Glenn Nakadate: A Pebble in Boulder City

“Money is the mother’s milk of politics.” – Jesse Unruh, former treasurer of California.

The greatest threat to our political system is the money influencing politicians. Recent attempts at reform such as the 1972 Federal Election Campaign Act and the 2002 Bipartsan Campaign Reform Act (McCain-Feingold) have been emasculated by Supreme Court decisions that declared limiting campaign contributions was an infringement of the First Amendment about free speech, thus opening the floodgates for the formation of super PACs that are able to conceal the donors.

Lawrence Lessig, a Harvard professor who once clerked for Anthony Scalia, wrote a book, “Republic, Lost: How Money Corrupts Congress — and a Plan to Stop It” and his ideas can be heard at: >http://blip.tv

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Glenn Nakadate, A Pebble In Boulder City

If you don’t read the newspaper, you are uninformed. If you do read the newspaper, you are misinformed. — Author unknown. Commonly attributed to Mark Twain or Thomas Jefferson

Urban legends are one of the most irritating things that have been facilitated by the creation of the Internet. Urban legends and rumors existed in the past but their spread was mostly by word of mouth, whereas with the introduction of the World Wide Web, these same legends spread at the speed of light.

Some urban legends are true but the vast majority are not. Unfortunately, too many read these legends, believe them and the exhortation at the end of the article to forward it.

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It’s hard for me to get used to these changing times. I can remember when the air was clean and sex dirty. – George Burns

Glenn Nakadate/ A Pebble In Boulder City

Misunderstandings between generations have always existed and will continue. What reminded me of this was the clothing, or lack of such, that I observed in Las Vegas during the recent Electric Daisy Carnival.

I didn’t attend the event but its young participants were exhibiting themselves at many of the hotel-casinos. Their attire would even have embarrassed hookers.

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Bureaucracy is the art of making the possible impossible.

– Javier Pascual Salcedo

Boulder City is fortunate to have the Nevada State Veterans Home located here. It is one of the best run in the country as its many awards would attest.

I have had friends whose loved ones were domiciled there and everyone has commented favorably on the excellent care in a spic-and-span environment by very caring personnel.

What sparked this article is something I recently heard about. Unfortunately, some of those housed there have Alzheimer’s and other dementias and would wander off without proper safeguards.

The standard way to deal with this was to attach a device to an ankle or wrist so that when such a patient would try to exit, a sensor would recognize the device and lock the door.

A recent conference about the problem suggested a unique solution. Patients with dementia do not interpret visual images in a normal manner. A black mat in front of a door may be seen as a big hole and they would avoid this frightening image.

An exit door can be disguised by a covering resembling a bookcase so patients do not recognize it as a door and so they do not go out.

The normal viewing windows of the door can be left uncovered and clearly marked exit signs over the door can be left in place.

The bookcase disguise was tried a few years ago and worked perfectly, allowing removal of the wrist and ankle devices. Inspection surveyors thought this was an excellent low-tech solution and the home was given commendations for its use until the latest bureaucratic surveyor who decided that disguising an exit door was against the fire code even though exit signs and windows were clearly visible.

The home was cited for a violation although that is now on appeal.

Gary Bermeosolo, administrator of the veterans home, told me that there are so many inspection teams who overlap what is covered and have conflicting views on proper implementation that too much time is spent for this and less time can be spent on caring for the inhabitants.

There should be some way to consolidate these many teams into one comprehensive one because it is important to insure compliance with standards. The government solution might be to just add one more layer to oversee all the others instead of consolidating.

If you know Gary, he is a mild mannered, easygoing chap, but if you want to get his blood pressure up and see him turn into a tiger, do or say something that adversely affects his veterans.

I recently learned he has decided to retire this year and hope it is of his own choosing and not a reaction to frustration with all the bureaucracy.

I agree with Thomas Sowell who said, “You will never understand bureaucracies until you understand that for bureaucrats procedure is everything and outcomes are nothing.”

Speaking of bureaucracy, the U.S. Transportation Security Administration at airport security has to rank as one of the most costly, frustrating experiences. I say if God wanted us to fly he would never have invented the TSA.

Glenn Nakadate is a Boulder City resident and can be reached at href=bcpebble@yahoo.com.

>bcpebble@yahoo.com

By Glenn Nakadate, A Pebble in Boulder City

“A single profane expression betrays a person’s low breeding.” – Joseph Cook

I was recently invited to a soiree at the Cosmopolitan Hotel and asked my friend, Captain Dave, if he would also like to attend. I reminded him that this was an upscale hotel and we should dress in what I would describe as casual chic.

In my mind that excludes jeans, t-shirts, sandals, sneakers, shorts and should include slacks and a nice shirt. A blazer adds a touch of class but stylish leather jackets can be included as being appropriate.

