“Suzanne Gelb Image”

”Parenting Dispute – Who is Right?”

Dear Dr. Gelb:

I have two young children and I am careful about how I behave around them because they’re so impressionable. My husband puts me down for this. He says they’re too young to understand, and so he even sometimes cusses in front of them. Is he right that I’m being overprotective or am I on the right track?

Loving Mother

Dr. Gelb Says . . .

A: Dear Mother:

I couldn’t agree with you more. I believe that from the moment of birth caregivers assume the responsibility and privilege of being healthy role-models for their children. In this respect, I thought I’d share with you an excerpt from my article, “How to Teach a Child Positive Behavior,” published in the February/March 2003 issue of Hawaii Parent, The Magazine For Families, pp. 82-87.

“Positive Influences. With opportunities available to teach a child positive behavior, one may wonder why there are so many ill-mannered youth in today’s society. As Millie, a concerned mother of 3-year-old Tommy comments, “I try to conform to socially acceptable behavior and teach this to Tommy; so, as a parent I don’t understand why our youth are so rebellious. Is this how Tommy will turn out?” Millie appears to be aware that behavior does not just occur; it is learned. Many parents however, do not teach their child positive behavior. They do not provide needed attention and discipline. As a result, the child tends to be susceptible to undesirable influences such as peer pressure. Role models, mentors, or anyone who has influence over a child must be knowledgeable about healthy behavior because a young mind is so easily influenced.”

Good luck with raising your children. Keep them safe and teach them well.

”Learning – What Does it Take to Get Hooked?”

Dear Dr. Gelb:

I am a regular reader of your column and I wanted to tell you how much benefit I am getting out of doing the supplemental reading that you recommend in YESTERDAY’S CHILDREN. I already had a copy of this book and while I had read parts of it before I am finding the concepts to be very easy to understand when they are linked to the answers you give to your reader’s questions.

In the beginning it took a little extra effort to pull the book out and read the recommended pages, but now I’m hooked because I am learning so much.

I don’t know how many people own this book, but I would like to encourage anyone who is interested in learning about himself or herself to check out YESTERDAY’S CHILDREN.

Avid Reader

Dr. Gelb Says . . .

A: Dear Avid Reader:

Thank you for taking the time to share the wonderful feedback. This truly makes it worth my while. I hope to hear from others like yourself. It certainly offers me direction with my answers in this column.

”’Suzanne J. Gelb, Ph.D., J.D. authors this daily column, Dr. Gelb Says, which answers questions about daily living and behavior issues. Dr. Gelb is a licensed psychologist in private practice in Honolulu. She holds a Ph.D. in Psychology and a Ph.D. in Human Services. Dr. Gelb is also a published author of a book on Overcoming Addictions and a book on Relationships.”’

”’This column is intended for entertainment use only and is not intended for the purpose of psychological diagnosis, treatment or personalized advice. For more about the column’s purpose, see”’ “An Online Intro to Dr. Gelb Says”

”’Email your questions to mailto:DrGelbSays@hawaiireporter.com More information on Dr. Gelb’s services and related resources available at”’ https://www.DrGelbSays.com

The following hearing notices, which are subject to change, were sorted and taken from the Hawaii State Capitol Web site. Please check that site for updates and/or changes to the schedule at

“Hawaii State Legislature Sidebar”

Go there and click on the Hearing Date to view the Hearing Notice.

Hearings notices for both House and Senate measures in all committees:

Hearing

”Date Time Bill Number Measure Title Committee”

3/21/03 8:30 AM HCR108 REQUESTING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF AN AD HOC COMMITTEE TO STUDY THE CONTINUATION OF SERVICES AFTER THE PLANNED CLOSING OF THE CASEY FAMILY FOUNDATION OFFICES IN HAWAII. HSH

3/21/03 8:30 AM HCR121 URGING THE GOVERNOR TO CONVENE A TASK FORCE TO ADDRESS THE CONTINUAL NEED AND UNMET DEMAND FOR TRANSITIONAL HOUSING FACILITIES ON OAHU. HSH

3/21/03 8:30 AM HCR131 REQUESTING A MANAGEMENT AND FINANCIAL AUDIT OF THE HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION OF HAWAII

WASHINGTON, March 19 (UPI) — As U.S. troops brace for war, several Middle East analysts held a briefing Wednesday on how a new government could rebuild itself financially.

And Iraqi oil reserves will be at the crux of any effort to get the country on a path to growth, regardless of who may be at the government’s helm.

