Christmas...

At five past noon on Christmas Eve the clock on the Republic Bank Park Street branch announced to the world that it was a quarter past nine, and in typical Trinidad fashion, no one seemed to notice or care. Stuck behind a jeep load of police in the traffic that was trying to leave Observatory Street and enter Charlotte Street I was paying attention to them as they seemed to be paying close attention to everything else, especially anything that moved. Four doors open, four riot gear attired and heavily armed officers emerge in rehearsed formation, two on guard front and rear, two the up close inspection detail. For the passer by that was the object of their interest it was up against the wall, legs and arms spread as one officer searched every inch of his person while the other barked a series of questions, the answers to which could well determine where he spends his Christmas day. I know I imagined it, but I could swear I could hear his heart beating in his chest, this mouse caught in the cat's glare and cornered, himself surely wondering if he would be continuing on his way or if he would be a guest of the State for the Season. His smile as he walks on is visibly more of relief than humor and does nothing to hide the difference in his stride post encounter, but at least he was on his way under his own steam and I am sure to him, that is all that mattered then.

Looking around Belmont is at once both harsh and beautiful depending on which eyes you view it from, and, if you are capable of imagination, as old world as any where that grew up, found its best self and left its worst self behind. Caught in a time warp between its past and progress, its people are in limbo, half of them making a chance, the other half taking one. The idea of class segregation that communities like Westmoorings represents only compounded the problems that they were intended to solve. So good on paper, the destruction that is being wrought on society is best reflected in places like Belmont, creating a peasant class of those left behind.

I always wonder how we sing here every creed and race finds an equal place and then separate them and not see the contradiction. Bigger minds will discuss things like these at the appropriate time I am sure, but I cannot help but notice that many of our problems are self inflicted and are the result of our most reactive and juvenile decisions. To my mind in a society that works, Belmont would be an ideal place to live due to its blend of residences and commercial interests that serve the needs of the people within walking distance while providing employment among the same people on whom their businesses rely.

From my vantage point the people seemed caught up in the true spirit of true Trini Christmas, as many were seen to be busily still cleaning, painting and preparing for the big day. The abundance of Nativity scenes was a testimony to the faith of the people, again in contrast to those who had much more to be thankful for, but that has always been the contradiction of religion in this place. The other advantage communities offer is tradition, and holidays and festivities are best celebrated in places where there is some history among the people. Having grown up in Woodbrook, itself a community that worked when I was a child, I know this feeling first hand. One did not need to be of the faith to eat the food, and we knew what holiday was coming from well in advance and which houses were on the 'sure to get lash' list.

I know I am a romantic and a dreamer, but I wish that we could somehow find a way to return to a place where being Trini is enough and we did not have to gate people in or out. The legacy we are handing our children is a sterile world of mistrust and materialism that could never replace a good lime in a friend's house over the holidays, and I would trade all the dressed up overly promoted affairs for a good lime anytime, because it is no lie, Trini Christmas is the best.

2011 - The Year in Review...

Ish and Steve and Uncle Sam, Jack and George and sister Kam
Maxi Taxis protest tour, Nizam Mohammed starts his own race war
Ellis dies, what a drag, Anil Roberts Nicki Minaj
Attorney General security plan, Anand is the piano man
New York City beauty queen ride, C-O-P mar-gin-a-lized
Herbert Volney loses mind, Reshmi fiasco starts to unwind

Patrick Manning hugs up Keith, Mighty Midget bares his teeth
Machel Montano Advantaging, Ravi B, pelt something
Louis Lee Sing, homeless crew, Anand named in Mayaro brew
Jumping Jack has Rowley woes, people Minister strikes a pose
Minister of Health mad for so, Fazeer Mohammed have to go
Anil Roberts lips are large, Warner is Head N***er in Charge

