<nettime> America Bombs Hawai'i! ::: Pentagon Poisoning Paradise

["MUTANEX Command" <mutanex@aloha.net>]

Aloha Earthlings, Emissaries & Editors!

  On the day that George Jr. was being sworn in as the Commander-in-Chief
of the Lone Superpower, eager to get his boots in the White Haus, let me
tell you what was happening simultaneously here on Pele's island, in the
middle of the Pacific, the belly-button of the world.

  We had put up posters all over East Hawai'I announcing a protest rally
at the Federal Building in downtown Hilo at 11 am, with Lincoln (from $5
bill) saying "Bush Fraud a Corporate Coup?", Hamilton ($20 bill) saying
"The Supreme Court has Derailed Democracy" and Washington ($1) saying "Get
Up, Stand Up, for FREEDOM!"

  As I pulled up and around the corner at just after 11 am on my bike,I
noticed a special forces sentry with radio communications on the corner of
Kamehameha Ave., and I immediately thought "My God, they've already begun
instituting martial law!", which they have, in Hawai'I, as I'm about to
tell you.

  I also thought there must be a bomb threat or something up at the Fed.
Bldg., but the threat of bombs turned out to be more serious than I had
imagined. At the rally, where some 100 people and press showed up for,
significant for a small community, noone else had noticed the sentry in
camouflage down the hill on the corner.

  Right on my tail, however, came the beginning of a military convoy, at
approximately 11:05 hrs. Jeeps, humvees, and trucks, with armed troops.
Passing right through the middle of our protest against U.S. imperialism
and the overthrow of Democracy!

  Turns out to be a CIA psych-war strategy combined with a symbolic
mobilization of nuclear weapons! Our ET intelligence source tells us that
they were actually moving nuclear warheads deliberately through the middle
of our protest, headed to the silos in the middle of Pohakuloa Military
Range, on the saddle valley between Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea! The center of
that massive, secretive base is a complex of underground facilities,
missile silos, and highly secret electronics and advanced weapons. Of
course, telling you this is a violation of the National Security State,
which points out why we are already living under martial law here.

  Needless to say, Pele isn't pleased with this at all!!! Expect even more
fiery weather and elemental retribution, Amerika. you who send your
megadeath weapons and poisons, designer diseases and secret rays out upon
the people of the world, destroying all who resist! Now the secret police
have completely taken over, what will Amerika do? Revolt? Really?

  Enclosed are some articles regarding some of the publicized reaction to
"military maneuvers" in Hawai'i, which always seem to be in the most
pristine, sacred and endangered power spots of this tortured archipelago.
in other words, oriented toward cultural genocide as well as ecocide. So,
please sign the petition from the Ecumenical Coalition supporting Hawaiian
Sovereignty!

  The current confrontation is happening on O'ahu over Makua Valley. The
great Israel Kamakawiwi'ole, who sings "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" at the
end of "Finding Forester", his ashes were scattered there because it is
such a sacred place, where the military and Sen. Inouye insist they must
continue to blast the earth and practice killing in the most disrespectful
ways.

Our Tomorrow is Harvested in the Past
Billy Jack Blackhawk

Please send letters of protest to Hawai'i's Senators, especially Sen Inouye,
who has a "special" interest in promoting militarism in Hawai'i :::

Senator Inouye
E-mail Address(es):
  senator@inouye.senate.gov

  Senator Akaka
E-mail Address(es):
  senator@akaka.senate.gov

§¢§¢§¢§¢§¢§¢§¢§¢§¢§¢§¢§¢§¢§¢§¢§¢§¢§¢§¢§¢§¢§¢§¢§¢

Posted on: Sunday, January 21, 2001

Army fails to dispel Makua concerns
   By James Gonser Advertiser Leeward Bureau

WAI'ANAE - The Army yesterday gave tours to show what its proposed
live-fire training in Makua Valley would entail, including limited
maneuvers, but opponents remained unconvinced that safety measures are
enough to protect the environment as well as cultural and historic sites.

More than 150 people spent the morning touring the Makua Military
Reservation, looking into trenches, handling assault rifles and stopping
at several informational stations detailing the use of firearms,
helicopters and environmental controls.

