tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33556631495402709532024-03-05T21:23:23.887-08:00Ten Thousand ThingsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger920125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355663149540270953.post-20564933859050183292023-09-11T14:27:00.001-07:002023-09-11T14:27:32.535-07:00International Network of Museums for Peace: Seeking Artists for Peace<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjG6dhSY8WfA8u6_DXAdJNwihGJUmtlx4WV1E4qMSPzM95yUU9IH6Nw2eO02DeNR1tcB_4BBa_mSiOwd5ZYtO6OkwnMA5nb3Vwi61KLVP8Ob5yzLawP5XqtRdtSvUhttnKhaOQsb7_eo8OgT6neDROzo0WuP2_IeTeNPUkJZXZT_l84IzCEOMJmJJvaJ0LQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="805" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjG6dhSY8WfA8u6_DXAdJNwihGJUmtlx4WV1E4qMSPzM95yUU9IH6Nw2eO02DeNR1tcB_4BBa_mSiOwd5ZYtO6OkwnMA5nb3Vwi61KLVP8Ob5yzLawP5XqtRdtSvUhttnKhaOQsb7_eo8OgT6neDROzo0WuP2_IeTeNPUkJZXZT_l84IzCEOMJmJJvaJ0LQ" width="285" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355663149540270953.post-86007141591511338392019-06-17T19:54:00.000-07:002020-08-22T00:40:02.630-07:00#risewithhenoko: Tinsagu Nu Hana (てぃんさぐぬ花 )<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="415" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4wAUOt3-tYw" width="560"></iframe><br /></div>
<br />
Beautiful, multi-generational Hawai'ian Uchinanchu (Okinawan) performance of "Tinsagu Nu Hana" (Balsam Flowers), one of Okinawa's most beloved folk songs.<br />
<br />
<b>Lyrics:</b><br />
<br />
Tinsagu nu hana ya chimi sachi ni sumiti<br />
Uyanu yushi gutu ya chimu ni sumiri<br />
<br />
Tin nuburi bushi ya yumiba yuma rishiga<br />
Uyanu yushi gutu ya yumin naran<br />
<br />
Yuruha rasu funi ya ninu fua bushi miati<br />
Wan na cheru uyaya wandu miati<br />
<br />
Takaradama yatin migaka niba sabisu<br />
Asayu chimu migachi uchiyu watara<br />
<br />
Makutu suru hitu ya atuya ichi madin<br />
Umuku tun kanati chiyunu sakai<br />
<br />
Nashiba nani gutun nairu gutu yashiga<br />
Nasan yui karadu naran sadami<br />
Nasan yui karadu naran sadami<br />
<br />
<b>English translation:</b><br />
<br />
Just as my fingernails are stained with the pigment from balsam flowers,<br />
my heart is painted with the teachings of my parents.<br />
Although the stars in the sky are countable,<br />
the teachings of my parents are not.<br />
Just as ships that run in the night are guided to safety by the North star,<br />
I am guided by my parents who gave birth to me and watch over me.<br />
<br />
There’s no point in possessing magnificent jewelry if you don’t maintain it;<br />
people who maintain their bodies will live life wonderfully.<br />
The desires of the person who lives sincerely will always run true<br />
and as a result she will prosper.<br />
You can do anything if you try,<br />
but you can’t if you don’t.<br />
<br />
With many thanks to the Hawaii Okinawa Artists Collaboration 2017
<br />
<blockquote>
Featured Artists: Reverend Shindo Nishiyama, Derek Fujio Sensei, Derek "Ichiro" Shiroma Sensei, Eric Wada Sensei, Norman Kaneshiro Sensei, Keith Nakaganeku Sensei, Allison Yanagi Sensei, Jon Itomura (HOCA), Cyrus Tamashiro, Kathy Oshiro, Yukiko Pierce, Janine Kiyosaki, Nathan Nishida, Kymberlie and Katelynn Arakaki, Brandon Ing, Carolina Higa, Chantel Ikehara, Shelby Oshiro, Travis Oshiro.<br />
<br />
With Special Thanks to:<br />
President Doris Oshiro (Jikoen Hongwanji), Honolulu Community College Mele Program, Moanalua Mene-Tv Broadcast Journalism, and Blue Planet Recording Studio</blockquote>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355663149540270953.post-81263995381798186502019-06-01T12:48:00.000-07:002020-08-22T00:59:35.367-07:00#risewithhenoko: "Our Island's Treasure" tells the story of Henoko, Okinawa's elders' struggle to save their sacred coral reef and dugong ecosystem for future generations<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/340517922" width="640"></iframe><br />
<a href="https://vimeo.com/340517922">Our Island's Treasure (私達の島の宝)</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/ourislandstreasure">Kaiya Yonamine</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</div>
<br />
#RiseforHenoko - Kaiya Yonamine of Global Uchinanchu Alliance グローバルうちなんちゅ同盟: May 31, 2019 - asks that supporters of Henoko's coral reef and dugong ecoregion and advocates of planetary survival, please spread, and share the link to her documentary film “Our Island’s Treasure” Documentary ドキュメンタリー映画「私達の島の宝. Please tag environmental orgs, human rights and indigenous rights groups, media and teacher groups.<br />
<br />
“Our Island’s Treasure" tells the story about the indigenous Uchinanchu people's fight to protect their sacred dugong and coral reef ocean in Henoko, Okinawa from Japanese government landfill and construction of an offshore US military training airstrip and port (over an ecoregion covered with quicksand pits which will take years to reinforce, if possible, and an earthquake zone).<br />
<br />
Frustrated by the lack of media coverage of the Okinawan 22- year struggle to save Okinawa's last intact, healthiest and most biodiverse coral reef and best dugong ecosystem, mother and daughter team, Moe and Kaiya Yonamine, made and sold thousands of cookies and paper cranes to raise funds to pay for flights and to stay in Okinawa. They went to Henoko to support their elders <br />
<br />
"This is one of the most biodiverse ocean regions on the planet and [Japanese and U.S. governments'] destruction is being done against the democratic will of the Okinawa people who voted vehemently against it," explains Moe Yonamine.<br />
<br />
"Nonstop, our island’s people—with their bodies—are blocking construction trucks on land at sit-ins and die-ins, and—with their bodies—on kayaks, are blocking construction ships in the ocean — mostly led by hundreds of now elderly child survivors of the Battle of Okinawa," Yonamine adds. (The air, sea, and ground fighting between Americans and Japanese in Okinawa was the bloodiest battle in their 4-year war in the Asia-Pacific.)<br />
<br />
Kaiya Yonamine, a 17 year-old, 2nd generation Uchinanchu living in Portland, Oregon, released the trailer for her film on Earth Day.<br />
<br />
"This documentary aims to show the fight of the elders and youth on the ground fighting to protect our ocean in Henoko and the interviews taken just weeks ago while we were there. Singing along with an old island song that I sang to her as a little girl, and one that my grandmother sang to me, she shares it in our indigenous language and with our indigenous instrument," Yonamine describes the beautiful song in the video trailer.<br />
<br />
Please watch and share her trailer and HELP DISRUPT THE MEDIA SILENCE on the Sea of Henoko (not just a "less populated area in the north") but, instead, Okinawa's last intact, healthiest, most biodiverse, millennia-old coral reef, and best dugong seagrass habitat. Okinawans and their worldwide environmentalist, peace, and democracy supporters have been working for 23 years to save the Sea of Henoko.<br />
<br />
Partial trailer transcript:<br />
<blockquote>
"Beautiful Sand. Proud People. Living along sparkling ocean waves. Ancient history of kings and queens. The kingdom overthrown by Japan in 1879. Violence brought upon this peaceful land during WWII.<br />
<br />
"After the war, the U.S. put Okinawans in concentration camps while taking land to build bases. On what was left of this tiny paradise (the main island of Okinawa is 70 miles long and 7 miles wide) crammed with 32 bases, burdened with 70% of all U.S. military bases under Japan against the democratic will of the Uchinanchu people.<br />
<br />
"Now the construction of a new base has begun. This time, in the ocean...Oura Bay is the name of the ocean that is being destroyed. This is one of the most biodiverse waters in the world bursting with life of over 5,300 species and 262 endangered species that are dependent on the sea. The Jp govt. is actively destroying this ocean. Concrete crushing coral. Using our own red soil to fill the sea. Killing our ocean.<br />
<br />
"Kayactivists have been blocking ships. Elders have been staging sit-ins. War survivors have been blocking trucks. Raising fists. Singing island songs. Fighting for our ocean. And the media remains silent. As the destruction continues, our fight continues. We call on you to join us. And protect our ocean. Before we lose it forever."</blockquote>
YOU WILL FIND THE DOCUMENTARY LINK HERE ON FRIDAY, 5/31: <a href="https://www.riseforhenoko.com/day-6-fri-5-31-20019">Our Island's Treasure</a><br />
<br />
Kaiya explains the urgency of her mission: <br />
<blockquote>
"The concrete began to be crushed in the beautiful ocean of Okinawa back in Dec..there was no media in the U.S. about it...I knew that people are fighting with their lives on the line for the ocean, for us, for all of us. So I decided I needed to take a camera and bridge us across the ocean... listening to the stories of people on the ground, I made this documentary to tell the world their story and show their fight -- our fight. The documentary is the result of interviewing Uchinanchu elders and student activists who are doing everything to protect our sacred ocean, even when the media ignores what's happening."</blockquote>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
Okinawan American Moe Yonamine is a teacher in Portland and a co-founder of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/globaluchina/">Global Uchinanchu Alliance グローバルうちなんちゅ同盟</a>, which seeks to deepen connections between Overseas Okinawans and Okinawans living in their homeland (which includes the sea and all animals and plants living in the sea).</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355663149540270953.post-69872702343014954592019-05-25T08:04:00.002-07:002019-12-31T00:32:08.611-08:00Not Forgotten: Share Your Christmas with Tohoku, Japan<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR69MYtSO0taC9f0CFf9bzLP2HimR1yWxmbADMn2i1cCOwCdhRg4FN0_sT9nBqCTmG3d0gyukR8rWnRFMt_3hflzZEnY-Ric08Po-jGqUCyNHWuZQgb_BFBAY5zpGjE4ioMfbwJt1vvx43/s1600/60837109_2683286728408827_7049987382417817600_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR69MYtSO0taC9f0CFf9bzLP2HimR1yWxmbADMn2i1cCOwCdhRg4FN0_sT9nBqCTmG3d0gyukR8rWnRFMt_3hflzZEnY-Ric08Po-jGqUCyNHWuZQgb_BFBAY5zpGjE4ioMfbwJt1vvx43/s640/60837109_2683286728408827_7049987382417817600_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/shareyourchristmaswithtohoku/">Share Your Christmas with Tohoku</a> will complete their final Share Your Christmas delivery Sunday, May 26, to the fukko Jutaku housing area in Miharu and to the town of Katsurao which is on the outside edge of the 20km exclusion zone where some people have moved back.<br />
<br />
Many, many thanks to these wonderful people for remembering and supporting the survivors of 3/11's unnecessary, human-caused meltdowns.
