The 3^rd Annual “Battle of the Bands” is a music festival of ethnic youth and young people within Victoria. The night will include ethnic action dancing, sway of the pacific, the glitter of Asia, Bands from the church groups will range from heavy rock to gospel country.

Many of the stars of the music festival will be “Second Generation” Australian born children of immigrants and refugees as performers.

Everyone is welcome to come and join in the fun and audience members are encouraged to come in costume of your ethnic heritage which include Anglo, European background.(Dutch, German, Scottish, English, Wales, etc)

It is proudly supported by the Uniting Church in Australia.

Date 22 November 2008.

Location Box Hill Wesley Uniting Church in 2-6 Oxford Street, Box Hill, Melbourne.

Times 3pm to 9.30pm

parking details Street parking

Tickets secretary. Tee Makoni - talaheumakoni@hotmail.com

Adults $5.00

Young people 12 to 25 Goldcoin donation

Children under 12 free.

Food stalls will be available

New Performers wishing to join in should contact:

Don Ikitoelagi (03) 9251- 5287 email Don.Ikitoelagi@victas.uca.org.au

Ma'ata's school held their Meet the Teacher Night today so we trotted off with 'Ofa to get a briefing on ... 'something.'

Wow, there's a lot of teachers taking care of Kindergarten at Chullora Public School.

Anyhow, nothing drastic is happening, they just wanted us to have an idea of what they are doing and how we can participate with our children's education (i.e. it's a partnership between school and home, not a one way thang)

We asked the teacher if she can give us a list of the music cd's they are using so we can get a copy for Ma'ata (not not the torrent versions, although ...) Apparently Ma'ata's teacher is using stuff mostly from the ABC Shop, so they're quite accessible.

Of course, Ma'ata Ngalo'afe is a little behind on her "Advance Australia Faire" but she pumps out some gusto words of her own during these and other songs (she just enjoys singing even if the words aren't quite right.)

Peanut / Nut Allergy can kill. I remember a couple years back, here in Australia, reading the news about a boy who died at a camp because although he was allergic to nuts the camp played a game where children were given different tasks. The boy volunteered to eat the peanut sandwich because no one else in his group would eat the peanuts, and for the remaining hours of his life the camp participants (staff and children) could only watch as he suffered and died (they did not have the training or the medication on hand to deal with the sudden death.)

Deaths from peanut allergy

Approximately 125 people die in the United States each year from food allergies.^[8][9] Peanut allergy is the most common cause of death from food allergies. ^[10]

The dangers of peanut allergy are real, even if sometimes misrepresented in the popular press.

Australian schools (at least here in Sydney anyway) seem to have become seriously aware of the issues, as a consequence both Ma'ata's school (Chullora Public School) and Sisitoutai's school (Bankstown Montessori Center) are "Nut Free Zones" to encourage awareness and prevent failure to save children's lives.

Unfortunately, some parents just choose not to understand the severity of this ailment.

Being from Tonga, we don't recall ever hearing of anyone with this kind of food allergy (the only food allergy common in Tonga is obesity, ha ha ha) but we've stopped buying peanut products for the kids as there are plenty of other foods for energy etc.

One mother at tonights meeting just had to argue that her kids don't eat anything else but Nutella (i.e. chocolate with peanuts.) Pray tell, what is she supposed to do? She can't argue with her kids about their food selection, God forbid?

Knock knock, anyone home ?

We would rather that our kids get peanut butter in their sandwiches for additional nutritional content, but I wouldn't wish the pain of an allergy attack on my kids let alone someone elses. Get a clue, educate yourself.

I used to look up to our wizened elders and wonder

"will I contribute to this life a shadow of the amount they've contributed?"

Taholo Kami just sent out an email of some musical recordings by his daughter Tae. To know just a little about what the family, and Tae have gone through in the past couple of years is to wonder at the contribution that they have made to this life.

