Category: Eyewitness

…against drug criminals A couple of decades ago, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Colin Powell, outlined the strategy the US military would be using to go after the Iraq forces in the quest to remove Saddam Hussain from power. “First we are going to cut it off, and then we are going to kill it.” That was it!! You couldn’t be more direct than that, could you? Well, right here in Guyana, our own Brigadier General David Granger, now President of Guyana and Commander of our…

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…in “ancestral” lands Well, your Eyewitness is happy the CoI into African “ancestral lands” has finally started its work. For the longest while, there was the dispute as to whether Amerindian land ownership was also going to fall under the CoI’s auspices; but, thankfully, the Government has decided to drop that — hopefully permanently. No percentage in stirring up THAT ants’ nest!! Your Eyewitness’s happiness was precipitated by his hope that, at long last, he’ll be able to get some clarity as to exactly what is “African ancestral land”. He…

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…roosting in Charlottesville Your Eyewitness wonders why some are surprised at what played out at Charlottesville, with white nationalists openly marching to protest the removal of the statue of General Robert E. Lee. After all, who was Robert E. but the general who led the Confederate troops to defend their “right” to own slaves. The moment you understand that fact, everything should fall into place. Can you imagine folks insisting that Africans should’ve continued being chattel property of whites, and being willing to fight a Civil War to defend that…

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…the deadly impact of cigarettes Your Eyewitness is witnessing a surreal situation in this day and age: not only does the Government have to actually defend banning of cigarette smoking in public places, but it also has to seek to prevent youths from being seduced into cigarette smoking via ads directed at them!! You’d think older folks, who’re already addicted to inhaling the carcinogenic effusion from cigarettes and destroying their lungs and various other organs, would at least want their offsprings spared, wouldn’t you? You never know! As he’s said…

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…on Marriott Some folks were puzzled the Muckraker’s still tearing down the Marriott investment even though the PPP Government that built it, has been out of office for two and a half years. Hellooooo!!! If AHI owns the hotel and NICIL owns AHI and the Government owns NICIL, doesn’t the present PNC-led Government own the Marriott? But you see where this is heading, don’t you, dear reader? Most recently, they’ve been harping on the US$27 million debt to Republic Bank that the Government recently started servicing. If the Government hadn’t…

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… in garbage The Brazilian economy’s crumbling, and Brazilians are in the throes of a corruption-induced political crisis. However, back in the 70s, they were in a worse situation; they were stuck in a stagnant economy, all of that plus hyper-inflation and a mountain of debt. By 1980, inflation was NINE TIMES what it was in the 1960s; yet the Government didn’t worry: it was Hakuna Matata all the way – no worries, no cares!! They continued blithely borrowing from the mainly U.S. banks, which were flailing around to lend…

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…with overseas voting? Your Eyewitness didn’t attend the “Diaspora Engagement Conference,” for the simple reason he didn’t want to be seen endorsing – in the slightest way – the coronation of the UG VC. What has the VC man done since he was rescued by his old YSM comrades – after he was let go with a year still to go on his two-year contract from the southern Land Grant College in Georgia USA? After all, his “Strategic Culture” symposium in 2011 in Florida (on behalf of United States Southern…

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…and Burnham Pressie, in his role as Leader of the PNC, along with his General Secretary, Basil Williams; other stalwarts of the party; and, most interestingly, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, vowed to continue the legacy of the Founder-Leader of the PNC, Forbes Burnham. It was the 32nd anniversary of the death of the man. So, the question arises as to what exactly is that “legacy” that’s gonna be unfolding. Well, politically, there’s the “Declaration of Sophia” by Burnham in 1974. This created a political system in which the PNC was…

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…authoritarianism Your Eyewitness, writing this on “Emancipation Day”, is struck by the irony of having to comment about the Government curtailing the most important freedom of all: the right over one’s property. Government obviously sees “emancipation” as just “dressing up”. The most invidious characteristic of slavery was not just that planters owned slaves, but that the slaves couldn’t own anything. This has led to the structural condition that still channels the descendants of slaves into “conspicuous consumption”. If you couldn’t own and pass down anything to your children, why save?…

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…on the left? The Roopnaraine saga’s acting like a Rorschach test to some in the political arena. For the PNC – the main player in APNU – it has revealed that while snakes may shed their skins (and names) the new one is in every respect, identical to the first. How could it be otherwise? The DNA blueprint for forming the new skin had always remained the same!! The PNC has always hated the WPA’s guts. Don’t forget that Burnham called the WPA of Walter Rodney – not the PPP,…

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