T&T Media Houses Must Step Up

This is an open letter to the managers, chief editors and directors of all media houses in Trinidad and Tobago. As one of the main watch dogs of our democracy it is imperative that an emergency meeting be convened as soon as possible during this week, and agreement arrived to give Mrs. Persad-Bissessar leader of the UNC Coalition, free air time equivalent to that which Mr. Manning hijacked by abusing legislative provisions. It is totally unacceptable for Mr. Manning to be using state resources and legislation to further his agenda and that of the PNM, it amounts to an abuse of power and an attempt to force himself upon the population of this country using unconventional, unethical and undemocratic means.

Selwyn Ryan was on the ball in his Sunday Express editorial when he articulated that MR. Manning is embracing the Burnham Doctrine of using state resources to stay in power. Mr. Manning had the opportunity to engage in a free public debate with Mrs. Persad-Bissessar that would have been aired free of charge for all to see and he and his party chose not to participate. Therefore it is nothing but a disrespect and utter contempt for the electorate that he should now turn around and bully our media into giving him free air time to say what he would have had the opportunity to say and defend if he chose to in a debate, it is cowardice and undemocratic.

The free air time given to Mrs. Persad-Bissessar should not be construed as support for the UNC Coalition, rather it should be seen for what it is, the media fulfilling their role as democractic watch dogs, fulfilling their mandate to the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago by ensuring that our democratic process is not polluted or rigged in favour of power hungry individuals. The events of this past week has been an eye opener and citizens should be of grave concern at the type of governance being proposed by the actions of Mr. Manning. I for one have no intention of waiting for the evening to arrive to find out just how disasterous the day has been, the type of governance being proposed by Mr. Manning does not appeal to me under any circumstances. ©

More questions for Manning than Volney

I see nothing wrong with what Justice Volney did. He is a citizen of this country and he is entitled to his political convictions. He did the honourable thing by resigning, and did so without being asked, he did not wait for anyone to find out that he was contemplating being a UNC candidate, nor did he wait to be 'asked' to resign under a cloud of controversy. He did so on his own volition. Considering the above I'd say Justice Volney has been quite transparent with the public of Trinidad and Tobago.

But considering that Prime Minister Manning has claimed Justice Volney has been under investigation by the security services for some time now, I want to know a couple things. How come the security services did not unearth Justice Volney's UNC dealings? Is this further proof of their vulgar inability at investigative work? Secondly why is the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago aware of a judge being investigated? Isn't that the job of the Police Commissioner and DPP? And if so then why does Mr. Manning have access to such information? Is Mr. Manning interfering with the independence of the security services and Judiciary?

The burning question of them all, how come Mr. Manning did not question Calder Hart’s integrity and still to this day does not question Calder Hart’s integrity, despite the fact that the PNM Attorney John Jeremie has indicated that he initiated a criminal probe into Mr. Hart since late 2009? Why is it okay for Mr. Manning to meet personally with a public figure who is being investigated by the Attorney General and who subsequently leaves the country after said personal meeting with Mr. Manning, but it is wrong for Justice Volney to voluntarily resign as a judge and make it known to all and sundry in a most public affair his intentions of being a UNC candidate?

I do believe our Prime Minister has once again a case to answer.

PNM Education

So apparently the PNM faithful were mesmerised by a 15 year old who attends QRC and spoke at the PNM’s political meeting in Maloney on Monday night, so mesmerized were they that according to the Express’ report, he had the crowd ‘hanging on his every word.’ Apparently the crowd became so disruptive by this young man’s speech that they had to play the PNM’s political road march song to bring some order.

So what exactly were some of the utterances of this PNM golden child? I quote in verbatim “Look in your own house, are there any coal pots? Fireside? Fibre mattress? Buffalo pillows?” and the crowd responded with a resounding no! He then continued “Or do you say flat screen TV, a car in the garage, a computer. Ladies and gentlemen we are a prosperous people. Yet there are people trying to convince you that the economy is in bad shape, but on the other hand in their mouths are promising pensioners $3,000 a month. Do you believe that? Are they trying to insult your intelligence?” Is it just me or does it seem that only people of little intelligence would have regarded this young speaker as some sought of political guru?

First of all the references to the coal pots, fibre mattresses etc as a sign of economic stability are quite silly. Once again here is the PNM, using a youth to boot, preaching to the illiterate faithful and trying to convince them that somehow or the other the PNM is responsible for global modernity and technological advancement. Next thing you know they will tell you be grateful to the balisier because you have a blackberry phone and you don't have to use a pay phone! And apparently Serta, Lensyl and Restonic all got their ideas of using reinforced foam and springs to make mattresses in the 21st century from the PNM government! No more fibre mattresses, all hail Manning! Oh and by the way, someone should indicate to PNM members that if you have a fireside in your house then you probably live in one of those big houses in Maraval, possibly on Calder Hart’s street! Although why you would have a fireside in the Caribbean eludes me but a fireside ‘inside’ of your house is in fact not a sign of poverty ask the Canadians!

