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Arizona Daily Star LONG BEACH, Calif. - A B-17 bomber that lay in a New Guinea swamp for decades after being forced down during a World War II combat mission has been returned to the United States after years of salvage efforts. The forward fuselage of the so-called "Swamp Ghost" was displayed Friday at the Port of Long Beach in an emotional, patriotic ceremony attended by kin of some of the now-deceased aircrew. "I know this a happy day for Dick," said Linda Oliver, the 89-year-old widow of bombardier Richard Oliver, the last living crewman, who died in August. She regretted he did not see the warbird's return. "He longed for this to happen, but this wasn't to be," said Oliver, of Tiburon, Calif. The frail widow watched a flag presentation by an Air Force honor guard and a flyover by vintage World War II fighters before her three children helped her climb steps to peer inside the fuselage sitting atop a truck trailer in the parking lot of the harb

Arizona Daily Star LONG BEACH, Calif. - A B-17 bomber that lay in a New Guinea swamp for decades after being forced down during a World War II combat mission has been returned to the United States after years of salvage efforts. The forward fuselage of the so-called "Swamp Ghost" was displayed Friday at the Port of Long Beach in an emotional, patriotic ceremony attended by kin of some of the now-deceased aircrew. "I know this a happy day for Dick," said Linda Oliver, the 89-year-old widow of bombardier Richard Oliver, the last living crewman, who died in August. She regretted he did not see the warbird's return. "He longed for this to happen, but this wasn't to be," said Oliver, of Tiburon, Calif. The frail widow watched a flag presentation by an Air Force honor guard and a flyover by vintage World War II fighters before her three children helped her climb steps to peer inside the fuselage sitting atop a truck trailer in the parking lot of th

OSEAH PHILEMON The Somare Government in Papua New Guinea is excited and has thrown all its political weight and muscle behind the multi-billion dollar liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in the Southern Highlands of Papua New Guinea. It will not allow any criticism of the biggest resource project ever undertaken in PNG, which it says, will propel the Papua New Guinea economy into prosperity in the coming years. But, while they have done everything possible to ensure the economic success of the project and win landowner support—despite continuing criticisms—to see the project advance into reality, questions remain whether it has done enough to deal with the social problems associated with such a large-scale project. The Catholic Bishops Conference which is the peak body of the Catholic Church in PNG and the Solomon Islands, is not so sure. The bishops met in Lae for their annual general meeting where they discussed the many issues affecting PNG and the implications for ordinary people.

OSEAH PHILEMON The Somare Government in Papua New Guinea is excited and has thrown all its political weight and muscle behind the multi-billion dollar liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in the Southern Highlands of Papua New Guinea. It will not allow any criticism of the biggest resource project ever undertaken in PNG, which it says, will propel the Papua New Guinea economy into prosperity in the coming years. But, while they have done everything possible to ensure the economic success of the project and win landowner support—despite continuing criticisms—to see the project advance into reality, questions remain whether it has done enough to deal with the social problems associated with such a large-scale project. The Catholic Bishops Conference which is the peak body of the Catholic Church in PNG and the Solomon Islands, is not so sure. The bishops met in Lae for their annual general meeting where they discussed the many issues affecting PNG and the implications for ordinary peo

ROWAN CALLICK Good governance has fallen hostage to elements of the elite who siphon off vast sums of public money PAPUA New Guinea's assistant Auditor-General Gordon Kega has discovered $2 million was paid to 87 people "for unknown services" out of relief funds given to Oro province following cyclone Guba in November 2007. His investigation urges criminal charges against those who "fraudulently and illegally paid themselves", often simply by shifting money from the relief funds into their personal bank accounts. A further $800,000 was paid to businesses and other organisations for goods and services that were unverifiable. Those involved included "disaster officials, senior government officers, bank officers". A few days ago, Oro's provincial administrator Owen Awaita urged AusAID to build a permanent bridge in the province after its predecessor was washed away by cyclone Guba, since temporary alternatives have also collapsed. "The sooner Au

ROWAN CALLICK Good governance has fallen hostage to elements of the elite who siphon off vast sums of public money PAPUA New Guinea's assistant Auditor-General Gordon Kega has discovered $2 million was paid to 87 people "for unknown services" out of relief funds given to Oro province following cyclone Guba in November 2007. His investigation urges criminal charges against those who "fraudulently and illegally paid themselves", often simply by shifting money from the relief funds into their personal bank accounts. A further $800,000 was paid to businesses and other organisations for goods and services that were unverifiable. Those involved included "disaster officials, senior government officers, bank officers". A few days ago, Oro's provincial administrator Owen Awaita urged AusAID to build a permanent bridge in the province after its predecessor was washed away by cyclone Guba, since temporary alternatives have also collapsed. "The s

