Journal 11/29/1985
P1 Espousal slammed in Senate Six US Senators went on raced before the Compact voter earlier this month stating their opposition to the Compact’s “espousal” provisions, primarily on the grounds that it is unconstitutional. In addition, Sen. James McClure, who chairs the Senate Energy Committee, said that if new claims arise in the future, the US Congress will provide the compensation that is needed. The Senate voted unanimously for the Compact. But Sen. Paul Simon of Illinois said, “I do not want my general support of the Compact to be misconstrued as acceptance and endorsement of the constitutionality of the Section 177 agreement.” He was joined in this position by Senators Metzenbaum, Matsunaga, Kerry, Kennedy and Cranston. “There is a continuing moral and humanitarian obligation on the part of the United States to compensate any victims — past, present and future — of the nuclear testing program,” said McClure. “For this reason, I fully expect that if new claims develop, Congress should and will provide any assistance required, absent compelling contradictory evidence.” Sen. Metzenbaum agreed that, “the record is clear that if the need for further assistance arises, nothing in the Compact will discourage the Marshallese from seeking additional money and that the Senate shall give a sympathetic hearing to these appeals and indeed…take the necessary steps to provide such additional compensation as needed.”
P6 Hot party Refried beans for breakfast? You bet, man, that’s the traditional Marine Corps birthday breakfast, according to Mike Senko and Tony Nagel, who got together a week ago Sunday to celebrate the Marines 209th birthday. Can you imagine two ex-marines and locals Victor and Wally Milne getting together at four in the morning for champagne and eggs? They all agree the Marshalls are better than Vietnam and El Salvador.
P10 US official urged $100 payment to quiet Utrok In early 1969, the Atomic Energy Commission was urged to give each of the 157 Stork people exposed to the 1954 Bravo hydrogen bomb a payment of $100 to help “quiet their dissatisfaction” over receiving no compensation after the Rongelap people were paid about $10,000 each in the late 1960s. In an April 9, 1969 letter to AEC official Dr. John R. Trotter, Dr. Robert Conard wrote: “I suppose we made a mistake in not giving the Utrok people a token payment and perhaps it is not too late to do something about it. Perhaps if we could give each exposed person $100 I believe this would quiet their dissatisfaction.”
Journal 11/28/1997
P1 Marshallese are fat A large percentage of adult men and women in the Marshall Islands are likely to be overweight, according to the results of a recent survey conducted by the Ministry of Health and the Johns Hopkins University. The findings concluded that about half of Marshallese men are overweight or obese and almost two thirds of Marshallese women are overweight or obese. Women tend to become overweight earlier than men. Under-nutrition is also a problem in young children in the Marshall Islands. About eight percent of Marshallese boys and seven percent of girls are wasted or very thin for their height. Obesity is associated with health problems like heart disease and diabetes, which plague the Marshall Islands.
P9 We can’t print this letter I’m not happy to read about Majuro’s 11 million dollar new road when we people of Ebeye need new sewer pumps for only a few thousand dollars. We have to flush with fresh water and our government tells us to be aware of El Niño? Do we need water too to wash and drink. Majuro talks about a million gallons and your story about Kwajalein building 4,000 gallons for Ebeye. Majuro need million dollar and Ebeye only need thousand for its population? When will the leaders give money equally to both populations and not just take care of themselves in Majuro? I think it better if you don’t put the newspaper on Ebeye, then we won’t know what we miss. Maybe Majuro government wait for a big sickness rom all the sewage we walk in before they buy pump. You can’t print this because paper make all its money from Majuro. —Tony Rang
Journal 11/28/2008
P15 Big Mac? Not in the RMI or Vatican City There are 90 countries that do not have a McDonald’s fast food outlet, and the Marshall Islands is in that minority. According to report this week, 10 of 14 nations in them Pacific don’t have a McDonald’s. But the fact the Pacific has four countries with a McDonald’s gives it a higher percentage — 29 — of countries with McDonald’s than Sub-Saharan Africa, where just two of 48 nations have one.
P20 Bwiji wins tourney, Ben wins the oohs Captain Bwiji Aliven may have won last Saturday’s Marshalls Billfish Club hands down with his 401-pound billfish, but it was Captain Ben Reimers who had everyone oohing and aahing at Shoreline. Reimers brought home eight qualifying yellowfin tuna, of which the smallest was 52 pounds and the biggest 107.