UNC Needs Reality Check

Oil rich nation Saudi Arabia which is far wealthier than Trinidad and Tobago in a clear depature from it's decade old generous welfare system has moved to slash subsidies due to the fall in oil prices.  Long accustomed to cheap utilities Saudi's were shocked when their government told them they have to pay extra for fuel, electricity, water and plane tickets. Prices on fuel products were increased by 50%. Saudi Finance Minister is quoted as saying "We have to rationalize unneccessary spending...this requires changes to focus on essential spending.

In light of this information citizens must question pronouncements made by the UNC Opposition Leader in criticizing the Dr. Rowley led PNM Government for first implementing small increases in the price of fuel and seeking to make savings in social programmes such as the food card and free school books for children.

The attempt by Mrs. Persad-Biessessar to blame the new PNM government for our economic woes in light of the excessive waste which occured under her stewardship and in light of prevailing global economic conditions has left many citizens in bewilderment. Is it that the irrational comments coming from the UNC camp is a glimpse of the disaster that awaited us had we retained them in Government?

If the UNC was truly serious about governance they will not at this time be criticizing the PNM Government for making neccessary cuts, they would instead be doing its own work in identifying additional areas of waste/unnecessary spending and pointing these out to the PNM Government.

What we are witnessing from the UNC Opposition is it's continued failures as a political vehicle. The UNC has never been a Government in waiting but a political party in waiting because they lack the necessary Governance philosophy to be a "constructive" alternative. The philosophy and politics of the UNC has always bordered on anarchism, rendering them politically handicap. Thus they often miss obvious opportunities to demonstrate their political worth to the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago. Notwithstanding the recent bruising internal elections, one thing remains abundantly clear, that the UNC and its political leader are in dire need of a reality check.

What is the purpose of camouflage law?

Can any of the legal luminaries in Trinidad and Tobago explain the purpose of having a law that prevents citizens from wearing camouflage clothing in Trinidad and Tobago? Both the UK and USA are countries that have vast military histories, have both engaged in World Wars and have active military operations currently across the globe, yet their citizens are free to wear camouflage clothing, while in Trinidad and Tobago, a country whose regiment has never fought an external threat, citizens are prohibited from wearing camouflage clothing. Why?

I have heard that its to prevent criminals from impersonating a soldier. That has to be the most stupid justification I have ever heard. What does it matter whether criminals impersonate a soldier or not? Furthermore why would any criminal want to impersonate a soldier unless they're completely stupid as they would stand out? Soldiers have no authority to arrest or question civilians outside an SOE. Even if God forbid the current Defense Amendment Bill is passed the soldiers will still have to be accompanied by a police officer if they are to make an arrest. So why would any citizen who has at least 5% knowledge of what his rights are entertain interacting with any batch of soldiers outside an SOE? If I hear a knock on my door at 1 am and I look out the window and see a batch of soldiers and no police officers, it does not matter whether they are bandits dressed as soldiers or real soldiers, I am calling the police!! Furthermore how does preventing citizens from wearing camouflage prevent rogue soldiers from renting out their uniforms as occurs under the existing law? 

Many times soldiers wear a green or red t-shirt, I'm surprised they have not banned us from wearing those too, the law is that stupid! Please, would our legislators use some initiative and relegate that stupid camouflage law to the obsolete bin? I think it is totally embarrassing to be living in a country where a 10 month old baby can be denuded in our airport by customs officials for wearing a camouflage pants with a teddy bear on it. I mean what was this 10 month old baby to do, impersonate a soldier and go put down a robbery on a nestles van? It is interesting that this is the same Customs which allowed large sums of US currency to be brought into this country undetected by certain individuals in the international football arena, Customs please get your priorities in order! Legislators please let commonsense reign!

The Convenient Race Card

There is a phenomenon emerging in Trinidad and Tobago that has me totally flabbergasted. Everyone in Trinidad and Tobago knows that the core support of the PNM are people of African descent and the core support of the UNC are people of East Indian descent. The phenomenon to which I refer to is that every time the PNM is voted out of office, even when their loss is as catastrophic as what took place in 2010, no one claims it's because of race but the minute the UNC receives any opposition or rejection from the electorate the first thing to come out the mouths of UNC pundits is race. Why? 

The entire country literally threw the PNM out of Parliament giving the UNC controlled PP Government an overwhelming majority in the Central Government along with the two Tobago seats, not a single UNC pundit said the results of this win was because of race. Two and a half years into their governance and several "missteps" dragging them down (Reshmi; unexplained and failed State of Emergency; Section 34; total lack of transparency and accountablity), the population is up in arms over the PP Government's performance just as they were up in arms over the Manning led PNM, only this time we are being told it's because of the Prime Minister and her Government Minister's race. Why? 

I feel sorry for my Tobago brothers and sisters, after voting overwhelming for the PNM in Tobago in the 2013 THA elections the UNC pundits are coming out from the wood works and accusing Tobago of voting based on race. Where were these individuals when Tobago gave the PP Government the two Tobago seats in 2010? Where were these individuals when Tobago voted out the PNM in 1980 and did not vote them back into power until the year 2000, a whole twenty years after? To see the UNC pundits cry race after the outcome of the 2013 THA elections not only solidifies why they deserved to lose, it also shows up their total lack of understanding where Tobagonians and Tobago culture is concerned. 

Even the Chairman of the Equal Opportunity Commission Dr. Indira Rampersad is making the colossal mistake of interpreting the Tobago vote as a race vote. She is quoted as saying "People are still focused on political parties and personalities as opposed to issues. It may not be just political parties and personalities. It may be another issue, an issue of ethnicity and race. These issues play out in T&T all the time and some people discount it as an issue." First of all as someone who is commissioner of the Equal Opportunity Commission I can't understand how the goodly Dr. could make such a biased and one sided nuanced statement and go unchallenged. If she is going to accuse Tobagonians of voting based on race then she has to equally accuse the UNC dominanted Partnership of having a race agenda in Tobago to ensure an ethnic influence comprised of the UNC support base. To accuse one ethnic group of voting based on race while absolving the other ethnic group of having any race motive discredits anything Dr. Rampersad says and she looses all appearances of objectivity. Dr. Rampersad's claim is also a two edge sword as it tacitly implies that the PP Government is not that multi-ethnic political party it is being touted to be but rather an Indo dominated political party with a few Non-Indos for cosmetic appearances, because if the People's Partnership was truly multi-ethnic then the issue of race would and should never arise.....over to you goodly Dr. 