March began, hanging bill, Opposition say not time to kill
Anand Ramlogan's facebook try, Senator say hang them high
Warner in conspiracy, Fyzabad a mock-er-ry
Balisier people having fun, Rowley say reflection done
Nizam on fire time to go, Calder Hart yes DPP no
MacFarlane tries a Minshall rant, Minshall does what MacFarlane cant

PH taxi free at last, rapist killers making mas
Manning challenge Rowley, pain, Amery and the boys abstain
Farmers, pineapples, tractors, war, eat ah food time back for more
Watson Duke suitcase, money, P-N-M courts C-O-P
Kamla, Gopaul, bigtruck, plan, Chandresh is a big family man
Rowley, Ramlogan, New York lie, Ish & Steve doh want to fly

May, Warner, Bin Hamam, football politics in a jam
Vicky Boodram, Mary King, Bhoe Tewari, what a thing
Amery, Valley, graveside church, dogbite people in the lurch
Allyson Hennessy rest in peace, Manning suspended from batting crease
Maxwell Richards, Eric St. Cyr, Integrity have nothing to fear
Warner, Zurich, FIFA talk, Manning and San Fernando walk

Warner FIFA  out of time, C-O-P election lime
Vernon tell them How ah talk, Anil tell Vernon take a walk
Nalini call Prakash a snake, Prakash say Nalini make mistake
Duprey, Monteil, enquiry, time to end the misery
Warner FIFA labor day, FIFA tell Warner go yuh way
Kamla cabinet realign, health care workers feeling fine

Red Bull wings and flugtag bram, Total chaos traffic jam
Rajendra wins Privy Council case, laments 27 years lost to waste
Bread gone up boycotting Kiss, no drop in sales, the boycott miss
Labor marching all over town, social unrest rumors abound
C-O-P has a new King, Prakash win de whole damn ting

August came to spoil the lime CLICO investors say it's money time
Ramesh come to shake the stick, say they better pay them quick
Roget is the brand new Duke say five per cent could make him puke
Kamla calls an SoE, everybody wants to know what wrong with she
Sandy, Anand, Gibbs misfire, their stories make the PM a liar

Porn star, seamstress, beauty queen, Project Runway hot new scene
Big fish, small fish, in between, only small fish in the net it seems
Kamla, Parliament, extension vote, Rowley promise to sink their boat
Police is new bad man in town, watch them hard and yuh going down
Pit-bull killings top story, DPP tell Judge set all man free

Manning scholarship DPP fuss, Rowley say commission file bogus
Teacher sexting naked pics, sleight of hand and budget tricks
Crime Watch broadcasting minor rape, mass outcry against illegal tape
Poison avocados cause sales to drop, SoE crime plan one big flop
Rowley and friends blank Balisier tie, PNM in uproar, tension high
Sat and Sita and panty line rule, no black hen chickens for Hindu school

Petition, sedition, things getting hot, big fish water man in aassassination plot
Ian Alleyne head hutting, sent on leave, Ish and Steve get traveling reprieve
Business interests vex so curfew gone, people vex but State of Emergency continues on
Big rain flood and wall fall down, Warner say time for blame talk to done
Colour me Orange the newest trend, run de clip director, Alleyne back again
Overtime woes make police see red, Kamla giving out medals but they want money instead

Express Newspaper in anti-gay mess, Emergency over, detainees seeking redress
PM feeling festive but Rowley make noise, ask Santa Kamla who gave her the toys
Prakash tells UNC it's talking time, Warner buff him, Prakash say like Warner loss he mind
Colour Me Orange Olympics time, Basdeo returns to the UNC lime
Christmas time killings, murders galore, fire, no escape, blood on the floor
Port workers on strike and money men vex, 2011 almost over, let's see what's next....

Failing Forward....

