Conversation Tree

THE PANDORA PAPERS

In 2013 Offshore Leaks revealed the contents of 2.5 million files. In 20 the Panama Papers showed the contents of 11.5 million files. In 2017 the Paradise Papers opened up for public scrutiny 13.4 million files. Two weeks ago, the Pandora Papers followed up these previous revelations by presenting to the public the contents of 11.9 million files. The data in the files in the most recent Pandora Papers exposures were obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) in Washington DC, USA, comprising 600 journalists in 117 countries who examined files from 14 sources for months.

THE FIFTH OF OCTOBER

October 5 will mark the 29th anniversary of the return of free and fair elections to Guyana in 1992, and the first attempt since then to restore the dark days of election rigging. The latter event has underlined the importance of the former, and the need to write about it. The argument of equivalence, which is hostile to the realities, should not deter us.

BIDEN ACCOMODATES THE LEFT, STARMER SEEKS TO DESTROY IT

Two pieces of legislation contain many of the reforms that President Biden promised Americans on the campaign trail. The US$1tn Infrastructure Bill, which has received bipartisan support, seeks to repair the US’s physical infrastructure which has been deteriorating for the past thirty years. The Build Back Better Bill, at US$3.5tn, seeks to repair the US’s ‘human infrastructure,’ and provide measures to mitigate climate change. The Republicans and some moderate Democrats do not support it. The 90+ strong progressive Democrats in the House of Representatives have vowed that they will not support the Infrastructure Bill unless the Build Back Better Bill passes the Senate, based on an agreement by Democrats to support both. Two ‘moderate’ Democratic Senators, whose votes are necessary to pass the Build Back Better Bill, are withholding their support.

D’URBAN PARK

D’Urban Park and D’Urban Backlands are named after Sir Benjamin D’Urban, appointed Governor of Demerara-Essequibo in 1824. He became, with the addition of Berbice in 1831, Governor of British Guiana from 1831 to 1833. D’Urban Park was home to Guyana’s most famous horse racing track. I remember when, still a child, I was taken there to horse racing, perhaps in the early 1950s. I don’t know by whom, but I believe that it might have been an uncle, a lifelong horseracing enthusiast. I distinctly recall the crowd and the noise, over which the resonantly distinctive voice of the announcer, expertly modulated and paced to evoke tension and excitement as the race came to a climactic end. That voice announced horse racing over the radio throughout my youth.

JUMBIE UMBRELLA AND BUSH TEA; THE PRESIDENT AND THE OPPOSITION; ARTICLE 13

Jumbie Umbrella and Bush Tea

The covid-19 pandemic is one of the most serious outbreaks of an infectious disease the world has ever seen. There have been 219 million cases and 4.55 million deaths worldwide. The infection is raging in most parts of the world. The headline is therefore not meant to be facetious. It is deadly serious because supposedly serious people are treating the pandemic as a joke. A member of one of the highest bodies in the land, the National Assembly, elected by the people of Guyana to make laws and otherwise look out for their interests, has pronounced that bush medicine cures covid-19.