Flood relief supplies dispatched to Niigata by Ishinomaki Disaster Recovery Assistance Council and Peace Boat

(Peace Boat and IDRAC volunteers load a truck.
Photo by Peace Boat volunteer Miki Kojima)
Intense rainfall, mudslides, and flooding in Niigata and Fukushima have forced over 18,000 people to flee from their homes. In the aftermath, residents of Ishinomaki, a town hard hit by the 3/11 tsunami and earthquakes have immediately come to the the aid of people in need. The Ishinomaki Disaster Relief Assistance Council along with Peace Boat have just dispatched a truck full of wheelbarrows, shovels, and other relief items to Niigata. Another truck loaded with food and beverages will depart tomorrow morning from the Senshu University, the headquarters of Peace Boat's relief operations in Ishinomaki.

The government is urging 40,000 people evacuate, and one person has already lost their life to the flooding. The same weather system took the lives of 59 people in South Korea earlier this week.

Masaki Narita (left) and Mari Katsui (right) of IDRAC organized the delivery of supplies to Niigata

Distressed Fukushima Citizens Issue Global Appeal to Support Evacuation Plea; Safecast Project Provides Online Radiation Mapping

Parents of children living near the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear reactor, forced to watch their children go to school each day wearing radiation-measuring dosimeters, are pleading with the Japanese government to instead issue an official evacuation to safe areas in order to ease their fears of possible contamination.

The above YouTube video, which a group of concerned Fukushima citizens have asked to be spread worldwide, gives a glimpse of the agony that several of these parents are experiencing from concern about continuing nuclear radiation emissions from the plant.

The group has issued a petition to Japan's Prime Minister Kan and Fukushima Governor Sato to officially evacuate babies, small children and pregnant women living in "radiation hot spot" areas. The text reads as follows:

Prime minister of Japan Mr. Naoto Kan
The Governor of Fukushima Prefecture Mr. Yuhei Sato

We are concerned for the safety of babies, pregnant women and young children who are sensitive to radiation and are currently living in the area where high radiation has been detected.

That radiation level is higher then the level of the radiation controlled area (designed as lower than 0.6 µSv/hr) and the “individual radiation exposure controlled area” ( designed as lower than 2.3 µSv/hr) in Japan.

We respectfully request the following actions to be taken:

1) We strongly request that you evacuate infants, small children and pregnant women who are most easily affected by radiation. They need to be immediately evacuated further than 30km from the Fukushima nuclear power plant No.1.

2) In addition to the 30km radius, we are strongly requesting you evacuate infants, pregnant women and children from any "Hot-spot" located outside the 30km evacuation perimeter where high levels of radiation are detected.

3) The 20km limited radiation caution area around the Fukushima nuclear power plant needs to be drastically broadened. Currently, infants, small children and pregnant women who are easily affected by radiation are still living in the “radiation controlled area” where theyʼve measured an exceeded radiation dosage. These people need to be evacuated further than the 30km area as soon as possible. We request to extend the evacuation area, create a safely designed evacuation route and enact legislation to improve the locations that accept people from evacuation areas.

Government should utilize its political power to work on the area that needs to be evacuated. You have tobroaden and ensure the evacuation route, and also find new places where those people can live. Thank you.

The petition may be accessed and signed online via the Moms & Children Rescue Fukushima website here.

In the absence of official government action, the citizen group Safecast is presently working to provide radiation mapping of the area. During the initial days following the earthquake, tsunami and outbreak of the nuclear crisis, its members collaborated with the members of the Tokyo Hackerspace group in order to fashion their own Geiger counters, which they affixed to the windows of several cars and drove through areas near the Fukushima plant to take radiation measurements that they in turn uploaded onto an online radiation map they themselves had created. The group has also made the Geiger counters available to schools, orphanages, and other facilities in Fukushima prefecture in a move to help begin empowering residents through understanding the levels of radiation in their areas.

Safecast and Tokyo Hackerspace members display their hand-fashioned Geiger counters and explain mapping program during a recent workshop

A video regarding on the Safecast/Tokyo Hackerspace collaboration and their radiation mapping work may be viewed below. (The report, which is in Japanese, starts around the 15 minute mark).



The Safecast blog also include videos about various citizen action projects taking place in Fukushima, as well as information on how to get involved with its volunteer mapping project in Fukushima and beyond.

A gripping open letter (full text of letter edited before publication at The Japan Times) from a concerned father in Fukushima may be read at this TTT post here.

--Kimberly Hughes

Concerned Father's Open Letter to Nuclear Experts in Japan

Worried mother holds her son tightly as scientist inspects him
for radiation (Photo: The Japan Times)

Last week, I had a long phone call with a friend living in Miyagi Prefecture whose entire family was forced to evacuate from their newly purchased home near the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant. Now, after losing members of his family, and mourning with families who lost children and loved ones to the tsunami, he spends all of his time volunteering in Ishinomaki, one of the cities most devastated by the tsunamis and earthquakes that struck Japan in March.

He told me stories of loss, of hope, and also of disappointment. Thousands of volunteers have really made a difference in helping to move along rebuilding efforts. Yet, health policies have moved along whatsoever. Children in his neighborhood go to school wearing dosimeters, only to be experimented on again by more scientists using even more frightening radiation equipment upon arriving at school. Temporary housing is being built in areas also used for dumping of waste.

Recently this concerned father sent a letter to The Japan Times:

As a father who has evacuated his wife and children from our home near the mess at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, I would like to share a couple of insights that will hopefully inform the debate, or the lack of one, that has been raging:

* It seems to be very difficult for the administration and the so-called experts who have visited the villages and towns of Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures to reassure us. We don't know [what to believe or what to expect] because nothing like this has ever happened before. Forget about Chernobyl, Hiroshima and Windscale; the timelines, locations, climate, topography, wind patterns and groundwater systems are all different.

* Authorities have not taken systematic readings. Air, water and soil samples have not been taken in areas that matter. We have no benchmark, because samples were not taken before the nuclear plant crisis. The speedy radiation sensor system failed immediately after the March 11 earthquake because of inadequate electricity backup. There are no future projections of radioactive contamination and no model on which to base them.

* That livestock seem to be receiving more attention than children in the region is a disgrace. On March 10, we would not have been able to imagine that our children would be attending contaminated schools wearing dosimeters.

* Internal radioactivity will be passed on to our children's children. Cesium will remain in the environment for 150 years. A parent can't help viewing this threat as the result of unforgivable neglect. It's past time that the authorities admit what they don't know, and act now to move children out of contaminated areas and provide them with a chance at a future.

And let's turn our minds to how to make this evacuation an opportunity for them, rather than wringing our hands over what we should do.

He also made suggestions on how to manage reconstruction funding to prevent it from simply lining the pockets of big business. The Japan Times decided NOT to publish this part of his letter:

Most of these reconstruction funds (up to 90%) will end up recycled back to the large corporations in Kanto or Kansai - direct repatriation of profits, through building material distribution networks, or simply through money spent in large retailers. There should be a government stipulation attached to all reconstruction funds that there is a limit to the ridiculous levels of subcontracting and that 50%+ of all funds remain in the region.

The large construction companies will hate it, transport companies will grumble bout lost profits, energy use will go down and the construction material industry might even have to move large numbers of jobs to the region to meet demand.

His recommendations on renewable energy development were also not included:

It is also an opportunity (though it won't be taken) to move away from the ridiculous notion that PV solar power or Wind turbines can or should be a large scale electricity generating substitute for the area. Invest now in proven systems - combined heat and power (CHP)plants, solar water heaters and preheaters for every home -cheap and effective, substituting portland cement production with flyash and lime based materials (40-90% reduction in energy use in a sector using 12-15% of all energy use), establish a committee to design industrial clustering development for the tsunami areas and beyond, where the waste and energy generated by one factory fuels or contributes to the production of the next one. And so on.....

These are the areas of development that need to be enacted, but there is no discussion, little government capacity, no political will and little understanding of what sustainability actually means.

