My 2018 talk to the Guyana Press Association on World Press Freedom Day covered issues such as the special responsibilities of the Press, the Global Information War, the role of ‘FANG’, BREXIT and the election of US President Trump…all new ground for my public work…
Afra Raymond was the guest speaker of the Guyana Press Association at its Mid-Day Lecture on Thursday 3 May 2018, at Moray House in Georgetown, Guyana on World Press Freedom Day. He spoke on the theme, “Keeping Power in Check: Media Justice and the Rule of Law.” Video courtesy Guyana Press Association.
Programme Date: 3 May 2018
Programme length: 00:40:00 and 00:19:53
AfraRaymond.net 
Keeping power in check by the press, which has become commodified globally, is just not possible, because capitalism has monetised the physical elements of our lives and miseducated us about abstract values. The state media similarly is controlled by wealth and power. (See Manufacturing Consent by Noam Chomsky in 1988) FANG: = Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google (now Alphabet, Inc.) have made data public and its addictive consequences have been monetised. The conflict here is between old money and new money. This information monarchy –one of the pillars of power- rules and thrives, as David Muhammad explained in his recorded 2017 lecture about the four types of republics, despite the titles of Independent or Republic statehood. (Gayelle TV, 3rd May 2019)
Our regional lack of unity, responsibility and self-assessment should be discussed and acted on, but the economic, social and physical constraints are boosted by physical and digital, international, regional and local forces with a double-edged sword of constricting time and overloading data such that lies have percentages of truth and there are shifting perspectives and a multiplicity of overlapping real and false issues that culminate with mistrust for it all for most of us. Afra’s quips, “Do so eh like so (and) so what,” are as common as corruption and as silenced by the critics of corruption, so the whistle-blowers and victims are again punished.
It is most unfair that our national resources still enrich the wealthy and the masses subsist on crumbs in every state with few exceptions like the Swiss and Danes that are wealthy on the blood monies extracted by force everywhere. Decisiveness in word strongly opposes decisiveness in deed here in the Caribbean and elsewhere. Very few of us can keep ourselves in check for extended periods and the road to Hell is paved with bribes. Who can resist?