• Foreign aid • In response to ‘Graffiti Busters’ • ‘Rat Syndrome’ rebuttal • Movie captioning • Vacation rentals Foreign aid Last night on ABC’s Nightline Ted Koppel beautifully presented how much progress China has achieved in 30 years and
• Foreign aid
• In response to ‘Graffiti Busters’
• ‘Rat Syndrome’ rebuttal
• Movie captioning
• Vacation rentals
Foreign aid
Last night on ABC’s Nightline Ted Koppel beautifully presented how much progress China has achieved in 30 years and how much it turned into a progressively thinking modern society with happy people. At the end he victoriously remarked, “and what you have seen is not democracy, it is capitalism.”
Reflecting on CNN’s summary on the same day in which President Bush’s request for additional billions of dollars was presented. He is asking for another 1.3 billion dollars for improving the economy of Iraq in addition to the 900 billion we have already spent there on trying to bring democracy to this country of 22 million people. I implore my fellow Americans not to give any ideas to our president to try to bring democracy to China, the home of 1.3 billion people, because it sure will bankrupt us. Let’s do some math at least, if common sense has already departed us.
In response to ‘Graffiti Busters’
Here are some suggestions concerning the ‘spate of graffiti” and “again fight against the spread of graffiti and those who spread it.”
1. Please do not confuse property damage with graffiti art.
2.Having student clean up events will impress upon all students the reason for not damaging or littering anywhere. Also it will encourage exposure of irresponsible parties.
3. A dedicated graffiti wall could be provided inviting all graffiti artists to express themselves. Graffiti art is a minor league stairstep to mural art – a venue in short supply. Large empty walls are magnetic to imaginations of scale.
The cultural mural art in East Los Angeles has markedly improved the quality of life. It has produced some mural artists and revealed their gifts to the world.
To channel this energy rather than thwart the efforts is a considerably higher form of dealing with the situation.
To jail or “heavily penalize those caught doing it” creates felons rather than Diego Riveras (see Frida) or Basquiats (rent the videos).
If we chose to criminalize mural art impulses, all the best murals will be done behind bars. The finest museums of the future may only be viewed after being incarcerated.
- Marta Curry (with comments by Ambrose)
Kapa‘a
‘Rat Syndrome’ rebuttal
The letter of May 19 (“The Rat Syndrome”) blames population density for Kaua‘i’s ills including by analogy domestic violence.
This belief ignores more fundamental reasons for violence such as illegal drug use and the cycle of abuse. If those problems were solved, rates of domestic abuse would likely decline even as the population density increases.
It also ignores the fact that Kaua‘i’s population density is a mere 45 people per square kilometer. Compare that with Singapore and Hong Kong (over 6,300 people per square kilometer), Netherlands (395), and Japan (337) to mention a few.
Movie captioning
It should be noted that another benefit of the movie recently shown at KCC’s “Movie Under the Stars” event was the fact that the movie was subtitled.
Subtitling allows viewers to follow the dialogue in English (when it is spoken in another language) by reading the dialogue on the screen.
Subtitles allow people who may be deaf or hard of hearing to enjoy the movie, too!
I was absolutely delighted to enjoy the movie as much as other folks while relaxing on the lawn at KCC.
A big mahalo to the organizers who picked this movie with subtitles! I’d like to encourage the organizers to continue to seek movies that are either subtitled, or even better, captioned, so that our community of deaf and hard of hearing folks, and ESL learners can enjoy the outdoor cinematic experience, too!
Vacation rentals
There seem to be several misconceptions about vacation rentals. First, vacation rentals did not cause the growth of the tourist industry on Kaua‘i, they are simply a response to it. If a fisherman stands on the edge of the reef and a school of fish comes by, did the fisherman “cause” the fish to be there? If he thrashes his arms and legs and throws a temper tantrum he will chase the fish away, and he will be a fool. If he is wise, he will quietly cast out his net and provide for his family.
Second, the affect on affordable housing: According the the Economic Law of Supply and Demand, one does not encourage housing for some people (working class folks) by discouraging housing for other people (vacationers). If we want more affordable housing, here’s how: Get the State to donate a bit of it’s vast tracts of minimally productive land. Build clusters of 3 cottages on it. Give free rent to deserving families for one of the three in each cluster in return for managing the other two as vacation rentals.
Third, there seems to be a perception that folks who rent to vacationers are making “huge profits,” at the expense of other local families who need housing. When I retired from the ambulance in 1992 we had paid off our mortgage. After ‘Iniki destroyed our modest three-room home and most of our personal property, our insurance company went bankrupt and did not honor our policy. We had to borrow to rebuild, so we built an extra cottage to help pay our new mortgage. We are not looking for “profit,” just trying to survive like everyone else! Our place is very small and tight. We have only 1/4 acre, surrounded on all sides by neighbors. We prefer to rent to vacationers because we are vacant half the time. And when tourists are here, they spend their days touring (and spending their money). They are less than half the impact on us and on our neighbors than long term renters would be.
Finally, the claim that the “profits” from Vacation Rentals do not “percolate down” to the community. I keep careful books, and 804574314f every dollar we bring in goes back out to taxes, insurance, cleaning crews, yard people, repairmen, laundry, supplies, utilities, etc. If we did not live on the property, the other 205044420uld go to real estate agents to manage the rental! Then of course we now have a mortgage to be paid. On the other hand, the “profits” earned by the large hotels are, in general, repatriated to their owners on the mainland or in other countries.
- Richard “Ole” Olson
Kapa‘a