It is also interesting that Dr. Rampersad did not see the following as pertinent issues for Tobagonians:- PP Government's total disrespect to Tobagonians by putting forward a bill regarding internal self government on the eve of an election, a bill that does not adequately address internal self government for Tobago and would deprive Tobago of it's resources via the stated 11 nautical miles; Ashworth Jack's inability to explain the funding of his home and provide sufficient evidence to appease Tobagonians that he is not receiving political favours behind closed doors which he undoubtedly would have had to repay; Ashworth Jack's further lack of integrity by refusing to observe the law of Trinidad and Tobago and file his declaration of assets and income with the Integrity Commission. For Dr. Rampersad to totally down play these issues and turn this into an election of race calls into question her own qualification of being able to adequately analyse political issues. For her to be aware of these various issues and say that Tobagonians voted on race and not issues is to insult the intelligence of Tobagonians, and I'm saying that if Dr. Rampersad was running for Chief Secretary of Tobago she too would have suffered a catastrophic loss and it would have nothing to do with her ethnicity. 

A twelve year old in Tobago can tell you that Tobagonians voting for a party they rejected for 20 years has nothing to do with the ethnic composition of the People's Partnership Government, but everything to do with the PP's misunderstanding of Tobago's culture. You cannot win votes in Tobago by bribing them with fancy ads, having helicopters invading the people's air space unnecessarily and you certainly do not win votes by attacking Tobagonians. Tobagonians hold it as their sacred right to criticize their own, as a Trini I learnt that the hard way when I went over there to work for some years. By attacking Orville London and Dr. Rowley on the most spurious of allegations the PP Government secured their own demise. Tobagonians although being part of a unitary state, do not recognise their leader as being that of the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, their leader to govern Tobago affairs is the Chief Secretary. The PP Government's constant disregard for the THA and total disrespect they showed to Mr. London as well as the Prime Minister acting as if it was she contesting to be Chief Secretary and not Ashworth Jack all caused the severe beating the TOP suffered at the polls. 

So to the UNC pundits I say to you, the loss of the THA election had nothing to do with race and everything to do with your leader's colossal misunderstanding of Tobago's culture. Further to that, your convenient and constant reference to race every time the electorate rejects a politican of East Indian descent is not only distasteful to Tobagonians, but also to the Non-Indo electorate in Trinidad. If it is in the minds of the UNC pundits that as long as East Indian politicians do not control and dominate political life in Trinidad and Tobago it means the rest of the electorate are racist then I dare say, these pundits need to do some introspection because when they point a finger at others there are four fingers pointing right back at them.

Ashworth Jack must also call for resignation of Devant Maharaj

Mr. Sandy made some unfortunate comments during the election campaign in Tobago and has been rightly condemned for them. But what disgust me is the hypocrisy of the UNC, TOP and it's leader Ashworth Jack in calling for Mr. Sandy to withdraw from the election. Where was Ashworth Jack when Devant "Parsuram" Maharaj wrote an article entitled "Secrets of the census in Trinidad and Tobago" back in 2005? This article which can be found from a simple Google search, revealed what Mr. Maharaj truly thought of Afro Trinbagonians back then, Tobagonians in particular. He was not concerned about national unity then but about the ethnic domination of the East Indian. 

The following excerpt is from Mr. Devant Maharaj's article, "Dr Morgan Job has been attempting to influence the people of Tobago to seek a federal relationship with Trinidad. He even advocates outright independence. I say let the 44,190 (Tobago) go independent if they wish or, for that matter, let them join a federal relationship with Grenada and let Morgan Job be president. The result will make the African population of Trinidad a smaller minority by another two per cent. With the Tobago figure taken out of the 2000 census figures, the Indian majority will climb to 41.85 per cent while the African will slip to 35.04 per cent. These census figures that are being suppressed have serious implications for the disbursement of funds for education, culture, regional development and other State realignments." You can read the entire article at this link >>>>>> http://www.southasianoutlook.com/issues/2005/may/indocarib0409.html 

As you can see back then Mr. Maharaj who was a prominent member of the Maha Saba now a government Minister under the People's Partnership Government was not interested in national unity at all. He was only interested in the ethnic dominance of the East Indian. As a matter of fact Mr. Maharaj wanted Tobago to go their way just for the simple fact of reducing the Afro population in the unitary state Trinidad and Tobago. Yet still Mrs. Kamla Persad Bissessar leader of the United National Congress deemed Mr. Devant Maharaj a suitable candidate for her so called "multi-ethnic" government. How could Mrs. Bissessar appoint someone with the philosophy of Devant Maharaj? And he is functioning as a current PP Minister serving all ethnicities without fear or favour? If he can do that after making these comments why can't Mr. Sandy serve after making his comments? 

How can someone who wanted to get rid of Tobago just because of the Afro population across there, be a valid member of a government which claims to want to give Tobago autonomy and which claims they are inclusive of all races in Trinidad and Tobago. I eagerly await an explanation from Mr. Ashworth Jack of Mr. Devant Maharaj's presence in the People's Partnership Government.

Highway Standoff A Governance Issue

Without venturing into whether Dr. Kublalsingh is right or wrong in his position regarding the issue of the Point Fortin highway a particular position of the Government has intrigued me. Dr. Rambachan along with Jack Warner and others have accused Dr. Kublalsingh's actions as being "political". My question to the members of the People's Partnership Government is "so what?" What is wrong with Dr. Kublalsingh being political? Does this government not understand that for it to even grace the halls of power it required citizens of this country to be political and engage in a political process of electing them? 

Why is it that the People's Partnership Government seems so afraid of citizens becoming enlightened and engaging the government on a civil level? If it's one thing this present group belonging to the People's Partnership Government has demonstrated to the citizens of this country is that as a nation we seem to have a breed of politicians who are quite contented with having citizens exercise their democratic rights just once every four years and then simply granting absolute unquestionable power to them so they can rule over us like Lords and Serfs without question or accountability. 

This latest stand off between Dr. Kublalsingh and government goes deeper than the need for a highway by some, it goes deeper than economic and social consequences albeit very relevant. This stand off between a lone civilian and a government ever eager to display it's arrogance and contempt for the citizenry strikes at the very heart of our democracy and the type of governance that exist in our Republic. The question is are Trinbagonians satisfied with being mere spectators in the affairs of their nation or are they prepared to grow up and take charge of their destiny and tell the politicians who have no regard for their voice exactly where to get off?

