Your Pacific News Dynasty

[Abe Sargent]

I've been out of the dynasty business for a while after my computer went down. I lost the harddrive with all of my old dynasties like my Hollywood Mogul, EU2, and so forth.

However, I liked the idea, suggested by Shkspr, to have a dynasty around news from the Pacific. This is some of the best news out there.

I'll give you guys some of the best news, and maybe the occasional comment by myself. For purposes of this, I am going to de-emphasize the Phillipines, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Hawai'i. This is about the minor powers in the Pacific, not the major guys, who would dominate the news otherwise.

Without further ado, here we go....


-Anxiety

[Abe Sargent]

SALE OF ISLAND IN SOLOMONS CHALLENGED

MELBOURNE, Australia (Radio Australia, Dec. 9) - The Western Solomons Tourism Association is to mount a court challenge to the sale of Kennedy Island to a local businessman who plans to turn it into a tourist resort.

Our correspondent, Sean Dorney, reports that the Association has been raising funds to take the Provincial Government, the new owner of Kennedy Island and the Solomon Islands Commissioner of Lands, to court.

The Western Province Premier in Solomon Islands, Clement Wase, and the man he sold Kennedy Island to, Joseph Douglas, did not attend a public meeting called for them to explain the transfer of the title deeds.

The President of the Western Solomons Tourism Association, Mike Hemmer, claims Mr Douglas acquired the island for the equivalent of about $US2,300.

But the Association's main objections are that the island is a bird sanctuary and too small for a resort.

"We feel that the amount he paid is ridiculous," Mr Hemmer said.

"It's not really what we're contesting. What we are contesting is the decision to transfer that particular piece of land. The decision was unreasonable."

Mr Hemmer says the Association has gathered 300 signatures to a petition opposing the sale and it has raised several thousand dollars for the legal challenge.

December 9, 2004

Radio Australia: www.abc.net.au/ra

Copyright © 2004 Radio Australia. All Rights Reserved



-Anxiety

[Abe Sargent]

I didn't know that whole islands in the Pacific were so cheap. 2,300? If we buy that, we'll have a berth for our Aircraft Carrier....

-Anxiety

[Abe Sargent]

Here's an interesting one from today. People on New Caledonia boycotted a census. Boycotting a product or an election - I can understand. But a census?



NEW CALEDONIA’S CENSUS FLAWED

NOUMEA, New Caledonia (Oceania Flash, Dec. 9) — Authorities in New Caledonia have admitted that a census held in September this year has been boycotted by at least ten percent of the French Pacific territory’s population.

What is now regarded as incomplete and distorted results has been sent two weeks ago to French National Institute of Statistics INSEE in Paris.

INSEE will now attempt to reconstruct figures according to existing statistics, the daily newspaper Les Nouvelles Calédoniennes reports.

The INSEE is now expected to come up with an announcement by December 31.

According to the same sources, the census was not only boycotted by a fringe of pro-independence citizens, but also by residing metropolitan French persons, who told surveyors they did not want to partake in the body count because they felt they were not regarded as citizens and were just to pay tax.

In the past few weeks, a controversy has also arisen in New Caledonia, mainly from metropolitan French residents, who have formed into an association, saying in essence that they felt they were increasingly being treated as second-class citizens due to what they perceived as the perverse effects of affirmative action clauses contained in New Caledonia’s Nouméa Accord, the French Pacific territory’s blueprint for the next fifteen years.

Current estimates would put New Caledonia’s population to some 230,000, including 90,000 living in the Greater Nouméa area.

In September, early indicators already suggested that three per cent of the population has chosen not to respond.

The census started officially on August 31, one year later than initially planned.

It was scheduled to last until September 28, but was extended for a further week in a last ditch bid to get more participation.

But this census has been marred with controversy on a specific issue: that of whether the questionnaire should contain an item specifically referring to individuals‚ ethnic group.

French President Jacques Chirac, while in New Caledonia in July last year, had strongly opposed the ethnic question, saying France did not regard its citizens according to their ethnicity, but simply as French citizens.

Since then, whereas the census should have taken place in July 2003, it has been cautiously delayed, even though the last accurate figures date from 1996.

It was finally decided the census would be conducted, but that the questionnaire would not contain the sensitive ethnic question.

For the past few weeks, both pro and anti-independence parties from across the political spectrum have opposed the census, even calling for a boycott.

"If these tendencies are confirmed, this means some six to seven thousand persons will not be taken into account. And there is a risk that the reliability of the census could be affected," French National Institute of Statistics INSEE chef de mission Gabriel Gamblin said.

Meanwhile, in September, New Caledonia’s Congress (Parliament) had moved to endorse the principle of an "ethnic" survey.

This separate survey’s purpose was to make up for the absence of the controversial ethnic question in the official census and obtain exact measures on the population of the multi-ethnic society.

The survey would be conducted separately, at an additional cost of some 1.5 million US dollars.

It has now been postponed to mid-April 2005.

"It seems crucial to us that communities represented on the Territory are precisely determined in order to measure the progress of re-balancing, which is a the heart of the Nouméa Accord," New Caledonia’s President Marie-Noëlle Thémereau said.

But Union Calédonienne, which is regarded as the hard-line component of the pro-independence National Kanak Socialist Liberation Front, chose not to take part in the Congress vote, saying this was a "waste of public funds."

December 10, 2004

Oceania Flash: E-mail/Courriel: [email protected]

Copyright © 2004 Oceania Flash. All Rights Reserved


-Anxiety

[CHEMICAL SOLDIER]

Originally Posted by Anxiety

I didn't know that whole islands in the Pacific were so cheap. 2,300? If we buy that, we'll have a berth for our Aircraft Carrier....

-Anxiety

Ah the ole Aircraft Carrier. Wasn't that beack during the FOFC Classic days.

[Abe Sargent]

NZ PARLIAMENT RECOGNIZES SAME-SEX UNIONS

MELBOURNE, Australia (Radio Australia, Dec. 10) - New Zealand's parliament has adopted controversial legislation granting legal recognition to homosexual partnerships after months of national debate.

The legislature voted 65-55 to pass the Civil Union Bill after fighting off a bid by opponents to force the issue into a national referendum.

Under the law, due to come into effect in April, same-sex couples gain similar legal rights to married people, although the legislation does not change the New Zealand Marriage Act, which still applies only to men and women.

The issue split political parties and the ballot was a conscience vote, in which lawmakers were not required to follow a party line.

As the vote count was announced, the debating chamber erupted into applause from the public galleries.

December 10, 2004

Radio Australia: www.abc.net.au/ra

Copyright © 2004 Radio Australia. All Rights Reserved


-Anxiety

[Abe Sargent]

Monday's News is Up and Let's see what we have:

Fiji Shipwreck
Chinese Sub Buzzes Guam
An Erupting Volcano is settling down
Vanuatu Has a new Prime Minister after Voting the Old One Out This Weekend

Looks like a good day for news, eh?

-Anxiety

[Abe Sargent]

So the Vanuatu Prime Minister had an virtual governmental revolt on his hands, is ousted, and a new one is now on board:



VANUATU HAS NEW PRIME MINISTER, DOWNER APPROVES

PORT VILA, Vanuatu (Vanuatu Daily Post, Dec. 11) – Ham Lini today was elected as the new Prime Minister of Vanuatu, following a motion of no confidence against outgoing Prime Minister Rialuth Serge Vohor.

The motion of no confidence was carried by 35 votes for and 14 against the motion.

The parliament met last night after a lawyer for the opposition sought a court order to allow parliament to meet immediately after the Speaker of Parliament, Josias Moli, adjourned the hearing of the motion against the Prime Minister to next week following orders from the Appeal Court for Parliament to meet.

A request to have the Speaker arrested for Contempt of Court was later withdrawn once the Speaker reconvened the Parliament.

Government Ministers had resigned and crossed the floor because they were unhappy over decisions made by the former prime minister without prior consultation of the Council of Ministers.

One of these is the establishment of diplomatic relations with Taiwan that provoked a diplomatic war of words between Taiwan, China, Australia and Vanuatu.

Meanwhile, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer reportedly welcomed the appointment of Ham Lini as the new prime minister, saying he hoped discussions with the new government would open the way for a substantial increase in aid.

"I wish to congratulate Ham Lini on his appointment as the new Prime Minister of Vanuatu," Downer said in a written statement, according to news agency AFP. "Australia places a high priority on its bilateral relationship with Vanuatu.

Downer last month formally warned Vanuatu its $31 million a year aid would be cut unless it cracked down on corruption and improved its governance.

"I hope to work with the Government of Vanuatu on the basis of a shared commitment to good governance and economic reform, the rule of law, the professionalism and independence of the police, judiciary and public service, freedom of the media, and the cooperation in combating crime," he said.

December 13, 2004

Vanuatu Daily Post: http://www.vanuatudaily.com

Copyright © 2004 Trading Post Limited. All Rights Reserved


-Anxiety

[Abe Sargent]

MANAM VOLCANO SUBSIDES IN PNG

MELBOURNE, Australia (Radio Australia, Dec. 13) – The threat from a volcano on Papua New Guinea's Manam Island has been downgraded.

The island's 9,000 residents are still being relocated to the mainland despite the reduction in volcanic activity.

The Manam Volcano has been erupting for more than a month, and an upsurge in activity a fortnight ago triggered evacuations as a result of ashfall affecting water supplies and food gardens.

PNG’s main Volcano Observatory at Rabaul has downgraded the threat level, saying there has been a reduction in overall activity. However, the observatory says seismic readings indicate the volcano is still dynamic, and periods of strong eruptive activity can still be expected.

Residents of the island are being relocated to areas on the adjoining mainland; more than 3,000 people have already been moved.

December 13, 2004

Radio Australia: www.abc.net.au/ra

Copyright © 2004 Radio Australia. All Rights Reserved


-Anxiety

[Abe Sargent]

CHINESE SUB GIVES GUAM JITTERS

By Steve Limtiaco

HAGATNA, Guam (Pacific Daily News, Dec. 13) – The news that a Chinese military submarine recently came within 90 miles of Guam has put some residents on edge.

The Asahi Shimbun last week reported that the Han-class nuclear submarine was likely practicing military maneuvers in the region to keep U.S. Naval Forces in check in the event of an emergency across the Taiwan Strait. The sub's 30-day voyage took it through Japan's southern islands to the Marianas in early November, where it turned around and headed back to its base in Qingdao along a similar track, the Asahi Shimbun reported.

Agana Heights resident David Santos, 24, who works in customer service at Guam Premier Outlets, said, "I've been talking to my customers about this and we all feel scared about it. I have so many questions about our security and protection. What does the military have to say about it? How protected are we? Do we have to fear for another war?"

