[Jan. 18: “Beware of Monsanto”] Roundup is one of the safest herbicides and it doesn’t last long–you can plant seed a day after spraying and the plant will grow, so you are worrying unnecessarily.

[Jan. 4: “Boss GMO”] Consumers unite!

It was timely that [Jan. 4: “Boss GMO”] came out the week Tom Vilsack, former governor of Iowa, Monsanto advocate and head of the US Department of Agriculture, spoke before the National Farm Bureau convention here, which praised the advances of genetic engineering and petrochemicals over organic and even conventional farming as the future of our nation.

[Jan. 11: “I Now Pronounce You Not Married!”] I agree that it was an important step in the right direction for the state of Hawaii to pass the law that allows same-sex couples to enter a civil union.

Hawaii’s new civil unions law is only the first step toward a long-overdue restructuring of how marriage and civil unions are defined. Any church should be able to marry same-gender or opposite-gender people according to its theology.

It is my hope that Gov. Abercrombie will do the right thing, the honorable thing and not defend this lawsuit.

Civil unions are good, but wrong–like schools only for Black students were in the 1960s. “Equal but different” meant discrimination then and it still does.

[Jan. 4: “Boss GMO”] It’s always annoying to see reporters seek out advice from so-called scientists like Valenzuela, who’s never done a bit of creative plant breeding research in his life.

I would like to follow up on the many dangers of Monsanto’s Round Up and its use by the Honolulu Parks and Recreation Department. Did you know that Round Up is regularly used in Kapiolani Park (and probably in other parks), especially under picnic tables and around trees where people are most likely to come into direct skin contact with it?

Hawaii’s public school teachers will be voting to approve a new six year contract this Thursday. It is no secret or coincidence that an agreement magically appeared within weeks of a federal “Race to the Top” state deadline.

The “Boss GMO” article [Jan. 4] was very informative but lacked one very essential piece of information.

Monsanto was voted the most dangerous company in the world by California Group. Their intent is to control 80 percent of the world’s food.

As a physician here in Hawaii, I see GE crops and the increase in toxic and dangerous pesticides and herbicides as the number one health issue facing our future. If you read the environmental news, you can see our planet is teetering on the edge of both environmental and health collapse.

Thank you for your great article on Monsanto’s (mis-)use of Hawaiian land. Ironically, it was nicely condensed a few pages later in [Matthew DeKneef]’s review of a group of documentaries.

Mahalo @honoluluweekly for initiating a “working vocabulary” so that an informed dialogue on GMO’s may take place. Ed K

[Dec. 7: “Kakaako: What Gives?”] After the coup d’état on Jan.

The New Year’s Day hike on the Makapuu lighthouse trail in the Ka Iwi State Scenic Wilderness Park was epic. It started at 5:30 am with the night sky on cue, illuminating the path just enough for the over 500 hikers to find solitude and prepare for the dawn of a new day and year.

[Jan. 4: “The extra mile”] I think this is a good idea.

I think your review of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is so thoughtful and enlightening [Dec. 28: “Pulp Friction”].

[Jan. 4: “Boss GMO”] Gary Maunakea-Forth’s name was misspelled.

At what point did it become the mantra that this city should be bankrupt? This also needs to be examined as rationally as possible: What are the most needed areas the city cannot overlook for budgeting whatever money actually exists?

It’s not often that anyone can second guess or improve upon the great cartoon work of John Pritchett, but one thing was missing from the near-perfect cover art [Dec.21: “Pupule Express”]. Did he forget to add the graffiti?

After reading your article [Dec.21: “Pupule Express”] and watching a documentary on Disney World’s monorail system, I was curious if anyone had thought about a futuristic (Hawaiian-style) monorail connecting Waikiki to Ko Olina and the Disney’s resort. By extending the line a few more miles in each direction and moving from steel-on-steel, utilitarian commuter rail system to a silent and tourist friendly system that would also be a functional commuter solution and could run above, below or at ground level would provide significant benefits.

In connecting historic dots and two recent writings [Dec. 14: “More vs Akaka Bill” and Dec 21:“Working Overtime”], I have to inform and correct some politically incorrect notions being told about the state and state of Hawaii.

[Dec. 28: “Warning: unauthorized use of warning”] It’s an international standard.