FIFA's Paradise... (Sung to the tune of Gangsta's Paradise)

As I walk through the lobby of the hotel in Zurich 

I take a look at my wallet and realize there's not much left

Cause I've been tippin' and greasin' so long that 

Even my ma'ma thinks that my mind is gone 

But I ain't never bribed a man that didn't deserve it 

Me, be treated like a punk, you know that's unheard of 

You better watch how you feelin', and where you squealin' 

Or you and your pardners might be looking for wuk 

I really hate to go, but I gotta skip'- 

As they grew I see myself in the cigar smoke, fool

I'm the kinda G the little hustlers wanna be like 

On my back in the night 

Countin' money in the night light 

Been spending most our lives living in the FIFA's Paradise

Been spending most our lives living in the FIFA's Paradise

Keep spending most our lives living in the FIFA's Paradise

Keep spending most our lives living in the FIFA's Paradise

They got the information, they got me squirmin'

I can't live a normal life, I'm accustomed to it nice

So I gotta be where all the money is

Too much talkin' interrupting all the money biz

I'm an educated fool with money on my mind 

Got your money in my hand and a gleam in my eye 

I'm a loc'ed out bandit, set-trippin hustler 

And we takin' it nice, so don't alert Chuck Blazer, fool

Got to keep on trying to keep Jennings at bay 

Yuh mudder, yuh mudder, what can I say? 

I have ten million now, but will I get ten million more? 

With that cracker on our tail I don't know

Tell me why are we, so damn hungry

No matter what you want, pass money

Been spending most our lives living in the FIFA's Paradise
Been spending most our lives living in the FIFA's Paradise

Keep spending most our lives living in the FIFA's Paradise

Keep spending most our lives living in the FIFA's Paradise 

Power and the money, money and the power 

Minute after minute, hour after hour 

Everybody's talkin, but half of them ain't thinkin' 

What's goin on in the Parliament, while everybody kicksin'

They say I am a crook, but nobody's can catch me,

If they cant keep up, how they gonna stop me? 

And my boy Phil write me up in the Coolio song

Ah go have to check him when I come back into town!

Been spending most our lives living in the FIFA's Paradise 

Been spending most our lives living in the FIFA's Paradise 

Keep spending most our lives living in the FIFA's Paradise 

Keep spending most our lives living in the FIFA's Paradise 

Tell me why are we, so damn hungry

No matter what you want, pass money

Tell me you a hustlin' bandit just like me

Everything i get, one for you two for me

Change We Could Use...

Austin Jack Warner now finds himself at the heart of a scandal that may be too big even for him, such is his teflon reputation that regardless of the glaring evidence against him and the many willing to testify to his less than honest practices he always walked away unscathed. That may not be the case in this situation but as the writing is not yet writ on this act I will refrain from further comment on that particular matter.

Unlike many who are happy to see his blood in the water as it were, I find myself unconcerned as these are not the issues that matter to me. Jack Warner is a member at the highest level of a global organization that regulates itself as much as it regulates world football and while I have my opinions on how it is operated, those opinions do not matter in the grand scheme of things.

My concerns are with Jack Warner the politician in as much as he is and the further destruction to the integrity in public affairs his presence at that level brings. He was never good for the politics as is the case with many others before and since, and while the past may indeed be the past, I still find myself upset that our systems allow for men of such questionable character into the legislature and access to power over the people.

This is a situation that warrants much scrutiny, intervention and redevelopment if we are ever going to advance as a nation. We simply cannot be looking for Robin Hoods and other fictional characters to solve our problems but should insist and the systems should guarantee that integrity and ethics not be diluted to fit expediency, friendship or appointment.

It has been said that when we rationalize we tell ourselves rational lies and this has been the road to our ruination in this regard. We are far too willing to excuse today's abuses because of yesterday's wrongs and all that effectively does is poison tomorrow.

Many a staffing mistake has been made in haste yet we caution our children to measure thrice and cut once. We may need to take our own advice where these matters are concerned and secure for ourselves and our nation men of the highest caliber of morality, integrity and character as demonstrated by an unblemished career, experience, ethics and a patriotic love of country as the qualifying benchmark.

