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Articles by Kai Meinke
METI’s Column - Is exercise important for weight loss?
People have been conditioned to think of exercise as a key ingredient — perhaps the most important ingredient — of any weight loss effort. Think of the ‘Fika Fou’ program we have been watching for years on our Television screens and the National Daily Preoccupation with Zumba.
The Infamous Rotator Cuff – what, how, when, and why do we injure it?
It seems like the rotator cuff is talked about constantly; everyone, from athletes, grandmothers, and the guy down the street, has injured their rotator cuff. But what IS the rotator cuff? And since it’s mentioned everywhere, how come we don’t know more about it? This article aims to tackle this by shedding light on what makes up the rotator cuff, its role in shoulder movement, how we can prevent shoulder injuries from happening and rehabilitating the shoulder by targeting the rotator cuff.
A Prelude to Preparedness: My Experience in the Pre-Commonwealth conference Exercise
In the spirit of solidarity and preparedness, Samoa geared up for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting scheduled for October 2024. As an active volunteer with the Samoa Red Cross Society, I found myself deeply involved in a comprehensive exercise orchestrated by various entities, including the Samoa Police, Prisons and Corrections Services, Fire and Emergency Services Authority (FESA), Ministry of Health (MOH), Taumeasina Island Resort team, and Airport authorities from Faleolo.
METI’s Column - The amazing power of Koko Samoa
Last year, we devoted one of our columns to discussing the amazing power of Koko Samoa (Samoan Cocoa), as part of the whole foods plant-based (WFPB) diet that METI promotes, to improve heart and vascular health (cardio-vascular health). We explained that cocoa beans are one of the richest sources of phytochemicals (plant chemicals), called flavanols, which are the cause of these health-promoting properties of cocoa.
Knowing and treating a Tennis Elbow
Talofa Samoa and welcome back to your weekly health column! This week we take a look at the condition commonly known as Tennis Elbow. What is a Tennis Elbow? Tennis elbow is the more common name for the condition “Lateral Epicondylitis”. It is the most common overuse injury in the elbow. While “tennis” is in the name, only about 5 per cent of people who have tennis elbow play tennis! The elbow is made up of three bones (the humerus in the arm, and the radius and ulna in the forearm).
Ta'i's Take - Afega group to question court decision
The Afega group, named in a recent court case as ‘nu’u o Savea ma Pito Faalogo’, decided yesterday at their first meeting of the year to question the decision regarding the Gatoaitele title of Savea Porotesano Malifa (Savea). On Friday 8 December 2023 the Land and Tiles First Court voided the appointment of Savea and ordered the registrar to remove the title Gatoaitele of Porotesano Malifa from the register of Samoan matai.
METI's Column. Fasting and weight loss
We at METI are frequently asked about the benefits of fasting as a strategy to lose weight. It is a subject that has been debated for many years and has produced literally thousands or more research papers on the subject. One has to rely on so-called ‘meta-analyses’ that study and comment on a large number of such research papers combined, to be able to formulate a clear answer. I will try to do this in this week’s column.
Samoa Observer | ACL Injuries
Talofa Samoa and welcome back to your weekly Physiotherapy column. This week we look at one of the most common injuries I see in the clinic, an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) sprain/tear.
Navigating the Realities: Communicating Dangers of the World to Children through Stories, Movies, and Poems
As guardians and mentors, addressing the complexities and dangers of the world with children is a delicate yet essential task. The challenge lies in finding age-appropriate ways to impart understanding without instilling unnecessary fear. This essay explores the power of stories, movies, and poems as effective mediums for communicating the realities of the world to children, emphasizing the importance of sensitivity, age-appropriateness, and the promotion of resilience.
How to achieve your fitness goals for the new year
It’s that time of year again when everyone is excited to get the ball rolling on their New Year’s resolutions. However, more often than not, the hype doesn’t last very long and disappointment settles in when a goal isn’t achieved by December. When it comes to physical activity goals there are a few things you can do to encourage how well you stick to your goal! Here are 5 tips to make sure you keep the momentum going throughout the year: 1) Assess what you want this year Think about your “why”.
METI’s Column - Healthy behaviour can be contagious
We have come to this time of the year, when, after ticking off all the functions and celebrations one attended, one can say farewell to 2023 and with anticipation look forward to a satisfying New Year. For most people, this is the best time to ‘wipe the slate clean’ and make a resolution for a fresh start. From METI’s viewpoint, we encourage you to make a resolution to regain or strengthen your health.
Artifacts of old Samoa: Pā-alo-atu - Part 3
If you have been reading this series of articles on artifacts of old Samoa, you may notice that the items discussed are no longer commonly made in Samoa as they once were. The very large slit wood drums known as the lali used in modern Samoa, mainly at churches and resorts, are very likely to have been made a very long time ago. The last hardwood combs and fans with their intricate designs were probably made over 100 years ago.
Ta'i's Take: There’re many days but they’re not all the same.
TA’I’S TAKE 16 E tele aso ‘ae le lau aso. There’re many days but they’re not all the same. Yesterday was not a ‘same day’; it was Saturday 23rd December, here in Samoa and in New Zealand, but Friday 22nd December in Rarotonga, Cook Islands. For a happy rugby star and a joyful rugby coach, it was a ‘same day’ with all those other like couples before them who committed themselves to live together as wife and husband.
A tribute to a visionary entrepreneur
Papalii Grant Percival passed away peacefully in Auckland this week. He is known to many people for many different reasons but it has been as a visionary entrepreneur that he has made significant contributions to Samoa’s development and progress. A visionary thinks about and plans the future with imagination and wisdom. An entrepreneur makes money by starting their own business, especially when this involves seeing new opportunities and taking risks.