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“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”

– Dr. Seuss, from “The Lorax”

By Glenn Nakadate, Pebble in Boulder City

We boast of being a “green” city with solar electric generating plants, hydroelectric power from Hoover Dam, and perhaps wind generation in the future, but there is so much we are not doing.

At this point in time, we are only tea green (a very slight shade of green). Boulder, Colo., gets more credit than we do for being green.

Ask yourself if you recycle your paper, plastic and glass on Wednesday for pickup of these materials or do you lump everything into your trash. The trash pickup company could do more to publicize what should and should not go into the recycle bins. For example, if you faithfully place your plastic bottles to be recycled, did you know that if the cap is left on the bottle will be discarded? Apparently, the cap is made of a different type of plastic that recyclers do not want.

Plastic bags we use to carry out grocery purchases are becoming such a world-wide problem that several countries have banned their use. Some of the countries include Aruba, Australia, Bangladesh, Ireland, Italy, South Africa and Taiwan among others. Several communities in California have joined in the ban.

Grocery stores are trying to gently encourage the use of reusable bags but more stringent measures are unfortunately needed.

The ‘carrot and/or stick’ method can be an effective way to change our bad habits. I admit to forgetting to bring my canvas carrying bag for groceries, but getting a small discount for its use and/or being charged extra for using plastic would be an incentive to make this a good habit.

Why doesn’t the Nevada Legislature charge 5 cents deposit on every aluminum can and plastic bottle like other states? There are complaints about companies not giving correct value as well as other problems, but these can be solved.

A recent trip to Belo Horizonte, Brazil, to see a college classmate illustrated how important recycling can be. Homeless people would gather paper, bottles and other recyclable material to earn some money. The recycling companies were charging these people for the use of required transportation carts and then short-changing them on the weight of the material.

My friend and a nun helped raise money to buy the carts for these homeless, and then went to the city government to have the scales checked. They also convinced the city fathers that recycling was of major benefit to the city because landfill life could be extended and unsightly trash at pickup points reduced.

The enlightened city fathers went even further to provide receptacles clearly marked for paper, plastic and trash. The city then built warehouses to hold the collected paper to protect against rain damage before the paper is hauled away.

The homeless organized into a group called Asmares: >http://www.scielo.br

This cooperative effort has provided enough income so that many of the homeless are able to buy their own homes, keep their children in school and bring dignity to their lives. Asmares has even started a very popular restaurant/bar so they can teach members how to become workers in the service industry. Las Vegas might look into the program.

There is not enough space in this column to discuss ways to conserve water, reduce use of electricity and other ideas to help Boulder City become bright green and save you money at the same time. Here are some sites: http://bit.ly or >http://bit.ly

Glenn Nakadate is a Boulder City resident and can be reached at BCPebble@yahoo.com

By Glenn Nakadate, A Pebble in Boulder City

Recently, I saw a “COEXIST” bumper sticker on a car in Boulder City and got to thinking about tolerance of other people’s beliefs.

The original coexist design was by Piotr Miodozeniec, a Polish graphic designer who entered it into a contest sponsored by an Israeli museum to promote religious tolerance.

The letter “C” was formed by the Islamic crescent symbol, the Star of David of Judaism depicted the “X” and the “T” represented the Christian cross.

Since then, the design has been modified to include symbols for Eastern religions, gender identity issues, and pagan/Wiccan beliefs.

This article is not meant as a primer on comparative religions since that would require volumes to discuss in detail, but more to illustrate the many similarities between Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. Hopefully, this will lead to greater understanding and tolerance.

The religions discussed in this article are Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Their respective followers are called Jews, Christians and Muslims. They are all monotheistic religions, or a belief in one god. The founder of Judaism was Abraham about 4,000 years ago as described in the Old Testament.

Muslims also trace their origin to him. Christianity begins with Jesus but the roots go back to Abraham.

One of the most important commonalities is the belief in one God and that it is the same God.

The major difference among these religions is the emphasis on the messenger:

Moses for the Jews, Jesus for Christians, and Mohammed for Muslims.

The holy book for Judaism is the Torah that consists of the first five books of the Old Testament. Christianity’s holy bible consists of both the Old and New Testaments.

Muslim’s have the Koran. Westerners do not realize that prophets mentioned in the Koran include Abraham, Moses and Jesus. This illustrates the Koran’s lineage to both Judaism and Christianity by including references to the Torah and Bible. The Koran’s only woman specified by name is Mary, Jesus’ mother.

Each of these religions set aside one day during the week specifically devoted to public prayer: Friday for Muslims; Saturday is the Sabbath for Jews; and Sunday for Christians.