"We want people to come away with a sense of the control measures in place
to ensure the care of the cultural sites and environment in Makua in
addition to ensuring the safety of our soldiers who may train here," said
Brig. Gen. William B. Caldwell, assistant division commander for
operations, 25th Infantry Division (Light) and U.S. Army Hawai'i.

Sparky Rodrigues, spokesman for Malama Makua, a group that has sued in
federal court to prevent further training, said the safety measures are
not enough. Rodrigues, who found a bullet hole near a petroglyph, said
that although the Army has set aside limited areas for training, they are
no guarantee against further damage to endangered species and Hawaiian
sites. "Bullets and rockets tend to ricochet beyond their set course and
can impact areas downrange," Rodrigues said. "They have not done
subsurface surveys in some areas and cannot say live fire will not impact
the endangered species on the hillsides."

Makua Military Reservation has been under Army jurisdiction for use as a
training area since May 1943.

In September 1998, munitions sparked several wildfires and the Army
suspended live-ammunition exercises.

The Army has since prepared a supplemental environmental assessment to
expand its 1985 assessment. It shows there will be no significant impact
from controlled training in the area, according to the Army.

Because Makua is the only live-fire maneuver training area on O'ahu
sufficient for company-size units, the Army considers training there
critical to military readiness. The Army hopes to resume training in Makua
soon, possibly as early as March.

Rodrigues said he is also concerned about the possibility of chemicals
being released into the soil and atmosphere during live-fire training and
its long-term effect on area residents. He and other members of his group
want a full environmental impact statement completed to address community
concerns before any training resumes.

Dr. Laurie Lucking, cultural resources manager for the Army's Department
of Public Works, said the valley is well protected.

"Every time we find an archaeological site at Makua, we protect it."
Lucking said. "We develop buffer zones and consult with the state Historic
Preservation Office and local Hawaiian groups."

Lucking said there are more than 33 species of endangered plants and
animals in Makua Valley and there are 44 known archaeological sites,
including the Ukanipo Heiau, a religiously significant site placed on the
National Historic Register in 1983.

Lucking said more subsurface surveys will be done and buffer zones will be
placed around the sacred sites to prevent soldiers from getting too close.
The Army will prepare detailed maps to be used by all soldiers who train
at Makua to ensure that all firing will be pointed away from
archaeological sites.

The Army has invested more than $10 million to help preserve the features
in Makua Valley. Preservation efforts include building a fence along the
spine of 'Òhikilolo and Kahanahaiki valleys to keep out feral goats and
pigs that feed on endangered plants.

The Army training would send soldiers through a barbed-wire fence to
attack an entrenched "enemy" while mortars fly overhead and helicopters
provide support. The training would take place night and day.

During a briefing before yesterday's tours, Wai'anae resident Frenchy
DeSoto asked what good it would do to simply protect Hawaiian sites if
there were no access to them.

Lucking said access is a dilemma, but the Army did schedule tours of
historic areas twice last year.

Dr. James Anthony said Makua is a sacred place and the Army was allowed in
as a guest 50 years ago.

"You have outstayed your welcome," Anthony said.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Modern Hawai'i, like its colonial overlord, the United States of America,
is a settler society. Our Hawaiian people, now but a remnant of the nearly
one million Natives present at contact with the West in the 18th century,
live at the margins of our island society. Less than 20% of the current
population in Hawai'i, our Native people have suffered all the familiar
horrors of contact:  massive depopulation, landlessness, christianization,
economic and political marginalization, institutionalization in the
military and the prisons, poor health and educational profiles, increasing
diaspora.

   When the United States military invaded our archipelago in 1893 and
overthrew our constitutional monarchy, our fate as an outpost of the
American empire was sealed. Entering the U.S. as a Territory in 1900, our
country became a white planter outpost, providing missionary-descended
sugar barons in the islands and imperialistic Americans on the continent
with a military watering hole in the Pacific."

    "The Struggle for Hawaiian Sovereignty"     Haunani-Kay Trask
         Cultural Survival Quarterly    Spring 2000     http://www.cs.org

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Posted on: Monday, December 25, 2000

Makua activists angered by study     Map of Makua Military Reservation
<http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/2000/Dec/19/image2/localnews18.gif>

 By Mike Gordon Advertiser Staff Writer

Thousands of tons of hazardous materials - from 900-pound napalm bombs to
excess mustard gas - have been disposed of in Makua Valley, according to a
1992 environmental review that is fueling community anger along the
Leeward Coast.