Nor were his prudent suggestion on overcoming energy shortages:

Perhaps it is time to take a long hard look at the energy grid here. Western and Eastern Japan run on different current, 60Hz and 50Hz with just a handful of inverters that connect the two. Thus any surge in demand or heaven forbid a CRISIS might occur then electricity can not be supplied from the other region to compensate.

In a country with a cocktail of natural challenges (earthquakes, heatwaves, heavy snow, volcanoes and typhoons) one would think risk management would be at the fore - not the case. A 'just in time' delivery system in the energy sector doesn't make sense at the best of times.

Japan can learn from this disaster and make wise choices in rebuilding by listening to the voices of the people living through the recovery efforts.

-Posted by Jen Teeter

David Vine’s Japan Tour: From Diego Garcia to Okinawa

David Vine, a professor at American University in Washington D.C. and author of Island of Shame: The Secret History of the U.S. Military Base on Diego Garcia, is on his way to Japan to speak on military occupation issues and to support grassroots citizen movements throughout Japan.

His tour includes a talk in Tokyo on June 29th; a base tour in Iwakuni (site of a massive new U.S. Marine Air Station in southern Japan) on August 1st; and the Dialogue Under Occupation conference in Okinawa from August 4th-8th, where participants will discuss the effects of U.S. military bases located around the world. DUO conferences have been held in Chicago and Jerusalem; this is the first DUO conference to take place in an Asian country.

The anthropologist has worked closely with Chagossians, the indigenous residents of Diego Garcia island, in their lawsuit following their forced removal from their homeland by the U.S. and U.K. governments. Both nations now use the entire island as a military base. Vine, a member of the Network for Okinawa, is involved in various movements for human rights and military budget reduction; and has visited Okinawa on several occasions. Last year, his students went public about discriminatory statements against Okinawan and Japanese people made by former U.S. diplomat Kevin Maher during a seminar they attended.

More recently, Vine interviewed Korean peace activist Sung-Hee Choi, jailed in Jeju Island for two months without possibility of bail, for nonviolent demonstrating against South Korean governmental seizure and destruction of private farmland to make way for a naval base on Jeju Island, and wrote this piece about their talk.

David Vine's talk in Tokyo:

Date/Time: Friday, July 29th 6:30 PM

Venue: Mainichi Hall (inside The Mainichi Daily News office in Takebashi, Tokyo, near Takebashi subway station in the basement of the Palace Side building)

Map (Japanese): http://www.mai-b.co.jp/palaceside/guide/guide.html

Entry fee: 500 yen

Interview: Hajime Kitamura (Shukan Kinyoubi magazine) http://www.kinyobi.co.jp/

Interpretation: Yoko Furuyama (Pacific Asia Resource Center lecturer), Meri Joyce (Peace Boat International Department)

Sponsored by Shukan Kinyoubiand supported by various citizen organizations

For more information, contact: nora@cityfujisawa.ne.jp (e-mail) or 090-5341-116 (mobile phone)

Saving Jeju Island: "It is about love for the people who cannot speak now. It is about love."

(Sung-Hee Choi in detention for holding a banner expressing concern for flowers and rocks)
Korean peace activist Sung-Hee Choi, arrested on Jeju Island, a "World Heritage Site" just south of the Korean Peninsula, for holding up a banner reading ""Do not touch even one stone, even one flower!" remains spiritually strong despite over two months of imprisonment, much of which she has spent on hunger strike.

David Vine, an American University anthropology professor who researches issues of overseas U.S. militarism and imperialism, interviewed Sung-Hee in prison last week. Here is an excerpt from the interview published at Foreign Policy in Focus today:

SUNG-HEE CHOI: The United States and South Korea use military exercises in the Asia-Pacific region that are aimed against China, not North Korea. There is big evidence that the United States will want the Jeju naval base, even though this is officially denied every time: They say, “This is not a U.S. naval base. This is a South Korean base.” So this is really a trick. They are really deceiving people. There is no problem for the U.S. military to use it. First, the U.S. and South Korean mutual defense treaty, which was signed in 1954, allows the United States to use of all South Korean military facilities. Second, the SOFA [Status of Forces Agreement] facilities are really meant for the U.S. military. Third, the U.S. military strategic flexibility policy under which South Korea has allowed U.S. forces in Korea to assume expanding regional and global roles beyond deterring North Korea.

The United States military can clearly use any South Korean base.

It is not only the military, but also corporations like Samsung and Daerim that are benefiting from the building of the base. It is not only a military part, but also the commercial part. What I am afraid about is the entrance of fascism in the whole island.

DAVID VINE: Fascism?

SUNG-HEE: Yes, fascism. Yes. In the mainland, and now Jeju island is being dominated by Samsung.

A base on Jeju would be a tragedy for Jeju Island and its people, because of what they have already experienced in 1948, when the South Korean military massacred 40,000 [accused communists].

Jeju’s people’s history is one of struggling against outside powers: the United States and Japan. U.S. military weapons [were involved in the massacre] just a few years after the South Korean liberation from Japan. Jeju's own identity is constant. Jeju has been the victim of the outside powers.

Why are we still struggling? Not only for the environment, but also for the history of the Jeju island and South Korea, which have been struggling against the powerful countries.

Another thing that I am thinking is that, day by day, Jeju island is a red button for the United States military. The United States already occupies all of the region that it covets. The United States already occupies Hawai’i, Okinawa, Philippines—or, they used to. Now they want to occupy Jeju island. This is a peace island. This is for peace. Now the vision of the peace activists here is for keeping the island as a real peace island.

Brother Song [a fellow activist] and [former Jeju Governor] Shin Goo-beom have tried to find alternatives for villagers for how to develop Gangjeong village for our future generation. One option is to build a UN Peace School. They are all talking about this. And also the chairman and the villagers’ committee, they are all talking about this. That needs to be our vision. That needs to be our ultimate goal. That is a concrete vision to create a real peace school for future generations in Jeju island.

And I really hope that you can talk about how the villagers are suffering. How they love their hometown. I really hope that you will please communicate how the islands in the Asia-Pacific region are now a target of an empire base for the United States.

DAVID: Why do you think there are so many people who are so dedicated to the struggle? Like yourself. People willing to go to jail. People willing to go on hunger strikes. There are many anti-base movements but people seem to be very passionate, and I wonder why—either personally for yourself or for others—you think people are so dedicated, so strong in their opposition?

SUNG-HEE: As I have written before, I feel a responsibility to talk for the voiceless animals and creatures who cannot speak. Second, for our future generations who will be the victims of war if we don’t stop the base. I think the villagers love their hometown so much. It is their hometown. They love it so much.

It is about love. It is about a love that cannot speak. It is about the sea that cannot speak. It is about the creatures who cannot speak aloud. We are basically talking about, we are basically talking….

And then, an automated voice and background music abruptly cut Sung-Hee off, announcing that our time had expired and instructing visitors to leave quickly. Sung-Hee grabbed her pen and the scrap of paper next to her and furiously wrote a few final words. She held the paper briefly up to the glass between us before a guard took her away. The paper read:

It is about love for the people who cannot speak now.

It is about love.

A poignant message of solidarity from Sung-Hee sent on behalf of the Spring Love Harukaze peace festival held in Tokyo in April 2010 may be read here.

For information on how you can support the Gangjeong villagers of Jeju in their struggle to preserve their beautiful, peaceful island, as well as how you can help release Sung-Hee and the others imprisoned for their nonviolent actions (and love for their community, the sea, dolphins and other sea creatures), please see this previous TTT post.


Please consider signing this letter that Christine Ahn, director of Korea Policy Institute will bring to S. Korean President Lee Myung Bak: "Save Jeju Island. Only 370 (as of 12 a.m. EST) more signatures needed to make the goal of 3,000!

David Vine and Korean civic activists pray for Jeju Island

(Accompanied with Korean civic activists, American University anthropologist David Vine prays for Jeju Island)

(Villagers forcibly removed from their ancestral homes to make way for a nuclear naval base project hold a banner that reads, “Stay Strong Gangjeong, Let’s protect peace!!”)

