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Editorials
Saturday, August 26, 2000Security studies center
moves to Fort DeRussyThe issue: The Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies has moved into new quarters at Fort DeRussy.
HAWAII prides itself on being a mid-Pacific meeting place -- the crossroads of the Pacific. One of the institutions that is helping to maintain that reputation is a Pentagon think tank -- the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies.
The center was established five years ago as a place where military officers and government officials from around the Pacific Rim could discuss security issues and seek mutual understanding of common problems.
About 40 nations have sent participants to the center's workshops, seminars and 12-week course on security issues. It has been operating in rented quarters in Waikiki but has now moved into a permanent location at the renovated former Army Reserve center at Fort DeRussy.
Both Senator Inouye and former Defense Secretary William Perry, who were instrumental in establishing the center, attended the dedication of the new quarters. Inouye observed, "There must be a place where the military leaders of the region can safely put down their arms and sit around the table to talk and learn about one another. This can only lead to a better understanding and greater tolerance."
The Hawaii senator noted that "some have said that it is wholly unrealistic to expect this center to teach peace through dialogue and collaboration. My response is: It is unrealistic to only know how to kill."
Inouye had proposed turning part of Fort DeRussy over to the state for a convention center but ran into a roadblock in the U.S. House of Representatives. He rebounded from that defeat by helping to establish the security center.
The center's move to DeRussy gives a fresh mission to that facility, with the transfer of the Army Reserve to more suitable quarters at Fort Shafter.
Adm. Dennis Blair, Pacific commander-in-chief, said participating nations select their future leaders to attend the center's programs. Not only do these future leaders teach each other about security issues, he said, "but they develop friends and contacts needed to coordinate effective action. Having respected friends in the right places will make a difference in the future."
This is a mission that Hawaii can embrace wholeheartedly. It parallels the efforts of the East-West Center in Manoa to bring scholars in many fields together, only here the focus is on strategic issues and the consequences of success or failure can be the difference between life and death for millions.
Despite the end of the Cold War, threats to peace persist and cannot be safely ignored. The center represents an intelligent approach to averting armed conflict.
State should examine
overcharge allegations
GOVERNOR Cayetano has asked state attorneys to investigate allegations that Hawaii's largest food wholesaler has overcharged local supermarkets on shipping costs, a practice that may have cost Hawaii consumers millions of dollars. The governor acted appropriately in view of the threat to the public interest indicated by the allegations if they are substantiated.
The wholesaler, Fleming Cos. Inc., based in Oklahoma City, supplies more than 60 percent of the groceries sold in the state. The alleged overcharges, reported by the Honolulu Advertiser, apparently were not detected by the groceries and were passed on to consumers. The overcharges were said to amount to more than $4 million between 1994 and 1999.
"The allegation is that Fleming wrongfully and through manipulation and scheming overcharged the supermarkets and grocery stores who, in turn, passed that cost on to the consumers," Cayetano said. "I have asked the attorney general to take a look as to whether the state has a class action on behalf of the state consumers against Fleming," he said.
Cayetano's concern, which is certainly legitimate, is the impact of such overcharges on the state economy and the cost of living. He recalled the antitrust lawsuit filed by his administration two years ago against several oil companies, noting that his motivation -- to protect the state's consumers against unwarranted price increases -- was the same in that case.
Legal action against Fleming in Hawaii, should such occur, would not be unprecedented. Lawsuits have been filed against the company by grocery operators in seven states, alleging that Fleming intentionally overcharged stores by hundreds of millions of dollars.
The company has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, but has paid mainland grocers nearly $30 million to settle three lawsuits. It also terminated supply contracts worth more than $1 billion a year.
Many factors are involved in determining the high cost of living in Hawaii. Most of them are legitimate, but people are understandably upset if they are victimized by price gouging. This situation warrants further investigation.
Published by Liberty Newspapers Limited PartnershipRupert E. Phillips, CEO
John M. Flanagan, Editor & Publisher
David Shapiro, Managing Editor
Diane Yukihiro Chang, Senior Editor & Editorial Page Editor
Frank Bridgewater & Michael Rovner, Assistant Managing Editors
A.A. Smyser, Contributing Editor