The Army, struggling to convince the community that live-ammunition
training in Makua is acceptable, said the materials pose no current health
threat to people or the environment.

But Leeward Coast residents, who saw the list of hazardous wastes for the
first time this month, insist their presence is the exact reason the Army
needs to conduct a thorough environmental impact statement on training in
Makua Valley.

"It deserves further investigation, absolutely," said Dr. Fred Dodge, a
family practice physician in Wai'anae and a member of Malama Makua, a
group of activists seeking the return of the valley to civilian control.

"This study brings into question a whole bunch of things," he said. "I
think we need a comprehensive review of the water situation. I think we
need an environmental impact statement. This charade has gone on long
enough."

The review, recently obtained by the residents, was prepared for the
Environmental Protection Agency by the University of Hawai'i's
Environmental Center. It was part of a federal permit process that would
have allowed the Army to continue using what it calls an "open burn/open
detonation" disposal area, a 4-acre plot of land in the middle of the
4,190-acre valley.

Although the Army decided two years after the review to withdraw the
permit request, it had already used the plot for many years.

The Army likes Makua Valley because its sweeping contours provide a
natural safety barrier for soldiers blasting at imaginary enemies. Many of
the Army's weapons, however, sparked wildfires, which in turn wreaked
havoc on native plants.

Training in the valley was suspended in September 1998. It was supposed to
resume in November 1999, but a federal court settlement between the Army
and Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund, which represents Malama Makua,
pre-empted the resumption of live-ammunition exercises.

On Dec. 14, the Army announced the results of a supplemental environmental
assessment and the conclusion, subject to public review, that it could
train in the valley without significantly affecting the environment.
Training could resume as early as March.

On Wednesday, however, Earthjustice and Malama Makua filed a new lawsuit
in federal court demanding that the Army conduct an environmental impact
statement before sending armed troops back into the valley.

The discovery of the 1992 study further provoked them.

"They've repeatedly told us, for years, that there were no records about
any of this," said Wai'anae resident William Aila Jr., whose family owned
property in Makua Valley before the military took over. "I was going nuts
when I read this stuff. They've lied to us."

Among the potential sources of hazardous waste noted in the review were
five disposal pits, a domestic waste landfill and an incinerator for
classified papers and infectious hospital waste.

Also noted was the remainder of the valley, which has been used for
military training since 1929. The valley has been shelled from ships,
bombed by planes and shot at by ground soldiers training for three wars.

Groundwater may be affected

The review, which summarized several earlier studies, said the military
had used the disposal pits for ordnance returned from the Vietnam War in
the late 1960s and early 1970s.

In 1982, the Army destroyed 350 900-pound napalm bombs and large amounts
of phosphorous. The review also said "excess mustard gas" may have been
destroyed at Makua.

The review concluded that a minimum of 5,243 tons of ordnance and other
hazardous waste had been burned, exploded or somehow disposed of in the
valley.

"Approximately 50 percent (2,621.75 tons) of the total potential hazardous
wastes burned at the Makua Military Reservation can be considered as
posing a threat to the population and ecosystem, via migration in one of
the pathways: groundwater, surface water, soil and air," the review
stated, citing a 1983 report.

Lead, arsenic and mercury have all been found in the soil.

In noting that no groundwater sampling had been done, the survey said
contaminants could leach from the soils in as little as 27 years, but as
long as thousands of years.

Alvin Char, chief environmental officer for the 25th Infantry Division
(Light) and U.S. Army, Hawai'i, said he was disturbed by the reference to
groundwater migration.

"If that is true, we have to stop, cease and desist right now," he said.
But he also said he could not find information to back up the statement in
the report. Char said the review may have misquoted documents in its
review for the EPA.

Army says public not at risk

Char said studies have proven that the public health is not threatened,
even though areas in the valley are definitely contaminated. The EPA
administrator who gave the hazardous materials list to the community said
the same thing. "The contaminants aren't migrating anywhere," Char said.
"And they don't pose a significant public health risk where they are."

Char said a 1993 survey of underground water sources found no hazardous
materials in the aquifer below the valley. Still, the Army plans to begin
a long-term groundwater monitoring program.

