Troubling Times....

"Stop breds stop!"

Two men in the road, blood dripping from waving cutlasses, hot from the scene of the crime, looking for a getaway car, never expecting death on four wheels and the licks of a lifetime.

Police reach, man tied to van bloody and in critical condition, take him to hospital and take the driver of the van to jail.

Three days later, after making no point and offering no charge, released driver from his detention, worn out, sick and to many, a national hero.

The people have decided to police themselves, and now blood is going to be met with blood which could very well lead to

Troubling times....

"Police on Strike."

"Police can't strike."

"Well tell that to all the police who didn't show up for work today."

"Where?"

"Everywhere, even the Prime Minister nearly had to guard she self."

Until the Government can find a way to close the gap between their highly paid Commissioner and the ranks below him, we may be in for

Troubling times....

A senior Government Official - a Senator - is to be questioned by police in a fraud conspiracy after Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar forwarded a letter to Commissioner of Police (CoP) Dwayne Gibbs.

Sunday Guardian has learnt that the hand-written letter forms a vital piece of evidence in the police matter as it allegedly links the top government official to willfully conspiring to set up two former government ministers. That this matter is causing many Attorneys at Law to polish up their resumes in case there is a general call is no understatement, and many are saying that this matter could lead to

Troubling times....

Deciding there was at least one State Official outside of his direct control that he had not yet angered, the Attorney General used strong language in the Parliament to vent his frustration with the pace of prosecution of his nemesis - Calder Hart. That Hart's prosecution would register as a success to a failing Administration and justify his appointment in the first place, the AG went after the DPP with all guns firing, making claims that the case was indeed ready to prosecute and leaving some weighted questions unanswered.

Noting the AG's penchant for off the cuff and intemperate remarks under the protection of Parliament, the level headed and sober Director of Public Prosecutions had to caution the Attorney General against his 'incautious' statements, lest they lead to 

Troubling times...

The Culture Minister, worried about the absence of 'real' police in the Carnival even as promoters blame their losses on a public afraid to party without security, has decried the police's action at a time when the Minister has only one shot to look good.

In a very sedate and sombre interview, the Gypsy of the Party promised Draconian measures for Draconian times.

Obviously unwilling to be put off of the chugging head of steam that his Ministerial appointment has caused him, he promised to call in the United States Army if necessary to protect the Carnival, so the country does not end up with

Troubling times..

Rumors of multi million dollar US handlers and Public Relations firms being contracted and brought to our shores to 're-invent' the Government nine months in, as their failings and failures are mounting to the point where people are starting to question which part of the dog does the wagging. Mix ups, cock ups and grand demonstrations of incompetence rain down from Ministry after Ministry, and the begging question lies not with their press, but their content.

The Government is already a coalition of everyone else but the PNM, which means that, should they fail and collapse on the job, the concept of any thing like an East Indian Government anytime in the foreseeable future would require significantly

Troubling times...

In my article written on Friday July 20th 2010 entitled 'Democracy in Crisis', I had cause to note the following:

"Regardless of the nature or temperament of the Office holders around him, he (the Commissioner) needs a cool head and a calm demeanor to keep the security of the ship of state intact.

Mr. Ramlogan showed his personal and political immaturity when he attacked the Commissioner baselessly on National TV, and I sincerely doubt Mr. Ramlogan will survive the fallout of his actions.

 As the lawyers say, he ought to have known better."

This was always going to cause a war with the very police officers that the (much touted) anti crime Government was going to need to keep their campaign promises, and it was utter foolishness on the part of the then neophyte Attorney General to begin a war everyone knew he couldn't win.

Straight out of electoral victory, this Administration was beset on all sides with goodwill and advice which it spurned in favor of the very nepotism and cronyism it decried when in Opposition and on the hustings, and one just has to look at what constitutes many of the State Boards to know that meritocracy, qualifications and experience do not matter to this thinly veiled UNC Government.

The composition of the UDECOTT Board is a glaring example of the contempt this Government has for the people.

That the Prime Minister and her Party's popularity has slipped significantly based on their combined and arrogant display of incompetence in gaffe after gaffe after gaffe is plain to see now for all who have eyes to see, and whether the Government, the Ministers or the Party acknowledges it, from the disenchanted workers, striking unions, stalled economy and frustrated supporters, their turn at power has caused this country nothing but

Troubling times...