Palestinian Teacher wins Best Teacher Award.

Very moving and deserving tribute.  Please pass this on.  Mahalo. Jim Albertini

Press Release: March 23, 2016  U.S. Army and Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) latest Whitewash on Depleted uranium (DU) in Hawaii and throughout the U.S.
further contact: Jim Albertini 808-966-7622, email ja@malu-aina.org
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 www.malu-aina.org

Below is the latest from the NRC on rubber stamping military Depleted Uranium use in Hawaii and elsewhere — just concerning the Davy Crockett DU spotting rounds used from 1960-1968.  The Army has said DU was not prohibited from being used in training until 1996, but the Army and the NRC have blinders on. Today, there is a wide variety of DU rounds in the military arsenal. They are not going to investigate possible additional DU used in training.  Only the DU from old Davy Crockett spotting rounds that they got caught using.  The Army also says that the Davy Crockett  “DU is mostly in large fragments” which I believe is nonsense at least at Pohakuloa (PTA) which has been used for more than 50 years for bombing, artillery, etc. since Davy Crockett was first used.  If the DU is in large fragments, then shows us the fragments and clean them up. It’s likely more than 2000 Davy Crockett DU rounds were fired at PTA alone. More at Schofield Barracks on Oahu and likely Makua Valley and possibly Kaho’olawe.  SHOW US ALL “THE LARGE FRAGMENTS.”

The long and short is the military wants to continue bombing and turn any big pieces into small pieces to blow in the wind.  DU is most dangerous when inhaled in small dust particles. It is common knowledge that strong winds travel through the area where the 133,000-acre Pohakuloa Training Area is located in the center of Hawaii Island.  It appears that the military doesn’t want their live-fire restricted and they want to do minimal monitoring, if any at all.  In short,  it’s onward with the military mission, even if it endangers the health and safety of its own troops and the very people (residents and visitors) it is suppose to be defending.

On July 2, 2008, the Hawaii County Council passed Resolution 639-08 by a vote of 8-1.  That resolution called for stopping all live-fire at Pohakuloa until there is a complete assessment of the DU present and it is cleaned up.  7 other actions were also called for.  The Army has ignored the county’s call and continued bombing business as usual.  From all appearances the Army, and its so called nuclear regulators, neither care about the health and safety of people or the environment.  And the Hawaii State Department of Health has been no better in standing up to the military for the environment and citizens health  and safety from DU contamination.
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——– Forwarded Message ——–

Aloha,

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued Amendment No. 1 to Source Materials License No. SUC-1593 to the Army.  This amendment authorizes the U.S. Army to possess depleted uranium (DU).

The NRC has added 15 installations to Source Material License No. SUC-1593.  The initial license applied to Schofield Barracks on the Island of Oahu and the Pohakuloa Training Area on the Island of Hawaii. The amendment license now also applies to Forts Benning and Gordon (Georgia); Forts Campbell and Knox (Kentucky); Fort Carson (Colorado); Fort Hood (Texas); Joint Base Lewis-McChord/Yakima Training Center (Washington); Fort Bragg (North Carolina); Fort Polk (Louisiana); Fort Sill (Oklahoma); Fort Jackson (South Carolina); Fort Hunter Liggett (California); Fort Wainwright (Alaska); Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (New Jersey); and Fort Riley (Kansas).

The physical security and radiation safety programs are similar to those in the original license. But the environmental monitoring program will change. The Army showed, and the NRC agreed, that less environmental monitoring is needed because the exposures would be well below the NRC limits even during ground disturbing activities. The program now has criteria for developing separate environmental monitoring plans for each of the installations. These plans would generally require limited monitoring of potential routes for transport of contamination out of the impact areas. They would also include criteria for periodic review to address any changes that may affect risk, tailored to the conditions at each installation. The license requires the Army to develop these site-specific plans within six months and submit them for NRC review.  If they are approved, the Army must implement the plans within six months. They would then be subject to NRC inspection and enforcement.

The license does not authorize the Army to use the DU or decommission the sites.  Any cleanup would require additional review and approval by the NRC to ensure that public health and safety will continue to be protected.

The press release and the fact sheet are found on the NRC’s public web page at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/news/, and http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/bg-license-app-du.html), respectively.

The NRC’s safety evaluation report and the license amendment will be publicly available on March 28 (ADAMS Accession No. ML16039A225).

If you have any questions, please contact me.

Mahalo.

Amy

Amy Snyder, Senior Project Manager

Materials Decommissioning Branch (MDB)

Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery, and Waste Programs (DUWP)

Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS)

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)

Washington, D.C.  20555

( Office: (301) 415-6822

7 Fax: (301) 415-5369

– Mail Stop: T8-F5M

• Location: T8-E06B

8 E-mail: amy.snyder@nrc.gov

Tribute to three Justice and Peacemakers: Puhipau, Kekuni Blaisdell, and Leandra Wai-Rodrigues

I am not able to join the Honolulu gathering at the Iolani Palace ahu on Friday, March 25, 2016  to celebrate the lives of these three wonderful people, but they will be forever in my heart.  It’s been an honor to be part of their lives in the struggle for justice and peace over many years, and we are all blessed  by their passion, spirit, and good works.  Generations to come will be inspired by the lives of Puhipau, Kekuni and Leandra.
In 1993, I remember taking three special pohaku from Malu Aina to be part of building the ahu at Iolani Palace as a grassroots people monument.  Let those pohaku stand in honor of my friends forever.  With gratitude and aloha.
Jim Albertini

Good Friday Message:

Violence is not the Answer!

