By Seuamuli Desmond Bentin
I think we all know the business factors which affect prices and pricing of a particular product. I am particularly interested in the effects of competition, government regulation and consumer or lobby group pressure.
Last Sunday the 7th of November 2021 has now been written into the history books as the day and date that the End of Life Choice Act 2019 came into full effect, making euthanasia legal in Aotearoa New Zealand. It is also referred to as medically assisted dying or assisted suicide, depending on which side you’re on.
I don’t care much for emotive language being used by some people to stir up their support base and I am sure that they don’t care much what I think of their tactics either. But how can we ever forget that other fella whose favourite and only response to anything in the media that wasn’t effusive in it’s praise of him or his actions was, “Fake news!”?
Due to the very limited amount of information available, I am still unsure what to make of our Deputy Prime Minister’s reported public display of how he really felt about Newsline Samoa, when he binned a copy of the newspaper.
When trying to get more information from those closer to the action, I was told that it was probably a reaction to a growing local perception that the Honourable Minister of Agriculture seems to be the only member of Parliament with a public profile and media presence.
I believe they’ve got it all wrong. In a speech a few years ago as the President of the Samoa Returned Services Association, our Deputy Prime Minister included “good humour, good heartedness and comradeship” as some of the values that guide ANZAC soldiers and should guide us all especially in these times of Covid-19 and “when the going gets tough”.
It was meant to be a joke, but I would still take the free publicity.
Way back in 2012, a Wireless Broadband Masterplan for the Independent State of Samoa was prepared as part of the ITU wireless broadband masterplan for countries in the Asia-Pacific region in conjunction with the Korean Communications Commission. It is pretty heavy going for a Sunday afternoon’s reading but the sections on the medium to long term goals and conclusions and recommendations are worth persevering for. A nice bottle of Central Otago Pinot Noir is optional but highly recommended.
Did you know that Vodafone has 77 Mobile Towers on Upolu and 23 on Savai’i? I was looking for any information on Co-location as recommended but that coverage is quite impressive. I wouldn’t dismiss that too quickly as information you really didn’t need to know. You’ve seen those movies where the car has broken down and they are walking around with cell phone held high trying to get any signal. Knowing where the towers are in Savai’i could come in handy especially the ones at Aopo, Fogatuli and Mt. Olomanu.
It could save you a lot of anxiety and jandal wear and tear.