Finding Fredalba FRIDAY The Voice of Hawai‘i Features | page 3 August 27, 2004 Inside News 2 Opinions 4,5 Comics | Crossword 10 Features 3,7,8 Ka Leo O Hawai‘i Sports 9,11,12 VOL. XCIX ISSUE 5 THE UnivERSITY of HaWAI‘i at MA¯ NOA www.kaleo.org Kerry support wavering in wake of ads cer in Vietnam have eroded some of Bush in the long term, analysts said. campaign. “So you have a problem the Mekong Delta of Vietnam when By James Kuhnhenn the benefit he gained from the fre- “We‘ve seen such a solid, intense there.” Kerry pulled a Green Beret officer out Knight Ridder Newspapers quent Vietnam imagery played at the vote out there that most stories, most The ads may have had their big- of the water after a mine explosion. (KRT) Democratic National Convention last events that occur in this campaign gest impact with veterans, a majority At issue is whether the Swift boats month. have only played around the edges,” of whom were already predisposed to operating in that mission came under WASHINGTON — Just days One poll, by The Los Angeles Goeas said. vote Republican. enemy fire. before the Republican National Times, shows Bush gaining the lead in Yet, Kerry‘s biggest challenge The third poll, which focused The organizers of the ad cam- Convention, the race between the contest for the first time. Another from the ads may be trying to shift the on veterans, shows that while Kerry paign, some of whom were in boats President Bush and Democratic chal- survey — the Battleground 2004 poll campaign back to issues that matter made some gains with veterans after on the river alongside Kerry that day, lenger John Kerry remains a toss-up by Republican pollster Ed Goeas and to undecided and independent voters, the convention, any improvement dis- say they faced no weapons fire. Yet amid signs that a controversy over Democrat Celinda Lake — has Kerry one Democratic operative said. sipated once the controversy over the some Navy documents say at least Kerry‘s Vietnam service has hurt the ahead. In both cases, the advantage “The time he spends talking ads erupted. It was conducted by the one boat at the scene sustained bullet Democrat, but not necessarily with held by either candidate is within the about this stuff, he‘s not talking Annenberg Public Policy Center of damage from enemy fire. lasting consequences. margins of error. about other things that swing vot- the University of Pennsylvania. The veterans are now airing a Three polls released yesterday The effect of the Vietnam ads, ers care about,” said Bill Carrick, a The first commercial by the Swift show that ads questioning Kerry‘s however, isn‘t likely to permanently Democratic strategist who worked on Boat Veterans for Truth challenged heroism as a Navy Swift boat offi- damage Kerry or prove beneficial to Rep. Richard Gephardt‘s presidential Kerry‘s account about a rescue in See Kerry, page 2 Earthquake may rock foreign lands Alto, Calif., which works to reduce By Glennda Chui risk in developing countries. “It‘s in San Jose Knight Ridder Newspapers our self-interest to make sure these (KRT) countries can develop without being set back by natural disasters.” SAN JOSE, Calif. — Scientists There‘s no way to prevent or warn that the world is heading for a predict an earthquake. The best way catastrophic earthquake that will kill to limit death tolls is to strengthen at least 1 million people. buildings, roads and bridges and ban It won‘t be the magnitude 10.5 construction in hazardous areas. But that tipped California into the sea in in countries so poor that people have a recent TV miniseries; quakes don‘t trouble putting food on the table, get that big. The real danger is not in planning and retrofitting take low the United States or other parts of the priority. industrialized world at all. “People typically say, `I know Rather, it‘s in the huge cities my building is going to fall down, but of the developing world, where the I can‘t afford to move elsewhere,‘” building codes that protect the United said Ross Stein, a geophysicist with States either don‘t exist or are rarely the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo COURTESY PHOTOi enforced. As those cities grow, mil- Park, Calif., who has worked exten- The Jerusalem Circus is comprised of both Jewish and Muslim members working together to train and preform. lions of people are moving into flimsy sively in Turkey. “When you don‘t buildings within easy reach of major have any options, what you want to faults. do is shut it out, not deal with it.” It wouldn‘t take a big quake to In the face of a problem