Smoke Signals
Wednesday 26: BEST PRICES
Wednesday 26 August 2009 | Published in Smoke Signals
Since critics are always quick to slam CITC, someone ought to note how the Main Store’s prices for sports gear are among the best anywhere, a smoke signaller says. “Nike apparel, for example, is cheaper here for the same latest range as in NZ and Australia. Evidence of that was seen on Saturday when visiting […]
Wednesday 26: INITIATE, NOT REACT
Wednesday 26 August 2009 | Published in Smoke Signals
In responding to Wilkie Rasmussen’s expulsion from the Democratic Party, one signaller says that he only wishes that “MPs like Rasmussen will get off their butt and initiate things, rather than just react to anything and everything”.
Wednesday 26: SMOKE TERRORISTS
Wednesday 26 August 2009 | Published in Smoke Signals
A reader says rubbish burning is an issue the island needs to urgently address “as it’s a real health hazard for children, the elderly and people prone to developing respiratory illnesses. Shops and households burn cardboard boxes, plastic, cans, green waste, and all other waste in between. These are the Smoke Terrorists – you never […]
Wednesday 26: Good deed pays off in the end
Wednesday 26 August 2009 | Published in Smoke Signals
Here’s a smokie with a happy ending. A parent writes: “Had to mention this one. My daughter and her friend found a wallet in town – they were waiting for the bus at Cooks’ Corner. They did the right thing and headed to the police station. The police officer opened the wallet, looked at the […]
Thursday 13: REALITY BITES
Wednesday 19 August 2009 | Published in Smoke Signals
“I had to laugh when reading the DPM’s speech at the time the budget was presented to parliament, noting the Cook Islands has been affected by the economic downturn,” a reader said. “So much for the recession free Oasis gimmick!”
Tuesday 18: THE GREAT WYNC SALE
Wednesday 19 August 2009 | Published in Smoke Signals
Regarding the seating situation at the Telecom Sports Arena, surely the WYNC organisers could have come up with something like a $2 ticket sale to fill up all the seats at the back. “It just seems a shame that we can’t even fill up the 400-500 seats that are available each day,” says one volunteer. […]
Thursday 13: PARIS NOT HERE
Wednesday 19 August 2009 | Published in Smoke Signals
The Cook Islands was spared a visit by American socialite Paris Hilton who has been busy jetting this week between Australia, Fiji and Tahiti, according to media reports. Voted the second ‘Worst Celebrity Role Model of 2006’, behind Britney Spears, the Hilton hotel heiress is said to be in Bora Bora now. Paris fans will […]
Tuesday 18: A FREE LUNCH
Wednesday 19 August 2009 | Published in Smoke Signals
Talking about the number of police down at the Telecom Sports Arena last week, has anyone noticed the number of accredited ‘media’ personnel at the netball event? “It’s so hard to attract people to be reporters on the island but there seems to be heaps of wannabes at WYNC,” says one observer. “What’s the bet […]
Thursday 13: SELECTION QUESTIONS
Wednesday 19 August 2009 | Published in Smoke Signals
And this smokie comes from a table full of disgusted locals after reading news of the new HoM appointments over the weekend. “How on earth can a string of people be appointed to these positions of responsibility when they have already failed audit investigations, and found to be guilty of mismanagement or misspending?” they ask […]
Tuesday 18: OVERKILL?
Wednesday 19 August 2009 | Published in Smoke Signals
Where are the cops when you really need them, asked one lady at the World Youth Netball Championships at the Telecom Sports Arena last week. “When you want them, they are never there. But look at them here [at WYNC] – they are crawling all over the place!”
Thursday 13: Every HoM position should be re-advertised
Wednesday 19 August 2009 | Published in Smoke Signals
“Cook Islanders are so familiar with the process by which HOMs are chosen from a tiny pool of political shoe-ins that talented and experienced young Cook Islanders just don’t bother to apply,” a reader says. “Thus it is that Cabinet ends up with a short list from the tiny pool of those who are otherwise […]
Tuesday 18: HOM PANELS
Wednesday 19 August 2009 | Published in Smoke Signals
While Audit is looking at the HOM appointment process should they be asking questions about the selection panel itself, a smoke signaller asks. “Mark Short has publicly defended his appointment in part due to the fact that a fellow lawyer, Tina Browne, sat on the panel. Is this the same Tina Browne that is the […]
Tuesday 18: Public service easy money?
Wednesday 19 August 2009 | Published in Smoke Signals
Since the HoM contracts have yet to be signed and sealed, one person has suggested that the public service commissioner start everyone on a base salary of $45,000 and then work their way from there. “What I always notice is that when HoMs lose their job, you never seem to see them working in the […]
Monday 17: NIGHT RAIDERS
Wednesday 19 August 2009 | Published in Smoke Signals
A recent police report in this newspaper about watermelons being stolen from a patch in Nikao raises the question about who these thieves are and how they’re getting away with this shameless act. “And it’s not just watermelons, it also happens with pawpaw patches, and sometimes whole taro patches are raided at night,” a reader […]
Monday 17: WHAT'S IT ALLS WORTH?
Wednesday 19 August 2009 | Published in Smoke Signals
“The Cook Islands is at risk of going morally insane,” a reader says. “Our Audit Office seems to do a great job of uncovering corruption, exposing abuse of power and authority, revealing dishonesty, but what’s the point if there are no penalties or repercussions? It’s all very well to be vigilant and sharp in auditing […]
Monday 17: SMOKO TIME
Wednesday 19 August 2009 | Published in Smoke Signals
You know the wind’s cold in Raro when otherwise tough tradesmen huddle in the sun on the sheltered side of a building under construction on the beachfront, none wanting to venture around the corner and get chilled and sandblasted on the windward side. So the job takes a bit longer than normal.
Monday 17: PAPA SLOW DOWN!
Wednesday 19 August 2009 | Published in Smoke Signals
One signaller urges the ol’ fella who was driving a blue single cab pick-up truck last Thursday morning from Upper Tupapa way towards town, to “please put some sense in your head and understand that every day it’s an early morning rush hour for most of us with a job, and your careless driving is […]
Monday 17: REEF INSPECTOR
Wednesday 19 August 2009 | Published in Smoke Signals
A visitor to Rarotonga who received numerous coral cuts when he made the mistake – possibly after a few drinks – of paddling into waves crashing on to the reef on the island’s western side last week, reportedly had one request to make when his rescuers brought him to safety on the beach, a cold […]
Monday 17: Invisible partitions?
Wednesday 19 August 2009 | Published in Smoke Signals
A smoke signaller after watching a ‘Tuatua with Tua’ episode was curious about the lack of cubicles in the Sports Arena’s VIP bathrooms. “One wonders how the VIPs from our country and other countries would feel about doing their business in sight of every other VIP! And since when did the Cook Islands consider red […]
Thursday 13: SHINY COSTUMES
Wednesday 19 August 2009 | Published in Smoke Signals
Responding to the smokie about Te Hiva Nui girls temporarily mislaying their coconut bras for their shows in England, a reader recalls when Papua New Guinea hosted the 1980 Festival of Pacific Arts, the female dancers in the teams from the Cook Islands and Tahiti were sometimes playfully described in Tok Pisin (Pidgin English) as […]