No country becomes a 'failed State' overnight, it creeps up in degrees. Social norms have to be discarded, people need to be dehumanized and authority has to be challenged and vanquished. Based on current trends Trinidad & Tobago is going to be an excellent case study one day and I wanted to do my part in trying to document the decline. For a state to fail people need to lose complete respect for each other, for every system of governance, for life and death, but most importantly, for themselves. When life becomes meaningless and the 'other' is seen only in terms of pathways to increase or obstacles to progress there is nowhere left to go but down.

The news this week is fraught with glaring examples of the accelerating decline on so many social levels it is almost jarring, yet still we plummet on, oblivious to where we are or where we're headed. The top story this week was the tragedy in Trou Macacaque Laventille, where one brother decided to settle scores with his family in a dispute over a government house they were each trying to inherit individually, so he barred the exit and set the apartment on fire, killing at least five persons, among them two little children and a next door neighbour. The tragedy itself was overshadowed by the fact that whoever authorized and whoever built these apartments did so without requiring or providing fire escapes, which contributed directly to at least two of the deaths from people trying to escape the inferno. In a developed nation someone or someones would have had to resign if not be fired by now as a tragedy of such epic proportions requires that the someone along the food chain most responsible pay the ultimate price while an investigation is launched to determine liability. In failing nations the public is distracted, the issue deflected, calls for enquiries misdirected, and life goes back to normal with those dying needless deaths having died for nothing.

Also in the spotlight was the plight of at least five families in Woodbrook, among them a seventy five year old grandmother who are literally suffering at the hands of the heartless. Based on reports the offspring of some well off and well educated people have decided to establish a night club on a side street in Woodbrook oblivious to the impact such a business might have on the lives of those who call that street home. When informed of the disturbance that they were in fact causing they seemed more interested in what they could get away with rather than what was right. Despairing from the lack of any real response from the authorities, one of the neighbours put up a video on the internet for the world (or at least those in Trinidad who still care) to see, and what was seen to be happening to these people could only be described as abuse. Begging many questions, not the least of which being who could have approved such a misguided misadventure in the first place as the statutes and laws governing the approval of licenses are quite clear. Relying on at least two agencies to confirm that such an establishment would not be a nuisance to surrounding neighbours, someone along the line either failed to do his job or corrupted it, and  here we are, with one set of people going about the business of making a dollar while the other set, now victims of the first, are no longer able to sleep at night.

When the people who are supposed to enforce the law seem to not be bothered to or are readily willing to corruptly work against it, and when those who are reasonably expected to know better don't, then all that is left to do is to record the decline. Countries like Mexico, Columbia and Panama do not happen without the misguided will of a misguided people, and while Haiti was pressed down by external forces, the destruction wrought on its people was mainly the result of internal forces, of cruel acts perpetrated by those with power over those without, of taking advantage wherever it could be found regardless of the consequences of one's actions on others or on the nation as a whole.

If this sounds anything like Trinidad & Tobago it is because this is exactly where we find ourselves right now. Where we go from here is anybody's guess, but based on current trends we'd all better start planting bananas as it seems a banana Republic is all that we aspire to be...

Assault on Eden... (Saving Woodbrook)

Once again the issue of the unplanned and under-regulated commercial development of restaurants and bars is wreaking havoc on the residents of what is arguably the best laid out and most functional community in the entire country, and while there are always more than one side to every story, in this case the only side that matters is that of the residents whose community has been invaded for nothing of value and allowed to by incompetent political appointees. Unable to go about the peaceful enjoyment of their homes, these people have been served notice that the lawless in society are taking over through whatever means necessary, and I would like to strongly suggest that it is time we not only put a stop to this, but we must also take steps to reverse it completely.

I believe what is happening here is either a result of gross incompetence or outright corruption. That it should never have been allowed to come to this is a given, and as there are many rules and regulations already on the statutes governing this sort of thing, applying the necessary remedy should not be that hard. As they say 'follow the money,' or in this case follow on from the signature on the approval documents backwards to the application on record. Whoever took it upon himself to turn the rules that govern commercial development in the area on its head should be fired immediately, if not prosecuted and charged for misbehavior in public office.

