Making promises
Idle land
AT the opening of the Lautoka mill crushing season, FSC chief executive officer mentions; quote: “we note large lots of land suitable for farming lying idle” as reported in the media.
It appears that he has woken up from hibernation and suddenly discovers that large tracts of productive land are lying idle in the sugarcane belt.
So, what were he and his predecessors doing all these while? Poignantly, I believe the sugar production has plummeted somewhat by 50 per cent during the past decade.
I wonder, who is more delusional, him, landowners or the farmers?
RAVIND CHANDRA NAIDU Tuatua Branch Rd, Labasa
Athletics meet
WE have done this CocaCola athletics meet year in year out. It even started before I was growing up in the early ’70s until now in 2022.
Athletics still has not even won a single medal at any of international events like World Games, Commonwealth or Olympics for the past 40-50 years, and yet they make the most sound at the beginning of each school year. There is an anonymous quote “STDD” (Same Thing Different Day).
How about we concentrate on sports that bring us medals like rugby, judo and weightlifting?
Let’s discuss facts and evidence rather than dreamland.
There was no athletic meet during the COVID-19 pandemic. Prices have escalated right, left and centre.
Funny how everything is intertwined?
JIOJI M CAKACAKA Tadra, Votualevu, Nadi
Election date
WHY are they holding back on election date?
DAN URAI
Lautoka
Rice farming
THE Fiji Times on “Back in history: Rice farming made easy” (FT 14/6) with the picture of Prakash Chand Girdhari, demonstrating manual rice planter encourages rice farmers to use the simple rice machine to make their work easy.
Rice, ready to harvest in four months, will help in fighting poverty in this price-rise crisis. The manual machines will also help farmers to minimise the cost of labour.
As rice is a staple food for all Fijians, the Ministry of Agriculture promotes rice farming with modern approaches to plant for food security.
Let’s support our hardworking farmers on easy ways of producing rice.
“If you give me rice, I’ll eat today. If you teach me how to grow rice, I’ll eat every day” — Mahatma Gandhi.
TAHIR ALI
Hamilton, New Zealand
Artificial intelligence
WHAT if AI achieves cognitive capability, by mimicking, no, actually mastering, human-like ability, unwavering mobility, and all of human’s intricate dexterity, through deep and machine learning?
Will we as humans want that reality?
Will it be utterly devastating for humanity?
In the development of artificial intelligence, mankind should ensure that AI’s goals, are the same and on par with human ones.
It should in no uncertain terms be a transcendence.
If so, humans will definitely suffer the irreversible consequences.
Things have exponentially developed and changed, in the world of artificial intelligence and we will soon know the fate of us humans. Hopefully, the scientists don’t do something utterly stupid.
EDWARD BLAKELOCK Admiral Circle, Pacific Harbour
IF a political party is campaigning and making promises that they will look after the welfare of elderly, disabled and unfortunate Fijians if they take up government leadership, take it with a pinch of salt.
If a political party comes up and promises that they will provide subsidised education fees at universities, raise the minimum wages and hospital services upgrades I suppose we can give them the benefit of the doubt.
But if a person comes around saying he will start