Islands
p. 23 · Read in the full issue
From the
Press
From a Letter to the Editor in Marianas Variety, Commonwealth of Mariana Islands Pacific Daily News of December 9 carried a picture of French President Valery Giscard D’Estaing walking alone beside the highway on his way to the European summit. There is a President of a large country who has confidence enough in his own people and himself to feel safe walking by himself along a highway without guards and police officers trailing him. In contrast, here in the Northern Marianas we have a small Governor who will not even walk to his car or to the bathroom without guards and police officers following him and opening doors for him. I don’t know what the problem is. It could be a symptom of paranoia, insecurity, lack of confidence, and fear of death on the part of the Governor. When I went to the December meeting of the Chamber of Commerce to hear the Governor’s speech, two guards were outside the chamber meeting to make sure that the Governor would not get killed by the members of the Chamber of Commerce.
From a feature article by Euralia Paine in The Times of Papua New Guinea Two thousand kina, six thousand, twenty thousand the price of a stereo set, brand new car or a win at the lottery ticket sales? NO, none of that. These are recent amounts paid by young men in this * country to acquire a wife. Bride price is one custom in Papua New Guinea that is still alive, even where some of the other customs are dying out.
A golfer’s lament from a letter to the Nauru Post,
Nibok, Nauru
As a paying member of the most expensive and exclusive club on Nauru for the purpose of enjoying my recreation time, I wish to ■egister my annoyance at those drinkers who insist on using the 'airways as their drinking area, mainly in the dark hours, and caving their caps and other mess on the course. ■rom a Fiji Times, Suva, interview with magistrate Mr *bbas Koya leaving to join an Australian law firm r Koya said that top Indian civil servants were migrating to greener pastures’ because the writing was on the wall.
Circumstances in Fiji are such that discrimination in jobs is bound 0 come and with it will come trouble’, he said, instructions to tourists driving hire cars, from What’s
)n In Tonga, Nukualofa
'Jote. Should you see or hear His Majesty’s advance guard (a navy lue police vehicle with two flashing blue lights and a siren) please ull over to the extreme left hand side to allow H.M. to pass. This pplies in either direction. Should H.M. be in front of you, do not ttempt to pass. His Majesty is accompanied by four motor-bike utriders. rom Town Talk in the Arawa Bulletin, North >olomons Province, Papua New Guinea •ne chap wasted a lot of his time on his recent leave.. His Solair ight was scheduled to leave Aropa on 20th December at 8.40 am nd the plane was on the tarmac in good time at 8.00 am for >admg. However, the same plane did not leave Aropa until about IJO am as the customs clearance officer did not turn up until then nd then only after several calls from the airport. On his trip back 1 Bougainville, the same gent had the misfortune to be on another olair flight which did a bit of island-hopping, landing at Balalae.
The plane was held up as the customs officer could not be located and then it was discovered he had gone fishing for the day. As a result the plane had to return to Gizo.
From the Norfolk Islander, Norfolk Island Contributed I am always moved by the solemnity of the Prayer at the meetings of the Legislative Assembly. May I offer a suggestion that before the Public Service work days commences, the following Prayer be used: ‘Blessed are those who collect revenue without capital risk, but more blessed are those who risk their capital to pay the wages of those who bless the revenue they collect.
Amen’.
From a letter in The Reporter, Papua New Guinea
University of Technology
I refer to dinner parties last weekend . . . involving monotonous breaches of confidentiality before midnight. The rule on campus is quite reasonable: Every one has the right to be intoxicated enough to reveal the proceedings of confidential meetings from midnight onwards.
From an editorial in The Fiji Times, Suva . . Apart from a few frantic moments at Christmas and the New Year tourism in Suva never was a golden goose, but just a silver bulbul or ruby-eyed mynah. After all, hand on heart, what has our capital to offer that can t be covered by the average visitor in less than a day? Two minutes for the guard at Government House, 30 minutes around the museum, a quick gawp at Government Buildings, 10 minutes messing around the market, and a cruise through Gumming Street, and that’s the lot.
Allegations against an off-duty policeman, made in a letter to the Samoa Times, Apia, Western Samoa I found him guilty of (1) being a party to negligent driving; (2) carelessly throwing a bottle of beer; (3) swearing at other people; (4) urinating openly and in full view of other people, an action most frustrating to my wife and daughter... If I were the commissioner of police I would not hesitate to give him a good hiding.
A statement by David Manua, of Margarima Patrol Post, quoted in The Times of Papua New Gujnea 1 ask the government to show a little mercy to the people of this country. After all, they are elected to serve the people not themselves.
From Atoll Pioneer, Kiribati A tragic end to his career came when his plane had a mid-air collision with one of his pilot students. The accident crippled him and as a result he was invalidated. He was given a 50 percent war pension as a reward.
From the impressions of a Micronesian travelling overseas for the first time, published in the Ponape Sun When I first travelled abroad it was to Honolulu back in 1962 I was told that the aircraft had just flown over the international date line. I woke up and looked down out of the window to see what it looked like!!!
The Fiji Times, Suva
It costs taxpayers $7OOO to have the Senate discuss only one motion, but do they get their money’s worth? There is no apparent result from the work done by the Senate, Senator Colin Weaver said, asking and answering his own question in the Senate.
The News Drum, Honiara, Solomon Islands, describing the work of a local artist who has carved a bust of the Prime Minister, Mr Kenilorea . . and he is planning to do other artwork on the governor-general, the archbishop of Melanesia and any other national leaders, if there is a demand.
From an article on how to slaughter and dress a pig in The Cook Islands News, Rarotonga I do not recommend the common methods of killing pigs used in the Cook Islands which are either to stick a knife into the heart or by strangling the animal. These methods ruin the appearance of the meat, cause bruising to almost a quarter of the carcase and create bleeding within the animal. Also, they are not humane methods of slaughter and cause great pain to the pig.