Moving forward. There is already a commercial sector in the area that has to be incorporated into the community and managed, and while some eager entrepreneurs see the residents as an obstacle to profit, that mindset has to be turned about and sent on its way. Clearly we need change in the legislation that governs the establishment of restaurants and bars in highly residential areas, and the licenses granted should be subject to strict rules and controls, among them being:

- All bars in residential areas should be made to close at midnight so as to limit their impact on the residents of the area.

- Bars should be made to provide adequate toilet facilities so as to reduce the need for patrons to urinate on neighborhood walls.

- All bars should be made to pay a clean up and beautification tax based on the square footage of the establishment and used to fund the upkeep of the community and remove the negatives that accompany this sort of business.

- All bar licenses should come with a noise control caveat requiring music to be played to a certain level and in enclosed spaces so as to limit the nuisance to neighbors.

- Patron spillover onto the pavement and into the road should be discouraged and enforced as they are both a security risk and a safety violation.

These rules and regulations while stringent would serve the dual purpose of protecting the residents from the high nuisance value of the existing establishments and their patrons and would encourage prospective business developers to look elsewhere in less populated areas for their commercial opportunities in the future.

While this article highlights the abuses taking place in Woodbrook, it is by no means the only area where this is taking place and a precedent must be set here and then duplicated island wide. It is fortunate to note that the nature of this business is not dependent on location as the associated high parking, traffic and congestion would attest, and they would thrive just as easily in areas where the nuisances that come with large crowds and drunk people could bother no one but the drunks themselves.

What many are mistakingly calling progress is anything but, and in a nation that is suffering the consequences of the breakdown of the family and the community in its core function of inculcating strong values and regulating deviant behavior, this development should be seen for what it really is, an attack against reason. What is being done to the residents of these communities is criminal and no amount of double speak is going to change that. Our communities must not be seen as opportunities ripe for profiteering and exploitation, but rather as cradles of development for the people of this nation. Neighbourhoods, communities, traditions and culture are the glue the binds us together and makes us strong, and while we could survive if every bar in the country closes down, the loss of one functional community makes the entire nation that much poorer.

Something to think about...

The Season of Discontent...

They say discontent is the first necessity of progress, and if that is true then we are in for a lot of progress anytime soon. As we enter the busy Christmas Season there are many troubling signs that are affecting the normally festive mood, and disturbingly there seems to be an unofficial policy to underplay Christmas despite the gift giving and the Santa Claus hats. It would seem that the 'reason for the season' does not sit well with the power behind the throne and you can feel it right away when you walk into the drab lifeless usually very decorated public offices. I asked the employees at a T&TEC office this week what happened to the Christmas cheer and one of the members said jokingly it hadn't reached that office as yet. By all accounts whoever is in charge of the delivery is doing a terrible job, because it hasn't arrived at many if not most.

If there is any truth to the idea that religious celebrations have been affected in any way by anyone's political or racist agenda know that there will be hell to pay (pardon the pun) and the inevitable push back will not be healthy at all. I think we are at a place in our development when we can safely ignore the government when they are doing silliness and relegate them to the civil servants that they are. A classic example would be the national rejection of the now known hogwash that was the much ballyhooed assassination plot, and whether or not it was fabricated to distract the electorate it disadvantaged people and disturbingly robbed them of their rights for a government's agenda. This needs to be seen for what it is and a call must be made for a Commission of Enquiry into both it and the State of Emergency that preceded it to determine what exactly took place. The harsh reality is that while we may not be in an ideal place politically for a return to the polls, we may need to take our chances as this administration is not ready and is clearly not up to the task. Kamla Persad Bissessar has demonstrated her inability to function at this level, and it is only the Season of goodwill that is keeping me from describing some of them in the manner they most deserve.

