U.S. 2024 Elections!

     I am writing these words on Monday afternoon, November 4th, the day before US election day. What the results may be, especially for the US President, is unknown. Predictions are that the election is too close to call. It could go either way—for Democrat Kamala Harris or Republican Donald Trump.

     This much we do know. National Guard troops are on alert throughout the U.S. for possible violence. Both the Democratic and Republican Parties are War Parties. Both support a 1 Trillion dollar annual military budget. Both parties have approved an additional $1.7 Trillion for the US military to upgrade its nuclear arsenal that already can destroy the world many times over. US B-52 strategic bombers have now been sent to the Middle East as the war there escalates. “The US Army Prepares for War with China” showing parachute jumpers at Pohakuloa. was the front page article in the Hawaii Tribune-Herald of Wed. Oct. 30, 2024. Bipartisan Congressional support keeps pouring tens of Billions of dollars of US military aid to Ukraine, Israel, and the Indo-Pacific Military Command for widening wars.

     Meanwhile, on Hawaii Island, 40% of households (33% statewide) are food insecure. At the same time, millions of live military rounds are fired annually at the 133,000-acre Pohakuloa TOXIC Area in the center of our island, including the $250,000 Javelin anti-tank missile pictured below.

     Besides food insecurity, everyone can see increasing numbers of homeless people on our streets, and more and more people born and raised here are now being forced to move out of Hawaii while the rich move in. High Tech Billionaire barons have replaced Big Five Sugar barons: Larry Ellison of Oracle now owns more than 95% of Lanai, Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook owns a palatial vacation estate on Kauai complete with a 5000 square foot underground bunker, Jeff Bezos of Amazon is on Maui, Mark Benioff of Sales Force on Hawaii Island, etc. etc., etc.

Hawaii, the most isolated land mass in the world, now imports 95% of the food it consumes. When Hawaii was an independent nation, before the illegal US overthrow and ongoing illegal Occupation, Hawaii produced 100% of the food it consumed. No matter who is elected, our work is clear:

End War, Stop the Genocide, and Restore Aloha ‘Aina!

Kapu Aloha — Nonviolence Always!

1 . Mourn all victims of violence. 2. Reject violence & war as solutions. 3. Defend civil liberties.  4. Oppose all discrimination: anti-Islamic, anti-Semitic, anti-Hawaiian, anti-Black, anti-Asian,

anti- Russian, anti-LGBTQ, etc. 5. Seek peace through peaceful means and work for justice in Hawai`i and around the world.

Malu ‘Aina Center for Non-violent Education & Action P.O. Box 489 Ola’a (Kurtistown), Hawai’i 96760 Phone (808) 966-7622 Email ja@malu-aina.org to receive our posts.

For more information see https://www.malu-aina.org

Nov. 8, 2024, Hilo Peace Vigil leaflet – week 1206– Fridays 3:30-5 PM downtown Post Office

Please Testify in Support!

Restore Hawaii County’s Historic

Nuclear–Free Law!

Repeal the Military Exemption!

Support Bill 206 draft2 Click on the link Bill 206 to read the Bill. Send an email in support to counciltestimony@hawaiicounty.gov

     Good News! Bill 206 Draft 2 requires only one more council vote on Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, at 1 PM in Hilo to move the Bill to the Mayor for his signature to become County law. Please mark your calendar.  Try to attend the Hilo meeting at the Council Chambers.  You can now send testimony by email up until 1 day before the final vote.  People can also testify via Zoom from their homes at the Nov. 8th meeting, or from various county sites around the Island.  Call the County Clerk’s office for more information.  808-961-8255. Mahalo for your support. Jim Albertini for Malu ‘Aina

     Background: Hawaii County’s historic Nuclear-Free Law (No, 665) was passed in February 1981. Hawaii County was the first municipality in the U.S. to pass a law declaring itself a Nuclear-Free Zone. Since then, more than 100 or 200, other municipalities have passed similar laws.

      Forty years ago, on July 18, 1984, hundreds of people gathered peacefully on the Hilo docks to protest a visiting nuclear-armed US Navy warship—the USS Ouellet. After three years of unsuccessfully requesting the US Navy to respect our County’s Nuclear-Free law, our organization announced that we planned a nonviolent, peaceful swimming protest of the next Navy Nuclear ship visit a month later. A Navy Nuclear ship visit was planned for the July Hawaii Japanese Chamber of Commerce Festival of the Pacific.

