Archive for May, 2008
« Previous EntriesAdventures in Paradise
Saturday, May 31st, 2008The rain drives the tourists off the sidewalks, diminishes the Pacific to a neighbourly size, and melts all my plans like ice cream.
I open the paper and read a wandering, questing letter about the ‘beautiful, innocent people of Vanuatu‘, and ache a little because it’s so nearly true.
In the wall-high mirror, a woman spins her [...]
Universal Access
Friday, May 30th, 2008On Wednesday of this week, Minister Edward Nipake Natapei and Australian High Commissioner John Pilbeam jointly announced the creation of a telecommunications Universal Access Fund. Designed to ensure that communications services reach all parts of Vanuatu, the fund was rolled out with an initial contribution from AusAID of 215 million vatu.
The idea is to allow [...]
Kastom & The Law: Worlds Apart
Saturday, May 24th, 2008It’s hard to decide whether our comprehensive understanding of the causes of crime should be cause for joy or despair. If we see so clearly what needs doing, why don’t we do it?
Failure to Communicate
Friday, May 23rd, 2008No Communications column this week. I’m a little under the weather. Instead, I submitted The Centipede as a space filler. Read it. Come back when I’m feeling better.
Trust Works All Ways
Monday, May 19th, 2008Over the weekend, I’ve been thinking about last week’s disclosure concerning Debian’s OpenSSL package, which in effect stated that all keys and certificates generated by this compromised code have been trivially crackable since late 2006.
There’s a pretty good subjective analysis of the nature of the error on Ben Laurie’s blog (thanks, Rich), and of course [...]
You Get What You Pay For
Saturday, May 17th, 2008(Originally published in the Vanuatu Daily Post’s Weekender Section.)
Since the Australian Federal Police brought Project Wickenby to Vanuatu with the arrest of local resident Robert Agius and raids at PKF House and elsewhere, people here have been outraged over what they characterise as Australian arrogance. Australia, they charge, feels it’s bought the right to act [...]
Kastom in the Virtual Nasara
Thursday, May 15th, 2008In Vanuatu, Kastom takes a lifetime to learn. More complex than any set of laws, it’s a tightly woven fabric of behaviour that is in a constant state of redefinition. Defined by respect and mutual support, it is measured and arbitrated by our chiefs and enforced by the community as a whole. It is at [...]
Steaming Piles
Tuesday, May 13th, 2008Sometimes you have to destroy the document in order to save it….
Only the Angels Cry
Saturday, May 10th, 2008Nathan’s little boy died of nothing. The seven year-old got a boiler in his nose. It was painful, but nothing a course of antibiotics couldn’t fix. Nathan dutifully brought his boy to the island hospital, and requested treatment. As usual, there was no doctor present, but a nurse gave him some medicine. The pills were [...]
Clearing the Ground
Thursday, May 8th, 2008The Vanuatu National Training Council (VNTC) recently presented their vision of an industry-driven training regime here in Vanuatu. The approach is based on what they call Competency Based Training. In simple terms, this approach is aimed to help people learn relevant and useful skills, and importantly, to be able to earn formal recognition for skills [...]
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