T&T No Hindu Nation

It seems like Jack Warner is determined to use his political office to cause racial and ethnic acrimony in Trinidad and Tobago. That is the only logical conclusion one can come to with this man's inane weekly statements that repeatedly receives "silent endorsement" from the Prime Minister and by extension this government. So Jack's latest gnashing of teeth on behalf of the Hindu community comes in the form of a claim against the radio stations for not playing any bhajans in the lead up to Divali but almost 8 weeks before Christmas they flood us with carols.

Let us first deal with Jack's selective folly, how come Jack did not make the same claim prior to Eid, Double 10 or the Shouter Baptist Holiday? People of African descent make up the second largest ethnic group in this country and I say with utmost confidence that all my life I have never heard an indigenous African song tribal or otherwise playing on any local stations, but I have heard many Indian songs. How come Jack does not speak about this?

According to a 2000 consensus as stated on the CIA World Fact Book the religious denominations in T&T are as follows, Roman Catholic 26%, Protestant 25.8%, Anglican 7.8%, Baptist 7.2%, Pentecostal 6.8%, Seventh Day Adventist 4%, Hindu 22%, Muslim 5.8%, Other Christian 5.8%, Other 10.8%, unspecified 1.4% and none (which includes me) 1.9%. Without having genocide or any major internal conflict it is highly unlikely that between 2000 to present there would have been any major changes to those percentages over a 12 year period. If one were to add up all the "Christian" based denominations one would find that the Christian community in this country is roughly 76.2% while the Hindu community is a meager stand alone 22%,. Therefore it is only logical that any religious holidays that center around Christianity will be given more attention by the populace than the religious holiday's of smaller sects. 

But if Jack so wishes he is free to utilize the funds he was going to use to buy the T&T Mirror and instead buy Radio Jaagriti 102.7 FM and play bhajans 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. I assure him it would not matter either way to the average Christian Trinbagonian, I highly doubt there will be a mass religious conversion to Hinduism and it definitely does not matter to the non-religious like myself. So to Mr. Jack Warner I say Namaste, go in peace my brother, I'm sure Christian T&T along with their Hindu brothers and sisters are praying for your speedy mental recovery.

Red Card That Jack

Prior to the 2010 General Election I was a very vocal voice against the People’s National Movement and their way of governance. I wrote many blogs which are still circulating in cyber space because I never took them down, I wrote many letters to the Express editor all of which I have copies. I attended political meetings of the United National Congress, the signing of the Fyzabad accord between the Partnership Parties and I voted for the Congress of the People. The interesting thing is, despite being well in my 20’s, 2010 was the first time I have ever voted or have been so actively involved in politics and as a consequence the first vote I have ever cast in Trinidad and Tobago went to the Congress of the People, a member of the People’s Partnership Government. I say the above in light of the nasty, vicious, divisive and hateful comments made by Minister of National Security Jack Warner concerning the march last week Friday regarding Sec 34, that seem to indirectly accuse people of African descent in this country of having a racist agenda against the shadowy government of which he is a member. Jack Warner claimed that he only saw Africans marching on Friday. Firstly this could not be so because I marched alongside my co-worker who is predominantly of Chinese descent, I saw persons of East Indian descent and I also saw few Caucasians and many persons who were patently of mixed ethnicity.

In Trinidad and Tobago politics has always been predominantly along the lines of ethnicity. When I attended the UNC political meetings back in 2010, despite there being a few other persons who “seemed” to be of African descent, I was engulfed in scores of East Indian supporters of the United National Congress, and it has always been that way just as the People’s National Movement crowds have always largely been of people who seem to be of “African” descent. Jack Warner as Chairman of a political party whose core supporters comprise 90% of East Indians is in no position to speak about the ethnic composition of any other political party in Trinidad and Tobago. Furthermore the COP is the party which gave the People’s Partnership the appearance of a multi-ethnic political party not the UNC, the UNC is still by and large a party supported predominantly by persons of East Indian descent. But to further analyse the illiteracy of Jack Warner’s statements, where does someone like me fit in to Trinidad and Tobago’s society? I am dark skinned like Dr. Rowley but my mother has a fair complexion like the wonderful Denyse Plumber and I have a Hebrew Surname. If I am an African according to Jack Warner because I took part in Friday’s march, notwithstanding the fact that I voted for Jack’s Government, Jack Warner needs to tell me from which African nation I came. There are 57 recognised countries on the African content so Jack Warner need to tell myself and the other Africans from Friday which country is our mother land. Are we South Africans? Zimbabweans? Angolan? Ethiopian? Somalian? Am I a Hutu or Tutsi? Which one of these African countries will take me in, and would they consider me African especially if they see my mother?!

While T&T’s politics has traditionally been along the lines of ethnicity, as a people we have historically come together to vote out a government that we perceive to be a threat to all of us as happened in 2010, and which I suspect will happen in 2015. Many young individuals like myself are no longer falling for the racial divisiveness of people like Jack Warner and as Political analysts Derek Ramsamooj has pointed out, asinine statements like the one made by Jack Warner only serves to anger persons like myself who know exactly who and what we are i.e. TRINBAGONIAN! Jack Warner has some gall to level such an ugly accusation against persons in this country who may have some measure of African ethnicity in their DNA make up. Who does Jack Warner think helped give his government a Parliamentary majority in the 2010 general election? One would think that it was only Jack’s core supporters of East Indian descent and some race from another planet in the universe voted in the 2010 general election because his ridiculous utterances and vulgar conduct as a government minister are pretty much out of this world. 

By his statements Jack Warner has only confirmed to me as a citizen that he still harbours racist beliefs that belong to an era before I was born. He has also confirmed to me that he thinks he can drum up support for his government by playing on the ethnic sentiments of his core supporters. Rather than denigrate persons of African descent, Jack has simply exposed the policy that still exist amongst some in the United National Congress, a policy of playing on the ethnic sentiments of my fellow East Indian brothers and sisters to support his government even when his government is engaging in gross miss-governance. That Jack Warner should find support from this country’s most controversial figure regarding race relations I can only say mission accomplished Jack, you have successfully roused the support of those who would blindly follow you in your anarchist quest for unbridled power. But make no mistake, Jack’s racial card is a two edge sword as he has earned himself a political red card from many like myself and we have already disqualified him and his government from the next election world cup in 2015!