Then there is the equating of material things with prosperity. Only a fool will believe having many material things is a sign of prosperity, that is what I refer to as the 'ghetto mentality'. You can have flat screen TVs, an expensive car, the latest laptop and be dead broke, bankrupt or up to your neck in debt. Furthermore none of these items mentioned are 'investments', they are either expenses or luxuries, which while they may be amusing and entertaining, they add no significant value to your life or your well being. So once again the PNM imbuing the minds of their followers with garbage and they lap it up like hungry dogs. My amusement reigns supreme!

Trespassing Prime Minister

The incident reported in the media on Tuesday regarding Prime Minister Patrick Manning, his security detail and an 81 year old pensioner has raised some serious issues regarding the protection of citizen’s rights and property, and their insulation from the political directorate. The gentleman made it quite clear to Mr. Manning that he did not want him on his property, he was quoted as telling Mr. Manning ‘You’re not welcomed here I want nothing to do with you’. Mr. Manning then proceeds to ignore the admonition of the property owner and decides to ‘brush’ pass him onto his property which then caused the gentleman to take hold of Mr. Manning by the shoulders telling him “You didn’t hear what I say? You’re not welcome here!”

At this point Mr. Manning’s security detail sprung into action to separate the two and proceeded to tell the owner of the property “You cannot do that, you cannot touch the Prime Minister!”, to which the pensioner appropriately responded “You have to be mad this is my house!” When I read this news article and saw the clipping on the evening news, chills ran down my spine and it should have the same effect on you. If this incident isn’t a clear example and more proof that our politicians are clearly out of control then I do not know what is. What right does the Prime Minister have to trespass on the private property of citizens of this country? Is Patrick Manning above the law? When a Prime Minister acts with such scant regard for the laws of the land is it any wonder that the police officers of this country also feel they have the right to enter people’s property unannounced and without the express authority of the owners or necessary court sanctioned warrants?

Can this pensioner, I or any other citizen of this country simply enter Mr. Manning’s Diplomatic centre at whim, even if security personnel tell us we can’t enter? What was even more surprising is that one of Mr. Manning’s security detail reportedly admonished the pensioner telling him ‘You lucky, you cannot touch the Prime Minister….no matter what you are not supposed to touch the Prime Minister” , at which point the pensioner again declared in astonishment “You must be mad this is my house!” Rightly so, the only explanation that could be given for Mr. Manning and his security detail is that they are in fact mad. What does the security detail mean no matter what you are not supposed to touch the Prime Minister? Ironically the same security detail did not admonish any other individuals who chose to ‘touch’ the Prime Minister by shaking his hand. It reminds me of a couple years ago I had to face a visibly upset member of Mr. Manning’s detail glowering at me because I refused to wind my glass down to shake the Prime Minister’s hand while stuck in traffic.

According to the laws of the land if someone trespasses and invades your home aren’t you permitted within the law to defend yourself and property? I saw the clipping on the evening news; Mr. Manning virtually brushed aside the gentleman on his own property! Do citizens not have the right to defend themselves and their property in this country anymore? Since when because a person is Prime Minister they can enter the private homes of citizens at whim, whenever they feel like without the property owner’s permission? The security detail then proceeded to stay on the pensioner’s property after Mr. Manning left further compounding the illegal trespassing of private property of a citizen of our democratic Republic. Perhaps Mr. Philbert or whomsoever is in charge of the Prime Minister’s detail should have some legal workshops with the PM’s security detail so they won’t come across as being so totally ignorant to the laws of our land.

For instance the pensioner explicitly told the Prime Minister to not enter his premises, the Prime Minister in his usual arrogant manner ignored the gentleman and proceeded to break the laws of our Democratic Republic by entering the man’s property. Not only was this illegal it was also unnecessary harassment and provocation of a citizen of our country, it was an abuse and invasion of the pensioner’s private property and the pensioner therefore had every right to seek to remove Mr. Manning and defend his property even if it means removing Mr. Manning physically. The person whom the security detail should have admonished was Mr. Manning, he should have pulled the PM aside and politely advise him that even though he is the Prime Minister, he is still subject to the laws and bound by the constitution of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and therefore it would be an illegal act to enter this pensioner’s property as he has so explicitly indicated he does not want you on his property.