“Iraq’s (gross domestic product growth rate) will be five times as much as it was in 2003,” said Salah Al-Shaikhly, a member of the Iraqi National Accord Leadership, emphasizing that the country’s oil output is expected to surge once sanctions are lifted against a new Iraqi government. Last year, GDP actually shrank by 7.5 percent as the country struggled under growing debt burdens amid ever-increasing isolation from the international community.

Certainly, the economic sanctions against the country that has the second-largest oil reserves in the world have prevented Iraq from investing in building up its oil processing facilities for the past decade. Analysts are hoping that a regime change will not only encourage private companies to start investing in the country, particularly in the oil sector, but also that the new government will start pumping in money into developing public infrastructure.

“We expect imports to go up…and government expenditure as well,” Al-Shaikhly added, pointing out that increased oil revenue will allow the new regime to invest more in its own people, and to play an active part in the world economy. Currently, the bulk of the country’s imports are food under the United Nations’ food-for-oil program, while 95 percent of its exports are crude oil and petroleum products.

In 1998, the latest available figure, France was the single biggest supplier to Iraq providing 21 percent of all goods to Iraq. Australia ranked in second with 16 percent, while the United States was third, with 9 percent.

Still, there are concerns about Iraq’s debt levels accumulated over more than 20 years of war and isolation. There are no reliable figures from any international organization on how much debt the country has amassed over the years under Saddam Hussein, but it is clear that the country is burdened with considerable civilian as well as military debts.

“We would want at least the civilian debts to be forgiven,” said Rubar Sandi, president of the U.S.-Iraq Business Council and chairman of the Corporate Bank Business Group. He stressed that military expenditure accumulated under Saddam Hussein’s regime had nothing to do with the people of Iraq, and thus they should not be held accountable for those debts.

He did, however, acknowledge that Iraqis would have to be responsible for debts accumulated by civilians. But Sandi said that even those liabilities should be restructured and “at least frozen and renegotiated…to ease the burden.”

While no policy has been publicly unveiled by the Bush administration on how to deal with Iraq’s debt burden, the White House has made clear that the reconstruction of Iraq could be paid for in large part by tapping into the country’s vast oil reserves. Still, it is still not clear how exactly the oil reserves will be tapped, both between the private and public sectors, and between a new Iraq and other interested countries.

Regardless of how the oil revenues are spent and taxed, it is clear that the country’s petroleum reserves will be crucial to getting the Iraqi economy back on its feet and allowing the country to ease back into the international community. Together with securing jobs for people and ensuring that the Iraqis will quickly see the benefits of a regime change, the United States and other nations engaged in the reconstruction of Iraq will be facing a number of issues to ensure the swift rebuilding of a country that has been squeezed under a dictatorship. And the issue of tapping into the oil reserves will be only one of the many challenges.

”America, Allied Forces Launch Attack on Iraq, Ground Forces Move In”

American and allied forces waged a strike early this morning in Iraq, targeting top Iraqi officials who reportedly were gathering in an obscure residence. American officials would not identify the targets of the strike, but the strategic strike marked the opening salvo of the U.S.-led war against Iraq that Pres. Bush warned “could be longer and more difficult than some predict.”

Shortly after, U.S. Marines crossed from Kuwait into Iraq in the start of the ground war against Saddam Hussein, while to the north in Baghdad, a series of massive explosions from an aerial bombardment rocked the city.

United Press International reporter Richard Tomkins, crossing the Iraqi border with the Marines, reported U.S. forces encountered Iraqi troops using Soviet-made tanks and small arms soon after entering southern Iraq. U.S. military officials confirmed that oil wells were burning near the Kuwaiti border.

Tomkins reported the Marines entered Iraq in armored vehicles equipped with machine guns and grenade launchers. All the Marines wore full-body suits to provide protection against possible Iraqi use of chemical or biological weapons.

In Baghdad, CNN reported smoke rising from three locations after large blasts. Intense anti-aircraft fire erupted from across the city. Shortly before the Marines went in, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld warned that a massive attack to disarm Saddam Hussein and remove the Iraqi leader’s regime was imminent.

Rumsfeld said the coalition against Saddam includes more than 35 nations, and the White House said it includes wide representation around the world.
“The coalition includes nations from every continent on the globe,” said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer. “The focus is on disarmament.”

