Ethno-nationalism, corruption and greed. Ambassador to the EU, Peceli Vocea, said "Many of Fiji's finest brains have left the country because they could see no future in a country governed by ethno-nationalism, corruption and greed." Link.
I can't believe this! Methodists in the UK are being asked to abstain from food and to consider donating the money they would have spent on food to the World Mission Fund, which will be offering long term support to the Church in Fiji. What have Fiji's Methodist leaders been telling them? link and scroll down.
Is Media Mogul Rupert Murdoch the world's biggest capitalist ever? View his world holdings that include the Fiji Times. Link.
Fiji land experts brainstorm Geomatric prospects. Link.
Fiji to rid sugar industry of politics PM. “The Sugarcane Growers Council was to rid get rid of the industry of politics while lessening the burden on those of you the cane growers in terms of reduced levy. I’ve been advised that the removal of the councillors in November 2009 will result in the reduction in annual budget in the sugarcane growers council by $250,000." The 36% reduction in EU sugar price from 2006 and 2009 made the 2009 actions essential. To make the industry viable, overheads have been reduced by dismantling the Fiji Sugar Marketing Company Limited and the sugar commission of Fiji which have a combine annual budget of $1.2m. Link.
PM on education."Every Fijian regardless of race, religion, colour or creed has a right to education and the government will ensure that everyone enjoys that right in the country. Link.
Fiji National University launched by PM Bainimarama.
The PM said the amalgamation of the local education institutions under the FNU banner provides a unique opportunity where specialized expertise is made available under the one roof.Under the new structure are four colleges – (1) College of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (2) College of Engineering, Science and Technology (3) College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Services (4) College of Business, Hospitality and Tourism Studies.The University’s administrative headquarters will be based at the Fiji College of Advanced Education in Nasinu.
Dean of Tourism and Communications Dr Mahendra Reddy says“People are now able to send their children to tertiary education at a much more affordable price, and that’s what the Fiji National University is about. It’s about a quality education, affordable prices and more importantly, it’s a bout bringing tertiary education closer to children of Fiji.”
PAC on abuses.The Public Accounts Committee has made a number of recommendations to the Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama in relation to civil servants who have abused their authority or abused tax dollars. Link. Some of these abuses were reported in earlier Short Briefs.
Resign if you can't perform. PM told Ra public servants to go outside their "comfort zone and reach out to the people." Link.
Poverty and Development.The Reserve Bank of Fiji (RBF) has set a National Financial Inclusion Taskforce that will guide and monitor the development of greater financial inclusion in Fiji. The 11-member Taskforce, to include at least four private sector representatives,will address poverty alleviation and economic development issues. Link.
Congratulations to CoupFourPointFive (the "mildly" anti-government blog) for passing the 100,000 reader mark. I don't know how they do it. In recent months they've only published one post every 3-4 days and it's usually a straight lift from another source. I sweat over my usually daily postings that involve a wide search of sources, and there's analysis and comment galore. But I've not yet reached half their total.
Dial the PM. Text 01 on the Fiji Vodafone network and your message goes straight the the PM's office, where he will attend to it ASAP.Link. Grassroots democracy, PMs Key and Rudd?
The new Crime Decree makes prostitution illegal for both parties. Shamima Ali of the Women's Crisis Centre says this will make it hard for sex workers. “Nowhere in the world where prostitution has been criminalised in this manner has prostitution gone away. I believe that we’d be better served if we address the issue of gender inequalities, looked at women’s education, looked at women’s economic empowerment. I believe those are things that will help get rid of prostitution.” Link.
Government cars are soon likely to be equipped with GPS, a move that would prevent misuse and save many thousands of dollars.
Is Media Mogul Rupert Murdoch the world's biggest capitalist ever? View his world holdings that include the Fiji Times. Link.
Fiji land experts brainstorm Geomatric prospects. Link.
Fiji to rid sugar industry of politics PM. “The Sugarcane Growers Council was to rid get rid of the industry of politics while lessening the burden on those of you the cane growers in terms of reduced levy. I’ve been advised that the removal of the councillors in November 2009 will result in the reduction in annual budget in the sugarcane growers council by $250,000." The 36% reduction in EU sugar price from 2006 and 2009 made the 2009 actions essential. To make the industry viable, overheads have been reduced by dismantling the Fiji Sugar Marketing Company Limited and the sugar commission of Fiji which have a combine annual budget of $1.2m. Link.