See more photographs by Kim Tae-hyoung in this photo-essay, "Endangered Peace in Gangjeong," at The Hankyoreh

Jeju Weekly: "Politicians join Gangjeong Protest"

Intervening before riot police could move in to forcibly remove villagers who have chained themselves to trees, 2 more political leaders joined the opposition to violent state seizure and destruction of private property (tangerine orchards and farms) and a unique volcanic coastline (a soft coral habitat and only natural dolphin habitat in S. Korea). In "Politicians join Gangjeong Protest," dramatic photographs by Jeju Weekly reporters reveal the immensity of the threat (coral dredgers) and the natural magnificence of the place (a South Korean designated "absolute preservation area") residents are struggling to protect.

Help save Jeju Island: 3 Easy Actions

Dear friend,

Last week, ROK undercover police arrested three leaders. The village mayor Kang Dong Kyun was released, but Brother Song Kang Ho and Ko Kwon Il still remain in prison along with peace activist Choi Sung-hee, who has been in prison since May 19.

The villagers and activists say that they are ready for nonviolent resistance to the forceful removal of their bodies from Gangjeong village. They are there to protect the land and defend the villagers of their right to preserve their community and way of life.

Please, take 3 minutes and do three simple actions:

1. Contact UN General Secretary Ban Ki Moon and let him know that he cannot ignore the grave human rights violations taking place in his homeland against the villagers of Gangjeong village: ecu@un.org

2. Email the International Secretariat of Amnesty International and urge them to send human rights monitors to Gangjeong Village immediately: http://www.amnesty.org/en/contact

3. Please forward this petition to 5 friends and family. Four Americans, including Christine Ahn, director of the Korea Policy Institute, will be traveling to Gangjeong village on July 28. That morning, we will hold a press conference outside of the Blue House and deliver this petition to the South Korean President Lee's administration. We need to have 10,000 signatures. As of now, we have nearly 2,300. You can help us reach the 10,000 goal by Thursday, July 28th. http://signon.org/sign/save-jeju-island-no-naval?source=s.em.cr&r_by=366847

If we want world peace, we must take action together as a global community to save this island from being changed from an ecologically majestic UNESCO world heritage site into a naval base staging Aegis warship destroyers preparing for war.

Here's an excerpt of a letter from Brother Song from prison:

If the [S. Korean] Navy and [S. Korean] government listened to local residents and proceeded with proper [democratic] steps, the villagers would not have fought against the naval base construction for five years.

The Navy pushes the construction of the naval base regardless of the destruction of the Gangjeong community. Not knowing the law, more than 50 innocent farmers became law-breakers and were punished. More than 50 million won has been paid in fines. And I also went to prison for the first time in my entire life.

I was a cowardly young man hiding myself in the times of military dictatorship during the 1970s~1980s. For atonement I served in places in Ache, Haiti and all kinds of conflict areas over the world. Now I am trying to stop the insane construction of this naval base for the sake of the justice of our nation and the peace of Northeast Asia, as well as to keep the promise to the global society of preserving the ecosphere.

Please take action now. We must spring into action now.

In solidarity,

The Global Campaign to Save Jeju Island

www.savejejuisland.org

Martin Frid: Support for Japanese farmers from French Organic Farmers

Wonderful news from Martin Frid in his latest post: "Support For Japan From French Organic Farmers".

Those of us who love and support traditional Japanese culture (rooted in small organic family farms) are thrilled to hear that the French organic farming movement, Urgenci, is renaming their newsletter "Teikei," (cooperation) as a sign of solidarity with the Japanese Organic Agriculture Association (JOAA):

Tei-Kei: Legend has it that the face of the farmer is hiding in the vegetables in the box. The truth is far more prosaic, but none the less elegant. The word teikei 提 携 Is composed of two characters that depict an action : that of an outstretched hand and that of helping each other. This is the term chosen by the Japanese pioneers to designate the first partnerships that were developed between producers and consumers. From the outset, in the 1970s, this new form of direct sales illustrated how to jointly maintain the often fragile balance between farmers and consumers...

At a time when Japan is still suffering from the trauma of the nuclear disaster, renaming our newsletter TEIKEI is a legitimate act anchored in our history. It shows that our movements all recognise our family ties with the Japanese movement and is also a symbol of our unconditional solidarity towards the families that are victims of the disaster. It is an important signal that will strengthen a great many actions that are already up and running. The reconstruction projects carried out with such strength by Hiroko Amemiya to help the farmers in the contaminated zones, as well as the testimony by Shimpei and Toshihide in Aubagne. This is the 33rd Urgenci newsletter, the first to be published using our new name, Teikei. A great deal of it is dedicated to them.

More at the linked post from Martin, who will be visiting Namyangju City, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea in September with the JOAA for the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) World Congress, the first such event in Asia for the organic movement. IFOAM is the global umbrella organization for the organic movement, uniting more than 750 member organizations in 116 countries.

Most (1.9 million) Japanese farms are very small (less than 5 acres). These farms are based on harmony between humans and nature, highly sensitive to ecological balance of their landscapes (Satoyama).

The survivors of the Great Tohoku-Kanto Earthquake in "No Place for Resent"- a photo essay by Kimberlye Kowalczyk

"It is one thing to watch video of what happened on youtube or to view

photographs, quite another to be surrounded by it 360 degrees, and yet
another still to stand in it and try to comprehend 500 km of coastline
affected in the same way."

Ten days after the strongest tsunami in recorded Japanese history devastated North Eastern Japan, Kimberlye Kowalczyk bore witness not just to devastation, but the resilience of the people affected everywhere along the coasts and as far deep as one kilometer inland. Winifred Bird, a Japan-based journalist who is also closely covering the disaster as it unfolds, accompanied Kowalczyk to Ishinomaki, Japan. Kowalczyk explains to Voices from the Ground:

I had expected to be devastated, but instead I was humbled and inspired by many individuals I met whom I can only describe as “enlightened”. I witnessed great giving, compassion, and solidarity.

Not only from the volunteers, but from survivors. I went to give and instead was given to; great lessons about impermanence, resilience, and gratitude.

There is still much work to be done. As the media moves on to the next Hot Topic, the road through reflection, healing, and rebuilding is still long for Japan. It is my sincere hope that many movements for peacebuilding will arise from the debris.

As the new Hot Topics start to sprinkle the airwaves, as the media begins to turn its kaleidoscope towards the inefficacy of the current prime minister, or the impressive win of the Japanese Women's soccer team in the World Cup, over 420,000 people remain displaced. As other parts of Japan, the world, carry on with the daily grind, coping by detaching, 27,000 people are dead or unaccounted for. Thousands and thousands are still, as Kowalczyk describes, "waiting to be pulled out of the water."

However, thousands and thousands, continue to dedicate themselves to recovery efforts and the sharing of knowledge of disaster management. Peace Boat is dispatching volunteers biweekly to the hardest hit areas of Tohoku.

Volunteers cleaning out a swimming pool brimming with mud.

According to Peace Boat staff, even two days is enough to make a big difference:

Even for staff who have been in Ishinomaki for months and seen the great efforts of volunteers in many places throughout the city, it was a huge surprise to see the pool – which had been so filled with mud – cleaned in just two days. The majority of the volunteers who participated in this cleanup effort were in Ishinomaki on the short-term programme – showing what can be achieved through teamwork in even a short volunteer stay.

International Disaster Relief Organization (IDRO) of Japan a local, Kyoto-based organization, has maintained a constant presence in the Oshiga and Ogatsu peninsulas ever since the disaster struck.IDRO is looking for volunteers to join them anytime from July 15th to August 30st. In addition to spare hands, IDRO is also looking for donations of the following items which can be dropped off or shipped (IDRO Japan, 817-2 Kannonji Monzen cho, Kamigyo-ku Kyoto 602-8385 JAPAN):

* Window screen, you can buy lengths at your local hardware store
* Mosquito coils (Kattori Senko in Japanese)
* Electric fans (five years old or less please, you can buy brand new from Conan for a couple thousand yen)
* Insect Repellent
* Mosquito nets (called kaya in Japanese) available online and very inexpensive. Here is a link to the Rakuten site for selling kaya - http://search.rakuten.co.jp/search/mall/かや/-/

JEN, an NGO specializing in post-conflict assistance, is also recruiting volunteers from all over the world. Visit their blog to hear testimony from their volunteers.

