Asians are lowest only for men, and it's still pretty close.
Asians are now higher for children under 13, and for women. OK, now you can panic.
However, estimated cases and rates per 100,000 for HIV /AIDS, table 5b
Adult Female
61.4 Black
16.1 Hispanic
7.6 American Indian
3.9 Asian/Pacific Islander *** Asians 30% more than white
3.0 White
Children less than 13 yrs
1.9 Black *** Black 20x white
0.4 Hispanic
0.4 Asian *** Asians 4x White??
0.1 White
0.0 American Indian
Males
127.6 black
57.6 Hispanic
19.5 American Indian
18.5 White
14.9 Asian /PI
Blog on Asian American, education, cars, politics, videos, and anything else fun I run across.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Asians lowest in AIDS rates lowest, but catching up.
HIV AIDS survellance report Vol 17 by CDC
Highlights of Analyses
Cases of HIV/AIDS Race/ethnicity:
* blacks accounted for 49% (about half) of all HIV/AIDS cases diagnosed in 2006
In 2005, rates of HIV/AIDS cases were
72.8 per 100,000 black *--- nearly 10x white rate
28.5 Hispanic
10.6 American Indian/Alaska Native *--- Same as white, despite hi poverty
9.0 white
7.6 asian/Pacific Islander *---- lowest. But never noted. No longer 1/3 white rate, about same order of magnitude now.
Cases of AIDS
"increased among all ethnic groups"
in 2005
59.0 black per 100,000
19.8 Hispanic
8.0 Am Indian
6.3 white
4.0 Asian/Pacific Islander
Highlights of Analyses
Cases of HIV/AIDS Race/ethnicity:
* blacks accounted for 49% (about half) of all HIV/AIDS cases diagnosed in 2006
In 2005, rates of HIV/AIDS cases were
72.8 per 100,000 black *--- nearly 10x white rate
28.5 Hispanic
10.6 American Indian/Alaska Native *--- Same as white, despite hi poverty
9.0 white
7.6 asian/Pacific Islander *---- lowest. But never noted. No longer 1/3 white rate, about same order of magnitude now.
Cases of AIDS
"increased among all ethnic groups"
in 2005
59.0 black per 100,000
19.8 Hispanic
8.0 Am Indian
6.3 white
4.0 Asian/Pacific Islander
Asians lowest in AIDS rates lowest, but catching up.
HIV AIDS survellance report Vol 17 by CDC
Highlights of Analyses
Cases of HIV/AIDS Race/ethnicity:
* blacks accounted for 49% (about half) of all HIV/AIDS cases diagnosed in 2006
In 2005, rates of HIV/AIDS cases were
72.8 per 100,000 black <--- nearly 10x white rate
28.5 Hispanic
10.6 American Indian/Alaska Native <--- Same as white, despite hi poverty
9.0 white
7.6 asian/Pacific Islander <---- lowest. But never noted. No longer 1/3 white rate, about same order of magnitude now.
Cases of AIDS
"increased among all ethnic groups"
in 2005
59.0 black per 100,000
19.8 Hispanic
8.0 Am Indian
6.3 white
4.0 Asian/Pacific Islander
Highlights of Analyses
Cases of HIV/AIDS Race/ethnicity:
* blacks accounted for 49% (about half) of all HIV/AIDS cases diagnosed in 2006
In 2005, rates of HIV/AIDS cases were
72.8 per 100,000 black <--- nearly 10x white rate
28.5 Hispanic
10.6 American Indian/Alaska Native <--- Same as white, despite hi poverty
9.0 white
7.6 asian/Pacific Islander <---- lowest. But never noted. No longer 1/3 white rate, about same order of magnitude now.
Cases of AIDS
"increased among all ethnic groups"
in 2005
59.0 black per 100,000
19.8 Hispanic
8.0 Am Indian
6.3 white
4.0 Asian/Pacific Islander
Pianos for Asians?
From "Classical Musicians Suffer for Their Art" WSJ 1/31/07
One interesting conclusion of the research program is that many piano students are now Asian or female, and both groups tend to have smaller hands. As a result, at this university, two Steinways are modifiable, so that narrow keyboards can be slipped into place. Doctoral recitals sometimes utilize a smaller keyboard, preventing unneccesary strain on the performer. And why not? Standardized keyboards are a fairly recent development, and some artists of the past -- including the legendary early-20th-century piano virtuoso Josef Hofmann - used pianos with narrower keys.
One interesting conclusion of the research program is that many piano students are now Asian or female, and both groups tend to have smaller hands. As a result, at this university, two Steinways are modifiable, so that narrow keyboards can be slipped into place. Doctoral recitals sometimes utilize a smaller keyboard, preventing unneccesary strain on the performer. And why not? Standardized keyboards are a fairly recent development, and some artists of the past -- including the legendary early-20th-century piano virtuoso Josef Hofmann - used pianos with narrower keys.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Monday, January 29, 2007
Who's Watching YouTube?
WSJ 1/29/2007
Harris Interactive Poll says 3/4 of online respondents have watched online
videos., 2,309 adults
85% 18-25
87% 25-29
over 50% older ages
Youtube
67% visited only once or a few times
24% frequently but less than 1 hour a week
9% 1 hour or more per week
Ever watched
42% Youtube
41% TV network
35% news site
25% Yahoo
24% Google
19% Myspace
7% ITunes
19% somewhere else
26% never watched an online video
complete reports wsj.com/reports
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Walking On Water?
http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/art/t/tintoret/2religio/galilee.jpg
Christ at the Sea of Galilee, Tintoretto, c. 1575/80.
I saw this hanging in a church, and I noted that while the title is Christ at the Sea of Galilee, that's not really the best title.
What's going on here?
Is Christ walking on water? No, he's on shore.
What else is in the picture?
A boat.
Who is in the boat?
A bunch of guys.
What are the guys doing?
What is ONE guy doing?
He's halfway out of the boat.
Who is he?