Fasting is also part of each religion to focus on meditation and prayer.

Christian fasting varies with each denomination. For example, Catholics during the Lenten season restrict their consumption on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday; Jews fast during Yom Kippur; and Muslims fast during daylight hours during the month of Ramadan.

All three of these religions originated in the Middle East and their holiest sites are located in Jerusalem.

Jews have the Wailing Wall, so called because their first and second temples built on Temple Mount were destroyed and only this Western Wall remains. Jews come here to pray and lament the destruction of their most holy temples. The center of Temple Mount is the Dome of the Rock where the second Jewish Temple was located and where Abraham was ready to sacrifice his son. Muslims constructed their mosque at this very location around 690 A.D. and it is their third most sacred site. It is reputed to be where Mohammed ascended to heaven to receive God’s commandments.

Close by is the Christian Church of the Holy Sepulchre where Jesus was said to have been crucified.

Wikipedia says there are 2.1 billion Christians (#1 number of adherents), 1.5 billion Muslims (#2 number of members) and 12 million Jews (#12 on list of adherents).

Creating harmony between the three religions discussed is certainly challenging since schism even exists within each of these religions.

Christians are not only divided between Protestants and Catholics but have splintered into over 38,000 Christian denominations.

The main division among Jews is Orthodox and Reform, but with subdivisions in each of these.

Islam separated into Shia, or Shiites, and Sunni after Mohammed’s death and, as with the other religions, also has subdivisions. Those who followed Mohammed’s son were Sunnis and those that chose Mohammed’s daughter and son-in-law formed the Shia group.

I agree with the following quotes and hope readers do, too:

“Tolerance is the positive and cordial effort to understand another’s beliefs, practices, and habits without necessarily sharing or accepting them.”- Joshua Liebman.

“Every religious group, while perhaps a majority somewhere, is also inevitably a minority somewhere else. Thus, religious organizations should and do show tolerance toward members of other religious denominations.” – Russell M. Nelson

“The test of courage comes when we are in the minority. The test of tolerance comes when we are in the majority.” – Ralph W. Sockman

Glenn Nakadate is a resident of Boulde City and can be reached at href=BCPebble@yahoo.com.

>BCPebble@yahoo.com

If you can speak three languages you’re trilingual. If you can speak two languages you’re bilingual. If you can speak only one language you’re an American. ~Author Unknown

By Glenn Nakadate, A Pebble in Boulder City

Americans can be so arrogant that we think everyone should speak English. French was the lingua franca of diplomacy before World War I but there is no question that now English dominates in international business, technology, science and aviation.

All international airports require air traffic controllers to speak English. However, once when I was landing at a Mexican airfield, the controller’s heavy accent made for difficult understanding.

Captain Dave Baker in his 31-year career never encountered any problems except in Canada when he would occasionally hear pilots and controllers speaking in French and he was not sure of that plane’s position.

The most spoken language by population is Mandarin Chinese, almost 900 million, followed by Spanish with 325 million and English speakers are third with estimates ranging from 315 million to 380 million.

I love to travel to so many foreign countries that it would be impossible to be conversant in all the encountered languages but have found it is possible to know one phrase in over 80 languages.

If you could remember one phrase when visiting a foreign country, what would you select? Many of you would likely want to ask, Where is the bathroom? But even such a simple question in an English-speaking country may not elicit the desired answer.

Once while touring England I asked a zany, somewhat cheeky, Englishman where the bathroom was. He answered in a loud, booming voice so everyone around could hear, “The bathroom? You want to take a bath?” Asking for a restroom may lead to a room where one actually “rests” on soft comfortable chairs. In England toilets are commonly referred to as the “loo” or “w.c. (water closet).”

The phrase I chose to learn was ‘thank you’ because it can be used in so many situations. Such a simple, courteous phrase spoken to someone in their native tongue almost always elicits a look of surprise followed by a smile.

The downside is that sometimes the person then assumes the speaker is fluent in that language and will begin a rapid-fire conversation. This phrase has also reaped benefits because the person spoken to will often want to do something extra to warrant the thank you.

To be certain of the correct pronunciation, I write it down phonetically. For example, when one sees the Greek word for, ‘thank you,’ written ‘euxaristo,’ most of us would be tongue-tied. However, saying “efhar-ist-oh”shouldn’t be difficult. Similarly, in Poland how would you pronounce “dziekuje?” My helpful hint method is “jenn-koo-yeh.”

If any readers are fluent in any of these languages and I am pronouncing it inaccurately, please write and correct me.