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Christmas, my child, is Love in Action. Every time we love, every time we give, it's Christmas."<br />
<br />
- Dale Evans</blockquote>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355663149540270953.post-90919240285886556822019-05-02T20:40:00.001-07:002019-05-02T21:05:55.976-07:00#SavetheDugong: Okinawa Dugong flags for Children's Day 2019 at Wansaka Oura Park, Okinawa <div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhbbTbvxS2voaUysH3p3RrVqieCDtY_TQUeeB1Sq39Hoz_IIUFQ6OeRumXpTNMlLcbIyu96aipA5zqnhpv8z-0Hwty0qCa9qrtW_qzJCjQljdcmRQS66EqmunzCnVEIiV64SFsmWCi9a3T/s1600/image.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="361" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhbbTbvxS2voaUysH3p3RrVqieCDtY_TQUeeB1Sq39Hoz_IIUFQ6OeRumXpTNMlLcbIyu96aipA5zqnhpv8z-0Hwty0qCa9qrtW_qzJCjQljdcmRQS66EqmunzCnVEIiV64SFsmWCi9a3T/s640/image.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
These beautiful <a href="https://www.dugongnosato.jp/2019/04/30/%E3%82%B8%E3%83%A5%E3%82%B4%E3%83%B3%E3%81%AE%E3%81%BC%E3%82%8Ain-%E3%82%8F%E3%82%93%E3%81%95%E3%81%8B%E5%A4%A7%E6%B5%A6%E3%83%91%E3%83%BC%E3%82%AF/?fbclid=IwAR13ltNHCnAm9qGDJz8mDZsraHXuomohWiyk0X7VZNK1SoXqMSGPuTCpHrQ">Okinawa Dugong flags for Children's Day</a> at Wansaka Oura Park were made by Mr. Takuma Higashionna, who has memories of swimming with dugongs in the Sea of Henoko, and who is one of the Dugong Lawsuit plaintiffs. The federal lawsuit, initiated in 2003, is now on appeal at the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.<br />
<br />
The plaintiffs have challenged a plan by the U.S. and Japanese governments to landfill not only Okinawa's last intact, healthiest, and most biodiverse coral reef, but also the Okinawa dugong's most important seagrass feeding ground, despite appeals by Okinawans and their worldwide supporters for 23 years to save the world-class natural cultural heritage ecoregion.<br />
<br />
The Japanese government, so far, has ignored a democratic referendum that took place in February this year, in which an overwhelming majority of Okinawa voters opposed the destruction. The Okinawan people are fully supported by Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki, who succeeded Govenor Takeshi Onaga. The late Governor Onaga won the governorship, after a campaign supported by the All-Okinawa coalition that bridged conservative and liberal political parties. Their focus was and is shared Okinawan unity, dignity, and cultural heritage.<br />
<br />
Peter Galvin, co-founder of the Center for Biological Diversity, tells us that dugongs, gentle marine mammals (salt water relatives of manatees), EW revered by native Okinawans, and celebrated as “sirens” that bring warnings of tsunamis. The dugong is listed as an natural monument of national cultural significance under Japan’s Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties. Under the U.S. National Historic Protection Act and int. law, the U.S. must avoid or mitigate any harm to places or things of cultural significance to another country.<br />
<br />
Mr. Higashionna told Americans while at court in San Francisco that "The U.S. government must realize that the Okinawa dugong is a treasure for Okinawa and for the world.”<br />
<br />
Dugongs (also related to elephants as well as manatees) can live for 70 years and grow to nearly 1,000 pounds. In the transparent aqua waters of Henoko Bay, vast herds of dugongs once grazed peacefully on underwater fields of sea grass. But after decades of active U.S. military war training in the region, possibly fewer than 50 last dugongs now struggle to survive in the formerly idyllic Okinawan islands — once dubbed the “Galápagos of the East” for its rich biodiversity. Recent surveys showed 3 dugongs living in the Sea of Henoko. Tragically, one was killed in March, and washed ashore covered with abrasions and injuries.<br />
<br />
Every year in Okinawa (and Japanese) people display carp flags from late April to early May in celebration of children’s day, which marks the end of Golden Week, a series of holidays that start on April 29, Showa Day, the birthday of former Emperor Showa, who died in the year 1989, May 3, Constitution Day, May 4, Greenery Day and May 5, Children's Day.<br />
<br />
30日 4月 2019<br />
ジュゴンのぼりin わんさか大浦パーク<br />
今年で5回目になります。手作りジュゴンのぼり、4月29日にわんさか大浦パークにあげてきました!<br />
今年も、地域のこどもたちや名護市内の保育園のこどもたちに、絵を描いてもらいました。ありがとうございました!!<br />
ジュゴンが大浦湾に戻ってこられますように、と願いを込めて!<br />
かわいいジュゴンたちをぜひ見に来て下さいね!感想もよろしくお願いします。<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355663149540270953.post-57430539658365238482018-06-28T21:22:00.000-07:002018-08-14T05:34:39.770-07:00 Okinawa Dugong Lawsuit Judge asks why US govt did not consult with environmental experts and Okinawans about Landfill, Construction Impact on Okinawa Dugong Cultural Heritage<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc4YrQRVvKZvSfN0ZQYo81MKf8dDyi8XZeiRyhShnK2v8AdXD-T93kXCs8U3Uu5XkDZ0BkFbt3nAubkvr2QUnxAf0oPPdlFHYuhby6R_ukV1Wr0MTND2wK0PPlg72IFSSJ1xN3vfhRyjn8/s1600/Dugong_Willema-Wikimedia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="550" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc4YrQRVvKZvSfN0ZQYo81MKf8dDyi8XZeiRyhShnK2v8AdXD-T93kXCs8U3Uu5XkDZ0BkFbt3nAubkvr2QUnxAf0oPPdlFHYuhby6R_ukV1Wr0MTND2wK0PPlg72IFSSJ1xN3vfhRyjn8/s320/Dugong_Willema-Wikimedia.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Today, the Okinawa Dugong Lawsuit Judge <a href="https://www.courthousenews.com/jurisdiction-debated-in-fight-of-okinawa-military-base/"></a><asked a="" href="https://www.courthousenews.com/jurisdiction-debated-in-fight-of-okinawa-military-base/">why the U.S. govt did not consult with environmental experts and Okinawans about loss of Henoko dugong habitat</asked> when planning landfill and offshore training airstrip construction at Okinawa's most important natural cultural heritage site:<br />
<blockquote>
Environmental groups told a federal judge Thursday that in order to justify forging ahead with a new military base on Okinawa, the Department of Defense did a cursory job of evaluating effects on the endangered Okinawa dugong.<br />
<br />
Earthjustice lawyer Sarah Burt said the Pentagon did not consult native Okinawans or the Okinawa prefectural government about the base’s potential harm to dugong populations that feed in the area, or about how the loss of habitat might impact Okinawan cultural practices.<br />
<br />
“The affected communities are the traditional communities that hold the cultural beliefs and spiritual practices surrounding the dugong and they were not consulted in this case,” Burt told U.S. District Judge Edward Chen at Thursday’s hearing to determine whether an environmental challenge to the base can move forward.<br />
<br />
Burt said the department is required under the National Historic Preservation Act to consult with the Okinawan government and affected communities, but instead hired contractors to speak with the Japanese government and outside academics...<br />
<br />
[Federal District Court Judge Edward] Chen first dismissed the case in 2015, ruling the plaintiffs’ request for an injunction raised political questions the court lacked the authority to hear. At the time, Chen seemed fatalistic about the base’s construction and the court’s inability to offer the plaintiffs any effective relief...<br />
<br />
But last year, the Ninth Circuit [Court of Appeals] ruled the plaintiffs have standing to seek declaratory and injunctive relief over the base, and that neither set of claims present political questions that prohibit judicial review...<br />
<br />
...Chen seemed open to hearing from local cultural practitioners regarding anything the Department of Defense’s finding of no adverse impact [dumping landfill over dugong feeding grounds on the critically endangered mammal's survival] might have left out or ignored.<br />
<br />
He also asked the government why it didn’t at least give the environmental groups a notice and comment period. Surely that wouldn’t offend America’s strategic partners, he suggested.<br />
<br />
“Is it arbitrary and capricious to not even be told about the process?” Chen asked Justice Department attorney Mark Haag.</blockquote>
The Mainichi's coverage, <a href="https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20180629/p2g/00m/0fp/096000c">"Legitimacy of Okinawa base relocation questioned in US court,"</a> provides a summary of the history of the lawsuit (initiated in 2003), and closes with responses from Burt and Peter Galvin, co-founder of one of the American plaintiffs, Center for Biological Diversity:
<br />
<blockquote>
Judge Chen is taking seriously his obligation to review what the Department of Defense has done," she said. "I'm hopeful that we have been able to convince him that the very purpose of the statute is informed decision making in partnership with local communities."<br />
<br />
"I was able to make the case for the people of Okinawa and the dugong. So now we wait," she said.
