Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Musings: Past and Present

The sky was filled with a smattering of stars that soon gave way to quilted wisps stained pink when Koko and I went walking this morning. The air was heavily perfumed with the fragrance of mock orange and bird song was punctuated by the humming drone of buzzing bees and oversized truck tires on pavement.

The clouds were on the move, flying briskly east to west, and as the sun rose, casting the verdant folds of Makaleha in a golden glow, they gathered briefly on the summit of Waialeale, then blew on past.

A couple of past posts continue to elicit comments, which always interests me, as it adds to the puzzle of who is reading this blog, and where it goes. A humorous thread was launched by a comment I almost deleted from Saturday’s Quick Fixes post, and included a link to an amusing video clip and debate between capitalism and socialism. But what I found most funny was that some folks seemed to actually take the exchange seriously.

Not so funny are the comments that continued to be posted on last Wednesday’s Seeking Solutions post by people who take the issue of building atop Hawaiian burials, and the screw you attitude that so often accompanies such actions, very seriously.

That comment thread included a full on curse, frustrations over Western imperialism and an account from a teacher who, with other teachers and students, tried to leave hookupu (offering) at Brescia’s construction site but were denied access by his contractor, Joe Gallante. The teacher goes on to say that Gallante wouldnʻt tolerate our oli and pule we said from outside the gate saying we were trying to incite them by "calling them names."

The comment sheds further light on an incident I reported on June 27, after Caren Diamond arrived at the Naue burial site and found police there.

It’s too bad Hollywood doesn’t make a movie about the real horrors that abound here, in the form of rampant cultural insensitivity, land rape and asinine planning, such as the county’s approval of the two Waipouli resorts without an environmental review. That case is currently in court, with 1000 Friends of Kauai seeking donations for legal fees.

Instead, it has to make up some bullshit about a murder on the Kalalau Trail for a horror/thriller flick that wasn’t even filmed here.

While I applaud the unwillingness of Kauai Visitor Bureau chief Sue Kanoho to go along with the charade of pretending like the movie was set here, when it was filmed in Puerto Rico, I did cringe at her use of the phrase “the Kaua‘i brand.” The only reason to brand something is to claim ownership and sell it.

Hollywood has done more than any other industry to perpetuate a totally skewed image of Hawaii, and especially Kauai. Think Bali Hai, Jurassic Park and other such nonsense. So I applaud the way Lingle put the state film commissioner Donne Dawson and her staff on the layoff list. Yeah, the movie crowd brings in money, but so does the ice trade. The bigger question is, is it really good for Hawaii?

Meanwhile, if we follow the premise that publicity is good for tourism, the continuing hoohaw over Obama’s birth certificate is keeping the Islands in the news at no cost to the Hawaii Visitors Bureau.

I was especially amused that the debate, if it can be called that, briefly held up Rep. Neil Abercrombie’s resolution commemorating the 50th anniversary of Island statehood:

The line "Whereas the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, was born in Hawaii on August 4, 1961;" has been construed by some who believe Obama is not a U.S.-born citizen as a thinly veiled attempt to get Congress to affirm Obama's U.S. citizenship.

Interesting, how that hung some folks up, but no one seemed bothered by the idea that Hawaii itself is an illegal fake state.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Joan said: "A humorous thread was launched by a comment I almost deleted from Saturday’s Quick Fixes post, and included a link to an amusing video clip and debate between capitalism and socialism."

hallå,

This is Sassa. Thank you for your link helping me save the lives of many people rushing to their jobs to produce crap people don't need and calling it a value added service. Last year 34,000 Americans died in auto accidents and the United States, with less than 5 % of the global population, uses about a quarter of the world’s fossil fuel resources, and yet they call me a parasite for trying to save lives and get an education. This is hurtful to me. Americans please stop being greedy warmongers, slow down and live a simple life.
Adjö´!

Anonymous said...

"but no one seemed bothered by the idea that Hawaii itself is an illegal fake state."