Poor COP, they are drowning in the cesspool of incompetence and ethnic division of the UNC that is being bandied about as good governance. Leader of the COP Prakash Ramadhar has speedily distanced himself from Jack’s comments and rightly so, but I say to Mr. Ramdhar that you are guilty by association. Despite the many missteps of this government including the Reshmi Ramnarine fiasco, Section 34, nepotism in the distribution of legal briefs and now Jack Warner’s racial comments the COP has remained a steadfast member of the PP Government. The COP is now tainted with the rot of the UNC and has lost all credibility. I assure all parties concerned that no matter what name they call me, they could call me African, Martian, Alien, Cling-on, whatever they choose to call me, as a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago irrespective of whether they got my vote or not in the past I shall continue to demand good governance and transparency! Sticks and stones may break my bones your words can never harm me, however your poor governance will destroy my country!

People's Partnership celebration an erosion of democratic principles

I am of the opinion that last Thursday's celebration by the PP Government concerning their two years in office, is a breach of democratic principles. Since when is it the practice of a government to celebrate what they are constitutionally mandated to do and what they are paid to do? As far as I am aware it is only in monarchies, dictatorships and despotic fanatical countries like North Korea where the achievements of leaders and government institutions are celebrated. Can any of you imagine Barack Obama hosting a million dollar celebration in Time Square to tell the people of America about some community centre he built in Oklahoma? Or David Cameron holding a celebratory rally in London to talk about some colour me orange project he launched in Essex? The practice is unheard of and is also inappropriate and smacks of political 'never see clumsy' and immaturity. 

The Prime Minister has stated that the purpose of the celebration was to 'account to the people'. If my memory serves me right, in the Westminster system Parliament is the institution by which the elected government of the day accounts to the people. Having this discussion last week with a pro PP colleague they jeered at me saying I just vex cause the PP use their money to throw their celebration and account to the people. It is then I indicated to the person that it is exactly that which reveals the perversity of the PP Government's actions. Why must the elected Government of the day spend private funds to account to the people of the country when they can do so freely under the constitutionally charged institutions such as the Parliament? Why can't they via their weekly Cabinet meetings tell the public what they have decided to do as a government and what they have done? Instead they opted to throw a big fete which climaxed akin to that of an all inclusive carnival fete and at the end of the day all they have done is further erode the democratic mechanisms of this country and the citizens of this country are still non the wiser of their achievements.

And while the PP was busy frolicking Thursday night, a CAL Chairman appointed by themselves requested a $20,000 leasing of a luxury vehicle for himself, this from a state enterprise which has incurred a $339 million loss and which he was appointed to steer back to a viable financial status, not withstanding the fact that the 2011 State Enterprises Performance Manual clearly states "company cars or car loans should not be granted to Chairmen or directors". Criminals continue to run amok and the economy is stagnant. It seems we have now become a country which celebrates underachievement and mediocrity.

A Child Molester's Paradise

Despite having no children of my own (as yet), I find myself being particularly aware when young children are around in the wake of 2 year old Aliyah Johnson's brutal murder. Maybe it's just the male protective instinct in me, maybe it's because I've been affected by this child's death in a way I do not as yet perceive.

While selecting fruits at the fruit stall in St. James near Singer's today, said instincts were over active when I observed the manner in which the fruit vendor was dealing with her daughter (or should I say not dealing with her daughter) who could be no more than 7 years old. The peculiar thing is it was not even an out right observation, and I was not particularly thinking about baby Aliyah at that point in time, but having read the various stories in the dailies this week my subconsciousness was some how perturb enough by this child's death to pay attention when children are around me.

So I'm there selecting my fruits while the vendor is speaking to one of her helpers and the little girl is desperately trying to get her mother's attention to tell her she is going to Singer's to come back. And she is there "mummy, mummy, mummy" and the mother and the help totally ignores her. "Mummy, mummy, excuse me, mummy, mummy". The mother continues to ignore her. She then grabs hold of her mother's hand, "mummy, mummy, mummy." The mother is still speaking to the help. Frustrated the child says, "I'm going to Singers and come back okay", and she proceeds to walk off, mother totally oblivious or not aware enough.

The mother does not even acknowledge her. Now imagine if I was a child molester, that child would have been a prime victim for me. Imagine this child attempted to engage her mother for close to two minutes without any success. As she walks off it is at this point I grab hold of the mother's shoulder (a little too roughly to be honest but I was agitated because of the situation I just observed), and as she looks at me totally shocked I say to her in a stern but friendly voice, "You need to pay attention to where your daughter is going, she has been trying to get your attention for the longest while and you have been ignoring her. Just remember one minute she will be here and the next minute she may not."

With a noticeable expression of chagrin, she acknowledges my admonition but I can tell she was grateful for the little "pull up". Parents need to be more aware of their children's whereabouts, virtually their every move. As parents people need to give their children their undivided attention, yes it can be difficult doing this while working, having to pay bills and put food on the table, but make no mistake, a parent's failure in this regard creates a child molester's paradise.

Kamla being more than dishonest with Statistics

With regard the poll conducted by the Ansa Mcal Institute of Psychology published last Sunday, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bisessar was quoted in Express April 11 as stating that if one "Adds the excellent , good, fair ratings - its almost 80%, so the government is doing fine." Now it is either the Prime Minister thinks the citizens she presides over are complete idiots or she was being deliberately misleading and having no compunction about it whatsoever. A standard five pupil can discern that the Prime Minister's pronouncements makes absolutely no sense and it is a deliberate attempt at polluting the poll results. The following were the Ansa Mcal Poll results:-

Ratings

Overall, how do you rate the performance of the Government to date?

Excellent 4%

Good 30%

Fair 47%

Poor 15%

Extremely Poor 4%

Ratings

If a general election was held today, which political party would you vote for?

UNC 5%

COP 3%

NAR 1%

PP 34%

MSJ 1%

PNM 13%

NONE 25%

DON’T KNOW 19%

NEW PARTY 1%

Ratings

How do you rate the performance of the Prime Minister to date?

Excellent 11%

Good 31%

Fair 42%

Poor 13%

Extremely Poor 3%

If by the Prime Minister's logic we are to add the good and fair ratings of two of the three questions, it would show that the government got almost an 80% rating and thus is doing well, then it stands to reason that if one is adding the good and fair ratings one must deduct the poor and extremely poor ratings to get a more objective view. This would show that the ratings according to the Prime Minister's logic were in fact (30+47-15-4) = 58% and (31+42-13-3) = 57%. Clearly as one further analyses the stats using the Prime Minister's logic it is blatantly clear that the PP Government barely made a passing grade. Out of the 512 people questioned, it would mean that only 296.96 and 291.84 persons gave the PP Government a fair to good rating. 512/2 = 256, one must therefore ask the question what exactly is Mrs. Persad Bisessar boasting about.

