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December 14, 2002 - Saturday
We had to take our walk a bit earlier than normal on Friday morning, and we were almost home when we turned around to watch the sun rise from behind Molokai. Just minutes before the sun made its appearance, the city garbage truck started down Hiwahiwa Street. It drove up alongside us and stopped, and with a smile the driver waited and watched the sunrise with us, then proceeded on his rounds. It was a nice Kaaawa moment.
It didn't take long for the email to arrive yesterday with the factoid of the day: "A baby llama is called a cria."
December 13, 2002 - Friday
The Honolulu Weekly has my diary item about the Advertiser's noisemaker episode online now, at least for the next several days. It's the second item. I've also saved a copy here.
This seasonal advice appears in the latest newsletter from the journalism division of the National Writers Union:
Just in Time for the Holidays: Buy Union-Made!
At basis of the labor movement is solidarity with fellow union members and influencing corporations to improve work conditions for all workers. You can do both this holiday season by buying union-made and sweatshop-free products.
For casual apparel, visit http://www.nosweatapparel.com or http://sweatx.net/ . Go to http://www.natchezss.com/boots.html for an on-line storefront providing Matterhorn's famous union made hiking and hunting boots or to http://www.redwingshoes.com for union-made shoes.
For the last union made jeans in America, visit http://www.diamondcutjeans.com How about a union-made coat? Check out http://www.leathercoatsetc.com And, best of all, why shop at chains like Barnes and Noble or Amazon.com when you can support the wonderful, on-line, all-union staff bookstore Powells of Oregon? http://www.powells.com
Best Wishes for a peaceful and productive New Year!
| And out here in Kaaawa, there are two llama calfs (is that what you call a baby llama?) and their mothers in a separate pen at the far end of Kekio Road. Meda has offered them little bits of grass, and now they come over to greet her. So our menagerie includes our cats, along with neighborhood dogs, pigs, chickens, ducks, more than occasional turtles, and assorted sea birds. Never a dull moment. |
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Good luck to all of us on this Friday the 13th.
December 12, 2002 - Thursday
Data released last week by the Online Publishers Association and picked up by Editor & Publisher supports the Honolulu Advertiser's approach to web development over that of the Star-Bulletin. After a question was raised, I should explain--what I mean is that the Advertiser is aggressively updating their news over the course of the day, and they post the day's main edition nearly 18-hours ahead of the Star-Bulletin. I'm told the Star-Bulletin's timing results from a management view that the online edition cannibalizes print sales. That is the viewpoint these OPA data challenge.
An OPA sponsored survey found frequent users of a web site are more likely to read the print version, and web readers are becoming a significant source of new print subscriptions for major newspapers like the New York Times and USA Today. Very interesting.
For the record: The Star-Bulletin's Rick Daysog picked up this underreported statement last week by US Attorney Ed Kubo concerning former UPW director Gary Rodrigues:
Kubo said there was an abundance of evidence that showed Rodrigues took part in a "long pattern of corruption, fraud and embezzlement."
He also noted that the federal investigation is ongoing, despite Rodrigues' conviction. He declined to elaborate. (Emphasis added)
That's a situation to keep an eye on.
| It was wet in Kaaawa yesterday morning. The rain hung offshore during the first half of our walk, but the rain started just as we turned around and continued during most of our return. We trudged along under our umbrellas and were just a couple of blocks from home when I noticed colors reflected in puddles on the road and finally looked up. This rainbow was really quite a beauty! |
Kaaawa rainbow |
December 11, 2002 - Wednesday
I've got a short item in the diary section appearing in today's Honolulu Weekly about the Advertiser's ThunderStix affair. When it's available online in another day or so, I'll post a link here.
I mised this missive from north of the border when it first appeared:
CANADIANS TO LEAD WEAPONS INSPECTION TEAM INTO USA
November 21, 2002
(Toronto) - A coalition of Canadian peace groups today announced their intention to send an international team of volunteer weapons inspectors into the United States later this winter. The coalition, Rooting Out Evil, are recruiting inspectors through their newly launched website, www.rootingoutevil.org.
"Our action has been inspired by none other than George W. Bush," said Christy Ferguson, a spokesperson for the group. "The Bush administration has repeatedly declared that the most dangerous rogue nations are those that:
1) have massive stockpiles of chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons;
2) ignore due process at the United Nations;
3) refuse to sign and honour international treaties; and
4) have come to power through illegitimate means.
"On the basis of President Bush's guidelines, it is clear that the current U.S. administration poses a great threat to global security," said Ferguson. "We're following Bush's lead and demanding that the U.S. grant our inspectors immediate and unfettered access to any site in the country -including all presidential compounds - so that we can identify the weapons of mass destruction in this rogue state," added David Langille.
