The last couple of days have been pretty packed. The first few days the weather was a little funky and besides I wasn't feeling particularly ambitious anyways. Gilbert (the Canadian I met the first day) has a rental car the whole time he's here (unfortunately he's taking off tomorrow, there goes my ride), so both Saturday and Sunday he and I and Eamon (from Ireland) did some exploring of the island. Saturday we went to Secrets Beach, which is an amazing beach I'd been to before. Then we continued on along the north shore looking for this one beach I hadn't been to, Tunnels Beach. We ended up at the end of the road, which meant we'd passed it (that's also where the trailhead is for the Kalalau Trail) so we got out there and hung out at Ke'e beach, which is supposed to be good snorkeling. It wasn't great snorkeling though, in fact I just swam around and didn't even bother trying the snorkel. We did see a couple of nice fish but mostly just enjoyed the water as the waves were mellow, because there's some reef in the way of the waves, then it opens up into this nice sandy area, so it's perfect for just swimming around. Then I showed them the nearby "Blue Room" which is little known because it's a little ways off the road. You hike up this little hill beneath a cliff and then you come to this lake that's sort of buried in the base of the cliff. It's a good place to get a refreshing swim and wash off the salt water. So after that we went back and found Tunnels Beach, just down the road. But by then we were beached out so we just headed back to the hostel and then Gilbert, who's a good cook, instigated a barbecue (maybe instigated isn't the right word, but you get the idea).
Anyway then yesterday we drove up to Waimea canyon, which is called the Grand Canyon of the Pacific, and it's about as impressive. From the top of it we were able to get a view down into the Kalalau Valley, which was amazing. Then we headed back down to Lihue as Eamon had to catch a plane and fly to San Francisco. After that Gilbert and I went to these waterfalls where the locals like to jump off the top into a deep pool. It's about 25-30 feet or so, but it's actually pretty safe as the water is plenty deep, so I did it a couple times. Some of the guys there were doing various tricks, backflips, dives, etc., etc., but feet first was all I was about to attempt. Gilbert's digital camera had video capability, and we got a short clip of each of us doing it. So I'm hoping he can email that to me okay, in which case I'll forward it. Well I should wrap it up here. Today I'm not sure exactly what I'm doing yet, although I may go on a hike with Gilbert, or else I may just go to another beach that I want to check out. It's already time for me to start making some decisions though, as I'm only paid up at the youth hostel through the end of this week. Then I have to decide whether I'm going to fork over the money ($25/day) for the hostel, which is way over my budget, in which case I'll need to find some work. Or else I'll be camping somewhere, we'll see.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
on Kauai
(originally written September 20th, 2007)
Nothing too exciting to report so far, other than that I made it here. The flights were pretty boring and uneventful, since there wasn't too much to look at over the Pacific Ocean. I met a guy from Canada at the youth hostel who was checking in at the same time as me, and since he had a rental car I got a ride with him to the local grocery store to do some shopping. While I was there I ran into Eric, the guy from my work back in Portland who I had discovered was flying here the same day I was for a week vacation. I'll probably end up hanging out with him and the folks he's with in a couple days.
So that pretty much covers things for now. It's great to be here, but it's been a bit stormy so I might not be getting much of a tan right away. And also the guy from Canada, who is a scuba diver, said that the water has been bad for diving and snorkeling as a result. Kauai weather is pretty unpredictable though so I'm sure it'll change soon enough.
Nothing too exciting to report so far, other than that I made it here. The flights were pretty boring and uneventful, since there wasn't too much to look at over the Pacific Ocean. I met a guy from Canada at the youth hostel who was checking in at the same time as me, and since he had a rental car I got a ride with him to the local grocery store to do some shopping. While I was there I ran into Eric, the guy from my work back in Portland who I had discovered was flying here the same day I was for a week vacation. I'll probably end up hanging out with him and the folks he's with in a couple days.
So that pretty much covers things for now. It's great to be here, but it's been a bit stormy so I might not be getting much of a tan right away. And also the guy from Canada, who is a scuba diver, said that the water has been bad for diving and snorkeling as a result. Kauai weather is pretty unpredictable though so I'm sure it'll change soon enough.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
General Petraeus' report
I've said it before and I'll say it again, now that General Petraeus has said what we all knew he would say (essentially, the surge is working, and they need more time): The Bush administration's plan for Iraq is to pass off this botched war to the next president, so that they can avoid the stain of failure.
Their plan so far is going brilliantly. When the Iraq Study Group report recommended withdrawing troops from Iraq, they did just the opposite. They devised a plan that would allow them to kick the ball further down the field, and put off taking any responsibility for what they've created. They figured out how to "stay the course", without actually saying they were staying the course. They came up with a new slogan, "the surge". In short, they increased troops, in order to delay talk of withdrawal for 9 months.
And now they'll delay for another 9 months, as they decrease the very troops they increased, which will bring everything back to where it was when the troop surge began, and they will have bought themselves some more time. By then, next spring, we'll be in the heat of the presidential campaign and upcoming Congressional elections, and neither party will want to take any big risks. Bush will leave office with his war still in limbo, with the next president stuck cleaning up and taking responsiblity for his catastraphic mess in the Middle East.
In terms of his legacy, this may in fact be the best option President Bush has left. In terms of the future of our country, and the world, however, he is simply sugarcoating disaster for the sake of his own ego. The question is, are the American people, and the Congress, and the press going to continue going along with this charade for another year-and-a-half? Or, are they finally, truly fed up with this web of lies? I, for one, see only two reasonable paths left for Congress to take: One is to recognize that an ongoing U.S. military presence in Iraq is not the solution to the problems there, shift priorities big-time, start focusing on diplomacy and political reconciliation, and cut off funding for this immoral war. The other is to impeach those who led us into it.
Their plan so far is going brilliantly. When the Iraq Study Group report recommended withdrawing troops from Iraq, they did just the opposite. They devised a plan that would allow them to kick the ball further down the field, and put off taking any responsibility for what they've created. They figured out how to "stay the course", without actually saying they were staying the course. They came up with a new slogan, "the surge". In short, they increased troops, in order to delay talk of withdrawal for 9 months.
And now they'll delay for another 9 months, as they decrease the very troops they increased, which will bring everything back to where it was when the troop surge began, and they will have bought themselves some more time. By then, next spring, we'll be in the heat of the presidential campaign and upcoming Congressional elections, and neither party will want to take any big risks. Bush will leave office with his war still in limbo, with the next president stuck cleaning up and taking responsiblity for his catastraphic mess in the Middle East.
In terms of his legacy, this may in fact be the best option President Bush has left. In terms of the future of our country, and the world, however, he is simply sugarcoating disaster for the sake of his own ego. The question is, are the American people, and the Congress, and the press going to continue going along with this charade for another year-and-a-half? Or, are they finally, truly fed up with this web of lies? I, for one, see only two reasonable paths left for Congress to take: One is to recognize that an ongoing U.S. military presence in Iraq is not the solution to the problems there, shift priorities big-time, start focusing on diplomacy and political reconciliation, and cut off funding for this immoral war. The other is to impeach those who led us into it.
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