He said he's most concerned about what might happen if war breaks out between China and the U.S. over Taiwan.

"If there is another war, would they attack Guam? And if the Chinese attack Guam, I feel that the U.S. will back us up, but are they going to wait for an attack first before they do? I don't even know if we were on high alert during (when the submarine was in Guam's vicinity)," he said.

"I think my main question is how much are we prepared for another war here on Guam if it should break out," he said. "It just makes me scared and nervous."

When asked by the Pacific Daily News whether Guam is safe, the local Navy public affairs office released the following statement, "Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Marianas and Naval Base Guam continue to carry out its mission on Guam and in the Pacific area of responsibility. It provides essential logistics, training and operations to the fleet to ensure readiness to meet any national tasking."

Guam's bases have had a supporting role in the region for U.S. military operations.

Until recently, Naval Station Guam was a base with few ships, and Andersen Air Force Base continues to operate without permanently stationed aircraft.

Aircraft and other U.S. offensive forces that had been based on Guam were moved during the 1990s defense budget cuts and drawdown of U.S. military capabilities worldwide.

That changed in 2002, when the Navy started to homeport Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarines on Guam.

The USS Houston is scheduled to join the USS San Francisco and USS City of Corpus Christi on Guam later this month. All three submarines can seek and destroy enemy surface ships and submarines.

The military is considering whether to move as many as 8 more submarines to Guam or elsewhere in the Pacific, according to Pacific Daily News files.

Gen. William J. Begert, commander of U.S. Pacific Air Forces, said the Air Force wants to base fighter jets and other strike and support planes on Guam, The Associated Press reported earlier this year. The Air Force plans to invest as much as $2 billion on Guam during the next 5 to 10 years, according to Pacific Daily News files.

A 2002 report by the U.S. Defense Secretary to Congress provides some insight into China's attitude toward the United States, as well as the goals of the Chinese military.

The report, which is called, "The Military Power of the People's Republic of China," states that China wants to benefit from a relationship with the United States in terms of trade and technology, but believes that the United States wants to maintain its dominant strategic position by containing the growth of Chinese power.

The Chinese government believes that the United States wants to divide and westernize China and prevent Russia from becoming powerful.

"Beijing has interpreted the strengthened U.S.-Japan security alliance, increased U.S. presence in the Asia-Pacific region, and efforts to expand NATO as manifestations of Washington's strategy," the report states. "Most importantly, China has adopted an ambivalent if not skeptical attitude toward the U.S. presence in the Asia-Pacific region."

The Chinese Navy is attempting to improve its military options, the report states, by improving its ability to deploy submarines on extended patrols and by outfitting its surface ships with better air defense and deadlier anti-ship cruise missiles.

According to the Asahi Shimbun, China in recent years has conducted submarine drills and has collected navigational data between Japan and the Marianas. But Chinese military vessels never before had gone past the Marianas, until last month, the Shimbun reported

December 13, 2004

Pacific Daily News: www.guampdn.com

Copyright © 2004 Pacific Daily News. All Rights Reserved


-Anxiety

[Abe Sargent]

CREW OF SPANISH SHIPWRECK RESCUED IN FIJI

MELBOURNE, Australia (Radio Australia, Dec. 13) – Sixteen crew members of a Spanish-registered ship have been rescued from a small island in the Fiji archipelago, after their ship struck a nearby reef.

Spanish authorities say the ship's crew was evacuated from an islet off the island of Ono by a New Zealand plane which joined the search after the ship sank on Saturday.

The crew, including five Spaniards, seven Indonesians, three Senegalese and a Russian, were all in good physical condition.

December 13, 2004

Radio Australia: www.abc.net.au/ra

Copyright © 2004 Radio Australia. All Rights Reserved


-Anxiety

[Abe Sargent]

VANUATU LIFTS BAN ON FIJI BISCUITS

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (Radio New Zealand International, Dec. 13) – Vanuatu has backed off from a ban it had placed on the import of Fiji biscuits, a market estimated at US$1.2 million a year.

The ban was lifted after Fiji threatened to take retaliatory action by prohibiting the import of Vanuatu kava, worth US$6 million a year.

The biscuit ban was in breach of the Melanesia Spearhead Group trade agreement.

Immediately after the ban was lifted, two containers of biscuits left Fiji for Vanuatu at the weekend.

December 14, 2004

Radio New Zealand International: www.rnzi.com

Copyright © 2004 RNZI. All Rights Reserved


-Anxiety

[Abe Sargent]

No Celebrating for you! None! Cease!


INDONESIA THREATENS ARRESTS IN PAPUA

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (Radio New Zealand International, Dec. 13) – Police in the Indonesian province of Papua say anyone found taking part in independence celebrations today will be arrested.

Papua police chief Dodi Sumatiawan says all activities commemorating the state of West Melanesia are unlawful.

He says police will severely punish anyone involved.

Pro-independence leader, Thom Wanggai, declared the independent state of West Melanesia in 1988.

He was later arrested and was found dead in a Jakarta prison in 1996.

Independence celebrations have been illegal in Papua since Indonesia was given control of the former Dutch colony in 1962.

December 14, 2004

Radio New Zealand International: www.rnzi.com

Copyright © 2004 RNZI. All Rights Reserved


-Anxiety

[Abe Sargent]

Take a look carefully at the dealer's offer in the last paragraph in this one:





NEW CALEDONIA ROAD DEATHS SKYROCKET

By Patrick Antoine Decloitre

NOUMEA, New Caledonia (Oceania Flash, Dec. 15) – New Caledonia police this week announced what they say is the worst road death toll in the French Pacific territory's history.

Some 70 people have died on New Caledonia roads so far this year, a "disastrous" figure, comparatively four times higher than in metropolitan France, Road Safety Committee Chairman Thierry Valet told a press conference.

He said most of the victims were less than 30 years old.

The main causes of road fatalities were excessive speed and drunk driving.

Valet said the most urgent thing to do is to educate New Caledonia's drivers on their civil responsibilities.

He also said there are an estimated 20,000 drivers in New Caledonia who do not old a valid driving license or never did.

Road fatalities statistics in New Caledonia have steadily increased over the past few years. Since last year, authorities have engaged in an aggressive multi-media awareness campaign (including graphic television spots) to persuade drivers to reduce their speed and fasten their seat belts.

Last year also, a local car dealer launched a new initiative, aimed at supporting a current road safety campaign: with every car sold, one breathalyzer comes free.

December 15, 2004

Oceania Flash: E-mail/Courriel: [email protected]

Copyright © 2004 Oceania Flash. All Rights Reserved


-Anxiety

[Abe Sargent]

SIX-WEEK OCCUPATION ENDS AT PAPEETE OFFICE

PAPEETE, Tahiti (Tahitipresse, Dec. 14) – The French Polynesia Land Affairs Office was reopened to the public Monday after being occupied for more than six weeks by demonstrators.

But the government’s computerized data processing office remained closed to the public.

Supporters of the political coalition headed up by former French Polynesia President Oscar Temaru had blocked the Land Affairs Office since Oct. 27. The same supporters continued to occupy the data processing office.

Meanwhile, the French Polynesia presidency also remained occupied by demonstrators, who are calling for dissolution of Tahiti’s parliament and the holding of new parliamentary elections throughout French Polynesia to replace those held on May 23.

The demonstrations were triggered by the ousting of Temaru after a four-month stint as president of French Polynesia by a coalition led by former president Gaston Flosse.

A French court on Friday upheld the contested presidency of Flosse, who was elected back into office after Temaru’s overthrow.

Meanwhile, an important member of Flosse’s pro-autonomy party announced her resignation as fourth deputy mayor in Flosse’s Commune of Pirae. And a former minister in a previous Flosse government and leader of the party’s youth movement announced the creation of his own political party.

Many people were present Monday morning in front of the land affairs office as the some 140 employees returned and the office was reopened. Local police took control of the office over the weekend after leaders of the occupation brought a court-appointed bailiff to officially note there had been no damage to the premises during the occupation.

Tahitipresse: http://www.tahitipresse.pf/index.cfm?lang=2

Copyright © 2004 Tahitipresse. All Rights Reserved


-Anxiety

[Abe Sargent]

Hmm, let's see, a good day today in the Pacific. We have the sentencing of people in a coup, slavery, earthquake and two cases of rape. Good stuff.



EARTHQUAKE RATTLES FIJI CAPITAL

SUVA, Fiji (Fiji 1 News, Dec. 15) - An earthquake measuring 3.6 on the Richter scale shook Suva today.

The Mineral Resources Department says aftershocks are expected within the next 48 hours.

Director of Mineral Resources Ifereimi Dau told Fiji One the earthquake did not result in serious damage but prompted the evacuation of over 200 employees at the Housing Authority building in Valelevu.

The epicenter of the quake was located about 22 kilometers north of Suva.

The earthquake was felt along the Suva - Nausori corridor and along Princes Road.

Mrs. Moana Rameshwar was among the many people who felt the tremor at her Wailoku home. Rameshwar said items fell off a bed shelf as the house shook for a minute. However, there was no serious damage to household items or the home.

December 16, 2004

FijiTV: http://www.fijitv.cm.fj

Copyright © 2004 FijiTV. All Rights Reserved



-Anxiety

[Abe Sargent]

PNG PROVINCIAL GOVERNOR CHARGED WITH RAPE

By Kevin Pamba

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (The National, Dec. 15) – Madang Governor James Yali was arrested and charged by police yesterday afternoon in Papua New Guinea’s Madang province in relation to the alleged rape of a 17-year-old high school student.

He was refused bail and detained at the Jomba Police Station overnight.

Mr Yali’s lawyer, Arnold Amet Jr., told The National last night that the governor was arrested and charged at 4.30pm after he turned up at the police station as requested by police.

Mr Yali was charged with four counts relating to the alleged rape of a 17-year-old high school student in an office during the National Governors’ Conference in September.

He was charged with abduction, unlawful detention with intent to defile, sexual abduction and rape.

The governor will appear for mention at the committal court in Madang this morning.

Mr Amet Junior said: "The governor pleaded his innocence and has vowed to fight the charges and clear his name."

The lawyer, who is in Madang, will travel to Port Moresby today to make a bail application to the National Court in Waigani, because the Madang resident judge is not available.

He will also study the charges and file a defense on behalf of the governor.

Mr Amet Junior said Mr Yali has vowed to "fight his charges vigorously".

He said the leader "took his arrest calmly" and appealed to his supporters to stay calm and allow justice to take its course.

