S2 : E10 Bitcoin, Blockchain and Small Island Developing States: Opportunities, Challenges and Questions
Bitcoin, Blockchain and Small Island Developing States: Opportunities, Challenges and Questions
Our Guests:
George Siosi Samuels, founder of blockchain-based accountability platform, Honā, South Pacific Ambassador for the Bitcoin Association (Fiji/Australia/Singapore)
Daniel Barcant, entrepreneur, founder and cofounder of several well known businesses and an NGO (Trinidad and Tobago)
Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies and blockchain are revolutionary developments that excite, confuse and raise scepticism.
It goes to the heart of questions like the nature of money, the role of governments and central banks; freedom, privacy and security on the internet and in economics; technology development; the digital divide; asset bubbles; investment scams and pyramid schemes, and so much more.
From the perspective of developing countries there are many issues that are raised: can this help with our development? does this give us more control over our financing and economics? what exactly is bitcoin, cryptocurrency and blockchain? will this continue to produce and reinforce the divide between the haves and the have-nots? the big and small? the technologically advanced and the technologically underdeveloped?
Today I have two very interesting guests to speak about these issues and questions from a very practical perspective.
George Siosi Samuels is originally from Fiji but based in Singapore. He is the Managing Director of management consultancy, Faiā, and founder of blockchain-based accountability platform, Honā. His Bitcoin journey began in 2013, he was the Global Head of Community for the Bitcoin Cash Association in 2018, and is now South Pacific Ambassador for the Bitcoin Association.
Daniel Barcant is an entrepreneur, founder and cofounder of several well known businesses and an NGO, based in Trinidad and Tobago. He is also a blockchain and crypto currency enthusiast. His involvements in the space cover a broad range such as investing, education, mining and exploring utili
S 2: E 9 - Culture Industry and Digital Technology: From Rihanna, Megadeth, and Mariah Carey to Trinidad Carnival and beyond
The global culture industry is one of the world's most lucrative. Some of the world's largest and most powerful companies operate in this sphere, and it even forms a part of a country's geo-political "soft power".
At the same time, because it is based on individual human creativity -- and not natural resources, wealth, or size -- there are unique opportunities for outsider individuals, small countries, marginal groups, or otherwise relatively "powerless" people to participate and succeed in this industry.
Digital technology, as well, although deployed by the most powerful corporations in the world in their massive corporate businesses, also provides a way for individuals, small or marginal populations and even countries, to participate in the very center.
The culture industry has been deeply affected by the lockdowns following the covid-19 outbreak, and has made digital technology even more important. In some ways, this may have even levelled the playing field somewhat, and put the largest and smallest producers of culture on a more equal footing.
Today Dr. Kirk Meighoo is joined by two guests who have fascinating stories and projects in the global culture industry and insights to share.
Akim Millington is part of the Grammy Award-Winning CEEK Virtual Reality Founding Team, Former New Orleans Saint (NFL) Offensive Lineman, and a BIG XII Champion. CEEK VR pioneered Virtual Reality technology in entertainment. They have worked with the biggest stars in the music industry, from Bon Jovi, to Rihanna, to Megadeth to Ziggy Marley, Mariah Carey etc.
Rubadiri Victor is President at Artists' Coalition of Trinidad and Tobago (ACTT), the lead Creative Industry and Cultural Sector representative organization in T&T. He is also a Multi-Media Artist in film, music, painting, theatre, Mas, photography, writing/publishing, & curating/design.
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S 2: E 8 - Hurricane Katrina, Ebola, Muslimeen Coup d'état: Coping with National Emergencies Before Covid and After
Dr. Kirk Meighoo, Political Analyst & PRO, United National Congress, Trinidad and Tobago discusses ‘Hurricane Katrina, Ebola, Muslimeen Coup d'état: Coping with National Emergencies Before Covid and After' with our eminent guests Ron Millington, and Dr. Bhoendradatt Tewarie.