Whenever Captain Dave and I dine out in Las Vegas, I ask the server where they are from and practice saying “thank you” in their language. It always astounds me what a melting pot Las Vegas is. I don’t know why but I started including a second phrase to remember: ‘I love you.’ It is obviously not as useful but I practice its use when a female foreign waitress comes to our table. I whisper to her that I don’t know what it means but my friend, Captain Dave, wanted to say it to her. He used to become embarrassed but now takes it in stride. It does impress him that I can remember that phrase in so many languages. The waitress usually giggles but gives better service to Captain Dave.

There are many other things one must be aware of when traveling to foreign countries. For instance, putting the thumb and forefinger together to form a circle to indicate something is OK is common among Westerners but is an obscene gesture to Turks and Brazilians. It means zero to the French and, surprisingly, the Japanese would interpret the gesture as money. Many more are listed on a fun and educational site: >http://westsidetoastmasters.com/resources/book_of_body_language/chap5.ht

Glenn Nakadate is a Boulder City resident and can be contacted at BCPebble@yahoo.com.

By Glenn Nakadate, A Pebble In Boulder City

Cancer is a word, not a sentence. John Diamond

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and the Boulder City Review will devote the last issue in October to this important subject by printing that edition in pink.

Allow me to give you some background for this particular column.

Travel is my passion and I have been to over 140 countries so far. When visiting an area, I like to couch surf.

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By Glenn Nakadate, A Pebble in Boulder City

Lady Gaga is the world’s new pop diva but we have a Lady Quagga here in Boulder City. She is Emily Austin, the quagga mussel coordinator for the National Park Service. She recently informed a local breakfast group how the quagga mussel, a tiny little mollusk about the size of a thumbnail, has the potential to ruin Lake Mead and other Western waterways.

The quagga mussel, a native of the Ukraine, is so named because its stripes resemble an extinct zebra. It was first discovered in 1989 in the Great Lakes area. It is believed ships that were docked in the Ukrainian area transported them here by taking on water for ballast and then this water with the hardy mussels was discharged into the Great Lakes. The female quaggas can produce over a million eggs annually so it is easy to visualize how readily they can infest an area. They are now found all along the Mississippi and its tributaries.

They were first discovered in Lake Mead and other Colorado River systems in 2007. It is believed pleasure boats that were originally in the Great Lakes were trailered out west and unknowingly transported the quagga here. The wily mussels attach themselves to any hard surface and can easily survive a week of desiccation. If the boat had any crevices that could harbor water, the mussels and also the eggs or larvae (called veligers) could survive for an even longer time.

The National Park Service is concerned because the quagga mussels have found an ideal breeding ground here. Normally, they have two reproductive periods but because of warm water temperatures and the abundance of food, they reproduce four times a year here. They also have no natural predators. Millions of them attach themselves easily to boats and motors, water intake tubes, the dam structure, submerged historical structures and quickly cover the structures with several inches of their shells looking like coral.

The damage is not only from the calcified layers of shells but quaggas consume tiny phytoplankton at the beginning of the food chain. Eventually, sport fish will not have enough to feed on and will starve.

The water clarity will increase because of the removal of suspended particles and the deeper penetration of light will allow different plant species to thrive and alter the ecosystem. Imagine an algae bloom of the lake increasing the water acidity and consuming the water’s oxygen resulting in millions of dead fish and the resultant odor.

Another of Emily’s jobs is further research on the quagga in order to best understand how to either control or, better yet, eliminate them without creating a different ecological problem. In their native habitat there is a type of fish that feed on them but introducing such fish might boomerang into a disaster like the use of mongooses to control rats in Hawaii. Instead of eating rats, the mongooses eat birds’ eggs and have proliferated into a bigger problem than the rats.

Studies have found that yellow perch, redear sunfish and some birds can feed on the mussels. However, the mussels, by their filtration feeding, accumulate high concentrations of toxins including botulinum. The fish and birds eating these contaminated mussels may reach toxic levels high enough that can eventually kill them. Human consumption of the mussels, fish or birds loaded with toxins can lead to the same result.

In Lake Mead, boats that have been granted berthing privileges must agree to a thorough cleaning and inspection when they leave the berth. Boats that leave under the cover of darkness to avoid inspection are a source of concern. Quaggas have now been found in Colorado lakes. Several California lakes have taken the drastic action of prohibiting use of boats that have been elsewhere.

Boulder City residents know Lake Mead is a source of life-giving water, provides a beautiful view as well as varied recreational activities. Its waters power the generators of Hoover Dam producing electricity. Besides the severe drought threatening the Lake, we must now worry about the quagga mussels.

The National Park Service, and Emily, says the first step in limiting the mussels’ spread is to remember the slogan, “Clean, Drain and Dry,” not only boats but also any object that has been in Lake Mead. What happens in Lake Mead stays in Lake Mead, until the NPS figures out how to fix the problem.

Glenn Nakadate is a Boulder City resident.