by Colin Hyde
I would ask for forgiveness for intafayring in the American world, except that they deserve every prick they get, because no one intrudes in other people’s lives like they do. It SEEMS every American tries to be a star; those who make it never relinquish their cape, it has to be ripped from their backs; and the millions who don’t make it, get into antics to get the light spotted on them. Our consolation is that they will NEVER produce a male football (soccer) player worth the price of the ticket.
Turning the beam on the aged ones, in the era of AI, this present US president moves like a robot, like Irona from the Richie Rich comics would if she were in a movie. The other old horse pawing turf, he’s doing his darnedest to look like he could go cavort with shady ladies where the lights are red and the heavy curtains are drawn. He might be on that “pills” that was hawked by that presidential hopeful given the Americans by the pineapple company. The enemies have been predicting and praying for generations. Is this how the empire ends? I hope not, because too many Belizeans are over there.
For Democrats who are fearful about a possible outcome—Belizeans largely support the Democrats — I expect Biden’s truth is that he wants the trouble in the Middle East to go on pause before he steps down, gives way to a more vital body. I expect the cost of Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg’s refusal to quit is still fresh in the minds of people in that party. If she had stepped down when she should have, the Democrats would have put in the replacement they preferred. Ginsburg died in office, and the Republicans pounced and secured the spot for a companion for Thomas and Alito.
Forces over in the Middle East are not helping Biden to step down ataal. We’ve already gone over why Netanyahu insists on not letting up with the bombing. The other side, the Palestinians, is a more complex story. I am reminded that I never figured out why that Ayatollah Khomeini in Iran destroyed Jimmy Carter’s chances at a second presidency. One possibility was that he was naïve, and another was that it was a deliberate objective to remove a man who was winning friends across the globe for America. How much better the world would have been if Jimmy Carter had gotten that second term!
There’s a lot of strange in life, you know. Can you believe 21st century people buying into Netanyahu’s claim that God gave his crowd the right to annihilate the Palestinians? I was wrong. Life noh strange. Life crazy.
Mayor Bernard, in the footsteps of Said and Dean?
The UDP have placed a charge of nepotism on the Belize City Council (BCC) for their promoting Erin Miller, the step-daughter of the mayor and wife of a councilor to higher heights. I don’t think Bernard feels that the UDP owes him for his not firing everyone connected to that party when he took over the reins in 2018, but he must be a little miffed. But don’t sweat for him, he’s been in the political arena long enough to have gotten himself a lizard skin, if he didn’t have one when he was dragged into running. I’m not about wasting ink and paper defending people who can take care of themselves, but we need some clarity here.
The UDP seems to be like those overzealous meter cutters who get a bonus when they chop out somebody’s water. There’s a reconnection fee, and the parent BWSL gets an injection of capital when they leave our pipes dry, so cutter and company are in on the spoils. I say, if the UDP was a baseball club, they’d have to be a bad ball-hitting team to have success, because they swing at everything. I can see their question, but their conclusion is so way off the plate, it’s a wild pitch.
That nepotism, the Merriam Webster says that it is “favoritism based on kinship.” That absolutely doesn’t mean that your brother can’t play for your team. In fact, your brother MUST play for your team if your brother is a baad fella. Will you allow a rival team to sign your brother when he is a baad fella? Kriol seh that da gih man stik fu beat yu oava yu head wid. But if yu breda is shitn, well there we have the proof of guilt.
The UDP said Erin’s promotion in the BCC’s communications department is controversial, that it “raised eyebrows and sparked widespread speculation.” I would be surprised if there’s much truth to that claim, but I can’t flat out say that isn’t so, because me noh noa. The UDP said there’s an “obvious potential for conflict of interest” here. Ms. Erin’s job is to polish the BCC’s image. Have PUP councilors run to Delroy expressing fear that the young lady will work to make her husband and her dad look good and work to make them look bad? The UDP says the BCC cited Erin’s past work with the council and her academic achievements “to justify her promotion.” Really, city residents returning this present council to office 2 votes to 1 over the UDP in the last election suggests that she is a plus for her bosses.