PM on education."Every Fijian regardless of race, religion, colour or creed has a right to education and the government will ensure that everyone enjoys that right in the country. Link.
Fiji National University launched by PM Bainimarama.
The PM said the amalgamation of the local education institutions under the FNU banner provides a unique opportunity where specialized expertise is made available under the one roof.Under the new structure are four colleges – (1) College of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (2) College of Engineering, Science and Technology (3) College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Services (4) College of Business, Hospitality and Tourism Studies.The University’s administrative headquarters will be based at the Fiji College of Advanced Education in Nasinu.
Dean of Tourism and Communications Dr Mahendra Reddy says“People are now able to send their children to tertiary education at a much more affordable price, and that’s what the Fiji National University is about. It’s about a quality education, affordable prices and more importantly, it’s a bout bringing tertiary education closer to children of Fiji.”
PAC on abuses.The Public Accounts Committee has made a number of recommendations to the Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama in relation to civil servants who have abused their authority or abused tax dollars. Link. Some of these abuses were reported in earlier Short Briefs.
Resign if you can't perform. PM told Ra public servants to go outside their "comfort zone and reach out to the people." Link.
Poverty and Development.The Reserve Bank of Fiji (RBF) has set a National Financial Inclusion Taskforce that will guide and monitor the development of greater financial inclusion in Fiji. The 11-member Taskforce, to include at least four private sector representatives,will address poverty alleviation and economic development issues. Link.
Congratulations to CoupFourPointFive (the "mildly" anti-government blog) for passing the 100,000 reader mark. I don't know how they do it. In recent months they've only published one post every 3-4 days and it's usually a straight lift from another source. I sweat over my usually daily postings that involve a wide search of sources, and there's analysis and comment galore. But I've not yet reached half their total.
Dial the PM. Text 01 on the Fiji Vodafone network and your message goes straight the the PM's office, where he will attend to it ASAP.Link. Grassroots democracy, PMs Key and Rudd?
The new Crime Decree makes prostitution illegal for both parties. Shamima Ali of the Women's Crisis Centre says this will make it hard for sex workers. “Nowhere in the world where prostitution has been criminalised in this manner has prostitution gone away. I believe that we’d be better served if we address the issue of gender inequalities, looked at women’s education, looked at women’s economic empowerment. I believe those are things that will help get rid of prostitution.” Link.
Government cars are soon likely to be equipped with GPS, a move that would prevent misuse and save many thousands of dollars.
16 comments:
"It belies the accusations that the judiciary are independent"? Croz, Don't you mean "it belies the accusations that the judiciary AREN"T independent"? Or is it a slip of the tongue? lol
Whoops indeed. I hope I corrected it before too many people read it. Many thanks.
Let the UK Methodists starve. It's scandalous how the leadership of the Fiji church have portrayed themselves as innocent victims to their "brothers in Christ" around the world. Never mind the church's malevolent role in national life for more than two decades. In 1987, some of its leaders like Manasa Lasaro, Tomasi Kanailagi and Tomasi Raikivi were actively promoting Rabuka's coups and they did the same with the Speight outrage in 2000. They were behind the insidious Sunday bans and tried to railroad the authorities into declaring Fiji a Christian state and Methodism the state religion. Instead of confronting these dangerous radicals, the Methodist Church leadership has been impotent at best and conniving at worst. The Church is still a bastion of indigenous supremacy and extremism and the Bainimarama regime has every justification to curb its activities and keep the leadership under a tight leash. Are the British Methodists aware of all this? Not on your nelly. Instead, they're fed a pack of lies about religious persecution in Fiji when the truth is that the Methodists have been hijacked in a political campaign of the worst sort. It's the same with the hand-wringers of the Uniting Church in Australia, all normally level headed individuals who've been totally conned by the Fiji Methodist hierarchy. The way they go on, you'd think the regime is burning them at the stake. It's a shame someone like the Reverend Akuila Yabaki can't put the British Methodists right. He was once a member of the British church and ministered to the blighted parishioners at Hammersmith in west London. It's time he paid them another visit and convinced them of the futility of winding up a shadow of their former selves just to support a bunch of undeserving savages in Fiji. For make no mistake, that's what they are. Racists and demagogues who are about as far removed from Christian principles and teachings as it's possible to get.