-- b/ the argument doesnt hold up to scrutiny, obviously


"Last year 34,000 Americans died in auto accidents and the United States, with less than 5 % of the global population"

-- its not just being in a hurry, of course. lots of cars + lots of people + lots of roads + a relatively affluent, highly mobile society enjoining much economic activity and interstate commerce + considerable competitive risk taking behavior / bad judgment ("get ahead 1st," drinking, driver distractions, etc)


as to "uses about a quarter of the world’s fossil fuel resources"

-- yes, too much for sure. and the goal would be to maintain and/or increase that relatively huge amount of innovation and economic activity (now using such energy) more efficiently and sustainably. this is why the CleanTech sector is growing by leaps and bounds (led by the US, by the way, thank you very much)

i hesitate with the two (2) above responses as i suspect the commenter knows this already


darwin_was_pretty_smart

Anonymous said...

..."Brescia’s construction site but were denied access by his contractor, Joe Gallante"
Joe doesn't have the authority to allow unauthorized people on the site.
The procedure is to follow the state rules, Establish your linear connection to the burials through the SHPD rules and apply to the property owner for permission.
If you dispute the procrdure,change it. It was established by Hawaiians when the Burial Councils were established.

Anonymous said...

Saving lives through your work and trying to live simply aren't the issues.

The fact that you seem to crow proudly about taking things for free in a welfare state that you apparently could have paid for is the issue.

Joan C lives a simple life. She writes about it. I'd be shocked to learn that she is any form of a welfare recipient, trust fund baby or recipient of fat alimony checks.

At any rate - and this is the crux of the matter - she doesn't crow about it. She doesn't intimate that she is better than anyone else for choosing a simple lifestyle. She supports herself with no handouts.

You don't - and are proud of it. That is the crux of this whole exchange.

We have friends who manipulated the system and are proud of it. He needed 2 knee replacements. They could have afforded to pay, but didn't want to...it would cut into their lifestyle, you know.

So, they transferred their assets to trusted relatives to be retrieved later. Then proved they were destitute, thereby legally entitling them to free operations.

All who know of this treat them as they should be treated....leaches who avoided their own responsibility that could have been met without bankrupting them.

So, live simply or live high off the hog...but earn your own keep and pay your own way.

Anonymous said...

"The fact that you seem to crow proudly about taking things for free in a welfare state that you apparently could have paid for is the issue."

Wait a minute I read that thread and no where did "Sassa" say she could afford to pay for her education. True she seems to be availing herself of all opportunities her country provides to their citizens, but would you consider a Kauai citizen a "leech" if they used a public library when they could have afforded to buy a book? Are rich people who hire tax lawyers to pay the minimum or no taxes "leeches"? Are students who get government loans for college "leeches" Perhaps Swedish citizens have such benefits because they do not invade other countries. I'm sure she passed any means test to qualify for whatever she gets just like people here do for the limited services they receive here in the good ole USA.

Anonymous said...

"All who know of this treat them as they should be treated....leaches who avoided their own responsibility that could have been met without bankrupting them."

What if it would have bankrupted them? What if they bankrupted themselves first. Would they still be "leaches" or just stupid losers?

Anonymous said...

Joe doesn't have the authority to allow unauthorized people on the site. "

He could have let them do their oli and pule on the road w/o calling the cops.

Anonymous said...

We need Sassa here in the US.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090728/hl_nm/us_speed_limit

Higher speed limits led to about 12,500 more deaths on US roads between 1995 and 2005, a new study in the American Journal of Public Health shows.

Anonymous said...

She could have worked to put herself through grad school. Or get educational loans.

Welfare is for those who need and deserve it...not for those merely looking for an easy way out of financial responsibilities they could otherwise meet.

Same goes for the knee surgery leaches.

Anonymous said...

Libraries, like other services such as fire, police, etc, are available to all and paid by tax dollars.

Student loans have to be repaid.

Minimizing tax debt is OK, but not by, for example, hiding income in some Caribbean tax haven. It may be legal, or not, banking that the thinned-out IRS hasn't the resources to pursue it...but it's very unethical, therefore rising to the standard of "leach".

Anonymous said...

"She could have worked to put herself through grad school. Or get educational loans."

Yes and US parents could send their children to private schools instead of leeching off my tax dollars and sending them to public schools. If they can't afford it let them get a loan.

Anonymous said...

Hopefully Sassa will get a quality education that will enable her to understand the difference between "leech" and "leach".

Anonymous said...

the word on the northshore is bones are being moved in the night

Anonymous said...

"the word on the northshore is bones are being moved in the night"

By who?