School cadets
Fergus Garrett, Vatuwaqa
I am shocked by the pictures of our children parading with guns (actually ancient Lee-Enfield .303 rifles).
They are labelled as “cadets”, a word that means something like an apprentice, on the way to becoming a full qualified soldier. A gun is a deadly weapon designed to kill people. The excuse is that “cadet training” is great for discipline. This may be true, but the same marching drills can be carried out without the military emphasis, and certainly without carrying deadly weapons.
Chaudhry comments
Simon Hazelman, Savusavu
If there is anyone to put common sense into Rajendra Chaudhry from spewing vulgar words and comments about our nation it has got to be his parents, period!
Chaudhry Junior, who is out of control, is the one who ought to be stopped in his tracks and not I, as Dr Sushil Sharma has suggested.
Dr Sushil Sharma needs to understand that every comment and statement Rajendra makes through social media is vulgar and is directed at our nation as a whole. He obviously needs much guidance from his father.
How can Mahendra Chaudhry be allowed to pass judgement and comment on national issues when his son, on the other hand, is totally rubbishing Fiji and its people?
As a layman, it gives more reason for him to counsel and control his son.
Dr Sushil Sharma has got to be joking to suggest that I should apologise to Mahendra Chaudhry for what I believe to be a direct and fair statement!
To apologise because he served our nation as a public servant and politician is absurd to say the least. Mahendra chose that job and he got paid for it. It’s not as if he did it for free? There are thousands of Fijians who served and continue to serve our nation with distinction who are no different to Mahendra Chaudhry. What makes him special over the rest I ask?
No, not an ounce of apology from my side but I wish to once again state to Mr Mahendra Chaudhry to talk some sense into his son before getting involved with national issues.
As for Dr Sharma I suggest he questions his moral values.
$175k Vodafone gift
Tukai Lagonilakeba, Nadi
Vinaka to you, Vodafone for your sponsorship payment of the $175k to our victorious 7s gladiators. The World Sevens Series is now history, but Rio is not too far away and there are questions many Vodafone users wish to ask.
How is it that they can only afford to pay $175k to Ben and the boys considering the humongous coverage and exposure they have subjected the business to? How many millions of dollars per second do they make from all the hype? What we mean is both through incoming and outgoing International calls from Vodafone to Vodafone users or from a landline to Vodafone and local calls, etc both from pre-paid and post-paid. It must be worth a fortune.
The Rio Olympics is one opportunity the Vodafone Fijian 7s team, with their officials, can for the first time earn our country our first Olympic gold medal. I am pretty sure they are worth much more. But let us be realistic and ask the Vodafone company to go a step further and promise the team that they will build them a home each apart from the monitory benefits the company will afford them.
The assistant Minister for Sports, Iliesa Delana, got himself a beautiful home after his historic Paralympics high jump gold medal win. He was complimented with a seat in Parliament through the power of the majority Fijians vote.
Your trusted loyal and grateful customers will pay Vodafone to foot the above expenses no doubt, but we would like to plead with the directors of Vodafone to kindly reconsider and review your incentives offered.
Vinaka vakalevu Vodafone, it is now ‘Power to You’ and our Fijian 7s team.
Draunidalo comments
Timoci Gaunavinaka, Nausori
Is Roko Tupou Draunidalo for real?
She raised a question in Parliament on why Government allowed Indonesia to build Queen Victoria School (QVS). She suggested that they should have requested Britain or other Commonwealth countries instead.
Britain has not even compensated our soldiers they exposed to nuclear bomb testing in the Pacific. It took the Bainimarama government to do that. Indonesia, the largest Muslim country in the world started their work at QVS by building and restoring the chapel neatly placing the cross symbol for Christianity. Can Draunidalo get a sponsor to build QVS?
Please do not open only one eye so you can only see and criticise the smaller evil while deliberately shutting the other from seeing the bigger and true evil under the disguise of freedom and democracy.
Sounds of worship
Tomasi Boginiso, Nasinu
There seems to be a war taking place between the different religion groups through the use of a sound system.
Religious denominations gathering these days, especially outdoors, the volume of the sound system seems to be at its highest that they don’t seem to care about the public’s normal livelihood.
These religious groups gathering are not worried who or what is around them; not even the law can do anything.
In the Navosai area on Sundays the unbearable sounds come from several churches. At least one church begins service at about 8am and ends at about 5pm. Despite the intervention of the Police nothing has changed.
The argument that the loud sound is meant for God Almighty to hear, I doubt it very much. They might draw others attention from the high volume but believe me there are other effective ways of worship than just making it loud.
Most churches of enormous sizes, not a sound could be heard as they gather for worship inside because the sound system volume is adjusted for those worshiping inside and nobody else.
There are gatherings where the preachers or speakers are loud enough that they don’t require a microphone. But when the sound systems are turned on to its highest volume and the speakers are screaming through the microphones, this is what is disturbing.
Families watching television at home could barely hear a thing when these worship gatherings are taking place. A conversation can’t take place and the elderly and babies could hardly sleep until the gatherings are over.
I hope that the leaders of these denominations will consider reading this letter and have some sense of care and consideration for other people living in the area where they gather for worship.
It could serve as the greatest message for all.
Feedback: jyotip@fijisun.com.fj