from the islands press

From an advertisement in the Papua New Guinea Post- Courier Would you like to plan your family the family welfare association advises the use of Condoms for men. Condoms are safe and easy to use, and only cost 75t for 10.

From The Fiji Times Twenty-one homes and a community church in Vatulele village, Koro, are now lighted on power from the sun. The solar photovoltaic lighting units were installed by the Vatulele Village Electric Co., a village venture formed to buy, instal and maintain the solar systems . . . The electric company is the brainchild of Peace Corps volunteers Robert and Elizabeth Clarke who live and work in Vatulele. The solar units are the property of the village committee and are sold to homes for $lOO.

From Povai (published by the Vanuatu/Pacific Community Centre) November 2nd elections in the Cook Islands returned Sir Tom Davis to power. That’s a blow for POVAI and the NFIP movement since Sir Tom always does what the white boy from down under, Muldoon, tells him.

From the Home Game (women’s column) by Virginia Truax in the Samoa Times.

Good show! Need lingerie in ecru or skin tone? Save money by dyeing white undies in strong hot tea.

From the Marianas Variety News & Views.

Power bills are not the only ones that haven’t been collected.

According to testimonies presented at budget hearings Tuesday morning before the Senate Fiscal Affairs Committee, less than 10% of the government’s water bills have been paid for fiscal year 1983. The fiscal year ends on Sept. 30. Out of $421,370 in bills mailed to consumers, only $40,101 has been received to date. The Committee told Public Works that their record of collections was unsatisfactory and that efforts should be made to enforce payment.

From The Tonga Chronicle reporting King Taufa’ahau Tupou’s comments on Tonga’s failure to meet New Zealand’s demands for produce.

“. . . Rock melons are fetching good prices in comparison to water melons, but Tonga growers tend to like planting water melons. The types of fruit that receive greater demand on the market are not those that the Tongan growers are planting.”

From a political commentary by Mika in The Samoa Observer.

“Not worth listening to.” “How did these people get into Parliament in the first place?” “Couldn’t the Prime Minister answer questions without dragging debates into those low of low personal attacks?” “Samoa should have a three-member Parliament Tofilau, Tupuola and a clergyman to bury whoever gets strangled first.” These are some of the terms presently being used by some people to describe the near-fracas situation taking place in Parliament. And many seem to agree . . .

From a letter by Listener in The Samoa Observer I must congratulate the Speaker for his superb handling of Parliament. There is a man who knows the standing orders so intimately well that he delivers a ruling quoting from the House’s book of laws so as to make Moses’ ten commandments appear like a child’s story book . . .

From the Police Patrol column in Marianas Variety News & Views.

September 7.5:44 a.m. Moses Pangelinan told police that someone had siphoned gasoline from bus No. 4. September 8.6:18 a.m. Moses Pangelinan reported that someone drained 10 gals, of gasoline from a school bus. September 9.5:58 a.m. Moses Pangelinan reported that someone siphoned gasoline from a school bus. September 11.5:46 a.m. Moses Pangelinan called police and reported that someone drained the gasoline from one of the school buses.

From an editorial in The Times of Papua New Guinea.

Justice for all, is one of the great democratic slogans. And it is an area which can put democracy itself at risk, if it fails to be more than a slogan. In Papua New Guinea today, we are in danger of sliding towards differential access to democracy.

There appears to be emerging, a pattern of three tiers of justice. If you are an expatriate, you can get justice if you pay for it. If you are a politician, you get justice because you are a politician. If you are neither, you get justice if you are lucky An extract from a letter by P. R. Sharp, Rabaul, in the Papua New Guinea Post-Courier. . . . While not agreeing with this (the practice of homosexuality), when observing some females, it’s a wonder a lot more of us aren’t queer . . .