Post the camera cop in neighborhoods

I think we have this traffic camera thing all wrong. Going 10 to 15 mph over the speed limit coming down the Pali or H-3 isn't a problem. It's the drivers who speed 10 to 15 mph over the limit going through residential neighborhoods who make life dangerous.

People speeding where there are pedestrians, kids walking to school, kids playing, bike riders, driveways and loose dogs are the ones we want to catch. Slowing down the flow of traffic on highways where everyone is going in the same direction and there are no pedestrians or cross streets just doesn't make sense.

If that speed cam van showed up in my neighborhood I'd be the first one to welcome the guy with a box of manapua for making my neighborhood safer.

Tina Shaffer
Kailua

Motorists can fight back in court

Are you sick of the money grab by the Department of Transportation and Affiliated Computer Services?

Make your complaints known by contesting in court each and every ticket issued.

Jaren Hancock

Cameras induce paranoia, headaches

My safe driving habits stem from driver's education class where I learned, "Never take your eyes off the road, not even for a second." This is sound advice as many an accident has resulted from distracted drivers.

My car does not have cruise control. Hawaii is not a good place for this option. On any given stretch of road, the speed limit will change several times, with all the curves, bends and hills that one encounters.

Now, with the cameras watching me, I find myself constantly looking down at my speedometer. Driving has become a source of tension, paranoia and fear. After being on the road all day I come home with pounding headaches.

Why aren't these cameras set to catch the real offenders? I have no problem with ticketing people who drive 60 in a 40 mph zone. Seems to me, the "10 percent over courtesy" thing is only going to cause law-abiding citizens to watch their speedometers instead of the road. It will be a matter of time before I rear-end someone, or worse, cross out of my lane while I make sure I am driving at 35 and not 38 miles per hour!

Carolyn Goodin

[Quotables] "I believe you should be a good person when you're alive; then it will be all right when you die." Annie Elfing 15-year-old peace marcher, on her philosophy of life. The Kailua resident will join the Hiroshima Flame Interfaith Pilgrimage, a trek that brings attention to peace and nuclear disarmament, which sets off Tuesday from Seattle and ends in New York. "My daughter was more excited than I was. I told her to sit down ... She was ready to drop, I think." Hideko Sakamoto An Aiea woman, on her daughter's reaction to the news that she had won a $3.6 million jackpot at the California Hotel in Las Vegas.

U.S. should look within to avoid future attacks

The basic thesis of Thomas L. Friedman's article (Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Jan. 8) is that current "Arab-Muslim leaders" need to step forward to "delegitimize" Osama bin Laden's preachments. Friedman states: "We need to send the message that anyone who orders suicide bombings against Americans, or protects those who do, commits suicide himself."

Friedman is correct, so far as he goes. What remains to be addressed is: Why would anyone go on these suicide bombing missions? Do any of bin Laden's complaints against America have any validity? Might any of his complaints inspire future terrorist attacks?

As an attorney with more than 30 years of trial experience, I can tell you that every dispute has at least two sides. If America is really interested in shutting down terrorism, America needs to take an honest look at whether any of its activities are providing a basis for the bin Ladens of this world to recruit new suicide bombers.

Since Sept. 11, we've heard a lot from Washington about destroying the terrorist network and this certainly needs to be done.

What we also need to hear is what America is doing to reduce the threat of future terrorism by addressing any valid complaints of the Arab-Muslim world.

Jack C. Morse

Abu Sayyaf fanatics must be eradicated

The Star-Bulletin has reported that the United States will assist the Philippines in fighting the war against terrorism. The Abu Sayyaf are fanatic extremists and nothing but murderers and criminals. Their claim for fighting for independence is nonsense. The Abu Sayyaf is part of Osama Bin Laden's network that has caused atrocities in the Philippines, killing and kidnapping innocent foreigners and U.S. citizens.

The best way to get rid of these fanatics who remain hidden in the southern islands of the Philippines is to carpet bomb the area with the daisy cutter.

Arsenio Ramirez Pelayo

Candidates don't take 'resign' law seriously

Mayor Jeremy Harris will not resign from office because he believes that he is not using his position to promote his campaign for governor.

Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono and Hon0lulu City Councilman Duke Bainum both refuse to resign, stating that they are not yet candidates since the mayoral position has yet to become vacant.

Can you believe these people? They want us to believe that no conflict of interest exists. Sadly, former Councilman Andy Mirikitani was convicted of bribery and taking campaign kickbacks. Something smells fishy here, and it sure ain't the ahi.

Lawrence C. Muna
I Luv Hawaii Committee

Princess did not limit school to Hawaiians

It is now well known that there is nothing in Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop's will that limits admission to Kamehameha Schools to persons with Hawaiian blood.

Since the estate now makes such an enormous amount of income, perhaps the trustees will either admit past error and eliminate race as a qualifying admissions criterion or explain the logic of applying a racial standard to admissions when the will does not.

It seems that if Princess Pauahi had so intended, she certainly would have specified that Hawaiian blood was required.

Paul de Silva
Hilo, Hawaii

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