Book has insight into men who kill women
For all of us who are shocked by cases of domestic homicide-suicide in Hawaii and seeking to understand and prevent them, there is no better discovery than the book "Why Do They Kill? Men Who Murder Their Intimate Partners" by psychologist David Adams (Vanderbilt University Press, 2007). Based on interviews with 31 convicted killers and 20 women victims of attempted murder, it is brilliant social science research presented in a compelling way to help all of us stop domestic violence and killing. No reader will be bored or without benefit.
Glenn D. Paige
President
Center for Global Nonviolence
Honolulu
Why is HECO getting into algae power?
Is Hawaiian Electric suffering from cognitive dissonance?
In 1996, when asked why HECO doesn't install more solar photovoltaic panels to meet its energy needs in 1996, a HECO vice president responded that it is not a research and development company.
In 2006, HECO proposed a power plant that will run on 100 percent ethanol (at the urging of the consumer advocate) and then, a week before the Public Utilities Commission hearing, pulled a switcheroo to powering their centralized plant with biodiesel from palm oil.
Now they are teaming up with Alexander & Baldwin Inc., HR BioPetroleum Inc. and Maui Electric Co. to build an algae plant on up to 1,000 acres of agricultural land on Maui.
Despite many scientists saying that algae as a liquid fuel is a long way off, HECO is being praised as an "early adopter."
With oil at more than $140 a barrel and a plethora of clean and renewable resources at hand to provide electricity, why in the world would HECO want to invest in a fuel - one that should be used for transportation - to power its aging dinosaur technology?
Kat Brady
Honolulu
Group therapy can help vets with PTSD
It seems to me that the key to veterans who have post-traumatic stress disorder to get better is their participation in group sessions where they are able to unload their experiences in Iraq, Afghanistan or Vietnam; and not keep it bottled up any longer. To be able to communicate with other veterans the complexities and horrors of combat in a war zone would help alleviate their anxieties of the feelings of being alone with nobody understanding them.
May those group sessions and programs be increased a hundredfold to aid our veterans who so richly deserve all the help they can get. May it happen!
Roy E. Shigemura
Honolulu
Pro-rail or con, it’s a double-edged sword
Honolulu is supposedly a paradise. But not anymore, because of our traffic woes, congestion and long hours to and from work. And it is getting worse every day.
Obviously we have the answer and our mayor is so strong as to lead us and support a railway system. The long-awaited rail dream is again opposed by those people who make a living with the automobile industry and those who live away from the rail's proposed route. And the rail dream might be derailed again if we put this issue on the ballot.
A few years back a City Council member derailed a proposed railway system. Now, some have the idea to let the voters of Oahu or the whole state decide to build a railway system or to again forget it.
We have to remember we are heading toward hell on the roads. And we also must remember a lot of jobs will be lost and mortgages will not be paid if we have a rail system. We are walking between two double-edged swords.
Bernardo P. Benigno
Mililani
Both sides should stop the parochial bickering
It seems that the Oahu rail transit issue is becoming quite intense and costly; costly to the taxpayers in general. While I am not pro- or con-rail at this moment, I do believe that the taxpayers should have a voice in the fate of the rail issue, and it would appear that the city is stopping at no end to prevent this (scraping the barrel to find reason for not allowing the issue to be placed on the forthcoming ballot).
The mayor, on TV, stated that he does not oppose such an item on the ballot, yet I do not see actions to "let it happen." Perhaps we should look more closely at the actions being taken, both pro and con, and consider voting for someone else if the parochial and immature fighting does not cease. We are all adults - let's act that way.
Bernard Judson
Kapolei