If the Prime Minister can brazenly disregard the citizens of this country and enter our homes whenever he feels like then something is terribly wrong in our country. Fellow citizens, do not take this incident lightly, pay close attention to the actions of our politicians. Something terribly ugly has happened to our political system, we now live in a country where our public servants act as Kings and Lords over us believing they can say whatever they want to us, not account to us for their actions and now enter the sanctity of our homes without our permission. I would really appreciate if Mr. Maharaj, Garvin Nicholas, Gillian Lucky or some other legal luminary within our country pay this pensioner a visit pro bono and see what legal course he can take considering the Prime Minister and his security detail’s illegal trespassing on his property as well as being unnecessarily threatened and harassed by the Prime Minister’s security detail because he sought to defend his home. I’m calling on my fellow citizens, wake up! Arise from your slumber! Our democratic rights and freedoms are under severe attack, we are losing this country everyday to the arrogance of our politicians and pretty soon one day we will get up one morning and realize we are prisoners in our own country. ©

PNM running out of spin material

Evidently there is a strong belief in the minds of the current PNM Government members that the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago are by and large a bunch of complete idiots. First there was the 'Minister of Souls' Dr. Dick-Forde, indicating to us that we should be ashamed for exercising our democratic rights by demanding transparency and accountability with regards state enterprise UDECOTT and it's chairman Calder Hart. Apparently citizens asking questions about the clear breaches of procurement practices by UDECOTT revealed by the UFF Commission and the demand for Mr. Calder Hart's resignation in light of allegations of family links in the awarding of billion dollar contracts have some how not succeded in alerting the government into thinking that something may be seriously wrong with UDECOTT, rather it has apparently caused great offense to the rank and file of the PNM Government.

Then there is Attorney General John Jeremie who claims to have launched a criminal probe into Mr. Calder Hart since September 2009, yet this criminal probe was unable to confirm what Mr. Khan revealed about Mr. Hart's family links at the UFF Commisson despite having been commissioned by Mr. Jeremie almost six months ago. Instead the COP, a political organisation which does not have any of the resources available to the Attorney General, was cable of obtaining documents from the Malaysian Government within weeks for a small fee of USD $3000.00. Not only does this situation call into question the efficiency of the Attorney General and whichever investigating authority he selected to carry out this criminal probe it also raises questions about Government's committment to get to the bottom of the allegations against Mr. Hart and UDECOTT if ever there was a committment in the first place.

Enter Mr. Parsanlal who at this Thursday's weekly cabinet media briefing, went on record as saying government's reason for not taking action against Mr. Hart sooner was due to the fact that all that existed with regards Mr. Hart and UDECOTT were allegations. Apparently it has eluded the government and continues to elude the Government that these very allegations which they the government claim they could not have acted upon, are the same allegations which resulted in the COP uncovering the Malaysian documents establishing the family ties to Mr. Hart and CH Development, it is the same allegations that revealed breach of procurement practices by UDECOTT and identified the fax number on CH Development correspondence as belonging to that of none other than Mr. Calder Hart.

Everyday I watch in amazement as the PNM government single handedly engages in a mission of spin and denial, an action which would have no doubt stir the ire of a population in other parts of the world so much so that there would have been a coup and forceful removal of government. I do believe that it is the passive nature of the Trinbagonian people that this PNM government is erroneously mistaking for naivety. Make no mistake about it, the citizens of this country are increasingly becoming agitated of the arrogant nature of our elected officials and the PNM will pay dearly for the ill treatment and disrespect they have dished out to the citizens of this country in abundance and no amount of spin will deliver them from the impending Political castration.

CARICOM BLOCKED FROM LANDING IN HAITI....AND RIGHTFULLY SO!!!

Within hours of the 7.0 magnitude eathquake hitting the capital of Haiti, the United States Government had already started to mobilise a national co-ordinated effort to assist the people of Haiti. US forces were dispatched; aid supplies were already being collected for dispatch. US generals had already worked out the logistics as to what machinery, military boats and air craft were to be dispatched as well as how many personnel they would need on the ground, by Monday there will be 10,000 US military personnel in Haiti.

By day two of this tragedy US forces had already landed in Haiti along with rescue units from other countries (none from Caricom). US forces had already landed in Haiti before President Obama made his first speech about the tragedy in Haiti with a Chinese relief team being first to arrive. It was only on Saturday four days after tragedy struck Haiti that the first senior western official arrived in Haiti in the form of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

The USA means business in its efforts to assist the Haitian people. With the consent of the Haitian government they have received permission to take over Haitian land and air space as well as permission for US doctors to operate on Haitian citizens before receiving licenses to do so from the Haitian government. The US’ response to Haiti has been aggressive if nothing else and the Obama Administration must be soundly commended for a rescue mission well executed.