Ron Millington served in the U.S. Armed Forces where he received the Global War on Terrorism service Medal and a former Department of Homeland Security Tactical Law Enforcement Officer. He was involved in FEMA's Hurricane Katrina relief efforts and managing the Ebola crisis in West Africa.
Dr. Bhoendradatt Tewarie is a distinguished academic, educator and politician in Trinidad and Tobago. He was a former Cabinet Minister in two administrations, including in 1990 when a small, radicalized group of insurgents took over Trinidad and Tobago's Parliament for 6 days, held MPs and the Prime Minister hostage, putting the entire country in a state of chaos and uncertainty.
For the past 18 months, the world has been dealing with a #globalpandemic that has caused an unprecedented global shutdown of economic and social activity.
Although this has been an international emergency which the whole world has had to face, each country has had to face it nationally, in its own way, with its own resources and capabilities.
Some countries have had experiences with national disasters of various types in the past: natural, political, economic, #military.
Now is a good time to reflect upon how countries have dealt with these National Emergencies in the past.
How have these past #emergencies compared to the current #covidcrisis? What lessons can be learned from these past experiences?
Today we look at national emergencies which gained international attention: the 2005 #Hurricane #Katrina in the United States, the 2014-6 #ebola #crisis in #WestAfrica, and the 1990 Jamaat al-Muslimeen coup d'état in #TrinidadandTobago.
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S2: E7 - Constitutions of Guyana vs. Trinidad and Tobago: Ethnicity, PR and First-Past-the-Post
Watch Dr. Kirk Meighoo, PRO, United National Congress (Official Opposition in Trinidad and Tobago) as he discusses ‘Constitutions of Guyana vs. Trinidad and Tobago: Ethnicity, PR and First-Past-the-Post' with our eminent guests Timothy Hamel-Smith, Partner Emeritus at Hamel-Smith and Ralph Ramkarran, Guyanese politician, and lawyer.
Ralph Ramkarran is a politician and lawyer who served as Speaker of the National Assembly of Guyana from 2001 to 2011. He comes from a family with a long political history in Guyana.
Timothy Hamel-Smith is also a lawyer and was former President of the Senate in Trinidad and Tobago from 2010-2015. He also comes from a family with a long political history in Trinidad and Tobago.
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Trinidad and Tobago achieved Independence from the UK in 1962, and Guyana in 1966. However, the constitutions they were left with under British rule were radically different. The electoral system (Proportional Representation vs. First-Past-the-Post) was a major difference. Guyana was firmly caught in the rivalries of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the USA, affecting its development greatly, and largely negatively. Trinidad and Tobago was generally more stable and prosperous, but this may change now that Guyana has a new oil and gas industry that may be among the world's largest, while Trinidad and Tobago's over a century-old oil and gas industry has been facing many years of decline and decay.
Particularly in Trinidad and Tobago, constitutional reform issues have been on the table for two decades almost continuously. It will be instructive to compare the countries' quite different constitutions and see how they have helped or hindered progress in areas such as economic and social development, and democratic representation and accountability.
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S2: E6 - Crime and Punishment: Is the Norway Model applicable to Trinidad and Tobago?
Crime and Punishment: Is the Norway Model applicable to Trinidad & Tobago
Guests:
Tom Eberhardt, Governor of Bastøy Prison in Norway
Jayanti Lutchmedial, Senator, Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago
Crime rates vary widely from country to country. Trinidad and Tobago has sadly become one of the most murder-plagued countries in the world, measured on a per capita basis. This is like many of its Latin American neighbors and some of the other more violent, Caribbean countries, like Jamaica. Other Caribbean islands and Latin American countries, on the other hand, are remarkably murder-free.
The Netherlands, too, has one of the lowest crime rates in the world. Tied to this is its unique prison system, which has prisoner reform and re-integration at the top of its agenda.
In the 1990s, violent crime in the US was reduced drastically by different crime prevention measures, most notably lead by Mayor Rudy Giuliani in NYC, who led the world's most impressive and important turnaround effort.