He's Peter, who is going to try to walk on water. In the gospel, he loses faith, and sinks into the water. He fails, but at least he is the one who TRIES.
So the real title of the painting should be Peter at the Sea of Galilee.
Monday, January 15, 2007
Cool space view animation of Comet McNaught
http://www.space.com/spacewatch/soho_lasco_c3_live.html
Check out the cool animation on this site. Too many clouds to see it from Seattle.
Watch Comet McNaught
This is an animation of the most recent images from the SOHO spacecraft's LASCO C3 camera.
Expect it to load slowly.
Comet C/2006 P1 (McNaught) will be visible from Friday, Jan. 12 to Monday, Jan. 15. The first SOHO images of the comet can be seen in our Comet McNaught Viewer's Guide.
Check out the cool animation on this site. Too many clouds to see it from Seattle.
Watch Comet McNaught
This is an animation of the most recent images from the SOHO spacecraft's LASCO C3 camera.
Expect it to load slowly.
Comet C/2006 P1 (McNaught) will be visible from Friday, Jan. 12 to Monday, Jan. 15. The first SOHO images of the comet can be seen in our Comet McNaught Viewer's Guide.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Biuku Gasa and Eroni Kumana Tell How They Saved JFK's PT 109
| Review clip from NG's Search for Kennedy's PT 109 from 2002 which few people saw. Excellent VHS or DVD, two thumbs up for the only PT 109 book or video which shows that while Kennedy gave the two a coconut, it was Gasa's idea, and Kumana who climbed up a tree to get it. (Also see my parody on how Gilligan gets a coconut from the Fred Meyer) The WB movie didn't credit the people or even the actors, the Donovan book doesn't say Gasa came up with the idea, and the Tregaski book doesn't even mention them by name. Kennedy would help pay for Gasa's house, but they were turned back at the airport before they could collect on Kennedy's offer to fly them to his inauguration, and they never visited the US. It is my goal to write a new chapter in the history of the PT 109 to bring Eroni Kumana and the descendents of Gasa to the US to meet President Bush while Kumana is still alive. (The Kennedy's of Gizo Diving have confirmed he is still alive, but pretty frail for travel). It is a testament to the benefits of rowing for 35 miles that both of them far outlived any of the crew of the PT 109. These two guys deserve to rank with Pocahontas and Sacajewa as natives who saved a very important American in a dugout canoe when the full resources of the US Navy's PT boats, aircraft, radio and radio could not or would not find them. I have invited Juni Freshwater, neice of Gasa and her husband who posted the only obituary of this death to Seattle as my guest. If you would like them to speak or visit your town or organization, or would like to contribute towards the $3,000 airfare, please contact me. | |
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Biuku Gasa Details from Alan Freshwater
The John F. Kennedy library foundation called me up to see how they can help, and I left a message with the Discovery Institute to see if they are interested in helping.
I've just gotten confirmation that Juni Gasa (neice of the late Biuku Gasa, the lead islander who found JFK and the crew of the PT 109 along with buddy Eroni Kumana, who is still alive, but in weak shape for travel) and husband Alan Freshwater do want to come to Seattle in the United States in April. Now I just have to raise the money for the tickets, but I'll pay out of my own pocket if need be.
Here is the original blog that I found. This guy modestly says he's nobody special, but he knows way more information about the islander's side of the story than has been published in any of the books I've researched.
This is the closest to an authoritative source on the death of Biuki Gasa written by a living relative. The Solomon Islands embassy in the United States also confirms this. There appear to be no press accounts of his death anywhere else on the internet.
August 2nd 2006 is the 63rd anniversary of the sinking of the torpedo patrol boat PT109, and that reminds me of Uncle Biuku Gaza's story.
Biuku was my wife’s uncle, and a kindly old man.
Sadly, Biuku died late last year. Coincidentally we were told of his death on the anniversary of John F Kennedy’s assassination. That is November 22nd, which also happens to be my younger daughter's birthday"
Kennedy called the two ashore and asked them to deliver a note to the nearest coastwatcher. Biuku refused to carry anything incriminating that might be connected to Americans, in case the Japanese searched him.
Instead, he offered Kennedy a green coconut and suggested that he scratch a message on that. He could hide it amongst a pile of other coconuts in the canoe and it would probably go unnoticed.
Biuku says that Kennedy patted his head, said he had a good brain in there and took the coconut. On it he carved the following:
NAURO ISL
COMMANDER... NATIVE KNOWS POS'IT...
HE CAN PILOT... 11 ALIVE
NEED SMALL BOAT... KENNEDY
Biuku and Eroni delivered the coconut and the rest is history. The coconut was kept in the oval office all through JFK's presidency and was then for a time in the Smithsonian. I understand it is now kept in the JF Kennedy Library in Boston.
What most of the world has never heard is the way it all seemed from the point of view of Biuku and his friends. Biuku was invited to JFK's inauguration but the bureaucrats in Honiara decided that such a junket was too good to waste on an ignorant local and sent someone else instead.
Kennedy wrote later to Biuku expressing his disappointment that they did not meet again. Until he died, Biuku keenly felt the injustice of it.
He received a medal. It was "borrowed" and never returned. The correspondence from JFK to Biuku was "borrowed" and never returned.
Kennedy ordered Biuku and Gasa to go and look for a man called John Kari. He was a local head-man during the colonial era. John Kari was born in 1900 and was hailed from Hopongo Village, Rendova Island. Rendova Harbour is located in Rendova Island where the USA marine base was located during then. Biuku and Gasa approached John Kari (he was in Vonavona langoon during then) with the coconut husk on which Kennedy scribed onto his request for help. However, John Kari then got the coconut husk and passed it on to the other marine personnels. However, according to John Kari, he was also assisting the other natives to paddle Kennedy in a dug out local canoe during the night to the marine base in Rendova Island. John Kari was recognised for that part of the rescue and he even carved a stone carving as a token of friendship to the Kennedy family. John Kari's daughter got married to an American, who then lead John Kari's dauther (Effie McAdams) to present the stone carving to Bush (one of the bible translators visiting Solomon Islands in early 80s) who then presented the stone carving to be laid in Kennedy's grave yeard or to his library I supose. John Kari was also presented with the model of the PT109 and USA flag and still at his home village to date.