In separate briefings, Fleischer and Rumsfeld said they had received reports of three or four oil wells being set ablaze in southern Iraq — a tactic Saddam used in the 1991 Gulf War.

In other developments Thursday, the Turkish parliament approved a measure giving U.S. planes the right to fly over the country — but it did not grant rights to base U.S. troops in Turkey for use against Iraq.

“We appreciate Turkey acting as they have,” Fleischer said.

Early Thursday Iraq time, the U.S. launched 40 cruise missiles from two cruisers, two destroyers and two submarines operating in the Persian Gulf and Red Sea. Two F-117A stealth fighters also took part, attacking with 2,000-pound precision bombs.

The attack, directed at Iraqi leadership, hit a residential area south of Baghdad and several other areas with some 40 cruise missiles and precision bombs.

Saddam later appeared on state-run television with a statement he began with Thursday’s date, but even then it was unclear when the tape had been made — and the White House said it was unsure the speaker was Saddam.

Rumsfeld reiterated a message delivered by millions of leaflets dropped near Iraqi forces, suggesting the Iraqis lay down their arms or be killed “protecting a doomed regime.”

Rumsfeld said the next wave of bombings — the so-called shock and awe attack — would be of a “force and scope and scale beyond anything that has been seen before.” The coalition forces included 240,000 American, 45,000 British and 2,000 Australian troops. He also said that the coalition the Bush administration had fashioned for the battle was broader than the one the president’s father gathered for the 1991 Gulf War to drive Iraq out of Kuwait.

”Bush Addresses the Nation After War Began”

“My fellow citizens, at this hour, American and coalition forces are in the early stages of military operations to disarm Iraq, to free its people and to defend the world from grave danger.

“On my orders, coalition forces have begun striking selected targets of military importance to undermine Saddam Hussein’s ability to wage war. These are opening stages of what will be a broad and concerted campaign. More than 35 countries are giving crucial support — from the use of naval and air bases, to help with intelligence and logistics, to the deployment of combat units. Every nation in this coalition has chosen to bear the duty and share the honor of serving in our common defense.

*Why We Know Iraq is Lying

*What Does Disarmament Look Like?

*U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell Addresses the U.N. Security Council

“To all the men and women of the United States Armed Forces now in the Middle East, the peace of a troubled world and the hopes of an oppressed people now depend on you. That trust is well placed.

“The enemies you confront will come to know your skill and bravery. The people you liberate will witness the honorable and decent spirit of the American military. In this conflict, America faces an enemy who has no regard for conventions of war or rules of morality. Saddam Hussein has placed Iraqi troops and equipment in civilian areas, attempting to use innocent men, women and children as shields for his own military — a final atrocity against his people.

“I want Americans and all the world to know that coalition forces will make every effort to spare innocent civilians from harm. A campaign on the harsh terrain of a nation as large as California could be longer and more difficult than some predict. And helping Iraqis achieve a united, stable and free country will require our sustained commitment.

“We come to Iraq with respect for its citizens, for their great civilization and for the religious faiths they practice. We have no ambition in Iraq, except to remove a threat and restore control of that country to its own people.

“I know that the families of our military are praying that all those who serve will return safely and soon. Millions of Americans are praying with you for the safety of your loved ones and for the protection of the innocent. For your sacrifice, you have the gratitude and respect of the American people. And you can know that our forces will be coming home as soon as their work is done.

“Our nation enters this conflict reluctantly — yet, our purpose is sure. The people of the United States and our friends and allies will not live at the mercy of an outlaw regime that threatens the peace with weapons of mass murder. We will meet that threat now, with our Army, Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard and Marines, so that we do not have to meet it later with armies of fire fighters and police and doctors on the streets of our cities.

“Now that conflict has come, the only way to limit its duration is to apply decisive force. And I assure you, this will not be a campaign of half measures, and we will accept no outcome but victory.

“My fellow citizens, the dangers to our country and the world will be overcome. We will pass through this time of peril and carry on the work of peace. We will defend our freedom. We will bring freedom to others and we will prevail.

“May God bless our country and all who defend her.”

”Hawaii’s Terrorist Alert Level Raised, Elected Officials Offer Strategies to Keep Hawaii Safe, Economically Afloat”

Coordinating with Pres. George W. Bush’s 48 hour warning to Iraqi Dictator Saddam Hussein to leave or be removed from office, Gov. Linda Lingle yesterday beginning at 3 p.m., raised Hawaii’s terrorism alert level from “blue” to “yellow.” The raise in alert status won’t have consequences easily visible to the average Hawaii citizen, she says, but those who work or do business with refineries or utility companies or state facilities will likely encounter more security and possibly delays when trying to enter these facilities. There also will be more scrutiny of deliveries to the state Capitol and other government buildings.

