Good Friday Pam! DENNIS FITZGERALD MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA IT would seem Pam Bondi is now looking for a new job, but probably not in the Whitehouse. There is some similarity to the Easter Story, she has been crucified, her career is dead and buried maybe with some of the Epstein files, but there won’t be a resurrection. It appears her loyalty to President Trump hasn’t kept her safe. A few of the more dedicated supporters in the team might need to watch out as further distractions from the Epstein files will be needed if the Iran war is ended although by then they may have retired. Is there any justice in the Justice department?
Alternative energy source DAN URAI LAUTOKA AN Australian company was refused to set up a solar farm at its own cost and feed into the EFL grid. Government is seeking alternative energy source and is lending its ears to the incinerator project in Vuda. I believe the people of Fiji as an alternative prefer solar energy to garbage energy.
Different views NARAYAN REDDY LAUTOKA SOME ministers in the Coalition government seem to have different views about fuel shortage, Vuda waste to energy project and even the word “Fijian” for all citizens of Fiji. This is very healthy as everyone has an opinion on these things. This is what true democracy is all about. Now the question remains — what can be done to cushion the rising fuel cost? That is something nobody wants to talk about. Every minister is saying they have plans, but no one is telling anyone what the plan is.
The ashtray TERRY HULME YADUA JIOJI Navetau (FT 4/4) is asking why Fiji’s top echelons wants to use Fiji as an ashtray. Perhaps it is because a lot of Fiji residents treat it as such!
Help Ronnie JAN NISSAR SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA CAN a local please help Ronnie Chang pro bono to recover the money lost from his FNPF account during the previous two-man government. His pleas over the years have fallen on deaf ears because it appears no one is listening. I suspect no one is doing anything because they cannot identify him. I can say with a great deal of confidence that FNPF does not have a Ronnie Chang on their books. So, it may just be a simple case of FNPF not being able to identify him. If no one can help Ronnie and the other 1400 pensioners who have been ‘robbed’, I may have to come and fix this problem myself.
Between the lines AREKI DAWAI SUVA I BELIEVE the standard and interest of those at the hierarchy involved within greasing the machinery of the Coalition Government has given the Prime Minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, no choice but, for him to play between the lines. I believe the standard and interest of those at the hierarchy involved in greasing the machinery of the Coalition Government have left Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka no choice but to play between the lines.
Trump fan RAJEND NAIDU SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA ACCORDING to Rakesh Chand Sharma “these days the Pulitzer and Nobel awards are all politicised” (ST 29/3). But RCS pays attention to what the political warmonger Trump says. According to Professor Chris Hedges “Trump is dangerous not simply because of his imbecility and unbridled narcissism, but because he lacks the core attributes of empathy and understanding that define the human soul”. Why is RCS attaching so much importance to what Trump says? As a schoolteacher it would be good for his professional development if he paid more attention to the profound literature produced by the Pulitzer and Nobel award winners.
Drunk driving TAHIR ALI HAMILTON, NEW ZEALAND IT touches our hearts to read in The Fiji Times that a sixyear-old child died recently due to a drink-anddrive incident. I believe it is common sense that if you plan to drink, don’t drive. In drunk driving cases resulting in accidents and fatalities, the driver should face a lifetime driving ban with the maximum penalty. If you really must drink, please drink Fiji water and stay alive. Road safety is life safety. It should be everyone’s responsibility.
Deep State RAKESH CHAND SHARMA NADI Why is Western media silent on the arrest of Matthew Vandyke, a US citizen and six Ukrainians by India’s NIA (National Investigation Agency) on charges of espionage and destabilising activities in North Eastern Indian States. They have been remanded in the custody of NIA by an Indian judge. The Americans and Ukrainians are running up and down to extricate them, according to CNN News.
Slow internet CONAN HATCH NADI AIRPORT I am finding that the Vodafone mobile data on my phone is so sloooow that it is getting really frustrating. I used mobile data from a New Zealand company when I was in NZ recently and it was quite fast. Are there other companies that we can buy mobile data from in Fiji? And are other people experiencing this same issue?
Rocket problems DENNIS FITZBERALD MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA MANY of the recent rocket launches have had some minor problems, sometimes complete destruction after exploding, but now, Artemis II has a new problem more familiar to most of us, a dodgy toilet. It’s usually hard to get a plumber at all and they can charge travel time, which in this case could cost a fortune. It will be more than ‘spending a penny’. Let’s hope that computer experts can ‘get the job done’ without causing a stink.
Backward progress RAJEND NAIDU SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA WE see in the news that the Great Council of Chiefs wants the word Fijian to be reserved for the iTaukei and that the GCC be the appointing authority for the positions of the President and Vice President. It also wants to remove secular state and change the electoral system, according to Fiji Village (2/4/26). Is this what the former DPM Manoa Kamikamica meant when he talked about the “progress” the country has made at the ‘Amending the Constitution’ forum held recently? Is going backward “progress?”
Heartbreak DONALD SINGH NAUSORI WHEN the final whistle finally sounded, I was left disappointed. Was glad the Fijian Drua was finally put out of their misery. Disappointed because the Crusaders missed their conversion, and couldn’t cross the 70 mark.
Immunity clause DAN URAI LAUTOKA SO the High Court of Fiji has ruled that there can be no amendment to the immunity provision of the 2013 Constitution. What does this mean for a democratic nation like Fiji?
CRC submission JAN NISSAR SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA WITH regard to consultations and submissions to the Constitutional Review Commission, the last group of people who should be making a contribution to this review are members of the Great Council of Chiefs. Anybody or any group that makes contributions and suggestions based on ethnicity and race, in this day and age, should not be allowed to do so. It goes without saying that any contribution which pits various ethnicities against each other should be banned and not even considered. The GCC is an unelected group. Its members represent only one group of people based on ethnicity. Clearly, in a democracy, such a group is unacceptable. Such a body is based on apartheid principles. They should not have a say in national affairs. Many in Fiji mistakenly believe that the GCC is a traditional body. They are not. They are an invention of the British colonialists, and there is nothing traditional about them.
Justice must prevail RAJEND NAIDU SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA THE burning desire to seek the truth and justice is not extinguished by the lapse of time. The Canberra Times report ‘Exnanny’s fight over crimes against humanity claims’ ( CT 30/3/26 ) is a stark reminder of that. Over four decades since the violent 1973 Pinochet coup to overthrown the democratically elected Socialist government of President Allende and the subsequent brutal reign of the Pinochet dictatorship under which “about 40,000 people were killed, tortured or imprisoned for political reasons”, the victims families remain keen to pursue justice with the extradition of Adriana Riva’s from Australia to face trial in Chile for carrying out torture and kidnapping for the tyrannical Chilean dictatorship. We recall Nazi war criminals were pursued wherever they had fled for their crimes against humanity even when they were in their nineties. I believe that is as it should be.