1 March 2008 Update

Tae singing His Eyes are on the Sparrow  Click to hear/download song

Tae is still in hospital this morning. Tae was smiling by the time I got to hospital last night - the small session in surgery to drain the infection beside her nose seemed to have worked out well and Sina had called for me to pick up a hot chocolate and fish fillet burger from Mcdonalds for her to snack on. We hope all goes well from here on - her breathing has cleared up a little but we have to see what the doctors say today.

We had a long discussion yesterday while she lay on the bed and she says to me "Dad - I've accepted the situation - have you?"  She then proceeded to explain that she has been so richly blessed in her short life, she's had her miracle and she has overcome all her challenges, she is ready to go home  if God decides its time. The surgeon was stunned by her frankness on issues and spent more time discussing life and faith issues with her yesterday  then her condition...

The guys from the studio dropped off samples of her song yesterday. There is a version of Tae singing "His Eyes are on the Sparrow" and the song she wrote "Walk on, Walk Strong". The studio guys also did their own version of "Walk on, Walk Strong" which was quite stunning. I will upload it once I figure how to do it. We hope the song can be used to raise funds for a "Tae Kami Foundation" which can  assist with cases of Pacific Island kids who face a cancer challenge .  Check soon for a download.

Thank you all for your prayers and support - I will post an update from Tae later

Visit with the Kami's on Tae's website, or find her on Bebo. Definitely inspirational and sometimes quite devotional.

Looks like we're making more headway into getting this up and running.

Hope to see everyone there, click on the timetable image to get a larger picture (possibly easier to read for those with ageing eyes, or artificially assisted eyes.)

Key Dates: Monday September 29th ~ Wednesday October 1st

Remember to bring your video camera, audio recording equipment etc. Best of all, make sure if you have a real job to get this booked on your calendar.

The Kele'a has some interesting write-ups this week.

* Why are QSC Ex-Students adamant / belligerent about buying a TOP$3million property that is obviously not worth the money, and they wish to put it to use that is already provided by many other services in Tonga.

* What is the disagreement between the Ministry of Finance and the Prime Ministers' Office that lead to the delay in this year's budget ? Did they really try to spruce up the damned economy ?

* Why is the President of the Free Wesleyan Church preaching holier than tow when everything points to the other with his own actions ? (Read: recent appointments)

You know it hurts when you give credit to the Kele'a for breaking news that should have been covered by the other mainstream papers, but they conveniently led slide ...

There's a strange thing about the Kava import restrictions (bans?) in Australia.

Apart from the fact that it seems the federal government is jumping on solving the symptom of the problem, to assuage public opinion against their inactions over the 'aborigine problem.' After all, the rampant alcohol abuse by aboriginal communities have not lead to bans of imports on alcohol, which has a world ready list of documentation on the damage it does to body and soul.

Let's just say that the Australian Government doesn't really want to bite the bullet and take the action required to resolve the actual problems of the people in aborigine communities. Kind of like the problem with Sydney's transport system.

But then again, Tongans crave for their own freedom to run their own country as they see fit. We have our own Sunday laws we do not want changed by outsiders and their own traditions. Let Australia set their own standards, just push them if you think it is wrong.

There is also the problem that some of the complainants, Kava Resellers/Importers, could probably be blamed for the current excess shown by some aborigines. After all, the Kava plants and their crushed cousins didn't take the nearest bus to Arnhem land, someone had to take it there and then demonstrate their wonderful qualities to the poor sods out there.

Let me here it again ? Who are the people suffering from not having Kava instead of Coffee ? Who are the people suffering from abuse of alcohol, soft drugs?

Photo courtesy of ThinkQuest Library entry on Samoans by Enchanted Lake Elementary School

Tonga-Now to continue - Minister of Finance

5/07/2007 10:42:11 a.m.