Here's a letter from Gizo Diving which confirms that Eroni Kumana is still alive and well:
From: "Kerrie and Danny Kennedy"
> Hello Arthur.
> Eroni is home in the village but was here last week. His son is here
> presently. I would be concerned about him travelling so far at his
> age.Whilst he is agile the plane trip to the US would be taxing. We will
> check for a telegram.
> Thanks
>
> Kerrie Kennedy
> Adventure Sports- Dive Gizo and Munda
> PO box 21
> Gizo
> Solomon Islands
Here are the letters I have received, and his stories:
11/24/06
Here are two photos of Biuku, one with June (Ziu), my wife, when she
was visiting home for the funeral of her father, shortly before Biuku
too passed away. June will ask for a photo of Eroni for you.
12/2/06
Hi Eric,and Arthur
I am not sure if my wife has managed to get a message to her brother yet, as I promised. I hope the photos I sent got thru.
You may not have heard from Danny Kennedy lately, as I am told he is in prison at present, serving two years for "piracy". Apparently he set adrift a boat belonging to a rival tour operator. It seems a strange thing to do. But there you are. I am told they charged Danny under an old Colonial Piracy Act. Someone must have really wanted to spike his guns, as the sentence for Piracy is up to 40 years! It seems he was "lucky" to get two years.
I can have a go at some of your questions, and I will attack the rest later...
Can you confirm the that Gasa died shortly after the Pacific Time
magazine article of August 2005?
As I wrote in my blog, my brother in law telephoned us on November 22 to tell us about Biuku's death. I remember it well, because of the coincidence of my daughters birthday and the anniversary of JFK's assassination. He had died either that day, or the day before.
Everything I wrote in the Blog is true, as far as I can tell, bearing in mind I am reporting what Biuku said, as translated for me. Right down to the fact I know who Biuku said took the letters he received from JFK. I have tried to contact that person, a New Zealander who married one of Biuku's cousins, but he did not reply.
According to all of the books including Donovan's, it was Kennedy's
idea of writing a message on a coconut. According to National
Geographic and the blog, it was Gasa's idea. Who is correct?
Biuku told the story to my wife, and we have it on tape, in Roviana, that it was his idea to use a coconut. Kennedy was going to give him a piece of paper from his notebook, but Biuku said he did not want to be caught with paper and American writing . He reckoned he could hide the scratched coconut in a pile of others in the canoe. Then the Japanese would not be likely to suspect anything, if they checked the canoe. Also as I wrote in the blog.
Sometimes I think that the stories get changed simply because some people think it would not do to have a "native" coming up with clever ideas. Reminds me of the old Lone Ranger TV Series. Tonto was never allowed to have an original thought. He just followed instructions.
Biuku said that officials in Honiara blocked his and Eroni's visit to JFKs inauguration, and sent someone else. He said that they told him that he and Eroni could not speak English and would get lost, or words to that effect.
I would suspect, that Biuku's English was not that good. But it would have been enough to get by, and in answer to your question, he would be able to communicate easily with the coastwatchers in Pijin. Or even in his own language, Roviana. The coast watcher would have been fluent in pijin at least, and probably some of the local languages. Bear in mind that many Solomon Islanders speak a number of different languages, as they have relatives by marriage in many different cultural groups. My wife June, or Ziuni, for example can speak at least 7 languages pretty fluently. And they are not all just slightly different dialects.
I Think Biuku initially feared the sailors might be Japanese simply because paddling by, he was at first too far away to see them clearly. And he would not have been keen to go closer, just in case they were in fact Japanese. The Melanesians did not trust the Japanese at all. So the castaways had to persuade him and Eroni to go ashore.
I will see what else I can come up with for you..
Cheers
Thanks for your email. The best I can do I think is to pass this
information on to my Brother in Law, Moses Sae, who is one of Biuku's
nephews, and ask him to let his cousins know about it. I am sure they
can pass a message on to Eroni too. Also I know one honest politician
who may be able to help with some facilitation. Will report on
progress!
Cheers
12/13/06
I have just been talking to June, and she is pretty keen to get started on this project for you. She will do what she can to get some of the family over to you. She then went into reminiscent mode.
I thought you might like to hear some of what she told me of what Biuku told her when she last saw him. She also has a recording made of Biuku telling the "Kennedy" story.
Biuku told June that when he was due to go to the US for Kennedy's inauguration, he was not sent because he did not speak English.
It seems that a local family of some influence with the British administrators at the time had persuaded them that Biuku and Eroni would get lost if they were sent. Biuku thought this had been done simply out of envy or spite. Funnily enough it is from a member of the same family I had been trying to retrieve Kennedy's letter.
Anyway, be that as it may, in the end, another local, named Ben Kevu, was sent to the inauguration instead. Kevu was an interpreter for the Americans during the war. It was felt he would be better able to communicate.
When Kevu returned he told Biuku that Kennedy had looked at him for a moment, then told him he was too tall. (Kevu was very tall - Biuku was quite short). Kennedy had told Kevu that he was plainly the wrong person. He knew how tall Biuku was, and Kevu was not Biuku. Kevu told Biuku that Kennedy had made it quite plain to him that he was disappointed and that it was Biuku and Eroni whom Kennedy had wanted to meet again.
Biuku told June that before Kennedy left the Solomons, he had told Biuku that he was going to try to be president one day and that when that happened he would send for Biuku to visit him in the White House. Biuku also told June that Kennedy had said to him that he would take the coconut with him when he went, and would keep it. He told Biuku that one day Biuku would come to visit him, and Kennedy would show the coconut to Biuku again. June says this is exactly what Biuku told her. He said they spoke very rough Pijin to each other at that time. June said that telling the story was always a source of mirth to the family as Biuku imitated the way he and JFK spoke pijin to each other.
