Aviation security merits attention

Sadly, it appears that passengers are crucial in defense against aviation terrorism. Perhaps the Transportation Security Administration should pay us when we fly to keep an eye out for seatmates trying to set their shorts ablaze.

For those of us with flying phobias (have Valium, will travel), the latest episode is particularly distressing. Passengers endured hours of flying boredom, crappy food, turbulence and crying babies before suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab made his move.

Come on, the guy was reported by his father to the CIA, had a one-way ticket paid with cash and no luggage. Where's Sherlock Holmes when you need him? Were the State Department and CIA asleep on the job?

I suspect an El Al security official could have spotted him. Having flown to and from Israel several times, I can tell you that El Al knows its stuff. You fly El Al, you've been scrutinized.

Spend more money on international intelligence gathering/sharing and training airport experts in behavioral profiling. Use top screening technology. For the privacy proponents who decry the naked imaging, oh boo hoo. If you object, feel free to stand in line for additional hours for other types of screening while the rest of us board.

Homelessness in mayor's court

Mayor Hannemann, in response to your commentary in this newspaper (”;Homelessness: We all need to do our part to solve the problem,”; Dec. 29): It is not an easy assignment to be mayor of Honolulu. It is an elected position. You were elected to take on the big problems of this great city.

We have done our part. We elected you. Your responsibility is to problem-solve and prioritize. You have to make the call, Mr. Mayor. Spend a couple nights in Waianae's tent city or the new growing one under the freeway in Kahala; you'll get the picture. You have the power, Mr. Mayor, to solve the problem.

All you have to do is make the decision—you, Mr. Mayor—that homelessness and the solving of it is more important than a train. This is your crossroad.

Protest hits fishy Renaissance Plan

To the 60 to 100 fishers and boaters who participated in the rally at the Capitol on Dec. 28 to protest the state Department of Land and Natural Resources Renaissance Plan actions that would unfairly restrict shoreline fishing and increase boater fees: Congratulations and a big mahalo for making it a great success.

The enthusiasm of the fishermen, women and children waving signs (and fishing poles), ringing ulua bells and waving at passing vehicles surely impressed our legislators and the public that something is very wrong with the Renaissance Plan.

Some UH staff deserve more pay

The University of Hawaii regents can give a great New Year's gift to the public, including to all students and faculty, to all lower-end executive-managerial UH members, to its union's members, to donors of both the UH Foundation and Ahihui Koa Anuenue, and to the governor's office. It can do this by setting new, much higher minimums for all executive managerial workers, especially those who work at, comparatively speaking, low salaries.

This gift to all of us taxpayers can be done by the regents and UH President M.R.C. Greenwood, without lawsuits from all of the unions. Fiscal exigency permits the regents to do this and does not break any contracts, evergreen or otherwise, with the unions.

In a time of makahiki, the regents and president can do some real nonpartisan sacrificing so that “;fiscal exigency”; isn't used at the expense of taxpayers. End this civil war of public relations in which innocent civilians suffer the most.