What are the various crime prevention measures undertaken in various countries? Can the success of models in the #Netherlands, for example, be applied to Trinidad, which is a quite different society in many ways?
Specifically, what is the prison situation like in Trinidad and Tobago and the Netherlands? What lessons might be learned? Is there anything that we have done right in Trinidad and Tobago that others might learn from?
Joining us today to discuss these questions are Tom Eberhardt from #Norway, and Jayanti Lutchmedial from Trinidad and Tobago.
Tom Eberhardt is the Governor of Bastøy Prison in Norway, known for being one of the most successful and humane prisons on the planet. Bastoy has a completely different model for their prison, with the focus being on rehabilitation.
Jayanti Lutchmedial is a Senator in the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago. She was a former prosecutor in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and continues to practice as an Attorne
S2: E5 - Geopolitics, The New Cold War and Developing Countries
Join Dr. Kirk Meighoo, PRO, United National Congress (The official Opposition in Trinidad and Tobago) as he discusses ‘Geopolitics, The New Cold War and Developing Countries’ with our eminent guests Helga Zepp LaRouche and Ralph Maraj.
International Schiller Institute Conference June 26-27, 2021: “For the Common Good of All People, Not Rules Benefitting the Few!”. For more information and to register: https://schillerinstitute.nationbuilder.com/20210626-27-conference
Helga Zepp LaRouche is the President and founder of the International Schiller Institute in Germany, and the Bürgerrechtsbewegung Solidarität party (BüSo) (Civil Rights Movement Solidarity). Together with her late husband, the American economist, theorist and political leader, Lyndon LaRouche, she was at the forefront of spearheading the New International Economic Order for a just global economy in the 1970s and 1980s, and the World Landbridge which became the foundation of the New Silk Road in 2013.
Ralph Maraj is a former Minister of Foreign Affairs in Trinidad and Tobago, as well as a holder of other Ministerial positions. Notably, he has held Cabinet-level positions across opposing administrations in the 1990s. He is also an accomplished playwright and actor, starring in what many -- including me -- believe is the best film ever made in Trinidad and Tobago, Bim, about the rise and fall of an outsider politician.
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S2: E4 - Constitutions and Elections in Multi-Ethnic Societies: Mauritius and Trinidad and Tobago
Join Dr. Kirk Meighoo, PRO, United National Congress (Official Opposition in Trinidad and Tobago) as he discusses 'Constitutions and Elections in Multi-Ethnic Societies: Mauritius and Trinidad and Tobago' with our eminent guests Jean-Marie Richard and Timothy Hamel-Smith.
Jean-Marie Richard is Principal Consultant and CEO of Imagine Communications in Mauritius, dealing with Government and Corporate clients in Africa and the Indian Ocean particularly. He has also worked as a Communications and Media Consultant for the Ministry of Rodrigues in the Government of Mauritius.
Timothy Hamel-Smith is Partner Emeritus at Hamel-Smith, a law firm that has existed for over 110 years in Trinidad and Tobago. He is also a former President of the Senate with a notable political pedigree.
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S2: E3 - The Economics of Covid-19 Lockdowns and Opening Up
"The Economics of Covid-19 Lockdowns & Opening Up"
Guests:
Sir John Redwood, MP for Wokingham in Berkshire (UK)
Peter George, Jr. CEO of the Trent Restaurants Group (Trinidad and Tobago)
Host: Dr. Kirk Meighoo, PRO of the United National Congress
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15 months ago, Trinidad and Tobago had one of the lowest infection and death rates from covid in the world. We watched the BBC, CNN and other news outlets relay what looked like horrific situations in New York, Italy, and saw harsh lockdown measures instituted in the UK, Australia, Germany and elsewhere.
Today, the situation is reversed. We in Trinidad and Tobago are looking at some of those very countries with envy, as we see the Brit Awards, football matches, and late-night clubbing with large, maskless crowds and no social distancing in the UK, or life apparently returning to normal in New York City.