Meanwhile, Mr Yali’s legal counsel said the governor’s good behavior bond handed down following a previous assault conviction would only be taken into account if his client was found guilty of the charges he currently faces.

He said that the prosecution has the option of applying to the court for his client’s previous convictions to be taken into account.

Mr Yali and co-accused Usino Council President Fred Maliupa were convicted early this year on charges of assaulting Madang administrator Mathew Chapok. The governor was fined K1000 (US$318) and placed on a 12 months good behavior bond by the Madang District Court.

December 16, 2004

The National: www.thenational.com.pg/

Copyright © 2004 The National Online. All Rights Reserved


-Anxiety

[Abe Sargent]

22 FIJI SOLDIERS GET JAIL TERMS FOR COUP

By Samantha Rina

SUVA, Fiji (FijiSUN, Dec. 16) – Twenty-two Fiji soldiers were sentenced to jail terms of three to five years yesterday for their involvement in the march into the Parliament complex during the May 2000 political coup.

The soldiers entered the complex between May 19 and 26 in support of George Speight’s takeover of the Fiji Labor Party-led Government.

In his assessment of the soldiers’ actions, the president of the court martial, Colonel Inia Kacisolomoni, said the soldiers had been dedicated in the years they had served in the army but their actions had been indicative of their defiance towards their commander-in-chief.

The soldiers were sentenced as follows: Simione Vunitabua – four years; Isireli Cakau – four and a half years; Keni Naika – five years; Peni Naduaniwai – five years; Maciu Tawake – four and half years; Usaia Saukuru – three and a half years; Jitoko Soko – four years; Maetuisela Railumu – four years; Pauliasi Vakacereitai – four years; Kaminieli Vosavere – four and a half years; Filimoni Raivalu – four and a half years; Mataiasi Uluimoala – three years; Malakai Veisamasama – five and a half years; Waqaliva Raiova – three years; Sekove Ratudradra –two and a half years; Isimeli Sovaki – three years; Apete Tamani – two and a half years; Lote Degei – two and a half years; Peni Vulaki – three years; Uraia Katonivere – two and a half years; Iliesa Butunaivalu – three years; and Ratumainaceva Vasutoga – three years.

Defense lawyer Vodo Tuberi had requested backdated sentences because of the time his clients had served in remand. He also asked if the soldiers from the engineering department could be suspended instead so they could resume work.

However, the president said the court had no power to backdate the sentences.

The engineers will return to duties when their sentences end.

December 16, 2004

FijiSUN: http://www.sun.com.fj/

Copyright © 2004 Fiji Sun. All Rights Reserved


-Anxiety

[Abe Sargent]

TONGAN GUILTY OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN HAWAII

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (Radio New Zealand International, Dec. 15) – A jury in Honolulu has convicted a Tongan businessman of smuggling Tongan workers to Hawaii and forcing them into involuntary servitude.

52-year-old Lueleni Fetongi Maka was found guilty of human trafficking, involuntary servitude, forced labor, alien harboring, alien smuggling and unlawful use of documents.

The crimes carry sentences of up to 20 years.

Maka was accused of luring seven Tongan men to Hawaii with promises of a better life and then forcing them to work for his landscaping businesses, housing them in squalid conditions, and controlling them with beatings and threats of deportation.

Jurors will return to the courtroom tomorrow, when they will be asked to reach factual findings relating to sentencing.

December 16, 2004

Radio New Zealand International: www.rnzi.com

Copyright © 2004 RNZI. All Rights Reserved


-Anxiety

[Abe Sargent]

NEW PITCAIRN MAYOR WAS RAPE DEFENDANT

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (Radio New Zealand International, Dec. 15) – Pitcairn islanders have reportedly elected a former defendant in the island’s recent rape trials as the island’s new mayor.

According to The Associated Press, Jay Warren was elected mayor, replacing former mayor Steven Christian, who was convicted of five rapes and other sexual abuse of children on the small island over a period of decades. Christian, who claims to be a direct descendant of Bounty mutineer Fletcher Christian, was convicted of five rapes and sentenced to three years in prison.

Warren, among seven Pitcairn men charged with sexual abuse of children, was the only defendant acquitted during his November trial. He defeated acting mayor Brenda Christian, the sister of former mayor Steve Christian - who was sacked from his post by British authorities when convicted of multiple underage sex crimes in October, AP reports.

An experienced officeholder, Jay Warren was chairman of the island council for nine years in the 1990s.

Warren’s son, Randy, who was chairman of a key island committee, was sentenced to six years in prison after being convicted of four rapes and other sex assaults. He was also fired from his post.

Meanwhile, five new council members were elected, all are related to the men who stood trial.

December 16, 2004

Radio New Zealand International: www.rnzi.com

Copyright © 2004 RNZI. All Rights Reserved


-Anxiety

[Abe Sargent]

PAPUA EPIDEMIC CLAIMS 100 CHILDREN

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (Radio New Zealand International, Dec. 16) – A church leader in the Indonesian province of Papua says nearly 100 children have died from treatable infections within the past two months.

Reverend John Cutts says 97 babies have died in the remote Paniai area over the past two months.

They were suffering from dehydration, fevers, diarrhea and vomiting, he says.

Hundreds of other villagers in the area are still sick, and a team of doctors from the American-owned Freeport mine has been dispatched.

The ailment has not yet been identified, but outbreaks of dysentery, malaria and dengue fever are common in the region, which has few doctors.

December 17, 2004

Radio New Zealand International: www.rnzi.com

Copyright © 2004 RNZI. All Rights Reserved

[Abe Sargent]

PROSTITUTION ON RISE IN SUVA

SUVA. Fiji (Fiji Times, Dec. 19) – Fiji police have denied claims the number of prostitutes on the streets of Suva has increased.

But city residents and non-government agencies say the sex trade is booming.

Police spokesman Kolinio Vunaki said they had not done a survey to find how many prostitutes were walking the streets of the Capital and its suburbs.

"Some of them might even look young but their age will have to be verified through their birth certificates," Assistant Superintendent Vunaki said.

He was speaking in reaction to recent media reports that prostitution had once again become an issue on the streets of the Capital City.

ASP Vunaki said the last survey on the number of prostitutes was in 1997.

The Fiji Women Crisis Centre said even though it had not done a survey of the number of prostitutes on the streets, it was sure many more women were hitting the streets and many of those were getting younger.

"There is a demand for this service. Many men use these women," centre director Shamima Ali said.

ASP Vunaki said police would merely do their legal responsibility of discouraging prostitutes from plying their illegal trade on the streets. He said this would only mean taking the prostitutes into custody and charging them. It was then up to the courts to decide if the women were guilty of trying to make money by selling their bodies on the roads.

But, he said, most often such women could only be charged with loitering.

The centre said arresting the women and taking them off the street was not the solution.

Ms Ali said police could concentrate manpower on other criminal activities instead of focusing on taking prostitutes off the streets.

"Give viable options for these women. Train them to earn a living," she said. "That is something no one is offering them at the moment."

She said the root cause of women taking to the streets to earn money was poverty.

"Most of them lack education or do not have access to education at all. Some women have been subjected to poor working conditions as well as salary or wages," Ms Ali said.

ASP Vunaki said organizations like the crisis centre should lend a helping hand in the police's work to deter prostitution.

But city residents many new gathering spots for prostitutes were being touted by taxi drivers. These include young women gathering near the Anglican Church, along Victoria Parade, Sukuna Park and outside most nightclubs and bars across the city.

In addition, many suburbs, particularly Samabula, have seen a mushrooming in the numbers of sex workers.

December 20, 2004

Fiji Times: http://www.fijitimes.com/

Copyright © 2004 Fiji Times Online. All Rights Reserved

[Abe Sargent]

NEW OWNER OF PNG TV STATION ASSURES VIEWERS

MELBOURNE, Australia (Radio Australia, Dec. 18) – The new Fiji-based owners of Papua New Guinea's only television station, EM-TV, have given assurances they will be culturally sensitive, and take into account the needs of the local market.

Fiji Television has bought the struggling channel for US$1.5 million from the Australian media conglomerate PBL.

Fiji TV's chief executive Ken Clark says he's realizes the importance of local content in commercial television operations:

"And having come out the Canadian and subsequently, the New Zealand television broadcasting industry, I'm perfectly aware that unless a television operation feeds information and a reflection of itself back on itself, then it's in trouble," Clark said. "Our intention will not be to simply impose one point of view on somebody else, but to find the synergies that make an operation as successful as it can be, in the environment in which it operates."

December 20, 2004

Radio Australia: www.abc.net.au/ra

Copyright © 2004 Radio Australia. All Rights Reserved

[Abe Sargent]

MUSIC PIRACY CASE EMBROILS VANUATU TRUST FUND

PORT VILA, Vanuatu (Port Villa Presse, Dec. 20) - The recording industry will ask the International Red Cross to freeze a trust fund allegedly controlled by the owners of Sharman Networks, an Australian software company.

The music industry maintains that Sharman, the maker of the Kazaa peer-to-peer software, is owned by several companies through a trust fund registered in the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu.

The Red Cross is the only beneficiary specifically named in the trust, so the recording industry, which is suing Sharman, is asking the organization to voluntarily freeze the fund until a verdict is reached in the Australian Federal Court.

"We’re preparing our approach to the International Red Cross," says Michael Speck of Australia’s Music Industry Piracy Investigations, which spearheads the prosecution of accused pirates. "I believe this whole thing will come as a complete surprise to them, and we’re only approaching them to stop them disposing of any funds."

A Sharman Networks source confirmed the International Red Cross is a beneficiary of the Vanuatu-based trust.

Mary Still, a lawyer acting in Sharman’s defense, says the record industry’s proposed approach to the charitable organization "is quite simply staggering."

But Speck says it will simply ask the Red Cross to freeze the fund until a legal outcome in the Australian court case is reached, and hopes the charity will cooperate. "It would be incredibly disappointing if we had to sue them," he says.

The major record labels filed suit against Sharman following a series of civil searches conducted on the company's Sydney offices and the homes of its executives in February. The suit alleges Sharman has directly and indirectly infringed on the recording companies' copyrights, violated Australian fair trade laws and conspired to harm the music industry.

The Federal Court adjourned proceedings on Friday and will reconvene on March 22 and hear final oral submissions, which lawyers expect to run for one or two days. The judge presiding over the case, Justice Murray Wilcox, will then retire to make a decision. The process expected to take several weeks.

The trial primarily focused on the authorization of copyright infringement. Lawyers representing the music industry say Sharman can prevent the transfer of illegal material. It doesn’t, it says, because the primary activity of Kazaa users is to infringe copyright.

