Surveillance cameras Just days before Christmas on O‘ahu, a Toys ‘R’ Us store was the scene of a robbery. The individuals were caught by the mall’s surveillance camera taking toys through a service hallway near the restrooms in back of
Surveillance cameras
Just days before Christmas on O‘ahu, a Toys ‘R’ Us store was the scene of a robbery. The individuals were caught by the mall’s surveillance camera taking toys through a service hallway near the restrooms in back of the store.
The picture the camera took was so crystal clear. It showed the robbers very clearly, which led them (the robbers) to turn themselves in. Our cameras today are very high-tech in their resolution and clarity.
Maybe our banks around the state should take this opportunity to update their surveillance cameras. I understand that most bank robbers are well disguised.
However, in the past there have been some bank robbers who would rob a bank without any disguise.
The picture of the bank’s surveillance camera is so far out of focus, and in black and white, that you can not make out diddly squat.
High-tech cameras these days should be installed where crime is high and on heavily populated streets and in buildings around the state.
With these advanced cameras installed around heavy crime areas, they could help stop criminals and maybe cause them to turn themselves in.
Howard Tolbe, ‘Ele‘ele
Koloa camp development
As a resident of Koloa, I have concerns about the proposed Koloa Camp development.
If the last Koloa plantation camps are destroyed, what will be the point of celebrating Koloa Plantation Days?
If/when Grove Farm destroys the last of these plantation-era homes, make sure to tell them to remove the “old” from the sign, “Old Koloa Town.”
Kepa Kruse, Koloa
Look deeper at
what ego is
Mr. Rutter’s recent The Garden Island letter (Dec. 30) is a refreshingly honest expression of conservatives’ core philosophy: that ego is king and beneficial to society. That outlook is the basis for the conservative ethos of “every man for himself.”
But I have many reservations about his conclusions. “Seeking personal advantage drives innovation?” Really? What about pure creativity, the desire to discover new knowledge in the service of making life better for everyone?
Cooperative activity for the common good has created many great advances: building roads, bridges and railroads; sewage treatment systems; schools and universities; telecommunications networks, and medical breakthroughs that have reduced suffering.
There is a positive multiplier effect to all these cooperative projects which has created a lot of good in our world.
Mr. Rutter states, “We are made to compete with each other.” What about the existence of altruistic behavior observed among many species, and the nurturing behavior parents exhibit toward children.
Oneness is not New Age wishful thinking. It is an expression of the reality that all life is interconnected and interdependent.
Ego is a limitation and a cause of untold suffering. It lets fearful people justify selfish actions that cause great harm to other humans and our shared environment.
The Dalai Lama in his new book, “Beyond Religion,” says, “Unbridled greed on the part of a few can adversely affect the lives of millions.”
The reality is, that in an interdependent, interconnected world, no one really wins unless everyone wins. Compassion and loving kindness are good.
David Thorp, Koloa
Too many fireworks
Fireworks can be beautiful works of art when professionals are at the controls. When everyone has carte blanche, even on residential streets, it is a disastrous situation.
I am blessed to live where not many fireworks go off, but just a few blocks from me in a major residential neighborhood I know three families that leave their homes every New Year’s because of the smoke and continuous noise from 7 p.m. until midnight.
Many people will pop a Valium to relieve the stress, and many welcome in the New Year with their homes smelling like smoke.
Many will tell you it’s our culture. It’s not cultural to be discourteous to your neighbors.
Kaua’i needs to follow in O‘ahu’s path in limiting fireworks and requiring a permit to partake in the insanity. Better yet, just make it illegal.
James “Kimo” Rosen, Kapa‘a