In the title of this piece, the names of two big heroes, Said and Dean, were mentioned. I think I’ve flogged those horses enough, but briefly those two were in the crosshairs when each placed a son in a high position when they were in office, Said elevating Yasser to head the newly formed NICH, and Dean elevating Anwar to run BTL. The UDP took exception to Yasser, because, while he was extremely qualified, the job put him in a position to influence youth to favor his father’s party. My only beef with Yasser was that he adored Assad too much. Respect to Anwar for his share of talent and all that, but for that job he wasn’t qualified and he should have told his daddy “NO, for your sake and for our country’s sake I can’t let you do that because of your devotion for me.”
For a little foreign how-they-behave on this nepotism business, The Washington Post said that the present US president promised “No member of his family would be involved in government.
But that vow did not extend to his senior staff and their relatives”, for within “the first few months of Biden’s presidency, at least five children of his top aides have secured coveted jobs in the new administration.”
As for Donald Trump, The Boston Globe said he, who “had long associated with fraudsters and crooks”, said on the campaign trail in 2016 that if he was elected “he would surround himself with the ‘best’ and ‘most serious’ people.” The Globe said what he did in office was “Hire his family to top positions and flood the White House with loyalists.”
Chester’s revenge; why he (and Kareem) invaded and dominated Social’s space
You see the absolutely determined way Chester, Kareem and their crowd intervened in a situation which a few decades ago wouldn’t have gone beyond youth trivia. I have zero knowledge of the words that were spoken. In the clip, I saw no weapon drawn. I note that the bully was smaller than the bullied. But if a fight had broken out, the bet is that if the bystanders had jumped in, they would have sided with the bully to doblbenk the one under siege.
Commissioner Chester was most assertive, hihn noh mi di play when he set about nipping matters in the bud. There’s a story that might explain his zeal. I landed in the knowledge section some years ago after I innocently remarked in the presence of someone who knew the Commissioner when hihn da mi bwai, that he looked quite buff.
I was told that when this Chester Williams was a boy officer, he didn’t fill out his uniform; he was a flimits, a 96-pound weakling. In the not-too-old days, there was no department behind which such a fellow could hide. Flimits boys were advised to develop a body like Charles Atlas, or be a victim. A popular, ehm, educational comics feature was a 96-pound weakling at the beach, with da girl. If you wonder how a flimits boy got near to girls, you need to listen to Lord Rhaburn who sang all about it. The song said it’s talk, that a chap might not luk like blank, but if hihn ku chat hihn kud bi Errol Flynn. But the physical non-specimen shouldn’t take the girl to the beach, because a real man will kick dirt in his face and tek the gyal.
A la Atlas, Chester buffed up, as all can see, but if a man’s actions speak some to his past, he clearly hasn’t forgotten the day when he was a 96-pound weakling—in da Force. Oh, we can bet he was bullied till ih cry. As for the protective minister, he appears to be one with a purely intellectual background. He expressed that he thought of his boys when he saw the clip with the bantam trying to provoke the pacifist to fisticuffs.
I thought it was a matter for Dolores, for Social, not the police. It’s possible that Dolores is absorbed with wrapping up the communal land rights matter. That might explain her—neglect. The police absolutely took over her territory. There’s serious trauma when the police enter a neighborhood, so they are last resort. You bet every eye in that village was watching, and busy minds must have run to weed. My take is that their limit was support staff, under the direction of Social.
Winding up here, I’m not so inquisitive that I need to know what that bullying incident was all about. You know the victim in the clip could actually be the bigger bully. I can tell you a number of scenarios where that could be the case. But we’ll leave that there. Absolutely, intervention was needed, because of the times. Bully for Chester and Kareem for stepping in. But it was a matter for Social.