Author Archives: fijipensioners

Is Croz Right or Wrong ?

04 Thursday Apr 2013

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Croz-WalshOpen Letter to the Prime Minister

Dear Prime Minister, Greetings from New Zealand! 

Thoughts on the draft constitution
 
Much of the Government draft constitution is excellent and in some ways superior to the Ghai draft that I thought unnecessarily long and complex. But from reading the comments of others, and from my own reading, there is still room for improvement. This, I assume, is the reason for your current meetings with the Fiji public: to talk and explain, and to listen to their ideas for improvement. For what it is worth, here is my list of what I think are the more important:
 
1. Much would be gained and nothing lost if indigenous land rights were enshrined , and if the constitution reaffirmed and promoted each culture and language, multi-culturalism and multi-lingualism..
 
2. Authority needs to be shared more widely, with others such as the relevant government ministers and the the leader of the the opposition involved together with the PM in appointments to the more important appointments and commissions.
 
3. Parliament is likely to have too small a pool of the different talents with 41 members and could be increased to 51 members, Further consideration could also be given to closed rather than open lists.
 
4. The membership of government bodies, the police, corrections service and the military, should progressively become more representative of Fiji’s ethnic, cultural and gender diversities.
 
5. Government decrees should be debated and, if thought necessary, amended during the term of the first parliament.
 
6. There should be an Office of the Ombudsman, and a body similar to the Great Council of Chiefs should be established to advise government on the affairs of the iTaukei, Rotumans and the minority cultures such as Banabans, Tuvaluans and Kai Solomoni..
 
7. States of Emergency should be limited to ten days before referral to parliament.
 
8. The constitution, especially its less central provisions, should be more open to amendment.
 
9. A representative Election Commission should be appointed as soon as possible.
 
I trust you and your advisers will give these thoughts consideration.
 
Yours sincerely,
 
Croz Walsh
4 April 2013

Fred Marafono ~ Tribute to a Hero

04 Thursday Apr 2013

Posted by in Articles & Reports

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FRED (1)

Fred Marafono, who has died aged 72, was one of the first Fijians to join the SAS. Later he became passionately involved in Sierra Leone, deploying his considerable combat experience to influence the blood diamond war there.

Spare a few minutes to read the full obituary of a hero who set benchmarks in in his life.. Just click the following link:> http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/military-obituaries/special-forces-obituaries/9961915/Fred-Marafono.html?fb

Cut out the Crap Frank

03 Wednesday Apr 2013

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VFB
Please, please stop the ridiculous Talk Back TV shows immediately Frank. They do not do you justice and they do nothing to improve the credibility of the AG’s proposed Constitution. In short they are an embarrassment for the country.

Do the right thing Frank, do what any right thinking Prime Minister would do; refer the proposed draft to a Constituent Assembly, made up of independent intellectuals, not political wannabees, or your normal group of bum kissers that stick to you like shit to a blanket. 

Let all the people of Fiji have a Constitution that we can be truly proud of. 

You have the power to do this Prime Minister, exercise that power for the future of Fiji.

Where are they ?

02 Tuesday Apr 2013

Posted by in Articles & Reports

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fiji airbusHas anyone seen the audited accounts for Air Pacific for the past three years ?

Has the Minister seen them and is afraid to publish them, and where are the Annual Reports that Air Pacific were once famous for. The Chairman of the Airline is a certified accountant albeit he may be covered by the immunity decree, he must be aware of legal requirements.

Come on guys, this airline belongs to the people of Fiji, they have a right to know how deep the mire is beneath the glitz and glitter of the Airbus 330 with the tapa decor. 

How Hemp Became Illegal: The Marijuana Link

29 Friday Mar 2013

Posted by in Articles & Reports

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origHempIf I told you there was a plant available to us today that could be grown in pretty much any soil, requires no pesticides and it takes very little maintenance to grow, and this magical plant could be used for a very large number of necessities and goods we use today yet we don’t use it, would you think to yourself “Joe you must be high or on some other cheap drug?”

Well potential naysayers out there, I’m not high nor do I get high, but let me tell you, there is a plant available right now and it is often mistaken to be marijuana but has capabilities that are beyond what you could imagine. It’s called Hemp. Right off the top, Hemp looks very much like marijuana but unlike marijuana, it does not contain anywhere near the amount of THC needed for someone to get high if they tried to smoke it. Funny thing is, in the United States, Hemp is just as illegal to grow as Marijuana is. How can this be? The plant doesn’t even provide THC to get high and yet it’s still illegal? Yes…

Hemp used to be used for many things: clothes, cars, plastics, building materials, rope, paper, linens, food, medicine and so on. In fact, it used to be mandatory in the United States for farmers to grow hemp if they had the land. There are plenty more stats regarding hemp you can find here.

The fact is Hemp was very popular throughout the 1800’s and 1900’since it was incredibly useful for so many reasons. But one day that all changed, and now it is illegal.. so how did this happen? Continue reading →