Stories about Oceania from January, 2009
Fiji: Internet and BPO industry
According to The Coconut Wireless, Fiji needs to expand its internet infrastructure if it wants to attract investors in the Business Process Offshoring industry.
Is New Zealand bullying Fiji?
Kiwipolitico accuses New Zealand of being hypocritical and neo-imperialist for criticizing Fiji's military leadership yet it maintains trade and diplomatic relations with countries with “less than stellar human rights records.”
Fiji: Bloggers discuss newspaper publisher's deportation
Fiji’s government deported Fiji Times publisher Monday, January 26, a few days after the newspaper was found guilty of contempt of court and fined nearly $55,000 for printing a “scandalous” letter to the editor.
Australia Day brings on a stoush
Australian bloggers are debating the appropriateness of celebrating the anniversary of European occupation in 1788 as Australia Day.
Oceania: Epeli Hau'ofa Has Passed Away
Noted Fijian (Born in Papua to Tongan parents) antropologist Epeli Hau'ofa died on January 11 in Suva, Fiji. The Savage Minds blog links to an essay by Epeli Hau'ofa tha argued against the commonly held assumption that the pacific islands were isolated communities held apart by massive oceans.
Fiji: Bloggers debate ‘harsh’ newspaper penalty
Bloggers throughout the Pacific have been reacting to a recent Fiji High Court verdict against a local newspaper for printing a letter to the editor in October critical of a ruling validating the December 2006 military coup that brought the current government to power.
Fiji: Bloggers debate PM’s absence at Pacific Forum meeting
Bloggers and forum posters are analyzing the decision of Fiji’s self-appointed Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama to miss a January 27 special Pacific Islands Forum meeting which had been called because the leader has refused to hold a once-promised election in March 2009.
Thailand: Australian writer jailed for lese majeste
Australian writer Harry Nicolaides was given a three year prison sentence for lese majeste in Bangkok on Monday. He was charged with the offense of offending the monarchy for a passage in a book he published in 2005 titled Verisimilitude. Only 50 copies of the book were ever printed and...
Fiji Floods: ‘The Village Drowned’
The rains in Fiji began falling January 7 and didn't let up for more than a week. Nearly 10,000 people are being housed in shelters and damage to homes, crops and businesses could climb to hundreds of millions of dollars.
Fiji Flooding: “The economic costs will be massive”
The sun peeked from behind the mass of clouds in parts of the Fiji island group Thursday morning, marking the first time many places had a major break in rain in more than a week. With the respite, the worst flood waters in decades have mostly subsided across Viti Levu,...
Fiji floods: ‘Where is all this water coming from?’
Fiji’s bloggers have begun reporting on the weekend's serious flooding that has placed much of the Western Division of the country’s largest island under water. Debate within the blogosphere has also assessed the government’s capacity to deal with the situation.
New Zealand: Dangerous waters
Cactus Kate blogs about the many dangers of swimming in the beaches of New Zealand
Australia: Locals divided over Gaza
Australian blogs are dominated by disagreements about the situation in Gaza. The stances taken by Australian politicians have also been attacked by several bloggers. Pro-Israel and pro-Palestine protests were held over the weekend.
Brunei-Australia War Memorial
A Brunei-Australia Memorial was unveiled to commemorate the Australian landings in Brunei during the Second World War and to mark the cooperation between the people of Brunei Darussalam and Australia.
Australia: Following Gaza from Afar
Though Gaza is a long way from Australia, there have been many reactions to the catastrophe unfolding there. Many Australians have been using their blogs to post links that help to provide both information and analysis of what’s happening that is not always covered in the mainstream media.
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