In this vein both Prakash Ramdhar and Carolyn Seepersad Bachan have served notice on the COP's Partnership Partners that 2012 would not be business as usual, and despite worrying signs internally that this could well be fiction, if they really wanted to set themselves and their Party up as an alternative to the UNC they have to take steps to sever from the coalition and separate themselves in the Parliament. The COP needs to distance itself and the membership from any of the abusers in this government, and, freed from the constraints of cabinet minus the power of government they could return to the campaign trail in force and whip up support as agents of change.

The other alternative the PNM has major work to do  on the redevelopment front if they are ever to be seen as an option again and everyone in that Party knows it. Dr, Keith Rowley is still not being viewed as the de-facto leader despite having all of the titles required, and he remains hamstrung by the San Fernando East cabal and their supporters. Until this matter as to who wields ultimate power in that Party is decided, nothing the PNM is offering can be taken seriously. Worse, no one wants to contemplate a situation where Patrick Manning is once again Prime Minister in his own right or the power behind the throne a la Amery Browne, and regardless of whatever residual support they may have among the rabid mass, it is still not enough to take the Party forward. Despite his feisty campaign rhetoric Dr. Rowley never dry docked, never court martialed, and he may well pay the supreme price for that mistake. If I were him I would take action now to purge the Party at the highest level of the Manning loyalists and replace them with his own team and get down to the work required to make that Party politically attractive again.

More than anything else we celebrate the birth of hope on the 25th of December and this must never be forgotten. Hope is the wellspring from which our best selves are yet to emerge, and  I would like to wish everyone a Season full of love, joy, family and friends, and may the message of the birth of Jesus Christ and the spirit of goodwill to all be made manifest in your life. Merry Christmas.

Fire in De Cocoa... (One Week in T&T)

What a difference a week makes in this place. The recently concluded State of Emergency is being heralded as a glorious success by the government, their supporters and people who like to go to bed early, and as a dismal failure by the Opposition, drinkers, and people who prefer their reality based in truth, or, failing that, at least clever, well rehearsed lies. What we got in place of either was clumsy, patchwork, make-believe outrageous fantasy, and the effort being expended trying to rewrite recent history and tie everything up with a neat bow is making the government look ditzy. From all outward appearances it is also threatening to give  John Sandy a nervous breakdown and may well be encouraging everyone else to drink. At this point there are so many versions of what really took place that Kamla's plan to hand out medals to all involved seems almost normal, almost natural in this bizzarro place.

The Congress of the People, tired of being hammered in the Court of public opinion over the main player in the partnership government's excesses, decided to flex some junior partner muscle and take firm and decisive action. As one they rallied behind their leader who penned a hard hitting, no holds barred letter to his counterpart in the UNC  Kamla Persad Bissessar, and in what is becoming his trademark style, guaranteed not to offend. His internal election campaign promise of an iron fist in a velvet glove seems to be materializing, although some say they may have gone too far with the lace frills and the charm bracelet.

Also vying for top spot in the 'news for no reason' category, Patrick Manning hosted another one of his Friday press conferences of urgent national importance, but this time on a Saturday just to mix things up and to keep his enemies guessing; The strategy may have worked a little too well because after that particular press conference not many seemed to understand what exactly he was trying to say. Asked to comment on Mr. Manning's latest hi-jinx, PNM political leader Dr. Keith Rowley exclaimed - “What all yuh want me to do, some days he likes to dress up and pretend he's still Prime Minister so we humor him, who he really hurting?”

Not to be outdone in 'the dinosaur that roared' segment, former Prime Minister and former UNC Leader Basdeo Panday himself announced that he would be returning to active politics and was challenging to retake 'his' Party in the internal elections due next year, causing a small spike in the price of Grey Goose Vodka and making Jack Warner's speech impediment that much worse. With rumors of existing Cabinet Ministers already pledging support for the old warhorse, things do not look like they are going to settle down in that Party anytime soon.