<br />
<br />
Peter Galvin, director of programs at the Center for Biological Diversity, emphasized the need for a big win.<br />
<br />
Noting that the construction has already driven the resident dugongs from the area, Galvin warned that once the landfill is placed and the seagrass and coral are covered, serious damage will be irreversible.</blockquote>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355663149540270953.post-87716810097289497422018-04-21T14:12:00.000-07:002018-04-22T19:09:14.040-07:00Earth Day 2018 - The Sea is the Treasure of Life - Miracle of Oura Bay and Yanbaru<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><c><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="455" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/k-O6oFTuXJo" width="600"></iframe></c></span><br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Beautiful Henoko coral reef and dugong sea underwater photographs and music via <a face=""verdana" , sans-serif" font-family:="" href="https://www.facebook.com/OnePeaceOkinawa/'%3E%3C/font%3E%3Cfont%20data-blogger-escaped-style=" quot="" sans-serif="" verdana="">One Peace Okinawa</a> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">(events ongoing this weekend at Earth Day Tokyo/アースデイ東京) </span>with <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">photography by Takuya Nakamura: "A Miracle of Oura Bay and Yanbaru - About Precious Nature" and music by Milk (Maitreya) singing "The sea is the treasure of life."</span><br />
<blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Most of Okinawa's coral reefs have been lost because of coastal construction and global warming. Miraculously, coral reefs are still thriving in the sea of Henoko and Oura Bay where nutrients and fresh water from Yanbaru's subtropical rainforest and living tidelands continue to the sea. Does anyone really want to build a base by landfilling this magnificent sea, a treasure of life?</span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"The Sea is a Treasure of Life" by <a href="http://milkmilk.blog.jp/">Milk (Maitreya)</a></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /><br />Island treasure Coral sea</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">A cradle of life</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Nurturing creatures</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Breakwaters to protect the island</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Treasure chest in the sea</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Jewels spun over a thousand years</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Miracles connecting life.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Coral reefs are treasures of the earth...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The sea and the forest are connected...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The living guardian rainforest of the sea...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The sea and the land are connected...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">There is no border between them...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The sea is the treasure of life...</span></blockquote>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355663149540270953.post-79966833977483673052017-08-12T19:48:00.002-07:002020-08-22T13:43:20.564-07:00Alicia Bay Laurel and Takuji - "Imagine" and "Give Peace a Chance" at Hiroshima Nagarekawa Church, which stands on what was ground zero<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Our friends, Alicia Bay Laurel and Takuji, performing "Imagine" and "Give Peace a Chance" in Hiroshima 08/08/2015.
Author/artist/vocalist/songwriter Alicia Bay Laurel and jazz multi-instrumentalist Takuji perform John Lennon's anti-war classics "Imagine" and "Give Peace a Chance" at a peace concert that was part of the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, August 8, 2015, at Hiroshima Nagarekawa Church, which stands on what was ground zero in Hiroshima.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355663149540270953.post-83771332780893370952017-03-13T18:54:00.000-07:002020-08-22T13:46:10.965-07:00Keibo Oiwa addresses the psychological roots of world crisis in Nuclear Zen<div style="text-align: center;">
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<br />
In Berlin-based filmmaker Michael Saup's short documentary, <i><a href="http://1001suns.com/">Nuclear Zen</a></i>, anthropologist, environmental activist (and contributor to <i>Kyoto Journal</i>) <a href="http://www.yukkurido.com/oiwa.html">Keibo Oiwa</a>, shares
his holistic take on creating a life-sustaining Japan and world. His views echo those of many eco-activists, especially Sacred Stone,
Okinawan and other indigenous water, rainforest, earth protectors: <br />
<blockquote>
Thank you is a recognition of the reality. We are living here. We are
using [nuclear [and fossil]] electricity...We created the social system
-- media, education, politics -- on top of the same system. We have to
admit it. Yes, this is where we are. And we have to embrace it, whether
it's ugly or not. This is us. And only after that, we can say what we
want to do. But the problem is, many people refuse to recognize this
reality.<br />
<br />
Albert Einstein said you cannot solve the problem
within the same mindset that created the problem in the first place. But
that is exactly what we've been doing. As environmental activist, I've
been fighting, in the movements against environmental destruction,
pollution, climate change, nuclear power. And all these problems are too
serious. We cannot solve any of these problems easily. Many people say
it's too late. But I think it's very important that all these problems
have the same root, not just environmental issues, but psychological
problems. <br />
<br />
What do we do with the very unhappy society we've
created. you know, education, family situation, families are collapsing.
We pit all the children against each other; they're supposed to be be
competing and fighting against each other, forever. I think the roots
are all entangled and maybe the same one. So what we have to do, is
recognize the root. This is a great opportunity. This crisis is an
opportunity...to understand this mindset, not just a society, but
ourselves, our mindset...<br />
<br />
The musician Ryuichi Sakamoto...said,
"We are risking our lives, not only human lives, for the sake of what?
Just electricity?"<br />
<br />
But this is a mindset we have been captured in...<br />
<br />
For what? Is it worth risking our lives, our future, our children's future?<br />
<br />
The objective of this system is to make more, consume more, discard
more. It's eternal growth: mass production, mass consumption, mass
discarding. When you look around, this whole system is made up of
excess. So I think excess is the nature of the present time. More.
Bigger. Faster...This is a religion of efficiency.<br />
<br />
...After
March 11, we realized how hollow our democracy had become. Democracy had
become a treasure box we were carrying but then after March 11, we
opened it, after many years. It was empty. We have to rebuild democracy
from scratch.<br />
<br />
When you look at politics, at media, the situation
seems so pessimistic. But at the same time, I witness so many good
signs and I can see very clearly that what's happening in Japan all over
the place has a strong resonance with what's happening outside of
Japan; In Europe, in Africa, Latin America, everywhere, similar things
are happening. They're coming out of the mindset that my generation is
still trying to cling to. Young people are saying, 'Just forget it.