It is also instructive to note that the Prime Minister totally ignored the excellent ratings of 4% and 11% respectively, is this an indication that the Prime Minister is quite contented with mediocrity and does not concern herself with exceeding expectations? Of 512 respondents 4% would be 20.48 and 11% would be 56.32 persons, if I remember correctly in primary school when one's report card said "Good" or "Fair" for the term one usually went home with a B, B- or a C. And the most glaring omission of the Prime Minister was the ratings related to the question "If a general election was held today, which political party would you vote for?" Out of 512 respondents a whopping 5% (25.6 persons) said they will vote for the UNC, the party to which the Prime Minister belongs, and 13% (66.56 persons) said they will vote for the opposition PNM. Granted the PP got 34% one must beg the question if the Prime Minister is contented with the fact that the only way the party to which she belongs can win an election is by currying favour with other political parties for the sole purpose of defeating the PNM, because as a stand alone political party the PNM is the only party that got the highest rating.

I would therefore caution the Prime Minister, that the next time she opts to play with statistics to fool the population she should do so with a bit more cunning, as you can fool some of the people some of the time, you can't fool all of the people all the time.

Stone in my shoe

One morning a couple weeks ago at work, I had cause to take my shoe off to remove a stone that was causing me much irritation. While searching for the little bastard that was causing me much discomfort, I found myself muttering the words "Stone in my shoe". That was it, just "stone in my shoe", it was not even a full sentence. I stood confused asking myself, that apart from the obvious fact that I did indeed have a stone in my shoe, why did I see the need to verbalize it to myself and in such an informal way. It is during this state of unexpected mental indulgence that it occurred to me, hey....you know that would be a pretty cool name for a book, "Stone in my shoe".

As an avid reader, I did not surprise myself at the direction my contemplations veered. But then another thought came to mind, that is we all have figurative "Stones in our shoes", you know something or someone in our lives that is causing us to lose focus or feel discomfort. These stones usually tend to cause us to lose focus on achieving our goals or cause us to stop doing things we may enjoy doing. In some cases we ourselves may be the stone in our very own shoe by harbouring negative thoughts about ourselves or about others, thus becoming entrapped in a cycle of negative energy and thought, causing much discomfort to our spiritual and emotional well being.

The trouble is, some of us become so entrapped by the discomfort that it cripples us to the point of making it extremely difficult to come to the understanding that at times we just need to stop, realign our thoughts with our actions and engage in a sought of re-calibration of the soul, thus removing the "stone from our shoe". This can be especially difficult when as I mentioned above, sometimes we ourselves are the stone in our own shoe and in cases like these it can often be difficult to locate the stone as we fail to recognize that we may be the source of our own discomfort.

I guess my message to you in these insane contemplations is, always strive to maintain a stone free shoe, however figurative or literal. My other message to you is, it does not hurt to speak to yourself sometimes! Have a fantastic long weekend!

Free Cheryl Miller Now!

I find it tellingly strange that an introvert woman who goes by the name of Cheryl Miller, can be virtually strong armed and kidnapped from her work place by mental health officials and carted off to a mental health institution and drugged up without her next of kin being notified and without having apparently been evaluated by a psychiatric doctor. What is even more strange is this incident has a occurred after a mere couple weeks, March 23rd to be exact, when our Minister of Health Dr. Faud Khan stated, "Some 500 of the 822 patients at the St Ann's Hospital are not supposed to be at the mental institution. Sixty per cent of the patients do not need to be here and they are just social cases where the family themselves do not want to take responsibility for the patient. They are social patients, chronic care patients that do not need to be in a hospital setting because they do not have acute in-house psychiatric illness."

The issue surrounding Cheryl Miller has to do with her allegedly raising her voice at another co-worker because she felt she was being victimized. Now as someone who has never been described as insane, I must say I have worked in many organisations where I have witnessed loud boisterous altercations between co-workers, myself being a partaker of such outbursts at times. Such behavior while generally frowned upon socially is a regular occurrence on any given day in any establishment, and not just in the work environment but at home in domestic settings.

One must beg the question as a free thinking citizen, what did this woman do that would have caused her employer, the Ministry of Gender and Youth Affairs to institutionalize her? What acute in-house psychiatric illness did she display that warranted Minister Verna St Rose to come on national radio and say this woman was institutionalized "out of concern" for her. Ms. Miller is certainly not a patient whose family has deserted her, as her family were not even notified by the Ministry of Gender and Youth Affairs that they were institutionalizing Ms. Miller and her family has been visiting her and demanding her release so again I ask the question on what basis is this woman being held? Who is the medical practitioner that issued the medical certificate for her confinement as ought to have been done as per the Mental Health Act? Why was she committed to an asylum without her next of kin being notified?

Ms. Miller's co-workers have been staging daily protests for her release, some of them having worked with the quiet lady for 15 odd years. While they have outrightly described Ms. Miller as "strange" none of her co-workers have described her as insane, as having exhibited violent tendencies or any acute psychiatric illness. One co-worker went so far to say that Cheryl will use folders to box her self in at her desk so she would not have to communicate with people. He further went on to say that she has a penchant for mathematics and if something was off by a cent she will look for it and find it. The co-worker further stated that when he first saw her box her self in with the files it was a bit "strange" for him but after he got to know her he realized that's just how Ms. Miller is, and he worked with her for 15 odd years without a problem. One must call on Minister St Rose to state categorically what exactly is the problem now, because she as the Minister of Gender and Youth Affairs has not worked at the Ministry as long as Ms Miller and her co-workers, so what is the basis for St Rose's "concern".

While I may not be a medical practitioner, the behaviorial characteristics described of Ms Miller does not suggest to me an insane person. It suggest to me of someone who is suffering with a disability such as Asperger Syndrome, a form of Autism which is described as a "spectrum disorder" because it affects people in different ways. Medical professionals describe it as a "hidden disability" because people cannot easily tell someone has the disability from their outward appearance. People with Asperger Syndrome have extreme difficulty reading body language which makes it very difficult for them to communicate with others, they tend to be of average intelligence and in some cases above average intelligence having a penchant for subjects such as mathematics as in Ms Cheryl Miller's case. They are affected in three main areas, social communication, social interaction and social imagination.

People with Asperger Syndrome have difficulty expressing themselves in the following ways:-

• have difficulty understanding gestures, facial expressions or tone of voice
• have difficulty knowing when to start or end a conversation and choosing topics to talk about
• use complex words and phrases but may not fully understand what they mean
• be very literal in what they say and can have difficulty understanding jokes, metaphor and sarcasm. For example, a person with Asperger syndrome may be confused by the phrase 'That's cool' when people use it to say something is good.