Also in the news, the government has decided to take the Color Me Orange crazy train one step further by launching the Orange Olympics and are inviting participants to register. The Opposition has accused the government of taking advantage of poor people with foolishness, causing Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar to send him a medal for 'Performance in Opposition.'

Government Senator Bhoe Tewari's thinly veiled love/hate relationship with democracy was allowed to slip this week in the Senate, where he blamed pesky politics for being 'in the way' of development when he said “Trinidad and Tobago is being prevented from advancing because of politics.” No one seemed interested in asking what exactly he would prefer in its place because some things are just better left unknown.

Ganga Singh was confirmed in the position of CEO of WASA, a post he has been acting in for some time, causing ghost Companies and make believe organizations everywhere to cheer in support.

Chairman of the United National Congress Austin Jack Warner has announced that the Party's internal elections carded for January 2012 will be put off until March to allow for the importation of medals for everybody.

The really funny thing in all of this is as farfetched as some of these stretches are, at this point in time many would be hard pressed to tell fact from fiction. Trying to keep from coloring myself perplexed I have decided to keep it simple for the balance of the year and see if I too could qualify for a medal.

Gays in the Express..

The organization that has placed an advertisement in the Express offering to cure the gays from their affliction have announced a couple other important cures and we look forward to seeing the Express run those ads as well:

Shall I list the new cures?

The Indian affliction, the African affliction, the Syrian affliction?

How about the Jews, the Hindus and the Muslims? Shall I list those afflictions and cures too?

While we're at it, can we cure Catholic priests and Baptist whatever they are?

The Chamber of Commerce, the Manufacturer's Association, as well as some other professional organizations that all have afflictions and cures too?

How about the people who will ooh and aah over two dead manicous but won't spit on a homeless hungry person, can that be cured, and if yes, will the Express run the ad?

Will curing white people encourage them to share all the money they got for selling land that they got for free based on the amount of negroes they owned at the time?

Is that an affliction?

Wife beating politicians, if the cure is available, will the Express run it?

How about business men who own media to pervert public policy and frustrate free speech, if there was a cure for that, how would the Express feel about running that ad?

I wrote an article entitled Why Don't We piss EVERYBODY Off and am willing to publish it if the Express agrees to carry it, so that we can all be equal opportunity offenders. I am not gay and I could not begin to understand what makes a person risk the derision and sometimes openly hostile public ridicule that that life choice brings, so I am as careful to judge them as I am to others who seem equally 'different' from me.

The Express Newspaper, once again presented with an opportunity to be for nation building and social guiding instead went the way of profiteering at the people and especially the gay's expense, and we could only hope and pray that one day, if a cure for that level of greed driven selfishness becomes available, they will advertise it too.

Wasted Opportunities & Broken Hearts...

They say that Rome was not built in a day and I accept that, but at some point along the way it must have been clear to those who were laboring that it was in fact Rome that they were building, not so? Someone must have had a plan, a vision, an idea for ROme to be the end result of that effort, yes? So if not a day, how long? Because we've been doing this, whatever this is for at least fifty years, and since independence to now we are yet to even elect leadership capable of pointing us to our 'Rome.' Yes we have had Office holders and yes they have had agendas, but has anything ever really been done that could be considered purposeful vision truly national in scope?. Have we ever had a true Trinidad & Tobago Party with a Trinidad & Tobago intention? Yes we've had an Afro-Trinidadian developmental agenda, and we've had an Indo-Trinidadian redevelopment agenda, but tell me how can either side's agenda ever get us anywhere as a people while trying to leave half of the country behind? How does that succeed?

In the background noise swirling around the incessant change agent our politics has become, the dissatisfied resonance remains. How do you say 'once again' when the call never stops? Continuously the people are asked to choose between two devils, both of whom they know well and both of whom are appealing to different levels of their lowest minds, encouraging them always, in the absence of real alternatives, to once again take a chance, but where's the 'something' new? Nothing different from the last time around, just 'not them.' Like a pusher in a dark alley they promise to make you feel better even though they know and you know that they know that you know that what they're pushing is a lie. Our politics no longer requires politicians and Parties to find their best selves, they just need to focus on their opponent's worst self. Enter the magical world of exchange.