Compare that with the weak, feeble and most embarrassing response of Haiti’s brothers and sisters in the form of CARICOM, an organisation that has most certainly demonstrated its irrelevance and gross impotence if nothing else through its embarrassing response to the crisis facing its Haitian brothers and sisters. Instead of quickly organising aid and military relief what does Caricom do? They send a team of technocrats to ‘assess’ what the Haitian people need (read they went to Haiti for photo ops!), as if the fucking pictures circulating on BBC and CNN weren’t enough! Imagine American military planes and boats are busy arriving with resuce teams, military personnel, food and medical aid, and Caricom sends a delegation with their hands swinging and they expect to get clearance to land? Manning promises the Haitian people US $1 million, but with the Haitian banks in literal ruin I wonder if it occurs to Patrick Manning that US $1 million is about as worthless as toilet paper to the average Haitian? Are the Haitian’s going to make fish broth with the money?

The Haitian government has been virtually crippled so they themselves do not have the infrastructure and expertise to properly utilise US $1 million even if they did get it in cash which would mean that the Manning Administration would have to wait months to give that money to the Haitian government for them to get all the administrative expertise in place, and while waiting for this to happen how many Haitians would have died if it wasn’t for the US government? Then Mr. Manning says the T&T government is ‘considering’ using one of the fast ferry boats to deliver supplies to Haiti. Again, considering? People are buried dying or waiting to die. Those that aren’t are starving or running out of basics like water but yet still the Patrick Manning Administration is ‘considering’ whether to use one of the fast ferries to send supplies to Haiti!

I have not heard a single CARICOM country issue military aid to Haiti. Why did Manning not send a battalion of our Defence Force instead? After all these guys do nothing year after year but perform their function as ‘NATIONAL SECURITY GUARDS’. A batch of T&T soldiers despatched with medical aid, doctors, food and building material would have been a better gift to the Haitian people than US $1 million dollars.

CARICOM has passed up on a golden moment to stake their claim in the region and earn their respect from the Western powers. Instead of effecting an aggressive co-ordinated relief effort to assist Haitians Caricom has only succeeded in booking a date to have "consultations" in Dominica. Once again Caricom has demonstrated to the world that they are nothing but an old boys club whose only capability is that of holding talks and summits. Caricom’s weak response to Haiti demonstrates that the region's tax payers are not getting value for money because should there be a tragedy of catastrophic proportions within the region Caricom is not prepared, equipped or capable to deal with it and the situation in Haiti is blatant proof of this fact.

Is it any wonder then that the US authorities refused to allow the Caricom delegation to land? What purpose would the Caricom delegation have served other than to slow down the aid operations, depress Mr. Preval with a bunch of meaningless bureaucratic bullshit talk while offering no immediate assistance to his people while they starve and rot in the streets of Port au Prince? Get real CARICOM! I doubt very much it was a coincidence you were blocked from landing in Haiti and rightfully so, you would have proved to be nothing but an annoying fly buzzing in the face of the US administration.

Our Prime Minister the 'Optimist'

Our Prime Minister's signature was the only signature standing at the conclusion of the Summit of the Americas yet he hailed that Summit as a huge success.

Long before his return, news media the world over reported that the meeting in Copenhagen was a colossal failure without the arrival of a consensus, with several nations accusing the USA of using dirty back door deals and acting like a bully. The Cuban Foreign Minister went as far as calling President Obama an 'imperial and arrogant liar'.

Yet still our Prime Minister returns to us with the confidence of a man who has the world in his hands and declares Copenhagen a 'success'. If nothing else, Trinbagonians can boast of having the most optimistic Prime Minister the world has ever seen. Whether that optimism improves our Prime Minister's leadership qualities and decision making remains a mystery. ©

Liberty

A portrait of the French revolution...after the plebs beheaded their bastard king who bankrupted their country.....and the flag didn't cost them $2 million....And here in T&T they want to talk about patriotism!!!!!! Gary, Patrick et al better becareful less they get what they asking for!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dictator Logic

Not a year goes by without there being massive protest to accompany the G20 Summit of the world’s richest countries. As a matter of fact such protests are now seen as an integral activity preceding this Summit by international activist organisations. This year's G20 summit saw about 35,000 people assemble for protest action in London. Apart from literal protests many of these organisations send the G20 committees submissions, outlining their disagreement with certain policies or proposing new policies as a way forward for the citizens whose lives will be affected by the decisions made by the G20 leaders.

When one considers the above one really has to wonder if Patrick Manning is truly interested in making this country a developed country by 2020 and if he is, what exactly his definition is of developed country. Does his definition only include the construction of tall buildings, having an executive president and the ability to host summits (Political tea parties)? Or is it to enhance the standard of living for the citizens of this country through responsible leadership, diligent fiscal policies and the enhancement of and promotion of citizen’s democratic rights?

These questions must be asked because during the last Summit of Americas held in Port of Spain there was a dire breach of citizens rights through the setting up of a security zone around the Hyatt by the government. This was an outright illegal act as such powers falls under the Commissioner of Police and not Cabinet, a point Senator Dana Seetahal has repeatedly raised in the senate. What we had for the Summit of the Americas was a limited State of Emergency without the actual declaration of a State of Emergency. This action by government shows a worrying trend with regards its attitude for the rule of democracy and the rights of the citizens to whom they are accountable.

