Questions on Confidence...

Dr. Keith Rowley has moved a motion of no confidence in Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar and in an immediate response all of the minor players of the People's Partnership have been summoned into relevance for an all out assault. Even as Dr. Rowley's motion attempts to breathe new life into his struggling leadership of his own hobbled and limping Party, it is energizing a waning Partnership that, long having served its primary purpose of unseating Patrick Manning, has been searching for relevance ever since. Demonstrated from the very start that if it is anything it is a campaign machine, given any opportunity to do so (no pun intended) the Partnership can campaign with the best of them and does it with professional expediency if nothing else.

Campaign tee shirts and flags do not make a government though, and the cracks that were starting to appear in the facade are still plainly visible despite podium thumping claims to the contrary. Sports Minister Anil Roberts' underwhelming declaration of love and support to all those who have bested him, defeated him and otherwise had their way with him is equalled only by Jack Warner's lukewarm enthusiasm this time around. The embattled UNC Chairman, former FIFA Vice President and all around action man seems to be slowly deflating before the national community even as he promises to defend each new damning revelation being made against his less than stellar fiscal management and allegations of outright theft by international organizations and countries alike. If not properly dealt with and addressed before things deteriorate further, his seemingly inevitable collapse could pull the very government down with him and this one thing should be greater grounds for concern for all the political investors in the Partnership than Dr. Rowley's motion.  Prakash Ramadhar's and Ashworth Jack's now 'not so new and exciting' routines are not stirring the crowds as they should, and looking at the expressions on the familiar faces lined up to defend their livelihoods it is clear that there is a lot more at play here than just a vote of no confidence; winning this little battle may not be enough to heal what is clearly a government at war with itself.

The rumbling sounds of a disenchanted and marginalized Congress of the People, whose newly elected Political Leader had to publicly demand a meeting with the Prime Minister and the other Partnership leaders to address the shortcomings of the Fyzabad Accord demonstrates a display of no confidence from within. Despite protestations to the contrary by the leadership of the Party, the membership of the COP feel used and betrayed and are so tired of the sham they are ready to call it quits and go their own way. If the Prakash Ramadhar led leadership of the Party was to put this one motion to a vote the results would stun and shock them, such is the disenchantment and outright disgust with which this partnership ruse is held. The coalition's labour arm (MSJ) has found itself increasingly at odds with its purpose for existing now that union after union of its former comrades have had to challenge the government to keep the promises made to labor on the campaign trail. Its leader Errol McLeod has had to step down in order to wear one hat effectively, and its new leader is proving even harder to 'control' as he seems to have not lost his union struggle roots. If that is not a vote of no confidence then what is?

The only real benefit of this whole exercise is that the people are finally getting to see and hear representatives of the Government answering for their behavior in Office to date. This one thing is of such value to the electorate I would like to suggest that we move a vote of no confidence every six months so as to at least give the people the type of respect that they are supposed to be shown. If it requires forcing the government to account to get that respect then so be it.. As the camera pans the audience there are many very unhappy supporters who feel betrayed and let down and who, despite being there to make up numbers have lost faith in an organization long on promises but short on delivery.

Watching the performances of some of the players on the platform reminded me of the quotation "Methinks the lady doth protest too much." Taken from Shakespeare, Gertrude says it when Hamlet asks her if she's enjoying the play in which the Player King and Player Queen act out what Hamlet believes was the murder of his father. The phrase has come to mean that one can "insist so passionately about something not being true that people suspect the opposite of what one is saying" and may be very apt here.

Beyond all the talk and touting of accomplishments there is a question I want to ask. If all that is being said on the impromptu campaign trail is true, if the Partnership is so strong and the accomplishments so many, if the votes in the House of representatives are so absolute and the motion so sure to be defeated, if the people are so in love with their government and the members so happy, why would you need to campaign at all?

Me, Me, Me, Me, Me, Me... (What Carnival is REALLY About)

A very peeved letter writer to one of the daily newspapers said indignantly that she paid 'good money' to prance on the savannah stage and like many of her fellow masqueraders in the mas band Tribe she was outraged, enraged and upset at being denied that singular highlight of the carnival. Accepted as THE place to 'get on bad' and to wave to those in the stands and watching on television at home, the savannah stage became famous due to the all day television broadcast of the Parade of the Bands and had become a fixture of the carnival to many; for those who could not be there in person for one reason or another, the pleasure of watching the different bands portray their mas was quite the treat and one that was looked forward to with eager anticipation. Now no longer the spectacle of creativity and artistic expression it used to be, the carnival itself as been reduced to nothing more than a 'look at me' fest and the Parade of the Bands has become one of the first casualties of this new order as not many are interested in  the soft core porn that the Parade of the Bands has become.