I am going to get June to translate the recording and I will send you a copy along with a transcript and translation.
Cheers
Alan
Me:
1/1/07
I can get leave for a couple
of week's away. So that would not be a problem except that i had sort
of committed to visiting my father in Australia soon. I can possibly
combine the travel for that.
We shall have a family conference and get back to you. When does your
son graduate?
Last night June spent the evening with an old friend of ours who is a
member of parliament and Minister of the Crown in Solomon Islands. He
is interested in facilitating a cultural exchange. He flew home today
and will mention it to another member who was a good friend of mine
when I was in Gizo. He is a distant relative of June's but also was a
close friend to Biuku before. He would be keen to help us I am sure.
In the meantime June has searched amongst our stuff and located a
tape, recorded in 1999 of Biuku telling his tale especially for our
two daughters. It is on my memory of this I had based what I have
published so far. Listening to it has elicited a little more detail.
SoJune is transcribing it now, and then we shall translate it. I will
send you a copy, along with a transcript and translation as soon as
possible. I shall also transfer it to CD so that it can be preserved.
Best regards
Alan
(and by the way our Prime Minister is a she... Helen Clark, :-) -
Cheers!)
Thanks again for your patience and persistence. And for
your plans. This could take some time. Patience and persistence are
both something you need when making plans involving the Solomons.
Arrangements and communications can be dreadfully slow. We call it
"Solomon Time".
I have to admit to some trepidation about accepting an invitation to
come all that way to speak (authoritatively) about my wife's relatives
and their history. I could not afford the trip myself, and I feel
quite unworthy of having that kind of money spent on me. Also I would
hate to have someone say of me, as they did of Kevu, that I took
another's rightful place.
On consideration, and having heard a bit more about what June and
Biuku discussed the last time they met, I feel June as Biuku's niece,
would be an appropriate representative. She had often discussed with
Biuku how one day we would all take him to the US to see all the
things he missed out on earlier. I regret we never did that.
Also June is keen to come. She has the advantage of having been
charged by Biuku to represent him in matters to do with his history
and association with JFK. The way she speaks of it, his blessing was
tantamount to a verbal power of attorney given her before his death.
Biuku trusted her, as she and her parents were close friends as well
as relatives. Perhaps too he felt that as June was married to a
tievaka (European) she was in a good position to look out for the
family interests in regards to his history and reputation, and in
particular try to retrieve his lost merumeru (heirlooms). He certainly
asked her to do so. Unfortunately she has not had much luck with that
yet.
Though I have to admit I would really like to accompany her, I feel it
is not really my place to do so, even though she feels otherwise.
Perhaps one of my daughters would be a better representative of the
family, and as well would benefit more from the trip. My girls are,
after all, really related to Biuku, - They are real family rather than
a mere in-law, and so have a more legitimate association. Even more
so if you consider that my older daughter Sumana actually owns the
island near Ughele where the PT boat base was located. Her
Grandmother was the original owner and has given it to her. Su has
been very interested in the history of the family and can discuss it
as well as, or better than I. Su has just graduated from college with
a top placing in history.
June was keen to help get some of Biuku's direct family over to see
you, and has already made a start since we last corresponded.
Communication can be difficult to the villages, especially if you
don't want the message to be intercepted or corrupted on the way. She
has been speaking by phone to her brother Moses in Munda. He told her
he saw Eroni recently, as he came over to visit, from Ranongga where
he lives. Moses is also speaking to Biuku's daughter, and cousin. He
will also speak to Eroni. As I said this could take some time.
June was concerned too about the possibility of arrangements being
"spoiled" by envious locals, so she has asked Moses to keep the matter
fairly quiet initially. She did not want to raise the family's hopes
to have them dashed if the plans fell through. Her reasoning came out
when she told me a little more of the tale.
Biuku had told her the story of how he and Eroni were "shamed" before.
When they were informed they had been invited to JFK's inauguration
Biuku and Eroni actually started the journey. They flew to Honiara
amidst a big local send off. When Ben Kevu was sent to the US instead
they went home disappointed, but to them, worse still was the
embarrassment they suffered when they returned. Everyone made fun of
them for having believed (and having told everyone) they were actually
going to America. This embarrassment was something Biuku said he felt
as keenly as the disappointment.
...there are a number of deep jealousies and
family rivalries that you may not be aware of, which would quite
likely interfere with any plans you try to make. (I have met similar
obstacles myself, most notably in trying to arrange in the traditional
manner to send a message to June's father asking his consent for me to
marry her. One gets all sorts of promises and assurances but nothing
happens, and the message is not sent. In my case nothing happened
until I finally learnt who was the right person to ask . Once I
enlisted that person's assistance what had taken a year to go nowhere
took only a month to finish).
June can contact the right people. She also has some influence with
others who can help, such as politicians and officials.
Biuku's two closest relatives are quite old, and may not be best at
communicating. June has been concerned about who could go with them
to translate for them, as she feels their English would not be
adequate. They would also suffer from culture shock. So on
consideration June is probably a more appropriate choice than I first
thought. Nevertheless she still wants to try to help them come over.
June would like to speak to you in person at some stage. Our phone
number here is (I HAVE IT)
I will ask June to mention the canoe idea to the family. It sounds
like a great idea. Hopefully someone can put their hands on one.
Building one might take a long while to get organised. However,
several were built a couple of years ago for a regatta. Maybe one
could be available. These were not true plank-built tomoko, (war
canoes) but were dugouts with the traditional tomoko prow and stern
added. However they were pretty impressive. I can post you a DVD of
the regatta if you are interested. June knows the customs associated
with the canoes and the paddling style.
Cheers and best regards.
A Happy New year to you and your family!