that can bring those buildings down. A mod- seem both overwhelming and intrac- Circus fosters peace, unity erate one would do. A magnitude table, a few scientists and engineers 6.7 quake in Tehran, Iran, would kill have been working at a grass-roots 200,000 to 400,000 people and knock level to raise earthquake awareness By Joel Greenberg All around him, teenagers kept up a one another onto ropes or a trapeze. down more than 80 percent of the and improve building practices in Chicago Tribune constant patter in Hebrew, English They lean and climb on each other, city‘s buildings, according to a recent mega-cities. (KRT) and Arabic as they practiced. juggle together and carry out synchro- scenario. “It‘s like pissing in the wind,” “Here there are no Arabs or Jews, nized routines in seamless coopera- In contrast, the slightly larger Bilham admits. But he adds that there JERUSALEM — Aaron Tobiass just circus performers,” Oleinik said. tion. quake that rocked the San Francisco is room for optimism. and Murad Salman were juggling “If you‘re on top and someone below The circus group, which has 24 Bay area in 1989 killed just 62 peo- With the world‘s supply of hous- together the other day, tossing what you falls, you have to give him a members ages 10 to 18, has devel- ple. ing set to double in the next 50 years, looked like bowling pins at each other hand, no matter who he is, otherwise oped its own social intimacy. Arab If explosive growth continues adding a billion new homes and apart- in a flashy show of young talent. there won‘t be a circus act. Here we and Jewish performers have formed in the world‘s most vulnerable cities, ments, “we actually have a wonderful Tobiass, 16, who is Jewish, see only human beings. It‘s a different close friendships, visiting each oth- a million-fatality quake is likely to opportunity to fix the problem” by and Salman, 17, who is Arab, world.” er‘s homes, sharing family meals and strike at least one of them within the constructing buildings that will stand were rehearsing for a show of The The circus was the brainchild of spending time together downtown or next century, causing death and injury up to earthquakes, Bilham said. “In Jerusalem Circus, a group of teenag- Tobiass‘ mother, Elisheva Yortner, at the beach. on a scale never seen before, accord- fact, it only costs 10 percent more ers and younger children from Israeli 43, a Tunisian-born art teacher who “We‘ve gotten to know the Jewish ing to Roger Bilham, a geophysicist at to put up an earthquake-resistant and Palestinian neighborhoods who moved to Israel from France more kids, and we‘ve become friends. The the University of Colorado. house.” train and perform together for mixed than 20 years ago. Trained in multi- atmosphere here is better than out- He says there are now 35 metro- Yet people rarely make that audiences. cultural education, she conceived of side,” said Mahmoud Jaber, 11, who politan areas in the world with popula- investment, he said: “It‘s partly graft, In this contested city, where the circus project as a way to bridge does a plate-spinning act with his tions of 2 million or more within 125 and partly people really taking the Jews and Arabs live in separate soci- ethnic and social gaps in Jerusalem. cousin and is practicing to be a clown. miles of an earthquake zone. They low bid. It‘s appalling, it‘s shameful, eties locked in bitter conflict, the The first circus group was formed “If everyone could be friends like include greater Los Angeles, with a that we live on a planet where we circus brings together youngsters who five years ago. this, the war would stop.” population of 12 million, and the Bay allow it. The buildings that people would otherwise have little or no “I thought the circus would be The violence forms an inevitable Area, with 7.3 million people. live in are their burial points.” contact with peers from the other a good way to connect communities backdrop to the work at the circus, If the Big One hits a national cap- Two earthquakes last year show side of town. The emphasis is on in a city, and everyone can enjoy though members of the group say ital or an unstable region, the political what a difference strong buildings can teamwork and trust, rare commodi- it, regardless of their socioeconomic it has not interrupted their effort or and economic repercussions could make. ties after nearly four years of violence background,” Yortner said. “Through caused tensions among the Jewish rock the globe long after the shaking On Dec.22, the 6.5 San Simeon between Israelis and Palestinians.