Lame duck congress could threaten federal court order to halt Hawai‘i military expansion

[The Sushi Bandit]

<edit: this is a very critical issue here in Hawai'i that gets no coverage on the mainland... please read the entire articl and vote - kick this, Mahalo!>

http://www.haleakalatimes.com/news/story2286.aspx

A three-judge panel in San Francisco ruled on October 5 that the U.S. military breached national environmental law when they implemented a Stryker base in Hawaii without considering less damaging alternatives. The decision has stopped the clock a project that would bring 291 20-ton light armored combat vehicles, 800 additional soldiers, and 28 construction projects to the state. But as the lame duck session of congress wraps up for the year, an Earthjustice Press Secretary for policy and legislation is warning environmentalists not to break out the champagne too soon. According to Washington D.C-based Cat Lazaroff, the few remaining weeks before the end of the year are often marked by “congressional mischief.” It’s congress’ “last chance to pass appropriations bills and last-minute special-interest riders that earmark dollars and perks for constituents and campaign donors.” A congressional exemption to Hawaii’s Stryker brigade is on Lazaroff’s top ten list of potential “riders” that threaten to undermine environmental legislation.

In Hawaii, it wouldn’t be the first time. Activists on Oahu fended off the construction of the famed “haunted highway” H-3 Freeway for 37 years before Senator Daniel Inouye passed legislation that exempted the project from applicable environmental laws. The road, which was conceived in 1963 as a defense highway to connect Marine Corps Bases, conflicted with cultural and historic preservation laws. The H-3 was completed at a cost of $1.3 billion, or $80 million-a-mile, the most expensive roadway that has ever been built.

“It’s frustrating because the Democrats say they’re against the war in Iraq, but then they support all the monies, all the machinery behind it,” says Kyle Kajihiro, program director of the American Friends Service Committee. “They’ve pushed for the financial backing that makes the war possible.” Kajihiro noted that the military’s $700 million investment in the Stryker brigade project means that the court decision is particularly vulnerable to override.

[Radio_Lady]

1. Knew nothing of this project, Sushi Bandit, but am now updated.

We're involved with a time share on Oahu and considering one on the Big Island.

Sounds like a nightmare program. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for posting this.

Warm regards,

Radio_Lady in Oregon

[itsrobert]

2. The H-3 is a beautiful highway with beautiful views

I'm not an expert, but it cuts a hour off the old long drive around which probably cuts down on the exhuast in the air.

[williesgirl]

3. K&R to get word out.

[yurbud]

4. a dumb question on depleted uranium: do we really need it?

We have such an edge in electronics, targeting, and weapons systems in general, that I wonder why we need DU instead of just using high explosives or some kind of other.

It seems to me like an update of castles under siege loading their catapults with garbage, essentially multi-tasking their trash.

This might be to get around "not in my backyard" by bombing someone else's.

[The Sushi Bandit]

5. kick this very important issue