The court is also interested in the mechanics of the Kazaa peer-to-peer network, whether it can be centrally controlled and by whom.

However, Speck argues the music industry's case isn’t about technology; it’s Sharman’s business practices that are on trial.

"We never take a case against technology, we will take cases against people who use technology to take away our artists’ property," he says.

Speck refused to rule out going after non-commercial peer-to-peer outfits, and was coy when questioned on his current hit list.

"We’ve never had to confront the theoretical conundrums in determining when prosecution has been required," he says. "We won’t disclose who our future targets are but we have a number."

But Still, a partner of law firm Clayton Utz, says Sharman’s technology is what’s on trial, and a finding against Sharman could have some unexpected side-affects.

"Microsoft supplies, as part of its Windows suite, software that allows you to rip CDs. Depending on how this goes, it could also mean that (Microsoft) software would amount to an authorization of the infringement of copyright," she says. "The same thing could be said for a photocopier."

Still believes Digital Rights Management technology is the only way for the recording industry to protect itself "in the sense that what is the surest way for them to protect their copyright."

But don’t expect any ruling in Australia to affect the law in the United States, Still says. "America doesn’t pay much attention to Australian law. The legislation in America is slightly different."

December 21, 2004

Port Vila Presse: www.news.vu/en/

Copyright © 2004 Port Vila Presse. All Rights Reserved

[Abe Sargent]

FIJI RESORT: ACTOR NOT REGISTERED FOR HOLIDAYS

VATULELE, Fiji (Fiji Times, Dec. 21) – The Vatulele Island Resort has denied reports that American actor Tommy Lee Jones will spend his Christmas holidays at the resort's clifftop home.

Officials at the resort said yesterday they were aware that the claim was published in the Sunday Telegraph but the actor had not made any booking for the resort's clifftop home called The Point.

"The Point is fully booked until the end of February and Tommy Lee Jones is not registered with us," said an employee at the resort who did not want to be identified.

The staff refused to comment further, saying that the resort's owner, Australian television producer Henry Crawford, was not in the country to make an official comment.

The Sunday Telegraph had reported that Tommy Lee Jones would take a break at The Point over the Christmas holidays.

Tommy Lee Jones had visited the resort in 2002. The rugged actor is notorious for his bad-guy roles.

He has starred in many movies including The Package with Gene Hackman and Rules of Engagement with Samuel L. Jackson.

December 21, 2004

Fiji Times Online: http://www.fijitimes.com/

Copyright © 2004 Fiji Times Online. All Rights Reserved

[Abe Sargent]

PNG POLICE TARGET THEIR OWN

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (PNG Post-Courier, Dec. 20) - Police are cracking down on their own men who are trying to be above the law and get involved in illegal activities.

Deputy Police Commissioner Gari Baki said on Friday a senior police officer who was allegedly involved with an operator of illegal horserace gaming machines would be dealt with by the police after a court restraining order is settled.

As well, five mobile squad members will face disciplinary charges after the bashing of a business owner and his son.

The senior officer was found at an illegal horserace gaming machine operator’s residence when the inter-government operation to confiscate illegal machines was carried out two months ago.

During the operation, it was reported there were certain senior police officials who were linked with the operators of the machines.

"The officer is currently on leave and we can not do anything but wait," Baki said.

He said the police internal affairs staff carried out the investigation and would be giving the charges to him.

Baki said the same officer had taken a court order against the police to prevent them from carrying out any disciplinary action against him.

The senior officer was alleged to have attempted to stop the deportation of six Chinese men who were believed to be illegal immigrants early last year.

After the internal affairs staff carried out their investigation, he obtained a restraining order against them.

"The case is still pending and that is why we cannot do anything much about it," Baki said.

Meanwhile, five members of the Southern police mobile squad will be served with disciplinary charges after the internal affairs police completed charges they would be laying against them.

The men were involved in a recent incident where the owner of Nambawan Trophy House Frankie Gui was bashed.

The men had gone to the Lahara Kwik Shop service station to question two Chinese men who were working there when the incident happened.

Reports released after investigations stated that Gui went there when he was told that his employees were being questioned by police.

The report stated Gui was bashed and later four gun shots were fired at the feet of his employee and his son at his office at Nambawan Trophy House.

"We as police have a responsibility and role that we need to conform to," Baki said.

He said there was no justification for the shots to be fired by the police officers to get the owners out.

"The internal affairs will prepare the charges according to the actions they carried out at the Trophy House," he said.

December 21, 2004

Papua New Guinea Post-Courier: www.postcourier.com.pg/

Copyright © 2004 PNG Post-Courier. All Rights Reserved

[Abe Sargent]

This is absolutely the best news story that I've read yet from the Pacific - you'll love it!




FIJIANS WANT ISLAND BACK FROM MEL GIBSON

SUVA, Fiji (Fiji Times, Dec. 21) - The Fiji government says it does not have funds to buy back an island in the Northern Lau Group recently purchased by movie star Mel Gibson.

Fiji Lands Chief Executive Niumaia Tabunakawai was replying to claims by the traditional owners of Mago Island that questioned the sale of the island for $24.7million (US$14.8 million) to Gibson.

"We simply do not have funds to buy back the land and such deals should be sorted out between the owners and the landowners," Tabunakawai said.

He said he had not received a request from the Namalata Development Council to look into the issue with the intention of buying back the island, which is now freehold land.

Gibson bought Mago Island, in the northern Lau Group, following a recent visit.

Namalata Development Council chairman Timoci Waqalevu said the island was declared freehold property after his forefathers settled on an unfair transaction with cotton planters in the 1800s.

He said the planters gave the villagers 2000 coconuts and intimidated them with guns before chasing them out.

December 22, 2004

Fiji Times Online: http://www.fijitimes.com/

Copyright © 2004 Fiji Times Online. All Rights Reserved



-Anxiety

[Abe Sargent]

AUSSIE OFFICERS MAY COMMAND PNG ARMY

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (The National, Dec. 21) - Australian army officers could soon take up command positions within Papua New Guinea’s beleaguered defense force in an attempt to transform it into a more professional and effective fighting body.

Defense Minister Robert Hill confirmed the option, that would place Australian officers in command positions from platoon up to battalion level.

The move would be the first time in more than 25 years that Australian officers were put in command of PNG troops. The last officers in such roles left a few years after PNG’s independence in 1975.

PNG’s army has an authorized strength of about 5,000 but has been steadily reduced in size in recent years as Port Moresby recognized it could no longer sustain such a large standing army.

"We have been discussing with PNG the possibility of some Australian officers being put in line positions within the PNG defense force," Senator Hill confirmed last week. "What we have been doing is supporting PNG in downsizing its force basically to a force that it can afford."

The defense move comes as a new report on bilateral relations by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute nominated PNG as Canberra’s biggest foreign policy headache.

The ASPI report calls for a new compact between Canberra and Port Moresby beginning with an intensive high-level dialogue between senior government and non-government leaders from both sides.

December 22, 2004

The National: www.thenational.com.pg/

Copyright © 2004 The National Online. All Rights Reserved


-Anxiety

[Abe Sargent]

PNG SOLDIERS KIDNAP CHILD FROM POLICE

By Clifford Faiparik

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (The National, Dec. 21) - A two-year-old girl who was under child welfare protection from her father was forcibly taken away from police by the father at Jackson’s International Airport in Port Moresby on Sunday.

The man, who was accompanied by five fellow soldiers in full uniform, also allegedly assaulted the policewoman looking after her.

Police officer Matha Taian was taking the girl from Kimbe in West New Britain back to her mother in Port Moresby when they were confronted by the six men at the airport terminal.

"He was very aggressive and demanded on what grounds I was entitled to take the child back to her natural mother," she told The National. "I could not explain to him because he was drunk.

"While we were struggling with the child, one of his friends hit my shoulder where the child was resting, causing me to let her go.

"They also removed my bags to remove any court documents.

"They then picked the child up and went to their vehicle.

"They came back for me again but the security guards quickly took me and hid me in the airport police lock-up," she said.

Military police officials at Murray Barracks confirmed receiving a complaint from the police and that they would hand over the father if requested to do so.

It was learnt that the man had taken the child from her mother two months ago and sent her to her paternal grandmother at Tampa block three in Kimbe.

December 22, 2004

The National: www.thenational.com.pg/

Copyright © 2004 The National Online. All Rights Reserved


-Anxiety

[Abe Sargent]

FIJI SLOW TO EASE RAKIRAKI WATER SHORTAGE

SUVA, Fiji (Fiji Times, Dec. 22) – Some of the thousands of families in Fiji’s Rakiraki district who have been struggling to find water for months are to receive emergency supplies today, government officials say.

But the officials say the $3,000 (US$1,800) approved for the relief supplies is far from enough to help the estimated 6,000 families affected by the problem.

The Public Works Department yesterday confirmed receiving $3,000 (US$1,800) from the District Officer Rakiraki for emergency water supply.

"We have been given $3,000 from the DO Ra now and we are mobilizing the trucks to supply water," said Divisional Engineer Western Taito Delana. "The supply of emergency water to affected families in Rakiraki should start later today (Tuesday) or tomorrow.

"We have also asked the district administration office for a list of the affected areas and the families who need water. And I think we will need more money for the emergency water supply because whatever has been given to us for the purpose is not enough considering the areas affected."

District Officer Rakiraki, Josefa Kama, declined to comment when contacted yesterday.

About 6,000 families in the district have been facing water problems for the past few months because of the current prolonged dry spell.

Apart from people facing water problems, cattle in some parts of the interior are dying because of no water or green pasture.

December 23, 2004

Fiji Times Online: http://www.fijitimes.com/

Copyright © 2004 Fiji Times Online. All Rights Reserved

[Abe Sargent]

FIJI GOVERNMENT OWES TAXPAYERS $10 MILLION

By Frederica Elbourne

SUVA, Fiji (FijiSUN, Dec. 23) – The Fiji government owes a total of $17 million (US$10.2 million) in tax refunds to nearly 3,000 taxpayers, it was revealed yesterday.

Moreover, some $4 million (US$2.4 million) of the total has been outstanding for the past 11 years, the chief executive officer of the Fiji Islands Revenue and Customs Authority, Sila Kotobalavu, said.

He said 80 percent of the 2,831 taxpayers who are owed tax refunds are corporate bodies and large businesses.

Mr Kotobalavu said the arrears problem stems from crippling financial mismanagement in 1992. And ever since, it had been difficult to keep up with the refunds, he said.