The governor, speaking to the guests at the opening of the First Hawaiian Auto Show last night, also said she talked with the Office of Homeland Security after Bush addressed the nation to tell the public war had begun. Earlier she met with Hawaii’s four county mayors to discuss additional security, police presence and emergency response procedures

The targeting of top Iraqi officials Thursday marked the opening salvo of the U.S.-led war against Iraq that President Bush warned “could be longer and more difficult than some predict.”

A U.S. government official told United Press International the military targeted a residence in Baghdad after “senior Iraqi leadership” arrived there. The information came “in a fairly timely fashion” sometime Wednesday afternoon, compelling a fast strike before the Iraqi leaders left.

The official would not identify the target or targets of the strike, but a defiant Saddam Hussein addressed Iraq apparently live on state-run television shortly afterward.

Earlier, President Bush, in his own televised address, announced the commencement of military hostilities against Saddam’s regime.

“My fellow citizens, at this hour, American and coalition forces are in the early stages of military operations to disarm Iraq, to free its people and to defend the world from grave danger,” he said in the nationwide address at 10:15 p.m. EST, 6:15 a.m. Baghdad time.

He said coalition forces had begun striking selected targets of military importance to undermine Saddam’s ability to wage war.

“These are opening stages of what will be a broad and concerted campaign,” he said.

Television news networks carried showed images of air defense shells exploding in the sky over Baghdad. A UPI reporter in Baghdad said the missiles were followed by volleys from air defense machine guns and sirens, adding it was not immediately known what the anti-aircraft guns were attempting to hit. He said it also was not clear what if any targets had been hit by the U.S. strikes.

CNN reported more than 40 cruise missiles and several F-117 Nighthawk fighter jets were unleashed against at least two time-critical targets — one in Baghdad and one south of the city — and said they were a “decapitation strike.”

NBC reported that B-1, B-2, and B-52 bombers also took part in the strike against a “key air node” and a “national command center.” A senior official may also have been targeted, according to NBC and CNN.

Bush said the United States would use decisive force to limit the length of the campaign. About 250,000 American, 45,000 British and 2,000 Australian troops were massed in the Persian Gulf to be used against Iraq.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard told lawmakers troops from his nation were engaged in combat.

“For operational and security reasons which I ask the house and public to understand I cannot give any specific details but I can inform the house and inform the Australian public in general that forces have commenced combat and combat support operations,” he said.

Bush warned that the military campaign could be longer than expected.

“A campaign on the harsh terrain on a nation as large as California could be longer and more difficult than some predict, and helping Iraqis achieve a united, stable and free country will require our sustained commitment.”

He said, however, the United States will emerge victorious.

“We will defend out freedom. We will bring freedom to others,” he said. “And we will prevail.”

In an unprecedented, apparently live appearance on television, Saddam lambasted Bush’s decision to go to war.

“The criminal junior Bush has committed the crime he has threatened Iraq and humanity with,” he said.

He vowed his country will win.

“We will confront the invaders and we will get them, God willing, where they will lose their patience and lose any hope of accomplishing what they were driven to by the criminal Zionists,” Saddam said.

On Wednesday, U.S. and British aircraft pounded targets in Iraq’s southern no-fly zone and dropped leaflets telling Iraqi soldiers how to surrender, a U.S. Air Force spokeswoman told UPI. She said the targets of the strikes were communication, artillery and air defense facilities.

Similar strikes have been carried out regularly since December 1998, but the leaflet drop was the first time that Iraqi troops have received instructions on how to avoid being harmed should the invasion begin.

The leaflets, in Arabic, advise soldiers to park their vehicles in square formations and then stay at least a kilometer away from them. It says they should display white flags, disarm themselves and avoid approaching U.S.-led forces. Pentagon officials told UPI that 17 had surrendered to U.S. forces Wednesday, even before the start of hostilities. They said they could not provide further details, but CNN reported the men had been taken into custody by Kuwaiti officials.

On Monday, Bush gave Saddam and his two sons a 48-hour ultimatum to leave Baghdad or face war. They rejected the threat. The deadline expired at about 8 p.m. EST, or 4 a.m. Thursday Iraq time. Despite stiff opposition at the U.N. Security Council, Bush said past U.N. resolutions gave him the authority to disarm Iraq by force.

