Jewish people do live in Arab states

A letter to the editor in Tuesday's Star-Bulletin claimed there were no Jews living in Arab countries. This is false. According to information available on the Internet, the world Jewish population in 2005 included 5,236 Jews living in Morocco, 1,813 living in Tunisia, 200 in Yemen and an estimated 100 each in Algeria, Egypt, Iraq and Syria.

Why do stars ignore Midwest flood victims?

The recent floods in the Midwest present an interesting contrast to the floods in New Orleans. When will we see Geraldo Rivera holding a baby in Iowa and giving us some crocodile tears on TV? Will a white rapper such as Eminem say that "George Bush hates rural white folks"? When will we hear Louis Farrakhan say that George Bush and the federal government blew up the levees in Iowa? When will we see the parade of celebrities such as Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie seeking to help the residents of the Midwest? And lastly, will we see Sean Penn in his leaking motorboat?

Abercrombie shouldn't support U.S. drilling

I recently saw Rep. Neil Abercrombie on the Fox News Channel advocating drilling for oil offshore of California and Florida. I was so appalled that I immediately wrote him an e-mail. His reply did not even try to justify the drilling. I suggested that the availability of more oil just exacerbates the pollution from oil and the long-term effects of global warming. He should be advocating the sustainable development of alternatives like biofuels and solar energy in Hawaii. Wind, geothermal and wave energy are also feasible.

Like the U.S. auto industry, which continued to build large trucks and SUVs because of the larger profits, the U.S. oil industry will also maximize its profits from a dwindling resource. I wonder why Abercrombie advocates more drilling in spite of the obscene profits of the oil Industry?

Farmers market could be more accessible

The Hawaii Farm Bureau farmers market, held at Makaha Resort & Golf Club in Makaha for the first time on June 21, was a success. It's no doubt that the resort provides a shadier area for the vendors and buyers alike. However, having the farmers market only at the resort twice a month will service a handful of residents and not the community-at-large for which the program was intended. For example the residents who live in luxury homes on the hillside, Makaha Towers and Makaha Plantation.

Last year, when a representative from the state came to the community and spoke with some grass-roots groups, two locations were suggested: Waianae Boat Harbor and Waianae Mall. Both of these locations are on the mainstream of Farrington Highway and would best service the entire community, rather than only a handful of people.

The best venue for the farmers market is Waianae Mall; there are more than 600 homes adjacent to the mall and on the bus line and a lot of parking spaces. Businesses open before 7:30 a.m. are Burger King, Longs Drugs and Starbucks.

We must stop electing wimpy presidents

How can Barack Obama supporters have such confidence in a man who is afraid to meet a fellow senator in a town hall setting to debate the issues? If the junior senator from Illinois is this timid, how can he defend America in the international arena where the stakes and the pressures are much higher? Kennedy, Johnson, Carter and Clinton each in turn illustrated that cringing is no substitute for coherent foreign policy.

John F. Kennedy in particular showcased the perils of cowardice when he ran away from the Bay of Pigs right after taking office, thereby signaling Nikita Khrushchev that Soviet missiles could be installed in Cuba, the Berlin Wall erected and proxy wars of liberation launched worldwide ... all without fear of a punk kid in way over his head. Indeed had Kennedy not backed down at the 11th hour in October 1962, we might all have been fried in a full-up arsenal exchange with the Soviets.

Are we really going to elect another timid pretty boy with zero executive experience as our 44th president ... in a time of hot war? If so, my heart will go out for the students I teach on whom the crushing burden of this feel-good folly will fall for years to come.

Give all students free bus passes

School is out, and the driving is easy. Pretty soon we'll be seeing and hearing tips on how to avoid the back-to-school jam. Could we be just a little visionary and give free bus passes to all students? Let's just see what happens.

This is just one of the many alternatives to fixed rail that was never discussed. Nor was going underground. If the island of New York can do it and Bangkok with its many canals can do it, why can't we at least consider that option?