Alan
I've just gotten confirmation that Juni Gasa (neice of the late Biuku Gasa, the lead islander who found JFK and the crew of the PT 109 along with buddy Eroni Kumana, who is still alive, but in weak shape for travel) and husband Alan Freshwater do want to come to Seattle in the United States in April. Now I just have to raise the money for the tickets, but I'll pay out of my own pocket if need be.
Here is the original blog that I found. This guy modestly says he's nobody special, but he knows way more information about the islander's side of the story than has been published in any of the books I've researched.
This is the closest to an authoritative source on the death of Biuki Gasa written by a living relative. The Solomon Islands embassy in the United States also confirms this. There appear to be no press accounts of his death anywhere else on the internet.
August 2nd 2006 is the 63rd anniversary of the sinking of the torpedo patrol boat PT109, and that reminds me of Uncle Biuku Gaza's story.
Biuku was my wife’s uncle, and a kindly old man.
Sadly, Biuku died late last year. Coincidentally we were told of his death on the anniversary of John F Kennedy’s assassination. That is November 22nd, which also happens to be my younger daughter's birthday"
Kennedy called the two ashore and asked them to deliver a note to the nearest coastwatcher. Biuku refused to carry anything incriminating that might be connected to Americans, in case the Japanese searched him.
Instead, he offered Kennedy a green coconut and suggested that he scratch a message on that. He could hide it amongst a pile of other coconuts in the canoe and it would probably go unnoticed.
Biuku says that Kennedy patted his head, said he had a good brain in there and took the coconut. On it he carved the following:
NAURO ISL
COMMANDER... NATIVE KNOWS POS'IT...
HE CAN PILOT... 11 ALIVE
NEED SMALL BOAT... KENNEDY
Biuku and Eroni delivered the coconut and the rest is history. The coconut was kept in the oval office all through JFK's presidency and was then for a time in the Smithsonian. I understand it is now kept in the JF Kennedy Library in Boston.
What most of the world has never heard is the way it all seemed from the point of view of Biuku and his friends. Biuku was invited to JFK's inauguration but the bureaucrats in Honiara decided that such a junket was too good to waste on an ignorant local and sent someone else instead.
Kennedy wrote later to Biuku expressing his disappointment that they did not meet again. Until he died, Biuku keenly felt the injustice of it.
He received a medal. It was "borrowed" and never returned. The correspondence from JFK to Biuku was "borrowed" and never returned.
Kennedy ordered Biuku and Gasa to go and look for a man called John Kari. He was a local head-man during the colonial era. John Kari was born in 1900 and was hailed from Hopongo Village, Rendova Island. Rendova Harbour is located in Rendova Island where the USA marine base was located during then. Biuku and Gasa approached John Kari (he was in Vonavona langoon during then) with the coconut husk on which Kennedy scribed onto his request for help. However, John Kari then got the coconut husk and passed it on to the other marine personnels. However, according to John Kari, he was also assisting the other natives to paddle Kennedy in a dug out local canoe during the night to the marine base in Rendova Island. John Kari was recognised for that part of the rescue and he even carved a stone carving as a token of friendship to the Kennedy family. John Kari's daughter got married to an American, who then lead John Kari's dauther (Effie McAdams) to present the stone carving to Bush (one of the bible translators visiting Solomon Islands in early 80s) who then presented the stone carving to be laid in Kennedy's grave yeard or to his library I supose. John Kari was also presented with the model of the PT109 and USA flag and still at his home village to date.
Here's a letter from Gizo Diving which confirms that Eroni Kumana is still alive and well:
From: "Kerrie and Danny Kennedy"
> Hello Arthur.
> Eroni is home in the village but was here last week. His son is here
> presently. I would be concerned about him travelling so far at his
> age.Whilst he is agile the plane trip to the US would be taxing. We will
> check for a telegram.
> Thanks
>
> Kerrie Kennedy
> Adventure Sports- Dive Gizo and Munda
> PO box 21
> Gizo
> Solomon Islands
Here are the letters I have received, and his stories:
11/24/06
Here are two photos of Biuku, one with June (Ziu), my wife, when she
was visiting home for the funeral of her father, shortly before Biuku
too passed away. June will ask for a photo of Eroni for you.
12/2/06
Hi Eric,and Arthur
I am not sure if my wife has managed to get a message to her brother yet, as I promised. I hope the photos I sent got thru.
You may not have heard from Danny Kennedy lately, as I am told he is in prison at present, serving two years for "piracy". Apparently he set adrift a boat belonging to a rival tour operator. It seems a strange thing to do. But there you are. I am told they charged Danny under an old Colonial Piracy Act. Someone must have really wanted to spike his guns, as the sentence for Piracy is up to 40 years! It seems he was "lucky" to get two years.
I can have a go at some of your questions, and I will attack the rest later...
Can you confirm the that Gasa died shortly after the Pacific Time
magazine article of August 2005?
As I wrote in my blog, my brother in law telephoned us on November 22 to tell us about Biuku's death. I remember it well, because of the coincidence of my daughters birthday and the anniversary of JFK's assassination. He had died either that day, or the day before.
Everything I wrote in the Blog is true, as far as I can tell, bearing in mind I am reporting what Biuku said, as translated for me. Right down to the fact I know who Biuku said took the letters he received from JFK. I have tried to contact that person, a New Zealander who married one of Biuku's cousins, but he did not reply.
According to all of the books including Donovan's, it was Kennedy's
idea of writing a message on a coconut. According to National
Geographic and the blog, it was Gasa's idea. Who is correct?
Biuku told the story to my wife, and we have it on tape, in Roviana, that it was his idea to use a coconut. Kennedy was going to give him a piece of paper from his notebook, but Biuku said he did not want to be caught with paper and American writing . He reckoned he could hide the scratched coconut in a pile of others in the canoe. Then the Japanese would not be likely to suspect anything, if they checked the canoe. Also as I wrote in the blog.
Sometimes I think that the stories get changed simply because some people think it would not do to have a "native" coming up with clever ideas. Reminds me of the old Lone Ranger TV Series. Tonto was never allowed to have an original thought. He just followed instructions.
