WORLD CUP

U.S. TEAMS FALL SHORT IN MORE THAN SOCCER

I just had the "pleasure" of reading Ferd Lewis' article about the U.S. debacle in the World Cup soccer match against the Czech Republic. I am a bit confused to what he actually is trying to say and maybe need an explanation.

He writes that our best athletes are in other sports (not true!) and we are at a disadvantage because the best athletes in other countries go into soccer.

He mentions that Jan Koller would "have likely been a basketball player." If the best athletes in other countries go into soccer, please explain why the U.S. can't win international basketball tournaments? Why is it that we can't beat those "second-rate" athletes?

Explain to me why those second-rate athletes in Korea are better baseball players than we are. I'm sure that you'll tell me that those tournaments are not important. It's a good thing that the best foreign athletes go into soccer or we would never even have a chance in basketball or baseball.

However, I am happy that you have chosen to write about the World Cup, but please get your facts straight. By the way, 3-0 in soccer equates to 21-0 in American football, and that is a drubbing.

COOPERATE

STOP THE SQUABBLING OVER EXCISE TAX ISSUE

I suspect every voter knows it will cost less for the state to augment its existing GET collection machinery than it will cost the city to reinvent that wheel.

And, every business woman and man in Hawai'i knows it will cost businesses more time and more money to deal with two independent, uncoordinated agencies, two sets of forms and two sets of regulations.

Gov. Lingle: Please stop using the law's ambiguity to demonize Mayor Hannemann. The collection ambiguity was one reason Republican legislators opposed passage of the tax bill you and the Democratic majority initiated, and it is a reason they asked for your veto and stood by with enough votes to sustain it. You owe taxpayers an obligation to cooperate with the county for the benefit of taxpayers and businesses.

Mayor Hannemann: Please don't let your ego lead you to the same mistake Gov. Cayetano made in the 2002 gubernatorial election. Then he overreacted to personal criticism by making himself the focus of an election he wasn't even in. His ego let the real issue — the actual Democratic candidate — be pushed aside. You owe it to the voters to ignore personal criticism and just speak clearly for less total cost and less reporting burden. Then cooperate.

SPECULATION

CLEAR VISION LACKING IN KAKA'AKO MAKAI PLAN

Your belief that the prohibition of residential use of Kaka'ako Makai per House Bill 2555 (which passed with only one nay vote) is not good public land-use planning apparently is based solely on the need for private financing of a quality public park.

While there are many other good reasons to say no to residences in this area besides financing, public land-use planning certainly should take into consideration the fiscal effects of its decision-making.

However, to glorify what the state or city does as planning is to ignore the reality that you can't plan if you don't know where you are going.

The reason the state and city do not have the money for necessary public improvements time and time again is that development does not and has not paid its fair share for those improvements.

The Kaka'ako Community Development Authority has been placing infrastructure as fast as it can into this area; does anybody know what it has been sized for? A park, or the inevitable developer and local powerbroker-driven demands?

Don't let the speculation of private developers drive the planning process when the public does not share the profit.

DETRIMENTAL

NEW AIRLINE BRINGS LITTLE TO BENEFIT HAWAI'I

In response to Mr. Eric Daido of Mililani (Letters, June 13), it should be noted how shortsighted his ideas are.

The entry of go! into the interisland market will likely be disastrous for many Island families who depend upon their jobs at Hawaiian and Aloha. This, in turn, could have a detrimental impact on the local economy.

All anyone has to do is open a newspaper to see what sort of financial predicament has befallen the airlines since 9/11. No one is getting rich flying interisland, and the fares that have been in place recently have not served to make windfall profits.

In fact, the opposite is very much true: Interisland operations have continued to lose money despite fares that have been higher than many Island residents are accustomed to.

Furthermore, the addition of go! to our community brings in a mean-spirited competitor. Hawaiian and Aloha have worked alongside one another for many, many years. Yet, the CEO of the new entrant boldly states that he is aware that there is not sufficient traffic for a third airline and that one of the hometown airlines could fail as a result. Is this sort of dog-eat-dog aggression what we really want here in Hawai'i?

This airline works on the Wal-Mart principle: Pay the employees the absolute minimum possible, operate at a loss for a while, flood the market, then at an opportune time, turn the tide.

KAKA'AKO

WHY BUILD HOUSING ON PUBLIC LANDS?

Your June 12 editorial asks, "How can the state afford to build and maintain a quality public park?"

You are clearly opposed to the restriction in House Bill 2555, passed by the Legislature, that no housing should be built in Kaka'ako Makai.

Maintained? Are you suggesting, as a policy, that housing should be built on public lands so that a portion of those lands can be developed as parks?

A novel idea, but are you serious?

