…on democratic challenges
The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) is holding its 46th Conference of the Caribbean, the Americas, and the Atlantic Region in Guyana. It started on Monday with the theme “Democracy: Challenges Facing Modern Parliaments”. The participants obviously have some serious skin in the game, since they’re clearly not predisposed to discussing whether parliament itself might’ve outlived its usefulness due to the passage of time.
Parliament, of course, arose out of the feudal struggle of the nobles in Britain against their King, to get a piece of the action from governing the nation. Meaning, they also wanted to rape the land and the citizenry for their satisfaction. This segued into the developing business class – formed from screwing the natives of the new empire – to demand their share of the government in order to protect their wealth. They formed the House of Commons in the Parliament. We, of course, had been the natives getting screwed by the Monarch, the Royals, and finally the business class; and it ain’t strange that when we finally became independent, our parliamentarians assumed they’d take over from where the British left off in screwing our people royally!!
The British had an apt pupil in Forbes Burnham, who knew from his student days in Britain that behind all the fancy rhetoric about rights and justice, etc, it was all a matter about who had the POWER!! Which the holder could then use to screw the people and live high off the hog!! So, when these Parliamentarians talk about their “challenges”, they’re talking about the challenges to them getting their hands into the cookie jar – called the Consolidated Fund!!
Take local MP Ganesh Mahipal – who was subbing for Norton, who was collecting bribes… erm, “donations”…in Brooklyn!! He was quite candid in announcing that from where he sits (in the PNC!!) with scandal and corruption etc, there’s the perception that Parliamentarians are more interested in self-preservation than public service, and this has contributed to widespread cynicism!! Now, Mahipal knows of what he speaks, having been involved in a series of “he seh she seh” stories on corruption!! The fault, dear Parliamentarians, Mahipaul surprised, is that Parliamentarians should take a long, hard look in the mirror!!
Pressie also took the opportunity to expand on the rottenness of democracy having to be laid at the feet of the players. “Democracy transcends every aspect of life. Sometimes I smile at organisations talking about democracy, and when you examine those organisations, for decades they never had elections in electing their leaders. One-person-run organisations, and then we take their word as the truth-bearer on democracy”!!
So, will anything change after this big pow-wow?? Sadly, no. No MP wanna take the mote out of their own eye!!
…Mad Maduro’s challenge
Mad Maduro thinks he’s pretty clever to count on the US administration being distracted by their upcoming elections this November so’s not to keep their word to prevent the erosion of democracy in this hemisphere. They know that if “one bad apple spoils the barrel”, one rogue autocracy like Venezuela – backed by his cohorts Russia, Iran and China – would precipitate a domino effect against democracy in a snap!! So, the news that the US seized his private jet that he uses to impress pipsqueaks like Ralph Gonzalves gotta be a wake-up call signalling that his rigging coup, after last July’s elections, ain’t over till the fat lady sings!!
While Mad Maduro squeals that this was an “act of piracy” – ignoring his act of brigandage to steal millions of votes by the beleaguered people – it should wise-up folks like the Commonwealth MPs meeting here – that the greatest challenge to democracy is the rigging of elections.
And they should issue a statement denouncing Mad Maduro’s eyepass against them for devaluing their legitimacy!!
…the drug trans-shipment challenge
The massive drug bust through HUMINT in Matthews Ridge should alert our authorities that we gotta do better in terms of surveillance of our western border. Mad Maduro’s threatened invasion cannot be taken lightly. Drones??
