on line petition to help protect the people of Guam from more US occupatiion

[Magda Hassan]

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/cal...menting-period

In 2006, Washington and Tokyo agreed to shift thousands of U.S. Marines from Okinawa after complaints that, with half of Japan's population of 47,000 US military personnel, the island was over burdened.
Part of the deal struck by the two nations involved the relocation of forces and a massive military buildup on the island of Guam, without consulting the Guamanian population.
Currently the US military occupies approximately 1/3 of the Guam's landmass.
One of the many issues local Guam residents are concerned about are the measures the military will take to acquire the additional lands they seek to complete their mission.
An Environmental Impact Study (EIS) was released last November using vague language making it unclear to private landowners whether or not the military would seek to negotiate with landowners instead of resorting to the use of eminent domain and/or land condemnation.
Our petition calls for the military to reveal to the public their plans to acquire land and to extend the period of time residents have to review and respond to said plan.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/call-for-transparency-and-extension-of-deis-commenting-period

[Magda Hassan]

Japanese Govt Weary of Billions Spent Subsidizing US Forces

$2 Billion Annual 'Kindness Budget' Extraneous, According to New Japanese Govt

by Jason Ditz, February 07, 2010



When the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) took office last year, they ended nearly a half century of unbroken rule by the Liberal Democratic Party, and also broke the unwritten rule of Japanese politics: not to question America.
US bases (red) on Okinawa

The DPJ instantly started a clash with the US over deals made by the previous government on US military bases. The US, unused to being questioned on its policy in Japan, has flat out refused to negotiate going forward.
But while it is unclear how much the DPJ can really do about the base deals, it is proving increasingly reluctant to accept the “kindness budget,” a euphemism for the annual outlay (currently at about $2 billion) of Japanese government funds to subsidize the US forces in Okinawa.
With US bases eating up a good chunk of Okinawa and the US demanding $6 billion in “relocation costs” from Japan to move 8,000 of those troops to Guam, the DPJ is increasingly seeing these expenses, particularly during the economic crisis, as something they can do without.
Okinawans are irked by the amount of land the bases take up, and the excessive opulence of the bases, which come complete with their own golf courses on the crowded island. The US State Department insists that the bases are not any different than anywhere else in the world, and that even with the Japanese subsidies the US still pays some $3.9 billion a year to keep the forces there.
http://news.antiwar.com/2010/02/07/j...ing-us-forces/