THE new year holds good prospects for the media following President Granger’s pledge of “hard money” to the Guyana Press Association through training and education – with no strings attached. Well, that’s a breath of fresh air. Here’s to better training and brighter days for media workers! Public comments centred on hopes that this would mean more balanced reporting, more research and a little less misinterpretation (hint: Guyana Times). But then, the question arises: with better trained journalists, would this make way for better pay conditions and benefits as well? Fingers crossed!

HISTORY LESSON
The PPP have learnt a new word and are determined to use it every chance they get: Gestapo — a term used to refer to the secret police of Nazi Germany. The party has chosen to allocate this historically offensive term more than once in recent times, going as far as connecting the term with the current government. One such instance was the visit by GRA officials to Khurshid Sattaur’s home, where they reclaimed property owned by GRA, including Sattaur’s gun and PC.

The PPP feels that this move could have been done with more tact. Fair enough, but how does it compare with Gestapo tactics?
Someone needs a history lesson.

INTOLERABLE CRUELTY
The burning to death of a woman has set the public alight with rage over the cruelty of such an act, and has set new heights in the extent to which persons would go to steal. Bandits reportedly tied up a woman and her son, after demanding cash and jewellery from them, and then set the house afire before leaving. The woman’s son managed to escape, but she was not so fortunate.

Now, all the praise that the police received via the operations of Dragnet went down the drain, as members of the public are asking: where have they gone?

Yet more questions are flowing in the direction of whither our humanity is headed, if this is the level to which the thieves would stoop. Hopefully, the investigations would reveal a true motive, as this seems a bit too extreme to just be a simple robbery.