The road to reflection, healing, and rebuilding winds on. We must never forget and keep contributing to the recovery efforts, as what is good for Tohoku-Kanto right now, is good for Japan, is good for us all.

- Posted by Jen Teeter

Haruki Marukami: As An Unrealistic Dreamer

World-renowned Japanese author Haruki Marukami was recently named the winner of the 2011 Premi Internacional Catalunya, whose judges praised him as having "built a literary bridge between east and west, bringing the two worlds together."

During Murakami's acceptance speech, delivered on June 9th in Barcelona, he first thanked the committee for the prestigious award, and memorialized the victims of the recent earthquake and tsunami disaster in Japan. Turning subsequently toward the matter of the ongoing nuclear crisis that followed, he powerfully and poignantly lamented the social values that allowed the Fukushima tragedy to occur:

Sixty-six years after the nuclear bombings, the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear reactors have now been spreading radioactivity for three months, contaminating the soil, the ocean and the air around them. No one knows how and when we can stop this. This is the second source of devastation caused by nuclear power in Japan, but this time nobody dropped an atomic bomb. We, the Japanese people, paved our own way for this tragedy, making grave errors and contributing to the destruction of our own lands and lives.

Why did this occur? What happened to our rejection of nuclear power after World War II? What was it that corrupted our goal of a peaceful and prosperous society, which we had been pursuing so diligently?

The reason is simple. The reason is “efficiency”.

The electrical power companies insisted that nuclear plants offered an efficient power generation system. In other words, it was a system from which they could derive profit. For its part, the Japanese government doubted the stability of petroleum supplies, particularly since the oil crisis, and promoted nuclear power generation as national policy. The electrical power companies spent huge amounts of money on advertisements, thereby bribing the media to indoctrinate the Japanese people with the illusion that nuclear power generation was completely safe.

Before we knew it, 30 percent of electricity generation was being supplied by nuclear power. Japan, a small island nation frequently struck by earthquakes, thus became the third leading nuclear power-generating country, without the Japanese people even realizing what was happening.

We had gone beyond the point of no return. The deed was done. Those who doubted nuclear power generation were now asked the intimidating question, “Would you be in favour of power shortages?” Japanese people had come to believe that reliance on nuclear power was inevitable. Living without air conditioning during a hot and humid Japanese summer is almost akin to torture. Consequently, those who harbour doubts about nuclear power generation came to be labelled as “unrealistic dreamers”.

And so we arrived where we are today. Nuclear power plants, which were supposed to be efficient, instead offer us a vision of hell. This is the reality.

The so-called “reality” that has been proclaimed by those who promote nuclear power, however, isn’t reality at all. It is nothing more than superficial “convenience”, which their flawed logic confused with reality itself.

This situation marked the collapse of the myth regarding Japan’s technological prowess, of which the Japanese people had been so proud. In addition, allowing this distorted logic represented the defeat of existing Japanese ethics and values. We now blame the electrical companies and Japanese government, which is right and necessary. At the same time however, we must also point the finger at ourselves. We are at once victims and perpetrators, and we must consider this fact seriously. If we fail to do so, we will make the same mistake again.

“Let all the souls here rest in peace, for we shall not repeat the evil.”

We must take these words to our hearts.

Murakami's speech has been translated into English, Romanian, German, French, and Italian (with a Portuguese translation forthcoming shortly) through a collaborative project organized by the members of a Paris-based project known as Senrinomichi, which has been working to provide material, financial, and human assistance to those affected by the March 11th disaster.

Kevin, the Senrinomichi organizer who spearheaded the translation project (which is titled Planting Seeds Together, from the closing idea within Murakami's speech), explained the background to the initiative:

Since hearing the news about Murakami san’s Catalunya Prize speech in Barcelona on Friday, I had tried long and hard to find an English translation. For several days the search proved fruitless, and increasingly frustrating. All I could find were brief extracts, which merely increased my appetite rather than assuaging it. It was like offering a thirsty man vinegar, or inviting a music lover to listen to the final chorus from Bach’s St Matthew’s Passion and then saying there was no need to listen to the previous three hours.

What surprised me was how many people who don’t speak Japanese came forward to take favourable or unfavourable positions on the speech, on the basis of these very same selected media sound bites. Since March 11, I have learned to be distrustful of media reporting in a way that I never felt before. Bread and circuses, all efficiently packaged….

On Tuesday, I finally found the first translation, written by a self-styled ordinary salary man in Japan. I drank in those words, like a long cold beer after lashings of vinegar, posted the translation to Senrinomichi and went to sleep. But the following day the words kept coming back to me, and I understood that I had myself now to contribute to this translation, even if I did not understand the words of Murakami san’s text in Japanese. Let’s call it an interpretation of the translation. At other times this could seem perverse, but not now. Now this seems like the right thing, the only thing to do. How could it be otherwise? At such moments, life seems so simple.

In adding my grain of sand to the translation, something strange and unexpected happened. Drifting amid the words, the silences and interstices of the text, I began to make better sense of the whirlwind of thoughts and ideas that have been racing around in my head since March 11. Thoughts about Japan, the ephemeral, the notion of chance, the nuclear question, about what can each of us can do to help, thoughts that had initially led to the creation of this blog and subsequently provided its backdrop. In taking the time to think carefully about each of the words in the translation, and in listening to each of the pauses between the words – which seem to me no less important in Murakami san’s speech – I came to understand more clearly the recent Brownian motion of my own mind.

In this sense, perhaps I can say that I dreamed, and that I shared my story at least with myself, but also with anyone who is taking the trouble to read this.

I love and am occasionally afraid of the power of words, though unlike Murakami san I am not a writer. I am an ordinary salary man in Paris, who feels a kinship with my friend, the ordinary salary man in Tokyo, who I understand also loves words. It was from such kinship that Senrinomichi was born, even though I didn’t know that particular ordinary salary man before yesterday when, to borrow his image (again), a small, but very happy storm was unleashed on both our houses…

Translation is the work of a single person. Murakami san’s novels are assigned to a single translator per language, which explains why the non Japanese-speaking readers have to wait so long for translations to appear. Translation is a complex process, a lonely process, an enriching process, a creation in its own right. Words are powerful, they must be treated with respect, not hurried, not abused or treated “inconveniently”.

But at this time I keep thinking about the words, the ideas from the Barcelona speech. These words that should be heard and be published, not as media sound bites but in their entirety, not as part of a subsequent Murakami Collected Works, but here, now, everywhere.

In the absence of an official translation, but also inspired by the spirit of Murakami san’s speech, I would therefore like to propose something quite different, quite singular. That we – Japanese and other nationalities – work together to produce collaborative translations of the Barcelona speech, in English but also in other languages. And that we then communicate this to the traditional international mass media and internet sites in our different countries, which to date seem to have let us down with their reporting of this speech. In doing so, in our own way we take up the exhortation of Murakami Haruki, to go out together into the fields, to cultivate and sow seeds.

Together we would work like the workshop students of the great Renaissance artists, as cheerful artisans.

Finally, I cannot help but find resonance with the name we chose for our site, Senrinomichi,千里の道– the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

Serendipity is everywhere just now. The very moment I completed my interpretation of the translation, the feed to Senriomichi was published on Haruki Murakami’s Facebook page. Am I dreaming this?

Perhaps this is all madness, perhaps translations are already envisaged, perhaps I need to sleep. Perhaps, perhaps perhaps… but just now all of this seems so obvious.

…“Everyone doing what they can do, all hearts together”

The full text of Murakami's speech in English may be read here.

Anyone interested in contributing to the collaborative translation project with additional languages is asked to please contact Senrinomichi via the group's Facebook page, or by e-mail at senrinomichi23@gmail.com.



