Politically Exposed Podcast: Recent Episodes
Arnaldo Brown
Politically Exposed is a current affairs public commentary programme on Jamaican and World politics. The Hosts served in the Parliament of Jamaica and the Executive Branch of Government at different electoral cycles. They use their combined experience of being in the theatre to comment on topical issue affecting the body politics of Jamaica and the world.
The Government has been using the mantra of personal responsibility as a shield in its fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. Lamenting the indiscipline of the Jamaican people especially those in the entertainment sector for the spike in cases. This is not borne out by the data however as public transportation was fingered as one of the areas of exposure second only to the workplace.
Even with the Government's apparent concern with the entertainment sector as a contibutor to the spike, against the advice of the science the Goverment went ahead and relaxed the retrictions in the face of high positivity rate which was climbing. The Government took the decision to open the borders to the UK which at the time was being devastated by the delta variant a more virulent offspring of Covid-19 ASRS 2.0.
In this episode, we are not seeking to play the blame game, but to place legitimate question on the table as to the extent of the State's responsibility in this ongoing pandemic.
We have seen where the President of Haiti Jovenel Moise was in the course of last week, assassinated. As the story unfolds we recognise that mercenaries carried out the atatck. I mean, that's a fact that has emerged. I think they numbered 20 to 30. The majority of them are Columbia nationals and two were, some report that they are Americans and some report that they are Haitian Americans. When people commit themselves usual there are layers of distancing. So it would be interesting to learn more, How long they had their American citizenship, and why it is that they would find themselves embroiled in the assassination of the President. And then of course, as is usually these things. The President is not alive to defend himself. So you'll hear various theories about what the President might have been involved or engaged in that has led to his demise.
The Sheriff of Nottingham is the main antagonist in the legend of Robin Hood. He is generally depicted as an unjust tyrant who mistreats the local people of Nottinghamshire, subjecting them to unaffordable taxes. Robin Hood fights against him, stealing from the rich, and the Sheriff, in order to give to the poor; it is this characteristic for which Robin Hood is best known. Has this role changed over the years? Well there is a new Sheriff in town! According to the Nottingham City Council's website, "The role of the Sheriff in welcoming visitors to the city is often less formal than the Lord Mayor's. This is especially relevant to the promotion of Nottingham's historic associations and links with the legends of Robin Hood.Role
To promote Nottingham as a destination for visitors for short breaks, conferences, business and shopping. To encourage local residents to use and take part in cultural/ leisure activities opportunities in the city and county. The Sheriff of Nottingham is Councillor Merlita Bryan."
I'm Arnaldo Brown and it's a pleasure to have you with us to listen and to share your thoughts, and we are happy to be here this afternoon. And we have a special guest with Leo Gilling, and he is on because today, June 16 is actually diaspora day. So while to wish all our listeners happy diaspora day, and by extension, this is diaspora week. And I know that there are several activities that are taking place across the diaspora here in Jamaica. It's a very interesting year because of course COVID-19 Still keeping. So, the type of presence that would normally have in terms of cotton friends I think has shifted like everything else into the virtual realm. So Leo, is here, we would have the biennial conference right
So as usual, we have a very interesting programme for you this afternoon. You know, COVID-19 still in the air, the pandemic, continue to rage on. And what we are wanting to look at this afternoon is the effects of lockdown on children. Some of them have challenges in terms of, you know, mental issue, and the schools have been closed, they have had to be home. They have to be on the computer, some don't have technological device, some don't have stable internet connection. There is this talk about learning loss. And then of course, one of the issues that you have been raising. Victor is this business here, of the exposure of children to sexual and domestic abuse as a result of this pandemic.
We continue our conversation on vaccination against Covid-19 as Victor is on location in New York and Arnaldo in Jamaica. June 1 marks the start of the Hurricane Season which runs through to November 30, 2021. This year posses a real threat as the Pandemic continues to rage. Have adequate provisions been made for shelters to abide by Covid-19 safety protocols.
We weight in on the controversy surrounding the General Secretary of the People's National Party who has filed a defamation suit against fellow Party Member.
COVID-19 is still here, public he's been urged to take necessary precautions keep sanitising keep wearing mask. Keep social distancing and Dr. Key I'm open, I'm getting the pronunciation right. Duncan is here to advise and inform us about the current COVID situation. I know I follow you on social media, right, and I see where you have made comments on Twitter, in relation to how you view. You know they had laid off the COVID situation. And truth be told, is that what our motive is to ensure that the Jamaican populace is safe, right, and that, you know, what is being done is being done to the best of our abilities because this is unprecedented times that we are in. I've never lived to a global pandemic, before of this magnitude. And the only thing we can look to is the historically Spanish flu for some guidelines but, so we are interested in hearing what your take on the situation is uncertainly, what your thoughts are in terms of hope we can address the situation. But before we get to that, we usually have a quote of the day, and or quote of the day is, the greater the power, the more dangerous, the abuse, and that is Edmund Burke and I believe that is a very very poignant, thought, and one that we will explore in these sessions.
In 2018, a 10-year National Strategic Action Plan to Eliminate GBV in Jamaica was launched by the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport. Today we talk about what it entails. Along that line, while trepidations continue to brew surrounding the frequency of gender based violent crimes against women, the ruling Andrew Holness led JLP has not expressed a plan or desire to rid itself of embattled MP George Wright who gained notoriety this year after allegedly being recorded on video violently abusing his female companion and is currently on leave of absence from parliamentary duties as a consequence. Is it just a time out? Or will the party send a meaningful message against abuse? We’ll dig into it in Talking Points.