Their difficulty with social interaction will include:-

1. not understand the unwritten 'social rules' that most of us pick up without thinking. For example, they may stand too close to another person, or start an inappropriate topic of conversation
2. struggle to make and maintain friendships
3. find other people unpredictable and confusing
4. become withdrawn and seem uninterested in other people, appearing almost aloof
5. behave in what may seem an inappropriate manner.

While none of us may know what Cheryl Miller is suffering with, the Ministry of Youth and Gender Affairs carting her off to the mad house to be confined and drugged up without notifying her family seems to be an exaggerated and draconian manner for dealing with someone exhibiting the characteristics of Cheryl Miller. It would seem that not only Ms Miller constitutional rights were violated but also her human rights as per the United Nations Charter on Human Rights. We have a civic duty, each and every one of us to find out exactly what happened to this woman as it could be you or your family members.

Nothing short of a full investigation is required and anyone found culpable of violating the Mental Health Act and Ms. Miller's constitutional and human rights should be hauled before a court of law and be dealt with accordingly. It is not good enough for anyone to make a random accusation of insanity against someone and have them carted off to the mad house with just one phone call, no questions asked and no family notified. If that should be the case then we are bordering on becoming a despotic country the likes of Stalin's Soviet Union and Hitler's Germany, where the state can incarcerate any citizen on the flimsiest of pretexts i.e. insanity. FREE CHERYL MILLER NOW!!

A successful unsuccessful State of Emergency

So just short three weeks of the end to this illegitimate state of emergency I have come to the conclusion that it is a successful unsuccessful state of emergency. First of all during the SOE and the imposition of a curfew murders and rapes continued. After the lifting of the curfew and rentention of the SOE, murders and rapes continued. Last week a claim was made that rapes are on the rise and about two days after the police service published a release saying that sexual offences are on the decline.

After the police and army dug up a bunch of old guns, the security forces along with representatives of the People's Partnership Government all patted themselves on the back and claimed victory in ridding this country of illegal guns and restricting criminal activity. They even had a big public event where they invited the UN to come to Trinidad to destroy guns, yet still three weeks shy of the end of this State of Emergency the country's security forces are on high alert because of death threats against the Prime Minister and curiously enough "only three" other government ministers who seem to have been 'specifically' hand picked for this criminal plot. The Prime Minister has stated that this plot is being commissioned by criminal elements who are angry over the 'success' of the State of Emergency.

I'm not sure I understand this current situation facing our country. If the State of Emergency was successful in stunting the free movement of criminals in this country, getting illegal guns off the streets and destroying criminal enterprises then how come these criminal elements still exist and more so how come they have the capacity and resources to plot an assasination on the Prime Minister if the State of Emergency was successful? If after almost three months of a State of Emergency we have criminal elements in this country that are so powerful that they have the resources to plan an assasination againts the Prime Minister and three top government officials then one can only conclude that this is a successful unsuccessful state of emergency. The question is where does that leave us as a nation?

Under a State of Curiosity

I find it extremely curious that under a State of Emergency certain sectors of this country can protest "without police permission" to have a duly appointed school principal removed from her position, and no action is taken against them. I find it curious that under a state of emergency the board of a denominational school can disregard the instruction of a government commission and refuse to allow a school principal to return to school. I find it curious that under a state of emergency a board of a denominational school can put chains on a school to prevent a government appointed school principal from entering a school thereby putting the education of children in jeapordy & disturbing the peace.

I find it curious that under a state of emergency a goverment minister will go to the police station to support a 'friend' on the board of a denominational school that is engaged in disregarding instructions from both the Ministry of Education and Teaching Service Commission. I find it curious that under a state of emergency people can come on our national television and insight violence with impunity. I find it curious that under a state of emergency the Government of Trinidad and Tobago seem unable to bring the board of a denominational school to order yet they claim to be taking on criminal "big fish". I'm under a state of curiosity.

Police's treatment of female citizen needs to be investigated

Last night (Monday) I saw a video clipping on TV6's U Report showing police officers arresting a young lady on Ariapita Avenue and if anything this video did was show the total lack of professionalism of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service, their abject ignorance and lack of commonsense. The video clearly showed the young lady claiming she did not refuse to take the breathelzyer test so why was she arrested? She did not use obscene language, was clearly not drunk and certainly did not pose a threat to the public. I therefore have a few questions for Police Commissioner Dwayne Gibbs.

1) Did these police officers read this young woman her rights?

2) Did they inform the young woman of the reason for detaining her?

3) Did the police have reason to believe that under this State of Emergency this young woman is a gang member or had criminal intent or posed a threat to the state?

4) Why did a male police officer attempt to roughly handle a female citizen despite the presence of a female officer?

5) Why did the male officer insist on attempting to roughly handle a female citizen despite her objections to him putting his hands on her?

6) Why is a female citizen wearing a skirt and high heels treated in such an inhumane and degrading manner by being made to 'cock up' in the back of a police vehicle?

7) Is the police so void of commonsense that they could not logically deduce that they should have put this young lady in the back seat of the police vehicle?

Only in an uncivilized third world country would a young lady be treated in such a disgraceful and degrading manner, even male suspects are placed in the interior of police vehicles in developed countries. Good luck in implementing your 21st century policing plan Commissioner Gibbs but from this video alone, I can tell that retraining these "thugs in blue uniform" is going to be a colossal challenge. I do not envy you.

Questions for Kamla..

Out of curiosity my dear Prime Minister, how do you know that only 7% of the scholarship recipients were of East Indian descent? Did your government conduct a DNA examination of the scholarship recipients? I have many East Indian friends with non-seemingly East Indian names so I would hope that you did not base your accusation exclusively on the recipient's surnames. Is this the modus operandi of your government Mrs. Persad-Bissessar? Governance by eugenics and ethnicity? I noticed in your accusation you said "7% of the recipients were of East Indian descent and the other 93% were of non East Indian descent", perhaps you should clarify to both the population and Anil Roberts what you mean by "Non East Indian", because when you said it Anil Roberts was heard by the entire nation shouting over your voice asking, "not even a Dougla?". I would have thought that non East Indian would mean Afros, Douglas, Syrians, Chinese, Caucasian etc, but it seems Anil Roberts begs to differ.