Croz, forgive me for saying so but sometimes you're just too gentlemanly. Congratulate Coup four-point-five? Whatever for. The only reason they score the figures they do are the number of repeat hits into the evening from frustrated browsers wondering when they're going to get anything decent to read. Your patrons, by comparison, come once and stay, bewitched by your brilliant, scintillating and informative offerings. You have to start seeing yourself as a bit like the quality media in places like OZ and NZ.. You don't rate as much or have as many readers but it's the quality and discernment of those individuals that really counts ( and their money if you're the commercial media). It's called the AB demographic and is highly prized in the media and advertising industries. So take heart and stop being so generous to those miserable sods.
Now that I can dial 01 on Vodafone and speak to the Prime Minister direct, I'll ask him how he's going to raise the $48K he now needs to pay the unfortunate Mr Navualaba. That'll be out of his own "comfort zone", that's for sure.
Croz - I think you raise an important point on the number of visitors to your site v 4.5.
From when I started following your blog late last year via a link on Loyal Fijian your average weekly readership has increased from 500 per week to slightly over 2000 pw for the last 2 weeks.
I think it comes down to the fact that your site is not as well known at this stage. Your readers need to spread the word to their friends and their friends.
I am sure other readers would have suggestions on increasing awareness of this blog but here are some of mine
- very few other sites provide a link to your site - do all the sites you provide links to return the favour
- can you spread out some of your features/opinions 3 articles get published on Sunday which results in less interest and debate around some - can some IT experts show how to get better results on google if Fiji is searched
4.5 has been around longer and is better known. However they don't publish much and censor comments - mine never get published
Pen is mightier than the sword and hence the need to get more true information about Fiji out
Every Fijian regardless of race. colour or creed has a right to misuse government vehicles without being tracked by a GPS. And to use that vehicle to cruise along Victoria Parade looking for sex workers to discuss Shamima Ali's views on prostitution without being labeled a criminal. Universal education? A hotline to the PM? What the hell is happening to my beloved Fiji?
@Croz
I don't know if you are on twitter Croz but if you're not join anr regularly that will increase your traffic. I will follow you if you come on. I will repost your postings to my more than thousand followers.
If you're not on facebook (didn't find you) you could easily increase your traffic there as well by putting your webiste updates on your status and friends of friends or everyone could see your website updates.
The marvels of social network marketing.
Sorry about the spelling. The marvels of Heineken.
Freudian slip on the "It belies the accusations that the judiciary are independent"?
:-)
Don't worry, Proud Fijian. If it's only Heineken, that's fine and if it's only your spelling that's affected, you're in much better shape than some others here.I don't know what they're on but the effect is much more serious in that it's affected their thought processes. They're convinced that Frank Bainimarama is the "Second Coming" and round on fellow contributors who can't see what they swear is his halo. The tragedy is that unlike you, they don't even recognise their impairment. The kind Mr Walsh still lets them have their say but I think that humouring them has only made them worse. It's enough to drive anyone to drink.
There are two ‘goods’ to come from this case. The first, and most important, is that justice has been seen to be done, albeit 10 years after the original complaint. However it remains to be seen whether or not the military commander will adhere to the appeal court ruling since he doesn’t have a good prior record in this regard.
The second ‘good’, that the judiciary – in this instance – has shown itself to be independent is also important. However there are many (apparently) politically motivated cases still before the court. Therefore your contention, that the independence shown in this case belies accusations that the judiciary are not independent, remains to be tested.
Lai's lament, well done, that made me laugh.
To Never Mind the Width, Snoopy and Proud Fijian, many thanks for the compliments. I am on Twitter and Facebook but have not yet fully learnt how to use them. All postings go out to Google. The rabidly anti-government blogs carry links to each other; not to mine.