Biuku said that officials in Honiara blocked his and Eroni's visit to JFKs inauguration, and sent someone else. He said that they told him that he and Eroni could not speak English and would get lost, or words to that effect.
I would suspect, that Biuku's English was not that good. But it would have been enough to get by, and in answer to your question, he would be able to communicate easily with the coastwatchers in Pijin. Or even in his own language, Roviana. The coast watcher would have been fluent in pijin at least, and probably some of the local languages. Bear in mind that many Solomon Islanders speak a number of different languages, as they have relatives by marriage in many different cultural groups. My wife June, or Ziuni, for example can speak at least 7 languages pretty fluently. And they are not all just slightly different dialects.
I Think Biuku initially feared the sailors might be Japanese simply because paddling by, he was at first too far away to see them clearly. And he would not have been keen to go closer, just in case they were in fact Japanese. The Melanesians did not trust the Japanese at all. So the castaways had to persuade him and Eroni to go ashore.
I will see what else I can come up with for you..
Cheers
Thanks for your email. The best I can do I think is to pass this
information on to my Brother in Law, Moses Sae, who is one of Biuku's
nephews, and ask him to let his cousins know about it. I am sure they
can pass a message on to Eroni too. Also I know one honest politician
who may be able to help with some facilitation. Will report on
progress!
Cheers
12/13/06
I have just been talking to June, and she is pretty keen to get started on this project for you. She will do what she can to get some of the family over to you. She then went into reminiscent mode.
I thought you might like to hear some of what she told me of what Biuku told her when she last saw him. She also has a recording made of Biuku telling the "Kennedy" story.
Biuku told June that when he was due to go to the US for Kennedy's inauguration, he was not sent because he did not speak English.
It seems that a local family of some influence with the British administrators at the time had persuaded them that Biuku and Eroni would get lost if they were sent. Biuku thought this had been done simply out of envy or spite. Funnily enough it is from a member of the same family I had been trying to retrieve Kennedy's letter.
Anyway, be that as it may, in the end, another local, named Ben Kevu, was sent to the inauguration instead. Kevu was an interpreter for the Americans during the war. It was felt he would be better able to communicate.
When Kevu returned he told Biuku that Kennedy had looked at him for a moment, then told him he was too tall. (Kevu was very tall - Biuku was quite short). Kennedy had told Kevu that he was plainly the wrong person. He knew how tall Biuku was, and Kevu was not Biuku. Kevu told Biuku that Kennedy had made it quite plain to him that he was disappointed and that it was Biuku and Eroni whom Kennedy had wanted to meet again.
Biuku told June that before Kennedy left the Solomons, he had told Biuku that he was going to try to be president one day and that when that happened he would send for Biuku to visit him in the White House. Biuku also told June that Kennedy had said to him that he would take the coconut with him when he went, and would keep it. He told Biuku that one day Biuku would come to visit him, and Kennedy would show the coconut to Biuku again. June says this is exactly what Biuku told her. He said they spoke very rough Pijin to each other at that time. June said that telling the story was always a source of mirth to the family as Biuku imitated the way he and JFK spoke pijin to each other.
I am going to get June to translate the recording and I will send you a copy along with a transcript and translation.
Cheers
Alan
Me:
I can get leave for a couple
of week's away. So that would not be a problem except that i had sort
of committed to visiting my father in Australia soon. I can possibly
combine the travel for that.
We shall have a family conference and get back to you. When does your
son graduate?
Last night June spent the evening with an old friend of ours who is a
member of parliament and Minister of the Crown in Solomon Islands. He
is interested in facilitating a cultural exchange. He flew home today
and will mention it to another member who was a good friend of mine
when I was in Gizo. He is a distant relative of June's but also was a
close friend to Biuku before. He would be keen to help us I am sure.
In the meantime June has searched amongst our stuff and located a
tape, recorded in 1999 of Biuku telling his tale especially for our
two daughters. It is on my memory of this I had based what I have
published so far. Listening to it has elicited a little more detail.
SoJune is transcribing it now, and then we shall translate it. I will
send you a copy, along with a transcript and translation as soon as
possible. I shall also transfer it to CD so that it can be preserved.
Best regards
Alan
(and by the way our Prime Minister is a she... Helen Clark, :-) -
Cheers!)
Thanks again for your patience and persistence. And for
your plans. This could take some time. Patience and persistence are
both something you need when making plans involving the Solomons.
Arrangements and communications can be dreadfully slow. We call it
"Solomon Time".
I have to admit to some trepidation about accepting an invitation to
come all that way to speak (authoritatively) about my wife's relatives
and their history. I could not afford the trip myself, and I feel
quite unworthy of having that kind of money spent on me. Also I would
hate to have someone say of me, as they did of Kevu, that I took
another's rightful place.
On consideration, and having heard a bit more about what June and
Biuku discussed the last time they met, I feel June as Biuku's niece,
would be an appropriate representative. She had often discussed with
Biuku how one day we would all take him to the US to see all the
things he missed out on earlier. I regret we never did that.
Also June is keen to come. She has the advantage of having been
charged by Biuku to represent him in matters to do with his history
and association with JFK. The way she speaks of it, his blessing was
tantamount to a verbal power of attorney given her before his death.
Biuku trusted her, as she and her parents were close friends as well
as relatives. Perhaps too he felt that as June was married to a
tievaka (European) she was in a good position to look out for the
family interests in regards to his history and reputation, and in
particular try to retrieve his lost merumeru (heirlooms). He certainly
asked her to do so. Unfortunately she has not had much luck with that
yet.
Though I have to admit I would really like to accompany her, I feel it
is not really my place to do so, even though she feels otherwise.