Responding to the overwhelming reaction to the announcement of the closure of Tonga-Now, the Hon. Minister of Finance, Siosiua T.T. 'Utoikamanu, has reviewed his decision to allow Tonga-Now to continue to operate. The Minister has received extensive support messages and responses from Tongans and concerned individuals from both here and abroad for the need to keep the Tonga-Now website because it is a major source of information about the Kingdom.  The Minister has also instructed that it shall report in a non-biased and professional manner and to keep informing readers about the latest events in Tonga, particularly on economic and revenue reforms and related issues

It was a nice little bit of local drama, that further gave credence to Kele'a's current edition which accused there having been conflicts between the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance. Seeing as how there is so much incredible articles in the Kele'a and their online partner TongaStar, it is hard to give them credit, but Tonga-Now.to being scheduled for closure sure put a lot of interest into the Kele'a's print.

Welcome back Tonga-Now.to, even if you hadn't left the building (anyone seen Elvis?)

I really think Tonga-Now is doing great service for the Government and People of Tonga. Keep up the high standard of reporting and give us enough information so we can make up our own minds about what is going on.

A nice piece of scare-mongering journalism ?

I think most people in Tonga agree with portions of this news release over at the NZ Herald. 

A large number of Tongans arrested after last year's riots in the capital Nuku'alofa were beaten up by security forces, according to a report.

A community taskforce on human rights in Tonga has compiled what it called a comprehensive 77-page report which documented the treatment of people arrested and detained since the riots on November 16.

Source: Police, military 'beat up' Tongan riot suspects - 14 May 2007 - NZ Herald: World / International News

Unfortunately, they reference their source as "A community taskforce" which just happens to not have a name and scares any discerning person that this just might be a rehash of an old, discounted report from the beginning of the the "Riot Response" word fight between Government and Anti-Government people.

Other stories by the author gives us an outline of where their 'expertise' lies, and it doesn't seem like they have that much of an experience with the political, social problems in the Pacific or Tonga to be a good authority for such a piece of writing?

We'd all like for those involved with illegal activities to face their day in court, whether they be senior, junior, noble or peasant. But I'd sure as hell would like to know what value is there is sensationalising untested reports?

So, while the New Zealand Herald champions the cause of those who burned the town down, we are left with the understaffed Tonga Police to champion the cause of those unfortunate bystander businesses who were burned to a crisp, let alone the innocent employees that no longer have jobs or a livelihood.

Go figure the priorities of these people.

The Kele'a newspaper(?) has hit the headlines again with some inflamatory accusations/stories that were quickly rebutted by parties mentioned in the articles. The two largely discussed items for the past week is a story involving Filokalafi 'Akau'ola and another story denouncing Government for supposedly preventing its departments and commissions from advertising in the Kele'a.

The weirdest thing about the issues above, is that they both blatantly ignore a premise of journalism highlighted in the Society of Professional Jourists' Code of Ethics, and in Tonga's own Media Council Code of Ethics.

Tonga Media Council: General Code of Ethics for the News Media

In order to maintain public trust, freedom of speech and the credibility of the news media, journalists are urged to remain within the following guidelines derived from international standards and with valuable input from a broad cross section of the media in Tonga. The word "publish" is used here to mean released to the public by any news media.

1. Accuracy and Balance

a) Report and interpret news stories honestly, striving for accuracy, fairness and disclosure of all essential facts. Do not suppress significant available facts or give distorting emphasis.

b) Do your utmost to provide balanced coverage by proving a fair opportunity for any individual or organizations mentioned in a news story to respond to allegations or criticism before publication. Failing that, you should provide a reasonable opportunity for response after the news item has been published.

c) Do not allow personal interest, belief, commitment or perceived benefit to sway your accuracy, fairness or journalistic independence. Strive for objectivity.

d) Distinguish clearly between fair comment, conjecture and fact.

a & b clearly violated. Respondents to both articles stating that at no time did the Kele'a contact them or their office with regards to their story, independent of the fact that the stories were inaccurrate.

c & d seem to be influencing factors in rejecting a & b.

Visit bTonga

We seem to be getting more information about the new rubbish collection service bestowed upon us by our illustrious, no hankey-pankey government.

It is only now that we seem to be getting informed that the TOP$10.00 a month fee is not voluntary, and that ALL households will be required to pay whether they use the service or not.

