…or Chronic buffoonery?
Writers will sometimes make reference to themselves or their exploits when ostensibly writing about another subject – the technique is called, not too surprisingly, “self-referentiality”. Sometimes a movie will do the same – like the latest Star Wars movie – with a wink to the audience. It’s a pretty effective device to show irony – which always demands self-awareness.
This thought came to your Eyewitness who just read the Chronic’s hatchet job… ooops! …editorial, on the new General Secretary of the PPP and Opposition Leader Bharat Jagdeo. It was quite self-referential, but quite tone deaf. Alluding to the previous PPP administration, the Chronic’s editorial complained: “The Guyana Chronicle became a political mouth-piece attacking political rivals, those the government disagreed with, and justifying whatever actions his government took.” Yep!! Your Eyewitness couldn’t believe his eyes either!! Talk about rubbing your do-doo on someone else’s bamsie!
No irony intended there by these jokers! They really do believe Guyanese people are so stupid to believe whatever bilge is thrown at them. But it just illustrates their own stupidity – which made them overplay their hand. Some may’ve believed all the other shade their editorial threw at Jagdeo… but not even their most fervent supporter would claim the present Chronicle isn’t slavishly grinding the axes of the PNC-led coalition Government.
In fact, just last week, Moses Nagamootoo, who’s responsible for the Chronicle at the Ministerial level, was forced to denounce the “scurrilous attacks in the Chronicle newspapers against the acting Chancellor of the Judiciary”. Can’t get worse than that, can it? And the acting Chancellor isn’t even a “political rival” – he’s the highest judicial officer in the land!! Just as the President represents the power of the Executive, so does the Chancellor represents the Judiciary – equal in its sphere as the Executive and the Legislature!
But we don’t have to go very far to identify the Chronic’s attacks on the Opposition that it considers its “political rivals”, rather than performing its constitutional role of Opposition. We can be “self-referential” and look right in the Chronic’s editorial we cited. To pick just one example, it claimed, Jagdeo “beat contender Dr Frank Anthony by a mere 13 votes”. Now if this isn’t slanted language, what is? Reading that, you’d think there were hundreds of votes cast, and Jagdeo got just 13 more than Anthony, wouldn’t you?
The truth, of course, is they’re 35 members of the Central Committee and the vote was 24 to 11!! Jagdeo actually garnered more than twice the votes of Anthony’s!!
Eschewing self-referentiality, the Chronic ended: “there is need to begin frank and honest national discussions about Jagdeo’s politics.”
We agree. When will the Chronic begin?
…in oil invitation
Your Eyewitness is a bit puzzled. Newly-elected leader of the AFC, Raphael Trotman – chief beneficiary of the Nassau Accord that sealed the deal on return of the prodigal son – claimed he invited Opposition Leader to an “oil briefing”. More specifically, his Ministry wrote, “Leader of the Opposition… has been written to by Minister of Natural Resources… informing him that a briefing has been organised for him on Guyana’s preparation for the Oil and Gas industry.” Jagdeo, however, has claimed he’s supposed be briefed by ExxonMobil at his Office, and he doesn’t know if Trotman’s bringing over the Oil Executives.
But there’s a great bit of ambiguity in Trotman’s statement. If Jagdeo’s correct and ExxonMobil will be doing the briefing, how can they talk about “Guyana’s preparation for the Oil and Gas industry”? This is most clearly Guyana’s business!!
But Trotman’s phraseology lends one to believe the report in the Huffington Post which declared ExxonMobil was writing the rules of the oil game for Guyana!
Ahhh…what a tangled web…
…and self-interest?
What’s this with Basil Williams declaring two years for the new Private Public Law School he conjured up, is already paid for?
We know the newly silked-one can expropriate private property… but public funds?