     On July 17, 1984, the day before the nuclear warship’s scheduled arrival, the Hawaii County Council, under the leadership of then Council chair, Stephen Yamashiro, passed an emergency amendment “exempting the military” from the Nuclear-Free law.  Having an amendment to the Nuclear-Free Law to exempt the military is like having an exemption for smokers from Smoking laws.  It makes no sense. For more on the Hilo Bay Warship Peace Blockade,  see https://malu-aina.org/?p=10305 My testimony on Oct. 1^st can be viewed here. https://malu-aina.org/?p=10529

––Malu ‘Aina Center for Non-violent Education & Action P.O. Box 489 Ola’a (Kurtistown), Hawai’i 96760 Phone (808) 966-7622

Email ja@malu-aina.org to receive our posts. For more information see https://www.malu-aina.org

-- 
Jim Albertini Malu 'Aina Center For Non-violent Education & Action P.O. Box 489 Ola'a (Kurtistown) Hawai'i 96760
Phone 808-966-7622 Email ja@malu-aina.org Visit us on the web at www.malu-aina.org

Join the Friday weekly Hilo Peace Vigil and peace organizing meeting Monday, Oct. 28th at 6 PM in Kea’au

Aloha Peace ohana,

Please pass the word on the above.  We are now in week 1204 of our weekly Hilo Peace vigil.  We have entered our 24th year of standing for peace every Friday outside the Hilo downtown Federal Building/Post Office 3:30 – 5 PM.  Every week I write a new peace leaflet available on our www.malu-aina.org <www.malu-aina.org> website and handed out on the Hilo street corner.  We also have an email list.  if you know of people who want to be placed on our list please let me know.

We also have Peace organizing meetings on the 2nd and 4th Mondays of the month.  The meetings are held at the Kea’au Community Center, located behind the Kea’au Police station and the health clinic off old Volcano Rd.  The meetings are from 6-8 PM where we discuss a range of local and international peace issues and plan local peace actions.  Our next meeting is Monday, Oct. 28th.

Mahalo for your support and solidarity.  Please share with ohana and friends.

JIm

 
Jim Albertini Malu ‘Aina Center For Non-violent Education & Action P.O. Box 489 Ola’a (Kurtistown) Hawai’i 96760
Phone 808-966-7622 Email ja@malu-aina.org Visit us on the web at www.malu-aina.org

Restore Hawaii County’s

Historic Nuclear–Free Law!

Repeal the Military

Exemption!

Support Bill 206

Click on the link above to read the Bill

Send an email in support of Bill 206 to counciltestimony@hawaiicounty.gov

On Wed. Oct. 16th, the Hawaii County Council voted 9-0 to support Bill 206 Draft 2 at its meeting in Kona to repeal the 40-year-old Military Exemption from the County’s Nuclear-Free Law.  This is very good news.  Several people testified from around the island in support of Bill 206.  As far as I could tell, no one testified in opposition.

Bill 206 Draft 2 requires one more council vote to move the Bill to the Mayor for his signature to become County law.  That second vote will be in Hilo, likely on Friday, Nov. 8th at 9 AM, although the time and date will not be confirmed until 6 days prior.  But please mark your calendar.  Try to attend the Hilo meeting at the Council Chambers.  You can now send testimony by email up until 1 day before the final vote.  People can also testify via zoom from their homes at the next meeting, or from various county sites around the Island.  Call the County Clerk’s office for more information.  808-961-8255.

Mahalo for your support.

Jim Albertini for Malu ‘Aina

More Background

     Hawaii County’s historic Nuclear-Free Law (No, 665) was passed in February 1981. Hawaii County was the first municipality in the U.S. to pass a law declaring itself a Nuclear-Free Zone. Since then, more than 100 or 200, other municipalities have passed similar laws.

     Forty years ago, on July 18, 1984, hundreds of people gathered peacefully on the Hilo docks to protest a visiting US Navy Nuclear-armed warship – the USS Ouellet. After 3 years of requesting the US Navy to respect our County’s Nuclear-Free law without success, our organization announced that we planned a non-violent peaceful swimming protest of the next Navy Nuclear ship visit a month later. A Navy Nuclear ship visit was planned for the July Hawaii Japanese Chamber of Commerce Festival of the Pacific.

On July 17, 1984, the day before the nuclear warship’s scheduled arrival, the Hawaii County Council, under the leadership of then Council chair, Stephen Yamashiro, passed an emergency amendment “exempting the military” from the Nuclear-Free law.  Having an amendment to the Nuclear-Free Law to exempt the military is like having an exemption for smokers from Smoking laws.  It makes no sense. For more on the Hilo Bay Warship Peace Blockade,  see https://malu-aina.org/?p=10305 My testimony on Oct. 1^st can be viewed here. https://malu-aina.org/?p=10529

-- 
Jim Albertini Malu 'Aina Center For Non-violent Education & Action P.O. Box 489 Ola'a (Kurtistown) Hawai'i 96760
Phone 808-966-7622 Email ja@malu-aina.org Visit us on the web at www.malu-aina.org