Mr Kotobalavu said Parliament determined how much VAT refund was paid annually. This it did through its annual budget announcement where even the $110million set aside for 2005 was inadequate to meet the $17million VAT refund, he said.

"What can we do?" he said. "Our hands are tied. We have asked the Finance Ministry to increase the amount of refund per month but they haven’t come back to us. We understand the taxpayers’ problems, and we sympathize with them because it’s what they’re owed after all."

Based on the annual sum Parliament provides, the government spreads out its monthly VAT refund over a 12-month period. For the coming year, this could amount to a little over $9 million a month. FIRCA has exceeded its monthly ceiling of $7 million for this month and hopes to find an additional $4 million in the next two weeks to clear its 1992 arrears, said Mr Kotobalavu.

Next year, FIRCA aims to clear $13million it owes to taxpayers who filed for refunds this year. Mr Kotobalavu said this sum could be spread out over the next 12 months.

He explained that in some cases, audits have had to be carried out on submissions suspicious in nature and these included schedules that claimed in excess of their turnover.

"For instance, if a company that makes $500,000 turnover claims more than 12.5 per cent of that, or above $60,000, then obviously something is amiss. And where previously this was not supported with documents and schedules, I have it reinstated, that is the provision of necessary documents," Mr Kotobalavu.

The issue was based on a one-way trust system where FIRCA carried the full risk, he said.

He said there was little doubt of some FIRCA staff members’ involvement in the network that embezzled money from its west branch earlier this year. No arrests have been made in the FIRCA west office though investigations have gone full steam ahead, said Mr Kotobalavu.

The supposed network is alleged to have formed a shelf company and later claimed VAT refunds.

"There are many different VAT scams and we have put in place measures to counter this including the two-prong compliance and assessment unit. Add to that the need for relevant documentation and we have curbed part of the problem," said Mr Kotobalavu.

December 23, 2004

FijiSUN: http://www.sun.com.fj/

Copyright © 2004 Fiji Sun. All Rights Reserved

[Abe Sargent]

RAMSI OFFICERS PROBED IN SOLOMONS SEX ABUSE

By Robert L. Iroga

HONIARA, Solomon Islands (Solomon Star, Dec. 22) – Only two days after the Regional Assistance Mission Solomon Islands (RAMSI) one-year report was debated in Parliament last Thursday, accusations of sexually inappropriate behavior towards local women and children by certain RAMSI officers have surfaced.

According to The New Zealand Herald, several members of the intervention force have been the subject of investigations into accusations of sexually inappropriate behavior towards local women and children.

The paper claimed that one man has been implicated for pedophilia while another was being questioned for a possible rape.

Other personnel had been sent home for allegedly "fraternizing" with local women. Australian authorities are understood to have been embarrassed by the incidents, and fearful about how they would affect the mission.

A top RAMSI police officer told the Solomon Star yesterday that RAMSI officials heard of the report but they were not in a position to comment. The official said only the Department of Foreign Affairs in Canberra, Australia would comment. A spokesman from Australia told the Herald that: "The other point we would make is that there have been more than 3,000 RAMSI personnel from 11 countries and this is obviously a very small number of incidents."

The revelation is sure to upset many quarters of Solomons society.

A Government minister told the Solomon Star last week that RAMSI officers who were involved in sexual relationships with Solomon Islanders should come out clean.

RAMSI personnel are immune from prosecution in the Solomons under the Facilitation of International Act, 2003, the Act that pave the way for the regional assistance mission to enter Solomon Islands.

Former Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare said if there is evidence that prisoners were abused, there must be consideration that the immunity given to RAMSI personnel be reconsidered.

December 23, 2004

Solomon Star: http://www.solomonstarnews.com/

Copyright © 2004 Solomon Star. All Rights Reserved

[Abe Sargent]

PNG POLICE CHARGED WITH JAILHOUSE RAPE

By Andrew Alphonse

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (The National, Dec. 22) – Two senior police constables from the Southern Highlands have been charged with raping a young female detainee in the Mendi station lock-up.

Constables John Monda, 45, and Willie Kokale, 32, are alleged to have raped the detainee on the night of Nov 24.

The detainee said in a police report that the constables promised to release her if she would have sex with them.

She picked them out from an identification parade the next day.

Monda, who is from Yame village in Kagua, and Kolale, from Tagaru village in Pangia, appeared in the Mendi district court yesterday.

Their request for bail was denied.

Acting provincial police commander Insp Benson Osil said that following the detainee’s complaint, both constables were suspended and three investigators were sent from Mt Hagen to investigate the detainee’s complaint.

Mr Osil said he hoped the action taken should serve as a warning to other police personnel, especially when the force was trying to rebuild its public image.

Anyone who fell out of line would be dealt with, he said, adding that no one was above the law.

Acting provincial police commander Insp Benson Osil said that following the detainee’s complaint, both constables were suspended and three investigators were sent from Mt Hagen to investigate the detainee’s complaint.

Mr Osil said he hoped the action taken should serve as a warning to other police personnel, especially when the force was trying to rebuild its public image.

Anyone who fell out of line would be dealt with, he said, adding that no one was above the law.

December 23, 2004

The National: www.thenational.com.pg/

Copyright © 2004 The National Online. All Rights Reserved

[Abe Sargent]

TONGAN BEER-DRINKING ON RISE

NUKUALOFA, Tonga (Matangi Tonga, Dec. 22) – Tonga's beer drinkers were thirstier during 2004 than they were in 2003, drinking 1.2 million liters of Royal Beer, 400,000 liters more than last year's figure of 800,000 liters.

According to the company, the figures account for more than 80 percent of total beer consumption in Tonga.

To make sure that there will always be beer for thirsty Tongans, John Sullivan, the company’s general manager, said that in November they had doubled the volume of their production by installing two new stainless steel insulated and refrigerated Uni Tanks, with the capacity of holding 13,000 liters. He said that the capacity of their old production outfit, which consisted of six fermentation tanks and one maturation tank, was only 6,500 liters.

After brewing, the beer is transferred to the tanks were the processes of fermentation and the 10 days maturation of the beer are taking place in the two tanks.

John said that the Royal Beer's share of the local beer market had increase during the past ten years from 48 percent to 82 percent.

John said that the imported beer market had been an existing sector of the beer market with a different price structure and generally was more expensive. He did not think that an increasing number of imported beers would have a devastating affect on the Royal Beer's share of the local beer market.

December 23, 2004

Matangi Tonga Magazine: www.matangitonga.to/home/

Copyright © 2004 Matangi Tonga. All Rights Reserved

[Abe Sargent]

THIEVES RANSACK FIJI HINDU TEMPLE

SUVA, Fiji (Fiji Times, Dec. 22) – Devotees of a Hindu temple were furious yesterday when they found their place of worship ransacked and partly burned.

The Nav Dhurga Mata Mandir, at Kanace Road in Valelevu, was looted and burned.

Mandir President Avikash Chand called it an act of sacrilege.

"The thieves entered by removing the window shutters and stole our money box, which had about $100," he said. "They burned the main dais of our temple."

Mr Chand said the temple, which serves more than 100 devotees in the Valelevu area, has been the target of thieves on previous occasions.

"But this is the first time they burnt our temple," he said. "It is sad when people destroy our worship place and we are angry."

Mr Chand said a passing motorist raised the alarm to a nearby family.

"The family and neighboring devotees put out the fire with water."

Police spokeswoman Unaisi Vuniwaqa said thieves cut a fence to enter the compound and then removed the shutters. She said the matter is under investigation.

December 23, 2004

Fiji Times Online: http://www.fijitimes.com/

Copyright © 2004 Fiji Times Online. All Rights Reserved

[Abe Sargent]

My favorite for today - I saved it for last:




FIJI GROOM RUNS FOR LIFE IN WEDDING CLASH

SUVA, Fiji (Fiji Times, Dec. 22) – A newly married couple in Fiji is now living separately after the groom had to run to a police post for protection from angry in-laws during their traditional wedding ceremony two weeks ago.

Police said the bridegroom, who was chased by some of the bride's relatives, was lucky to reach the Mulomulo Police Post in Nadi before his in-laws got to him.

A police officer said problems started at the wedding on December 12 because of cultural differences between the groom and the bride's families. He said the couple had attended a registry wedding before they showed up for their traditional wedding.

"Since the bridegroom, of Nasinu, was South Indian and the bride, of Mulomulo, a North Indian, there were differences on how the wedding should proceed," the officer said. "The traditional Hindu wedding had just started when the two families started arguing about whether the wedding should be a South Indian or a North Indian one. As a result of the differences, an argument erupted and the bridegroom ran away from the wedding. He ran about 200 meters to the police post with his shoes in his hands and some people followed him and informed officers about the problem."

The police officer said they attended to the report and calmed the people.

"We have charged three men from the bride's side for allegedly assaulting some people from the bridegroom's wedding party," he said. "Although the couple are married in the eyes of the law, they are living separately now as the traditional wedding could not be completed because of the dispute."

Divisional Crime Officer Western, SP Vijay Singh confirmed three men had been charged with assault following problems at the wedding.

December 23, 2004

Fiji Times Online: http://www.fijitimes.com/

Copyright © 2004 Fiji Times Online. All Rights Reserved

[Abe Sargent]

RUSSIAN SPACE SHIP SPLASHES IN SOUTH PACIFIC

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (Radio New Zealand International, Dec. 23) – A Russian supply ship to the International Space Station has crashed into the south Pacific between New Zealand and South America.

The Progress M-50, loaded with rubbish, spent equipment and a space suit, was dumped in what Russian news agencies describe as a "non-navigable" part of the Pacific in the early hours of this morning.

The ship ditched 3,000 kilometers east of Wellington.

Russian officials say the next supply ship is expected to take off on Sunday, to deliver about 2.5 tons of cargo to the space station.

December 24, 2004

Radio New Zealand International: www.rnzi.com

Copyright © 2004 RNZI. All Rights Reserved

[Abe Sargent]

CHRISTMAS COMET BRIGHTENS TAHITI SKIES

PAPEETE, Tahiti (Tahitipresse, Dec. 24) – A beautiful comet known among astronomers as the Christmas Comet is currently brightening Tahiti’s skies.

Astronomer Jean-Paul Longchamp photographed the event in Mahina on Tahiti’s northwest coast.

"I continue to follow the beautiful voyager, but it’s still far way and at the moment only two-thirds of it can be seen, which means the tail of the comet is rather difficult to see," Longchamp said. "The Christmas Comet should become increasingly bright right up until the end of the year."

Japanese astronomer Kimura photographed the comet for this first time on Nov. 20. Since then astronomy enthusiasts throughout the world have been following it each night.