In addition to the above we saw the Government through its puppet James Philbert, trample on the citizens right to Freedom of Speech by refusing permission for Trade Unions and other interests groups from holding any type of march or protest in Port of Spain. Even at the Drummit for De Summit 2 in St. James which I attended, the police attempted to shut us down and came out in full riot gear for us despite the distance between us and the Hyatt. Freedom of speech in Trinidad and Tobago is under serious threat by this Patrick Manning led government. First of all it boggles the mind why with the existence of the Human Rights Charter as decreed by the United Nations, why we even have a law that states we must request permission from our Police Commissioner if we want to protest, are we living in a police state or are we living in a democracy? Someone needs to challenge the legitimacy of that law because it is in direct conflict to the following Human Rights declarations to which our country is a signatory:-

Human Rights 13, 18 – 21

13) Freedom of Movement

18) Freedom of thought

19) Freedom of Expression

20) Freedom to meet where you like

21) The right to democracy

With these rights in mind I couldn’t help but acquire a sour taste in my mouth when I saw on TV tonight, none other but our smiling dimpled face Prime Minister on the news saying that if anyone should protest during the upcoming Common Wealth Heads of Government Meeting they will not be embarrassing the government they will be embarrassing the country. That is nothing short of psychological political warfare, it is gutter snipe dictatorship logic. Citizens need to tell Patrick exactly where to get off with this empire like attitude thinking that citizens ought to hold some bizarre balisier ritual by walking over hot coals barefoot in honour of the father of the nation. Patrick’s claim that protesters will embarrass the country is akin to a relative telling a battered woman not to tell the police how her husband beating the living hell out of her because it will embarrass the ‘family’. Freedom of speech and freedom to assemble are not only our democratic rights they are also our human rights. It is indeed a travesty for a politician who was elected democratically to be so opposed to citizens exercising their democratic rights because what that does is illegitimise his very position as a ‘democratic’ leader. ©

You've Been Blogged!

The elusive media in Trinidad and Tobago (Elusive only to the control of those sitting on the government benches in parliament) continues to be a hot topic (they just can’t stop bitch) amongst the stooges of a megalomaniac Politobot, who has mastered the art of being the first human transformer, perpetually transforming himself between democrat and despot, indecisive of which he ought to be. The latest round of bitching comes from decepticon Swaratsingh who has been quoted as saying “It always amazes me that you choose to spend the post-Cabinet news conference thinking about what you want to ask a person who is not present!” In his always captivating commentaries Paolo Kernahan in his weekly skews pointed out that in relation to Swaratsingh’s claim above, it amuses him that Swaratsingh thinks they (the media) don’t know that the ‘missing persons’ are actually made to be absent.

I would just like to add to Paolo’s observation that I too am amazed that unlike the Government, what Swaratsingh fails to realise is the media engages in preparation and planning before they arrive at the press conference, they do not wait until they are actually there to ask questions by ‘vaps’. Just because the Government to which Mr. Swaratsingh is affiliated does everything under the sun by ‘vaps’, from answering or more so ignoring questions in parliament by ‘vaps’, or granting by ’vaps’ billions of dollars and contracts to that ‘state mutant’ fondly know amongst the plebs as UDECOTT, doesn’t mean that the media which seeks the public’s interest will follow suit.

Swaratsingh continued by saying “Unfortunately, you do not get to make decisions as to who comes to the post-Cabinet news conference...” Paolo has accurately identified the fact in his article Meet De Press, that Swaratsingh’s comments reflect the fact that the post-Cabinet news conference is used as a propaganda mechanism by the government. I would like to add to Paolo’s observation and go even further by saying Swaratsingh’s stated position reveals Government’s desire to control everything in this country. As far as this government is concerned the citizens of this country ought not to have brains, and ought not to use those brains to think for themselves. We are expected to bow before the PNM Pharoahs and flock to the PNM Educational Meetings in the thousands declaring magnanimous smiles on our faces if only to have a droplet of Patrick Manning’s saliva splash onto our faces and bless us as he screams into the mic at sonic high pitch about his government’s 2020 vision which as each day goes by looks more like 4040 vision.

Paolo has alluded that the sooner Government realises that not all reporters are employed by the Government Information Service there will be a different relationship between the media and the Government. I say the sooner Government realises that the media is not serving a four year term nor does it have to face the electorate anytime in the near future the more respect they (the Government) will have for the media. The media by default has a much longer expiration date than any political party or Government which is why they will always have the support and trust of the people. As sexy as Patrick Manning may believe his conniving dimples to be, nothing turns me on more (stirs my civic consciousness) than reading a piece written by Paolo or another of my favourites such as Martin Daly, Raffique Shah or Judy Raymond.

