Rainbow warriors are gone
Friday, December 14, 2007
(8.30 a.m. - local time, Honolulu, Hawaii)
One thing I was not prepared for was the Hawaiian rainy season. I have no rain covers for me nor my camera. I must go and get some. This trip to Hawaii started extremely well, after my panic that I would miss the plane in the morning due to another error in my departure time. One of the most challenging things was dealing with so many different time zones. Something to which I am not accustomed, living as I do in a small continental artifice called Europe, Germany, Berlin.
On the way from the airport on the shuttle car. We were driven by an astute Filipino man, who also started to become a tour guide as we approached downtown Honolulu. As we pass the prestigious Punaho high school, he started explain: “this is the school where the president, a’hm no, the candidate of our president, i mean Senator Obama, went to high school for many years.”
No response in the van, filled with Caucasian tourists. Everyone was lost in the stress of arrival and transport. Secretly, I felt triumphant that a migrant worker from another country could slip his tongue and makes Obama's presidency into a fact - one year prior to election day. The ancestors are clearly watching... I think if Obama is not bigger then life - then who is at the moment?
I have shot a good first interview in scenic surroundings of the mountains with community activist Amy Agbayani, who works at the university where Obama's father and mother first met almost 50 ago. Amy showed me the campus where his mother was a student: the East-West College.
One thing that stunned me the most is the high percentage of Asian woman, who grace the campus. Note that I am fascinated by the beauty of gorgeous women and there is a feast for the eyes every 5 minutes I walk across the streets in this area. The difference from Europe - there is eye contact.
A Korean dude that sleeps across my bed in the international hostel told me proudly, that he has collected three phone numbers just on one day. Sounds like a bird paradise...
I found a production company near the airport who are willing to assist me with my transfers and HD workflow. I was getting concerned not being able to view and edit the footage for my blog. After a few phone calls I met with the owner of Liquid Planet productions, who helped me figuring out the problem. Today I will have an editor for XD cam transfers for only $50. Paradise island...
The climate here is so good for the skin, I feel like this is a perfect place to spend the winter time. Obama and his politics slip so far in the background...nature and life take over here. If I would not get the daily email reminder about the campaign I would settle down and retire in beauty spots, but my inbox reminds me why I am in fact here on this island where he was born 47 years ago:
“I’m running for President because I do not accept this future for America. And I don’t think we can afford another four years of the same divisive politics in Washington that’s more about scoring political points than solving these problems,” Obama continued. “Not when the income gap keeps growing. Not when our housing ills could infect the entire economy. Not when the average middle-class family has more than $8,000 in personal debt. We can’t afford to wait anymore. We can’t afford to do the same exact thing with the same exact people and expect a different result. It’s time for new leadership in Washington.”
Barack Obama’s comprehensive plan to help working families reclaim the American Dream will:
- Provide a middle class tax cut of up to $1,000 for working families, and eliminate the income tax for seniors making less than $50,000 per year.
- Address the challenge of balancing work and family by guaranteeing workers paid sick days, expanding the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), supporting paid FMLA, and doubling funding for after-school programs.
- Help Americans buy and keep their homes.
- Protect American families by reforming bankruptcy laws, predatory credit card policies, and abusive payday lending practices.
- Reduce health care costs by $2,500 for a typical family.
- Strengthen retirement security by automatically enrolling workers in portable retirement accounts and providing additional incentives for Americans to save.
- Put the cost of college in reach by providing a $4,000 refundable tax credit available at the time of enrollment, and create a Community College Partnership Program to strengthen this vital resource for American students.