The comet is officially registered as C/2004 Q2, and also has the name of Machholz, after an American astronomer who discovered it last Aug. 27 using a 150 milimeter telescope.

At the moment it can be seen with the naked eye in each of the five archipelagos of French Polynesia. But a pair of binoculars makes the task easier. The comet can be found as it reaches its zenith above the Orion constellation at 9 pm.

In January, the path of the Christmas Comet will be closer to the Pleiades, a cluster of stars in the constellation Taurus. The comet’s tail should be much easier to see. The comet is expected to pass less than two degrees from Pleiades around Jan. 7.

Longchamp, who hopes to soon open an astronomy club in Tahiti, will undoubtedly be among many people in French Polynesia following the Christmas Comet through to the end of January.

December 24, 2004

Tahitipresse: http://www.tahitipresse.pf/index.cfm?lang=2

Copyright © 2004 Tahitipresse. All Rights Reserved

[Abe Sargent]

SAIPAN CANDIDATES ABUSE MILITARY COMMISSARY

By Haidee V. Eugenio

SAIPAN, CNMI (Marianas Variety, Dec. 24) – Abuse in re-sale of tax-exempt military merchandise has occurred and continues to occur on Saipan, including condoning the spending of almost $20,000 by 20 different political candidates, mostly on soft drinks and beer from the U.S. Army and Air Force Exchange Service troop store in fiscal year 2003 alone.

This information is contained in the Office of the Public Auditor’s report dated Dec. 16.

The OPA report, a copy of which was obtained by Variety yesterday, is addressed to Rep. Martin B. Ada, chair of the House standing committee on commerce.

Federal law prohibits the re-selling of military merchandise.

Such abuse of military privileges directly reduces the tax revenues to the general fund.

It would also seem to compete with or deflect business from private sector businesses at a time of economic decline, said OPA.

Public Auditor Mike Sablan, in the seven-page report, said one of the "most troubling" discoveries is that large sales — particularly soft drinks and beer for political gatherings — were condoned by the AAFES-Saipan facility "contrary to AAFES regulations."

"This practice may be widespread as at least six current members of our Legislature received and/or made purchases of AAFES-Saipan merchandise," he said.

The confirmation of such sales "substantiates the many reports that OPA has received regarding such activities at political functions."

Based on OPA’s compilation of expenditures for the FY 2003 elections, for example, 20 different candidates spent almost $20,000 on AAFES merchandise.

The public auditor said it is OPA’s belief that most of the alleged abuse appears to be related to the Defense Commissary Agency "tent sales."

During these quarterly tent sales, there are an additional 10 to 16 shipping containers of merchandise on Saipan that OPA said appears to be a "significant economic transaction."

"Because this merchandise is not taxed upon entry, the CNMI is unable to realize the tax revenues it might otherwise realize on containers arriving in Saipan," said Sablan.

Even though AAFES and the military failed to respond to OPA’s requests for financial information, OPA obtained various, unaudited financial data from other sources.

This data indicates that AAFES-Saipan had gross sales of about $2.5 million.

Of these gross sales, it is estimated that about $800,000 or 30 percent was for tax-free beer, said OPA.

OPA said the estimated $800,000 in annual beer sales is abusive as it is unlikely that member patrons can consume this amount of beer.

Beer industry reports indicate that the average U.S. adult consumes about 14 cases of beer per year.

Saipan has 98 reserve members and an unknown number of retirees and other qualified "unlimited" AAFES patrons.

If Saipan has 600 "unlimited" patrons who can purchase beer, each patron would be purchasing about 100 cases per year, said OPA.

If, however, Saipan has only 300 qualified "unlimited" patrons, then each person would be purchasing the equivalent of 200 cases per year.

OPA created these two scenarios for likely beer consumption by patrons based on the estimated gross beer sales, because OPA had no figures on the number of unlimited AAFES patrons.

These scenarios are based upon an estimated, non-taxed sales price of 55 cents per can of beer.

"Either scenario supports the probability that patrons may be abusing their AAFES privileges," said OPA.

OPA said uncertainty about the number of members entitled to military shopping privileges creates an environment where abuse can occur.

It added that AAFES-Saipan does not appear to differentiate between "limited" and "unlimited" membership.

Beer quotas, which OPA said the Saipan Reserve Unit commander advised he can set, appear to offer opportunities for abuse.

Previously, the individual daily quota for beer had been reduced from six to four cases.

"In our opinion, even the sale of four cases daily to an individual would seem to offer significant opportunity for abuse by potential resale to local stores or individuals," said OPA.

The public auditor said several patrons of the AAFES facility have said that many members were unaware of restrictions on member purchases, like the restriction that prohibits members from making purchases for non-members.

December 24, 2004

Marianas Variety: www.mvariety.com

Copyright © 2004 Marianas Variety. All Rights Reserved

[Abe Sargent]

OLOMONS PEACEKEEPERS WEAR ARMOR AFTER ATTACK

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (Radio New Zealand International, Dec. 23) – Police sent to build the peace in Solomon Islands are wearing flak jackets after the killing of one of their colleagues this week.

The Deputy Police Commissioner, Sandi Piesley, says assistance mission police are wearing body amour.

The body of Australian police officer Adam Dunning has been flown to Canberra, ahead of a full funeral at a later date.

Deputy Commissioner Piesley says would not confirm reports that police had concrete leads and a clear suspect in mind.

"We’re very positive in terms of the investigation; we’ve had a lot of support from the community, and a lot of information coming in, and we’re following up on all of those, and yes, in terms of the investigation, I feel quite positive."

[Meanwhile, Australian newspaper The Age reported that four bullets pierced the car that Dunning was riding in from behind, two of them hitting the victim in the back, killing him almost immediately. Investigators say the shooting may be linked to a sniper attack on a car carrying two Australian police in October, The Age reports. Two suspects from that attack - in which one officer was injured by shattered glass - remain at large. Another man, John Ross, has been charged with two counts of attempted murder after handing himself in earlier this month. Ross, a former member of the Malaitan Eagle Force militia, was also wanted for a series of criminal offences, according to The Age.]

December 24, 2004

Radio New Zealand International: www.rnzi.com

Copyright © 2004 RNZI. All Rights Reserved

[Abe Sargent]

At first glance, this appears to be a minor story, but as you continue to read, I think that It's the best of the day. A guy who worked for the power company scheduled to spill the beans on live TV when the power is somehow cut to the station? Interesting:




TONGA BROADCASTER CHARGES PROGRAM SABOTAGE

NUKU’ALOFA, Tonga (Matangi Tonga, Dec. 23) – Tonga’s Oceania Broadcasting Network (OBN) has been off the air since December 22, an act of sabotage says General Manager Sangstar Saulala.

He said that early yesterday evening that there was a power cut to an area near the OBN television station, which included the National Reserve Bank, the Dateline Hotel and the office of the Australian High Commissioner.

"But a short while later, their lights came on, and the Shoreline workmen were working on the power connection to our station" Saulala said. "Then they left and said they were going to their Christmas Party."

Sangstar said they had paid their power bills.

The power cut left OBN TV in a desperate situation because they had been advertising all week that there would be a live television panel discussion by former police minister Clive Edwards and Member of Parliament ‘Akilisi Pohiva about the increasing price of electricity.

Clive Edwards, the recently sacked Minister of Police who was the former Chairman of the Tonga Electric Power Board, had said he wanted to reveal some secret information about the working relationship between the Tonga Electric Power Board and Shoreline Power.

Shoreline is subsidiary of Shoreline Holdings, of which Tongan Crown Prince Tupouto'a is chairman.

Sangstar Saulala, ‘Akilisi Pohiva and Clive Edwards are all candidates for the coming parliamentary election.

The situation became even more intriguing when OBN staff rushed over to the Tonga Broadcasting Commission to broadcast a public announcement that there was not going to be any live panel discussion on OBN because of power failure but the government-owned Radio Tonga, according to Sangstar, refused to air their message.

The three television stations which broadcast a public service on the main island of Tongatapu and the capital Nuku’alofa are Television Tonga of the Tonga Broadcasting Commission, Tonfön Television, a subsidiary of Shoreline, and the OBN.

By 5 pm on 23 December the electricity supply had not been restored to OBN, and Sangstar said that Shoreline workmen had told him that they had not been directed to reconnect the OBN electricity.

Meanwhile, at the Shoreline office, a linesman taking calls told the Matangi Tonga Online that the people who did the disconnection had left and gone home for the Christmas holidays and he did not know anything about it.

December 24, 2004

Matangi Tonga: www.matangitonga.to/nav.html

Copyright © 2004. Vava'u Press Ltd.. Permissions apply


-Anxiety

[Abe Sargent]

GUAM’S WILD ‘BOONIE’ DOGS GROWING PROBLEM

By Katie Worth

HAGATNA, Guam (Pacific Daily News, Dec. 27) – John F. Kennedy High School teacher Colette Beausoliel was driving down Nimitz Hill toward Maina recently when she saw a pack of dogs mauling a wild pig to death.

Though the pig had tusks and was much bigger than any of the dogs, the dogs worked as a pack and together were able to pick at the pig until they could overpower it.

But the really scary part, she said, was that the mauling took place near a school bus stop.

"It's a full adult boonie pig," she said. "If people think we don't have a problem with our boonie dogs, this shows it. There's a school bus stop not far from there and the pig is a lot bigger than a child would be."

Though no formal survey of the number of boonie dogs on Guam has been done in recent years, Department of Agriculture Deputy Director Joseph Torres, who is in charge of the Animal Control Division, roughly estimates the number of stray and unwanted cats and dogs on island at between 25,000 and 30,000 - and growing. Other Public Health estimates have reached 40,000, according to Pacific Daily News files.

In 2003, the island's only animal shelter, Guam Animals in Need, or GAIN, received 3,000 stray, unwanted or feral animals, according to Karon Johnson, a GAIN volunteer who also has been on GAIN's board. Of those animals, about 500 were adopted out and 2,500 were euthanized, she said.

Christine Pascus, volunteer manager at the shelter, said there are two different kinds of stray animals: Some have or have had some contact with humans and live largely on garbage and human handouts. Others have had very little or no contact with humans, and they behave entirely differently, roaming the island's boonies in packs and living off wildlife, she said.

"Feral dogs are not domesticated dogs, they are a different breed of dog. They may look like one, but they are basically wild. They roam in packs, and they hunt down deer or wild boor or whatever they can. They're like a wolf pack, and there's a hierarchy within the pack, and they roam around as such and they hunt down animals," she said. "A lot of the stray dogs aren't like that. They feed off of garbage, they haven't converted to the wild animal."

