Thanks to Juan Wilson on Kaua’i for the following post on his blog Island Breath. He compares Navy plans for Nohili, site of the Pacific Missile Range Facility, to Mordor, the land seeking to enslave the rest of humanity in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. Indeed, the military’s objective with missile defense and its other advanced technologies is nothing short of “full spectrum dominance”, which corresponds to the all-seeing eye of Sauron in the Lord of the Rings. There are plans to adopt coastal zone management plans for Nohili which could severely disrupt the marine and coastal environment, cultural practices and recreational activity. See Juan’s post below for information on submitting comments.
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http://islandbreath.blogspot.com/
Navy plans for Mordor
SUBHEAD: The Navy has chosen death over life in the struggle for the future.
Image above: Near Mount Doom sits Mordor with its flaming eye searching the world for anything it can destroy. Composite illustration from GoogleEarth and New Age Cinema images by Juan Wilson. Click to enlarge.
[Editor’s Note: Besides testifying by March 22nd on this issue, you can join us for an antiwar demonstration on Kaujai on Saturday, March 13th – see link for times and places.]
By Juan Wilson on 10 March 2010 –
By now it should be clear to all… the intention of the United States is to turn the entire Earth into a military base for its operations, ensuring the unhindered extraction of resources and wealth from others. If that sounds ridiculous, you might as well stop reading right now and go find what you would rather hear somewhere else.
If you don’t believe me, just follow the trajectory of the plans of the PMRF here on Kauai since 9/11/2001 (this line of research can be expanded to include the basing of the Stryker Brigade in Hawaii and Superferry/JHSV fiasco).
Here on Kauai the 2004 Mana Plain land grab by the Navy gave them control over the 6000 acres of the Mana plain. It set the stage for expansion of several strategic projects that help cement US military domination in the Pacific and will ultimately make billions for a handful of US military contractors (Ratheon, ITT, General Dynamics, etc.).
These new projects will require the design, testing and refinement of new missile systems. New Telecommunications facilities will be needed; new launchpads, new tracking stations, new targets and all the rest that is needed to expand the weaponization of this island.
The plans for the Mana Plain indicate the further erosion of the public’s access to Polihale State Park. There will be times when it will simply be unavailable to the public. There will be security sweeps to make sure of that whenever it is required. If you could avoid being dragged away you might be crushed be the soundwaves of the tests that are envisioned. Below is a detail section from Figure 3.1.1.1.9-1 of the PMRF Intercept Test Support Coastal Zone Management Act Review Document. Note that during test all of Polihale State Park will be subject to at least 92 dbA of sound energy. The southern end of the park could get over 100dbA.
Image above: Detail of Fig. 3.1.1.1.9-1 showing anticipated test sound levels.
This would hardly be anything to worry about compared to the danger of a missile exploding at low altitude over the launch site. The hazardous area surrounding the planned launch site has a 6000 foot and 10,000 foot radius marked on Figure 3.1.1.1.7-1. More than half of Polihale State Park falls within these circles. Below a detail of that figure is reproduced. Note that the area hatched in black vertical lines is the Restrictive Easement area. When this area is activated it will simply cut the State Park off from the rest of the island. Anyone within the area will be extracted.
Image above: Figure 3.1.1.1.7-1 defining the hazard and restricted area created by the planned test facility.
Call it Dr Strangelove, Star Wars, The Death Star, or Mordor. What it comes down to is the cynical investment of all our nation has left in the forces of destruction. Instead to saving the megafauna of the Pacific (whales, dolphins and monk seals), we choose to challenge them. Instead of restoration of the coral reefs and protection of photoplankton in our oceans, we have chosen to to ignore problems that could lead to the death of the oceans.
We in Hawaii are not the only islands being dominated in this way. Guam, and Diego Garcia are totally under the heel of the US military as crucial strategic bases. On Diego Garcia, for their convenience, the Navy even forced all the native people off the island.
It is interesting that the Navy chose as the strategic location for their effort the stretch of land between the Mana Plain to Makaha Ridge (and beyond). Centered there is Polihale. From wikipedia there is this… “This beach has a strong basis in Hawaiian mythology. Polihale means ‘House of the Po’, and Po is the Hawaiian afterworld. Spirits travel to the coastal plain adjacent to the shore, and stay in the temple (heiau) at the end of the beach. From there, they climb the cliffs to the north, jump off into the sea to get to the mythical Po. So strong was this belief that all the homes built on the Mana Plain would have no east facing doors, so that a traveling spirit could not become trapped within.” I don’t imagine the Navy has made that consideration as part of their plans for Barking Sands and Makaha Ridge.
I am not a religious person, and I don’t consider myself superstitious… but Polihale is the at the center of my spiritual life, and has been for many years. I cannot shake off the idea that the Navy and its weapons developers, as well as the GMO corporations and their subcontractors, have bit off more than they can chew with the abominations that they encourage in Mana. Kauai may shake them off like fleas off a dog when the time comes.
Your comment deadline is March 22, 2010.
Federally mandated deadlines require that comments be received by the 22 March 2010. Send comments to Office of Planning, Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.
Planning Office Hawaii DBEDT
P.O. Box 2359, Honolulu, HI 96804
email: jnakagaw@dbedt.hawaii.gov
fax: (808) 587-2899
INFORMATION:
For general information about CZM federal consistency, please call John Nakagawa at 587-2878 or the CZM staff person listed below.
For neighbor islands call toll-free:
Kauai: 274-3141 x72878,
Lanai & Molokai: 468-4644 x72878,
Maui: 984-2400 x72878, or
Hawaii: 974-4000 x72878.
See also:
Ea O Ka Aina: PMRF Expansion Comment Period 3/9/10
Ea O Ka Aina: Guam as modern day Bikini Atoll 12/25/09
Ea O Ka Aina: Guam Land Grab 11/30/09
Ea O Ka Aina: Guam – Another Strategic Island 11/9/09
Ea O Ka Aina: Diego Garcia – Another stolen island 11/6/09
Ea O Ka Aina: DARPA & Super-Cavitation on Kauai 3/24/09
Island Breath: RIMPAC 2008 – Navy fired up in Hawaii 7/2/08
Island Breath: Navy Plans for the Pacific 9/3/07
Island Breath: PRMF Land Grab Part Five 6/10/04