Convention center is in the wrong place
Who were the politicians who crammed the Hawaii Convention Center onto a busy street corner? An inconvenient location for convention delegates, and you can find the same low-rent view in Cleveland or Flint, Michigan. It is a disgrace in every respect and I pity the sales people trying to sell conventions ... and explaining how to drive an 18-wheeler onto the floor.
Edward Kelly
Formerly of Hawaii
Lake Isabella, Calif.
Communist leader no freedom fighter
Eric Poohina (
Letters, July 29) calls Che Guevara a "freedom fighter," grouping him with Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi. I wonder how many Cubans who suffered under his and Castro's iron-fisted regime or fled would agree? Che has been cleverly marketed with his image on every kitsch item imaginable, yet many know nothing about him. He was no freedom fighter. He came from a bourgeoisie Argentinian world and joined Castro in his communist zeal. When in power, he oppressed, arrested, imprisoned and executed thousands of journalists, musicians, librarians, playwrights and others. He promoted book burning and was rabidly against individualism and personal freedom. There is no freedom in communism. If one speaks out against the government, one simply disappears.
Che was a murderer, and to liken him to Gandhi is an insult to Cubans, Gandhi and others who cherish freedom.
Poohina may blame America for the ills of the world, but while not a perfect system, it is this system we have that allows him to write the words he does and to create the life of his choosing. Try it in Cuba. I'll take that over Che's "freedom" any day.
Caroline Viola
Kailua
Local baritone was generous with his gift
Hawaii and the world lost two great artists in the past two weeks. The incomparable Swedish writer/director, Ingmar Bergman, left a legacy of plays and films that are little short of immortal -- among them, "A Little Night Music," "Fanny & Alexander," "Autumn Sonata," "Scenes from a Marriage," "Cries & Whispers," and the unforgettable "Wild Strawberries" and "The Seventh Seal." He has been praised as the best director of the 20th century.
Hawaii lost its own treasure, the generous, magnificent baritone Fred Lam, who trained at the New England Conservatory of Music. Fred could be a tough taskmaster as a vocal coach, but he was generous with his time and rich talent, giving back to our community, even teaching tone-deaf individuals to sing! The hundreds whom he taught knew of his deep love of music and kindness to all.
Both of these supreme artists will be deeply missed. But their legacies will surely survive.
Al Lynde
Ewa Beach
Top-level inadequacy is nothing new
Have you noticed the word "inadequate" as applied to Bush so often these days? And that fawning, unctuous fellow we're seeing so much in newspapers and on TV lately, who refuses to answer simple questions? Well, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is just one in a long line of Bush appointees whom we're finding deficient in some way or inadequate to the offices they hold.
On the other hand, Bush isn't suddenly inadequate, is he? He's actually been inadequate all along and we, the American voters, failed to see it. We handed Bush the most powerful office in the land, and in the world. If that's so, then it behooves us to look inside ourselves to find out what we did wrong and how we might avoid our tragic failures and our exploding global unpopularity so that we can avoid anything like this from ever happening again.
Doesn't that make sense?
Mary Mulder
Kailua
Sciences can take children to the stars
Our educators must start using new teaching tools to guide our younger generation to learn math and science using practical arts and life skills that will guide them someday to the stars. I believe a good start is to have a sundial in every school. Once it's built, it requires practically no maintenance for upkeep. Does anyone ever wonder why the two Mars land rovers have their own sundials?
Alvin Wong
Pearl City
Smoke ban little use if it's not enforced
Maybe it's just me, but the smoking ban that was passed seems a little pointless. I understand what it's intended to do, and how if enforced, it would help -- "if enforced" being the key words. It seems to me that as many people get fined for smoking 20 feet away from a public building as people get billed for jaywalking or riding in truck beds.
Riley Masunaga
Honolulu