Perhaps one of my daughters would be a better representative of the
family, and as well would benefit more from the trip. My girls are,
after all, really related to Biuku, - They are real family rather than
a mere in-law, and so have a more legitimate association. Even more
so if you consider that my older daughter Sumana actually owns the
island near Ughele where the PT boat base was located. Her
Grandmother was the original owner and has given it to her. Su has
been very interested in the history of the family and can discuss it
as well as, or better than I. Su has just graduated from college with
a top placing in history.
June was keen to help get some of Biuku's direct family over to see
you, and has already made a start since we last corresponded.
Communication can be difficult to the villages, especially if you
don't want the message to be intercepted or corrupted on the way. She
has been speaking by phone to her brother Moses in Munda. He told her
he saw Eroni recently, as he came over to visit, from Ranongga where
he lives. Moses is also speaking to Biuku's daughter, and cousin. He
will also speak to Eroni. As I said this could take some time.
June was concerned too about the possibility of arrangements being
"spoiled" by envious locals, so she has asked Moses to keep the matter
fairly quiet initially. She did not want to raise the family's hopes
to have them dashed if the plans fell through. Her reasoning came out
when she told me a little more of the tale.
Biuku had told her the story of how he and Eroni were "shamed" before.
When they were informed they had been invited to JFK's inauguration
Biuku and Eroni actually started the journey. They flew to Honiara
amidst a big local send off. When Ben Kevu was sent to the US instead
they went home disappointed, but to them, worse still was the
embarrassment they suffered when they returned. Everyone made fun of
them for having believed (and having told everyone) they were actually
going to America. This embarrassment was something Biuku said he felt
as keenly as the disappointment.
...there are a number of deep jealousies and
family rivalries that you may not be aware of, which would quite
likely interfere with any plans you try to make. (I have met similar
obstacles myself, most notably in trying to arrange in the traditional
manner to send a message to June's father asking his consent for me to
marry her. One gets all sorts of promises and assurances but nothing
happens, and the message is not sent. In my case nothing happened
until I finally learnt who was the right person to ask . Once I
enlisted that person's assistance what had taken a year to go nowhere
took only a month to finish).
June can contact the right people. She also has some influence with
others who can help, such as politicians and officials.
Biuku's two closest relatives are quite old, and may not be best at
communicating. June has been concerned about who could go with them
to translate for them, as she feels their English would not be
adequate. They would also suffer from culture shock. So on
consideration June is probably a more appropriate choice than I first
thought. Nevertheless she still wants to try to help them come over.
June would like to speak to you in person at some stage. Our phone
number here is (I HAVE IT)
I will ask June to mention the canoe idea to the family. It sounds
like a great idea. Hopefully someone can put their hands on one.
Building one might take a long while to get organised. However,
several were built a couple of years ago for a regatta. Maybe one
could be available. These were not true plank-built tomoko, (war
canoes) but were dugouts with the traditional tomoko prow and stern
added. However they were pretty impressive. I can post you a DVD of
the regatta if you are interested. June knows the customs associated
with the canoes and the paddling style.
Cheers and best regards.
A Happy New year to you and your family!
Alan
Nancy Kwan in I Enjoy Being a Girl 1990 VHS clip
If you can't wait for the DVD to come out, I'll rent out the VHS for $15 for 1 week, and throw in a DVD dub of the movie
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Asian Week: 6 Asian Arts Reviews in 6 minutes
Hu's on FirstArthur Hu, Dec 29, 2006
OK, so I’ve been catching up on my videos and books, but it’s not too late to add some fresh perspectives:
Crouching Charger, Hidden Moonshine
The King of the Hill’s Khan may dismiss his neighbors as suburban hillbillies, but the feature movie version of The Dukes of Hazzard makes it the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon of Redneck American culture.
You know Asians have infiltrated the boondocks when the General Lee drifts fast and furiously. When black youths ask the hillbillies about their use of the stars and bars as roof graphics, the Dukes retort that they’d rather be called "Appalachian Americans." The Dukes pose as Japanese, explaining "we converted." A backwards Chinese fuse recalls an old myth about the geometry of Asian female anatomy (it isn’t true). Bo Duke backs up his familiarity with Chinese by saying he dated a Korean girl once, but ultra-nerd says "that’s an entirely different Oriental culture."
The Wizard of Tokyo Drifting
Wikipedia’s take on The Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift gives more space to cars than characters. Japan still has the same stupid-looking boxy taxis I saw in 1986. Like Dorothy, Sean gets into trouble and ends up far from Kansas. A garage works like a giant vending machine, while the racing course is a multilevel garage. The hero gets suckered into challenging the nephew of a Yakuza. After many crashes, Sean beats the wicked witch and wins one for the munchkins. Oh yeah, Veilside is the company that makes the awesome wide Mazda body kit.
Desperate Geishas
Memoirs of a Geisha is a lot like the Desperate Housewives who plot how to ruin each other’s lives. Our heroine is sold into slavery, and bullied by a spoiled evil geisha with a thick Chinese accent. You might want to skip over Mama’s "you’ve been out with a boyfriend" test if the kids are watching. The girl gets locked up before she can run away with her sister, gets a good lashing, and she falls from the roof from her second escape attempt. The Good Fairy Geisha waves a wand and transforms her from slave to Geisha-in-training. She resolves that even if being a geisha sucks, she’ll get Prince Charming by being the best one. Geisha boot camp seems right out of Mulan’s "Be a Man." Like a sniper, it’s one shot, one kill, making a boy on bicycle crash to prove she can stop a man with one glance. Like sumo wrestlers, she is also in a battle of giants to be "Top Geisha."
The Perils of Precious Auntie
I picked up Amy Tan’s Bonesetter’s Daughter condensed on tape. Here are the 10 classics in a 10-minute version. Long-dead Precious Auntie left a mysterious letter about things she should not forget. Bandits killed everybody in her wedding. She tried to kill herself, but the bride emerges so disfigured she is demoted to nursemaid to her own daughter. So Auntie is really mother, and Mother really isn’t and … whatever. War comes to China. Peking man gets lost. Hubbies get killed. Communists take over. The girl grows up, trades in her dragon bones for a ticket to America. And they all live happily ever after. Let me know if you spot anybody doing a YouTube parody.