"Even though we feel that this is going way beyond what is required, we
understand the public's concerns," Char said. "We are hoping to show we
are not afraid of looking."

Char said much of the waste destroyed in the valley's disposal pits was
consumed in explosions or fires, particularly the napalm and mustard gas,
which he speculated probably was a small amount.

"Ordnance and munitions are not toxic," he said. "They are hazardous
because of their explosive nature. Yes, they contain some heavy metals but
those are only used to initiate the larger high explosive component. You
have very small toxic components in munitions."

###########################################################

  "The central conflict between indigenous Hawaiians and the military is
over the control of land, an issue which is intrinsically tied to the
question of sovereignty and cultural survival. The military expropriated
and occupied the richest and most strategic locations, including important
religious sites, fishing, farming, hunting, and gathering areas.

  As a result, Hawai'i is one of the most densely militarized regions
under U.S. control, with the military controlling 205,925 acres, or
roughly 5% of the land. On O'ahu, the most densely populated island, the
military controls 85,718 acres out of 382,148 acres, or 22.4% of all the
land. Statewide, the combined armed services have 21 installations, 26
housing complexes, 8 training areas, and 19 miscellaneous bases and
operating stations.

  The largest percentage of the military's land holdings are made up of
so-called "ceded lands." In 1898, nearly 1.8 million acres of former
national and crown lands of the Kingdom of Hawai'i were illegally taken by
the United States. In 1959, when Hawai'i was admitted as a state, the
military retained control of approximately 180,000 acres of ceded lands,
while the rest reverted to the state. The law required surplus lands to be
returned to the state after World War II, but with the exception of
Kaho'olawe and Barber's Point, very little has actually been returned.
Today, the military controls approximately 112,173 acres of ceded land,
representing 54% of its land holdings."

      "Nation Under the Gun : Militarism and Resistance in Hawai'i"
                   Kyle Kajihiro Cultural Survival Quarterly Spring 2000
                                                    http://www.cs.org

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

PETITION FOR HAWAIIAN SOVEREIGNTY

Petition to Congress of United States
Sponsored by: Kauai News Network

We, individuals, organizations, representatives and supporters of the
nation of Hawai`i, though diverse in our various opinions of strategies
and pathways to the achievement of Hawaiian sovereignty, hereby unite in
our common voice for the independence of this Pae`aina O Hawai`i Loa.

The United States of America (U.S.) which committed an act of aggression
against Hawaiian sovereign national territory on January 17, 1893 has
itself confessed to its delinquent act through the person of U.S.
President Grover Cleveland in his joint message to the Congress of the
United States on December 18, 1893. The U.S. has confirmed the message of
President Cleveland, confessing to its delinquency, by apologizing to the
"Native Hawaiian people," declaring on November 23, 1993 in Public Law
103-150:

The indigenous Hawaiian people never directly relinquished their claims to
their inherent sovereignty as a people or over their national lands to the
United States, either through their monarchy or through a plebiscite or
referendum. U.S. Public Law 103-150 echoes the Memorial adopted by Kanaka
Hawai`i (Hawaiian citizens) on October 8, 1897:

That your memorialists humbly but fervently protest against the
consummation of this invasion of their political rights; and they
earnestly appeal to the President, the Congress and the People of the
United States, to refrain from further participating in the wrong so
proposed; and they invoke in support of this memorial the spirit of that
immortal Instrument, the Declaration of American Independence; and
especially the truth there in expressed, that Governments derive their
just powers from the consent of the governed - and here repeat, that the
consent of the people of the Hawaiian Islands to the forms of Government
imposed by the so-called Republic of Hawaii, and to said proposed Treaty
of Annexation, has never been asked by and is not accorded, either to said
Government or to said project of Annexation.

That the consummation of the project of Annexation dealt within said
Treaty would be subversive of the personal and political rights of these
memorialists, and of the Hawaiian people and Nation, and would be a
negation of the rights and principles proclaimed in the Declaration of
American Independence, in the Constitution of the United States, and in
schemes of government of all other civilized and representative
Governments.

Hawai`i, a sovereign nation recognized in the international community of
nations, has been invaded and occupied for over a century by the United
States of America, a sovereign nation equally recognized. International
violations have occurred. The U.S. Congress and two presidents have so
confessed. The proper parties to a process of reconciliation for these
illegal acts are the representatives of these two nations.