There can be no shades of grey here where these appointments are concerned, and it is high time that we stop playing politics with every little thing. We are badly in need of a Standards Committee to look at the prerequisites to High Public Office as they currently exist and see if they need rewriting, rewording or scrapping and redrafting altogether. I suggest that this be put under the purview of the President's Office to convene, with equal appointments from the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and the President. These appointees to this committee should not be active politicians as one should stray as far as possible from himself regulating himself.

One only has to look at the current scenario to realize how ineffective a policy that already is. 

The Balisier Conundrum...

"We can dance if we want to, we can leave your friends behind; 'Cause your friends don't dance and if they don't dance Well they're no friends of mine..."

- Men Without Hats

Nobody walks to San Fernando as a means by itself, nobody; it is always a means to an end. Like the saying no one buys a drill because they want a drill, one buys a drill because one wants a hole, we as a nation need to ask the question, 'What exactly is Patrick Manning digging here?"

Confucius said "If you devote your life to seeking revenge, first dig two graves," and this appears to be the precise lesson lost on Patrick Manning and his followers. Despite protestations to the contrary, he and his die hard followers seem bent on challenging Dr. Keith Rowley for power in the Party and it could only be driven by revenge. Manning and his supporters must be aware that Manning couldn't win a national election, so why waste the time?

The morning after the 'hug felt around the world' on San Fernando hill I asked why now? What could be the purpose of this other than to raise Manning's political stocks and why was Rowley so foolishly playing along?

At every step of the way I have asked who advises the Leader of the Opposition in his capacity as Political Leader of the PNM and all I get are hollow sounding one liners from gangster movies. This isn't a movie, the stakes here are real for many people and these political actors may yet cost us all tremendously.

Back on point, Dr. Keith Rowley needs to declare war on Patrick Manning or cede his position and leave; there is no middle ground here and if the burdens of leadership are too much for him to bear let him publicly say so and demit Office. The Opposition is vital to our governance as a counter balance but also as a government in waiting. How can this obviously split organization present itself as a cohesive option should the bell for elections (God forbid) be rung?

The Manningites that have shown their hand need to be purged from the Party. Yes it will be uncomfortable for a while, but the only power political back benchers have for mischief is to vote against the whip and in these instants the Government does not need their help. Keith Rowley is in an unenviable position but he must have known that from the moment he mounted his first challenge for leadership in the first place. He had to have known that the pendulum swing was going to be messy as he and almost everyone else who made up the current 'post NAR' PNM were hand picked by Manning himself. He must have known that there was going to be a necessary purge of the ranks if he was ever going to really hold the reins of power, yet his reluctance to bite the bullet may well see him cut down despite all the warnings that we could give.

I watched Rowley supporters turn in disgust after the convention, realizing that not only did he not possess the where with all for court martials and dry docking, he was either lazy or trying to be expedient by working with the pro-Manning structure even as Manning was testing the political waters all around him to come back and cut his throat. I mean really, a third grader could have seen this coming. Now, after a nothing event on the PM's house to put himself back in play Manning commands the media and the high ground leaving Rowley once again to appear as reactionary from within.

Does he not see this?

The country desperately needs a strong Opposition to keep this government in check and this current crop appears to not be it. Regardless of if he seizes power within the PNM or not, Patrick Manning is too widely despised to ever hold national power again. Dr. Rowley is doing himself, the PNM and the nation a disservice by failing to do his sworn duty, and right now that requires politically executing Patrick Manning.

There is nothing left to discuss now that gauntlets are down and lines are drawn. Dr. Keith Rowley history is watching, destiny is waiting, do your job.

"We can go when we want to, the night is young and so am I. And we can dress real neat from our hats to our feet and surprise 'em with the victory cry..."
- The Safety Dance

In Other News...