Affirmative Action Reality
Those bastards have forced the Survivors to work in perfect racial harmony. My gosh, if only I had a bod like that when I took PE. Now, why is it that activists fight to the death to keep quotas for everybody else, but when CBS gives Asians a too-big quota in the only professional field with too FEW Asians, they get bent out of shape?
Abuse of the Yellow Man
In the rerun of South Park’s Greed of the Red Man, economically advanced Indian — Oops! Native American — casinos take over the simple savages of South Park. They give blankets infected with SARS by rubbing them with … gibberish-spouting naked Chinese men. I wasn’t offended, but shouldn’t somebody be? It’s almost redeemed when the ancient white folk remedy for SARS is the same one that my Chinese mother learned from the locals — Campbell’s Chicken Soup, Nyquil and Sprite.
Arthur Hu is a San Jose engineer, husband and father of three elementary school kids. He is a former AsianWeek columnist.
OK, so I’ve been catching up on my videos and books, but it’s not too late to add some fresh perspectives:
Crouching Charger, Hidden Moonshine
The King of the Hill’s Khan may dismiss his neighbors as suburban hillbillies, but the feature movie version of The Dukes of Hazzard makes it the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon of Redneck American culture.
You know Asians have infiltrated the boondocks when the General Lee drifts fast and furiously. When black youths ask the hillbillies about their use of the stars and bars as roof graphics, the Dukes retort that they’d rather be called "Appalachian Americans." The Dukes pose as Japanese, explaining "we converted." A backwards Chinese fuse recalls an old myth about the geometry of Asian female anatomy (it isn’t true). Bo Duke backs up his familiarity with Chinese by saying he dated a Korean girl once, but ultra-nerd says "that’s an entirely different Oriental culture."
The Wizard of Tokyo Drifting
Wikipedia’s take on The Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift gives more space to cars than characters. Japan still has the same stupid-looking boxy taxis I saw in 1986. Like Dorothy, Sean gets into trouble and ends up far from Kansas. A garage works like a giant vending machine, while the racing course is a multilevel garage. The hero gets suckered into challenging the nephew of a Yakuza. After many crashes, Sean beats the wicked witch and wins one for the munchkins. Oh yeah, Veilside is the company that makes the awesome wide Mazda body kit.
Desperate Geishas
Memoirs of a Geisha is a lot like the Desperate Housewives who plot how to ruin each other’s lives. Our heroine is sold into slavery, and bullied by a spoiled evil geisha with a thick Chinese accent. You might want to skip over Mama’s "you’ve been out with a boyfriend" test if the kids are watching. The girl gets locked up before she can run away with her sister, gets a good lashing, and she falls from the roof from her second escape attempt. The Good Fairy Geisha waves a wand and transforms her from slave to Geisha-in-training. She resolves that even if being a geisha sucks, she’ll get Prince Charming by being the best one. Geisha boot camp seems right out of Mulan’s "Be a Man." Like a sniper, it’s one shot, one kill, making a boy on bicycle crash to prove she can stop a man with one glance. Like sumo wrestlers, she is also in a battle of giants to be "Top Geisha."
The Perils of Precious Auntie
I picked up Amy Tan’s Bonesetter’s Daughter condensed on tape. Here are the 10 classics in a 10-minute version. Long-dead Precious Auntie left a mysterious letter about things she should not forget. Bandits killed everybody in her wedding. She tried to kill herself, but the bride emerges so disfigured she is demoted to nursemaid to her own daughter. So Auntie is really mother, and Mother really isn’t and … whatever. War comes to China. Peking man gets lost. Hubbies get killed. Communists take over. The girl grows up, trades in her dragon bones for a ticket to America. And they all live happily ever after. Let me know if you spot anybody doing a YouTube parody.
Affirmative Action Reality
Those bastards have forced the Survivors to work in perfect racial harmony. My gosh, if only I had a bod like that when I took PE. Now, why is it that activists fight to the death to keep quotas for everybody else, but when CBS gives Asians a too-big quota in the only professional field with too FEW Asians, they get bent out of shape?
Abuse of the Yellow Man
In the rerun of South Park’s Greed of the Red Man, economically advanced Indian — Oops! Native American — casinos take over the simple savages of South Park. They give blankets infected with SARS by rubbing them with … gibberish-spouting naked Chinese men. I wasn’t offended, but shouldn’t somebody be? It’s almost redeemed when the ancient white folk remedy for SARS is the same one that my Chinese mother learned from the locals — Campbell’s Chicken Soup, Nyquil and Sprite.
Arthur Hu is a San Jose engineer, husband and father of three elementary school kids. He is a former AsianWeek columnist.
Monday, January 01, 2007
Seattle Bellevue Square Snowflake Lane Drummer Show It's Snowing!
| Stapleton may have the christmas light show, but we've got live drummers, dancers, and fake snow in Seattle's premier eastside malls. It supposedly costs millions to put this on. The show is actually more impressive at ground level, this was taken from the Crate and Barrel balcony. | |
PT-109 Next Generation: Rammed by a Japanese Minivan!
| They've sunk Kennedy! You bastards! Reenactment of the fateful night that forged the character of the future president John F. Kennedy. Two men were lost in the disaster, but the rest of the men made it back with the help of an Australian coastwatcher and his two Solomon Island scouts, Buiku and Ernoni who delivered a help message on a coconut | |
Steve Irwin Attacked by PT 109 Shark! PT-109 Next Generation WWII Navy
| The Solomon Islands patrolled by the PT 109 was swarming with sharks. According to an Australian travel advisory, if local civil unrest doesn't get you, the crocodiles will. Or the stingrays. Stay tuned for the next episode when John F Kennedy and the crew of the PT 109 fight off sharks after their boat is reduced to a floating hulk after being rammed by a minivan, er destroyer in WWII | |
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