Michael Hartsell
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My name is Michael Hartsell. Presently I work as a project manager at a public relations firm near Seattle, Washington. I studied Communication & Media at a university in Australia. Ok, actually a few universities. I fell in love with Fiji when I first traveled there in 1998.
Latest posts by Michael Hartsell
4 June 2009
Fiji
Most taxi drivers in Suva, Fiji are quiet and uneventful. Every so often, however, you'll run into the driver who is the anti-barman, reports Paradise Fiji Blog. Instead of listening to your problems, these drivers are full of opinions and stories. Here lie five topics you'll most likely hear in a cab in Fiji.
3 June 2009
25 May 2009
Fiji: Reaction to detention of alleged bloggers
Global Voices previously reported that Fiji police detained and seized the laptops of three people who had been named as bloggers behind the anti-government site Raw Fiji News. The three lawyers had recently been named by the pro-government site Real Fiji News. While police confirmed the detentions and laptop seizures, a spokesman would not say why the three men were hauled in. All three have been released, but no word as yet on their laptops.
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21 May 2009
Fiji: EU cancels 2009 sugar subsidy
The European Union announced that it was suspending 2009 payment of 24 million Euro in subsidies to help prop up Fiji’s sugar industry. European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid,...
14 May 2009
Fiji: Convicted soldiers freed on supervision plan
Fiji’s government admitted that eight soldiers and one policeman who had been found guilty of manslaughter have been released from prison, two months into their four-year sentences. A government spokesman said the Minister of Justice ordered their release under a compulsory supervision order, which allows certain criminals to serve the remainder of their sentences outside of prison
11 May 2009
Fiji: Bloggers debate media censorship
As reported here last week, Fiji’s government extended for another 30 days its “emergency regulations” that, among other things, controls public gatherings and forbids the media from printing stories that “undermine the Government and the State of Fiji.” These rules allow the Permanent Secretary of Information the ability to place censors in newsrooms, accompanied by plainclothes policeman.
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4 May 2009
Fiji: Pacific Islands Forum membership had its privileges
Since Fiji's government refused to schedule elections, the country has been suspended from the Pacific Islands Forum. Fiji’s suspension marks the first time in its nearly four-decade history the Pacific Islands Forum has taken this step against a country.
1 May 2009
Fiji faces suspension from Pacific Islands Forum
Fiji passes a deadline set by the Pacific Islands Forum to schedule elections to be held this year or be kicked from the regional group. The group stated that if Fiji does not meed the deadline, the country would be suspended from all Forum events and cease receiving any new financial and technical assistance.
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==> As Africans we need to let go of our victimhood, inferiority complex & acceptance...