And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: From: "CATHERINE DAVIDS" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Organization: The University of Michigan - Flint To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Fri, 9 Jul 1999 09:29:26 EDT MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Dear Ms. Davids: Thank you for contacting Hijos de Borinquen at www.puertorico2000.com. We at Hijos de Borinquen share your outrage at the commemoration of the genocide of the indigenous people of the Americas. We do not endorse the erection of this monument, but unfortunately, are not involved in the design or development of this project. We agree that there are worthier figures in World History to honor that have made greater contributions to human peace and our spiritual development as a people on this globe. In noting your outrage, we would like to inform you that you may be outraged to hear of some of the unjust military practices that are being inflicted upon the people of Puerto Rico. To the protest of the people of Puerto Rico, the US Marines is currently using live ammunition to stage mock battles in Vieques, a tiny town in Puerto Rico. One stray missile used in this practice recently went off course, actually striking a home and killing a Puerto Rican civilian. Vieques is environmentally devastated and its people have cancer rates twice the average in Puerto Rico. While we can not change the past nor revert the errors and atrocities committed by individuals like Columbus, we do have control over the present. Please help us save our people in the name of human rights. Please write or email President Bill Clinton and tell him to cease using live ammunition in staging mock military battles in Vieques. Attached you will find a copy of a recent newspaper article outlining the Vieques incident. Please feel free to forward this message along to your friends. The People of Puerto Rico thank you. Best regards, Webmaster, Hijos de Borinquen www.puertorico2000.com Errant Bombs Kill 1 in Puerto Rico SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Two U.S. Marine jets dropped bombs on a lookout post at a remote training ground in Puerto Rico on Monday, killing one civilian and injuring four other men. The two F-18 jets based on the USS John F. Kennedy aircraft carrier were on a night training run over Vieques, an island off the coast of Puerto Rico, at about 7:30 p.m., said Roberto Nelson, spokesman for Roosevelt Roads Naval Station. The Navy base operates the training ground in the U.S. territory. Their bombs missed a target area and landed near the post where four civilian contractors and one military observer were working. The blasts killed one contractor. The injured were flown to the Roosevelt Roads Navy base hospital, 20 miles away. They were in stable condition Monday night. ``They were just in the area, doing their job, when this unfortunate accident occurred,'' Nelson said. ``We empathize and sympathize with the family of the deceased, and we will do a full investigation to see what happened here.'' The Navy would not identify the victims until family members had been notified. Nelson said it was not unusual for airplanes to bomb at night at the site. The U.S. Navy controls 75 percent of Vieques for military maneuvers and weapons storage. The island is 21 miles long and four miles wide, located eight miles east of Puerto Rico. Residents oppose the use of live munitions there, saying the frequent explosions disturb fishing grounds and thwart the island's efforts to attract tourism. ``What happened is what for years they have been saying was going to happen,'' said Robert Rabin, who manages the Conde de Mirasol local history museum. ``Vieques lives under the continual danger that this type of situation will happen if the Navy makes a mistake in its bombardment from ships and airplanes.'' But Nelson defended the training ground's importance, noting that most of the Navy and Marine aircraft involved in the Kosovo conflict trained there. ``All of those pilots who are in Kosovo have dropped live ordnance in Vieques,'' Nelson said. ``That is the importance of Vieques in this (Kosovo) operation.'' Reprinted under the fair use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
