Politics

Dear Mr David Granger, I am confident that the situation around the amendment to the Anti Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Bill in Guyana has not only been on the front burner of the local political agenda, but it has captured the attention of countries around the region and the world. Largely, this is due to the fact that the issue of anti money laundering is of concern to many developed countries. The issue has been actively discussed at the G8 Summit at Lough Erne, Northern Ireland, in June 2013 and the G20 Summit in St Petersburg, Russia, in September 2013. From July 1, 2013 the Russian Federation has been presiding at the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Our country strongly upholds efforts of the organisation aimed at effective...

Dear Mr. President, We know you've done us a lot of favors lately, after getting off to a slow start. The repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, the call for the Boy Scouts to admit gay troops, all those gay ambassadors you've named. Once you finally evolved on marriage equality, you became an eloquent supporter and have been made it clear that the federal government recognizes same-sex marriages now that DOMA is gone. But here's the thing about evolution: it doesn't end. (Although in the case of the GOP, the trend may be in the opposite direction. But that's another story.) And that's why it's time to take on your toughest challenge yet: letting Russia — and in particular your counterpart, Vladimir Putin — know that the U.S. won't tolerate its attacks on the LGBT community, Russia is...

Dear Louis XIV: I’ve been doing some reading up on you recently, about how you revoked the Edict of Nantes, persecuted the Huguenots, and exempted nobility from taxes, just to cover a few of the highlights. In addition to the many other kingly acts I read about, I stumbled across the bit about your wonderful patronage of the arts and how it earned you the title of “Le Grand Monarque.” Well to be frank, this title struck me as a bit of a misnomer and is why I am writing you today. I am certainly no expert in monarchies and what would constitute a grand one, but in my not-so-humble opinion I find this title to be less than accurate and in fact I would go so far as to call it a heinous lie. Furthermore, if I’m being honest, anyone who was responsible for bestowing it upon you (and I’m...

Dear New Yorkers, I have a potentially treasonous confession to make: I have never had a personal connection to 9/11. Never felt anything about it, and for a long time didn’t really care. I’m not trying to be irreverent, just frank, but I understand how those two adjectives aren’t mutually exclusive. I feel terrible that I have never really felt terrible about 9/11, and it makes me curious about how common my dilemma is. Those who were young and in high school at the time, I assume, must have felt a sort of detachment from the events. Most had no clue what had actually happened or why, and don’t for a second entertain the thought that our schools properly educated us about the complexities of the issue. Most of us just did what we were told, which was to don numerous flags of...