Every Political Party is made up the same basic stuff - agendas, financiers, investors, members, supporters, hangers on and aspiring politicians.

What's that opportunity you ask? To give the people hope. Right now, at this time, in this curious alignment of magic and mayhem, that is the quality most absent from the political landscape and is what has the voters and the public as jaded as they are. The great disappointment has been that the Congress of the People has not yet risen to the challenge, to their own promises and the longing of the people who are neither enough of whatever it takes to be fully claimed by either of the two tribal Parties. Yet still the people believe on and hope, because at some point you expect that something will rise up and answer the cry, fill the void and bring real change to a nation so blessed with talent and rich with resources, yet morbidly cursed with political obscurantists, opportunists and closet 'raper-men.'

The turn around, if it comes, will be conceived in promise and labored in hope, and delivered in the reality of a national unity that is a reality on the ground but provoked into a lie at the top to further agendas.

If it doesn't come, the people will  become further disenchanted, setting the stage for political opportunists to make hay on the national mood, trusting that a people desperate for change will see anything other than business as usual as change, and while they may not endorse it in the sober light of day, in the heady rush leading up to change all who could hold a rhythm will find partners with which to dance. You doubt that? Ask the people of Cuba; fifty years on they still cannot understand how they got from the iron grip of one abusive and advantageous ideology into the brutal, unforgiving fist of another, pausing briefly only to sing a freedom song, to dance in the glow of the bonfire of a hope that was so easily misplaced and abused.

Fixing Traffic...

After crime the number one negative social issue that affects most of us on a daily basis is traffic. There are many reasons why we have traffic, but far and away the biggest being the hundreds of thousands of people that needlessly cross each others paths twice daily during rush hour for no good reason. The result of unregulated planning and development over the years, the supposition of this is if we planned ourselves into a problem then we could surely plan ourselves out of it.

Multiple Ministries have an impact on traffic, but none as much as the Ministry of Education as is evident three times for the year when schools are closed. Literally solving two problems at once, we need to do away with the SEA examinations and make all schools ten year schools from Primary to CXC. The SEA exams tries to do what a proper education system should do, and that is manage the performance of the students and the schools that they attend simultaneously. If all schools were ten year schools based on a performance system then parents would be encouraged to enroll their children in schools closest to where they live. The revamping of the education system that could be built on this policy would be dealt with in depth at another time, but it is mentioned here strictly from the impact of schools on traffic.

We have been talking about decentralization for years as a solution to traffic woes and yet despite the amount of time and studies done it has largely remained just talk. While we have to agree that certain boroughs like Chaguanas that were allowed to spring up unregulated over the years will require much more intervention, acquisition and demolition if anything like sense is going to prevail there, on the widest possible scale many of our problems could be solved through policy and functions of Government. As a start, employers should be encouraged to stagger work hours where possible, allow telecommunication as an option and provide showers, lockers and changing rooms for staff members who choose to ride or even run to work.

Government Administration Centers should be built in every constituency, negating the need to travel to city centers to process necessary but easily decentralized tasks. Passports, drivers permits, identification cards, taxes should all be processed at these locations as well as other necessary things not mentioned here. The Port of Port of Spain should  be relocated east of the Beetham landfill, removing much of the trucking traffic out of Port of Spain and freeing up miles of waterfront property for high end development.

- Trucks should be barred from all streets and roads from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday to Friday (hereafter referred to as 'peak time') freeing up much needed road-space. The retail community should be encouraged to engage in warehouse restocking activities at night if possible, as unrestricted traffic during shopping hours will benefit their bottom line almost immediately.

- All roadworks should be done after 9:00 p.m. and before 5:00 a.m. or on weekends wherever practical or possible.

