Sentence in slaying of Muslims was not racist

I have been following the case of the Singaporean woman and her mother who were murdered by her sailor husband. The comments emanating from the Muslim mosque are insulting and anti-American ("Muslims decry sailor's sentence," Star-Bulletin, June 11).

Their comments about how this case would be handled in Singapore or other Muslim countries demonstrates that they are not willing to accept the sovereignty of the United States in nonpolitical criminal actions committed on its soil.

As for Rashid Abdullah, communications officer for the Muslim Association of Hawaii, he must be aware of how our criminal justice system works, considering he is a non-Arab, American Muslim convert.

His comments about the prosecution of this case are simply sour grapes and an attempt to besmirch the integrity of the U.S. military court system.

Frank Morgan
Former Hawaii resident
Victoria, B.C.
Canada

Light verdict sends message to abusers

I am bewildered and disappointed at the sentencing of the sailor who killed his wife and her mother. A prison term of only 22 years with credit for one year served to a person who bludgeoned his wife to death with a skillet, sexually violated her corpse and stabbed her mother 13 times with their three children present in the house is incomprehensible. This verdict tells men who batter their partners that the value of a woman's life runs at a premium discount when it comes to penalty if you choose the ultimate act of power and control.

Even more troublesome was the strategy pursued by the defense -- a successful one, considering that exoneration was not possible. To suggest as relevant that the defendant is a "good sailor," to imply that he is less responsible due to childhood abuse by his stepmother, or to introduce that his wife drank, smoked and had affairs despite her Muslim beliefs, tells such abusers that "you are not responsible; you were conditioned to behave this way, or you were provoked by her behavior."

The sentence told this man what comedian Chris Rock said about the Nicole Brown Simpson murder. In the skit, after citing a number of actions by the victim that could be considered disrespectful to O.J. Simpson, leading him to "snap," Rock says to O.J., "Man, I'm not saying that you should have killed her, but I understand." As a society, we should never understand a man choosing to kill his partner. This verdict made women less safe and offered men who batter the hope of getting away with murder.

Willie J. Parker, M.D.

Seat-belt program only fattens state coffers

I consider the seat-belt enforcement program one of the lamest ever in Hawaii.

The police go after offenders of the seat-belt law, and the state benefits from the fines paid. The Honolulu Police Department issues the citations and receives no benefits for its efforts. Instead, officers should go after the speeders and racers on our highways. I am certain that these unsafe drivers also are guilty of not using seat belts and could provide the police with more citations.

The state would give the city back some of the revenue instead of putting it all into the general fund. The police department can use the additional funds to keep their vehicles and policemen going. Mayor Harris should stop throwing away funds on unneeded projects and keep the city solvent by not dressing up Waikiki and caring for parks and streets.

Curtis R. Rodrigues

A&B's expansion would be bad for Maui

Alexander & Baldwin's money to expand a "light industry" area is going to worsen Maui's growing problem of overpopulation ("A&B cites demand for Maui business acreage," Star-Bulletin, June 9). Maui is already facing water shortages because its aquifer is not big enough to supply the number of people moving there. It is counterintuitive that A&B is planning to use 140.8 acres in Kahului for "industrial supply companies, ministorage businesses, ware- houses, contractors, clinics and restaurants" and may use another parcel for "freight forwarders, car rental companies and caterers."

These types of businesses are directly or indirectly related to tourism, real estate and other land-speculation industries, which have economic interests in having more people move into Maui, an island that already has crossed its limit for supporting human habitation.

If Maui County leaders really care about the future of the island, they need to change their approach on economic development. Money should be invested in improving existing institutions, such as schools, or sustainable industries so that if development needs to take place, it will be done in well-thought-out planning related to the growth capacity of the island.

Ellen-Rae Cachola

Getting the runaround isn't 'user friendly'

"User friendly" gets bandied ad nauseum. Put "user friendly" together with governmental agencies and what do you get -- an oxymoron, right? Big government doesn't mean more efficient or less confusing, as I've found out in recent telephone conversations on behalf of my elderly in-laws and problems they encountered with both Medicare and Social Security.

Two governmental agencies were more than I wanted to tackle. I challenge anyone to call the above-mentioned government agencies and straighten out a second- or third-party screwup. Be prepared to speak to an ill-mannered operator who can't solve your problem and doesn't care that you've tried endless times before and have been put on hold for nearly an hour each time.

My only wish is that my children are as "user friendly" when I get older. I can't figure out why the government doesn't have an emergency number to solve elderly people's urgent problems in a timely, compassionate manner.

Stephen N. Bischoff

Criticism of Blair and Bush is unfounded

Those short-sighted critics of Tony Blair's government in England and those noisy, disgruntled critics of the Bush administration are ungrateful and rude, just because weapons of mass destruction were not found in Iraq. The two coalition top leaders did a splendid and magnificent job in making the world safer to live in.

Saddam was a menace to mankind; he slaughtered his own people and neighbors. Mass graves found in northern and southern Iraq revealed the inhumane treatment of civilized men by a mass murderer named Saddam Hussein. And without the invasion; defeat of Iraq was justified. The world now became less dangerous and terrorists are in caves and in the run because we have leaders like Blair and President Bush.

Bernardo P. Benigno