Visitors to Rooting Out Evil's website are invited to sign on as honorary members of the weapons inspection team. Honorary inspectors can participate in the action, or they can simply lend the support of their name as they would on a petition. The actual inspection team that crosses the border will be comprised of prominent individuals from Canada and other countries. The Rooting Out Evil coalition includes Greenpeace Canada, the Centre for Social Justice, and the Toronto Committee Against War and Sanctions on Iraq, and is supported by American groups such as the National Network to End the War Against Iraq, Global Exchange and the US section of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. They oppose the development, storage, and use of weapons of mass destruction by any state.
Peter Phillips, Director of Project Censored, will make a special presentation in Honolulu on Friday, January 3. Click here for details, and make your reservations early.
Toby is perched quietly on my shoulder as I'm writing. Of course, this is after several applications of the cold water spray and repeated chants of the N-O word until the hair fighting and scalp attack stopped. Now all is calm. For a moment, at least.
December 10, 2002 - Tuesday
A friend in Seattle forwarded this message from Tom Warner, described as "a local man with a long history of lawful peace activism and organizing in Seattle", who has been targeted by the Justice Department for publishing information about a conference in Cuba on the Internet.
A message forwarding Warner's comments adds this note:
This message is a chilling warning to all of us, and warrants special attention from anyone making use of the internet to advance causes with which the current administration does not agree. The letter of his response from his attorney is convincing as to the lack of legal basis for the charge. But the harrassment and intimidation factors are not unimportant.
| I forgot to mention the new round of Kaaawa sunrise photos that I put together over the weekend. Click on this photo or on the Photo Gllery button for the latest. |
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Toby the kitten got his first big hunting lesson in the early morning hours. It was around 2 a.m. when I came out into the living room and found Leo bouncing off the walls while playing with a baby rat. Duke and Wally were right there to take over for a round or two. They were all going full speed, and little Toby was in awe. But he watched attentively from a safe perch several feet away, and I would be surprised if they didn't give him a little time with the poor prey after I turned off the lights and headed back to bed.
December 9, 2002 - Monday
Here's a frightening tale from Denver illustrating the dangers of the USA-Patriot Act. If you weren't worried before, this will get your paranoia flowing.
Former Star-Bulletin writer Peter Wagner has taken over as editor of the online Pacific Island Report produced at the East West Center. Peter says he's excited and "enjoying it to the max."
Some California lawmakers spent the weekend on Maui, doing their part for our economy and landing themselves in hot water in the process, the L.A. Times reported today. It would be interesting to have a beat devoted to conferences and workshops being held across the state.
Speaking of travel, the new interisland airline cutbacks are going to make life tough for the state and private agencies trying to tackle statewide issues and problems. Organizing meetings with statewide participation was already complicated and now will become much more expensive and even more difficult to put together. Unlike the mainland, we don't have the alternative of driving. Just another problem the Lingle administration will have to cope with.
And I join lots of others bidding farewell to Phil Berrigan, who died on Friday. He impacted many lives, including my own. The New York Times obituary is rich in this social and political history.
December 8, 2002 - Sunday
I had a good chuckle over the quote this week attributed to Gerald McEntee, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the parent union of the United Public Workers. McEntee's quote came as AFSCME announced the takeover of UPW's operation pending new election.
McEntee said: "When it comes to financial wrongdoing, we have a zero-tolerance policy."
Well, zero tolerance once there's been a federal criminal conviction, perhaps. But back when there were simply "allegations" of financial misconduct raised by the union's rank and file, AFSCME's policy was far from zero tolerance. AFSCME officials appeared to aid UPW head Gary Rodrigues fend off active scrutiny and punish members who raised the issue, despite the stated "zero-tolerance" policy.
| We had dinner at the Willows in Moiliili last night to celebrate my father's 89th birthday. We had the buffet, and it was an incredible spread! We managed several passes through the buffet line for different courses, and felt like we needed to be wheeled out when finally sated. |
click for larger version
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Unknown to me when making the reservation (which was apparently lost, although with a little luck we were able to get seated anyway), my father installed the kitchen in the original Willows restaurant while working for Dohrmann Hotel Supply Co. back in 1944. They did the kitchen, while architect Val Ossipoff designed the restaurant, right down to selecting furniture that exuded the right tropical feeling. He vividly recalled the McGuire sisters. Kathleen McGuire ran the house, while her sister ran the kitchen.
My mother remembered meeting a brother, Walter "Buster" McGuire, at singles dances held at Ewa Plantation a decade before, and several years before my parents were married. McGuire was a few years older and played football for a university on the mainland.
In any case, the memories were an added bonus for the evening.
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