They are not attracted anymore. They're not deceived. More and more, I
can feel good things are happening...<br />
<br />
The rest of the story we have to create...</blockquote>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355663149540270953.post-48287450254040788712017-03-10T23:14:00.000-08:002018-04-21T15:07:08.679-07:00Global Candle Chain - 3/11 6th Remembrance by Beautiful Energy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEp7-1ApunTAW-ezOtK8qQNR5wjlMzJqNHjEvXK0pbHiPvYI1PxycWKc4Gg2mXrjfbRB0_sdM1CAXl7xdjxH0dlpgF896LOITG-kA-UTOC-e7sfEW1hqTddJoekPJjeiXqjjYvNq-liEuh/s1600/16998181_1379873775403462_1871239552443985751_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="325" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEp7-1ApunTAW-ezOtK8qQNR5wjlMzJqNHjEvXK0pbHiPvYI1PxycWKc4Gg2mXrjfbRB0_sdM1CAXl7xdjxH0dlpgF896LOITG-kA-UTOC-e7sfEW1hqTddJoekPJjeiXqjjYvNq-liEuh/s640/16998181_1379873775403462_1871239552443985751_n.jpg" width="540" /> </a></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span class="_5gmx">Global Candle Chain - 3/11 6th Remembrance by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/BeautifulEnergy/">Beautiful Energy</a></span></span></span></i><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355663149540270953.post-64205000805713390722015-12-24T23:13:00.004-08:002020-08-22T18:16:36.711-07:00 Peace for 70 years and infinity: MESSAGE FROM JAPAN to ASIAN COUNTRIES AND THE WORLD, 2015.<div style="text-align: center;">
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Via <a href="http://sealdseng.strikingly.com/">SEALDs (Students Emergency Action for Liberal Democracy) Japan</a>:
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<blockquote>
Published on Dec 24, 2015
<br />
<br />
《Peace for 70 years and infinity: MESSAGE FROM JAPAN to ASIAN COUNTRIES AND THE WORLD, 2015.》<br />
<br />
Happy X'mas そして、そろそろ今年も終わりですね。SEALDsで今年を締めくくる動画をつくりました。思えば激動の一年でした。法案は可決されましたが、今年得られたものはたくさんあるはずです。戦後から70年。そして71年を迎え、戦後から100年たっても戦争しない国であることを願います。困難な時代にこそ希望があると信じて。そして一歩踏み出す勇気を。<br />
・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・<br />
終戦から70年が経ちました。戦後日本の平和と繁栄は、先の大戦の大きな犠牲と引き換えにもたらされたものです。私たちはいまこそ、この国の平和憲法の理念を支持し、それを北東アジア、そして世界の平和構築に役立てるべきだと考えます。自由、民主主義、普遍的人権。それらの価値は、けっして紙に書かれた絵空事ではありません。人びとの自由を護り、平和を築くために、過去から私たちに手渡された大切な種です。私たちがあきらめてしまわない限り、日本国憲法の理念はその力を失うことはありません。知性と理性とともに、私たちは平和と、アジア諸国家の自由と民主主義の尊重を求め続けます。<br />
<br />
Seventy years have passed since the end of war. The peace and prospect of post-war Japan were led by profound sacrifice of the war. We support the pacifist constitution of this country and use it for peacebuilding in north-east Asia and the world. Liberty, democracy, and universal human rights; these values are not just imagination. They are the important seeds that we were given by the past for defending liberty of people and constructing sustainable peace. The ideal of Japanese Constitution never loses its power unless we give it up. With intelligence and reason, we continue to claim for peace and respect for liberty and democracy in Asian Countries.</blockquote>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355663149540270953.post-48224369182529499902015-12-09T08:39:00.001-08:002020-08-22T18:17:19.824-07:0010,000 sing Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" — Japan's Beloved Anthem of Peace <div>
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This is a video of the Osaka "Number Nine Chorus"—10,000 singers who perform "Ode to Joy" (originally named "Ode to Freedom") every December. The soloists and orchestra are professionals; however the rest are singers from the community.
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The Japanese love of "Ode to Joy," the final movement of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, began during the First World War, when German prisoners of war performed the Ninth Symphony for the first time in Japan in 1918.</div>
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The Japanese nickname for the uplifting movement — "Daiku" ("Number 9") — alludes to Article 9, the Japanese Constitution's Peace Clause which outlaws war as a means of conflict resolution. Beethoven's lyrics are from a poem celebrating human unity by Frederick Schiller. The 19th-century century German philosopher was preoccupied by the quest for freedom and human rights. Like many of his era (which spanned the American Revolution), he championed political ideals based not on coercion and tyrannical brute force, but instead by reason, goodwill, dialogue, and democratic process.</div>
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Worldwide, "Ode to Joy" has long been considered a peace anthem, a song of resistance to not just war, but also state repression. Chilean democracy demonstrators sang the song during PInochet's dictatorship. Chinese protesters sang it during the march on Tiananmen Square. This year, the music and lyrics are even more meaningful to the Japanese and Okinawan supporters of democracy and Article 9, the Japanese Constitution's Peace Clause.</div>
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<i>...Brother love binds man to man</i></div>
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<i>Ever singing march we onward</i></div>
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<i>Victors in the midst of strife</i></div>
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<i>Joyful music lifts us onward</i></div>
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<i>In the triumph song of life..</i>.</div>
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Human rights attorney <a href="http://harpers.org/blog/2008/11/schiller-freedoms-hymn/">Scott Horton tells us</a> that Beethoven was drawn to Schiller's writings because the composer longed for liberty, however omitted the "deeper, more political charge" of the final stanzas of "Ode to Joy" to veil his challenge to the repressive Hapsburg regime from which he received patronage.</div>
<blockquote>
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...the work is radical and blatantly political in its orientation...It imagines a world whose nations live in peace with one another, embracing the dignity of their species as a fundamental principle, and democracy as the central chord of their organization. Its long appeal to Beethoven lay in just this intensely subversive, revolutionary core. To start with, as Leonard Bernstein reminded his audiences, the poem was originally an “Ode to Freedom” and the word “Joy” (Freude instead of Freiheit, added to the third pillar, Freundschaft [Friendship] came as a substitute for the more overtly political theme...</div>
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Beethoven reckoned, of course, that his audience knew the whole text, just as he knew it, by heart. He was by then a crotchety old man, Beethoven, but he knew the power of a dream, and he inspired millions with it, to the chagrin of his Hapsburg sponsors.</div>
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Schiller’s words are perfectly fused with Beethoven’s music. It may indeed be the most successful marriage in the whole shared space of poetry and music. It is a message of striking universality which transcends the boundaries of time and culture. It is well measured in fact to certain turningpoints in the human experience.</div>
</blockquote>
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Some of the lines from Schiller's poem omitted from "Ode to Joy":</div>
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<i>...Persist with courage, millions!</i></div>
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<i>Stand firm for a better world!</i></div>
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<i>...Deliver us from tyrants’ chains...</i></div>
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(-JD, originally posted Dec. 25, 2014, reposted because the themes are even more important for Japan, Okinawa, and the entire world given heightened popular activism for freedom, liberty, human rights, democracy, and peace, in the face of growing global state authoritarianism and militarized repression of nonviolent citizen movements.) </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355663149540270953.post-21996937718635882362015-09-20T21:06:00.002-07:002020-08-21T22:26:20.241-07:00Historian Jeff Kingston: "The Japanese people who are proud of their pacifist constitution see Abe trampling on their values." <div style="text-align: center;">
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<i>Video by Richard Grehan of last week's protests in Tokyo</i></div>
<br />
Brilliant analysis on the security-related legislation ("Abe war bills") by Temple University historian Jeff Kingston in this <a href="http://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2015/09/20/japan-security-bill-jeff-kingston-intv.cnn">September 20 CNN interview</a>:<br />
<blockquote>
People are outraged...People think it's unconstitutional, that he's trampling rule of law...Even though he has passed the legislation, it lacks legitimacy...Abe has delivered on all of the US wish list...<br />
<br />
But the Japanese people don't buy Abe's argument that this is going to increase deterrence. Sure they think they live in a dangerous neighborhood, but they don't think this is the way to promote peace.<br />
<br />
So the Japanese people who are proud of their pacifist constitution see Abe trampling on their values...Japanese people are concerned...they will be dragged into conflict by Washington..</blockquote>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355663149540270953.post-3339953021841121392015-09-17T11:31:00.000-07:002015-09-20T00:10:55.031-07:00Japanese citizens protesting as LDP/Komeito postpone Abe war bills until 8:50 a.m.; former Supreme Court justice warns the unpopular government that it is unlikely that the "unconstitutional" legislation would survive a legal challenge.<br />
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Via <a href="https://twitter.com/SEALDs_jpn">SEALDS (Students Emergency Action for Liberal Democracy)</a></span></i></div>