Paolo is quite right by saying if the government continues to attack and undermine the media, what they will do is create a vacuum effect much like when the foolish Americans removed Saddam and indirectly precipitated the rise of the Taliban. What decepticons like Swaratsingh and Parsanlal fail to realise is they are indirectly contributing to the proliferation of bloggers such as myself who are not beholden to any media association and who will not be so forgiving and willing to use ‘tact’ to express our dissatisfaction with the bullshit that is passed off as ‘responsible governance’ by this current PNM Administration. As Paolo has rightly said these decepticon stooges are only inflaming the public with their gimmicks. So due to your repetitive ‘bitching’ about the media......Swaratsingh......YOU HAVE BEEN BLOGGED! ©

A Shame Upon Our Nation

The Government of Trinidad and Tobago has dealt a severe blow to the human rights image of this country by presiding over blatant modern day slavery. I say hats off to the Chinese labourers who had the courage to say enough is enough and take a stand against the grotesque treatment being meted out to them by the Chinese company which brought them here to replace national workers. Imagine the Chinese project manager had the audacity to say that they are Chinese, in attempt to justify the horrendous living conditions of these workers. Ancil Rogette had an apt response, “We are Trinidadians and what you are doing here is against the laws of Trinidad and Tobago and not in sync with the ‘standards’ that we have set!”

I also say hats off to the OWTU for throwing their support behind these Chinese workers despite the local Trade Union Movement’s initial and continued objection to foreign labour replacing our own local labour in this current global financial stagnation. The rights of workers and more importantly the fundamental human rights of individuals must always take precedence at all times.

This Government has brought a humongous shame and disgrace upon the human rights image of this country by presiding over this modern day enslavement of Chinese workers despite us being a member of the Human Rights Charter. The deplorable conditions in which these Chinese workers are asked to live are also in breach of our own OSHA and other labour and social laws. Imagine a hundred plus people living in these 4x4 compartments with small wooden windows as ventilation, no air condition units to deal with this humidity, no washing area and one kitchen. Come on Trinidadians we should be ashamed to have foreigners living in such squalid conditions in our twin island under sun. When the foreign media gets a hold of this story, which foreigner is going to believe the paradisiacal pictures on our tourism brochures on display in our Foreign Missions and Embassies?

Not only has Patrick Manning sacrificed our treasury on an alter the way Abraham slaughtered a lamb to appease Yahweh, Patrick is now seeking to sacrifice the image and reputation of our country’s flaying human rights record (the crime rate is doing its own damage) to achieve his deluded dreams of a herculean legacy, demonstrating that he is willing to go any lengths including turning a blind eye to clear breaches of human rights. Not a week goes by in this country without shame falling before the feet of our citizens. Our corruption index is at an all time low because of the revalations coming out of the UFF Commission and now our human rights record is due to be raped. Is there anything that Patrick Manning intends on leaving in tack after he demits the lofty office of ‘God Prime Minister’? ©

Lead Poisoning from Chinese Smelter

Over 600 children get lead poisoning in China after smelter leak but Manning say full spead ahead with Alutrint.....Patrick....we stepping up wid you!!!!!!! Ya Industrial Poof!

Woe Is Man

God created man and said his creation was good. Then he created the other sex and realised that the other sex was manipulative and spiteful against the man! And so God named the other sex Woe is Man, because the other sex distressed and mislead the man, hence the acronym 'woman'. lol Author - Oke Zachary ©

Tales of procrastinating assassins and a slow moving target

Not to be out done by Dr. Tim Goopeesingh and his claim of ‘ethnic cleansing’ against doctors of East Indian descent who make up 80% of the doctors in our fragile health sector, Mr. Manning in true classical envious style noticeable in most ten year old boys unceremoniously grabs the lime light from the Dr. with his dubious claims of attempts against his life. The first thing that is highly suspicious about the Prime Minister’s revelation is the fact that he made this disclosure on the exact same day four years prior.

Now it is a clear cut case that who so ever hired these would be assassins made a fatal error in judgement by not outsourcing the job! How else can one explain the procrastination of these would be assassins to not even ‘make an attempt’ on the Prime Minister’s life after four years of their last threat? If these were foreign assassins I’m sure the job would have been done already but it seems that in an attempt to cut cost due to the turbulent global financial crisis, Mr. Manning’s enemies hired local assassins ‘CEPEP style’, that could be the only logical explanation one could deduce from their procrastination with regard to not even making an attempt at the job. These local would be assassins seem quite content with issuing threats that is so typical of a Trini, all mouth and no action.

