Archive for March, 2020

Hilo Weekly Peace Vigil public participation on hold

Wednesday, March 25th, 2020

Due to the Covid 19 we are encouraging people to stay at home from the Hilo weekly peace vigil. I will simply post two signs at the corner letting people know the new peace leaflet each week is available at www.malu-aina.org.

Stay safe everyone!  Aloha.

Jim Albertini

No photo description available.

Covid 19 – Possible Bio Weapon? March 27, 2020 Hilo Peace Vigil leaflet

Wednesday, March 25th, 2020

Covid 19 – Possible Bio Weapon?

liberty

Here in under 9 minutes you will see evidence that Covid 19 DID possibly come from US/Chinese bio-weapons labs. The evidence comes from Dr. Francis Boyle, international lawyer and bio weapons expert. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DAI3c9wE0Q 

Regardless of the Covid 19 origins, the Pandemic is causing a global public health and economic crisis that needs to be taken very seriously. It should also cause all of humanity to address more seriously the global climate crisis/catastrophe that we have ignored for far too long.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/coronavirus-climate-change-action-panic_n_5e6a27b4c5b6747ef117ff0d?fbclid=IwAR1gjjRDTr57_5ztAYxCxH8CyF6oPPDQLVBpZ5idjgewPknJSPF1PKxk3g8

Protecting public health to prevent COVID-19 from spreading by stay-at-home orders, state and community lockdowns, and social distancing reflect common sense policymaking. Overstepping occurs if martial law is declared and constitutional rights are suspended.” Stephen Lendman Do not let Martial Law come to the U.S. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/54058.htm

Let us also Remember!

U.S. Military Chemical/biological agents were tested in the late 1960s on Oahu, on Hawaii Island, and in waters around Hawaii. On Hawaii Island the US Army leased State land for what was said to be “weather testing.” The military lied about what they were doing. The leased lands were in the Waiakea forest reserve, Hilo’s watershed. Among the many chemical/biological agents tested south of Hilo off Stainback highway was Sarin nerve gas — 1/50 of a drop can kill you. Hunters report there are areas in the Waiakea forest where nothing still grows today – more than 50 years after the testing. Brief fact sheets were finally released 40 years later in the early 2000s on some of the chemical/biological agents tested in the 1960s in Hawaii. For more details see the links below.  What will future generations learn 40 years from now about today?

http://archives.starbulletin.com/2002/10/31/news/story4.html#

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/01/us/us-tested-a-nerve-gas-in-hawaii.html

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-admits-bio-weapons-tests/?fbclid=IwAR1O-OCAjx0G_kWmFJ42LxuFi_6q_K6fmml1-HgZ0jrL02Y-Pkj-Mj4N_80

Weapons & War are NOT the Answer!

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 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), Hawaii 96760 Phone (808) 966-7622 Email ja@malu-aina.org

For more information and to receive our posts go to www.malu-aina.org

March 27, 2020 Hilo Peace Vigil leaflet – week 965 – Fridays 3:30-5PM downtown Post Office

2020 Experience Pohakuloa Day CANCELLED

Tuesday, March 24th, 2020

Aloha Mr. Albertini, 

 

The health and safety of the workforce and community is my main priority as our nation responds to the COVID19 pandemic. I appreciate your email and to let you know the Annual Experience PTA Day event that was scheduled for April 23rd was cancelled and will be rescheduled for later date. DTG TBD. 

v/r

LORETO V. BORCE, JR
LTC, FA
Garrison Commander
USAG-Pohakuloa Training Area
Office: (808) 969-2407
Work Cell: (808) 228-6598
NIPR: loreto.v.borce.mil@mail.mil
SIPR: loreto.v.borce.mil@mail.smil.mil

 
Pohakuloa Training Area Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/PohakuloaTrainingArea/“GOD, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” 

On Mar 23, 2020, at 7:12 PM, Jim Albertini <ja@malu-aina.org> wrote:


Aloha Commander Borce,

Aren’t you concerned about the health of our community?  Please cancel  Experience PTA Day April 23, 2020.

Mahalo.

Jim Albertini


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 < Caution-mailto:ja@malu-aina.org >  Visit us on the web at www.malu-aina.org > 

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Healthcare not Warfare March 20, 2020 Hilo Peace Vigil leaflet

Wednesday, March 18th, 2020

A Question of Priorities

CDC: $11 billion vs. Pentagon: $738 billion    

 
war

     The Coronavirus pandemic is sweeping across the U.S. and the world and people are dying in increasing numbers. It’s becoming clear how unprepared and underfunded the U.S. public health system is to handle this crisis. Hospitals and health care workers are scrambling for equipment desperately needed. Meanwhile, the U.S. continues to bomb Iraq, Afghanistan, and numerous other countries in endless wars costing trillions of dollars, millions of lives, destruction and chaos.

