Protestors -- or Protectors, as they prefer to put it -- are still fighting the fight against construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope atop sacred Mauna Kea in Hawaii.
What might usually be filed away as an Indigenous issue has gotten a lot of attention from celebrities and their followers on social media thanks to a campaign started by actor Jason Momoa back in April. Momoa, Native Hawaiian, is one of today's fastest rising stars, on the strength of his work in Game of Thrones and The Red Road, and his selection to be Aquaman in multiple future films.
Momoa started a campaign on his Instagram account, "We Are Mauna Kea," and immediately set about attaching Hollywood faces to it. It's easy to see how he wove his web of activism -- if you were a co-star or Hawaiian friend of Momoa's, you were gonna get the call. And many answered it by posting their own We Are Mauna Kea pictures. From there, the activism spread to other celebrities -- Hollywood acquaintances and famous friends of famous friends.
In addition to showing support in pictorial form, Momoa asked celebrities and followers to sign and publicize the Stop TMT Construction and Arrests of Mauna Kea Protectors petition at Change.org.
Source
Scenes From the Annual Merrie Monarch Festival (Photos - Video)
Hawaiian arts and culture will be featured May 24-26 at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. during the 2013 Celebrate Hawaii Festival.
Events include special screenings of the film State of Aloha and a concert featuring Amy Hanaiali`i Gilliom, a four-time Grammy nominee, leading up to the festival itself on May 26.
During the festival, visitors can meet and greet Hawaiian culture bearers who are practitioners of the traditional Hawaiian arts related to voyaging and canoes, according to the museum.
There will also be opportunites to watch and learn about hula, cooking demonstrations, as well as other presentations.
The festival coincides with May being Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
The Merrie Monarch Festival began in 1963 and has evolved into what is now universally considered to be the world's most prestigious hula competition.
The festival is named in honor of King David Kalakaua, the last king of the Hawaiian islands, whose coronation in 1883 included public displays of hula, which had long been buried under rules imposed by Hawaiian missionaries.
Kalakaua ruled for seventeen years. His reign was marked by a resurgence in Hawaiian culture, music and included numerous public performances of hula. Because of his love of dance and music, Kalakaua was nicknamed, "the Merrie Monarch." In his memory and in celebration of Hawaiian culture, dance and music, the Merrie Monarch Festival is held each year.
Tsunami warnings were sent out to at least 50 countries and territories after an 8.9-magnitude earthquake struck Japan Friday afternoon. This earthquake could be registered as the 5th largest quake ever recorded.
The wide-ranging list under the tsunami warning includes Russia and Indonesia, Central American countries like Guatemala, El Salvador and Costa Rica and the U.S. state of Hawaii.
"The quake, which struck near the coast of Honshu, Japan on Friday afternoon, unleashed a wall of water that rushed in toward land, leveling houses and bashing cars in its path." - CNN news
Fears are that the fast-moving waves from a tsunami could be so high that they wash over entire islands in the Pacific ocean. Tsunami waves can move at a speed of 620 MPH.
Estimated Times of Initial Tsunami Arrival:
The following list gives estimated times of arrival for locations along the North American Pacific coast from a tsunami generated at the given source location. The list is ordered by arrival time starting with the earliest.
Since tsunami speed is directly related to water depth, tsunami ETAs can be computed independent of tsunami amplitude. THE LISTING OF A TSUNAMI ARRIVAL TIME BELOW DOES NOT INDICATE A WAVE IS IMMINENT. The listed arrival time is the initial wave arrival. Tsunamis can be dangerous for many hours after arrival, and the initial wave is not necessarily the largest.