- Traffic lights need to be sequenced in series (especially at peak time), so that a car  encountering  traffic lights would have all green lights or all red lights until after the series in both directions.

- Taxis, maxi taxis and buses should all be made to use designated transport stops, and these stops should be indented wherever possible to allow for them to pull completely off of the roads.

- The priority bus route should be used during peak time as a car pool lane, but requiring no less than three persons in the car for it to be used.

Finally, Traffic Wardens should be made mobile as highly visible road and highway patrols with contact to police radio cars should they require support, and should be charged with handing out tickets to those who disobey the rules of the road. They should also be dispatched to all major existing 'trouble spots' to assist during peak times.

While these suggestions would not bring a complete end to traffic, properly done as suggested they would have such a significant impact on the existing problem as to do away with the need for unaffordable mass transit schemes at this time. This is a problem that could be solved by the people themselves if the right policies are put in place and the right signals sent from on top, the way a properly functioning society is supposed to be.

Plain Talk, not Bad Manners...

Were you to hear only the claims made by the beer, rum and cell phone advertisements you would be tempted to think that we in T&T are one big, happy, united, people living idyllic lives in the Caribbean, but in spite of the national celebration when a 'Trini' wins something abroad, sadly we are not.

What is worse, we have a habit of failing to see or deal with the important things as a collective and tend to put our view above the needs of others. This is the main reason why there is no national outcry against either Calder Hart or Ishwar Galbaransingh, because for all their corruption and the abuse they meted out while in the public's employ, a full half of the society actually 'claims' them  as their own and defends them, as if owning a bandit could somehow be something to be proud of.

Does the whole society view Sat Maharaj or Selwyn Cudjoe the same way? Of course not, and that division is what make governing this country that much more difficult. No one wants to bell the cat. No one wants to say that the same things many are screaming bloody murder against under this administration they would not have said a peep about under the last, and many of the abuses rallied against when this crew was campaigning is now okay.

The mountain we face is how do we carve a people out of this 'every creed and race' melting pot and find a way forward that benefits all. How do we stop viewing every thing from a racial perspective (as the default position) and find a national one instead? Our people are disillusioned and jaded by politics and who could really blame them? Parliament is reduced weekly to a circus of performers, as if no one is willing to stand up, make a national contribution that does not descend into lackaray and mauvais langue and sit back down. Everything seems to require posturing and attacking the 'other' side, which runs down the backs of every Trinidadian and Tobagonian as either us or them. Who does this help besides the racists, and are we all racist?

Surely there must be people in this country who see themselves as Trinidadians and Tobagonians first, who are comfortable with their lot in life and who are only interested in serving as a form of giving back to the land of their birth. What is preventing them from rising to positions of authority so that debate and discussion does not descend into mayhem?

Many have said before and I cannot help but agree that the way to true national unity is blocked by the two political dinosaurs of the PNM and the UNC. Both are agenda driven and are controlled from within by people with serious axes to grind who are grinding away at any hope we have of a peaceful and orderly society.

Until we can deal with that and all it comes with, all the talk in the world won't get us anywhere, and any of us that are members of supporters of either of those cults are as much the problem as anyone else.

It is time we grew up as a society and took some responsibility for ourselves and the collective. Personal responsibility is the number one most important issue to be discussed if we are to get all hands on deck rowing in the same direction and we have to do it before it's too late.

We need codes of conduct if not enforced then strenuously encouraged. Responsibilities of citizenship are fundamental truths to be learnt, guided by and guarded, in a society where it is safe once again for a child to be a child. Respect for self and for others, manners, conduct, these have become meaningless words that need to be made fashionable again. The elderly, the young, our women must once again feel respected and safe to go about their business and men must be reminded of what being a man really means.

We need to embrace personal responsibility even as we attempt to take up the mantle of social responsibility. We need to be clear on who and what we give honor and respect to and who we walk away from. If real change is ever going to come to this land it has to start with us.