The mere fact that Mr. Manning’s would be assassins have not even made an attempt to kill him is not the most startling of this scenario, what is startling and alarming is the manner in which Mr. Manning disclosed these threats and his subsequent explanations of why he didn’t report it when they were actually made. First of all one must understand that Mr. Manning’s security detail is nothing like Obama’s. For instance when Obama is in town (in the US that is) areas are cordoned off with the possibility of several blocks being closed. When Obama’s detail passes by they use electronic devices to jam electronic signals, so for instance mobile phones, walkie-talkies, wireless routers etc would be quite useless. Scouts are sent out before Mr. Obama’s security detail arrives at the destination and he has a decoy limo.

I am not aware of Mr. Manning having a decoy Mercedes Benz. I’m not aware of scouts being sent ahead for Mr. Manning and his detail and I’m not aware of Mr. Manning’s detail using electronic jamming devices. For instance while on Frederick Street, if Mr. Manning’s detail passes I can still text my girlfriend and tell her what a bamcee I think our Prime Minister is and she will receive it and have a humungous smile on her face before his shiny ride makes the corner. Mr. Manning is currently attending open village educational meetings with none of the hi-tech security detail Mr. Obama has, he walks through crowds that have not been scouted prior to his arrival and he speaks at podiums without any bullet proof glass. Mr. Manning is basically a slow moving target, yet still after four years these would be assassins are unable to get the job done. I’m certain by now there is a cost over run on this hit placed on Mr. Manning’s big, yuh can’t miss it head!

The other issue I have with Mr. Manning’s assassination revelation is the fact that he did not report it to the Police at the time, because the Police Commissioner from all reports was unaware of this threat that was made against Mr. Manning’s life hence he only appointed a senior officer a couple days ago to begin an investigation into the matter. Now I’m not sure if citizens understand the seriousness in this issue you see, this is a man who is the head of the Caricom Security Council, yet he seems totally void of any knowledge with regards to the procedures to be followed when a head of government receives a death threat. How can Mr. Manning make any valid contribution to the Caricom Security Council when he does not report a threat against his own life to the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service? How much more is he going to make us the laughing stock of the Caribbean community with this type of folly? Imagine this is a Prime Minister who along with his Minister of National Insecurity boasts about illegal institutions created by themselves namely SAUTT, they boast about the BLIMP and defend the millions spent on acquiring it, they pride themselves in talking about Crime Stoppers yet the Prime Minister of this country does not use these resources to establish who is making threats against his life? Why then should we be surprised that crime continues unabated in this country?

In the United States a sitting President receives hundreds of hate mail letters on a daily basis and every single one every single threat is investigated by the CIA. You can create a blog and be racist about Obama, you can talk about how big you think his head is you can say what you like, but dare say you are going to kill him and the CIA will be knocking at your door within the time it takes you to shut down your computer. Your computer will be confiscated, your house raided, you will be detained for how long they see it fit to investigate you along with your family. Someone walks into the Minister of Local Government’s office as if they are a girl scout selling brownies to tell Hazel Manning that someone is plotting to kill the Prime Minister her husband and they both do not report it to our protective services. The person who delivered the news is not questioned or detained and attempts made to trace the source of the threat. And now I’m wondering if Mr. Manning’s handling of threats made against his life is not a reflection of his attitude toward citizen’s cries for a solution to the rampant crime.

What peeved me most is Mr. Manning’s claim that if he reported the threat at the time certain people would have been killed and there would have been bloodshed. Now granted Mr. Manning’s comments were outside the walls of Parliament they reek of the same putrid smell of insincerity and untruth as Dr. Goopeesingh’s claims of ethnic cleansing. Trinidad and Tobago is probably the world’s most noted country for having politicians who bring the name of their own country into disrepute on the international scene by the irresponsible claims they make. Mr. Manning is the Prime Minister of this country therefore whatever comes out of his mouth is reported beyond our shores. By Mr. Manning claiming there would have been bloodshed had he reported the threat against his life he in effect told the international community that Trinibagonians are a violent irrational people. Thanks a mil Patrick! At least we will not have to pay anything over your death similar to how we will ‘pay in blood’ if we do not involve ourselves in your dubious economic union with Caribbean countries that have some of the weakest economies in the region, at least if your death occurs the blood will be free!

Such is the magnitude of Mr. Manning’s self importance that he is deluded into thinking someone would not only ‘waste’ their time to kill a third world non entity politician like himself, he actually believes that the citizens of this country would give a hoot to the point that we will go on a violent rampage over his death. I have heard of self professed Christians but self professed martyrs are a bit too much for me to digest. Mr. Manning has followed in the footsteps of Dr. Goopeesingh by degrading and embarrassing our country. I raised this issue of Dr. Goopeesingh’s claims of ethnic cleansing and I will raise it again with Mr. Manning’s dubious claims of assassination threats, as a people it is time we reel in our politicians because by their actions and words they are clearly out of control.