Why were you only capable of giving a specific percentage of the East Indians that received scholarships but you couldn't tell the population how many Africans, Chinese, Syrians, Douglas and Caucasians were given scholarships? By deliberately withholding information on what ethnic group or groups made up the 93% I fail to understand your claims of racial discrimination. Also what does this mean of the 7% of East Indians who received scholarships? How were they able to secure scholarships from an alleged discriminatory government (according to you)? Did this 7% betray the larger East Indian community to secure these scholarships? Now that former Minister of Culture Ms Marlene Mc Donald has indicated in Parliament that it was a five member committee, two of which are of East Indian descent were the one's responsible for interviewing the scholarship awardees, is our Prime Minister indicating that these two citizens of East Indian descent aided and abetted the PNM in engaging in racial discrimination?

Apart from considering the recipient's ethnicity did you or your government contemplate any other reasons why they were selected? Are the person's selected from a particular economic stratum? Was the government offering scholarships for courses which it deemed priority? And while we are on the topic of the ethnic composition of tertiary education students, does this mean that the People's Partnership Government is going to launch an investigation into why so many of the persons admitted into the medical school at UWI are of East Indian descent? And last but not least, forgive me if I seem to be slow, but could you please explain to me of what relevance is the PNM's awarding of scholarships to the current $50b budget debate? How does the PNM awarding scholarships to only 7% East Indians bear any relevance to the fact that your government is about to once again embark upon deficit budgeting in what is the largest budget in the history of this country, and to date the citizens of this country still have not received a lucid explanation as to how your government intends to utilize this money. You do remember that this is a budget debate don't you?

State of Emergency Lacking Constitutional Validity

It has been two weeks since the People’s Partnership Government declared a state of emergency and citizens still remain in the dark as to the reasons for having our constitution suspended and thus being deprived of our fundamental democratic and constitutional rights. As per section 1 (9) of our constitution “within three days of making the proclamation, the President shall deliver to the Speaker for presentation to the House of Representatives a statement setting out the specific grounds on which the decision to declare the existence of a state of public emergency was based”.

Mr. Sandy in his contribution to the debate on the motion to extend the state of emergency for three months repeated the Attorney General’s claim that a major crisis was averted and that there was an immediate threat and endangerment to public safety. To date however, both Mr. Ramlogan and Mr. Sandy have refused to give this nation the “specific grounds” on which this state of emergency was called. In a most ingenious way, the Minister of National Security resorted to the cover of “matters of national security” as his reasons for not telling the citizens of this country why exactly a state of emergency was called.

The refusal of the Attorney General and Minister of National Security to inform this country as to the “specific grounds” for having declared a state of emergency does not seem to be in accordance with our constitution. The constitution is quite clear the President must tell our Parliament the “SPECIFIC GROUNDS” on which the state of emergency was called. Nowhere in the constitution does it state that if the state of emergency pertains to a matter of national security that the government can withhold information from citizens. As a matter of fact that entire notion proffered by the Attorney General and Minister of National Security is vulgarly nonsensical as the very purpose of having the provision for a state of emergency in our constitution is to deal with matters of national security in whatever form they may arise, be it natural disaster, disease pandemic or an attack on our democratic institutions by way of a coup.

In seeking to allay justifiable concerns as to the governments declaration and handling of the state of emergency, during his debate Mr. Sandy recapped all the previous state of emergencies our country has been under. What Mr. Sandy did not say in our Parliament as he ought to have, is of all our previous states of emergencies the citizens of this country knew exactly why we had a state of emergency. This is the first time in the history of our country that a state of emergency has been called and citizens have not been appraised as to the ‘specific grounds’ for declaring such. Therefore, what this People’s Partnership Government has done is set a dangerous precedent where any government in the future can call a state of emergency to further their agenda, be it genuine, political or even oppressive and all that government would have to do to circumvent the constitutional and democratic rights of citizens of this country is use the cloak of “matters of national security” and thus avoid accountability to the electorate.

Whether one is in support of the ‘reasoning’ behind this government’s state of emergency or against it, one must take note of this dangerous precedent that has been set by the People’s Partnership Government and its implications for our democratic survival. It seems foolhardy that in order to get a temporary relief from crime because of the abject failure of our security services that we should allow such a colossal undermining of our constitutional mechanisms. Quite frankly I’m not sure which frightens me the most, the government’s reckless manipulation of our constitutional apparatus or citizen’s ignorance to the implications of government’s actions.

Trinbagonians would do well to heed the words of Netsanet Belay, Director of Policy Research at CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation regarding our state of emergency, “The State of Emergency, inappropriate legislation and broad implementation of a curfew represent a disproportionate interference with fundamental rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly enshrined both in the constitution of Trinidad and Tobago and throughout international human rights law. After just two weeks, Trinbagonian citizens risk signing away civic freedoms that have taken forty-nine years of hard struggle and nation-building to win. Persistent crime and personal insecurity are very real threats to many Caribbean nations and need to be taken seriously. Nevertheless the trend we are witnessing across the Caribbean region of using disproportionate security-based measures will only weaken trust in state institutions and could lead to a virtual close down of space for citizens and civil society participation.”

Anand Ramlogan The Transformer

I am without a doubt convinced that Attorney General Anand Ramlogan is a transformer, our own local version of 'Bumble Bee'. As the current Attorney General Anand Ramlogan is in his glee, using non-bailable law such as the Anti Gang Act to detain alleged criminals. But this was the same Anand Ramlogan who wrote a long diatribe against the anti kidnapping bill and it's consequences re: it being a non bailable offence. Now Anand is singing a totally different tune. But you see unlike most Trinidadians my memory eh short! I WILL HIT YOU FOR SIX RAMLOGAN. SEE THE FOLLOWING TRINIDAD GUARDIAN ARTICLE WRITTEN BY NONE OTHER, THE INCUMBENT ATTORNEY GENERAL ANAND RAMLOGAN ON THE 1ST AUGUST 2004!

"Manning’s knee-jerk crime plan" - by ANAND RAMLOGAN (Before being appointed Attorney General and suffering from a delusional swelling of the male part!)

PM Manning unveiled his great crime plan last week. It was greeted with a series of brutal murders and demands for “less talk, more action.” The headline grabber was the “no bail for kidnappers” strategy.

This knee-jerk legislative reaction to what is admittedly a frightening problem is one that must be cautiously studied. The erosion of human rights and the enlargement of State power (that can later be misused and abused) normally take place in the height of a crisis, with the full support of the people, because rational thought is overwhelmed by panic and fear. (In 2004 who would have thought that Anand in one of his editorials to the Guardian was simply describing the state in which he would have the country when he is appointed Attorney General. These words adequately describes the People's Partnership Government's state of emergency)

At present, kidnapping is a criminal offence punishable by life imprisonment. Though it is a bailable offence, magistrates have the power to refuse bail under the Bail Act, because of the seriousness of the offence and its prevalence in society.