- Kimberly Hughes

Christine Ahn: Please support victims of the Lee regime's politically-motivated persecution & anti-democratic repression in Jeju Island, South Korea

Today 9 people will be on trial in Jeju Island for peacefully demonstrating against state seizure and destruction of private property and the Joonduk Coast to make way for a nuclear naval base. This is one of Jeju Island's most beautiful areas and the only natural dolphin habitat in the Korean peninsula.

Supporters are asking for prayers for Kang-Ho Song, KwonIl Ko, JongHwan Kim, Kyong bo Jeong, Hyoknam Kim, JongDae Che, Bongheon Kim, Jin Taek Jeon, and Sung-Hee Choi. They were arrested on May 19. The Jeju District Prosecutors' Office is trying them together. Victim-defendants include survivors and descendants of survivors of state genocide perpetrated on April 3, 1948 against indigenous inhabitants of Jeju Island.

Early this morning, Christine Ahn, director of the Korea Policy Institute, sent this letter to supporters of democracy, peace, and environmental protection in Jeju Island and South Korea:

Dear friends,

I have very tragic news to report from Jeju Island, South Korea.

At the crack of dawn on Friday, undercover police officers came to Gangjeong village and arrested three major leaders of the peaceful resistance: Village Chief Kang Dong-Kyun, renowned peace activist Brother Song Kang-Ho, and base opposition leader Ko Kwon-Il.

The South Korean Navy and Minister of Justice Lee Gui Nam also issued a threat to Kang Dong-Kyun and 76 other villagers, peace activists and civil society organizations for blocking the naval base construction. It specifies the following:

(1) These 77 individuals are banned from getting into the public waters or land near the Joongduk coastline where the naval base will be constructed.

(2) The notice bans the staff and volunteers from five civil society organizations Peace-Life Association, Jeju Environmental Association, SPARK, Frontiers, and Gangjeong Village Association from entering the public waters and land near the naval base site.

(3) All facilities from the resistance site must be removed within seven days.

(4) In the case that the facilities are not removed, the Navy and Minister of Justice will charge the village leader Mr. Kang for removing these facilities.

(5) The village leader Mr. Kang will be responsible for paying the Navy 5,000,000 Won ($5,000 US dollars) for each case of violation.

The South Korean military is trying to quash the resistance by arresting its leaders and inciting fear among villagers who are fighting for their land, community and livelihoods. As one of activist wrote, "I feel the martial law atmosphere here."

The truth is: the villagers and their leaders are not alone. There is a growing tide of people from throughout the Korean peninsula and around the world who are behind them. We must let them know we have their backs by spreading this information "far and wide" and quick.

Here's what you can do:

1. Please forward this to the media and as many people as possible.

2. For those in the United States, please call the South Korean Embassy in Washington, DC ASAP and let them know the repression against the villagers conveys to the world that South Korea has returned to the era of authoritarian rule. The South Korean Embassy in Washington: (202) 797-6343.

3. Email U.S. Ambassador Kathleen Stevens and let her know that we know that the U.S. Forces in Korea oversees the South Korean military, and as American citizens, we won't stand for more military destruction in the name of so-called national security. EmbassySeoulPA@state.gov.

4. Please keep forwarding this petition to your friends and family: http://signon.org/sign/save-jeju-island-no-naval?source=s.em.cr&r_by=366847

5. Visit Savejejuisland.org and join the facebook page for quick updates in Gangjeong: http://www.facebook.com/groups/Saveprofyang?ap=1.

We must not let the Lee Myung Bak regime repress democracy. We must not let their attempts at intimidation dampen the hope that has inspired so many people around the world to act for peace. We must remain firm in our resolve to support the courageous villagers in Gangjeong who are standing up to their military and government. We must join them in saying, "No Base on Jeju Island."

Emily Wang: A raining morning in Gangjeong

"A Humble Determination in the morning"

晨雨 於 江汀洞。
A raining morning in Gangjeong.

因晨雨之故，每日例行的祈福跪拜由海灘移到棚內。
Because of raining this morning,
the regular 100-bow ceremony moved to the tent.
(Text & Photo: Emily Wang's exquisite Jeju Island-based blog, From Los Palos)

Gloria Steinem's message on behalf of Jeju Island, South Korea: Support democracy, peace, & environmental protection

(Gloria Steinem and colleagues visit the Gangjeong coast on Jeju Island to demonstrate solidarity with Gangjeong villagers and Sung-Hee Choi.
Photo: Bruce Gagnon's Organizing Notes)

My dear friends,

There are many reasons I thank you for signing the petition to stop the naval base on Jeju Island and any one would be enough.

First, nine years ago when I saw this island at the tip of South Korea, I couldn't believe my eyes. It is said that the only people who do not know Jeju is the most beautiful place on earth are those who have not seen it. From snow peaks, wild flower covered hills and ancient nutmeg forests to goddess groves and coral reefs, there is good reason why UNESCO named it a World Natural Heritage Site.

That would be enough.

So would the truth that the world does not need one more monument to death and destruction taking money, human effort, energy and resources away from preservation and life. As an American, I am ashamed that a naval base is being built to support U.S. nuclear-powered submarines, the same ones now being serviced elsewhere. As global citizens, you and I have a duty to stop it.

This May, I went to Jeju again, and saw two more living realities.

First, I stood on the edge of the sea where volcanic rock carries fresh water streams down from the snow peaks, and saw workmen breaking up those rocks so that their huge machines could descend and pour cement over living coral reefs. Even the dolphins were crying.

Then I met with dozens of people from Gangjeong which is the closest village. They've been living in tents on this shoreline for four years, braving weather, arrests and absence from their families in order to protest a naval base that endangers their land, their livelihoods and their guardianship of this ancient island. Only bribes and illegalities have given the government of South Korea any pretense of democracy. The people want you to know that is a lie.

Several outsiders there from South Korea itself and from as far away as France came to support them, and just stayed. One young couple have been there for six weeks, with only the clothes they arrived in.

This contagion is causing the South Korean Defense Minister to pressure the Prime Minister to accelerate its construction. It has caused the Navy to say it will destroy the trail to the protestors' camp and cut local power lines that broadcast this resistance.

In other words, the resistance is working.

This is how you and I can help the villagers, save our World Natural Heritage, and stop natural destruction in the name of military destruction:

1. Forward this petition to at least 10 friends and family. If each signer does this, we could have nearly 20,000 more signatures --fast.

2. Go to the website: www.savejejuisland.org and do at least one of the actions on the "Get Involved" page.

If we stop this naval base, it will be contagious for peace, the environment, and democracy.

Jeju Island means Women's Island. It stands for an ancient balance. We must save it from the cult of militarism that endangers us all, women and men.

With high hopes,

Gloria Steinem

Velcrow Ripper's Evolve Love: Love in a Time of Climate Crisis holds a sustainable (& healing, empowering) answer for post-3.11 Japan

Here's the new blog and the old blog for Velcrow Ripper's upcoming Evolve Love: Love in a Time of Climate Change with video interviews.

Ripper's film focuses on planetary climate change activism but also resonates with the love and vision fueling overlapping grassroots cross-border dialogue and action of Jeju Islanders, Okinawans, Chamorro, Siraya, Kyoto-ites, and others throughout the Asia-Pacific who are trying to save their sacred places, parks, and eco-systems from military and commercial destruction; and also with the the profound cause of nuclear abolitionists in Japan who are trying to save what's left of their country (and the world from more radioactive fallout from Japan's nuclear industry).

These crises have spurred interconnections between people formerly only vaguely aware of each other's situations. Jeju, Okinawan, Chamorro, Siraya, Japanese, Hawai'ian and Asia-Pacific blogs, Facebook pages, and Twitter accounts have become the Asia-Pacific's online nascent multi-issue ongoing Cochabamba.



In "Love to the People," Nnimmo Bassey of Friends of the Earth International shares with Ripper at the 2010 World People’s Summit on Climate Change, in Cochabamba, Bolivia:

Love means respect for one another...In Bolivia, I see this as a big gift to humanity...

The coming together of peoples from around the world, to sit down together to talk about their pains, to talk about their anxieties, to talk about their hopes and their feelings and dreams of a future.