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"> (Photographer: <a href="http://shintayabe.tumblr.com/post/129221475630/150916-sealds%E6%88%A6%E4%BA%89%E6%B3%95%E6%A1%88%E5%BC%B7%E8%A1%8C%E6%8E%A1%E6%B1%BA%E3%81%AB%E5%8F%8D%E5%AF%BE%E3%81%99%E3%82%8B%E5%9B%BD%E4%BC%9A%E5%89%8D%E5%A4%A7%E6%8A%97%E8%AD%B0%E8%A1%8C%E5%8B%95">Shinta Yabe</a>)</span></i></div>
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<b>Update: Sept. 18 </b>- A citizens’ group is preparing a lawsuit to challenge the constitutionality of the national security laws that were enacted on Saturday to the Japanese government to send soldiers to fight in foreign wars. The suit now has 1,000 plaintiffs, according to <a href="http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/09/19/national/crime-legal/collective-lawsuit-being-readied-to-challenge-security-laws/">Jiji via JT</a>.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Update: Sept. 17 </b>- The opposition parties submitted a no-confidence motion to the committee chair Yoshitada Konoike. Then Masahide ("Moustache") Sato took over the chairman's seat, after which opposition members made very long speeches to defend the motion. However, following the script, the committee voted against the motion. <br />
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Then as Konoike returned to his chairman's seat, dozens of opposition members rushed towards Konoike, appearing as if they were trying to stop the voting on the bills. The "scuffle" made worldwide newspaper headlines.<br />
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Some analysts are asking why the opposition parties stopped blocking the entrance, and allowed the September 17 committee meeting to take place, knowing their no-confidence motion was going to, of course, be defeated.<br />
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In the meantime, over 200 lawyers in Japan have issued a statement calling the "voting" among the wild scuffling at the special committee illegal and invalid.<br />
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Many are asking why opposition party members allowed this final assembly to happen after they said they would do everything to stop the bills.<br />
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<b>Update: 5:10 a.m. </b>- After opposition party members physically blocked the entrance to the special committee room on September 16, the special committee was delayed until 8:50 a.m. The protest is still ongoing: <a href="http://iwj.co.jp/channels/main/channel.php?CN=4">http://iwj.co.jp/channels/main/channel.php?CN=4</a><br />
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The not-so-young politicians inside the building must be exhausted.<br />
<br />
<b>Update 2:05 a.m.</b> - The Upper House Special Committee on the Abe war bills has not started yet as of 2 AM in Japan. LDP/Komeito is planning to get the committee to vote for the war bills tonight.<br />
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If it begins, it will be livestreamed here: <a href="http://www.webtv.sangiin.go.jp/webtv/index.php">http://www.webtv.sangiin.go.jp/webtv/index.php</a>.<br />
<br />
The protest outside of the Parliament is being livestreamed now at Iwakami Yasumi journal:<br />
<a href="http://iwj.co.jp/channels/main/">http://iwj.co.jp/channels/main/ </a>.<br />
<br />
Along with the majority of the Japanese mainstream citizenry, cultural figures such as Nobel Laureate Kenzaburo Oe and filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki, former prime ministers, the majority of Japanese lawyers, including former Supreme Court justices are protesting the bill as unconstitutional.<br />
<br />
Former Japanese Supreme Court Justice Kunio Hamada on Abe War Bills called the bills "unconstitutional and "illegitimate." Hamada <a href="http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/09/16/national/politics-diplomacy/ex-justice-brands-security-bills-unconstitutional-upper-house-hits-abe-duping-public/">warned</a> that it is “extremely optimistic” for the Abe government to think that Supreme Court will not rule against the legislation if its constitutionality is challenged in court.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355663149540270953.post-32812096475311216792015-09-01T07:43:00.000-07:002020-08-21T22:15:55.004-07:00"Never Again." Japanese & Okinawan war refusal will be streamed online, if not televised, or covered by all newspapers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>Left, from top: Asahi, Mainichi, and Tokyo newspapers.</i></div>
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<i> Right, from top: Yomiuri, Sankei, and Nikkei.</i></div>
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Via Kimberly Hughes: Notice the top three right-leaning Japanese daily newspapers, lined up in the right-hand column did <i>not </i>cover the sea of 120,000+ Japanese citizens at the Diet building on Sunday, August 30, protesting PM Abe's war bills that would allow him to send Japanese soldiers to fight in US regime change wars in contravention of the Japanese Peace Constitution which outlaws war as a means of international conflict resolution. In contrast, politically centrist Japanese newspapers put coverage of the historic protests on their front pages.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="375" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/g-cTh3cdAe4" width="560"></iframe></div>
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</div>
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<i> View from the streets: "NO WAR! NO ABE! We hope for peace! We love peace! </i></div>
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<i>Don't kill anyone! Save Okinawa from Shinzo Abe."</i></div>
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<i>(More at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sealdseng/timeline">SEALDs (Student Emergency Action for Liberal Democracy) English</a> on FB) </i></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
Despite (or because of spotty coverage in Japanese newspapers and broadcast news), the historic Japanese and Okinawan multigenerational antiwar protests have dominated youth social media as Philip Brasor points out in <a href="http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/08/29/national/media-national/revolution-will-streamed-online/">"The revolution will be streamed online,"</a> published on Aug. 29 at <i>The Japan Times. </i></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
More analysis via public scholar Jeff Kingston, again at JT, on Sept. 5, <a href="http://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2015/09/05/commentary/students-oppose-abes-assault-constitution/">"Students oppose Abe’s assault on the Constitution"</a>:</div>
<blockquote>
<div style="text-align: left;">
SEALDs was launched on May 3, Constitution Day, highlighting the group’s concern that Abe’s security legislation is tantamount to a stealth revision that fails to follow proper constitutional procedures...Professor Akihiko Kimijima at Ritsumeikan University says that SEALDs wants Japan to be a nation based on the rule of law, and the group believes Abe is flouting the Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land. Apparently, there is no shortage of Japanese citizens who agree with them. In mid-June, three eminent constitutional scholars dismissed Abe’s security legislation as unconstitutional in Diet hearings, putting wind in SEALDs’ sails.</div>
</blockquote>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355663149540270953.post-26782949659596438052015-08-22T08:11:00.001-07:002020-08-23T01:44:14.038-07:00Kya Kim: "Conflict is no longer synonymous with war. It is, rather, an opportunity for growth, an opportunity for peace...Everyone of us has a role to play in determining the outcome of our shared conflicts...Which future will we choose?"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhstyVxtdmPSo65Dixny-7B6zYSIOyjUdoTDB6qc_z0CK9skGO1hbTU3xcxvuT8p6TBmEhLVzeghj5i5ucPbn3pg30S1lCfOgSeglpGkOzyzZyXBqoMb50kXWSXSiqabw-BS8jKwxQxmZy/s1600/11896208_987980384556965_1893437041768194171_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="620" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhstyVxtdmPSo65Dixny-7B6zYSIOyjUdoTDB6qc_z0CK9skGO1hbTU3xcxvuT8p6TBmEhLVzeghj5i5ucPbn3pg30S1lCfOgSeglpGkOzyzZyXBqoMb50kXWSXSiqabw-BS8jKwxQxmZy/s640/11896208_987980384556965_1893437041768194171_n.jpg" width="468" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Myong Hee Kim, Founding Artist of Peace Mask Project at the</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>History+Art = Peace Festival, organized by Alpha Education, Toronto, Canada, </i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>August 15-21, 2015</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
In <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AZw_kHTkCU">"The Art of Symbolism in Peace Building,"</a> an Autumn 2014 presentation about the <a href="http://www.peacemask.org/">Peace Mask Project</a> at TEDxKyoto, team member Kya Kim emphasizes that we are all co-creators of our shared world, and can choose to think and work for a peaceful present and future:
<br />
<blockquote>
A divided world creates more insecurity and fear. And fear, too often results in violence. Trust is the courageous act of being the first to break through that fear and reach out to "the other." Peace Mask Project is itself an act of trust, from the idealism that inspires the effort to the individual act of being a Peace Mask Model to the support and participation of hundreds of individuals in a collective effort to advance into a sane and healthy future.<br />
<br />
Today tensions are rising in East Asia and many regions around the world. Fear and insecurity are also on the rise. This tension we are seeing does not guarantee violence, but, instead, could be seen as a great opportunity.