"It's hard to say if a feral dog pack would be brave enough to attack (domesticated animals or a young child). There's that potential, they're unpredictable, there's no way of predicting their behavior," she said. "I don't think they would have enough confidence to go after young children, but I wouldn't be able to say for sure, there's always that possibility."

Many residents already take precautions against the potential danger of the boonie dogs.

Yona resident Joseph Roman, 53, takes about a 6-mile walk a couple times a week in Ordot. As he walks, he carries a stick in case he needs to fend off boonie dogs.

He said he's used the stick before.

"Yeah, sometimes. They just come out of nowhere," he said as he walked yesterday afternoon.

"They're just guarding their ground, especially if I'm around their food, like the garbage," he said.

Dogs aren't the only wild domestic animals on island: feral cats, though less conspicuous, are also populous on island, Pascus said.

"You just don't see the cats the way you see the dogs, they're pretty elusive. They, like the feral dogs, tend to stay in the jungle because it's pretty easy hunting there," she said.

Torres said the jungle areas of both military bases on Guam are thought to be home to stray animals.

Sgt. Jeff Capenos, who works in the public affairs office on Andersen Air Force Base, said the base has two full-time animal control officers who trap stray animals and turn them over to GAIN.

Though Capenos said Andersen is not aware of a large population of cats or dogs on their property, Torres said the population is probably larger than they are aware of.

In January 2003, the Department of Agriculture released 44 Guam rails, an endangered bird species indigenous to Guam, to Andersen, hoping to reestablish a population in the wild. However, within about two months of the release, all but one of the 26 birds that had been fitted with transmitters had been killed. And the killer was not the usual suspect -- the brown tree snake that nearly drove the species to extinction two decades ago -- but rather, feral cats.

At the time, then-Division of Aquatics and Wildlife Resources chief Gerry Davis said the department would need to hire "someone to temporarily dedicate a fair amount of time to dealing with cats."

Torres said part of what's caused Guam's burgeoning population of stray and feral animals is simple human kindness and sympathy.

"There's a lot of people who see stray animals and feel sorry for them and then feed them, but then deny ownership and don't get them to a vet," he said.

When the dogs are fed, they become stronger and more likely to breed, he said.

Animal Control does the best it can to deal with the problem, picking up about 10 to 15 animals a day, according to one of the department's animal control specialists. But the problem, Torres said, is that there are only a total of three animal control specialists in the department and they are tasked to tackle a problem involving tens of thousands of animals. Animal control is also responsible for cleaning up dead animals and road kill, he said.

Torres said the department has recently received funding to buy about a dozen more dog traps, which they plan to use around schools and other island hotspots of boonie dogs.

Ultimately, the department would like to at least double its animal control force and acquire about 40 dog traps that it could use in conjunction with the village mayors' offices, he said. The department is planning to work with the mayors to build a holding corral in each village, so any stray dogs caught could be kept in the holding cage for animal control specialists to pick up.

Those kinds of solutions might help the problem without requiring extensive public funding, Torres said.

Another important solution to the problem is to encourage residents to spay and neuter their animals, Pascus said.

"The feral dogs on Guam got here basically because they weren't spayed or neutered," she said. "The only way to decrease the statistics is really to spay and neuter animals, so you don't get the stray dogs that turn into feral dogs. If people would take more responsibility and take the time to spay and neuter their dogs and cats, it's less likely we'll have these packs running around. And without sterilizing the animals, the packs will only increase, they won't decrease. ... And because of their instinct, they have to eat, and they'll do whatever it takes to get that food."

After seeing the dogs maul the wild pig, Beausoliel called the police and went to a nearby veterinarian to see if they could help the problem, but she's not sure if anything was done to break the pack up.

She said Guam needs to work harder at containing the boonie dog population, perhaps by loosening the restrictions on who can spay and neuter pets.

If nothing is done, she said, it's possible Guam will see the horror that other communities have: the mauling of a child or adult.

"A dog is a wolf, they're out of that (genetic) line, so when they're allowed to run freely, they will engage in those kinds of behavior," she said.

"If they're doing this to a wild pig that has tusks, what is going to keep them from doing it to a little kid that might run?" she said. "Some of these kids are so tiny, toddling off with their little backpacks, and I think of the potential of a child getting frightened of a dog and running, and the dog chasing it with the other dogs joining in the pursuit. I think it's a possibility of there being a mauling of a kid."

December 27, 2004

Pacific Daily News: www.guampdn.com

Copyright © 2004 Pacific Daily News. All Rights Reserved

[Abe Sargent]

US military plans pose threat to Guam's endangered birds

By Elizabeth Shogren, Los Angeles Times | December 25, 2004

WASHINGTON -- Guam's tropical forests are silent. The rattling, screeching, and cawing of the island's native birds have been erased by the brown tree snake, a devastating predator accidentally introduced to the island shortly after World War II.

Today, just as US government biologists hope to reintroduce endangered birds, a new threat to the nearly extinct species is looming: A major expansion of US military facilities on Guam is expected to sharply reduce wildlife habitat.

The future of birds on Guam might provide a telling first test of new US policy, proposed by the Bush administration and approved by Congress last year, which exempts military facilities from the ''critical habitat" provisions of the Endangered Species Act. These provisions required the military to consult with the US Fish and Wildlife Service to determine if any of its actions would harm species such as the birds of Guam.

Caught in the tug of war are the tropical forests on Andersen Air Force Base. The Fish and Wildlife Service says they are essential for the conservation of the endangered Micronesian kingfisher, the Mariana crow, and Mariana fruit bat.

Fish and Wildlife initially proposed designating 24,803 acres of Guam's forests as ''critical habitat" for the birds. After Congress gave the military the exemption from critical habitat, the agency slashed its proposal to a mere 376 acres off the base.

It is not clear how much of the forest would be cut down for the base expansion, but the vast majority of suitable habitat on the island is on base land.

The Air Force says it wants to develop the land to ensure its military readiness in the region. Guam, an unincorporated territory of the United States, is a major air and naval staging ground in the Pacific.

No blueprint of the military's plans for Andersen is available publicly. But Colonel Steve Wolborsky, the vice commander of the 36th Air Expeditionary Wing, said the Air Force expected to spend $1 billion to $2 billion to develop Andersen over the next several years, according to American Forces Press Services.

Gordon Rodda, a US Geological Survey biologist who was on Guam in November, said he was told to expect that most of the forest would be cut down for the development. He said the message was, ''Don't think buildings, think city." Rodda and several other biologists took the unusual step of raising alarms about the effect on Guam's birds of the military's exemption from Endangered Species Act provisions.

If Andersen Air Force Base grows as planned, the result will be ''the fastest extinction I have witnessed in my life," said Susan Haig, a biologist for the US Geological Survey who has worked on Guam bird recovery since 1987.

Some policy officials at Fish and Wildlife said that they hoped the military would continue to protect the species.

''Expansion of Andersen is not necessarily mutually exclusive with implementing recovery for these species," said Gina Shultz, acting field supervisor of Fish and Wildlife's Pacific island office. ''But I'm working in a vacuum here, I have no idea where they're expanding [or] how much."

When the Bush administration advocated exempting the military from the critical habitat provisions of the Endangered Species Act, it contended that the military could be trusted to act as a good steward of the environment.

The Guam birds' story ''is symbolic of why environmentalists fight over regulations and sometimes are suspicious of vague sets of promises and guidelines," said John Kostyak, senior counsel for the National Wildlife Federation, a national environmental group.

The Fish and Wildlife agency said the future of the species would hinge on the military's commitment to them as detailed in its Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan. The document included a project, 14 years in the works, to build a snake barrier around a 60-acre area on the base for the birds' benefit.

Brown tree snakes have no natural predators on the island and their numbers have grown to thousands per square mile. Barriers are one of the few ways to manage the population and are considered essential to creating safe habitat for other species.

But in November, government biologists were told that the military was canceling the snake barrier, according to Earl Campbell, the Fish and Wildlife Services Pacific coordinator for invasive species. Some government biologists fear that canceling the snake barrier project was the first tangible sign that the military's plans would imperil efforts to protect the endangered species.

''From my perspective it looks like they reneged on that plan, which leaves no protection for any of the wildlife on Andersen," Haig said. Technical Sergeant Jeffrey Capenos, the base's spokesman, said the fears were premature. He said it was too early to say how much forest would be cut down or how the rare species would be treated as the base expanded.

© Copyright 2004 Globe Newspaper Company.

[Abe Sargent]

RARE GUAM BIRDS IN BREEDING SOAP OPERA

By Katie Worth

HAGATNA, Guam (Pacific Daily News, Dec. 27) - The Micronesian kingfisher, or sihek in Chamorro, is native to Guam.

However, it was driven to near-extinction by the brown tree snake and loss of habitat, until 29 of the last surviving kingfishers were taken out of Guam's jungles in the mid-1980s in an attempt to keep them from going extinct.

The last kingfisher was seen in the wild in 1988.

It's been a veritable soap opera in the Guam Micronesian kingfisher cage at the Department of Agriculture.

When they were first introduced back at the San Diego Zoo a couple years ago, the two birds were just roommates; they got along fine, but they didn't have a nesting log in their cage, so they never consummated anything.

But then in April, after being flown Guam, their native home, something sparked. Each saw something in the other they apparently hadn't noticed before. Sexual tension began to build.

After a few days sharing a snug little cage in Mangilao furnished with a cozy dead coconut log ideal for nesting, the pair began a flirtation; she'd coo in a demure manner, shake her sexy tail feathers, coyly solicit his attention. He'd strut around; show off his cinnamon-orange chest and broad cobalt blue wings, belting out a loud "ta-ta-ta-ta-ta" love song to her.

The courtship stepped up a notch.

He'd bring her a dead gecko occasionally, she'd feed him some worms; the pair began making a nest in a dead coconut tree, taking turns pulling bits of wood from the side of the log until a hole had been bored.

But it was then the problems began. She suddenly became aggressive, even angry toward him. He used to always be the first to the bird food; now, she was cornering him, preventing him from eating at all, sometimes attacking him for apparently no reason.

Their caretakers at the Department of Agriculture saw no choice but to separate them, said Suzanne Medina, a wildlife biologist and coordinator for the kingfisher recovery program.

Breeding season ended, and the pair were reunited and lived together peacefully, but platonically, through the summer.

But when September rolled around, the heat was on yet again.

Once again, things seemed to be working out at first. The pair was moved to a honeymoon suite down the street, much larger than their old cage and furnished with more nest logs. They again began preparing a nest together.

