UH should nurture creativity, not war
The conflict over adding
a university affiliated research center to the University of Hawaii-Manoa's military support services shows the difficulty of demilitarizing institutions in war-fighting societies. But the university, as a unique institution devoted to nurturance of human creativity for the advancement of civilization, is an honorable place to begin.
Glenn D. Paige
President Center for Global Nonviolence
Honolulu
Save your recyclables and stock up on Raid
The Oct. 20 article
"$15 million in bottle deposits has gone uncollected" was quite interesting. My question is why anyone is surprised we have so few returns. Let's put some perspective on the reality of returns.
In Hawaii, everyone has so much extra space they can save all their bottles and cans until they have the time to take the bus with five or six large bags to a redemption center. I know all my friends were wondering what to do with their extra space, and now they know -- fill their apartments with cans and bottles. What the heck, they can sleep standing up.
This works out quite well actually, considering it is easier to step on the cockroaches when you're standing, now that they have found a bunch of new homes with your lovely new decor of cans and bottles.
You might say, "Why not just take them back every day or every couple of days?" Why did I not think of that? Let's see ... $2 to take the bus to a redemption center to redeem 15 bottles or cans, and I get 75 cents. I'm not an accountant, but I can do simple math, especially after counting my new cockroaches, and I'm thinking, "Toss the cans and bottles in the trash and save $1.75."
OK, you say take your car if you have one, or ride with a friend. Now that is even funnier than the bus, considering gas prices. Do we really need to do the math on that?
Now, I'm not a rocket scientist, but I think I can help, and the proposal I have is free. Take the cans and bottles back to any grocery store; you bought them there, so return them there. Of course, had our state officials done any planning ahead of time, they might have figured all this out on their own.
Beth Dost
Honolulu
Don't you feel safe from the avian flu?
Are you concerned about disaster relief? Don't worry, George Bush (who appointed horse expert Michael Brown to oversee what happened during and after the Gulf Coast hurricane) is still in command. Mission accomplished!
But what about that bird-flu epidemic that might break out any moment? Surely, George has put someone knowledgeable in charge this time. Guess again.
Stewart Simonson, the assistant secretary for Public Health Emergency Preparedness at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has no public health management experience.
Well, if you are concerned, a letter to your congressman is a good place to start.
All you have to do is to ask that the Bush administration take the threat of this epidemic seriously, to put a person at the head of Public Health Emergency Preparedness who knows what he's doing, and to spend no less than the $2 billion a week that the Iraq war is costing us to deal with this very real threat to your life and mine.
John A. Broussard
Kamuela, Hawaii
Hawaii needs Lingle and Abercrombie
Congressman Neil Abercrombie and Gov. Linda Lingle are the best and most qualified candidates for governor next year. But it is not for the best interest of Hawaii for them to lock horns against each other. It will be a great loss to all of us if one of them will be out of office.
Right now we have a positive and stabilized economy. We have a very low unemployment rate and our tourist and housing industries are in top shape because of Linda and Neil.
I suggest strongly for Abercrombie to think twice, be patient, stay where he is until Linda ends her second term as a potent governor. I am almost sure he'll become the next two-term governor, too.
Bernardo P. Benigno
Mililani
Gasoline cap critics are ignoring reality
Some opponents of the gas cap law are out of touch with current events. Ernesto Jose's
Oct. 18 letter in the Star-Bulletin reveals his ignorance of what caused gas prices to go up everywhere in the world, including Hawaii. Does he know that two hurricanes hit the Gulf coast in September, severely damaging a huge portion of our nation's oil production refining capabilities? That caused the gasoline prices to hit $6 a gallon on parts of the mainland. You don't blame the gas cap law for those increases.
Hasn't Jose noticed that Hawaii's gas prices always go up when the mainland prices go up but rarely go down when mainland prices drop? How could he possibly believe that gasoline prices would have stayed at $2.75 in Hawaii when the president of TESORO stated that prices would have went up with or without the gas cap law?
It's one thing to criticize the law, but it's another thing to ignore all the factors that dramatically affect gasoline prices. As predicted by supporters of the gas cap law, gasoline prices in Hawaii are falling with the rest of the nation, something that has never happened before.
Henry Hanalei Kim
Honolulu