»Q« wrote:
> > USE=-java in your /etc/make.conf
>
> I had done that already, but -java only prevents java from being
> installed as an optional dependency.  If a package requires java, it
> will pull it in despite that flag.  See Sven's answer about how to mask
> java.

If it is a hard-requirement, you'll get "blah depends on java which is 
hardmasked" and your emerge will die.