Moving… to protect

As you’d know, dear readers, your Eyewitness is an old Scout who never forgot the adage “Be Prepared!!” As his life unfolded chronologically and spatially, the lesson was driven home again and again!! Hadn’t he received the same advice from the “old folks” wherever he went?: “na wait till you waan fuh sh*t and den buil’ latrine!!” The result would invariably be messy – and embarrassing!!
As so he was mighty pleased to read that we had bought, received and commissioned two more Bell helicopters – the 407 and 429 models to add to the fleet maintained by the Air Corps wing of the GDF!! In his first term of office, Pressie had commissioned a Bell 412 model and noted the longer term implications: “We are very pleased with our strategic partner in the US…. And these are all the new relationships that we felt that are essential in building stronger defence architecture. We realise, and we know that our defence architecture has to be supported by the best diplomacy and the greatest of partnership.”
At the latest commissioning, the head of the armed forces, Khan pointed out that “the helicopters will strengthen border surveillance, search and rescue, medical evacuation, disaster response and joint inter-agency operations, particularly across Guyana’s vast landmass and difficult terrain. They reduce response times, extend reach, and multiply operational options precisely the advantages a modern defence force must possess.”
That’s right…while we develop diplomatic relationships and bilateral partnerships – we gotta develop our own capabilities to defend ourselves!! Your Eyewitness is sick and tired with hearing that we won’t be able to roll back an attack from Venezuela – our bête noir ever since we got independence when they figured we were easy objects for their school yard bullyism!! Imagine they attacked our half of Ankoko– and haven’t only kept it in their possession to this day but have actually built a bridge to it; constructed an airstrip and stationed troops there for nothing else than thumbing their noses at us!!
But the premise of our troops being outmanned and outgunned by Venezuela can’t really hold water!! Weren’t the Vietnamese outmanned and outgunned by the French that had “colonised” them – but who inflicted the first defeat by a colony on a colonial power after L’Ouverture in Haiti??!! And it was right there that the Viet Congs defeated the mightiest power on earth – the US of A!! So what’s the secret – which shouldn’t be a secret since it was repeated in so many places afterwards. Like Afghanistan.
They even have a name for the strategy – asymmetrical warfare!! Only a fool would attack an enemy’s strength. You attack him where he’s weak – and pick your arena which give YOU the advantage!!

…to mo’ oil
In this era, we’ve learnt that the energy business ain’t just about energy. It’s also about the effects from the production of that energy to run our brave new world for the last two centuries – by burning fossil fuels. We’ve learnt that while our standards of living have skyrocketed on the whole, the fossil fuels have also produced carbon dioxide that’s caused our planet to warm up so much, we’re in danger of making all life on earth extinct!!
But there are fossil fuels and there are fossil fuels. So while heavy oils like Venezuela’s produce oodles of carbon dioxide, natural gas produces much less. So if you gotta burn fossil fuels – while we transition to renewable non-carbon dioxide forms like solar and water energy – it makes sense to burn natural gas, innit?? Well looks like we got the best of both worlds: along with our LIGHT oil, we have associated natural gas – from which we gonna generate power at Wales.
What say the naysayers??

…traffic
Looking at the traffic – such as it is – your Eyewitness is wondering when we’re gonna get those flying cars being deployed in China. Surely they’ll reduce the two hours it takes to move from Camp to Water St, no?!!