Only Love can Conquer Hate!

Tuesday’s bombings in Brussels that killed and injured scores is another human tragedy in a world of escalating violence. Our prayers and aloha go out to all the families whose lives have been shattered by such senseless acts. One thing should be clear. More violence is not a solution to violence. Shutting down borders, building walls, mass deportations, surveillance of Muslims, waterboarding, etc. as called for by some U.S. political candidates will not solve the problem of violence. Instead of making us all safer, such actions will only add to divisions, building more fear and hate.

If we really want to stop the escalating cycle of violence, building a more just, peaceful world should be our goal. There are great divides that need healing in our communities, nations, and world. The gap between rich and poor widens, resulting in desperation and a lack of hope by many. Our world seems to be in a state of perpetual war with the U.S. leading the way in creating chaos and what the CIA calls “Blowback” –growing hatred and senseless violence in response to policies of senseless violence – economic exploitation, regime changes, bombings, drone killings, Special Ops – assassination squads, etc.

On this day, as we remember the crucifixion of Jesus by the Roman Empire, let us remember his message. “Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you.” Jesus’ message to each of us is to become prophetic people for justice, peace and nonviolence. Our message should be one of calling for justice for the poor, narrowing the divides and healing our communities, putting an end to war by embracing nonviolence and peace as both the means we use and the end that we seek.

For most, it is easy to see the bombings in Brussels as senseless violence. But what do we call the killing of 4 million Muslims in modern Western wars?

http://www.mintpressnews.com/4-million-muslims-killed-in-western-wars-should-we-call-it-genocide/208711/

     Let us give pause and reflect on the meaning of senseless violence instead of making a knee jerk reaction of more violence. Let us realize that “an-eye-for-an-eye is only making the whole world blind. Together, let us be a voice of conscience for justice, peace and healing, not more hate, divisions and violence that is tearing our world apart. With new eyes, let us begin to see and respect each other and the earth we share. In truth, we are one human family. If only we can see and live as such.

“Love your enemies.” Jesus

“Hatred ever kills. Love never dies.” Gandhi

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 (March 25, 2016 – 757th week) – Friday 3:30-5PM downtown Post Office

Climate Change and War!

Two Sides of the Same Disaster Coin!

While many Americans become consumed by “March Madness” – the U.S. Presidential primary elections and the NCAA basketball championship being played out this month, there is another kind of madness afoot, a much more catastrophic madness.

In February, the planet hit a troubling Climate Change milestone. The mercury doesn’t lie. Temperature in the northern hemisphere crossed the must-not cross-line of more than 2 degrees Celsius, the first time in recorded history and likely the first time in the course of human civilization. Temperature records are being crushed monthly. Be prepared for more extreme and frequent storms and droughts. Last year Hawaii and the Central Pacific had 15 Tropical storms and hurricanes.  We were fortunate with no direct hits. But look at poor Fiji just last month and the massive flooding taking place across the U.S. south this week. What’s in store for Hawaii in the coming hurricane season?

The world is in a deep hole and it’s time to stop digging. Oil, coal and gas need to be left in the ground. Climate change is here and now and increasing rapidly.

 http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/03/05/mercury-doesnt-lie-weve-hit-troubling-climate-change-milestone?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=socialnetwork

The Pentagon’s War on the Earth!

The U.S. war machine is the largest single consumer of oil and the greatest emitter of CO2 in the world. The U.S. is a nation of war. Under Obama alone, the U.S. has bombed at least 8 countries, conducted regime changes, killed, injured, and made refugees of millions. Gallop polls say the U.S. is the most feared nation on earth. At home, recent reports show that the major party to poison our land, etc. is our military establishment created in the name of defending us.

http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/03/09/pentagons-war-on-the-earth/

      Just look at Hawaii Island. There are at least 57 present and former military sites, involving hundreds of thousands of acres littered with unexploded bombs and other military toxins, including depleted uranium, and chemical and biological warfare agents. The clean up cost is in the billions, perhaps tens of billions. Easy and fast to make a mess,. Hard, slow, and sometimes impossible to clean it up. And the Pentagon is skilled at seeking immunity from environmental protection laws.

American history professor, William Blum, sums it up this way: “American foreign policy is the greatest threat to world peace, prosperity, and the environment.” Let’s stop creating enemies and declare peace with all people and the earth itself.

It’s Time to Live Aloha!

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 (March 18, 2016 – 756th week) – Friday 3:30-5PM downtown Post Office