Carlos Manickchand and his gang were, for example, refused bail, as have many others who have been charged for kidnapping. Persons charged for car theft and drug offences have routinely been refused bail by magistrates.

A magistrate can set a high bail that is beyond the reach of the accused person, and he would not be out the following morning. We see this happening every day in our courts, so why all the fuss now? (Why all the fuss indeed Anand? Why did your government call a state of emergency to detain criminals when you knew before you even became Attorney General that a magistrate can set a high bail if need be?)

If persons charged with kidnapping offences are being released on bail too frequently, then perhaps our magistrates are setting bail too low, and the Chief Justice needs to issue some guidelines. (I GUESS THE SAME CAN BE SAID FOR ANY CRIMINAL OFFENCE WHICH OUR MAGISTRATES MAY HAVE BEEN SETTING BAIL TOO LOW FOR)

Surely, the seriousness and prevalence of the offence must weigh heavily in the magistrate's mind and tilt the scales towards imposition of onerous bail conditions in appropriate cases.

A non-bailable offence means that once arrested and charged, you will remain behind bars until your trial, regardless of the paucity or strength of the evidence against you. It’s almost as if you're presumed guilty, rather than innocent. In effect, politicians could use it to remove and incarcerate political opponents from society; police officers could use it to get rid of a troublesome boyfriend or husband to access a “slack” wife or girlfriend. (YET STILL HE IS TRYING TO CONVINCE US THAT UNDER A StATE OF EMERGENCY THE POLICE AND ARMY WILL NOT ABUSE THEIR AUTHORITY, AND TO ADD TO THAT HE IS DOING EXACTLY WHAT HE CLAIMED COULD BE DONE, HE IS PRESUMING THE GUILT OF ALL THOSE THUS DETAINED UNDER THIS FARCICAL STATE OF EMERGENCY!)

There are very few non-bailable offences in our law. These are: murder, treason, piracy or hijacking, and any offence for which the penalty is death. A non-bailable offence means that once arrested and charged, you will remain behind bars until your trial, regardless of the paucity or strength of the evidence against you.

It could easily be misused and abused, because the judiciary would have no power to grant bail, and the ultimate power to deprive a citizen of his liberty is given to the police, who can charge on the flimsiest basis.

It places the liberty of citizens in the hands of the police, because once someone is charged for a non-bailable offence, he/she would be amputated from society and incarcerated like a convicted criminal.

Pressing the right buttons, a drug dealer could easily manipulate the police service to get rid of competitors, so that he could control their turf.

If every time a particular crime increases we allow our politicians to fool us with the knee-jerk reaction of new legislation to make the offence non-bailable, then car theft, robbery with violence and drug offences should all be non-bailable.(ANAND RAMLOGAN, YOU MEAN LIKE HOW YOU AND AUNTY KAMLA MADE THE VERY SAME CAR THEFT, ROBBERY WITH VIOLENCE AND DRUG TRAFFICKING NON-BAILABLE OFFENCES AS PER THE FIRST SCHEDULE OF THE ANTI GANG ACT WHICH YOUR GOVERNMENT IS TAKING CREDIT FOR HAVING LAID IN PARLIAMENT? YOU MEAN LIKE HOW YOU AND KAMLA TRYING TO FOOL US WITH THIS KNEE-JERK STATE OF ABUSE OF OUR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS? OH SHUCKS....AH MEAN STATE OF EMERGENCY?)

If every time a particular crime increases we allow our politicians to fool us with the knee-jerk reaction of new legislation to make the offence non-bailable, then car theft, robbery with violence and drug offences should all be non-bailable.

The trauma inflicted on a victim, whose home is robbed while his/her children are tied and beaten to near death, is not any less than that of a parent whose child is kidnapped. It's no use making qualitative distinctions in the effects of serious crimes.

It is a serious thing for the State to deny an accused bail in circumstances where the backlog of criminal cases in the magistrates’ court system means that an innocent man could be jailed for several years before he is even given an opportunity to prove his innocence. (YET STILL YOU AND GIBBS BOASTING OF HOW MANY PEOPLE YOU HAVE DETAINED UNDER THIS FARCICAL STATE OF STUPIDITY ....OH SHUCKS AH MEAN STATE OF EMERGENCY. ARE THESE ALLEGED CRIMINALS GOING TO BE GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO PROVE THEIR INNOCENCE MR. TRANSFORMER ATTORNEY GENERAL?)

By the time he wins his case, his whole life is ruined. The main weapon in the fight against crime is an efficient and expeditious system of criminal justice. (NOTICE IN 2004 ANAND RAMLOGAN WAS NOT ESPOUSING NOR WAS HE PROMOTING ANY STATE OF EMERGENCY!)

Part of what motivates kidnappers on bail to commit more crimes is the long delay in trying and convicting them. We are all falling into a trap cleverly set by a clueless PNM. (SEEMS THE ONLY TRAP WE FELL FOR IS VOTING FOR A DECEITFUL LYING GOVERNMENT)

The problem is not the lack of laws, but rather the lack of penetrating policing and enforcement of the existing laws.

“No bail for kidnappers” will deflect the nation's attention from the incompetence of the Government, the impotence of the police, as the spotlight once again shifts to Panday. If he refuses to support this amendment, the nation would be so busy “ponging” and “cussin'” him, that no one will have time to focus on the real issue of the Government's inability to deal with crime. (I WONDER WHOSE INCOMPETENCE ANAND RAMLOGAN IS CURRENTLY DEFLECTING? OH GOSH THEY CUSS PANDAY, YOU MEAN LIKE HOW YOU CUSSING ROWLEY FOR CRITICIZING YOUR ILLEGAL STATE OF EMERGENCY? EH ANDAND?)

The mad rush to make new laws every time we have a problem is a reflection of the idle and bankrupt intellectual state of the PNM. The unthinking rush to embrace and welcome this “no bail policy” for kidnapping might be a reflection of our desperation and helplessness.

There's no point in making new laws when the present ones aren't properly utilised. (NOR IS THERE ANY POINT IN CALLING A STATE OF EMERGENCY WHEN LAWS SUCH AS THE ANTI GANG ACT, FIRE ARMS ACT AND THE FINANCIAL ACT AREN'T BEING PROPERLY UTILISED)

http://legacy.guardian.co.tt/archives/2004-08-01/ramlogan.html