Tonga-Now: Trial rubbish collection service conducted

The service will cost each household TOP$10 and is a new compulsory charge under the Waste Management Act 2005. Each household will be charged for the service whether or not he/she makes use of it.

Seems to have been overlooked as an issue while they were promoting the new dump / rubbish pick-up.

When we first heard the news about the $10 monthly fee I thought that it was exceedingly generous and that the only way that they were going to make this profitable (i.e. make enough money to buy new trucks 'cause the roads are going to kill the trucks they are using now) is to somehow either get a majority of Tongatapu residents signed up, or force everyone to pay.

We were previously using a private firm, Waste Management Ltd, to pick up our rubbish at a cost of $8 pa'anga per pick-up, and now Government is going to pick-up my rubbish FOUR times a month for only $10 pa'anga a saving to me of ($8.00 x 4 - $10 = $22.00). Geezz living in Tonga is just getting cheaper!!

Visit bTonga

Updated 2007.04.19 added more information(?)

Kalafi Moala hits hard again and his treatise are getting better, or at least now there are more in English I might be understanding them more ? 

The amount of misinformation about Tonga being transmitted locally and around the South Pacific is becoming more common place as illustrated by an editorial in the Islands Business International.

Source: Times Of Tonga :: Taimi 'o Tonga - Misinformation, nothing new in the islands

One aspect of the Ministry of Dis-Information run by the "Temo" is that they are actually much better 'versed' than the Ministry of Dis-Information run by Government. Government is seriously lacking a level of transparency that seems appropriate for the current conditions.

Just take a short walk down the press-releases and 'snippets' released by the 'Temo' after the November 16th riots and you'll see that they are quite articulate, broadly covering different issues, and unabashedly blaming government from everything up to and including the milk going sour in the fridge.

Unfortunately, significante transparency is necessary from Government because like it or not, there is still significant mistrust from the population about what comes out of the Ministry of Dis-Information that was heightened at the most recent Civil Servants strike (1995). The regime of the Ministry of Dis-Information has changed, but people have not yet been assured that what they get from Government is truthful, trustworthy.

Foreign Journalists just need to get a better clue about what's going on down here, before they mark themselves as idiots (as these pages will last a very long time on the Internet.) At the same time, we really need to pick the ball up and run better.

You can follow some of the girl's national soccer team over at PNG through PNG's The National

The latest news being.

A must win for Tongans

By SAMPSON BONAI
TONGA will retain the same side that gave PNG a scare when they take on the Solomon Islands in their final game of the OFC Women’s World Cup qualifier at the Sir Ignatius Kilage Stadium in Lae today.
Tonga coach Ulele Kilifi had devised a plan to counter-attack Solomon Island attacking format up front and to give her team a present to take home when they return at the weekend.
The girls played a hard game against a strong PNG side and will go out to prove to give a strong game to the Solomon Island. I have devised a new attacking skill for the girls to apply on the paddock,” Ulele said.
“I will still maintain the same line that held PNG to a nil scoreline up until the final 20 minutes of the game when they took advantage of the goal to beat us. However, despite that loss we are pretty confident of giving a strong game against the Solomon Island,” he said.

Visit bTonga

Sincerely appreciate the efforts Pesi, Mary Fonua and their team are doing at Vava'u Press to get themselves back online. It would seem that the purveyors of truth (the Demolition Movement) may have targetted Pesi and Mary's service as it has recently been quite critical of the movement's methods (along with being critical of government as well.)

Although citizen journalism has helped us thus far with getting some news of what is happening in Tonga, it is nonetheless quite different when professionals put finger to keyboard (although it would have been nice to get larger images?)

Matangi Tonga has been an incredible resource for Tongans overseas and local with cutting and insightful interviews. I've disagreed with some of their editorial work, but their value to Tonga and Freedom are much more than can be measured.

Best wishes to the team and hopefully you can be up and running smoothly before too long.

Sam T

Kisione Taufa has a blog up on Planet-Tonga and he's been allowed, together with other news/photographers to walk the destruction that is now in the restricted access zone.