Savage Minds Despite the fact that it is my area of expertise, I do not normally comment on the mining and petroleum scene in Papua New Guinea. Despite having studied the industry for more than a decade, I will never know as much as my ‘informants’ — the people actually living with mines and oil projects. This is particularly true for current affairs, when the ‘real story’ of what happens on the ground is often much different from reports circulated by the press. Nevertheless, I do feel compelled to say something about the shameful events that have recently taken place in country — and the way they are being received by the anthropological community and others. The government of Papua New Guinea recently amended the country’s Environment Act to make it illegal to appeal permitting decisions made by the minister. The immediate reason for this change is clear — the national government relies on large, internationally-financed resource developments to fund it budget. The Ramu NiCo mine in

Savage Minds Despite the fact that it is my area of expertise, I do not normally comment on the mining and petroleum scene in Papua New Guinea. Despite having studied the industry for more than a decade, I will never know as much as my ‘informants’ — the people actually living with mines and oil projects. This is particularly true for current affairs, when the ‘real story’ of what happens on the ground is often much different from reports circulated by the press. Nevertheless, I do feel compelled to say something about the shameful events that have recently taken place in country — and the way they are being received by the anthropological community and others. The government of Papua New Guinea recently amended the country’s Environment Act to make it illegal to appeal permitting decisions made by the minister. The immediate reason for this change is clear — the national government relies on large, internationally-financed resource developments to fund it budget. The Ramu NiCo mine

National Reports PRISON escapee and robber William Kapris got off lightly yesterday for his part in the armed robbery of the Metals Refining Operations (MRO) in 2007. National Court judge Justice Bernard Sakora sentenced him to five years in jail, then deducted two years for time already spent in jail, and suspended the remaining three years. The judge felt he deserved to be placed on good behaviour bond for this period. The sentence was light because the robbery did not involve violence, Kapris admitting to the crime and cooperated and others, who were involved, were still out there. Sakora described Kapris as “a sacrificial lamb” who should “not be held accountable for the sins of others”. A smiling and elated Kapris told the media just before boarding the Bomana-bound 10-seater Toyota Landcruiser that the courts decision was “a miracle from God”. When handing down the decision, the judge noted that there were many others involved in the MRO robbery of Feb 14, 2007, in which K78,000

National Reports PRISON escapee and robber William Kapris got off lightly yesterday for his part in the armed robbery of the Metals Refining Operations (MRO) in 2007. National Court judge Justice Bernard Sakora sentenced him to five years in jail, then deducted two years for time already spent in jail, and suspended the remaining three years. The judge felt he deserved to be placed on good behaviour bond for this period. The sentence was light because the robbery did not involve violence, Kapris admitting to the crime and cooperated and others, who were involved, were still out there. Sakora described Kapris as “a sacrificial lamb” who should “not be held accountable for the sins of others”. A smiling and elated Kapris told the media just before boarding the Bomana-bound 10-seater Toyota Landcruiser that the courts decision was “a miracle from God”. When handing down the decision, the judge noted that there were many others involved in the MRO robbery of Feb 14, 2007, in which K78,000

Paul Paraka lawyers are trying to intimidate internet service providers in PNG into blocking private emails that refer to them, Zacchary Gelu, Gabriel Yer and Iassac Lupari. They are also trying censor the internet by getting ISPs to block access to websites and blogs including PNGexposed, PNG Blogs, ACTNOW! PNG and the Nancy Sullivan blog. Paul Paraka’s extraordinary attempt to interfere in private communications between individuals and to censor the internet is revealed in its letter to Global Technology – Click to read the Paraka Letter below.. Paraka Lawyers claim that there action is justified by a Court Order – but that order makes no mention of blocking email traffic or stopping access to the internet sites and makes no reference to Internet Service Providers (despite Paraka’s claims to the contrary). Paul Paraka lawyers are mentioned more than 150 times in the 800-page report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Finance Department that reveals how K780 million was stolen from