These are the ingredients of a great love story, what we're doing for nature, for Mother Earth We are, together, telling ourselves to recall the memory of who we are and why we're here.

In another episode in the film, "Love versus the G20,"  Judy Rebick explains that compassionate activism is about becoming conscious of and building affirmative relationships with each other, all life, and our planet:

What we have to show the world is that we're here because we love the planet; we love the people on the planet, and we want to protect them from the forces of destruction...It will become a great love story if the people of the earth come together to change the system of greed and stand up against whatever pressure and intimidation there is. If we could find ways to express that and connect with each other, it would be the greatest love story ever told.

Rebick, the author of Transforming Power: From the Personal to the Political and founding publisher of the Canadian progressive news site rabble.ca cites indigenous peoples as emerging planetary leaders. Her June 15 blog post:

It is time to stop talking about what went wrong with the left that was so effective in the 20th century and identify the forces that are leading change in the 21st century. Primary among these, in my view, are indigenous peoples and movements.

Grassroots Asians part of interconnected worldwide coal-free movement: Coal is not the answer for post-3.11 Japan

(China's example demonstrates that coal is not an answer to energy production/global warming. Image: Sierra Club)

(Congratulations to indigenous locals in Sabah, Malaysia and their global supporters in prevailing against a coal company that wanted to destroy this beautiful coast! Image: Sierra Club)

Last month scientists reported that Pacific marine life passed into the Atlantic Ocean for the first time in thousands of years because global warming has melted ice cover in the Arctic. This month we've seen a flurry of news stories stating China's coal burning has "halted" global warming. Responsible media outlets like Reuters and Discover qualified the finding with pronouncements from climate change scientists who stressed that, over the long term, sulfur dioxide emissions from coal would increase global warming. Anyone who has been to China (or the Appalachian region of the United States) already knows coal is not an answer to energy production. The coal industry is as destructive as the oil and nuclear energy industries: causing permanent ruin of entire eco-systems and communities worldwide.

Even before 3.11, Japanese electricity producers were, together, the world's #1 coal importer and had planned or had under construction several new major coal-fired power stations in Japan:

Tepco previously said it expected two new coal-fired units to start operations in late 2013—a 1 GW plant at Hitachinaka and the 600 MW Hiromo No. 6 unit northeast of Tokyo, and J-Power has several plans for new coal-fired generating stations.

In past years, Japanese energy companies clashed with the Environment Ministry over emissions. Coal energy concerns now are using the Fukushima catastrophe to push through previously rejected projects and pursue growth. Owners of a mine project (20% owned by Japanese; 20% owned by South Koreans) in Vancouver, British Columbia want to produce coal for export to Asia over the objections of local residents. Itochu, a Japanese trading group, paid US$1.52 billion to acquire a 20% stake in Drummond International’s Colombian coal mining operation. The agreement gives Itochu “rights” to sell Colombian coal in Japan. The conglomerate, a major uranium supplier, used to buy most of its coal from Australian companies and has investments in Canada, Indonesia, and China. Two days ago, Mitsui bought a 49% share of Australia's Cockatoo coal project.

In Asia (and elsewhere), coal companies have seized farm land and destroyed villages, rendering entire populations homeless. The Sierra Club details this pattern of destruction, attempted destruction, and local resistance by rural people who want to save their ancestral homes and natural environments in "Down With Coal! The Grassroots Anti-Coal Movement Goes Global":

While China struggles with the enormity of the pollution burden from its world-leading annual coal consumption, it is not the only hotbed of future coal-plant construction. Activists in India, for example, report that regulators gave the green light to at least 173 coal projects during 2010 -- nearly one plant every other day. In Southeast Asia, large Chinese utilities such as China Huadian are setting up shop to finance and build a slew of new coal plants. Meanwhile, new coal mines are being proposed in Australia and Indonesia, overwhelmingly for export sales. Countries from Mozambique to Mongolia, which have had little domestic need for coal, are now being hyped as the next big players in the global coal rush. (Photo: A 2,000-MW coal plant in Madhya Pradesh, India.)

In the fertile farming areas that support large rural populations in much of Asia, the new coal boom spells civil conflict, as fields are seized, villages are ordered to pack up and leave, and communities resist. For the U.S. coal movement, the 2,500 people who turned out to protest the Capitol Power Plant was a large number. In India or Bangladesh, marches and demonstrations of more than 10,000 people are not uncommon.

The dominant international narrative focuses on the need to build large numbers of new coal plants across the developing world to spur economic progress. However, the assertion that development can only be achieved through a massive expansion of coal use is being met with increasingly fierce resistance by those asked to bear the most toxic and destructive burdens of this expansion: the people living next to coal projects.

Local populations are resisting private and public-sector pressure to dramatically expand coal-fired power because these projects are not intended for their benefit. While local people face displacement and the destruction of their livelihoods, electricity is often exported to urban centers. Communities are calling for a more sustainable model of energy development that prioritizes access to energy services for all, environmental sustainability, and human health. Their efforts to halt coal-plant construction have placed them front and center in the struggle over energy and development in the 21st century.

In the past, most communities struggling to take on ill-conceived projects have done so largely on their own, but that's starting to change. International coalitions are beginning to develop to bring publicity and support to front-line efforts. Here are a dozen places around the world where people are uniting to halt coal projects, increasingly with international support.

•  Sabah, Malaysia

In April, 1,500 people convened on a beach in Malaysia to savor a victory that had been judged impossible just two years earlier: the defeat of a 300-MW coal plant in the Malaysian state of Sabah, located on the northeast side of the island of Borneo. Celebrations were also underway 7,500 miles away, in California, among a group of activists who had helped draw international publicity to the issue -- including a Time magazine article entitled "A Coal Plant in Paradise."

• Phulbari, Bangladesh

Bangladesh's high population density (more than 164 million people in a country the size of Iowa) and rich agricultural land make coal mining a destructive proposition. In the township of Phulbari, as many as 220,000 people would be displaced by a proposed 15-million-ton-per-year coal mine and a 500-MW coal plant. Community opposition reached a crescendo in 2006, when paramilitary forces fired on a protest rally of as many as 70,000 people, killing three people and injuring 200. In the wake of these deaths, nationwide protests and strikes closed down the country for four days... During recent demonstrations, the Bangladeshi government has deployed its Rapid Action Battalion, notorious for torture and for the deaths of persons in its custody. The repression has failed.

• Andhra Pradesh, India

This coastal state of eastern India is experiencing a coal-plant construction boom, including the 4,000-MW Krishnapatnam Ultra Mega Power Project, one of nine such massive projects in planning or under construction across the country...The 2,640-MW Sompeta plant proposed by Nagarjuna Construction Company and the 2,640-MW Bhavanapadu plant proposed by East Coast Energy have both provoked large nonviolent protests that have ended in police attacks, including four deaths of local residents. Following coverage of the police action on Indian television, investigations revealed a pattern of "crony capitalism" among the permitting agencies and corporate sponsors. As of May 2011, the Sompeta plant had been cancelled and the Bhavanapadu plant had been placed on hold by officials, with corruption investigations continuing...

• Dawei, Burma

In Dawei, on the beautiful southern peninsula coast of Burma, Italian-Thai Development Plc signed a deal in Nov. 2010 to build a 4,000-to-6,000-MW coal plant, the largest in Southeast Asia and possibly the world. Within weeks of the signing, 19 villages had received orders to move. Dawei is 10 miles from Maungmagan, a scenic beach and rich fishing district...

• Nakhon Si Thammarat Province, Thailand - On Feb. 24, 2011, 10,000 people formed a human chain in this province in Thailand to protest a coal-fired power plant planned by Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand...

• Konkan Coast of Maharashtra, India

Home to 112 million people, this state in western India is building a concentration of large coal plants on a tiny sliver of land south of Mumbai known as the Konkan Coast (dubbed "the California of Maharashtra")...Concerned by the pollution and displacement entailed by the massive proposals, farmers have targeted some of the largest projects. One of these is the 4,000-MW Girye Ultra Mega Power Project, which prompted mango farmers and others to stage marches, hunger strikes, and other nonviolent actions. They successfully forced the project to seek a new location [PDF] as protests barred the government from acquiring the needed land.