<br />
<br />
Conflict is natural and always present. It is neither negative nor positive in itself. Violence and repression are only one possible response to a conflict and one our societies turn to far too often.<br />
<br />
There are many reasons for this: the profitability of militarization for a handful of corporations and individuals; the control and manipulation of a population through fear. But mostly I think it's due to a lack of creativity and cooperation. We are stuck in old habits and old ways of thinking.<br />
<br />
Today young people have an unprecedented understanding of the greater world. We are becoming increasingly aware of how we are interconnected and interdependent. We find beauty in other cultures. And by reflecting on our own, we are open to growth and to change. This is the reality of our future, and one that needs to be reflected in our societies. Conflict is no longer synonymous with war. It is, rather, an opportunity for growth, an opportunity for peace...<br />
<br />
We hope that Peace Mask Project will provide a platform for their shared vision of peace, to build trust by building lasting relationships, and to help them become leaders of a better world...<br />
<br />
We do not need for the conflicts of our time to erupt in violence or be resolved through aggression. Everyone of us has a role to play in determining the outcome of our shared conflicts.<br />
<br />
How will we participate? <br />
<br />
What opportunities will we present through our actions? <br />
<br />
Which future will we choose?</blockquote>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355663149540270953.post-73435889378801862872015-08-14T11:38:00.000-07:002020-08-21T22:26:55.299-07:00Koshichi Taira: Thinking about True Peace during the 70th Anniversary of the End of WWII • Nago Museum Gallery • Aug. 14-30, 2015 <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia3WLTZ9xyBScr17axaiS7MoeX-XYELItCk4vUjNsh3gZ4_GOVStm4b_nnqnP3xKy11ZdpB7cEBIx7BssSPLp1P_n9UHZJg2Xa0sjojc6mJ2XBbhfLVZCS5Y0xxT0PoaX84Cd1Fit2Zfb6/s1600/tairakousiti.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia3WLTZ9xyBScr17axaiS7MoeX-XYELItCk4vUjNsh3gZ4_GOVStm4b_nnqnP3xKy11ZdpB7cEBIx7BssSPLp1P_n9UHZJg2Xa0sjojc6mJ2XBbhfLVZCS5Y0xxT0PoaX84Cd1Fit2Zfb6/s400/tairakousiti.jpg" width="282" /></a></div>
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<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<b>Koshichi Taira Photography Exhibition</b></div>
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<b>Thinking about True Peace during the 70th Anniversary of the End of WWII,</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<b>focusing on the aftermath of the Himeyuri Student Nurses Corp.</b></div>
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8/14 (Friday)-8/30 (Sunday)</div>
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Nago Museum Gallery<br />
Nago City, Okinawa </div>
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Admission: free</div>
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More Info (Jp): <a href="http://www.city.nago.okinawa.jp/4/3282.html%3C/p%3E%3Cp%20style=%22text-align:%20center;margin-top:%200px;%20margin-right:%200px;%20margin-bottom:%200px;%20margin-left:%200px;%20%22%3E">http://www.city.nago.okinawa.jp/4/3282.html</a></div>
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Okinawan photographer Koshichi Taira's photography is as unblinking, empathetic, and profound as that of Japanese photographer Shomei Tomatsu. But where Tomatsu is known (albeit not well known), there is almost nothing about Taira's brilliant work translated into English.<br />
<br />
The Nago Museum's exhibition of Taira's photography, which opens today, invites viewers to think about the nature of true peace during the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII.<br />
<br />
222 Okinawan female high school students, aged 15 to 19, were mobilized as the Himeyuri Student Nurse Corps in March, 1945 as the US-Jp battle in Okinawa began on the ground. (US bombing of Okinawa began in October 1944). During the battle, about 200,000 lives were lost, including 120,000 Okinawan civilians, one-third of the population. Among the Himeyuri nurses, 123 students and 13 teachers were killed.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355663149540270953.post-53153307204702604102015-08-10T01:40:00.000-07:002016-08-03T12:31:52.252-07:00Kenzaburo Oe: "Hiroshima must be engraved in our memories: It’s a catastrophe even more dramatic than natural disasters, because it’s man-made. To repeat it, by showing the same disregard for human life in nuclear power stations, is the worst betrayal of the memory of the victims..."<iframe allowfullscreen="true" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.democracynow.org/embed/story/2015/8/6/japanese_nobel_laureate_kenzaburo_oe_on" width="640"></iframe><br />
<br />
"Japanese Nobel Laureate Kenzaburo Oe on the 70th Anniversary of US Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki," via <i>Democracy Now!</i>:<br />
<blockquote>
...KENZABURO OE: [translated] So, three years ago, the day after the disaster, the weeks after the disaster, I believe that all Japanese people were feeling a great regret. And the atmosphere in Japan here was almost the same as following the bombing of Hiroshima at the end of the war. And at that time, because of this atmosphere, the government at the time, which is the Democratic Party of Japan, with the agreement of the Japanese people, pledged to totally get rid of or decommission the more than 50 nuclear power plants here in Japan. However, the situation following the disaster, particularly in Fukushima, where so many people are suffering from this, has not changed at all. <br />
<br />
And the current atmosphere or attitude of the government now in Japan has totally changed...the Liberal Democratic Party...led by Prime Minister Abe, is...completely having no regret and no looking back on ...what happened to Japan, and is instead actually actively pushing this forward. And I’m very fearful now that actually all throughout Japan and through the Japanese people, the atmosphere which is now growing and increasing is a spreading of this Prime Minister Abe’s ideology and worldview.<br />
<br />
AMY GOODMAN: Yet he was elected as prime minister.<br />
<br />
KENZABURO OE: [translated] Yes, he has won in two elections until now. But, however, now, because he has the majority in both of the houses of the Japanese Parliament, it means he is, in essence, able to do anything, go forward anything. And the first thing he is also trying to do now is to revise the constitution, which was created democratically by the Japanese people following the loss in World War II and Hiroshima and Nagasaki experience....<br />
<br />
And now, under the current Prime Minister Abe administration, Japan is moving toward actively participating in United States wars. And what I am now most fearful about is the unfortunately likely possibility under Prime Minister Abe that this second pillar of Article 9 will be in danger, but not only this, that even the first pillar, that Japan may actually, within the next year or two or three or four years, actually directly participate in war...</blockquote>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355663149540270953.post-77945753650272337132015-08-04T14:44:00.004-07:002020-08-21T22:16:19.261-07:00300,000 Japanese: "Protect the Constitution! Protect Okinawa from Shinzo Abe! Don't Start a War!" <div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="415" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EJIgUBFwcBo" width="560"></iframe><br /></div>
<br />
Great video via Michael Penn of Shingetsu News Agency (SNA): <a href="http://www.sealds.com/">Students Emergency Action for Liberal Democracy (SEALDs)</a> protest against the Abe War Bill, forced U.S. military base construction in Okinawa, and in favor of the Peace Constitution, rule of law, and democratic society.<br />
<br />
Michael Hoffman's <a href="http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/08/01/national/media-national/political-turning-point-japans-youth/">"A political turning point for Japan’s youth,"</a> published at <i>The Japan Times</i> on August 1, 2015, explores the mass student movement for democracy and peace for Japan and Okinawa:<br />
<blockquote>
Somebody needed to make the point that Abe’s primary accountability is not to U.S. lawmakers but to the people of Japan. Cynical calculations that the people of Japan wouldn’t bother were not unreasonable...<br />
<br />
Years pass and nothing happens — then, suddenly, something does, and nothing is the same. What is the catalyst that turns passivity into activism? It’s like asking why this particular straw and not that one broke the camel’s back...<br />
<br />
On July 1, 2014, the Abe Cabinet adopted a resolution sharply reinterpreting the Constitution as permitting what for decades had been regarded as forbidden: a global military role for the “pacifist” nation under the name “collective self-defense.”...On July 15, after a debate whose striking features were the vagueness of the government’s explanations and its hamfisted bullying of opposition lawmakers posing awkward questions, the Lower House voted, brushing aside the doubts of Constitutional scholars and of the public...<br />
<br />
That was it. The camel sank to its knees...Sunday Mainichi magazine ventured a bold headline: “It’s begun — 300,000 people surrounding the Diet!”<br />
<br />
That figure — 300,000 — is deeply significant. It takes us back to May 1960. The prime minister of the day, soon to be ousted, was Nobusuke Kishi, whose administration forced through the Diet a revised Japan-U.S. security pact in a manner strikingly similar to Abe’s handling of the current security legislation. Three hundred thousand is the prevailing estimate of the size of the enraged crowd that massed in front of the prime minister’s official residence, shouting for Kishi’s head. They got it. He resigned a month later.</blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTa-Zs0TeIXk1FyCiSKMjiAXhpzwCZBJRP8eVL3SuOmMTRZoUSVJdZK2DnBxHAFN_Feeeo_x3hlf3bz-DHvql2ktIRCrM_Obf_4jXuAV0x8lYSClhqEK-qX3blZwzJPOpjx7AB6FLyzmC6/s1600/1960-SecurityTreatyprotests.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTa-Zs0TeIXk1FyCiSKMjiAXhpzwCZBJRP8eVL3SuOmMTRZoUSVJdZK2DnBxHAFN_Feeeo_x3hlf3bz-DHvql2ktIRCrM_Obf_4jXuAV0x8lYSClhqEK-qX3blZwzJPOpjx7AB6FLyzmC6/s320/1960-SecurityTreatyprotests.png" width="256" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>The 1960 protests against PM Kishi's ramming through of the US-Japan Security Treaty (ANPO)</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>drew millions of protestors from all walks of life in multiple protests over months. </i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i> Demonstrators at the Japanese parliament building, Tokyo, June 18, 1960. </i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>(Photo © Asahi Shimbun Photoarchives)</i></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355663149540270953.post-52939847541045089062015-06-16T17:32:00.001-07:002015-06-16T17:32:30.689-07:00Greenpeace Japan: 「2015辺野古:それぞれの思い」People’s voices from Henoko, Okinawa, 2015 戦後70年沖縄県民大会前日 @沖縄・名護市辺野古<div style="text-align: center;">