Editorial PRIME Minister Sir Michael Somare was in a foul mood yesterday. He lashed out at his favourite whipping posts – the media and civil society organisations over a number of issues, principally the amendments which Parliament passed to the Environment Act last week. For the occasion he was flanked by lieutenants Don Polye (Works, Transport and Civil Aviation Minister), Ano Pala (Justice) and Paul Tiensten (National Planning and Monitoring). Even escape artist and robber William Kapris seemed to have attracted the prime minister’s ire as well. The PM’s outburst and anger was extraordinary. He criticised the civil society and the media for, as he put it, “taking the amendments (to the Environment Law) out of context”. Then he went on to describe the reasons for the amendment and that revelation was so astounding it beggars description. The prime minister said he had personally gone to China to invite the company that has committed US$800 million into developing the Ramu nickel/cob

Editorial PRIME Minister Sir Michael Somare was in a foul mood yesterday. He lashed out at his favourite whipping posts – the media and civil society organisations over a number of issues, principally the amendments which Parliament passed to the Environment Act last week. For the occasion he was flanked by lieutenants Don Polye (Works, Transport and Civil Aviation Minister), Ano Pala (Justice) and Paul Tiensten (National Planning and Monitoring). Even escape artist and robber William Kapris seemed to have attracted the prime minister’s ire as well. The PM’s outburst and anger was extraordinary. He criticised the civil society and the media for, as he put it, “taking the amendments (to the Environment Law) out of context”. Then he went on to describe the reasons for the amendment and that revelation was so astounding it beggars description. The prime minister said he had personally gone to China to invite the company that has committed US$800 million into developing the Ramu nickel/cob

National Reports RABAUL MP Dr Allan Marat has questioned Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare for failing to remove the three MPs implicated by suspected bank robber William Kapris. He said Kapris had revealed the names of two ministers and the deputy parliamentary speaker in the Supreme Court. One of the two ministers named was suspended treasury and finance minister Patrick Pruaitch. Marat said Correctional Services Minister Tony Aimo and Deputy Speaker Francis Marus were still holding on to their offices despite the revelations of their alleged involvement with criminals. “Can’t the prime minister act swiftly to remove them to salvage whatever decency there is left of the government?” he told a large crowd in the Kokopo Secondary School hall for the 2010 Kokopo Walk Against Corruption forum on Sunday. “If the prime minister cannot, then he should come out in public and tell the nation why he is holding on to them. “I stood up for what is right that went against the government’s intere

National Reports RABAUL MP Dr Allan Marat has questioned Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare for failing to remove the three MPs implicated by suspected bank robber William Kapris. He said Kapris had revealed the names of two ministers and the deputy parliamentary speaker in the Supreme Court. One of the two ministers named was suspended treasury and finance minister Patrick Pruaitch. Marat said Correctional Services Minister Tony Aimo and Deputy Speaker Francis Marus were still holding on to their offices despite the revelations of their alleged involvement with criminals. “Can’t the prime minister act swiftly to remove them to salvage whatever decency there is left of the government?” he told a large crowd in the Kokopo Secondary School hall for the 2010 Kokopo Walk Against Corruption forum on Sunday. “If the prime minister cannot, then he should come out in public and tell the nation why he is holding on to them. “I stood up for what is right that went against the government’

PHILIP LYNCH Last week, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Professor Manfred Nowak, released a preliminary report following a fact-finding mission to Papua New Guinea. In a country just 150 kilometres north of Australia, the independent and highly regarded international law expert expressed serious concern about widespread and grave human rights violations. Among other abuses, he highlighted the "regular practice" of police violence, often amounting to torture. He also expressed alarm at the level of entrenched gender discrimination and violence, stating that "women in Papua New Guinea hold a very low status in society, placing them at a very high risk of abuse both in the domestic and in the public sphere". During his mission, the Special Rapporteur was able to conduct unannounced visits to places of detention and to interview detainees in private. What he found was, in his words, "appalling". His preliminary report details evidence of systematic tortu

PHILIP LYNCH Last week, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Professor Manfred Nowak, released a preliminary report following a fact-finding mission to Papua New Guinea. In a country just 150 kilometres north of Australia, the independent and highly regarded international law expert expressed serious concern about widespread and grave human rights violations. Among other abuses, he highlighted the "regular practice" of police violence, often amounting to torture. He also expressed alarm at the level of entrenched gender discrimination and violence, stating that "women in Papua New Guinea hold a very low status in society, placing them at a very high risk of abuse both in the domestic and in the public sphere". During his mission, the Special Rapporteur was able to conduct unannounced visits to places of detention and to interview detainees in private. What he found was, in his words, "appalling". His preliminary report details evidence of systematic t