      Many events originally scheduled for Hawaii have now been postponed or canceled due to the Coronavirus. But one event is still full speed ahead – RIMPAC 2020 –the 27th Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) military war exercises. From late June through early August “Hawaii’s skies will be filled with rockets, mortars, missiles, and drones. warships, fighter jets, destroyers, and submarines will maneuver, and more than 25,000 military personnel will gather in Hawaii … for the world’s largest international maritime exercises, if all goes as planned.” Over 2 dozen countries are scheduled to participate many experiencing COVID-19 cases. For more details on RIMPAC 2020 see https://thediplomat.com/2020/03/as-the-coronavirus-spreads-rimpac-planners-face-grim-facts/

      Join the movement to cancel RIMPAC 2020. The money spent on war exercises should go to the healing needed from the Coronavirus pandemic. Email ja@malu-aina.org if you would like your name added to the statement below to be sent to all nations participating in RIMPAC 2020.

Stop RIMPAC 2020 Bombing of Hawaii!

From late June until early Aug, every two years since the early 1970s other countries have come to Hawaii to join the U.S. military in conducting war games — bombing air, land and sea.  In 2018 more than 2 dozen countries — including some 47 surface ships, five submarines, 18 national land forces, and more than 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel participated in RIMPAC.  The war games include the bombing and shelling of the 133,000-acre military Pohakuloa Training Area (PTA), located in the center of Hawaii island. We, the undersigned, say — Enough already!  We say No to RIMPAC 2020.  We say Stop the Bombing of Pohakuloa and conducting war games in the air, on land, and the sea around Hawaii.  This is not Aloha and Malama Honua (taking care of the earth). Wage Peace Not War!  End the illegal U.S. military occupation of Hawaii that has been ongoing since 1893 when the U.S. Military assisted foreign business interests in the illegal overthrow of the lawful government of the independent nation of Hawaii.

Healthcare Not Warfare!  Wage Peace!

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 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), Hawaii 96760 Phone (808) 966-7622 Email ja@malu-aina.org

For more information and to receive our posts go to www.malu-aina.org

March 20, 2020 Hilo Peace Vigil leaflet – week 964 – Fridays 3:30-5PM downtown Post Office

RIMPAC 2020 still going forward

Tuesday, March 17th, 2020
I checked with the US Navy Third Fleet — RIMPAC 2020 is full steam ahead. Read about it here:
 
 

thediplomat.com

As the Coronavirus Spreads, RIMPAC Planners Face Grim Facts

By Jon Letman for The Diplomat | March 17, 2020

Features | Security

The world’s largest international maritime exercise is scheduled to take place this summer. For now, it’s still on.

As the Coronavirus Spreads, RIMPAC Planners Face Grim Facts

Navy ships assemble to form a multinational fleet for a photo exercise off the coast of Hawaii during the Rim of Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise July 26, 2018. Credit: U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Dylan M. Kinee/Released

This summer Hawaii’s skies will be filled with rockets, mortars, missiles, and drones. Warships, fighter jets, destroyers, and submarines will maneuver, and more than 25,000 military personnel will gather in Hawaii for the 27th Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise, the world’s largest international maritime exercises, if all goes as planned. 

But that’s one big “if.” 

The spread of a novel coronavirus, termed SARS-CoV-2 and causing COVID-19 — now a global pandemic — is forcing an ever-increasing number of cancellations, travel bans, and sweeping, unprecedented disruptions.

School closures have affected over 776 million students. Major public gatherings, international conferences, and events large and small have been scrubbed. Entire countries have been put on lockdown. 

In addition to health fears, disruptions and uncertainty have jolted the global economy as businesses shutter, financial markets plunge, and event planners from the South by Southwest festival (cancelled) to the Tokyo Olympics (not cancelled, yet) must consider scaling back, postponing, canceling, or risking that they may contribute to the worsening and prolongation of the pandemic. 

For those planning this year’s RIMPAC exercises, expected to be held between late June and early August, the timing is tricky.

Since 1971, RIMPAC has been held in Hawaii and to a lesser degree southern California, where, in 2018, the commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet welcomed military personnel from 24 other countries, including Australia, Canada, India, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam. 

In 2018, the U.K, France, and Germany, all currently experiencing a spike in COVID-19 cases, participated in RIMPAC . 2018 “observer nations” Turkey and Ecuador, and all other participants, have been invited back in 2020. China, which had been initially invited to RIMPAC 2018, was ultimately disinvited over tensions in the South China Sea. 

A roster of participating countries for the 2020 iteration has not yet been publicly released.

The United States Naval Institute (USNI) news forum recently reported that Admiral John Aquilino, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, said RIMPAC 2020 remained on track despite the spread of the coronavirus. This is in contrast to Europe, the Middle East, and Africa where joint military exercises have been cut short, scaled back, or cancelled in response to the coronavirus threat.

Aquilino described this year’s RIMPAC as “more complex and challenging” than in previous years. He also said that adequate precautions would be taken to ensure U.S. sailors and their families stay healthy, to limit the ability of the U.S. Navy to transmit the disease, and to maintain the Navy’s warfighting readiness.

