PEACES FROM THE LIVING

• Citizens on Okinawa are very angry as the U.S. moves accident prone Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft to their island home.  The Osprey deployment is flying straight into the sorest point of the American-Japanese alliance. In October, the aircraft is scheduled to begin full operations at the Futenma air base, which occupies 25% of crowded Ginowan city in Okinawa. Locals have long demanded its closure, but a plan to build Futenma’s replacement off the fishing village of Henoko is stalled, perhaps permanently. “We think it is discrimination against Okinawa to send this aircraft here,” said Henoko resident Takako Shinohara. Like many Okinawans, she recalls a 1994 incident in which an American military helicopter crashed into a local university campus. “We cannot understand why the Japanese government allows this, but we are determined to fight it.”
• Journalist Karl Grossman has a new article on CounterPunch called Nukes on Mars: NASA's Dangerous Alliance With the Nuclear Industry.  He's been the top writer on the nukes in space issue since about 1989.  He also serves on the Global Network's Advisory Board.
•  NBC has created a new entertainment show that promotes war. "Stars Earn Stripes" will be co-hosted by retired U.S. general Wesley Clark and will also feature Todd Palin.  NBC is promoting the show during its Summer Olympics telecast as the next big sporting event.  On "Stars Earn Stripes," celebrities will pair-up with members of the U.S. military to compete at war-like tasks, including "long-range weapons fire." Only there won't be any of the killing or dying.  The message is that war is fun and games.  You can send a message to NBC opposing this corporate media brainwashing by going here
• Just learned from friend Lynda Williams that Pacifica radio station KPFA in Berkeley will be replaying a speech of mine from my April west coast tour today at noon (Pacific time).  The station promo says, " Bruce Gagnon connects the dots between corporate capitalism and endless war." You can listen live by clicking on this link at noon (Pacific) or 3:00 pm EST.  I learned KPFA was giving away my book to people who made donations to the station today.  Quite nice of them to promote our work.
• Maine Veterans for Peace will present a showing of the award winning film The Welcome: A Healing Journey for Veterans and their Families on Thursday, August 2.  The film will be shown at the Frontier Cafe in Brunswick. It is free although the hat will be passed to cover rental of the cinema.  It's a film not to be missed.