President George Maxwell Richards donned his big girl panties yesterday and told the Government in no uncertain terms that he was not about to fire the Chairman of the integrity Commission for his lack of restraint as it was not a fire-able event; also because he had such a hard time filling the posts the last time there was a brouhaha he does not appear willing to risk it as the country has a noticeable shortage of people of integrity.
The man at the center of things Eric St. Cyr for his part has decided to remain silent on this issue, which caused many to comment that this should have been his policy from the beginning. His out of time remarks on whether or not the Prime Minister should have stayed at a friend's house who now seems about to benefit from a State contract would have been better expressed though the Commission rather than despite it. He was last seen putting the cart before the horse and wondering why it wouldn't go. 

Also in the news Patrick Manning continues to make a spectacle of himself and the seven people still loyal to his cause which is having a disruptive effect within the Party and is annoying the eight people still loyal to Party Leader Dr. Keith Rowley.
Seemingly hell bent on insisting on his right to break the rules and get away with it, Mr. Manning has decided to walk from the Red House to San Fernando prompting many to ask why stop there? 
Senior PNM members have gone out of their way to distance themselves from this march, most noticeably Dr. Amery Browne who is currently recovering from a mani/pedi sustained injury and who appears waiting to see which side wins so that he can demonstrate his unflinching support and begin the healing process by sharing hugs all around.
When asked if she would be joining him on the walk to San Fernando Opposition Chief Whip Marlene McDonald answered "Pfffffftttt" or something to that effect. A PNM source close to the Member who preferred to remain anonymous disclosed that if Marlene could take a taxi from where she parked her car to where she was going she would.

In other Parliamentary developments Jack Warner may be absent from the House as he flies to ZUrich to defend his good name. As he is starting from a significant deficit this is expected to take some time, but everyone appreciates the peace and quiet so it is appearing to be a win win. His lawyer, busy researching the origins of the english language so as to find defensible loopholes has said that the system needs to be overhauled as bribery ought to have a non disclosure clause and a penalty. Speaking from his tiny office in Nigeria which also doubles as the nation's Complaint Council for Bribery, Forgery and Shady Deeds, a non profit organization totally funded from the proceeds of a dead Iraqi millionaire general who left a fortune and no heir. When pressed for further comment he recommended that people should leave issues of dishonesty to people who understand it best.

Finally, the Government has unveiled the newly refurbished Emperor Valley Zoo and its significantly increased facilities demonstrating succicntly where their priorities lie. Next on the agenda are a food and shelter facility for homeless anacondas and a home for unwed pigs.

Dealing with the Warner issue...

"Everyone sees what you appear to be, few experience what you really are. Men are so simple of mind, and so much dominated by their immediate needs, that a deceitful man will always find plenty who are ready to be deceived." 

— Niccolò Machiavelli (The Prince)

The same things that some people like about Austin Jack Warner are the same things that they ought to be concerned about. The same quality that helped him wrench control of the UNC out of Basdeo Panday's cold, half-dead hands is the same one he is using to foist his sidekick Anil Roberts on the Congress of the People as Leader, and the same one again that has his son parked in the PNM and for the same purposes, unfettered political control.

The stakes in this game appear to be consolidation of power at the highest level, and if he were to achieve it then that will be it. In this game of 'loot and run' started under Williams there was always going to be a 'winner,' and because we have no shortage of greedy men and women at the highest rungs of our society willing to sell us all down the river for their cut it is not as difficult a plot to achieve as you might think; if his alleged prowess and practices in FIFA are anything to go by, this man know which wheel to grease to get what he wants and we need to be concerned to the point of action.

Now I don't know if Patrick Manning is too foolish or too selfish to see, but his current efforts at self aggrandizement is tearing the PNM apart and weakening the only check and balance the constitution provides against this sort of thing. For better or worse Dr. Rowley is the Leader of the Opposition at this time and he does not need his limited power undermined from within his own ranks. As an important first step the PNM needs to eject young Warner from their ranks while his father is Chairman of the UNC so as to send a strong message that the Party will not be compromised  and that what is being done in the public glare is also being done in private.

We need to sound a warning and take steps to prevent this from occurring; Laboring under the illusion that someone will come along and save us were this to occur is foolish because there is no one who can. We're it; it is up to us to see past these plans and abort them while they're still in the womb.

