i L i n d . n e t

Hostrocket.com, my hosting service, finally got this site back up and functioning sometime late yesterday afternoon after the server crashed and apparently required more than a quick restart.

Kauai freelancer Joan Conrow, who has been covering the Superferry action for the Advertiser, was pulled off the story last week after word spread that she had also been writing about the issue in her new blog (well worth checking out, by the way).

Here’s what she had to say:

It’s OK to have opinions when you write for the mainstream press, you just have to make like you don’t, and I’ve never been too good at pretending.

I don’t mind losing the Advertiser gig, but feel sad their coverage will now lack the perspective of someone who actually lives on Kauai. As people over here keep saying, “We don’t feel like we’re being heard.” And the truth of it is, we aren’t.

Conrow notes a couple of things about Lingle’s stormy session on Kauai last week that have also been brought to my attention by others. First, Kauai folks say most of the Superferry supporters at the meeting had been flown in from Oahu by the company. Second, Lingle was threatening investigations by Child Protective Services if they (Kauai residents) dared step out of line. I have to admit that I haven’t watched the video yet to see if this is true, but several people have mentioned it.

I would have expected the news coverage to have included these items, if true.

Ah, I was pointed to this bit of Tom Finnegan’s story in the Star-Bulletin on Friday (9/21):

But it was not just opponents making angry comments at the Kauai War Memorial Convention Hall last night. More than 150 Superferry supporters — including Superferry employees and their families flown over from Oahu by the company — expressed their displeasure with protesters, often heckling anti-Superferry speakers and showing their support for the governor.

Conrow also observed:

And what about Lingle’s own message? It was not one of peace, reconciliation, mediation, compromise or respect. Lingle came solely to lecture the crowd on her planned crackdown against dissent, and to threaten everyone with fines, federal prison sentences and even investigations by Child Protective Services if they dared step out of line.

Did she really think, at this point in the game, that 1,000 people (we won’t count the 150 Superferry employees and supporters brought over from Oahu) who took the time to drive into Lihue were going to politely listen to her propaganda, and then meekly obey?

Did you notice the Star-Bulletin’s glowing business story yesterday on defense contractor BAE Systems? It couldn’t have painted a rosier picture of the company if it had been written by the corporations own PR flacks.

“This is a global company with a local heart,” Aldinger said. “BAE really understands and becomes part of the community that we choose to serve.”

But just do a quick Google search for BAE Systems and you’ll immediately find that BAE is in the midst of a huge international corruption probe, accused of making substantial payoffs in order to land contracts in Saudi Arabia.

Just last week, a Michigan pension fund sued BAE over the bribery and corruption claims.

As one blogger notes, the domestic side of the story is that British officials have lied about the situation for years.

Of course, nothing about the international scandal made its way into the Star-Bulletin story, which looks to be rather uncritical business boosterism rather than independent reporting. Too bad, because it looked like a lot of work went into the story.