Month: May 2013

Dr Dabydeen defends management of Caribbean Press – says Ruel Johnson, other local writers lazy

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Guyanese writer and poet Dr David Dabydeen has defended his management of the Caribbean Press, while labelling some Guyanese writers as lazy and declaring that doggerel or ‘puppyrel’ would not be published at the facility. Dabydeen, who is also Guyana’s ambassador to China, made the comments in a letter in response to local writer Ruel Johnson who has been challenging him on a number of issues regarding the functioning of the press. Dabydeen also flayed Johnson personally, calling him lazy and mentioning that he had gone as far as purchasing…

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Tony Virus couldn’t get de ting up

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Staybroke News, also known as de Stabber News, stayin true to its name – it runnin broke, for news, that is. Runnin de Rum Karran blog in full is one ting. But then runnin it again as though a reporter write a story is another ting. Is de same ting does happen wid Sus Penders in Rum and he what-yuh-might-call-it columns. Now it look like if Tony Virus join de elite group of write-sum-ting-get-double-coverage in de Staybroke paper. De Virus can’t write columns, so he writin letters, or he gettin…

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Gaskin says City Council a total disgrace

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Blasting them as moribund, illegitimate and a total disgrace, former City Hall consultant Ramon Gaskin called for the wholesale sacking of the longstanding Georgetown City Council. He also chided Mayor Hamilton Green for harassing the current acting Town Clerk Carol Sooba, saying that the incompetence of Green and the entire council is legendary. There has been a fierce battle for control of the cash-strapped municipality, with Green mobilising vendors, councillors, and other citizens to pressure Local Government Minister Ganga Persaud into sacking Sooba.  Green has never gotten along with any…

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Man charged with murder of cop freed following DPP’s advice

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Shaka Chase, charged with murdering corporal Romein Cleto, was on Thursday freed based on advice from the DPP. The prosecutor told the court that based on advice from the DPP the charge was being withdrawn. An overjoyed Chase ran out of the court room into the arms of waiting relatives. He told the media that he was happy for his release and thanked all those who stood by him. Amid much drama and a heavy police presence on Monday, Police Prosecutor  Sergeant Ramsahoye Rambajue told the court that the deceased,…

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Green-eyed monster…

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…in broadcasting Anthony Vieira’s at it again and as usual he has his allies in the media with the same vindictive and envious agenda. They’re raising a furore over radio licences…but that’s just a proxy for their fury that others are succeeding in areas where they’ve failed miserably. But of course, since only their coterie ought to be successful, their rage knows no bounds. That green monster called “jealously” is a powerful master. So Vieira writes a letter to the Stabber News, which the latter, through an ex-Television Guyana (TVG)…

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A turnaround in Linden

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Dear Editor, Ambivalence still dominates me as I think of Linden. I went there a few years ago to do research in Guyanese ‘Creolese’ English and I discovered that this ‘Creolese’ thing is not an Indian exclusive. My database got filled very quickly with inputs from the Afro-Guyanese there. It convinced me that things like being biased and racial are all about how people are exposed and influenced. The recent sad uprising in Linden is still a painful memory. The repair work is taking some time and doing, but I…

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Another welcome landmark for Shivnarine Chanderpaul

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Dear Editor, Shivnarine Chanderpaul continues to solidify his place among the many batting greats in the sport of cricket. The man has just notched up first class game number 300. The feat became his, when he represented Derbyshire against Sussex, in an English county match. This deserves a word of praise. Only six men in the history of the game have reached such a landmark of appearances with a higher average than Chanderpaul’s 56.19. Greatness, I must say, takes into consideration not only longevity, but quality performances, and Shiv is…

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Political bias of Stabroek News exposed again

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Dear Editor, The Stabroek News has once again exposed how biased it is on a political matter of national importance. In its Editorial of May 13, 2013, headlined, “The president’s rejection of the two bills”, the writer admits that President Donald Ramotar acted within the meaning of the Constitution, yet it goes on to state that by acting constitutionally, his action will “further deepen the political divide in the country and make it more difficult for mature compromise between the two sides.” So what should the president have done? Was…

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500 days of summer?

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“Just play. Have fun. Enjoy the game.” – Michael Jordan, basketball great. Or should I say 500 days until summer? Or 500,000 days until summer? Because it sure feels like we’re that far away from blissful freedom. And yes, I am aware that Guyana doesn’t have a summer (Dry season, anyone? No? After all, with this climate change kicking in, even that seems like a wish). And no, this isn’t going to be some long-winded review of the movie ‘500 days of Summer’. So you’ll be disappointed if you’re expecting…

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Bajan immigration officer charged with trafficking of Guyanese

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An immigration officer charged in wake of allegations of human trafficking was released on bail when he appeared in the District A Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday. Ryan Rudolph Jordan, of St James, Barbados, was not required to plead to the charge that, being a public officer on February 20 this year, he provided information to a Guyanese woman he knew to be false and which he knew would be used to obtain an extension to her stay. There was no objection to bail and Magistrate Deborah Holder released Jordan with…

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