DART 21415 2348 AKST MAR 10 0848 UTC MAR 11
Shemya, Alaska 0020 AKST MAR 11 0920 UTC MAR 11
Attu, Alaska 0020 AKST MAR 11 0920 UTC MAR 11
DART 21414 0020 AKST MAR 11 0920 UTC MAR 11
Amchitka Pass, Alaska (125 miles W of Adak) 0034 AKST MAR 11 0934 UTC MAR 11
Amchitka, Alaska 0037 AKST MAR 11 0937 UTC MAR 11
DART 46413 0059 AKST MAR 11 0959 UTC MAR 11
Atka, Alaska 0116 AKST MAR 11 1016 UTC MAR 11
Adak, Alaska 0118 AKST MAR 11 1018 UTC MAR 11
DART 46408 0119 AKST MAR 11 1019 UTC MAR 11
DART 46402 0145 AKST MAR 11 1045 UTC MAR 11
Nikolski, Alaska 0159 AKST MAR 11 1059 UTC MAR 11
DART 46403 0219 AKST MAR 11 1119 UTC MAR 11
Akutan, Alaska 0224 AKST MAR 11 1124 UTC MAR 11
Dutch Harbor, Alaska 0228 AKST MAR 11 1128 UTC MAR 11
Unimak Pass, Alaska (80 miles NE of Dutch Harbo 0236 AKST MAR 11 1136 UTC MAR 11
St. Paul, Alaska 0239 AKST MAR 11 1139 UTC MAR 11
DART 46409 0300 AKST MAR 11 1200 UTC MAR 11
King Cove, Alaska 0303 AKST MAR 11 1203 UTC MAR 11
Sand Point, Alaska 0304 AKST MAR 11 1204 UTC MAR 11
Perryville, Alaska 0326 AKST MAR 11 1226 UTC MAR 11
DART 46410 0326 AKST MAR 11 1226 UTC MAR 11
Cold Bay, Alaska 0337 AKST MAR 11 1237 UTC MAR 11
Chignik Bay, Alaska 0357 AKST MAR 11 1257 UTC MAR 11
Kodiak, Alaska 0358 AKST MAR 11 1258 UTC MAR 11
Cape Suckling, Alaska (75 miles SE of Cordova) 0359 AKST MAR 11 1259 UTC MAR 11
Old Harbor, Alaska 0400 AKST MAR 11 1300 UTC MAR 11
Hinchinbrook Entrance, Alaska (90 miles E of Se 0409 AKST MAR 11 1309 UTC MAR 11
Seward, Alaska 0423 AKST MAR 11 1323 UTC MAR 11
Alitak, Alaska 0425 AKST MAR 11 1325 UTC MAR 11
Elfin Cove, Alaska 0425 AKST MAR 11 1325 UTC MAR 11
Kennedy Entrance, Alaska (40 miles SW of Homer) 0428 AKST MAR 11 1328 UTC MAR 11
Saint Matthew Island, Alaska 0433 AKST MAR 11 1333 UTC MAR 11
Cape Fairweather, Alaska (80 miles SE of Yakuta 0433 AKST MAR 11 1333 UTC MAR 11
Yakutat, Alaska 0433 AKST MAR 11 1333 UTC MAR 11
Sitka, Alaska 0433 AKST MAR 11 1333 UTC MAR 11
Salisbury Sound, Alaska (25 miles NW of Sitka) 0434 AKST MAR 11 1334 UTC MAR 11
Port Alexander, Alaska 0434 AKST MAR 11 1334 UTC MAR 11
the Alaska/British Columbia border 0538 PST MAR 11 1338 UTC MAR 11
Valdez, Alaska 0443 AKST MAR 11 1343 UTC MAR 11
Langara Island, British Columbia 0543 PST MAR 11 1343 UTC MAR 11
Cordova, Alaska 0452 AKST MAR 11 1352 UTC MAR 11
Cape Decision, Alaska (85 miles SE of Sitka) 0455 AKST MAR 11 1355 UTC MAR 11
DART 46419 0608 PST MAR 11 1408 UTC MAR 11
Homer, Alaska 0516 AKST MAR 11 1416 UTC MAR 11
DART 46404 0625 PST MAR 11 1425 UTC MAR 11
the north tip of Vancouver Island, British Colu 0626 PST MAR 11 1426 UTC MAR 11
DART 46407 0632 PST MAR 11 1432 UTC MAR 11
Craig, Alaska 0534 AKST MAR 11 1434 UTC MAR 11
Ketchikan, Alaska 0540 AKST MAR 11 1440 UTC MAR 11
Juneau, Alaska 0543 AKST MAR 11 1443 UTC MAR 11
DART 46411 0656 PST MAR 11 1456 UTC MAR 11
Tofino, British Columbia 0706 PST MAR 11 1506 UTC MAR 11
Gambell, Alaska 0606 AKST MAR 11 1506 UTC MAR 11
Prince Rupert, British Columbia 0711 PST MAR 11 1511 UTC MAR 11
the Washington-British Columbia border 0712 PST MAR 11 1512 UTC MAR 11
Neah Bay, Washington 0718 PST MAR 11 1518 UTC MAR 11
Clatsop Spit, Oregon 0719 PST MAR 11 1519 UTC MAR 11
La Push, Washington 0719 PST MAR 11 1519 UTC MAR 11
Cape Blanco, Oregon 0719 PST MAR 11 1519 UTC MAR 11
the Oregon-Washington border 0720 PST MAR 11 1520 UTC MAR 11
Point Grenville, Washington 0721 PST MAR 11 1521 UTC MAR 11
Port Moller, Alaska 0622 AKST MAR 11 1522 UTC MAR 11
Charleston, Oregon 0723 PST MAR 11 1523 UTC MAR 11
Douglas/Lane County Line, Oregon (10 miles SW o 0724 PST MAR 11 1524 UTC MAR 11
Cape Mendocino, California 0724 PST MAR 11 1524 UTC MAR 11
Cascade Head, Oregon (70 miles SW of Portland) 0724 PST MAR 11 1524 UTC MAR 11