There's more @ http://planet-tonga.com/ktaufa/2006/11/19/faingamalie-faita-he-feituu-tapu-controlled-area-o-nukualofa/#more-8 but a beginning snippet is below.

FAINGAMALIE FAITA HE FEITU'U TAPU (PROHIBITED AREA) 'O NUKU'ALOFÁ.

Ne faingam lie ' o ma' u ha ngaahi ata mei loto Nuku' alofá, hili hono fanongonongo mai e he LetiM Tongá a e faingam lie ki he kau faiongoongó e faka' at a e fait he feitu' u tapu o Nuku' alofá. Na' e tataki mo tokanga' i p e he Ofisa Ma' olunga mo e ni' ihi mei he Taumalu' i Fonua a Tongá a e kulupú koe' uhi ko e ngaahi " Crime Scene" ke oua na' a uesia.

Ko hono fakama' ala' ala ena e Lafitani Sikalu a e kau faiongoongó a ia na' e fakahoko i he toumu' a o e api nofo' anga o e Palesiteni Siasi j esiliana Tau' at ina o Tongá. Ne iai foki moe kau faiongoongo mei he Televisone Uluaki, Tolu, mo e Tangata Pasifika o Aotealoá. Ko e toenga ko e kau faiongoongo fakalotofonua ma' ae ngaahi kautaha ongoongo kehekehe p o kau ai au mei he Planet-Tonga..

I hono fakalukufuá, ko e anga eni eku vahevahe lalahi ki he ngaahi maumau mo e mofia i loto Nuku' alofaá.

NGAAHI FALE OKU KEI HAO IKAI HA MAUMAU

Ko e Maketi Talamahu.

Ko e Falekoloa Naunau Langa o e South Pac Builders Ltd.

Ko e ngaahi pisinisi kehekehe a e Fund Management House.

Tonga's riot makes the 3rd page of the Daily Telegraph with a bright picture of Narrotam engulfed in flames.

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/ 2006.11.18 22:00

1. Troops begin patrols in Tonga

   News Interactive - 1 hour, 45 minutes ago

   AUSTRALIAN troops have begun patrolling Tonga's international airport in an effort to restore calm, as dozens of Australians prepare to flee the strife-torn South Pacific nation.

2. Aussies fleeing Tongan strife

   News Interactive - 2 hours, 47 minutes ago

   AUSTRALIAN troops and police have arrived in Tonga as dozens of Australians prepared to flee the strife-torn nation on a Government sponsored flight to Sydney.

3. Australians touch-down in Tonga

   News Interactive - 2 hours, 55 minutes ago

   A DEPLOYMENT of Australian troops and police has arrived in strife-torn Tonga.

4. Aussies fleeing Tongan strife

   News Interactive - 3 hours, 10 minutes ago

   DOZENS of Australians are fleeing strife-torn Tonga on a Government sponsored flight to Sydney.

5. Diggers to patrol Tongan airport

   News Interactive - 5 hours, 10 minutes ago

   A CONTINGENT of Australian troops deployed to Tonga will begin patrolling the troubled nation's international airport later today in an effort to restore calm to the South Pacific nation.

Other than that ? We had a great birthday party at Anna and Ilavalu's celebrating their daughter's (Kalesita) birthday.

They say that any form of advertising is good advertising.

But the front page of the New York Times ?

Thanks to Jason Kearns, former Peace Corp Volunteer, and a friend to Tonga/Tongans for the heads up.

Definitely too many heads thinking its cool to trash other people's property.

Oh yes, there was nothing remotely anti-government about all the wanton destruction and definitely a lot of pure adrenaline driven greed. 

Apparently, the Police knew at the onset of the rioting and violence that they were definitely outnumbered, underpowered, to deal with the ruckus, so they did the next best thing.

The Police apparently spent a lot of their time with that new consumer toy, digital cameras, taking photos of people in the process of committing crimes (as well as being dufus.)

This has lead to the quick apprehension and subsequent jailing of dufus's.

