Last Honolulu Call for the Maxim Gorkiy

Maxim Gorkiy @ HNL, originally uploaded by macprohawaii.

This ship has been an annual visitor to Hawaii for several years. About a week ago I was notified by one of her passengers that this year's stop would be the last. The Maxim Gorkiy is being retired from the firm that operates her.

The aging cruise ship came into Honolulu Harbor early this morning, followed by her corporate sibling the Amadea. Maxim Gorkiy arrived in Honolulu on a cruise segment from Fanning Island and left tonight for Japan.

Phoenix Reisen, a German charter firm has operated the ship for 20 years, retaining her mostly Russian crew. The ship while built in Germany is owned by a Russian firm. More information on the Maxim Gorkiy can be found here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Maxim_Gorkiy

More photos at my Flickr site.

It's Time to Scrap the Train

The headlines in today's newspaper boldly states: "Transit system likely won't improve traffic".

Nothing new that we haven't been warned about before. Let's face it, the $6.4 billion Honolulu mass transit fixed rail project is nothing but a "make work for unionized construction workers" project and a sad excuse to sell surrounding properties along the projected rail route to highly funded and well connected engineering firms and developers. Much of this at the expense of current property owners, taxpayers and commuters.

Today's headline article in the Honolulu Advertiser proclaims:

"It's unlikely Honolulu's planned $3.7 billion [sic] transit system will affect deteriorating peak-hour traffic conditions along the H-1 corridor, according to city projections.

Potential gains in transit ridership are expected to be eclipsed by the added traffic that will come with rapid population growth in West O'ahu.

Drivers commuting from the west to jobs Downtown will face significantly more hours on the road in 20 years, even if the transit system launches full service as planned in 2017."

Essentially the proposed rail line will not keep up with growth on Oahu's leeward coast and the increased vehicular traffic that growth will bring.

So why keep this very expensive train project going if the projections are so bleak? It's time to cut our losses and cancel the mass transit project, cancel the tax surcharge and refund it all back to the taxpayers. Stop the Mufi train today!

Moo Moo About "Cow Inoa"

So what's the big deal surrounding Zero Shibai's "Cow Inoa" cartoon? It's just a funny commentary on the Office of Hawaiian Affairs' nation building "Kau Inoa" campaign. It's nothing to get upset about since the high profile nation building campaign with its glitzy, taxpayer funded TV ads just continues as is.

The silly cartoon did get some people at OHA in a tizzy to a point where the chair of the OHA board, Haunani Apoliona demanded that the cartoon be withdrawn out of existence. That plea only backfired as more media outlets as well as regular citizens noticed it and commented on the cartoon in various publications and online media. Several of these outlets simply re-published the cartoon with each respective commentary, thus perpetuating the funny bovine image further. It even made national waves after syndicated writer Michelle Malkin commented on it.

Through all the rhetoric written in recent weeks, one commentator remarked:

"...the call by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs chair Haunani Apoliana to censor a political cartoon called "Cow Inoa," ... is giving a hint at what this new Hawaiian government will look like ... one where freedom of speech is squelched and intimidation tactics rule."

Intimidation tactics indeed. It is scary to think what kind of government a Hawaiian nation would create. For me, I am perfectly happy with the United States government we now have . Hawaii is perfectly fine as the 50th State of the United States. We don't need more government or a new one to replace the U.S.

This is a good reason not to support the break-away nation building campaign of "Kau Inoa".