But soon, the bickering started again. This time, however, it was him that was the jerk. He completely took over their nest and wouldn't let her near it, forcing her to sleep elsewhere in the cage. Now it's him that won't let her eat. Sometimes he even resorts to what might be called domestic violence: He dive-bombs her from midair and the two collide for a brief but heated brawl.

Medina and the other technicians are at their wits' end, she said. They've tried nearly everything they can think of, from brief to long separations, keeping them near each other and far from each other, inside and outside; they even took the nesting logs out entirely for a while.

But so far, nothing has worked. They just cannot seem to make the marriage work, she said.

And it's really important that they do because the two Micronesian kingfishers are among just four of the birds on island, and among just 70 in existence on the planet. The population, endemic only to Guam but nearly extinguished in the last half-century by the devastating brown tree snake, is now entirely in captivity.

In the mid-1980s, 28 of the last surviving kingfishers were taken from Guam's jungles and sent to mainland zoos in a last-ditch attempt to save the creatures from extinction.

The birds have not done very well in captivity; only about a third of hatchlings survived to leave the nest. Worse, only 10 percent of adults live beyond four years. Unless breeding becomes more successful, it is expected to become extinct in captivity, Medina said.

Though there are two other males on island, biologists would really like to see this pair work out their problems and breed, Medina said, because they are the best genetic match to prevent inbreeding.

The biologists separated the pair yet again yesterday because they continued to fight. But today, they're going to try a new tactic: They're going to see how a love triangle might stir things up.

Medina explained the biologists are going to put the male in one cage and a second male in a cage right next to him. Then, they'll put the female in a third cage alongside both of them, so she can observe both and choose one -- they'll know who she chooses by who she coos at most. The biologists are hoping her heart will be won by her betrothed -- the best genetic match -- despite their long and tumultuous relationship.

If she does choose him, The biologists are going to keep the other male nearby, so her guy will be overpowered by an instinct to protect her, and stop beating up on her so much.

"You can tell both of them want to breed. Even after they were fighting today and they were separated, I heard her soliciting him," she said . "We're all kind of nervous about it, but we're just going to have to wait and see."

December 28, 2004

Pacific Daily News: www.guampdn.com

Copyright © 2004 Guam Pacific Daily News. All Rights Reserved

[Abe Sargent]

POLICE RAID PALAU MARIJUANA PLANTATIONS

By Bernadette H. Carreon

KOROR (Palau Horizon, Dec. 28) — Police in Palau have destroyed thousands of marijuana plants in raids on 38 plantations in Peleliu and Angaur States.

Criminal Investigative Section Chief John Elechuus said the raid targeted 29 plantations in Peleliu and destroyed 3,368 plants.

In Angaur State, police officers raided 9 plantations and destroyed a total of 880 plants.

Elechhus said the seized marijuana plants have a street value of $150,000.

No arrests were made but he said the case is still under investigation.

The seized marijuana plants were burned in Peleliu while the plants from Angaur were brought to Koror and would be burned soon.

"We will continue to eradicate in the two states and other areas in Palau until there are no marijuana plants left," Elechuus said.

December 28, 2004

Marianas Variety: www.mvariety.com

Copyright © 2004 Marianas Variety. All Rights Reserved

[Abe Sargent]

PALAU BASKS IN ‘SURVIVOR’ GLORY

By Bernadette H. Carreon

KOROR (Palau Horizon, Dec. 28) — Palau President Tommy Remengesau said the filming of Survivor 10 in Palau was a "great success."

"The Survivor group spent a good deal of money in Palau, provided jobs for our people and promises to generate worldwide interest in Palau, boosting our tourism industry to new heights," Remengesau said.

The president said the filming has been a success through the assistance of Koror State Government, Koror Governor John C. Gibbons, Ibedul Yutaka M. Gibbons and the Traditional Leaders of Koror and the members of the Koror State Legislature.

Remengesau said he is also offering his thanks to Bilung Gloria Salii and members of the Ngara Amayong and the Palauans who respected the restrictions that were placed on boating in the Rock Islands.

The president added that the airing of Survivor Palau promotional video in the United States on Dec. 12 has already created a great deal of positive exposure for Palau.

December 28, 2004

Marianas Variety: www.mvariety.com

Copyright © 2004 Marianas Variety. All Rights Reserved

[Abe Sargent]

In this article, check out the aside in brackets halfway through the article that describes the educational syste in the Solomons. Interesting.



SOLOMONS STUDENTS LEFT HANGING ON TEST RESULTS

HONIARA, Solomon Islands (SIBC, Dec. 27) – More than three months after Solomon Islands secondary students were administered final examinations, the Ministry of Education has yet to release the results.

Anxious parents have urged the Ministry to release the results of Secondary School Entrance, Form Three, Form Five and Form Six examinations, which will determine which students continue with their education and which will not.

[Because resources are limited in the Solomons, only a relative few school children are allowed to pursue a full education. Testing is therefore a critical step along the way for each student hoping to pursue an education.]

Honiara parent Robin Ramo accuses those responsible for delaying the release of the examination results.

He says the Ministry had promised to release the examination results by December 22, but it failed to do so.

Ramo says examinations were held in August and September and their results would have been ready by now.

He urges those responsible for examinations to speed up their work and release the results because many parents are eager to know their children's results so that they can prepare for the next academic year.

December 28, 2004

Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corp.: www.sibconline.com.sb

Copyright © 2004 Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corp. All Rights Reserved


-Anxiety

[Abe Sargent]

MISMANAGEMENT ROBS GUAM WORKERS OF RETIREMENT

By Katie Worth

HAGATNA, Guam (Pacific Daily News, Dec. 27) - The Government of Guam Retirement Fund Board of Trustees decided earlier this month not to grant retirement benefits or pay to employees from agencies that have not paid their debts to the retirement fund, but negotiations are ongoing and those who are waiting to retire may be able to do so by January.

Craig Schilling feels like he's being held hostage. He's been working at the Guam Memorial Hospital for 26 years; for 26 years, about 10 percent of his paycheck has been taken out, theoretically to go toward his retirement. Now he's ready to retire, enjoy his golden years in a life of relative leisure after a quarter of a century of work. But he can't.

Schilling, like hundreds of other GMH and Department of Education employees, don't have the option of retiring, because for several years in the late 1990s, the money being taken from his check to go to the Government of Guam Retirement Fund was actually going somewhere else.

"I'm thinking maybe I should sue for possible embezzlement," the 53-year-old accountant said. "As far as I'm concerned, if money is being taken from my paycheck and being put into something without my permission, that's embezzlement."

Earlier this month, the newly appointed and elected Retirement Fund Board of Trustees met and decided to take a formal position not to allow anyone from either DOE or GMH -- the two agencies that each owe the Retirement Fund money, in the ballpark of $15 million each -- to retire until the agencies pay in full the amount owed.

This has been their stance on and off for the last two years, though they have allowed groups of individuals to retire as the agencies cough up chunks of cash into the fund.

At the trustees' monthly meeting on December 17, they seemed to take a hard line stance, upholding Superior Court of Guam Presiding Judge Alberto Lamorena's February 2003 judgment, which ordered the Retirement Fund to stop processing applications for employees from agencies that owe money to the fund.

However, both the governor's spokeswoman Erica Perez and Retirement Fund Director Wilfred Aflague said that negotiations are, in fact, still ongoing and there's a good chance that an agreement will be made that will allow Schilling and others in his position to retire.

"The board did not want to close the door (and) say, ‘That’s it,’ to these employees," said Aflague. "So the board is making some overtures to the agencies to come up with some kind of agreement to allow people to retire. The board chair (Joe T. San Agustin) met with the governor, but I can't divulge the content of that meeting. They'll probably make an announcement at their next meeting."

At the hospital, at least 13 people have retired and are waiting to be able to receive benefits and monthly retirement check, according to GMH Administrator Bill McMillan. Far more, like Schilling, have expressed interest in retiring, but have been discouraged from doing so until the situation is sorted out. DOE was not able to provide the number of employees who are waiting to retire as of press time.

McMillan said the hospital has stretched its imagination and resources to come up with a way to pay the $16 million it owes the Retirement Fund. The hospital's administration is even considering asking lawmakers for legislation that would transfer some of the hospital's property and assets into the Retirement Fund to pay off its debt.

Aflague said he feels bad for the employees who have been caught in limbo because of a misdeed by their former bosses.

"I feel sorry for those people who have stopped working but can't officially retire. They're in a twilight zone, so to speak. They're not employees and they're not retirees," he said.

He said he's surprised that employees haven't made more of a big stink about the money taken out of their checks for their retirement not being transmitted to the retirement fund.

"I'm not one of those employees, but if I were them I'd probably be really angry," he said.

Schilling said he counts among those who are really angry.

"I believe they're required by law to put that money they took out of my paycheck into the Retirement Fund," he said, referring to the administrators.

Schilling has already contacted some lawyers to determine what his potential legal recourse might be. He said he'd like to see the current administration and set of lawmakers resolve the issue, though the problem preceded their terms.

"I am fed up with this, and to hear somebody say we're not responsible for this because it didn't happen while I was in office is a bunch of brown sugar, if you know what I mean," he said.

December 28, 2004

Pacific Daily News: www.guampdn.com

Copyright © 2004 Guam Pacific Daily News. All Rights Reserved

[Abe Sargent]

HUGE NEW CALEDONIA FIRE CONTAINED

NOUMEA, New Caledonia (Oceania Flash, Dec. 28) – New Caledonia firefighters have managed to contain a huge bushfire in the suburbs of the capital Nouméa, but not before an estimated 1,000 hectares of dry forest and bush were destroyed.

In one of New Caledonia's most populated areas, the blaze went uncontrolled for most of Christmas day and Sunday despite efforts from local fire brigades in neighboring Païta and Dumbéa towns in the heights of Nouméa, who also had to use water-carrying helicopters.

Police believe the fire was once again caused by negligence on the part of a local farmer.

Since October, a spate of bushfires described as an "environmental disaster" has been going mostly uncontrolled in New Caledonia.

Tens of thousands of hectares have since been destroyed, both in the Northern and Southern parts of the main island, the Grande Terre.

Firefighters and brigades throughout the Grande Terre are working around the clock to contain several fires but they say their resources are being stretched to the limit.

A group of metropolitan French firefighters was recently in New Caledonia to assess the situation and what remedies are needed to better control fires in the French Pacific territory.

They told local media New Caledonia's firefighters were under-staffed, not coordinated enough and that prevention and awareness among the population was also insufficient.

December 29, 2004

Oceania Flash: E-mail/Courriel: [email protected]

Copyright © 2004 Oceania Flash. All Rights Reserved