Conversation Tree

MUDWATA

MUDWATA, still defiantly profane and homophobic, is back, daring the authorities to find him and ridiculing their arrest of Keron Bruce. It is not certain whether MUDWATA is a comedian, a campaigner against evil, or a vulgarian seeking to appeal only to the prurient. Some will argue that his profanity and homophobia disqualify him from aspiring to legitimacy. But I rather suspect that he doesn’t care and the people who tune in to YouTube who find him funny, notwithstanding his deterioration in quality since he has been publishing on YouTube. It may that his undoubted talent is not enough to sustain any greater ambitions.

UKRAINE – THE DRUMBEAT OF WAR

The crisis which emerged after the Russian deployment of troops on its border with Ukraine in recent weeks has led to diplomatic discourses between the United States, Russia and NATO. The Russian Government put forward an eight-point draft treaty, the core issues of which relate to the rollback of NATO’s expansion in Eastern Europe since 1997 and Ukraine’s permanent exclusion from NATO. It is hardly likely that the Russian Government expects that NATO will return to its pre-1997 borders or that NATO would agree to officially limit its expansion, including to Ukraine. But enlightened observers have expressed the view that Russia may be prepared to accept an undertaking that Ukraine would not be admitted to NATO in the foreseeable future and the limiting of intimidatory and threatening military exercises.

YESU PERSAUD

The editorial of Stabroek News and the letter by Clement Rohee in yesterday’s edition provide two of the most excellent tributes to the late Yesu Persaud that have been written. While the full scale of the contributions made by Yesu Persaud would require much more than a few articles, so monumental they were and so pervasively they impacted on the creation of the modern Guyana, at least they capture some of the significant aspects of his long and productive career which have shaped the ideals of modern Guyana. His very life story reflects the struggle of Guyana and the Guyanese people for a better life. Emerging out of a logie as an illiterate rat catcher on Bookers’ sugar estates, then scaling the heights of the business sector, transitioning from the private to the public sector, rising to a business titan and humanitarian, his story embodies the struggle, hopes and aspirations of every disadvantaged and oppressed person in the world. He is a Guyanese patriot whose principles and accomplishments surpass those of most others.

A DISUNITED PNCR IS NOT GOOD FOR GUYANA

Trends have emerged in Guyana where political parties, principally the PNCR, sometimes define their responsibilities as relating to only those who they ‘represent’ or their ‘supporters’ or who ‘voted for them,’ even though, as Government or Opposition, they are expected to represent the interests of all Guyanese. But political polarization over the years has created an outlook so partisan in nature that political parties are tempted to look out for, or confine their responsibilities to, only those who voted for them. The PNCR, as the PPP generally does, should hold itself out as representing all Guyanese and its policies should be so explained, if it intends to acquire and retain, broad appeal. With both parties adopting a national mandate, a division in either weakens its capacity to represent the interests of the Guyanese nation.

UMBRELLA

Rihanna, the Barbadian-American singer, became popular with the song ‘Umbrella,’ released in 2008. ‘Umbrella’, along with later songs, are the basis of her status as a megastar and a billionaire entrepreneur of the ‘Fenty’ line of products. ‘Umbrella’ contains the lines: “With you I’ll always share…Know that we’ll still have each other.”