Anything you can do to "spread the word" to attract more readers will be much appreciated. I try to do some marketing but just publishing something daily is almost, and sometimes more than, a full time job. Fewer Sunday Features this weekend.
Any other ideas, please let me know, on the blog or by email to croz.walsh@xtra.co.nz
Best wishes to you all.
Croz
Croz, beware the social media like Facebook and MySpace in particular. You'll have no privacy whatsoever and may even put yourself in danger of identity theft and other such cyber hazards. I think anyone with a serious interest in Fiji can't miss you so long as you have an IT expert who can provide you with the necessary pathways through the major search engines. I'd hate to think of your bank accounts being riffled by unscrupulous Russians and Nigerians when you have a dodgy back and, presumably, a long suffering marama accustomed to being kept in a particular style. I hear too many horror stories about social networking and immediately jettison "friends" who pester me to join. It probably explains my current isolation and loneliness but at least I'm not supporting half of Leningrad or Lagos. Or at least I wasn't when I last looked at my bank statement. Life is just so bloody complicated.
Croz - i am a weekly visitor to your site which provides a good summary of the going ons in Fiji. I am surprised that other sites have more visitors but it is probably a matter of time. Anyways i got this article which i thought might be useful. Your readers can also help by spreading the word on blogsphere
How To Increase Traffic to Your Blog
By Terry Detty
Digg This Add to del.icio.us
One important topic for blog owners is how to increase traffic, which is easier than it seems, once you know how. In this article, we cover 7 specific methods of increasing traffic to your blog.
Tip #1: Sign up for pinging services
It seems pretty obvious, but many bloggers, even those who are more experienced, don’t sign up for pinging services. If you’re new to blogging, pinging means that when your blog is updated, a “ping” is sent out by the service to let pinging sites know that your blog has been updated. People who are visiting sites with pinging services will then see your blog flash across the side of the screen as “newly updated.” Pinging services include Yahoo’s blogs, weblogs.com, Google Blog search and ZingFast.
Tip #2: Sign up for Technorati
If you go to technorati.com, you’ll see an option on the left side of the screen to “Claim Your Blog.” Doing so allows you to get updated link counts, add your photo or branding to Technorati and see your Technorati link. Having your blog claimed on Technorati helps to increase traffic because the millions of people who go to that site will have a chance to see your blog listed there.
Tip #3: Sign up for FeedBurner, an RSS service
FeedBurner basically helps you to promote your blog’s content, and to build and measure your audience.
Tip #4: Bookmark your blogs at places like del.icio.us
You can set up an account and profile at del.icio.us. From there, you can add links to your blog, as well as excerpts. When a user visits your profile on del.icio.us, they will see a link to your blog and excerpts. There are other social bookmarking sites that you can use in much the same way. All of these social bookmarking sites can help you increase traffic.
Tip #5: Post comments at other blogs
Here, you should visit similar blogs to your own, post legitimate comments and then sign your name(along with a link to your blog). This way, people know you aren’t there just to promote your site—you’re there to post a good piece of feedback and also say where you’re from.
Tip #6: Ask owners of other blogs to post a link to yours
Find other blogs that are similar to yours. If they seem to be decently popular (if they have a good amount of comments for each post), contact the owner of the blog and ask if they will add a link to your blog. Offering to link back to their blog is a way to sweeten the offer. Reciprocal linking helps to increase traffic.
Tip #7: Use keywords in your blog
Like regular Web pages, having a good keyword density on a blog is a terrific way of getting search engine spiders to notice your page. (FYI: Search engine spiders are programs from search engines that browse sites and report back their findings to the search engine database, which then lists that site. The more keywords on your site, the more likely it is for a search engine spider to pay a visit)
If your average blog posting is around 200 words, use 2-6 keywords per blog post. This creates a keyword density of between 1 and 3 percent, a respectable number. Remember that you don’t want to use too many keywords, as that will make your blog look bad. Also be sure that the keywords used are relevant to your blog. Before even making a blog posting, decide what the post will be about and then select a keyword or two to use in your post. This will help to increase your traffic.
Croz, I can tell you from experience that the keyword tactic works. I know you're already doing this to some extent but maybe some professional assistance is in order. Good luck. You deserve it!
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