ABERCROMBIE

BOYCOTT OF OLYMPICS WILL NOT HELP TIBET

On March 21, The Advertiser reported that Rep. Neil Abercrombie is pushing for a boycott of the Beijing Olympics over Chinese actions against demonstrators in Tibet.Apparently, the congressman has forgotten that he was elected to represent the citizens of the United States, not Tibet. He seems also to have forgotten the disaster inflicted upon thousands of athletes from the U.S. and the rest of the world when Jimmy Carter withdrew the U.S. from the Moscow Olympics of 1980 in protest of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. As a result, American Olympic contenders had their lifetime hopes dashed, and others from around the world had their achievements diminished by not competing against U.S. individuals and teams. The whole dismal scenario was repeated four years later, when the Soviet Union retaliated by boycotting the U.S. Olympics in Los Angeles.

Abercrombie's action might be understandable if the Carter boycott had accomplished anything except to harden the Soviet determination to remain in Afghanistan, which they did not evacuate until years later, and for reasons which had nothing to do with the Olympic boycott. The congressman also needs a reality check. China is our second-largest trading partner (first in imports), and the second-largest foreign holder of our national debt. It makes no sense to antagonize a government with which we have, and will continue to have, such a dependent economic relationship.

A U.S. boycott of the Beijing Olympics will not help the people of Tibet. It will not change the Chinese government's policy regarding Tibet. What it will do is create the lasting resentment of the Chinese government and people, and of athletes in the U.S. and around the world, who see their lifetime ambitions destroyed.

They say that history repeats itself, but it does so only when people refuse to learn from it.

CONVEYANCES

SENATE IS BLOCKING BILL TO AUTOMATE BUREAU

For the first time in more than a decade, there is widespread agreement that the recording process of the Bureau of Conveyances needs to be automated.

Gov. Linda Lingle, Department of Land and Natural Resources Director Laura Thielen, the managers and staff of the Bureau of Conveyances, the leadership of every industry that utilizes the bureau's services, and the state House are ready to move forward with automating the Bureau of Conveyances.

The one exception is the state Senate, which is blocking a bill to allow the system to be automated, and is instead proposing yet another study. This is despite four recent studies that concluded an upgrade is needed. The Senate does not explain why another study is necessary, or why we need to study the feasibility when hundreds of bureaus of conveyances across the county are already automated.

The Legislature recently permitted most other state agencies to automate their consumer reports, and the Departments of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Taxation and Labor and Industrial Relations have automated filing systems.

Automating the Bureau of Conveyances will benefit the people in Hawai'i by offering a faster and more secure system to record deeds, mortgages, liens, financing statements and other documents. Neighbor Island residents, in particular, would benefit from being able to record transactions online. Given that automation will address the many concerns about the slowness of the current recording system and the lack of the latest security protections for consumers, the reluctance of the Senate is inexplicable.

CAMPBELL HIGH SCHOOL

PROPOSES A CONTEST TO FIND A COOL SOLUTION

Students at Campbell High School and elsewhere should not have to wait 30 years to be comfortable.

Perhaps the state or Department of Education could sponsor a contest among architecture students for the best and most economical solution to cool classrooms, including using plantings, insulation, solar fans, thermal chimneys, sprinklers, etc.

A solution could be found quickly that would be much better than air conditioning, which will become impossible to afford if fuel prices and electricity costs continue to increase.

SHELTERS

GOVERNMENT HAS DONE MUCH TO HELP HOMELESS

I feel the need to respond to Melina Rasa's letter to the editor on March 23.

Ms. Rasa commented on the homeless population in Waikiki and she asked why government isn't doing more to help the homeless.

O'ahu has nearly 30 homeless shelters that serve every type of homeless individual.

Gov. Linda Lingle has made homelessness one of her top priorities. The opening of four large state-run shelters in the past two years is proof that she is doing more than just talking about the issue. Three more shelters are set to open on the Leeward Coast this year.

The homeless population that Ms. Rasa speaks of in Waikiki seems quite content resting under the shady palms throughout the day, just steps from Kalakaua Avenue. Many of them have the audacity to sit on the sidewalk and hold signs asking for money to buy beer.

I can't lawfully force them to leave and the police seem to turn a blind eye to the issue of loitering, but please don't automatically blame the government for the indolence of those healthy individuals who aren't intent on bettering themselves.

WAIKIKI

QUIT COMPLAINING, START FIXING PROBLEMS

So city Director of Planning and Permitting Henry Eng takes "exception" to The Advertiser story, "Can Waikiki handle growth?" (March 10). That makes me feel so much better.

I am a three-year resident in Waikiki; I was here when the old sewer pipe ruptured. The city was not quick to make repairs; it was quick to pump millions of gallons of raw sewage into the canal and Waikiki Beach. The city was also not quick in reporting the problem and the dangers to the residents of Waikiki or the tourists, many of whom were still swimming in raw sewage days after the city started pumping it into the water.

I'm not sure if Mr. Eng has been to Waikiki recently, but the problem with the sewage pipe is still not fixed. We have a huge exposed sewage pipe running a good distance along the Ala Wai. Not to say that this sewage pipe is not a great tourist attraction, I'm asked weekly by tourists, "What is that?" and "Why hasn't that been fixed?"

I take "exception" to Mr. Eng's "exception." Instead of complaining about bad press, fix the problems, and you and the city won't have to hear about it.

HEALTH

MAKE SMALL CHANGES TO PREVENT WEIGHT GAIN

As a public health student and community health worker, I am concerned about the growing rates of obesity in both adults and children in America and especially in Hawai'i. Although there has been extensive media coverage of this issue and weight-loss programs are widely available, waistlines continue to expand.

We need to take a comprehensive approach to combat obesity, and must look not only at the biological mechanisms that contribute to weight gain but also the increasing cost of fruits and vegetables and the prevalence of environments that promote inactivity.

Instead of focusing on weight-loss programs and the problems associated with obesity, we should shift our focus to preventing weight gain.

While we may not be able to control the cost of an apple or urban development, we can make small changes in our daily lives to prevent weight gain.

Simply preventing the average adult's 1- to-2-pound weight gain per year can have long-term health benefits.

So the next time you go to the store, park a little farther from the entrance and order the mini instead of the regular plate lunch.

POI

GOVERNMENTS SHOULD SUPPORT HEALTHY FOOD

Rick LaMontagne (Letters, March 26) is right to lament the lack of kalo (taro) and poi in Hawai'i nei.

But it is not genetic modification or the lack of it that would remedy this situation. The federal and state governments are capable of using our tax dollars to support the growing of kalo, but they instead support the growing of grass for golf courses and hotels. The federal government gives huge price supports for corn and soybeans, which are fertilized with petroleum products. That system makes it cheaper for us to get calories from corn syrup and other corn-laden processed foods than from our own healthy kalo and fish.

We should pressure both federal and state governments to divert some of those price supports to healthy crops grown at home. If we stop buying all our food from across the ocean we can stop contributing to global warming, too.

I paid $6 for a watery 1 lb. bag of poi at Safeway recently. That is outrageous. Less-privileged people, many of whom are kanaka maoli, can never afford to eat poi.

We should have an economy that produces healthy food right here, where we have such amazing natural resources. When will our government support us in the basic necessities of life instead of supporting the petroleum industry?