• Orissa, India

In this state on the eastern coast of India, the scale of coal-plant development is staggering... In March, activists from across India converged on Orissa for a national conclave to plan a response to the coal boom, as well as the related issues of energy use and climate change. The mobilization includes the National Alliance for People's Movements, Focus Odisha, and numerous other groups.

• Madhya Pradesh, India

Since 1977, when the World Bank financed the first coal-fired plant in the region, the Singrauli district of this state in central India has been notorious for roughshod development and population displacement. Now more massive coal plants are being built or planned... The concentration of power generation in an agricultural area has left local communities reeling. The Sasan Ultra Mega Power Project, for example, has displaced 6,000 people. One man is benefiting: Mukesh Ambani, the controlling owner of India-based Reliance Power, whose reported net worth of $27 billion makes him one of the world's five richest individuals.

• Queensland and New South Wales, Australia

On a tonnage basis, Australia already leads the world in coal exports, and that lead may widen significantly if several massive mines are allowed to move forward in the eastern coal-mining states of Queensland and New South Wales... Farmers and ranchers are fighting back with a concerted effort to protect rich agricultural lands and precious water resources from mining operations...

•  Victoria, Australia

While the low-quality coal in this state in southeastern Australia is not suitable for export, it provides 91 percent of the fuel used for power generation in Victoria itself...

• Colombia

One of the oldest examples of citizens working across national boundaries on coal issues is the coalition of human rights and labor organizations that has brought attention to the massive mines in Colombia, such as the 35-by-5-mile Cerrejón coal mine, operated by Cerrejón Coal Company, and the mines operated by Drummond. The expansion of these mines has been marked by paramilitary violence, high numbers of deaths in mining accidents, and displacement of entire communities, including Tabaco, a 700-person Afro-Colombian village that was razed in 2001. Witness for Peace has brought members of Kentuckians for the Commonwealth to visit the mines, as well as people who live near the Salem Power Station in Massachusetts, which uses coal from Colombia.

• Sarangani Province, the Philippines

In the Philippines, grassroots protests against new coal plants and open-pit coal mining have taken place across the country...At a separate demonstration, students at Mindanao State University dressed as Na'vi from the film Avatar marched on the fenced property of the proposed plant site...

The co-authors (collaborative activists worldwide) conclude:

As grassroots resistance grows in countries around the globe, a nascent, interconnected, worldwide anti-coal movement is emerging. In an increasingly globalized world, local campaigns can quickly reach a global audience and tap into previously unimagined support networks. While the participants in this new movement are diverse, some of the patterns are becoming clear: sustained and passionate grassroots activism is challenging the idea that fossil fuels are the only option. Many governments have backtracked or shelved plans in response to political pressure or legal actions. Some banks, investors, and even energy companies are growing increasingly wary of further supporting coal.

But it's still too early to write the obituary for King Coal. The industry is now attempting to wrap itself in the cloak of "development," justifying dirty energy projects in the name of providing energy access for some of the world's most economically poor countries. While many coal projects have encountered strong opposition, too many others are proceeding without challenge.

...Like tobacco, coal insinuated its way into our lives delivering a cheap, short-term energy high, but leaving a bitter long-term aftertaste -- in the case of coal, ruined rivers and lands, lives wrecked and cut short, abandoned communities, and an increasingly polluted and potentially unlivable atmosphere.

We need clean energy alternatives, not the continuation of dirty energy that destroys people's health, livelihoods, and resources. Will you join the growing global movement to move away from coal?

(24 February 2011 - Thailand. Children join Greenpeace & thousands of other people from Nakhon Si Thammarat to protest plans for a new coal-fired power station to be built in their province by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT). The protesters call for EGAT to immediately withdraw its coal project due to projected serious economic, social and environmental impacts. Photo: Greenpeace Int.)

Filmmaker Velcrow Ripper spotlights compassionate activists & sources of hope in the "context of a global crisis, which I think is undeniable"

Velcrow Ripper's 2009 documentary film Fierce Light: Where Spirit Meets Action begins with the Canadian director sharing his personal story about the assassination of his friend, journalist Brad Will, killed by paramilitary gunmen in Oaxaca, Mexico, while filming a strike. Ripper then asks, "Why do I keep working to change the world when we're up against impossible odds and how can I even think about spirituality when they're killing my friends? "

He answers this question by following several other stories showing how grassroots activists have responded to the devastation of the Vietnam war; class and race-based oppression; commercial destruction of an urban community garden in Los Angeles; and commercial destruction of an ancient old-growth forest.

Compassionate activists featured: American civil rights activist John Lewis, Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh, Archibishop Desmond Tutu, environmentalists Daryl Hannah, Julia Butterfly Hill, Van Jones, and Joanna Macy.

In this interview excerpt, the filmmaker describes the film's purpose:

I would say that one of the things that the film tries to do is offer us a source of hope. And all my films now are in the context of a global crisis, which I think is undeniable.

One of the roles of this compassionate activism or this shift in the way we create change is also to give us strategies for maintaining hope in the face of crisis. In fact that's what Scared Sacred was all about. In that film I went to the ground zeros of the world, the place where you'd least expect to find hope, searching for it, because I actually think that the worst thing that could happen right now is that humanity gives up. You've seen it in some tribes in the Amazon where their numbers have been reduced, their land has disappeared and they just stop procreating. Turning crisis into compassion is really the root of it....

The other big focus of this compassionate activism that Fierce Light focuses on is a shift in activism to focusing more on what we're for than just on what we're against. So it's solution based. So much of what's happening, and so much of the way change happens in the world today is through the media. We live in a mediated culture and wars are fought as much in the public arena as they are on the battleground...The message of Gandhi and the message of Martin Luther King was that the most effective tool you have is your ethical integrity. And when you react with violence, you've lost that in the public eyes...

And for me, I see spirituality as coming from a depth perspective. More than anything, what the film comes back to is the idea of what Archbishop Desmond Tutu calls 'ubuntu', and in Buddhism what they refer to as ‘inter-being'. And so, almost a definition of spirituality for me is that we are all interconnected. That in turn is also reflected in science in systems theory.

I hope to help and be part of the movement that I think is the biggest project that's taking place on the planet right now: the movement from an industrial growth society — a life-destroying society — to a sustainable society, sustainable on multiple levels. A society of mutually enhancing relationships between each other and the planet, which I think is where we're going.

That's the next step in our evolution is to get to that. Moving from the egocentric point of view to the world-centric point of view. And that's my activism.

I consider myself a media activist and that's the root of where I'm pointing people. I guess many, many people are working on this project but it's a shift we need to make right now. And it's why it's an exciting time to be alive because the stakes are really, really high and we get to choose to be part of the solution if we so desire.

I'm hopeful. I'm very hopeful. I think we are waking up. Change is happening really fast. There are two graphs: there's the graph of destruction and there is the graph of transformation. It's anybody's guess which one is going to peak out first but I choose hope.

Read the entire interview at Cinema Spy.

Jeju Island ("Natural Wonder" & World Heritage Site) Solidarity Petition!

( Peace and environmentalist activist and blogger Sung-Hee Choi holding a banner challenging the destruction of Gangjeong, Jeju Island. The sea off its coast is the only natural dolphin habitat in South Korea. The banner reads "Do not touch even one stone, even one flower!" Image: No Base Stories of Korea)

From Christine Ahn, director of Korea Policy Institute and contributor to Foreign Policy in Focus:

Dear friends,

In three weeks, I will be going to Jeju Island in South Korea to bear witness to the extraordinary nonviolent resistance underway now to stop the construction of a naval base. Through incredible acts of courage, the villagers and activists from the peninsula have established a system where if construction trucks carrying cement approach the site, they blow a siren which then signals to the villagers that they must drop their farming and work to come and protect the coastline from being dredged and concrete poured over the coral reefs.

