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Vol. 31, Issue 40 QUEENS/LONG ISLAND/BRONX/MANHATTAN Oct. 2-8, 2020
NO T&T
MAS
NEXT
YEAR
Bermuda fears low covid
elections turnout
By Bert Wilkinson
Apart from the protracted
closure of borders, fewer tourist
arrivals and perhaps the
unprecedented disruption of
economic activities, the COVID-
19 pandemic continues to
blight the Caribbean Community
with major developments
in the past week including the
cancellation of Trinidad’s world
class and iconic annual carnival
celebrations that should
have been held in mid February
of next year being among the
biggest of them.
Clearly frustrated with a
steady increase in positive cases
and deaths from the virus,
Prime Minister Keith Rowley
this week called off next year’s
edition of the event just at a
time when preparations would
have been cranking ahead of
the season even. He basically
said that it would be an act of
madness to even think of staging
the major foreign exchange
earning event noting the country
would be flirting with danger
to think otherwise.
“I see no future for carnival
in Trinidad and Tobago in the
months ahead. And today I can
put everyone on notice that
unless there is some dramatic
wind that will blow across us
whereby by Christmas, COVID
would be a thing of the past
— carnival 2021 is not on. It’s
just not on. Let us be thankful
we’re still alive to see each
other’s face.”
As the announcement sank
in, Opposition leader, Kamla
Persad Bissessar, the carnival
commission and fundamentalist
islanders who play mass
ritually, immediately switched
their focus to organizing carnival
in virtual form in a bid to
generate what little economic
activity there could be from a
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., speaks during the House Judiciary Committee hearing on
oversight of the Justice Department and a probe into the politicization of the department
under Attorney General William Barr, in Washington, U.S., June 24, 2020. Susan
Walsh/Pool via REUTERS
‘Donald Trump continues to take a
blow torch to our democracy’: Jeffries
By Nelson A. King
House Democratic Caucus
Chairman Hakeem Jeffries
(D-NY) and Vice Chair Katherine
Clark (D-MA) on Wednesday
held a House Democratic
Leadership press conference,
where they outlined the new
Democratic relief effort to
aid Americans suffering from
the pandemic, while blaming
President Donald J. Trump
for undermining the nation’s
democracy.
“Last night, we witnessed
a debacle as it relates to our
democracy,” said Jeffries,
whose 8th Congressional District
comprises parts of Brooklyn
and Queens, referring to
the first of what is expected to
be three presidential debates
in which Trump constantly
and rudely interrupted former
Vice President Joe Biden, the
Democratic Party nominee for
the Nov. 3 Presidential Elections.
“Donald Trump continues
to take a blow torch to our
democracy,” Jeffries added.
“Our democracy is on life
support. Only we the people,
at this point, can turn it
around.”
Clark said: “What we saw
last night is underscoring
what we already knew: the
president is going to continue
to stand back as the American
people suffer, as he stands by
white supremacists and those
who threaten our very democracy.
“But, here, in the Democratic
House Caucus, we are
renewing our commitment
to the American people,” she
added.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi,
D-Calif., expressed irritation
Wednesday over Trump’s
constant interruptions at
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