If this all sounds very Machiavellian it is because it is; one just has to join the dots and arrive at one's own conclusion. It is instructive to note that throughout history most men who achieved Dictator or absolute ruler status did not arrive there with a big noise but with the silent acquiescence of the very people charged with preventing such occurrences in the first place.

Put in the words of the master instructor himself:

"as the physicians say it happens in hectic fever, that in the beginning of the malady it is easy to cure but difficult to detect, but in the course of time, not having been either detected or treated in the beginning, it becomes easy to detect but difficult to cure" 

— Niccolò Machiavelli (The Prince)

Political Nursery Rhymes - Trini style..

Itsy Bitsy Nizam climbing up the spout

sit down in the Parliament and opened up his mouth

say the police service full a black people like rain

Now Itsy Bitsy Nizam doh have no wuk again!

Jack be nimble

Jack be quick

Jack take a bribe

And buss it quick.

Now the English not happy

And Jack's nuts in the fire

Pressure in the Federation

Watch big men perspire 

The Grand old Duke of York he had ten thousand men

He marched them up to the top of the hill

And he marched them down again.

When they were up, they were up

And when they were down, they were down

When he got himself a suitcase of money,

he marched them out of town.
 

Georgie Porgie pudding and pie,

Kissed the girls and made them cry

When the boys came out to play,

Georgie Porgie got to be Chairman of a State Board

So fly, fly away...

Chandresh, Chandresh Gander where shall I wander,

Upstairs, downstairs and in my lady's chamber

There I met an old man who wouldn't say his prayers,

But I realized he was a relative of mine so I hooked him up a State job

And bought him a couple of beers...

Hey diddle diddle, the Supervisor and the fiddle,

The insurance company collapsed much too soon.

The little Party Treasurer laughed to see such fun

And the fat man ran away with the spoon! (and the evidence, and the loot)

 

Humpty Manning sat on a wall,

Humpty Manning had a great fall.

All the flag waving, loud talking and saga boy men

Couldn't put Humpty Manning together again!

Jack and Bin Hammam went to Qatar

 to fetch a pail of money

Jack made deals so no one could squeal

'though some said it wasn't funny.

Up got Jack, and home did trot 

so he could avoid the pressure

and if that dont work you know Jack doh make joke

he could always go live in Russia.

Little Bo Rowley lost her sheep

And didn't know where to find them.

Leave them alone and they'll come home,

After taking a march with Manning.

Little Jack Warner sat in the corner

Eating his Christmas pie,

He put in his thumb and pulled out a plum

And said "yuh mudder, go ask yuh mudder!"

"Ah woulda spit on yuh but ah doh want to dignify you with spit."

Little Marlene Muffet sat on a tuffet

Eating her curds and whey,

Along came a spider,

Who sat down beside her

So Marlene ate the spider too.

Mary had a reputation with fleece as white as snow;

it got her into politics and a seat at the big, big show.

It got her son a questionable State contract which was against the rule;

It made the Prime Minister have to buss her throat, making Mary looks like a fool.

Kamla, Kamla, what a dilemma

Setta Ministers looking like crook

After your lime in Gopaul house.

If he get the contract how it go look.

Pat a cake, Pat a cake, lawyer man

lie to policy holders and take them for all you can; 

Turn them and twist them and promise to win the case

Even though you were smart enough not to put your money there in the first place.

Sing a song of sixpence Rowley tell a lie

Say Ramlogan went New York and made the people cry

When the file was opened and the AG began to sing,

Everybody in the country hush and said "What a thing."

Now Rowley get himself a date and might get suspended too

And what will be the situation if we find it wasn't true.

Like is foot in mouth again as they take the House for a ride

And how will the PNM represent with all their members standing outside.

There was a crooked Canadian and he walked a crooked mile,

to find a crooked Prime minister and they both made off in style.

With crooked CHOGMS, and Smelters and crooked NAPAs galore

Gone to sit and wait in Canada until it's time to loot once more.

Ish and Stevie, Ish and Stevie,

Where are you, where are you?

Uncle Sam is waiting, despite the games you're playing

Ding ding dong, ding ding dong.