The accusation involving Minister Nigel Dharamlall has become a matter of much public interest since it was revealed on social media. The accusation was graphic and is very serious. It was a matter that could not easily be written about because it was fast moving and involved police investigations which are still continuing. It is always wise to stay away from ongoing criminal investigations because of the danger that they may be jeopardized by a rash or inappropriate comment. There were also competing national events of interest such as the escape of Royden Williams, called “Smallie” and an analysis of the results of the just completed local government elections and what they meant for the general elections in 2025. At the international level, the loss of the “Titan,” a submersible, and five lives, by a ‘catastrophic implosion’ in the North Atlantic, on its way down the ocean to view the wreck of the Titanic and the loss of hundreds of lives of migrants just over a week ago as the result of the sinking of an overloaded fishing vessel are international events which have attracted much international attention and merited comments. Underwater exploration and the plight of refugees are very important matters that compete for attention with national issues.
Continue reading “BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE”THE SINGULARITY
“Singularity” is achieved when human and machine become united. This would become possible when a computer’s processing power is integrated with human intelligence, or when computers become so complex that they could think. An exponential growth in intelligence so that centuries of progress can be achieved in months could become possible when singularity is achieved. Singularity was recognized in the 1950s. John von Newman, a computer scientist, said that the “progress of technology” would lead to “singularity.” In the 1960s Irving John Good, a British mathematician, said that “the survival of man depends on the early construction of an ultra-intelligent machine.” Ray Kurzweil, a computer scientist, said in the 1990s that “artificial intelligence is near.” In 2005 he said that “artificial intelligence is nearer.”
Continue reading “THE SINGULARITY”WALTER RODNEY, “A REVOLUTIONARY OF OUR TIME.”
Walter Rodney was assassinated by Gregory Smith, a sergeant of the Guyana Defence Force, by means of an explosive device, on June 13, 1980. Smith was acting on behalf of the State of Guyana. Rodney was Burnham’s most prominent victim but there were others, including from the Working Peoples’ Alliance (WPA), the political party that Rodney helped to form and of which he was one of its leaders. The Commission of Inquiry (COI) into Rodney’s assassination concluded on April 22, 2014: “We have no hesitation in holding that Gregory Smith was responsible for Dr. Walter Rodney’s death on 13 June, 1980 and that in so doing he was acting as an agent of the State having been aided and abetted so to do, by individuals holding positions of leadership in State agencies and committed to carrying out the wishes of the PNC administration.” The COI also determined that the assassination could not have occurred without the knowledge of then Prime Minister Burnham.
Continue reading “WALTER RODNEY, “A REVOLUTIONARY OF OUR TIME.””THE ART OF THE DEAL
The heavy fall a few days ago of 80-year-old President Biden, after stumbling on a sandbag in his path, does not reflect the quality of his negotiating skills. President Biden was faced with the need for congressional support in the US House of Representatives, in which the Democratic Party is in the minority, to extend the US debt limit. He demonstrated a stealthy but formidable capacity which wrestled a deal from a Republican majority, straining at the leash to register a salutary defeat against the Democratic President before the presidential elections next year. He then addressed the nation from the Oval Office and praised his Republican opponents, led by Speaker McCarthy, who is beholden to the fiercest reactionaries in the Republican Conference. President Biden negotiated the deal from under the noses of an aggressive Republican majority at the last minute, as they feared being accused of harming the US economy.
Continue reading “THE ART OF THE DEAL”MAHDIA
Leading up to the 57th Anniversary of Guyana’s Independence, a searing tragedy occurred in which fire destroyed the girls’ dormitory of the Mahdia Secondary School and took the lives of 19 children, all but one being girls. This catastrophic event transformed the observance of Guyana’s Independence into a remembrance for the children who had tragically lost their lives. The children are: Mary and Martha Dandrade (twin sisters), Bibi Rita Jeffrey, Sabrina John, Loreen Evans, Belnisa Evans, Omefia Edwin, Natalie Bellarmine, Andrea Roberts, Lorita Williams, Nickleen Robinson, Sherena Daniels, Eulanda Carter, Lisa Roberts, Cleoma Simon, Tracil Thomas, Delicia Edwards and Ariana Edwards (sisters) and five-year old Adonijah Daniels. Memorial events have been held for the children countrywide and all Guyanese are in sympathy and solidarity with the parents, relatives and friends of the children.
Continue reading “MAHDIA”