Was enough done at COP28, AOSIS asks
The 28th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP28) in Dubai, UAE, has ended with the adoption of a decision on the Global Stocktake (GST) which recognises the need for deep, rapid, and sustained reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in line with 1.5°C pathways.
Atolls could outpace sea-level, scientists say
Ecological restoration may save coral atoll islands from the rising seas of climate change, according to an international team of scientists, conservationists, and an indigenous leader. While global carbon emission reduction is imperative, local measures could be the key to the islands outpacing sea levels, they argue today in the journal Trends in Ecology & Evolution.
TA’I’s Take 15 - We get what we deserve
‘Si au to’o le au ma si au luagalau’; for your prodding rod going short, you get but two sport. Prodding the corals to drive any fish hiding there towards the net is a method of fishing once popular before the onset of modern methods. For the conscientious fishermen they make sure their prodding rods reach the corals; for those who only go through the motions and do not reach the corals, they will be given very little by the master fisherman.
METI’s Column - How eating meat impacts the climate?
Once again, as on previous occasions, the outcome of the latest Conference of the Parties, this time COP28, has been a disappointment. It will not be remembered for producing any breakthrough comparable to the Paris Accords of 2015 that committed to concrete goals. As one commentator noted: ‘We will be lucky if COP28 doesn’t result in actual ‘backpedalling’.
Calls for a plastic free Pacific
For a truly resilient Pacific, all threats must be addressed. This was the message conveyed during a special event on a Plastic Free Pacific held at the Moana Blue Pacific Pavilion during the 28th Conference of the Parties of the UN Climate Change Convention. Pacific communities are at the forefront of the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity, and pollution.
Three-point Q and A with Toiata Uili, Climate Negotiator of Samoa on Mitigation at COP28
Achieving the promise of the Paris Agreement to keep the global temperature to 1.5°C requires global efforts to mitigate and drastically lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Here at COP28, the Pacific Small Islands Developing States are negotiating for strong commitments to reducing GHGs, one way of which is to phase out fossil fuels and do away with fossil fuel subsidies.
Atoll nations call for accessible financing
Ministers from the Pacific atoll nations of Kiribati, the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), Tokelau, and Tuvalu, joined by the Minister of Climate Change from the Maldives, reiterated that coral atoll nations are at the very front of the frontlines of climate change, and that their adaptation needs require more accessible financing.
Week of intense plastic treaty negotiations ends
Pacific delegates who attended the third session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment (INC-3), in Nairobi Kenya, are returning home reasonably satisfied with the progress made during the past week.
Minimum wage in Samoa should be doubled
The question of whether to increase the minimum wage is a topic of significant debate and consideration in many countries, including Samoa. The minimum wage serves as a fundamental tool to address income inequality and improve the standard of living for low-wage workers. However, doubling the minimum wage is a complex issue that requires careful analysis of its potential consequences on the economy, businesses, and the overall well-being of the workforce. 1.
Failure Can Lead Us to Success
“Our business in life is not to succeed but to continue to fail in good spirits.” Robert Louis Stevenson Have you ever been so afraid of failing at something that you decided not to try it at all? Or have you ever heard the quote, “Our business in life is not to succeed but to continue to fail in good spirits.” by Robert Louis Stevenson. In this topic, I am telling the story of my failure and what lessons I learned from it.
My Treasure Map to Memories
“Learn to find pleasure in simple things.” Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson found motivational inspiration as a teenage writer and traveler, while my fate on the other hand is sealed by solitary confinement to the kitchen sink. RLS had adventures, I had dirty dishes. Like RLS, I grew up with stern parents, who felt that every member of the family must do “chores,” no matter their age. For me starting at age six, it meant washing dishes.
The Road to Success
“Our business in life is not to succeed but to continue to fail in good spirits” Robert Louis Stevenson As a high school student, Alex was used to hearing about the importance of success. His parents, teachers and peers all encouraged him to work hard, get good grades and achieve his goals. But Alex had always struggled with this pressure to succeed. He was a perfectionist and he found it difficult to accept failure.
A Day to Remember
“A friend is a Gift you Give Yourself” Robert Louis Stevenson Grandmother lived on the island with my youngest uncle. One day, my father received a phone call from home to say that Nana had been taken to hospital due to her usual illness of asthma. Then my parents decided to move to Samoa to care for Nana back home. Everyone, including myself, got so excited. We were going to move to a new place.
Good and Bad Comes with Consequences
“Everybody, sooner or later sits down to a Banquet of Consequences” Robert Louis Stevenson One day not so long ago there lived a very angry little boy. Everything in life and everything about life made him angry. The more angry he was, the more frustrated he became, and the more frustrated he became the more he began to hurt the people around him who loved him the most.
My burnt pancake
"We must go on because we can’t go back" Robert Louis Stevenson I woke up on a warm Saturday morning, excited for the three-day weekend ahead of me. The sun was beaming on the marble floor and I was prepared for the weekend. I woke up fairly early that day, so I had to wait for the rest of my family to wake up. Once my brother, father and mother were awake, we conducted a vote and selected pancakes for our Saturday breakfast.
DeltaDAO, Membrane Finance and Polygon Labs Bring EUROe
Finnish fintech company Membrane Finance and German Gaia-X integrator deltaDAO have partnered to make EUROe, the first and only EU-regulated full-reserve stablecoin, the main settlement token for the GEN-X network – a Web3 ecosystem built with Polygon Supernets specifically designed for the European AI and data infrastructure initiative Gaia-X.
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