IMPORTANT FUNDRAISER THIS TUESDAY (at Flatbread Company in Paia, HI)

On Tuesday, February 24:

Come enjoy delicious pizza at the Flatbread Company in Paia from 5 to 10pm, and help build a school in rural Nicaragua. There's a silent auction of valuable items until 9:30. Manali'i plays Hawaiian and Jawaiian reggae from 5:00, and Seth and Shelly do bluegrass and jazz from 8:30 to 10. Part of the proceeds of every pizza sold will go to Somos Amigos - Nicaragua, a Maui non-profit that partners with several small Nicaraguan villages to build schools and bring clean water and health services. For more information, call Charlotte or Dan Flavin at 572-9898.

Tell your friends about the Obama Hope letter for Middle East peace

Jewish Voice For Peace sends this message:

Look – we believe that reaching President Obama with our message isn’t going to be easy. We know that. That’s why it is so very critical that you take that extra step of sharing our open letter with people you know. For every six people you tell, only one might join us – so please don’t hold back! We have until Monday!

CLICK HERE TO TAKE ACTION.

Call Senator Inouye!! Ask him to STOP the $50B Nuke and Coal Bail Out!!!

A letter from NIRS

Dear Friends in Hawaii:

The Senate has passed its economic stimulus bill. Unfortunately, it still includes $50 Billion in loan guarantees intended for new nuclear reactors and "clean coal" plants.

Fortunately, the House version does not include this provision. The Senate-House conference committee will now decide whether that provision stays in the final bill.

Rep. Daniel Inouye of Hawaii is one of the five Senate members on the conference committee. Thus his position on this issue will be crucial.

Please call Sen. Inouye today: 202-224-3934 (Honolulu office, 808-541-2542) and tell him that the Senate should not have been added to the stimulus bill. Ask that he ensure that the House position on nuclear and coal loan guarantees prevails, and that the Senate provision be removed from the final bill.

Also, follow up your call with an e-mail to Inouye, which you can do by going to http://inouye.senate.gov/abtform.html

Thanks for your help!

Michael Mariotte

Nuclear Information and Resource Service

nirsnet@nirs.org

www.nirs.org

Salon.com begins "Coming Home" Series

Death in the USA: The Army's fatal neglect

Returning U.S. combat soldiers are committing suicide and murder in alarming numbers. In a special series, Salon uncovers the habitual mistreatment behind the preventable deaths.

Editor's note: This is the introduction to a weeklong series of stories called "Coming Home." Read the first story in the series here; see photos of Heidi Lieberman painting over her son's suicide note, and a copy of the "Hurt Feelings Report," here.

By Mark Benjamin and Michael de Yoanna

Feb. 9, 2009 | FORT CARSON, Colo. -- Preventable suicides. Avoidable drug overdoses. Murders that never should have happened. Four years after Salon exposed medical neglect at Walter Reed Army Medical Center that ultimately grew into a national scandal, serious problems with the Army's healthcare system persist and the situation, at least at some Army posts, continues to deteriorate.

This story is no longer just about lack of medical care. It's far worse than sighting mold and mouse droppings in the barracks. Late last month the Army released data showing the highest suicide rate among soldiers in three decades. At least 128 soldiers committed suicide in 2008. Another 15 deaths are still under investigation as potential suicides. "Why do the numbers keep going up?" Army Secretary Pete Geren said at a Jan. 29 Pentagon news conference. "We can’t tell you." On Feb. 5, the Army announced it suspects 24 soldiers killed themselves last month, more than died in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan combined.

To read more of this article, visit the Salon.com article here.