Trinidad and Tobago, on the other hand, is experiencing an upsurge of infections and deaths unlike anything experienced in the months previous, with the covid death toll this month alone exceeding all covid deaths for the previous 14 months. A severe State of Emergency has been declared, but in the meanwhile people and businesses are experiencing economic hardship on an unprecedented scale.
This raises the questions, what have the covid lockdown experiences and policies been like in different countries? What social and economic effects has it had? How have different societies coped with saving lives and livelihoods? What is the way forward?
This week, I am honoured to have as my guests Sir John Redwood from the UK, and Peter George, Jr. from Trinidad and Tobago.
Sir John Redwood is Member of Parliament for Wokingham in Berkshire. He was formerly Secretary of State for Wales in the Major government and subsequently served in the Shadow Cabinets of William Hague and Michael Howard. He was the co-chairman of the Conservative Party's Policy Review Group on Economic Competitiveness
S2: E2 - Building Global and National Health Infrastructure in the wake of Covid
"The only way that the prolonged #COVID-19 #pandemic can be stopped, is by re-thinking the solution. We must have modern #healthcaresystems in every country. This means infrastructure for public health, and for medical care delivery at modern standards, to all populations. One model for this is the U.S. Hill-Burton Act (“Hospital Survey and Construction Act of 1946,”) whose principle was to state how many hospital beds per 1,000 residents must be in each locality (at that time, 4.5), and deploy accordingly to build them, including modern equipment and staff.
Look at instances of our ability to do this today. The 1,000-bed Huoshenshan hospital was built in 12 days in Wuhan in 2020. In the U.S., multiple field hospitals were built in record time last Spring by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. We must do this simultaneously around the world.
This means that all countries must work together to accomplish this. We must put aside tensions and conflicts for the time being.
There are new strains of the SARS CoV2 that are showing up, that are more aggressive, and more transmissible. These can make vaccines obsolete... Thus, our response to the pandemic seen in these terms is a question of existential importance to the human species. It requires the cooperation of all major industrialized nations."
This is a quote from a statement by the Committee for the Coincidence of Opposites, for the Global Health Summit in Rome, May 21, 2021.
Watch Dr. Kirk Meighoo in an insightful conversation with our guests;
Dr. Joycelyn Elders, former US Surgeon General, professor emerita of pediatrics at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, pediatrician.
Dr. Tim Gopeesingh, former Cabinet Minister in the Govt of Trinidad and Tobago, former Clinical Dean of the Faculty of Medical Sciences at the University of the West Indies, gynecologic oncologist.
Marcia Merry Baker, Economics Co-Editor of the EIR News Service.
Topic: "Building Global and National Health Infrastructure
S2: E1 - Global and National Food Security in a post-covid World
During this covid crisis, it is said that we are all in the same boat. Unfortunately, this is not true: we are all only in the same storm. Some have yachts, others have rafts, and others are drowning.
The #UnitedNationsWorldFoodProgramme (WFP) currently puts the number of people at risk of starvation at more than 270 million. This is double the pre-pandemic figure. The #COVID crisis has greatly exacerbated the situation for those already suffering from #poverty, armed conflict, and other material insecurity.
While we track the 12,000+ global daily deaths from coronavirus, we have ignored the 20,000+ globally daily deaths from hunger that have been deepened by the covid lock-downs.
Global food supply chains have been disrupted, as well as the global production and distribution of food. Food security is a major issue.
What does this mean for food self-sufficiency? For farmer security? The relative roles of large corporate agriculture and smaller family farms? Food exports and food imports?
Join Dr. Kirk Meighoo in an insightful conversation with our eminent guests, Mike Callicrate and Ved Seereeram on the topic, ‘Global and National Food Security in a Post-Covid World’.
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S-1 : E-6 | Caribbean Heavy Metal and Indian Blues? Non-Traditional Music Scenes |
A Story Club: Global Politics | S - 1 : E - 3 |“Rebuilding Economies in a post-lockdown World”
