Fiji's contribution to United Nations peacekeeping efforts has risen by almost 30 per cent in the past year alone, as the world body defies attempts by Australia and New Zealand to have Fijian troops excluded because of the 2006 coup. Figures obtained by the NZ investigative reporter, Selwyn Manning, for his intelligence company, 36th Parallel … [Read more...] about #110 UN BACKS FIJIAN PEACEKEEPERS
# A JOURNALISTIC LEGEND RETURNS
Vijendra Kumar - a long-serving editor of the Fiji Times who left the country 21 years ago disillusioned with its direction - has surged back into the public eye with an optimistic piece on Fiji’s future. It's noteworthy that the article doesn’t appear in the Times – Fiji’s oldest newspaper - but in its rival, the Fiji Sun, where Grubsheet is also … [Read more...] about # A JOURNALISTIC LEGEND RETURNS
#108 BELONGING IN THE NEW FIJI
The saga of contemporary Fiji– the clash between the country’s opposing political forces - can be very bruising if you become a participant. For its attempts to explain why Frank Bainimarama isn’t the devil incarnate, Grubsheet has been threatened with bashing, shooting and hanging. And all in the space of the past week. Why? Because we’re deemed … [Read more...] about #108 BELONGING IN THE NEW FIJI
#107 SILENCING TUILAEPA’S RACIST LOUT
"Fark you fat stupid uneducated palagi lard and kiss my ass": It beggars belief that the Samoan Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, would have as his media advisor someone like Tupuola Terry Tavita, who contributes such gems to Grubsheet. What an adornment to Samoa this world class wordsmith surely is! What an adornment to the … [Read more...] about #107 SILENCING TUILAEPA’S RACIST LOUT
# THE POLITICS OF WATCHING AND WAITING
One person will be watching the current trial of Laisenia Qarase with more than usual interest - his predecessor as prime minister and would-be political partner, Mahendra Chaudhry. Will he or won’t he be convicted? Chaudhry knows that if Qarase is found guilty, he’ll be removed from the political scene and theirs will be the briefest of … [Read more...] about # THE POLITICS OF WATCHING AND WAITING
#105 TESTING TIMES (UPDATED 8/7)
UPDATE -RESPONSE FROM DR MARC EDGE IN THE COMMENTS SECTION: You have to wonder what is going at the Fiji Times when its senior reporters write blatant commercials masquerading as news. How else to explain the piece below by Verenaisi Raicola extolling the virtues of the Cozmo Lounge in Suva? At the very least, this puffiest of puff pieces should … [Read more...] about #105 TESTING TIMES (UPDATED 8/7)