SEAWEED

USS Ohio on maneuvers in Asian-Pacific
Banner in Gangjeong village on Jeju Island

* The South Korean Navy is getting ready to make their final move on Gangjeong village now that the recent elections are over. Bulldozers are poised and the villagers swear they will put their bodies (and lives) on the line to protect the rocks, the fish, the coral, the water, and their farming land. Will keep you posted as things heat up. Lately the villagers have been connecting more with other islands where U.S. military bases are expanding such as Guam, Okinawa, and Hawaii. See more here

* I was outside today cutting up seaweed that we are using as fertilizer and mulch on our garden. It's quite amazing how many varieties of it there are. The smell made me think of the Gangjeong villagers fight against the Navy base.

* Things are also picking up here in Maine as our Veterans for Peace (VFP) crew has just over a month before the national convention takes place in Portland. I am working on my couple of things that I am responsible for. A fundraiser at Flatbread pizza in Portland to benefit the convention will be held on Tuesday, August 3 from 5-9pm. VFP will get a $$ cut on each pie sold that night. If you are around come and be part of the event.

* I sent around an article yesterday by Rick Rozoff who works on the NATO expansion issue. He reported about massive U.S. Navy maneuvers all around China, particularly U.S. submarines outfitted with hundreds of first-strike Tomahawk cruise missiles on-board. China can't be very happy about this. Imagine the howls in the U.S. if China was parking submarines and other naval ships near our coasts! One woman on my list wrote and told me to take her off the list because the article was "too long and over the top". Likely another Obama supporter who can't stand to hear anything that is discordant with her view that he is the peace prize president. I've had several such responses lately to our latest newsletter and some of my emails.