GRACEFULNESS

HAWAIIAN PLURALS SHOULD HAVE NO 'S'

Ted Chernin is worried that if the English sign of the plural is dropped after "lei," it will not be long before people no longer have "pupus," "'ukuleles," "imus," "hulas" and "tikis." ('E, no fun dat lu'au, no?)

But those are all Hawaiian words, and adding the English "s" (almost invariably pronounced with a harsh "Z" sound) takes away some of their gracefulness. So I applaud leaving off the final "s" except where that would create needless confusion.

You can often put the Hawaiian plural indicator "na" in if you have to. Have people ever referred to the "Palis Coast" of Kaua'i?

WHERE CAN THEY GO?

HOMELESS FAMILIES HAVE A RIGHT TO BE IN PARKS

I found the comment made by Helen Eschenbacher (June 11) to be absolutely appalling. Commenting on the homeless situation in Wai'anae, she said, "It's awful that these people can take the island away from the rest of us. Give us back our beaches."

Where exactly does Ms. Eschenbacher expect these homeless people to go? This self-centered attitude has greatly contributed to increasing our homeless population. In a city that is constantly complaining of its increasing homeless population, why is it that overpriced condominiums are continuing to be built and no affordable rentals are being created?

I don't feel threatened by the homeless people living in parks or on beaches. Many of them are not on drugs; they do work and they are there because they have simply been priced out of their homes.

They are not taking the island away from the rest of us. They have just as much a right to be there as the rest of us, probably even more so because they have no other place to go.

Until somebody steps in to resolve that issue, I don't think we should even consider removing them.

FLAG-RAISING

IWO JIMA'S HEROES FINALLY RECOGNIZED

The board of directors of the U.S. Marine Corps Iwo Jima Memorial Association is grateful to U.S. Rep. Ed Case for bringing recognition "after 60 years" to the 5th Division Marines who captured Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima (Tokyo prefecture) and raised the American flag on Feb. 23, 1945. This was the first American flag raised on Japanese territory during World War II.

Congressman Case honored the heroism of the men responsible by reading their names and deeds into the Congressional Record. Those men were: 1st Lt. Harold G. Schrier, officer-in-charge; Sgt. Ernest I. "Boots" Thomas, platoon leader; and Sgt. Henry "The Count" Hansen, Cpl. Charles Lindberg, Pfc. Raymond Jacobs, Pfc. James Michels, Pvt. Phillip Ward and PhMac John Bradley.

The USMC Iwo Jima Memorial Association is a nonprofit volunteer Marine organization.

AUCTION A BETTER WAY

FISH-COUNTING METHOD FLAWED

How do you know if the fish are more or less plentiful from previous years? How do you know a ban on fishing will bring the numbers back up, if they are down?

These questions should be answered before new restrictions are implemented.

The current way of counting fish is to submerge a camera, take a 360-degree picture in one area on one day, then a few days later take another picture in a different area. When they have about five pictures that they like (throw out the ones that don't back their assertions), they say it is representative and extrapolate out to get a value that supposedly is the population.

What a novel idea. Why doesn't the U.S. Census Bureau do that?

Any statistician would tell you that their counting method is extremely flawed. Fish move. Not only is their method flawed, but who said that camera is fish-friendly? How do we know that the camera isn't scaring fish away? If it is so attractive to fish, why don't the fishermen borrow that design and hang some hooks off it?

Another method being used is to monitor the fish that are sold at the auction in Honolulu. The fish numbers, sizes and species have changed. But could it be that the techniques, areas and targeted species have changed? Techniques have changed in large part to avoid other species of fish that are protected, and these changes affect the species, number and size of what gets caught, not to mention that market prices determine what gets targeted.

But really, just because numbers are down and sizes are smaller, does that mean fish stock is down? If so, when Macy's is less busy, and each sale is for fewer dollars, does that mean we have fewer customers in Hawai'i? Or maybe Macy's is selling too many lower-priced items?

The quantitative evidence does not contradict the environmentalists' assertions, but by itself does not support it.

When comparing the two most common techniques for counting fish by the environmentalists, at least the auction provides much better information. So when you put a sector of the fishermen out of business, how are you then going to monitor the fish supply? I forgot, you have those cameras and will take pictures.

By the way, ask the surfers and environmentalists if the turtle or shark population is too low. You will find two differing opinions. One group gets paid for their opinion, though.

Also, I take very little comfort in being sold this idea of overfishing from environmentalists who are only worried about their job. When have they ever said that populations are fine and we no longer need to monitor them? They want to be employed and make money, plain and simple.

Jean-Michael Cousteau sued his father, Jacques, over the use of the name that his father made famous. But how was Jean-Michael going to maximize his philanthropic money collection without the use of the name? Sensationalizing the issue brings in the bucks, I guess.