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355663149540270953.post-14620603066814021802015-06-15T10:21:00.000-07:002020-08-21T22:27:06.709-07:00Japanese Scholars: "Now, 70 years after the war, Japan stands at a critical juncture. One path is that of a nation that does not wage war. The other, a nation that wages war."<a href="http://anti-security-related-bill.jp/index_en.html">Appeal by the Association of Scholars Opposed to the Security-related Bills</a>:<blockquote>
Today, 70 years after the war, Japan stands at a critical juncture. One path is that of a nation that does not wage war. The other, a nation that wages war. The Abe administration has submitted an International Peace Support Bill and an omnibus Peace and Security Legislation Consolidation Bill amending 10 war-related laws for the worse to the Diet, where they are currently being deliberated. Violating Article 9 of the Constitution, these bills would provide for Japan’s Self-Defense Forces to cooperate actively with U.S. and other foreign military operations overseas. We very strongly appeal for the Diet to consider them most carefully and to defeat them in keeping with the Constitution.<br />
<br />
If adopted, the legislation would allow (1) using military force, even if Japan is not attacked, if another nation is attacked and the administration deems this situation a threat to Japan’s survival, (2) sending SDF units anywhere in the world where the U.S. or other militaries are waging war and having them provide support in close proximity to combat zones, and (3) deploying the SDF alongside U.S. and other allied forces and authorizing them to fire their weapons ostensibly in defense of their military and other supplies.<br />
<br />
Although Prime Minister Abe contends the use of military force would be limited, the legislation opens the way for unbridled use of force by the SDF and violates the principle of exclusively self-defense. Anywhere the SDF uses military force will automatically become a combat zone. As such, the bills are in clear violation of Article 9 paragraph 1’s prohibition against the use of force in combat. For over 60 years, successive administrations have understood that the exercise of collective self-defense violates the Constitution, yet the Abe administration seeks to overturn this and pave the way for Japan’s SDF to take part in American wars of aggression. Should this legislation pass, there is a very real danger that Japan could become a party to hostilities and the SDF an army of aggression in violation of international law.<br />
<br />
We bear a special historical burden in that universities collaborated with Japan’s war of aggression and sent numerous students off to battle. Profoundly repentant of this history, we have adopted Article 9 as our own, have engaged in research and education as the bedrock for world peace, and have worked so as to never again be visited by the horrors of war. We cannot allow a situation to arise anew in which our young people are sent off to war to kill and be killed.<br />
<br />
In the name of scholarship and conscience, we most strongly protest this unconstitutional legislation’s having been submitted to the Diet and are appalled it is even being deliberated by the Diet. We stand in resolute opposition to this legislation.<br />
<br />
<br />
June 15, 2015<br />
Association of Scholars Opposed to the Security-related Bills<br />
<br />
<br />
Aoi Miho (Gakushuin University, law)<br />
Asakura Mutsuko (Waseda University, law)<br />
Awaji Takehisa (Rikkyo University, civil law lawyer)<br />
Chiba Shin (International Christian University, political thought)<br />
Hama Noriko (Doshisha University, international economics)<br />
Higuchi Yoichi (constitutional law, Japan Academy member)<br />
Hirota Teruyuki (Nihon University, education)<br />
Hirowatari Seigo (Senshu University, law, former President of Science Council of Japan)<br />
Horio Teruhisa (University of Tokyo, education)<br />
Ichinokawa Yasutaka (University of Tokyo, sociology)<br />
Ikeuchi Satoru (Nagoya University, astrophysics)<br />
Ishida Hidetaka (University of Tokyo, semiology and media)<br />
Ito Makoto (University of Tokyo, economics)<br />
Kaifu Norio (National Astronomical Observatory, astronomy)<br />
Kaino Michiatsu (Waseda University, law)<br />
Kaneko Masaru (Keio University, fiscal policy)<br />
Katoo Takashi (Seikei University, political philosophy)<br />
Kawamoto Takashi (International Christian University, social logic)<br />
Kimishima Akihiko (Ritsumeikan University, constitutional law and peace studies)<br />
Kobayashi Setsu (Keio University, constitutional law)<br />
Komori Yoichi (University of Tokyo, modern Japanese literature)<br />
Kubo Toru (Shinshu University, history)<br />
Kurihara Akira (Rikkyo University, political sociology)<br />
Mamiya Yosuke (Aoyama Gakuin University, economics)<br />
Masukawa Toshihide (Kyoto University, physics, Nobel laureate)<br />
Mishima Ken’ichi (Osaka University, philosophy & history of thought)<br />
Miyamoto Hisao (University of Tokyo, philosophy)<br />
Miyamoto Ken’ichi (Osaka City University, economics)<br />
Mizuno Kazuo (Nihon University, economics)<br />
Mizushima Asaho (Waseda University, constitutional law)<br />
Nagata Kazuhiro (Kyoto Sangyo University, cellular biology)<br />
Nakatsuka Akira (Nara Women’s University, modern Japanese history)<br />
Nishikawa Jun (Waseda University, international economics)<br />
Nishitani Osamu (Rikkyo University, philosophy & history of thought)<br />
Nishizaki Fumiko (University of Tokyo, history)<br />
Noda Masaaki (psychopathologist)<br />
Oguma Eiji (Keio University, historical sociology)<br />
Okano Yayo (Doshisha University, history of Western political thought)<br />
Osawa Mari (University of Tokyo, social policy)<br />
Saito Jun’ichi (Waseda University, political science)<br />
Sakai Keiko (Chiba University, Iraqi politics)<br />
Sato Manabu (Gakushuin University, education)<br />
Shimazono Susumu (Sophia University, religion)<br />
Sugita Atsushi (Hosei University, political science)<br />
Takahashi Tetsuya (University of Tokyo, philosophy)<br />
Takayama Kanako (Kyoto University, law)<br />
Uchida Tatsuru (Kobe College, philosophy)<br />
Ueno Chizuko (University of Tokyo, sociology)<br />
Ueno Kenji (Kyoto University, mathematics)<br />
Ukai Satoshi (Hitotsubashi University, French literature and thought)<br />
Uno Shigeki (University of Tokyo, history of political thought)<br />
Utsumi Aiko (Keisen University, Japan-Asia relations)<br />
Uyeda Seiya (University of Tokyo, geophysics, Japan Academy member)<br />
Wada Haruki (University of Tokyo, history)<br />
Washitani Izumi (Chuo University, conservation ecology)<br />
Watanabe Osamu (Hitotsubashi University, political science & constitutional law)<br />
Yamaguchi Jiro (Hosei University, political science)<br />
Yamamuro Shin’ichi (Kyoto University, political science)<br />
Yokoyu Sonoko (ex-Chuo University, clinical psychologist)<br />
Yoshida Yutaka (Hitotsubashi University, Japanese history)<br />
Yoshioka Hitoshi (Kyushu University, history of science)<br />
</blockquote>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355663149540270953.post-10344014922327932462015-06-09T23:09:00.000-07:002015-06-09T23:10:54.053-07:00Greenpeace: Okinawa, Henoko Bay, Save the Dugongs 2015<div style="text-align: center;">
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</div>
Via <a href="http://act.greenpeace.org/ea-action/action?ea.client.id=1844&ea.campaign.id=35851">Greenpeace</a>:
<br />
<blockquote>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Time is running out for Henoko Bay and the last surviving Dugongs of Japan. Please help by adding your name: </div>
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Petition: www.greenpeace.org/henoko</div>
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H.E Ms Caroline Kennedy U.S. Ambassador to Japan,</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Henoko Bay is the home of the last remaining Dugongs in Japanese waters. It is estimated that there are as few as a dozen left in existence.</div>
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We understand that the concrete slabs have already started being dumped into the dugongs primary habitat. We urge you to intervene and halt further construction until a sustainable solution is found which guarantees the survival of this last group of IUCN red-listed Dugongs and protects coral reef and Dugong’s seagrass food supply.</div>
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We stand with the local Okinawan people who have voted to elect a prefectural government which is opposed to building a U.S Marine base on this environmentally critical site in Japan.</div>
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You have stood up for environmental protection before. We know you can do it again.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355663149540270953.post-32691099139596014802015-05-30T10:05:00.005-07:002020-08-22T17:21:16.118-07:00The Sense of Sacred: Mauna Kea, Hawai'i and Oura Bay, Okinawa<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The Okinawan movement to save Henoko and the Yambaru subtropical rainforest is one aspect of a global indigenous movement calling for respect of indigenous cultural heritage, especially natural sacred sites under ongoing threat of destruction.<br />
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Indigenous peoples know that sacred sites are centers of collective spiritual and psychological power that go into the past and into the future, connecting generations. Maybe this is why sacred and cultural heritage sites have been targeted for destruction by invading powers for millennia.<br />
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In <a href="http://japanfocus.org/-Wada-Haruki/4317/article.html">"The Sense of Sacred: Mauna Kea and Oura Bay,"</a> published at <i>The Asia-Pacific Journal</i> earlier this month, Katherine Muzik compares the similarities between the struggles to save Mauna Kea in Hawai'i and Henoko in Okinawa to introduce William B.C. Chang's analysis of the foreign settler pattern of violating indigenous religious and cultural heritage rights as well as land rights and indigenous human rights:<br />
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“Sacred is not necessarily a place. It is a relationship, a deep visceral relationship: beyond reason, beyond law, beyond rationality.”<br />