We reserve the right to seek proper redress to our self-determining rights
before an appropriate, impartial international forum. Reconciliation may
properly occur only when certain basic requirements have been met.
Therefore, a precondition for reconciliation must be the restoration of
the sovereign Pae`aina O Hawai`i Loa (Hawaiian nation), after which proper
reconciliation between the United States and the Pae`aina O Hawai`i Loa
(Hawaiian nation) may proceed. We call on the United States to remove all
impediments to Kanaka Hawaii (Hawaiian nationals') free exercise of their
nationality, and to cooperate in a peaceful and rational process for
restoring the governing powers of a sovereign Pae`aina o Hawai i Loa
(Hawaiian nation.)

We invite others who support this statement to sign on.

Contact: Hawai`i Ecumenical Coalition c/o 766 N. King Street, Honolulu,
Hawai`i 96817. (808) 845-0908. Sign the Petition Online :
http://www.i-charity.net/bin/ptn/175/thref/147563

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

  "The lawful Government of Hawaii was overthrown without the drawing of a
sword or the firing of a shot by a process every step of which, it may
safely be asserted, is directly traceable to and dependent for its success
upon the agency of the United States acting through its diplomatic and
naval representatives.

  But the notorious predelictions of the United States Minister for
annexation, the Committee of Safety, which should be called the Committee
of Annexation, would never have existed.

  But for the landing of the United States forces upon false pretexts
respecting the danger to life and property the committee would never have
exposed themselves to the pains and penalties of treason by undertaking
the subversion of the Queen's Government,

  But for the presence of the United States forces in the immediate
vicinity and in position to afford all needed protection and support, the
committee would not have proclaimed the provisional government from the
steps of the Government building.

  And finally, but for the lawless occupation of Honolulu under false
pretexts by the United States forces, and but for Minister Steven's
recognition of the provisional government when the United States forces
were its sole support and constituted its only military strength, the
Queen and her government would never have yielded to the provisional
government, even for a time and for the sole purpose of submitting her
case to the enlightened justice of the United States."

   President Grover Cleveland "A Message to Congress"  December 18, 1893

   +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Another Example of Military Ecocide :::

Munitions Fire Destroys South Atlantic Bird Sanctuary

PORT STANLEY, Falkland Islands, January 23, 2001 (ENS) - A remote haven
for South Atlantic seabirds has been all but destroyed in a fire started
by British troops attempting to remove ordnance.

South Jason Island is a nature reserve owned by the Falklands Government.
It is an internationally important seabird site, which contained an
estimated 1,750 pairs of black-browed albatrosses and 900 pairs of
rockhopper penguins.

That was until January 12 when United Kingdom military personnel visited
South Jason to explode ammunition found at a site where two Argentinian
planes were shot down during the Falklands War in 1982.

The explosions sparked a blaze which raged for five days. The fire is
believed to have claimed the lives of hundreds of penguin and almost fully
grown albatross chicks, as well as adult birds. An aerial survey conducted
last week, showed that 90 per cent of the tussac grass, which supports the
seabird colonies, has been destroyed.

According to the Royal Society for Protection of Birds (RSPB), the blaze
is still not out. Conservationists fear that if the fire spreads to the
underlying peat layer, the high tussac grass may never return, destroying
much of the birds' habitat.

Helicopters dropping water on the area and teams of beaters on the ground
have fought to control the blaze. Fire crews from Port Stanley reported
the sight of burnt penguins and other seabirds crawling away through
tussac grass, unlikely to escape flames fanned by ferocious South Atlantic
winds.

"In addition to albatrosses and penguins, the island was also important
for sealions," said Jim Stevenson, of the RSPB. "We are totally astounded.
No one dreamt that such a colony was at risk from fire as no one normally
goes to the island."

"This incident raises questions about the validity of this military
exercise, when, in dry weather at the height of the breeding season,
troops attempt to clear ordnance which posed little or no threat to
people."

For several bird species, South Jason was an important link in the chain
of Falkland Islands, which are home to three quarters of the world's
population of black-browed albatrosses.

The Falkland Islands are a remote group of more than 700 islands deep in
the South Atlantic, They are 640 kilometers (400 miles) east of the South
American coast and 1,600 kilometers (1000 miles) north of Antarctica.

