Don't allow test crops to contaminate isles
I applaud U.S. District Judge David Ezra, who ordered the U.S. Department of Agriculture to identify where Monsanto Co., the Hawaii Agriculture Research Center, ProdiGene Inc. and Garst Seed Co. have permits for open-field testing of pharmaceutical crops in Hawaii and to reveal the locations to the environmental watchdog group Earthjustice and the Center for Food Safety (Star-Bulletin, Aug. 9).The USDA now has another 90 days to prove that releasing the locations to the public would cause irreparable damage to the biotech industry. Otherwise, they must tell all or pack up and get out. Somehow, I can't feel sorry for them.
To protect the public health, the USDA must conduct environmental impact studies before allowing open-field crop research. Since Hawaii leads all states in open-air test sites of genetically engineered crops, revealing the locations of the test sites would facilitate those studies and, hopefully, could set a precedent for full disclosure of the locations of all genetically modified crop research.
The American public deserves nothing less.
Haiku, Maui
Ala Wai Project won't fix sidewalks
As one of the Waikiki residents opposing the city's Ala Wai Project, I was taken by Melinda White's letter supporting the project (Star Bulletin, Aug. 8). Like Melinda, I enjoy walking along the canal. Like Melinda, I notice the sidewalks along the canal have deteriorated and are not being maintained properly. Like Melinda, occasionally I see bicyclists using the sidewalk because of the hazards of riding in the street. I find myself agreeing with her about these problems.Unfortunately, the Ala Wai Project does nothing to fix these problems. Sidewalk maintenance or repairs are not included in the project description. The project places the "new" bike lane exactly where the current bike lane is -- between parked cars and moving traffic. Many bicyclists still will use the sidewalk because of the traffic risks.
What the project does do is remove one lane from ever being used as a traffic lane again. And the project removes about 60 free curbside parking spaces used by Waikiki residents, workers, surfers and beach goers. That doesn't sound like an improvement to me.
Waikiki
Opposition to Akaka bill is strong in Congress
Your Aug. 2 article provides parts of Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl's letter explaining why he opposes the Akaka bill. (See the letter at http://tinyurl.com/5fyut)In 2001, the Senate Republican Policy Committee sent a lengthy memo explaining why the Akaka bill is bad, and criticizing Senator Inouye for his stealth tactics in trying to hide the bill inside a military appropriations bill. See the memo at http://tinyurl.com/4fmof
Also in 2001, Rep. James Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, wrote a letter to Speaker Donald Hastert demanding the bill be killed or else referred to his committee for hearings on its constitutionality. See http://tinyurl.com/49p55
For a five-paragraph summary of why the Akaka bill is bad, with lots of documentation see http://tinyurl.com/22q49
The Wall Street Journal editorialized against the Akaka bill, along with several nationally syndicated columnists, during a four-year period. See http://tinyurl.com/5eflp
Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. John Edwards made a stirring speech at the national convention complaining there are two Americas. He promised to bring us together in unity. Meanwhile, the Aloha State is becoming a national laughingstock for pushing an apartheid proposal.
Kaneohe
Liberals can't recognize good news coverage
I chuckled when I read the letters in the Aug. 8 Star-Bulletin accusing the FOX news channel of Republican propaganda: "Fox News isn't news, it's propaganda" and "Fox failed covering Dem's convention."In an Aug. 1 article in the very liberal New York Times, journalist John Tierney reported that he polled journalists on the Kerry Coast to Coast bus trip as to who would make a better president. Of the 153 responding, 3 to 1 from outside the beltway picked Kerry while those from Washington picking Kerry numbered 12 to 1. In the same article Tierney reported that 80 percent of the beltway press corps vote Democrat.
Given that the major TV networks have been proved to be liberally biased and that the majority of the newspapers are liberally biased, I think the letters writers have been exposed to liberal coverage for so long that they can't recognize good news analysis when they see it.
Koloa, Kauai
Here's one theory on why we're in Iraq
Why are we in Iraq?An experiment described by the naturalist Konrad Lorenz in his classic essay "On Aggression" a half century ago may shed some light on the matter.
The study involved a species of small fish whose survival depends on a brain mechanism that causes an individual fish to feel uncomfortable when it strays away from the other fish -- a "schooling instinct," in other words.
There is safety in schooling together for these fish. When attacked they scatter at just the right moment to confuse the predator by providing too many targets swimming in all directions at once. They immediately regroup and prepare to scatter again.
In the experiment, Lorenz removed the part of the brain containing the "schooling instinct" in one fish and put the fish back into the school. The fish took of like a shot, headed for parts unknown. To Lorenz's astonishment the rest of the school took off right after him, following a "leader" with half a brain.
Kurtistown, Hawaii
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