The ordinary people of any country – what Richard Nixon famously called the silent majority – hope for leaders with judgment and Fiji is no exception. All of which makes it extraordinary that a senior politician like Mick Beddoes has taken to taunting the military with the threat of life-long jail sentences in the current political environment. … [Read more...] about #94 TOUGH TALKING LITTLE BIG GUY
#93 VALE A MULTIRACIAL PIONEER
One of the last living links to Fiji’s colonial past has been severed with the death in Britain of Philip Snow - a colonial servant, author and celebrated cricketer who retained close links with Fiji long after he left the then colony in the early 1950s. Philip was already a minor celebrity when, in 1938, he sailed half way around the world to … [Read more...] about #93 VALE A MULTIRACIAL PIONEER
# 92 WHEN RHETORIC GETS RIDICULOUS
Wadan Narsey is one of Fiji’s most gifted academics, an economist with an international reputation now living in Australia. He was once a member of parliament for the largely Indo-Fijian National Federation Party and is on the public record complaining vociferously about racism in Fiji. Yet he harbours a particular loathing for the … [Read more...] about # 92 WHEN RHETORIC GETS RIDICULOUS
#91 FIJI’S ROLE IN SPACE
Fiji is playing an important but little known role in China’s latest and most ambitious space mission, which is scheduled within days. For the first time - if all goes according to plan - a manned spacecraft will dock with an orbiting experimental module in a major advance for the Chinese space program. And its progress will be tracked by a highly … [Read more...] about #91 FIJI’S ROLE IN SPACE
#90 AUSTRALIA’S FIJI INVASION PLAN
Australia made secret plans to invade Fiji, according to a startling report that is bound to heighten suspicion and deepen the already significant rift between the two countries. The Weekend Australian reports that defence planners prepared a detailed scenario for an invasion as part of an overall strategic review for the Rudd government in … [Read more...] about #90 AUSTRALIA’S FIJI INVASION PLAN
# 89 ELIZABETH, QUEEN OF FIJI
The sight of the sky-blue Fiji flag among the forest of flags borne along the River Thames for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee pageant was a startling reminder that despite being suspended from the Commonwealth, Fiji is still part of the Commonwealth family. It’s a bit like a wayward sibling at any family celebration. No-one wants to condone their … [Read more...] about # 89 ELIZABETH, QUEEN OF FIJI