Tillamook Bay, Oregon 0726 PST MAR 11 1526 UTC MAR 11
Horse Mountain, California (50 miles SW of Eure 0727 PST MAR 11 1527 UTC MAR 11
Fort Bragg, California 0728 PST MAR 11 1528 UTC MAR 11
Humboldt Bay, California 0729 PST MAR 11 1529 UTC MAR 11
Crescent City, California 0730 PST MAR 11 1530 UTC MAR 11
Seaside, Oregon 0731 PST MAR 11 1531 UTC MAR 11
the Oregon-California border 0731 PST MAR 11 1531 UTC MAR 11
Westport, Washington 0732 PST MAR 11 1532 UTC MAR 11
Point Arena, California 0733 PST MAR 11 1533 UTC MAR 11
Newport, Oregon 0733 PST MAR 11 1533 UTC MAR 11
Gualala Point, California (80 miles NW of San F 0735 PST MAR 11 1535 UTC MAR 11
Point Reyes, California 0746 PST MAR 11 1546 UTC MAR 11
Davenport, California (10 miles NW of Santa Cru 0747 PST MAR 11 1547 UTC MAR 11
Point Sur, California 0749 PST MAR 11 1549 UTC MAR 11
Astoria, Oregon 0751 PST MAR 11 1551 UTC MAR 11
Monterey, California 0752 PST MAR 11 1552 UTC MAR 11
Port Angeles, Washington 0755 PST MAR 11 1555 UTC MAR 11
Ragged Point, California (45 miles NW of San Lu 0758 PST MAR 11 1558 UTC MAR 11
DART 46412 0759 PST MAR 11 1559 UTC MAR 11
Point Concepcion, California 0805 PST MAR 11 1605 UTC MAR 11
Port San Luis, California 0811 PST MAR 11 1611 UTC MAR 11
Bella Bella, British Columbia 0812 PST MAR 11 1612 UTC MAR 11
San Francisco, California 0816 PST MAR 11 1616 UTC MAR 11
Cape Newenham, Alaska 0723 AKST MAR 11 1623 UTC MAR 11
Santa Barbara, California 0824 PST MAR 11 1624 UTC MAR 11
Rincon Point, California (15 miles SE of Santa 0835 PST MAR 11 1635 UTC MAR 11
San Pedro, California 0839 PST MAR 11 1639 UTC MAR 11
Santa Monica, California 0839 PST MAR 11 1639 UTC MAR 11
Newport Beach, California 0845 PST MAR 11 1645 UTC MAR 11
La Jolla, California 0848 PST MAR 11 1648 UTC MAR 11
Seattle, Washington 0851 PST MAR 11 1651 UTC MAR 11
Alamitos Bay, California (20 miles SE of L.A.) 0854 PST MAR 11 1654 UTC MAR 11
the California-Mexico border 0854 PST MAR 11 1654 UTC MAR 11
Hooper Bay, Alaska 0854 AKST MAR 11 1754 UTC MAR 11
Little Diomede Island, Alaska 0904 AKST MAR 11 1804 UTC MAR 11
Dillingham, Alaska 0946 AKST MAR 11 1846 UTC MAR 11
Nome, Alaska 1059 AKST MAR 11 1959 UTC MAR 11
Unalakleet, Alaska 1430 AKST MAR 11 2330 UTC MAR 11
Japan earthquake - epicentre location
Quakes measuring up to 8.9 magnitude hit northern Japan
• Tsunami waves of up to 10 metres sweep away homes and vehicles
• Strong tremors shake buildings in Tokyo and spark major fire in Chiba
Source : Google Earth
A massive explosion on Saturday and feared meltdown at one of Japan's nuclear plants took place in the aftermath of the the devastating earthquake/ tsunami disaster that continues to raise fears and threaten thousands of lives. This explosion destroyed a building that was housing the reactor however the metal containers housing the reactor supposedly were not damaged. Radiation levels have however risen outside of the nuclear plant. Up to 45,000 people have been evacuated in the surrounding area in a 6 mile radius. Another environmental concern comes from the out of control fires at a major oil refinery just outside of Tokyo with the possibility of toxic chemicals being released down onto the city if it rains.
Here is the actual video of the explosion:
UPDATE March 12, 2011: Warnings : another big earthquake is imminent in Iwate, Miyagi,
Indonesia Embassy sends evacuation teams to Miyagi, Iwate.The Indonesian embassy in Tokyo said on its website it had sent two rescue teams to Miyagi and Iwate prefectures on Saturday at 02.00 local time.
"The Indonesian embassy in Tokyo sent two evacuation teams to Miyagi and Iwate on Saturday , March 12, 2011, to assist Indonesian citizens in the disaster areas," the website said.
