by Colin Hyde
This bill, the Equal Opportunities Bill (EOB), was drafted and set to be tabled by the last government, but it never made it because of considerable pushback. The present government picked it up and dusted it off, and we have heard the responsible minister, Dolores, say in the House how much she would have liked to set it before the members. We have heard since from PM Briceño that he would like to see the Bill finalized and passed by the end of the year.
The bill has bi-partisan support. It is good that it is not a political football. Ah, with the wind behind it, bi-partisan support, it hasn’t made it to the table. The main issue with the bill is that it opens the door for certain gay rights that many, especially our Evangelicals, aren’t comfortable with. The local LGBT encountered minor resistance when they made that giant leap that saw them gain the right to legally do what they do. They/we pried the gate open, and now they/we want to kick down the fence. There, I include “we,” because who can say definitively what causes this different wiring – why isn’t it always permanent, sometimes just a phase? Can the root be in life experiences, or is it always chemical? Personally, I don’t “worry” that my circuit could be shorted. I believe I’m too late in life for a reversal of my poles. Hmm, maybe all things under the sun really are possible. Me noh noa.
This bill needs the fine-toothed comb. We have some serious discussions coming up after Brother Chanona presents the report of the Constitution Commission, and nothing should distract us from that essential exercise. But we can nibble at the parts of the EOB that are very worrying to segments of our society.
LGBT-wokeness isn’t a trivial matter, and no one can tell us it is, because we saw how it galvanized the resistance to the Democratic Party in the last US presidential election. Most concerning to those who are anti the EOB, is the door they believe it seeks to open into the minds of children. I like the position of Ms. Alice Weidel, the Chancellor choice for a big party, the far right AfD (Alternative for Germany), in the big election in Germany next week. Hmm, there’s good sense in everyone.
Alice has the strange wiring. A Wikipedia story says she is in a civil partnership, and she and the woman she lives with have two adopted children. I have no complaints about two women adopting children. That’s double nurturing. Two men adopting children is child abuse. That can’t be right. According to the story, Alice is against same-sex marriage; while she supports “other lifestyles”, she supports protection of the “traditional family”. That’s an interesting take there, but we’ll forget the civil partnership thing for now; that’s not where I want maku to spot the light on Alice.
Speaking on sex and the children, the Wikipedia page says “Weidel has stated her opposition to discussion of sexuality prior to puberty, saying that ‘I don’t want anyone with their gender idiocy or their early sexualization classes coming near my children.’” Now, there’s the line drawn against the EOB for you.
Shyne playing lawyer, Marisol the truth seeker
If this corner had a mischievous bone, he might say that in that exchange between Shyne and Ms. Marisol last week, the brother was sweating his daddy’s fever. My gudnis, we remember how Dean Barrow set up his show to avoid answering questions from the girl from Krem (XTV). Dean Barrow’s main claim to fame is talk, pretty talk, and he loved the press conferences, but not being pressed by Marisol. On dates when he was holding court, he should have paid a stipend to Krem, to have her get on a plane and go chase a story outside of Belize City.
I’m not dissing pretty talk; like everything it has its virtue. We’ve produced a “plethora” of flamboyant chatters. I give the cake to one who never entered the political arena. For years and years it had been about that old Ned Pitts should get the hell out of the international sporting committee, give youth a chance at the helm. Indeed, oldsters shouldn’t be hogging up the positions. There are exceptions, and Mr. Ned led the class. I came under his spell at an Olympic function at which I was asked by the Amandala to play reporter. The foreign rep from the Olympics Committee was grinning from ear to ear when he said he had great anticipation of these conferences, because of Ned Pitts. More than a decade later, I still break into a smile when I remember being, mesmerized. Some man baan fu taak.
I will take a pass on Shyne’s extreme rudeness. In respect to the substance of the difference, my take is that Shyne was trying to win an argument, while Mariol, as always, was after the truth.
It appears that “until” the court speaks on a pending matter, some people won’t get the sense. A certain matter sailed in October 2024 when the UDP came out en masse and declared for the world to see, that they wanted Tracy to be their leader. In the eyes of the people, her executive is the rightful manager of the party’s assets. Shyne put the court in a lot of trouble when he went there. I bet if the judge could have taken off their robe and stepped away from the bench, they would have told Shyne, ‘it’s a popularity contest, klayr yu desk’.
Arsenal F.C. under attack from the Congo?
I have here this excerpt from a piece by Tom Ndahiro, “Arsenal’s rebellion against the DR Congo’s minister: A political crisis at the Emirates?” The piecewas published by SyndiGate Media Inc., and I read it on MSN (msn.com). The meat here involves Rwanda’s president, Paul Kagame, a sports hound who has formed alliances with NBA basketball and the British Premier League club, daaa mighty Arsenal.
Yes, Ndahiro has his bias. He wrote: “In the past few days, in the vast halls of diplomacy, an esteemed Foreign Minister from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) embarked on a critical mission. It was not to address her country’s rampant corruption, its crumbling infrastructure, or the catastrophic violence consuming its eastern provinces. No, Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner had far more pressing matters: she needed an urgent audience with Arsenal Football Club leadership. Yes, the Gunners, according to a British liberal paper, that notorious rogue faction in global affairs, had allegedly committed the ultimate diplomatic sin—they did not leap at the Minister’s command.
“It was an ‘outrageous insult,’ we are told. Arsenal had refused to meet the great emissary of the DR Congo, failing to recognize the sacred hierarchy of international relations, where football clubs apparently answer to the beck and call of foreign ministers. This was not just a negligible brush-off; this was akin to an act of war. The London Guardian of February 15, 2025—in its boundless journalistic wisdom, took up the cause, lamenting the indiscipline of these footballing rebels who dared ignore their true overseers in Kinshasa. But wait—why exactly should a football club be accountable to a foreign government it has no dealings with? Arsenal has a sponsorship deal with the Visit Rwanda brand, not the DR Congo. If anything, the only logical reason for Wagner’s theatrics is a crude attempt at weaponizing football sponsorships as part of Kinshasa’s broader anti-Rwanda propaganda war.”
Continuing the story, Ndahiro says, “Arsenal has a commercial agreement with Visit Rwanda, just as many other European clubs and institutions have similar deals with nations across the world. Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, and even Formula One have all engaged with Rwanda’s tourism board. Yet, somehow, Arsenal’s relationship with Rwanda has now been reframed as a moral crime. But who is leading the moral charge here? The Congolese government, a regime infamous for corruption, state-sponsored militias, and a complete inability to govern its own territory. Yes, say it again, a country that has more armed groups than tourist sites.”
The Congo was savaged by the Belgians from 1908 to 1960. The highly revered Patrice Lumumba took charge in June 1960, but he was in office only a couple months. He was assassinated by firing squad in 1961. The country was ruled by Mobutu Sese Seko, from 1971 to 1997. He left the country in shambles. With the support of certain allies from the West, he is reported to have stolen tens of millions of dollars from his people.
Ah, the Rwanda/DR Congo story is complex.