Hurrah for modern technology, just think of it. If this kind of thing had broken in Tonga while another Minister of Police was still in charge, there would not have been enough of these cameras to count on your hands. Today, we all know of the news through these expensive and cheaper models.

Being that we've all been caught by surprise at the violence in Tonga, and the quick destruction of the Matangi Tonga, the lack of flight services to Tonga preventing the International news from getting on the ground. We are in a unique situation of relying on other Tongans to spread the news (otherwise known in good times as random, unsubstantiated gossip?)

What we've heard from our clan (you can check other things out on real web news sites.)

Please remember that these are unconfirmed statements, and some aren't even eye witness reports.

* Kapeta, where we're normally found, is inside the 'exclusion-zone.' Movement in and out is locked down by 'armed'(?) Tonga Defense Services personnel.

* People are staying at home, but Tongans just love to cruise so there's going to be some problems relating to this.

* Downtown area is an 'exclusion-zone,' you better have a good excuse to presume you can get in there.

* The controlled area is quite large, but will have been extended much further if the violence had continued to the following day.

* Nuku'alofa downtown is ashes

* My "@" advertising block at the front of Tungi Arcade prominently displays in many photos of the building going up in flames.

* Tonga High School is absent

* Queen Salote College is/was also under guard and held 1/2 day classes

* The Prime Minister was in deep protection, security cordone at the peak of the devastation

* The Prime Minister's family were under guard, tit-for-tat is as much a fear.

* We Tongans love to watch things unfolding, so there is no clear number on who was involved or who were just witnesses to the criminal behaviour.

* Substance abuse is surprisingly high amongst the youth, and we know we as a society don't deal well with non-violent solutions to substance abusers. Studies of substance abuse of illicit drugs and mind bending stuff was reported back before 2003 . Kingdom of Tonga Qualitative Study of Youth Substance Abuse

* People in Tonga are crying at the horrors that unfolded, at the horror that is reminded by the scorched buildings.

* Tongan/Chinese nationals have fled to the Chinese embassy. A vessel from New Zealand is expected to pick them up soon.

* Violence against Tongan/Chinese have been alluded to by staunch supporters of the Democratic Movement for a long time.

* Violence against the Tongan/Chinese have been ignored by many church leaders, as far as I can recall.

* Church leaders calling for calm did not seem to include a member of the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga (we must be missing somewhere?)

* The President of the Free Wesleyan Church's residence was also targeted but Military personnel arrived before rioters/looters.

* The President of the Free Wesleyan Church spent the evening at the church school Sia'atoutai College, well away from town.

* Tupou College didn't know anything about the ruckus until concerned parents contacted the school to warn their children.

* The rioters/Democratic Movement prayed before their spray of violence. Prayed after they 'won' the democratic vote and then started their torching.

* The Democratic Movement were antagonists in promoting violence as the solution for Tonga's Political woes inviting people to come on the day with hammers, machetes, etc.

* Rioters, also evidenced by photos at Planet Tonga, pillaged facilities before torching them and this seems to have been a common theme in different locations. Straight out criminal activity.

* Robina Nakao's / Fund Management's Star Cinema is also crisp.

* Matangi Tonga is off the air, and one of our respected reporters on Tonga.

* 'Uliti Uata's building down town escaped the arson.

* Jails are overflowing as Police have already rounded up "suspects"

* Part of the Military Base has been converted into a Jail

* The Internet is great!!! Planet Tonga is great!!!

* Government services are currently curtailed although (at least the passport facilities were saved.)

* Crown Law is crisp, along with many of the countries records.

* The saner members of society have volunteered to secure business premises of Tongan/Chinese, with some communities setting up day and night guards around Tongan/Chinese premises.

What we surmise.

(otherwise known as naval gaising)

* Boom time for international telecommunications with everyone and their dog trying to get through to Tonga to see if their relatives are ok. We're getting calls here at the house from people wondering if we were able to get through and what news is up for offer. Mum used to be the news anchor.

* There is going to be a food/consumer goods crisis real soon. 'Ofa Simiki's and Tu'i Uata's vaunted business acumen isn't going to supply enough meat for Tonga's population, unless of course we finally go on that diet we've been planning on doing for the past 10 years.