There has been a 30 per cent decline of the Falkland Islands' population
of black-browed albatross over the last 20 years, according to the RSPB.

The bird is the subject of a BirdLife International campaign launched
because of alarm at its recent rapid decline.

This decline has been caused largely by the fact that thousands of
individuals perish after becoming snared on the millions of hooks used by
long line fisheries.

The black-browed albatross is known locally as "mollymawks." The RSPB says
that because the bird reproduces slowly, it will take many years for
populations to return to South Jason.

The RSPB is involved in seabird census work on the Falklands, and has
called for an inquiry into the fire by the Ministry of Defence.

"But beyond this, to assist recovery of the damaged breeding colonies, the
military should also be responsible for restoring the habitat destroyed by
the fire," said Stevenson.

Becky Ingham, conservation officer for local voluntary conservation
organization Falklands Conservation, said UK forces should have been
better prepared.

"These species are under significant threat from a variety of sources and
the sanctuary that should have been provided by the status of this island
reserve was clearly violated," said Ingham.

"It demonstrates the urgent need for British Forces working within
sensitive environments to have a greater level of awareness about their
surroundings, and highlights the necessity for a review of their
environmental procedures."

*****************************************************

There goes my heated letter, dove forged in fire, with two folded wings
and the address in the middle. Bird who pursues only nest, air and sky,
flesh, hands, your eyes, and the space of your breath. Miguel Herna'ndez.

I wander about through the dawn a bit more. I seek to find The Sea in bed.
I know that you are thinking that I am speaking of just bed, but here bed
is any bed or table or ground or chair or air, as long as our shadow is
doubled in the other, never one, always two, but so close together. I
think that, if The Sea is sleeping, it will be a problem to wake her up
with this absurd story of the spell. Then it occurs to me that I should
address the issue indirectly, approaching while whistling some tune,
commenting on the weatherÖor trying to write a love poem.

But the problem, I sense, is that the poem of love holds a lock, an
ultimate secret, which only a few, a very few, almost no one, is able to
open, to discover, to free. One is left with the impression that what one
feels for someone has already found its perfect, brilliant, complete
formulation in someone else's words. And one crumples up the paper (or, in
cybernetic times, decrees the file in question "deleted") with the
commonplaces in which feeling is made word. I do not know much of love
poetry, but I do know it enough that, when my fingers resort to something
like that, I sense that it seems more like a strawberry malted than a love
sonnet. In short, poetry, and more specifically, love poetry, is for
anyone, but not everyone has the key that opens its highest flight.
Because of that, when I am able to, I call on the poets, friends and
enemies, and, to the ear of The Sea, I bring back the plagiarisms which,
barely stammered, appear to be mine. I suspect that she knows, in any
case, she does not let me know, and she closes her eyes and lets my
fingers stroke her hair and her dreams.

I draw close and I think and I feel and I say to myself such desires to
return to the beginning, to start again, to go back to the first stroke of
the first letter, the "A" of the long alphabet of the company, to return
to the first sketch that the two of us made together and to begin to grow
once more, and, once more, to hone the point of hope. There she is. She
sleeps. I draw close and.

And all of this comes to mind, or to the story, because, in this sea of
March, everything seems to smell of desolation, of impasse, of
irretrievable fall, of frustration. Because I am sure that it would seem
strange to all of you that I would dare, today, to prophesy the return of
the flags of all colors, peopling, from below, fields, streets and
windows. And I dare to do so because I am looking at this zapatista woman,
her tender determination, her dream. I look at her and, through her and,
above all, with her, I am promising and promising myself, new airs for
those sister flags, banners, volanderos, that disturb and make the rich
and poor anxious, although for different reasons the one and the other.

I promise, and I promise myself, right in the midst of the most tedious
night, another tomorrow, not the best, but better. For this woman who, in
the mornings and in front of me, pricks up her ears and puts on her pistol
while telling me "there comes the helicopter" as if she were saying "they
are knocking at the door." For this zapatista, for this woman, and for
many like her who, two and three times behind, carry the weight so that
the little good that remains does not fall, and in order, with that
material, to begin now to build that which today seems so far away: the
morning.

Vale. Salud to all, and, for her, a flower.