My
propensity for politics is waning precipitously these days - especially in the
context of the ultra-thin skinned nature of some politicians.
You
express a fair view or begin a new initiative aimed at national or constituency
development; and there you have political “engineers” not just excoriating but
grossly misrepresenting you in political fora. You also have your own
parliamentary representative cowardly “jété-ing pawòl” for at his constituency conference. But I guess our "honourable" legislators under the constitution are guaranteed
the same fundamental rights and freedoms as their constituents. The only problem
is, I find it some of them seem to spend more time “being angry” at their parliamentary
subjects instead of focusing on “representing” them – one of the justifications for the formation
of “Representation Ourselves Par Excellence” (ROPE)
But
the above is not the focus of this article - especially in a context where I
have become fodder – and even being glorified by my rival blogs for my bold,
unapologetic POWERHOUSE articles. I’ll
take that as a victory of some sort, because it is underlined by an inherently
deep message of unity and reconciliation coming out - and it can only be a good
one! That’s should be a resounding education for our parliamentary reps!
As
a science educator (retired), I will never be derailed by anger or
flattery! I will defend what I believe is "universally right" and in the interest of community. But even more so, I will
strive to share ideas and opinions with others and to do so “in an intellectual
honest form” with the highest ideals and universal ethical principles being my
compass.
Ladies
and gentlemen, it is from this perspective that I take issue with a “Caribbean
News Now” article (US CORRUPTION COMPLAINT FILED OVER ST LUCIA OIL AGREEMENT)
re-published on Facebook.
I'm
see the article as a striking “replica” of UWP's campaign strategy. I note the
article is "semantically" well-put together; but however devoid of a logically deductive
argument form - what is technically referred to as "modus tollens".
Let’s
take a quick look at the article (by paragraph) and note its excellent “semantic
development” vis-a-vis its flawed modus
tollens:
The
first paragraph cites a "complaint has been filed with the Department of Justice
(DOJ) in the United States under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in
relation to a contract purporting to grant oil exploration rights over some
eight million acres of Saint Lucia’s maritime territory." It did not
indicate who filed the complaint!
The
second paragraph refers to 46-page document and at that point it goes on to name the St. Lucia PM and
Jack Greenberg.
The
third paragraph is largely academic: it puts the FCPA in historical perspective
citing the DOJ website as its reference.
In
the fourth paragraph, the article quotes what the deputy Attorney said recently
about the FCPA:
“Using the FCPA, the Department helps ensure that US companies and individuals, as well as foreign companies and individuals where appropriate, are held accountable when they pay bribes to foreign government officials in order to get business,”
No
reference, linkage (much less accusation) whatsoever of what the deputy AG said
of the matter under discussion or to the persons named in the complaint.
In
the fifth paragraph, the article discusses some aspects of the complaint:
"Specifically,
the complaint notes that, in or about February 2000, Anthony, as then minister
of finance, planning and sustainable development, signed a contract with RSM
that purported to grant the company an “Exploration License” in respect of
territorial maritime resources belonging to Saint Lucia amounting to 8,726,263
acres."
In
the sixth paragraph, it links the complaints to the Minerals Vesting Act - a
matter that has been put to rest by juxtaposing it to St. Lucia's Interpretations
Act. Claudius Francis (now the president of the Senate) has aptly dealt with the
rationalization of the powers vested under the former in the context of the
latter. The Caribbean News Now article
made absolutely no reference in that regard.
And
the article went on to suspiciously regurgitate the Flambeau campaign effluvia
of the last election.
But
the article ended with a sorry logical anti-climax in its last paragraph:
"The complaint in question is an allegation
of possible unlawful conduct. The allegations must still be investigated,
prosecuted and proven in US federal court."
It
never named the party or parties lodging the complaint.
Rick
spoke about the degeneration of journalism in St. Lucia. Although many may view
him as a “degenerate” journalist (himself), especially in the context of his
failure to use his demi-god capabilities to revolutionise the journalistic
landscape in St. Lucia, he probably has a fair point!
If the writer of the Caribbean News Now is a local journalist, then Rick is
"bang on" with his “claims” and “blasts” against our media and journalist.