As of now I don’t know which is doing this country more harm, the rampant crime or the insensitive stupid remarks by our politicians. These are the people who when they speak the international community forms an opinion, an opinion not about them as individuals but an opinion of us as a nation. It is blatantly clear that Mr. Manning’s claim of death threats is nothing but a red herring to detract from those calling for an investigation into the 1990 coup. Being accustomed to putting his foot in his mouth what Mr. Manning does not realise is if after 19 years since the attempted coup he is still receiving death threats as our head of government it means the issues of 1990 have not been resolved and there are many unanswered questions. If Mr. Manning is really concerned about his legacy he should be concerned about not leaving a legacy of unanswered questions for the future generations to come and concerned about not leaving a tarnished image of our country by making irresponsible claims. Such behaviour simply does not convert to political currency! ©

Of Race, Politics and Perpetual Opposition

"The attempt to create ethnically homogeneous geographic areas through the deportation or forcible displacement of persons belonging to particular ethnic groups. Ethnic cleansing sometimes involves the removal of all physical vestiges of the targeted group through the destruction of monuments, cemeteries, and houses of worship." The preceding paragraph was quoted in verbatim from the Encyclopedia Britannica as the definition for the term ethnic cleansing. One can imagine my utter confusion upon hearing Dr. Tim Goopeesingh's claim that Indo doctors in Trinidad and Tobago were victims of ethnic cleansing at the hands of the PNM government. I had to take a double take the following day when I saw it emblazoned on the front page of the Express and I asked myself, does Dr. Goopeesingh really know the meaning of the term ethnic cleansing?

And why ethnic cleansing of Indo doctors? Why would the PNM commit such an act against Indo doctors and not against Indo teachers, or Indo doubles vendors or Indo police officers? Is it that Indo doctors are a different type of Indian to the others of different professions in this country? And since when does ethnic cleansing focus on a person's profession? If this is the case then shouldn't there be a new definition, 'ethnic profession cleansing' perhaps? But I digress, the fact remains that Dr. Goopesingh is only reminding the voting population in this country why he and by extension the UNC is and will continue to be in Opposition. It's as if the UNC is always trying to compete with itself on making the most irresponsible and stupid statements. How can this man stand up in our country's highest office, the Parliament and utter this foolishness? After reading his claim and watching his charade on the evening news I envisioned a foreigner coming across these news headlines on the internet, and out of curosity as these things often generate I could imagine the foreigner reading further to find out how many millions of Indo doctors were displaced and violently chased out of Trinidad and Tobago due to this ethnic cleansing, only to realise that no such thing exist in Trinidad and Tobago and what we do in fact need is an idiot cleansing of our Parliament!

It is truly amazing how the UNC sees race in everything, the most uttered word by UNC representatives is the diminutive "Indo". So as someone of Non-Indo background I ask myself, do these people seriously expect me to vote for them come election time when they, by their own deeds, actions and utterances are doing the very same thing they accuse the PNM of i.e. as the Opposition they simply ignore the other ethnic groups in this country and are not concerned about us or what bothers us as citizens of this multi-ethnic country! You would swear the UNC is an Opposition party in the Republic of India and not the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago! How come the UNC does not see ethnic cleansing in the granting of billion dollar contracts by the PNM government to Indos like Hafeez Karamath, contracts which were the subject of a commission of inquiry? How come they don't see ethnic cleansing in the granting of billion dollar contracts to people like Emille Elias granted he is not an Indo, or is it that anytime the PNM government does not hire or grant an Indo a contract it is automatically construed as being ethnic cleansing and racial discrimination?

Would I be guilty of ethnic cleansing if I do not vote for an Indo centric political party in a multi-ethnic society? And now certain members of certain Indo groups are calling for a Commission of Enquiry into Dr. Goopesingh's claim. Well I buckled with laughter at the folly of these people, tears in my eyes. Don't they know that a Commission of Enquiry does not have the authority to prosecute? Ethnic-Cleansing is a war 'crime' and as such it has to be investigated by an International Body such as the United Nations and the perpetrators are to be tried by International Courts. In addition the first thing to quelling an act of ethnic cleansing is the deployment of international troops to the affected area, so my question to good ole Tim is, are you also going to request the presence of the "boys in blue helmets"? Can I look forward to relaxing by the fountain at the Hyatt whilst watching a UN armoured tank roll by languidly on Wrightson Road? Do these jokers really think a Commission of Enquiry can do all of this? And who is going to appoint the Commission of Enquiry, the same PNM Government that they are accusing of the ethnic cleansing? Clearly some people's ignorance knows no bounds! The UNC is a dead weight to itself and that is why it will forever rot in perpetual Opposition because instead of presenting themselves as a viable alternative for governance, they're only concerned about dividing this country and spreading racial hatred. ©