Opinion

Wale warm up

Saturday 21 January 2012 | Published in Return to Pukapuka

This week in Pukapuka, Yato village won the sports sweeping every single category. They won men and womens cricket, netball, soccer, 100-metre relay, cross-country, volleyball, tennis and the traditional throwing sports of polo, toto, puapua and tikapoto. In the end, the score stood Yato village 126 points, Loto village 62 points and Ngake village 52 […]

Yato athletes come out on top

Saturday 21 January 2012 | Published in Return to Pukapuka

American Amelia Borofsky spent her formative years in Pukapuka, where her father was stationed as an anthropologist for the University of Hawaii. Amelia lived in Pukapuka until she was five years old. She came back to the islands last year to get a taste of her childhood she left for Pukapuka aboard Kwai late last […]

More wrongs to correct

Saturday 21 January 2012 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, Lets start from when Christianity arrived on our beautiful island. Pa Taputapuatea ruled Takitumu, he had three wives living with him on the paepae of Pa in Turangi. There is no such thing as first wife, senior line or whatever, they all lived on the paepae of Pa in Turangi as his wives. […]

Disappointing

Saturday 21 January 2012 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, To Tinned Fish eater, etc What a disappointing letter from you! To blame TIS for its inaction is just plain puerile; and to write that you were once a member of TIS in the good times is just an admission that you would rather sit on the sideline and whinge and moan, rather […]

MMR restates its case

Saturday 21 January 2012 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, Throughout 2011, the Ministry of Marine Resources (MMR) offshore fisheries programme has been of high public interest and this is welcomed given the enormity of what is at stake. But as the year has progressed the reporting and opinions that have followed our progress has drifted away from the facts of the matter […]

OJ to NZ, not noni to China

Friday 20 January 2012 | Published in Smoke Signals

How disappointing to read minister Teina Bishops comments in Wednesdays CI News [Major noni deal sours] in respect of the noni juice to China debacle with Mr Chen, the well documented, apparently rather unsavoury character, a smoke signaller writes. Minister Bishop stated: Nothing has happened. I think Ill just go back and keep hassling them, […]

The advantages of deep-litter production

Friday 20 January 2012 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, Scotts chicken farm is in a residential district of the tropical region of our central South Pacific capital island which is now increasingly sub-divided into encroaching neighbouring sections. The acrid stench of collected raw chicken manure in the tropics is too concentrated. This is especially so in egg-producing intensive cage/battery farms. This writer, […]

Whats the big rush?

Friday 20 January 2012 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, I wish to comment on Mr Kevin Wards letter of Wednesday Jan 18, 2012. Considering that Rarotonga’s road is only 32 kilometres around, for heavens sake, whats the big rush? Travellers from around the world have been praising our islands peacefulness and the peoples gentleness, so why such aggressiveness towards someone who, because […]

Kata - January 20, 2012

Friday 20 January 2012 | Published in Kata

Relax and enjoy paradise

Thursday 19 January 2012 | Published in Smoke Signals

A smoke signaller writers in response to Kevin Wards rambling complaint over the driving speed of Papa Tauira [yesterdays letters to the editor], one wonders what Kevins priorities might be? We all get stuck behind the papa. No doubt some of us react like Kevin and think our rights are being trampled by one fella […]

Shocking stuff

Thursday 19 January 2012 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, Its just shocking to read yesterdays paper about the skipper who sailed to Rarotonga by himself, was allowed free access into Rarotonga by the harbour master who was sick, escaped the customs check, was allowed to see the doctor (who did not admit him into the medical ward for observation but knew his […]

Kata - January 19, 2012

Thursday 19 January 2012 | Published in Kata

Kata - January 18, 2012

Wednesday 18 January 2012 | Published in Kata

Best man is a woman

Wednesday 18 January 2012 | Published in Smoke Signals

Callers to the newspaper yesterday thought we had made a mistake in the caption and tennis article Tennis star looking to play overseas which stated that Lilian Maui, 17, is the open mens tennis champion. It was mentioned in the article and three or four times before that as the island didn’t have any other […]

Keep to a schedule

Wednesday 18 January 2012 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, When are CITV going to get a more accurate TV schedule in place? I did notice they now say Greys Anatomy or whatever follows TV One News will be after the TV One News, so they have taken note there, obviously knowing they will be running late. But again, last night CITV advertised […]

Worst thing to happen to this country in decades

Wednesday 18 January 2012 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, Concerned Cookie (January 17) has got it right or your banner certainly said it! The fishing licences issued to the Chinese are a national disaster! Wake up TIS. Instead of worrying about recyclable picnic plates, how about doing something (as the only NGO environmental protection agency in this country) and rally your people/government […]

No Maori name for this group of islands

Wednesday 18 January 2012 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, Thanks but no thanks to Interested (January 17) for the false propaganda and inaccurate history of the Cook Islands. If anyone needs to go back to history and find out who we really were it is you. Here’s the correct history of your country (available to be read in history books about the […]

Why recycling is the last resort

Wednesday 18 January 2012 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, The letter writer who doesnt want to restrict the number and types of cars imported to the Cook Islands makes me wonder if they might be someone who makes money from selling them. Either that or they are a minority in this country who doesnt think too much about the earths future. Their […]

Monsieur rouler au pas

Wednesday 18 January 2012 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, On 27 November 2011, I lodged with the commissioner of police a formal complaint of nuisance driving against an elderly Tahitian man driving a silver and green Mitsubishi double cab and more recently a small delivery van with a blue canopy. On 19 December I sent a second letter seeking police action or […]

Passion and concern

Tuesday 17 January 2012 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, In response to the letter to the editor headed TIS should fight fishing, not cars, TIS was responding to a request from media to make a comment on a story about the importation of cars. It is wonderful to read the letter writers passion and concern for over-fishing in our waters there is […]