Adolf Putin
I am terrified at the actions of Vladimir Putin and the Russian military. It is too much like the start of World War II, when Germany attacked Poland and other countries and annexed much of their territory under the doctrine of Lebensraum. Lebensraum means “living space,” and the Nazis claimed that they needed that space for the same reasons that Putin is giving for invading Ukraine, Crimea, and Georgia. Putin claims that the people in all those countries are really Russians at heart, so therefore, he is just liberating them from their oppression.
It looks like the Ukrainians beg to disagree with Adolf Putin, and I am amazed at their bravery and tenacity. I am especially impressed with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the former comedian and current president of Ukraine. His black humor when he responded to an offer of an asylum flight to the United States will go down in history: “I don’t need a ride, I need ammunition.” This is the same guy who stood up to Donald Trump when Trump used extortion to try to get him to dig up dirt on Joe Biden. In that case, Trump was threatening to withhold military aid, aid that is now being used to fight off the Russians.
I have been finding good, up to the minute coverage of what is happening in Ukraine at the English language website of the Kyiv Independent newspaper. They are mainly crowd funded and there is a Donate button on their website. I would like to hear from other readers of other ways to help Ukrainians defeat this new Hitler before he gets too far.
Matt Binder
Waimea
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Setting the record straight
The Feb. 22 letter “It’s High Time” implies that Stanford Carr Development failed to support community beautification efforts along Manawaela and Kaeka streets. On the contrary, we responded to similar concerns a little over a year ago and employed ongoing attempts to eliminate the “broken windows.”
Over the past year, in collaboration with the Kona community police, the county Office of Housing and Community Development and Michaels Management, we have removed abandoned vehicles, broken up a cock-fighting ring, installed signage around the entire perimeter, helped the county find housing for several houseless individuals, removed their campsites, and erected concrete barriers along Manawalea Street to secure the property.
On a broader scope, Stanford Carr Development has donated millions of dollars toward addressing houselessness, including construction of The Friendly Place in Kona. As an organization, our team is proud of these significant contributions and takes exception to criticism for missing a single event. Our team is on-site regularly to maintain the landscape, and coordinated with the Kona community policing team leading up to the clean-up date.
Broken windows theory is part of our strategy; pointing fingers is not.
Stanford Carr
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