• Aloha Spirit at work • A few GMO facts • Pass the bill Aloha Spirit at work The Aloha Spirit is alive and well! My wife and I arrived in Kauai on Aug. 29. It was quite dark. We were
• Aloha Spirit at work • A few GMO facts • Pass the bill
Aloha Spirit at work
The Aloha Spirit is alive and well!
My wife and I arrived in Kauai on Aug. 29. It was quite dark. We were familiar with Kauai as we had been there several times. But arriving at night it was a very different place. We made several attempts to find our destination but to no avail.
We were able to make our way back to the baggage claim area and called the police department to see if they could help us. They refused as that was not their job. An angel from heaven appeared in the form of a young man working in the baggage area. He offered to guide us to our condo.
He pulled his Toyota 4-runner up front and we followed him into Kapaa. He stayed with us until he was sure we had been taken care of. Twice I offered him a tip for his trouble, but he refused and backed away as if I were going to touch him with a cattle prod.
This young man, as well as the many people that served our needs because of other problems associated with the trip shows that the Aloha Spirit truly works.
Donald Jansky, McGregor, Texas
A few GMO facts
GMO: It’s all about the money. Here are some irrefutable facts about GMO:
(1) There are no long-term studies on the impacts of GMO food on human beings. However, the results of generational studies on rats and mice are chilling. As for the long term impact on human beings, our children and grandchildren are the guinea pigs/lab rats in this enterprise. We will know the results much later.
(2) The GMO enterprises are developing “super weeds” which will require even stronger herbicides and more herbicidal sales.
(3) The GMO enterprise objectives are for profits, not good citizenship.
Witness the lack of transparency on Kauai, and the resistance to GMO labeling on food products. Witness also “The Monsanto Protection Act” recently extended in a U.S. House of Representative spending bill.
(4) There is no evidence of higher ag productivity. However, there is ample evidence of an effort by GMO enterprises to monopolize food production.
(5) Monoculture is not the answer to sustainable food production. Remember the “Dust Bowl” and the reasons behind it.
(6) GMO labeling on food is needed; we need to know what we are eating. Today, we have to avoid corn and soy products and ingredients unless they are organic. Even animals in feed lots are fed GMO grain.
Finally, I find it incredible that the large agribusinesses are brash enough to try to hold Kauai residents and their employees as financial hostages to their operations … making Kauai known as the “GMO Agribusiness Company Island.”
William Hackett, Kalaheo
Pass the bill
I write urging you — again — to pass Bill 2491. I have sat in audiences and listened online to livestream testimony from many people regarding this bill, pro and con, and I don’t know how any of you can question that this bill needs to be passed. Testimony in favor of this bill has been compelling and persuasive. The main reason for not supporting this bill seems to be that passing it may cause people to lose their jobs. This is not to be taken lightly. But it is not reason enough to continue to allow rich biotech companies to operate here and not disclose what toxic chemicals they are using, how often and how much. That is alarming and should not be allowed.
The loss of jobs is unfortunate, as we saw when Aloha Airlines went out of business and many people lost their jobs and the same with the closure of the sugar plantations. To allow these unscrupulous companies, that are being questioned globally regarding their pesticide usage and experimentation with GMOs, to continue to operate here on Kauai, endangering the health and welfare of people and the land, without having to disclose what they are doing, is unthinkable!
Regarding the recent, last-minute proclamation by the governor, that the state will step up and deal with this situation, is ridiculous. It is ludicrous to imagine this governor, the great supporter of the PLDC, who publicly supports the biotech companies, will support the people of Kauai! That’s your job.
Polli Oliver, Koloa
