Musings: Laughable, and Not

I had to laugh at an article in The Garden Island that has publisher Randy Kozerski announcing the paper will be spending $100,000 to upgrade its printing press:

“The Garden Island is committed to making key investments to ensure our readers and advertisers receive the best possible products,” he said.

The Garden Island recently invested over $300,000 in 2006 and another $250,000 in 2008 to refurbish its press and building, respectively.

Ummm, Randy, how about spending a little money on your editorial staff to upgrade your core product: the news?

More than a little questionable was the article’s inclusion of a gushing promo from Beth Tokioka, the mayor’s assistant:

“TGI has been a fantastic example of a Kaua‘i Made member that truly gives back to the program in addition to receiving the benefits,” said Beth Tokioka, a founder of the program, which endorses authentic products from the island.

Hmmm. Perhaps that explains why we never see any critical reporting on the Administration.

I didn’t laugh at the news that the U.S., in trying to build a case against WikiLeaks, has gone to court to seek data from Twitter about founder Julian Assange, Icelandic parliamentarian Birgitta Jonsdottir “and others either known or suspected to have interacted with WikiLeaks.”

Some of those named in the court order have said they suspect other companies — such as Facebook Inc., Google Inc., and the eBay Inc.-owned Internet communications company Skype — have also been secretly asked to hand over their personal data.

But I did cheer tiny Iceland’s response, as well as some of the 69,000-plus comments that followed the story, most of them critical of America’s bullying tactics:

"(It is) very serious that a foreign state, the United States, demands such personal information of an Icelandic person, an elected official," Interior Minister Ogmundur Jonasson told Icelandic broadcaster RUV.

"This is even more serious when put (in) perspective and concerns freedom of speech and people's freedom in general," he added.

More than a few will cheer this news:

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has agreed to stop planting genetically engineered (GE) crops on all its refuges within a dozen Northeastern states, according to a settlement agreement in a lawsuit brought by conservation and food safety groups. Because the federal government would not agree to end illegal GE agriculture in refuges nationally, new litigation is being prepared in other regions where as many as 75 other national wildlife refuges now growing GE crops are vulnerable to similar suits.

All the conservation groups want is for an Environmental Impact Statement to be done first. Is that so unreasonable? If GE crops are as safe as the government keeps telling us, why not do the EIS and prove it?

Finally, if you’ve got a little time and always wondered just how our money system works, this animated video will help you gain some perspective on the dark side of the American dream. And despite the cartoon format, that ain't no laughing matter.