We are slowly gathering a larger delegation, including potentially a Spanish filmmaker, a German faith worker, and a Japanese peace activist. So far three of us will be traveling from the United States. We hope to gather at least 100,000 signatures from around the world for this petition and hand deliver it to the South Korean President Lee Myung Bak at the Blue House.

Will you please sign this petition and forward it to at least 10 of your friends? Honestly, I think we can stop this naval base, which is the last thing our world needs, certainly not at the expense of farmers, sea divers, fishermen and the marine ecosystem we all depend upon for our survival. Let's bring international pressure to bear on the South Korean president and say NO NEW BASE!

Will you sign this petition? Click here: http://signon.org/sign/save-jeju-island-no-naval?source=c.em.mt&r_by=362758:

President Lee Myung Bak
Cheong Wa Dae
1 Cheongwadae-ro, Jongno-gu
Seoul, Republic of Korea

Dear President Lee:

As concerned members of the international community, we urge you to stop construction of the naval base on Jeju Island, which Gangjeong residents have vehemently opposed by protesting daily and risking their lives and personal freedom. Since plans for the naval base were announced five years ago, 95% of Jeju residents have voted against the base and used every possible democratic means to block its construction. Yet their protests have fallen on deaf ears in your government.

We share the residents’ outrage that the South Korean government is willing to sacrifice the safety of the island residents in order to build this U.S. missile defense outpost as part of a provocative strategy to surround China. Jeju residents refute the claim that this naval base will improve the Korean peoples’ security; they know it will further destabilize the Asia-Pacific region and make the island a prime target for military retaliation. The Jeju people's resistance to the militarization of their island stem from the April 3, 1948 massacre when up to 80,000 civilians – many of their family – were slaughtered by ROK troops during a democratic uprising. In 2006, the late President Roh Moo Hyun officially apologized for the massacre by designating Jeju the “Island of Peace.” This naval base violates your government's commitment to the people of Jeju and their desire for peace.

Citizens of other countries have visited Gangjeong and are in steady communication with its residents. We are deeply concerned about the health and safety of several peace activists, including Professor Yang Yoon Mo and Sung Hee Cho, who were on 60-day hunger strikes and arrested for nonviolent protest. The elderly Professor Yang is now hospitalized, and Ms. Cho remains behind bars, facing up to five years in prison. We are alarmed that another activist, Brother Song, was recently beaten unconscious when he tried to prevent a construction vessel from pouring concrete onto the coral reefs. By authorizing the use of violence against nonviolent peace activists, you undermine your government’s reputation and give the world cause to question your commitment to South Korea’s hard-won democracy.

Famed for its extraordinary beauty and pristine environment, Jeju is home to three designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites and one of 28 finalists for the New 7 Wonders of Nature. It perplexes us that, despite First Lady Kim Yoon-ok’s efforts for the "Jeju, for New 7 Wonders Campaign," your government is jeopardizing Jeju’s chances by allowing the construction of this naval base. By dredging the Jeju coastline to accommodate U.S. Aegis destroyer warships, the South Korean Navy and Samsung Corporation are already threatening the island’s soft coral habitat and rich marine life.

Not only is Jeju’s Joongduk coastline where dolphins migrate to from Alaska in the summer, its waters are famed because of the hundreds of Korean women, haenyeo, who dive for seafood and kelp, key staples of the Korean diet. In 2005, The New York Times featured a story about these extraordinary women divers. The naval base will destroy the waters that haenyeo and fishermen depend upon for survival. It has already displaced Gangjeong citrus growers whose lands have been confiscated, greenhouses demolished, and fruit trees uprooted. Gangjeong villagers are not deceived by the ROK Navy’s false claims that the base would have minimal impact on the environment, and neither are we. They know that the base imperils their community, their livelihoods, and Jeju’s natural ecology.

We stand with the residents of Jeju in their nonviolent protest to protect not only Jeju’s rich marine ecosystems and their way of life, but also peace in this increasingly fragile and militarized region in the world. We demand that you act immediately to stop construction of the naval base on Jeju.

Sincerely,

Your Name

For another action request (write to your country's ROK Ambassador) and more background on Jeju Island, please see this post.

Okinawa Outreach: Citizens' Network for Biodiversity in Okinawa meeting with Japanese military officials

From Okinawa Outreach, new blog by Okinawans who live in Okinawa:

Action: July 7: Okinawa BD going to Defense Bureau - Send a message from your heart!

Dear friends of Okinawa:

The Okinawa Defense Bureau (local agent of Japanese Ministry of Defense) is about to resume construction of US Military Osprey aircraft helipads in Takae and Yanbaru Forest.

As you may be aware, the construction plan is the part of the planned military transformation of the US in the Asia Pacific region.

The local people and supporters have been carrying out a peaceful sit-in protest for 4 years, day and night.

The government is not only destroying the Yanbaru forest, "the water bearer of Okinawa," but also violating the life and the rights of the local people and community there.

On July 7, Citizens’ Network for Biodiversity in Okinawa (Okinawa BD) is having an official meeting with the bureau to make inquiries and request them to stop the construction.

Date and Time: July 7, 11:00
Place: Okinawa Defense Bureau (Kadena)

July 7 falls on the Rendezvous Day of two stars that meet once a year, the Vega and the Altair.

So, why don't we open our hearts for the people of Takae?

BE THERE IN SPIRIT - Send a message from your heart !

Send us a short line with your wish to put on a strip of paper, hang on a bamboo for Tanabata

We wait for your TANABATA wishes at: okinawaor@gmail.com

For more information, see "Call for Your Attention and Action:
Protect Yanbaru Forest and Local Community
from Helipad Construction".

Yoshio Shimoji: Better Use of U.S. Marines

In the two months since early May when Yoshio Shimoji wrote this article for The Japan Time, the U.S. has been struck by repeated natural disasters: devastating floods, wildfires; manmade disasters: an oil spill in the Yellowstone River (following last year's 4 month-long Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico); possible disasters (flooding of Fort Calhoun Nuclear Plant); and near-disasters (nuclear weapons facility in Los Alamos threatened by wildfires).

The Okinawa University Professor Emeritus argues that U.S. Marines based in Okinawa (those not deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan) would be of better service to U.S. security needs by being based in the U.S. ("where they are needed most") for immediate and permanent domestic disaster relief, rather than waiting for possible short-term assistance in future disasters in the Asia-Pacific.

In the U.S., these people in uniform would be appreciated and supported in their own culture, near families and friends. It's been over 60 years since U.S. bases were first built during the Battle of Okinawa for the planned military invasion of Japan. It's time to end the Battle of Okinawa and other vestiges of the Pacific War; bring the grandchildren of WWII vets home, and let Okinawans live freely, democratically, and peacefully.

READERS IN COUNCIL
Better use of the U.S. Marines

By Yoshio Shimoji
Naha, Okinawa
The Japan Times: Sunday, May 8, 2011

On April 27, 135 killer tornadoes struck America's southern states, devastating towns and villages and killing 337 people. Alabama sustained the greatest damage, and reported 249 deaths. Nearly 1 million customers were forced to go without electricity, a scale comparable to that caused by Hurricane Katrina, which made landfall in the New Orleans area in August 2005.

On April 3 and 4, 1974, a deadly barrage of 148 tornados ripped through the United States for 2,500 miles - from the Southwest into Canada, leaving enormous destruction behind.

Furthermore, we all know that hurricanes frequently strike the U.S. Southeast and that the Pacific Coast is prone to earthquakes and great forest fires.

Since the U.S. is not immune from natural disasters, either, it is absurd for the U.S. Marines to say that Operation Tomodachi, carried out in northeastern Japan (after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami), was such a great success that it proved the importance of the Marines' functions in Japan.

Were the Marines a force capable of coping with the aftermath of natural disasters as effectively as their ballyhoo suggests, then they should be deployed in their own country, the U.S., where it seems they would be needed the most.

It follows, then, that the Okinawa-based Marines should pack up and go home, and U.S. Marine Air Station Futenma, Okinawa, should be closed completely without a thought given to providing a replacement facility within Okinawa Prefecture.