* Take out the business' that supplied 70% (?) of consumer needs and there is going to be a big hole in the house. We're going to have serious shortages in basic items, such as toilet paper, milk, noodles (oops is that a basic item?)

* Get the news services back online is a priority. Locals need Radio Tonga as a calming influence that Tonga is normal, even running its long list of repeat music is good for everyone.

* Tongans need more TV, Tongans need less TV. Or, something has to be done about those deportees and letting them lose in the community is not doing anyone any good.

* The Tongan rebels/rioters aren't poor. I don't have an iPod, and that fat guy in the photo sure looked like he had one of the latest, and presumably a computer to go along with it for transferring his music of choice.

* SPC PAHA report: Kingdom of Tonga Qualitative Study of Youth Substance Abuse

* Mums and Dads are under serious strain to 'meet' their children in a wholly different world, society, world-view from their own.

* The finger pointing begins at 9:00

* Air Services are going to take a while to get back in order. Facilities for Air New Zealand in Tonga are ashes.

* The Friendly Islands Bookshops was burnt to the ground. They are the suppliers for 70~ 80% of school needs of Tonga, depending on how quickly they can back up and running, schools will have a hard time next year providing critical resources for students (no chalk, no whiteboard markers, no school books)

* The Tonga/Chinese businesses significantly lowered the cost of living for Tongans through their predatory pricing and volume activities. In other words, like them or not, they kept the price of goods affordable in Tonga. We're looking at a future of noodles going from $0.60 to a clean dollar or more.

* Security services are going to be in higher demand in the short term, raising costs for those business that can afford, raising prices for consumers and driving other business out of the market altogether.

* Some of the small Tongan/Tongan business caught up in the riots are just no more. Those proprietors will just have to walk into the banks and try and figure out some solution.

* The bigger business' aren't going to be too much better off financially.

* Tonga really needs expertise in the investigations and logistics that is going to be a part of this clean up job for at least another 3 months. This is where Tonga can really use the assistance sought and offered from Australia and New Zealand. The Australian and New Zealand Police have already shown great skills in other regional investigations so it is very much appreciated that they will be in attendance.

* Digital Cameras have made a big difference in our ability to get the latest news, hopefully it will help in the investigations to put criminals behind bars for a long time.

Well, it never ceases to amaze the ability of the Internet to dispel news.

The PT team and friends in Tonga have a photo gallery up showing some of the violence, violent.

http://planet-tonga.com/gallery/Riots-In-Tonga

And the PAD of choice for Revolutionaries?

If you are having difficulty getting through to Tonga, remember not to blame everything on the anarchy/anarchists.

Tonga is a small / limited market and there is a limited number of international lines used by TCC. Although, as I understand it, Tonfon / Shoreline have more available capacity for international communications, they are also one of the targets of this violence and may not have full attention on keeping the phone lines open.

So, I guess you can blame the rioters for problems with the phone lines, but you can also blame the fact that Tonga is a small economy and there arent' that many lines available in emergency cases like this when everyone wants to get a hold of their relatives.

You can also blame the rioters for putting http://www.matangitonga.to offline, and they have historically been a key source of news for overseas Tongans.

Greatest beneficiaries from this disaster ? The businesses of the Pro-Democracy Movement, in any other situation we'd call this akin to extortion and other forms of corporate level crime.

Unfortunately, those businesses will not be able to supply the daily needs of Tongans. Watch over the next couple of days as prices sky-rocket as demand for basic necessities such as milk and meat outgrows the available supply.

What I would like to see ? Some of the New Zealand suppliers take a little more active role in how they're allowing these Tonga based companies to corrupt the people of Tonga (not blaming them entirely, but they can help out.) Stop providing double invoices for these people, and stop providing hidden tiered pricing (i.e. taking kick-backs under the table to prevent other companies from buying at the same price.) Some suppliers have been involved in perpetuating the elitism and corruption in Tonga. It's a good time to help out.