White House officials said Bush spent much of the day going over war plans with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and national security adviser Condoleezza Rice, among others.

Later he sent Congress a formal notification of his plans to use military force in Iraq, saying further diplomacy would neither adequately protect the national security of the United States nor lead to the enforcement of U.N. Security Council resolutions calling for Iraq’s disarmament of its suspected chemical and biological weapons.

In London, Prime Minister Tony Blair also convened a meeting of his war Cabinet, and the U.K. Foreign Office issued a warning to Britons all over the world to beware.

Bush’s ultimatum Monday came at the end of two days of failing diplomacy. He and the leaders of Britain, Spain and Portugal, blunted by Russian and French veto threats in the U.N. Security Council last week, met in a hurriedly prepared summit in the Azores Sunday. They agreed that March 17 would be the last day of diplomacy in the Iraq crisis.

Monday morning, U.S. and British representatives decided against seeking a vote on the U.N. resolution that they proposed several weeks ago to try to get Security Council support for force.

The draft required nine votes in the Security Council to be approved but had only the support of the United States, Spain, Britain and Bulgaria. Six other members — Angola, Cameroon, Chile, Guinea, Mexico and Pakistan — were undecided. France and Russia threatened a veto. Germany, China and Syria also opposed the motion.

Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States — permanent members of the panel — have veto power in the council.

The impasse at the Security Council began last September when Bush told the U.N. General Assembly to confront the “grave and gathering danger” of Iraq — or stand aside as the United States acted. In November, the U.N. Security Council unanimously approved the U.S.-sponsored Res. 1441, which authorized the return of weapons inspectors to Iraq and “serious consequences” if Baghdad failed to cooperate.

Since then, Bush has repeatedly maintained that Saddam has lied to the international community and must be disarmed with force. He said if the world body did not act against Iraq, the United States will along with a “coalition of the willing.”

Copyright 2003 by United Press International. All rights reserved.

GENEVA, Switzerland, March 19 (UPI) — The outbreak of the disease called severe acute respiratory syndrome, which so far has killed nine people and infected as many as 264, generally is being contained outside its points of origin in Asia, World Health Organization officials said Wednesday.

“The outbreak we feel is on its way to containment at least outside Vietnam and Hong Kong, and China — if the Chinese outbreak is linked,” Dr. David Heymann, WHO’s executive director of communicable diseases, told a news briefing.

Heymann said so far there has been no confirmed secondary transmission of the disease since the WHO put out its global alert on March 15.

In addition, Dr. Klaus Stohr, a WHO scientist, said one laboratory in Hong Kong — part of an alliance of 11 facilities in nine countries — which has been working around the clock testing specimens to identify the cause of the potent strain, had found a virus in one sample.

He said although the finding was “important,” it was only one of suspect virus families and more tests will have to be conducted before a definitive diagnosis can be made.

According to the latest WHO data released Wednesday afternoon:

*Hong Kong has reported 150 cases, including five deaths;

*Vietnam has had 56 cases with two deaths;

*Singapore 31 cases and no deaths;

*The United States 11 suspected cases and no deaths;

*Canada eight cases with two deaths;

*Taiwan three cases and no deaths;

*Thailand one case and no deaths; and

*Germany, Slovenia, Spain and the United Kingdom each has reported one case and no deaths.

WHO officials cautioned the data are highly volatile and subject to change rapidly.

Heymann also said the agency had received new information from Chinese authorities on 305 cases of an influenza-like outbreak in the southern province of Guangdong. He cautioned, however, at present there is no definite connection between this outbreak and SARS, although it is linked circumstantially because of geography and timing.

“Once there is a diagnostic test, once we know what’s causing this, we will be able to link them,” he said, adding that a WHO international team will arrive in China within the next few days and will be working closely with the government.

Dr. Guenael Rodier, WHO’s director for disease surveillance and response, said the severe strain might not be influenza “because of preliminary laboratory findings and what we know of the mode of transmission.”

This is rather reassuring, he said, in terms of containing the international spread of the disease.

“We’re dealing with an infection that requires close contact with patients,” Rodier told reporters.

“That’s a huge difference compared with influenza, which spreads rapidly, and the virus can fly in the air for a while. But it’s not the case for this particular disease,” he said.

Copyright 2003 by United Press International. All rights reserved.