Ezekiel, Farrakhan, Flight 370 – and Wheels
A little less than two years ago I dared to venture out of my depth to explore the lead topic indicated above.
Today I repeat some of the thoughts because I write as an unlettered observer for the layman in the street and market and because of a few very recent developments.
Our Republic’s President who was not too long ago, a grassroots political Party General Secretary, but who should now be advised about what his constitution says about the independence of the Judiciary and the need for an equally independent Judicial Service Commission (JSC) after he has appointed one with indirect assistance from the Opposition, has been making his views about the justice system known.
Donald Rabindranath Ramotar was also a member of the Parliament which has some initial impact on our “independent” judiciary. He is seemingly upset with some actions/decisions of the magistracy. I bet in the real world that he has views about the DPP, the judges and perhaps some of the legislation, the statutes and other influences impacting judges, their decisions and their world.
Way into the twenty-first century citizens are finally “assured” that magistrates and judges will benefit from electronic assistance during trials. (Consult the power and light people on this one.)
Then what should have occurred decades ago is also going to happen now: the Judiciary’s finances will finally come directly from the Consolidated Fund, as the poor, ignored Constitution advises.
(I am not going to dwell, this time, on what those annual American Reports conclude about our independent judiciary. Those Americans seem to “show off” because they know most top ranking local officials want student visas for their spoilt offspring.)
Our lives, their “world”
Do you realize how much raw and sophisticated power and authority our judges wield to affect our daily living and quality of life? Should we not then put these servants of justice under much more scrutiny?
These arbiters pass judgments that bear down upon our very Guyanese existence. The criminal aspect is more obvious to the ordinary citizen- trying crimes of robbery, murder, drug-trafficking, white and blue-collar theft – we know that list.
But these learned lawyers also influence our lives with their decisions in the more civil matters- land disputes, property rights, inheritances, tax- related status and issues, vending, constitutional rights and issues, political governance- that’s another list.
And these judges-especially those of our Supreme Court of Judicature- our High Court and Court of Appeal- are functioning in a world of their own- fashioned and approved by the very constitution (See articles 122,197,198 etc- etc) and by a version of “Custom and Practice” since 1966.
This world is supposed to be supervised and “scrutinized” by a Judicial Service Commission which appoints- and dis- appoints; by a Chancellor and a Chief Justice, The two most senior luminary- judges in Guyana.
One is tempted to emphasise too the Attorney- General and his Ministry of Legal Affairs. He is the government mental/parliamentary “overseer” who should ensure that the independent judiciary is well served to implement our system of justice at the highest local levels. “Independent”?
Yes independence of the Judiciary from external influences is crucial to genuine justice being dispensed. The Constitution mentions such directives as “all courts and all persons presiding over courts shall exercise their functions independently of the control and direction of any other person or authority; and shall be free and independent from political, executive and any other form of direction and control…” (etc, etc.).
The real world of a society such as ours suggests that telephone calls or discussions at lodge fraternity gatherings could intrude upon judicial decisions. Local Court of Appeal decisions are subject to further appeal(s) to the Caribbean Court of Justice but that’s another story.
The world of the judiciary is an intriguing but necessary one. These dispensers of justice in a society held together by the rule of law must be of unimpeachable integrity, must be receiving great salaries and conditions to avoid ever being “tempted.”
Quality judges must be found so that justice would not be delayed. But research the following: Do Judges render their decisions in writing? Does the Constitution accommodate a chancellor and Chief Justice acting for years?
Mystery, UFO’s, Ezekiel and Farrakhan
Even as many of us of the working–class contend with the daily struggles to exist here, we had to be mesmerized, however briefly, by the disappearance of that Malaysian-owned jet liner and its passengers.
The past weeks have seen either Nature or some other force(s) defy the best brains and equipment as the world tries to unravel this aviation/oceanic mystery.
Two conversations stimulated speculation in me as, no doubt, thousands in the world also wonder. There is this “Black” Muslim leader in the USA named Farrakhan. Frankly Speaking, he is not a favourite of mine because of a personal suspicion I harbour concerning the death of Malcolm X. But Farrakhan is a powerfully–articulate political/“religious” speaker. Now a few days ago he described being taken up to an unidentified flying object (UFO) – which he described as a wheel. There he heard the voice and instructions of his departed Spiritual Leader Elijah Mohammed. This allegedly happened over Mexico a few years ago.
Should I believe him? He wouldn’t care. But he did refer extensively to the Holy Bible’s Prophet Ezekiel. Now Ezekiel, Chapter One (Verses 4 – 27) describes Ezekiel’s encounter with clouds, fires, lights, strange beings and “wheels” from the sky, the heavens. How literally should these descriptions be taken? Shortly, two friends will send me quotes from the Bible, which, they swear, indicate the (current) existence of UFO’s and Extra-Terrestrial beings.
At my age I am more tolerant of extreme views; of people’s beliefs and of the wonders of science. (Other advanced beings must be smiling at us our “modern” supersonic planes, our submarines, satellites and smart phones!)
In another conversation very recently a prominent local attorney-at–law shared his view about the Extra-terrestrials not wanting us earthlings to start any nuclear war; about how the Bible’s heavenly appearances always feature(d) space-like settings. And he had his own (chilling) explanation about the fate of that airliner. But more later.
My Oh- My, Ponder…
Columnist and Ghost Writer David deGroot tells us plainly that his PPP is concerned about “historical events” of the “early sixties” when the Americans purportedly destabilized “the entire country”. Naughty Americans!
What does David think of the senior President Bush and of the President Jimmy Carter visit here in 1992?
2) How low can the human mind sink? Nigeria’s Boko Haram Terrorist Leader says “Allah” told him to “sell” the kidnapped girls! Sick!
3) If the Guyanese taxpayers have invested in this grand Marriott Hotel, should they not know their fellow investors? (Whose original idea suggested such a hotel anyway?)
4) A real spiteful, wicked American State Department would withdraw certain high officials’ children’s American student visas. Ho- Ho! (Good thing that they are a little busy with Russia)
5) A modern road in Baltimore, Maryland, USA Just sank and disappeared after floods last week Thursday. They have Guyanese road builders there too?
6) Coming Next Week: Cultural Development in crisis, and the very first Guyanese Douglahs.
Til next week!
(Comment? allanafenty @yahoo.com)