Lt. Rochelle Rieger, a deputy public affairs officer with the U.S. Third Fleet, said that “the health, wellness, and safety of our collective RIMPAC 2020 team is a top priority,” adding that “planners and medical personnel will continue to closely monitor the global coronavirus situation and apply appropriate mitigations… to protect the force [and] prevent the spread of the virus to U.S. territories and partner nations.”

Meanwhile, several U.S. service members have been stricken with COVID-19 at bases within the United States. A marine dependent tested positive at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and at least nine cases involving U.S. Forces Korea, military dependents, or contractors in South Korea have been identified.

The U.S. Army has announced the suspension of travel to and from both South Korea and Italy for soldiers and dependents after the first U.S. Navy sailor in Italy tested positive for the virus. Meanwhile the Army’s top officer in Europe has self-quarantined out of fear he was exposed to the virus during a recent conference.

Last week, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper announced a 60-day ban on travel by troops or families. Beginning this week a “Stop Movement” order for members of the U.S. military will ban all domestic travel through May 11.

Global pandemic notwithstanding, RIMPAC brings a lot of money into Hawaii’s economy. Determining the exact economic impact of an event as large as RIMPAC has proven to be difficult but, according to Chamber of Commerce Hawaii president and CEO Sherry Menor-McNamara, the Navy Supply Systems Command and Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism estimate RIMPAC generated $67 million for Hawaii businesses in 2014.

Add to that spending on fuel, supplies, and services, and the amount surpassed $100 million. Similar figures were reported for 2018 and “we should expect RIMPAC 2020 will have the same level of economic scale,” Menor-McNamara said. 

“An additional concern is that RIMPAC is a significant training venue for the U.S. Navy and our partners and allies in the region,” Menor-McNamara said. “It fosters international cooperation and trust throughout the region while emphasizing humanitarian and disaster relief operations and support, as well as security and stability, which ultimately lead to prosperity and the free flow of commerce, which is especially important here in Hawaii.”  

Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell echoed that sentiment in a statement provided to The Diplomat. “The City and County of Honolulu always welcome military personnel from the continent and other locations around the world to the RIMPAC exercise on Oahu.” 

Caldwell touted RIMPAC as promoting international collaboration, diversity, and mutual understanding, “security cooperation vital to the United States and our island community,” and a positive impact for the economy. Decisions on how to proceed with RIMPAC, the mayor said, would be made working closely with local military commands and the highest level of militaries of participating countries.

Ed Hawkins, executive director of Honolulu’s Office of Economic Development, said the large number of military personnel and families that RIMPAC draws provide a “deep economic push” through purchases of food, fuel, and other supplies, as well as leisure spending and the transient accommodation tax on Oahu. 

“Right now we’re just following the guidelines of CDC,” Hawkins said. “Any large gatherings are discouraged. Major events like the Honolulu Festival — bringing in about 3,000 people to downtown Honolulu — was cancelled.”

Regarding conducting RIMPAC this summer, Hawkins speculated there could be restrictions on military personnel attending large group gatherings, but added, “As long as protocols are followed, I think there wouldn’t be concern about that.”

Professor Vivek Nerurkar, chair of the Department of Tropical Medicine, Medical Microbiology, and Pharmacology and director of the John A. Burns School of Medicine Biocontainment Facility at the University of Hawaii, believes there’s still time to observe global health developments before RIMPAC is scheduled to begin. “I suspect that things will look much different come six weeks from now,” Nerurkar said. “I think it’s just a game of waiting to see how bad it gets or how good it turns around.”

Nerurkar said he is more concerned about the threat posed by cruise ships in Hawaii than by military vessels.

But in Hawaii, which was a sovereign, independent kingdom until being overthrown with support from the U.S. military in 1893, some view RIMPAC as one form of ongoing exploitation and an unwelcome militarization of Hawaiian air, land, and sea.

Ann Wright, a retired U.S. Army colonel and diplomat who resigned in protest against the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, called RIMPAC “provocative in normal times,” and said “to allow international military to come to Hawaii when U.S. military cannot travel domestically would be irresponsible.”

The office of Governor David Ige and Hawaii’s Department of Health did not respond to requests for comment.

From multinational military training and testing new weapons, promoting military technology along with international exchanges, developing interoperability and “validating command and control of multinational task groups,” to the tens of millions of dollars that flow in the wake of the battleships and submarines, RIMPAC’s impact is enormous. 

But as the world battles a global pandemic that has infected over 179,700 and taken the lives of at least 7,100 people in 140 countries (and counting), the grim facts suggest RIMPAC planners need to take a long, hard look at what holding the exercise could mean for people in Hawaii, across the Asia-Pacific, and around the world. In the coronavirus, humanity faces an enemy that is bolstered by large gatherings and can’t be vanquished with bullets and bombs.

Jon Letman is a Hawaii-based independent journalist covering politics, people, and the environment in the Asia-Pacific region. He has written for Al Jazeera, Foreign Policy in Focus, Inter Press Service, and others.