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These words were recently spoken by William B.C. Chang, a University of Hawaii Law Professor, in his impassioned testimony to the UH Board of Regents, about the current conflict on Mauna Kea here in Hawaii.<br />
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To the Hawaiians, the Mountain known as Mauna Kea, or Mauna a Wākea, on the Island of Hawaii, is a sacred place. Thus, the proposed construction of the northern hemisphere’s biggest telescope, thirty meters tall (TMT), 18 stories high, on eight acres of the mountain top, costing $1.4 billion, has recently sparked peaceful but ardent protests and occupations by Native Hawaiians, environmentalists and allies across the Pacific. With 13 telescopes already blighting the landscape, the protesters seek to prevent further desecration.<br />
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To the Okinawans, the Sea known as Oura Bay, on the Island of Okinawa, is also a sacred place. For nearly two decades, Okinawans have protested its destruction by US/Japan military expansion.<br />
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Besides being sacred and beautiful, what else do these two very distant places share? They share history, of illegal takeovers by a foreign power and the subsequent, on-going outrage among the local populations. Locals in Hawaii and Okinawa are deeply angered by the heinous and reckless environmental destruction their islands have suffered. They are frustrated by the destruction that continues, despite prolonged protests. In both cases, illegal land-grabs by the US have resulted in the waste of their natural resources and the disintegration of their cultural identities. However, being sacred, both places continue to inspire passionate and courageous struggles against foreign dominance.<br />
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The Hawaiian Islands were once a kingdom, a sovereign nation. In a series of events, the Hawaiian monarchy was overthrown in 1893 by a group of US and European businessmen, ending in annexation as a “Territory of the United States” in 1900. And so too, were the Ryukyu Islands, sovereign. Invaded by Satsuma forces in 1609, they were formally annexed by Japan in 1879 as “Okinawa Prefecture”. After World War 2, the US “acquired” Okinawa from Japan, establishing military bases which have remained and proliferated, destructively, for the last seventy years.</blockquote>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355663149540270953.post-14740314697285859042015-05-23T21:17:00.001-07:002020-03-13T21:04:34.897-07:00Women Cross DMZ: "Every step for peace is important!." <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Via journalist Tim Shorrock: "Every step for peace is important!" "We're here because we don't believe in war!<br />
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The women who just crossed the DMZ include Suzuyo Takazato, co-founder of Okinawa Women Against Military Violence, Ann Wright), Nobel Laureate Mairead Maguire, an Article 9 and Okinawa supporter, Christine Ahn, a Korea scholar. This action reflects decades of cross-border interconnections between women's networks working for peace and democracy for all of East Asia and the world.<br />
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Great article by Jon Letman: "<a href="http://boingboing.net/2015/05/23/womencrossdmz.html">These Women Have Crossed the Line: 30 activists cross North Korea DMZ for peace</a>":<br />
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In an historic move, a group of global feminist activists march into the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea to create a space for a new type of conversation about truly ending the Korean war.<br />
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At the time of this blog post in Seoul and Pyongyang it’s already Sunday, May 24th, International Women’s Day for Peace and Disarmament, when a group of more than 30 women are scheduled to cross the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) at Kaesong from North Korea into South Korea. Their goal: to draw attention to Korea’s “forgotten” and unfinished war, and move toward a real peace that can reunite families and, perhaps, a divided nation...<br />
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The Korean War (officially 1950-53) stands out for its bloody toll. Some 4 million people, mostly civilians, perished. Although a “temporary” cease-fire was signed, the last 62 years have been marked by a protracted cold war defined by ongoing threats by both sides of the DMZ, decades of profligate military spending, and what is effectively a permanent state of near-war and the fear of attack. The idea to walk from North Korea into South Korea began with a dream that lead organizer Christine Ahn had several years ago. The concept grew after Ahn connected with feminist icon Gloria Steinem who took a public stand in 2011 against the militarization of South Korea’s Jeju island.<br />
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The movement evolved into WomenCrossDMZ as Nobel Peace Prize laureates Mairead Maguire of Northern Ireland and Leymah Gbowee of Liberia joined Ahn, Steinem and what has grown to more than 30 women from South Korea, Japan, the US, Britain, Australia--at least 15 countries, in all.<br />
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Gwyn Kirk, a founding member of Women for Genuine Security, and one of the DMZ marchers, says WomenCrossDMZ is intended to create a space for a new type of conversation about ending the Korean war once and for all. After more than 60 years of tit-for-tat provocations, costly and dangerous brinksmanship and outright nuclear threats, Kirk says it’s time to create a different future.<br />
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That this movement is organized entirely by women is natural, says Kirk, pointing to UN Security Resolution 1325 which reaffirms “the important role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts, peace negotiations, peace-building, peacekeeping, humanitarian response and in post-conflict reconstruction…”</blockquote>
The visionaries are being criticized by mostly male (patriarchal?) journalists who appear threatened by their move to shift public narratives dominating political commentary in East Asia from that of fear and aggression to those of hope and reconciliation:<br />
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Independent investigative journalist Tim Shorrock had a different take. In an email from Seoul, he called the DMZ march “an important milestone because it runs against the grain of the militarist approach to Korea taken by the Obama administration and the hostility of the South Korean government.”<br />
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Shorrock, who has covered Korea and Japan for more than three decades, said the women’s march and symposia held in Pyongyang and later Seoul, sends a message to the North that peace and reconciliation are possible. He hopes the march will also spur the U.S. to “take measures to defuse the tense situation in Korea and adopt a more flexible approach to settling its differences with North Korea.”</blockquote>
Christine Ahn cuts to the chase of the tragic, absurd 60-year stalemate:<br />
<blockquote>
WomenCrossDMZ, Ahn says, seeks to “get to the root cause of the issue of divided families” and what she calls “crazy militarization” and “crazy repression” of democracy in both North and South Korea...<br />
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Ahn describes WomenCrossDMZ as “peace women” who want to find a peaceful resolution to the Korean stalemate. To do that, she says, requires listening, understanding, dialogue and a degree of empathy which is absent today. Dehumanizing the other side won’t bring peace, Ahn says. “It’s a tough place to be, but I really believe there is no other alternative.”</blockquote>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355663149540270953.post-47351502248937686692015-05-22T00:20:00.000-07:002020-08-20T23:17:05.192-07:00Tim Shorrock on the Kwanju Uprising in 1980 & Women Cross DMZ on May 24, 2015<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Via our friend, journalist <a href="http://timshorrock.com/">Tim Shorrock</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/timothys">who traveled to Korea this week to receive an honorary citizenship of Kwangju</a>, and to report on the <a href="https://www.womencrossdmz.org/endorsements.html">Women Cross DMZ</a>.<br />
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On May 24, 2015, Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire, Gloria Steinem, Christine Ahn, and Suzuyo Takazato, founder of Okinawa Women Act Against Military Violence, and 26 women peacemakers from around the world will walk with Korean women, north and south, to call for an end to the Korean War and for a new beginning for a reunified Korea. They will cross the 2-mile wide De-Militarized Zone (DMZ) that separates millions of Korean families as a symbolic act of peace.<br />
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Tim Shorrock, the son of missionaries, grew up in Japan. His parents were colleagues of Toyohiko Kagawa, a Presbyterian minister who was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his prewar and postwar peace activism in Japan and East Asia. Shorrock is one of the most insightful and sensitive observers of Japan, Korea, and East Asia. His cross-border upbringing has given him a wide field of vision on this history, and his perspectives are always deeply grounded in humanitarian and democratic values. <br />
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His investigative reportage exposed the US role in South Korea in 1979 and 1980 when the <a href="http://timshorrock.com/?p=435"> Carter administration supported the South Korean military "as it moved to crush the Kwangju Uprising, the largest citizens’ rebellion in the south since the Korean War ended in 1953."</a><br />
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As a journalist, I’ve been intimately involved with Kwangju since the first days of the uprising. In May 1980, as a student activist at the University of Oregon, I helped distribute some of the first on-scene reports of the military atrocities in Kwangju smuggled out of South Korea by Christian human rights groups and American missionaries. <br />
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Later that decade, I was one of the only journalists to visit Kwangju and document what had happened there. And over the course of the 1990s I obtained nearly 4,000 declassified documents that repudiated the official U.S. story that American officials and generals had no involvement in the events that led up to the rebellion.</blockquote>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0