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!

Fallen

It is okay to allow another to play with your heart for it can bring you much amusement to see them gain a false sense of worth when in TRUTH and FACT they are worthless. You do not however allow another to break your heart, because then they break your spirit and a broken spirit knows no amusement. ©

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.