power and commitment to carry on.  You have been an important part of this effort in one way or another, and we thank you for your solidarity in the journey.

Like farm work, the work for justice, peace, and protecting the environment is never ending.   We do our best, but  we can always use more help. We need your financial support and we need the next generation to carry the torch of nonviolence and the spirit of aloha in the work of Malu ‘Aina.  I am happy to report that we are currently in the process of transitioning leadership to the next generation of organic planters and activists.  It is my hope that a new generation of leadership will draw from the history and core principles of Malu ‘Aina but forge its own vision and action plan to solve problems now facing Hawaii and the world.

The times are indeed perilous: the very real threat of catastrophic climate/species disaster; the corporate domination of nearly every aspect of life for short term profit; the widening gap between rich and poor, a growing number of hungry and homeless; escalating violence in our streets and endless wars, regime changes, ongoing illegal occupations (Palestine and Hawai’i included), and chaos abroad resulting in a rising tide of refugees, hate and fear nearly everywhere. To say that our broken world that benefits the few at the expense of the many is in need of deep healing is an understatement. It seems to be a very hard lesson to learn: we cannot bomb, kill, and exploit our way to peace.

Your support and solidarity helps to keep us from being discouraged by setbacks along the way and to never, NEVER, give up in the struggle for justice, peace, and preserving the sacred earth we share. As philosophers through the ages have said: “No lie can live forever.” Blessings of this holy season to you and your loved ones.

With gratitude and aloha,
Jim Albertini

PS. Donations are tax deductible if checks are made to Center for Non-violent Education & Action P.O. Box 489 ‘Ola’a (Kurtistown), Hawai`i 96760. A Pay Pal account (Donate button) has also been setup on our webpage www.malu-aina.org as another convenient way to make donations. Please click “Subscribe” to receive the Malu ‘Aina weekly peace vigil leaflet (now in its 742nd week) and other posts for peace, justice and the environment. Other contact information: Phone (808) 966-7622. Email: ja@malu-aina.org  Mahalo.

They Kill the Prophets!

I would not be surprised in the least if the CIA and other U.S. vested interests involved in the Kennedy and King assassinations also assassinated Pope Francis.  In their view he is the most dangerous man on the planet — standing for peace, justice and the environment — condemning capitalism, the arms industries, wars, and calling for justice for the poor and strong action to prevent climate disaster.  The capitalists of empire, including the arms makers, oil companies, and their fellow warmakers hate this guy.  Watch out for some patsy, and the phony claim of a Cuban, Muslim, etc. “lone assassin.”I pray that I am wrong but history tends to repeat itself.  They kill the prophets!

JimAlbertini

CAMPAIGN

NONVIOLENCE

Building a Culture of Peace

Free From

WAR, POVERTY, & ENVIRONMENTAL DESTRUCTION

      During his US visit this week, Pope Francis has been challenging us to end the violence of poverty, war, and environmental destruction. Many of us, as part of Campaign Nonviolence, have been taking this same message to Washington DC and to the streets of every state. Our Hilo Peace Vigil is a vital link in a chain of more than 350 actions which have been speaking out against additional forms of violence—racism, gun killings, nuclear weapons, executions, police brutality, and mass incarceration. In Hawaii alone, there are more than a half-dozen events on four islands connected to the campaign.

      Gandhi called nonviolence “the greatest and most active force in the world … a force superior to all the forces of brutality.” It is the spirit of nonviolence that inspires and moves us today as we stand in this place—that same spirit, under the name Kapu Aloha, which motivates the protectors of Hawaii’s most sacred mountain – Mauna Kea.

      The Pope addresses his recent encyclical Laudato Si primarily to environmental concerns, while showing the link between our ecological crisis and human violence: “the violence in our hearts,” he says “is reflected in the sickness of the soil, water, air and all forms of life … the earth herself is among the most abandoned and maltreated of our poor.” And then he points to the ravages of war, magnified by nuclear and biological weapons: “War always does grave harm to the environment … Despite international agreements, research continues to develop new weapons capable of altering the balance of nature.”

      Here on Hawaii island we know that training for war causes grave harm to the environment. Chemical, biological and radiation weapons have been tested here, contaminating our soil, water, air, people, plants and animals. Unexploded ordnance (UXO) is widespread on the land and surrounding waters. The Pohakuloa Training Area (PTA) is a military toxic stew of weapons contamination that will require billions of dollars to clean up. The Pope has said the production of weapons is an “industry of death.”

      Today, we recall the prophetic words of Martin Luther King: “It is no longer a choice between violence and nonviolence. It is either nonviolence or nonexistence.”

     www.CampaignNonviolence.org

For Peace, Justice & the Earth!

1. Mourn all victims of violence. 2. Reject war as a solution. 3. Defend civil liberties.
4. Oppose all discrimination, anti-Islamic, anti-Semitic, anti-Hawaiian, etc.
5. Seek peace through justice in Hawai`i and around the world.

Contact: Malu ‘Aina Center for Non-violent Education & Action

P.O. Box 489 Kurtistown, Hawai’i 96760

Phone (808) 966-7622. Email: ja@malu-aina.org

Sign up on our website to receive our posts  http://www.malu-aina.org/

Hilo Peace Vigil leaflet (Sept. 25, 2015 – 731st week) – Friday 3:30-5PM downtown Post Office