LEBANON

FRENCH PEACEKEEPER CARTOON WAS INSULTING

I take offense of the cartoon published in the Honolulu Advertiser showing a French peacekeeper in Lebanon in rout and throwing his weapon (Aug. 24). This is insulting and does not reflect the truth.

French President Jacques Chirac decided to send a larger force, from 200 to 2,000 troops after receiving guarantees allowing the force "free movement and its ability to act when faced with a possible hostile situation."

President Chirac knows what a war is. When drafted, he served in Algeria, and saw combat. This is to be compared with President Bush who managed to avoid being sent to Vietnam.

By the way, how many American troops? None! Sorry, we are too busy in Iraq, looking for nonexistent weapons of mass destruction, fighting al-Qaida terrorists and making this country ready to be absorbed by Iran, the rising power of the region.

HAWAI'I QUARTER

MONARCHS DON'T BELONG ON AMERICAN COINS

The notion of having monarchs on our currency was settled in 1776. Americans do not put kings on coins!

Would you advise Alaska to put the Russian czar on their quarter?

ISLAND VOICES

TEST NOT-VOTING THEORY AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS

Jim Dator, a professor of political science at the University of Hawai'i, poses an interesting theory in his Aug. 29 "Island Voices" column: that voting doesn't matter, and to influence politics you should instead send a hefty campaign contribution to the person you want to influence.

Like all scientific theories, it needs to be put to a test. So, purely for the sake of scientific research, let's encourage every Democrat to not vote this election, but instead send money to their favorite candidate. If the results are ambiguous, we can try again with Republicans in two years.

If UH is looking to trim their budget, Professor Dator's column should suggest a way to cut personnel costs.

SENATE RACE

WAS INOUYE CAMPAIGN DONATION APPROPRIATE?

I'm bothered by the reports that Sen. Daniel K. Inouye gave $300,000 of his campaign money to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee on the Mainland, which the senator's office said it hopes would help support Sen. Daniel Akaka's campaign.

I know people who donated money to Sen. Inouye, and what does he really need it for anyway? He's not even running for four more years. So when I see him turn around and use it for some other purpose, I wonder if that's an appropriate use of money people donated to his campaign.

If they wanted it used for other campaigns, shouldn't they decide that for themselves? Why should Sen. Inouye be deciding for Hawai'i voters who to support in completely different races?

AKAKA'S VOTE ON IRAQ SHOWED INTEGRITY

Dan Akaka's vote against the Iraq war is the most important reason that he deserves to be reelected.

We need senators who will resist being stampeded into supporting legislation proposed by the Bush administration that is not in the best interest of our country.

This vote showed courage, integrity and intelligent assessment of the specious arguments put forth by the president to justify a preemptive war against a country that posed no real threat to our safety.

I will certainly vote for 20/20 foresight as opposed to 20/20 hindsight.

CITIZENS SHOULD THINK OF FUTURE, VOTE FOR CASE

Daniel Akaka may be an honest and kind man, but he is trying to hoodwink the citizens of Hawai'i by restricting himself to only one debate on public television.

I listened to him trying to answer questions from teachers a couple of years ago about the No Child Left Behind Act and felt sorry for him.

Sen. Akaka didn't seem to have a clue what to say or answer to the numerous questions asked of him. He turned to his very articulate staff person to answer almost every single question.

My thought at the time was that he should retire with grace and do what is best for Hawai'i. That feeling is stronger today and I urge all citizens to think of the future and vote for Ed Case.

If you have any doubts about this advice, watch the limited debate and ask yourself why Sen. Akaka has refused any other debates with Ed Case on the more widely viewed networks.

ELECTION 2006

ENDORSEMENTS NOT NEWSPAPER'S DUTY

Regarding the article "Endorsing candidates is our duty" in the Aug. 27 issue: Endorsing candidates is not your duty.

The duty of a newspaper is to report the news, and to do so without bias. I strongly disagree that your endorsements are an "important service" to the community.

The editorial pages can give an important service to the community by providing a forum for a broad range of community opinion, but not by disproportionately pushing your own political preferences on the public. Please just report the candidates' positions on the issues. We can decide for ourselves who we want to vote for.

DEPLOYMENT

MILITARY CAN'T PICK WHICH WARS TO FIGHT

In response to H. Nagamine's letter (Aug. 28), serving in the military means just that, service, not to pick and choose which wars we want to fight.

I am sure there were servicemen in wars past who didn't want to go to battle, but went. Nagamine seems to support mass desertion from our troops. Ehren Watada has made his decision not to deploy, and he must now face justice for that action.

The very fact that Nagamine can write an open letter without fear of reprisal is the reason why we fight for freedom. Perhaps a letter of support for our troops would have been more appropriate.

SUPERFERRY

KAUA'I TOO CROWDED, DON'T ALLOW LANDING

As a resident and homeowner on Kaua'i, I want to vote against allowing the Superferry to come to our island.

We hear talk about how the agriculture, animals, pests, environment will be monitored and protected. No one is protecting our island. Our island has become all about money and greed and overdevelopment. We do not have the roadways to accommodate the traffic already on this island. If the ferry is allowed to bring more cars, it will be horrible for those of us who have to get to work and school.

Please stop this island from becoming just another tourist trap that does not offer a healthy environment for our families and children. Please stop the escalation of the progress toward this ferry landing on Kaua'i.

LANGUAGE

TV NEWSCASTERS CAN'T SAY HONOLULU PROPERLY

Joel Kennedy in his letter (Aug. 29) has brought up a valid point concerning the misuse and mispronouncing of words by the media. Incorrect pronounciation of our state's capital city really chills my kim chee. The word is HO-NOLULU; not HANALULU. Each evening during the local TV news broadcasts there is at least one offense. If I were not so lazy, I would pick up the phone and yell at the talking heads who are the offenders.

SPEEDING

WRONG MESSAGE GIVEN TO WAIMANALO DRIVERS

On Aug. 29, a story was posted on the KITV news Web site describing the new state Department of Transportation speed signs located in Waimanalo on either side of the elementary and intermediate school.

The signs capture the motorists' speed and warn drivers to "slow down." Unfortunately, the story indicates that the warning only comes when the driver exceeds 40 mph in the 25 mph zone.

What kind of message is this? Is it OK to drive up to 40 mph and not to have to heed the warning (and the speed limit)?

What is the DOT thinking?

TRADITION

HAKA INAPPROPRIATE FOR HAWAI'I FOOTBALL TEAM

As a proud Maori living in Hawai'i, I am flattered when anyone wants to learn my culture, but I am also saddened when it is used inappropriately. From lu'au to high school football games, it seems everyone wants to perform the haka and now the University of Hawai'i football team has been using it to end their practices.

There is even talk of them performing it before their season opening game in Alabama this weekend.

The haka is not just a war dance but is an important part of my culture, steeped in tradition, history and spirituality. The Kapa O Pango (translated, it means Team in Black) haka that the Warriors have been practicing was written especially for the All Blacks rugby team.

The translation describes the mana of the All Blacks, their links to our land of Aotearoa (New Zealand) and the Silver Fern, the symbol of our nation and our national team. It is not appropriate for an American football team in Hawai'i to be doing this haka. If they must do a war dance, why can't they write their own? Something that is appropriate to Hawai'i, the university and the players.

I hear them talk of Polynesian Pride, but when you do the haka without knowing the real meaning, you disrepect my people and my ancestors.