Now in broad response to the letter writer, according to Maslow's Hierarchy of needs, the need for intimacy and belonging are almost as important as safety and food and much more important than self actualization. It seems we human beings love to have our engines stoked, and there is no better way than to feel loved and cherished by those we consider our peers. Beyond that there is the need to serve ego by 'lording it' over others, and this one need fuels the explosion of reality TV shows and homemade videos as everyone strives for that fabled fifteen minutes of fame to be a 'star,' and why Facebook and other self promoting social media are such a success.  Also according to Maslow - “All humans have a need to be respected and to have self-esteem and self-respect. Esteem presents the normal human desire to be accepted and valued by others. In terms of the carnival this has been reduced to body image and displays of wealth. Like peacocks at mating time we display our plumage designed to adorn the culmination of a grueling regime of diet and exercise to sculpt a beautiful body that would be the envy of any, and then immerse ourselves in a sea of thousands of others similarly toned and highlighted. The camaraderie and feeling of belonging is made complete by the exhortations of the music commanding as to perform mindless acts in unison and on cue.

There is a new style of graphic joke on the social network sites that basically goes (in different variations on the theme) - “What the world thinks I do, What my friends think I do, What my parents thinks I do, What I think I do and What I really do.” Put to that simple test, Trinidad Carnival comes away perceived by outsiders, spectators and masqueraders alike as an orgy of flesh and an opportunity for free sexual indulgence, a mass of almost nude bodies writhing to music simulating if not engaging in lewd sex acts in public. While the masqueraders themselves may want to believe that that is not what carnival is about, their own behavior over the two days makes that belief a lie. In an attempt to imitate art, life and culture in T&T seems to have perverted itself and in trying to become something else, may have succeeded all too well; the business model of Tribe and the other new 'Rio' styled bands seems to be built on encouraging excess for profit.

In years gone by of the most fun things to do as the band made its way along the parade route was to race ahead and climb up on anything high that you could find and let the band pass you by, up there in all your splendor, gracing the world and those below with your magnificence. It may seem like a waste to spend thirty million to provide a stage for a display no one really cares to see anymore or to support a competition that no longer seems valid, but in defense of it, for many of the masqueraders it's more than worth it, even if it's only somewhere high up that's easy to climb.

Is Port of Spain General Hospital Safe?

From time to time I receive information that could be considered to be of urgent National importance and this is definitely one of those times. On Monday the 13th of September 2010 I published an article that asked if the Port of Spain General Hospital was safe and despite comments from engineers and architects that there were reasons for serious concern there had been no follow up. Almost two years later the structural integrity of the Hospital is once again making news despite the trite remarks of the Minister who is reported to have said last week  that it looks 'okay' to him. Mister Minister with all due respect that is a gross dereliction of duty and an abdication of responsibility. Those in authority with responsibility for the maintenance of the nation's hospitals should be held criminally liable if they take no action to safeguard the public should the worst occur, and we again call on the Minister to take a serious look at what is alleged here.

For your elucidation, here again is the meat of the matter of what was forwarded to me by professionals knowledgeable in the fields of architecture and structural engineering:

"In recent decades, whenever there has been a severe hurricane or earthquake in the Caribbean, hospitals have suffered as much damage as less important facilities. We do not need to be reminded about the Haitian earthquake, but we may need to be reminded about hospitals knocked out of action in Dominica, Jamaica, Montserrat, Antigua, Saint Maarten, St Kitts and Grenada in the past three decades.

For nearly two decades engineers with a knowledge of the fundamentals of earthquake-resistant design who have visited the Port of Spain General Hospital have been commenting on the clearly and seriously vulnerable concepts of the six story Main Central Block.  It is understood that this was brought to the attention of the authorities as long ago as the early 1990s and on several subsequent occasions.

The reasons for the concerns would be obvious to many knowledgeable professionals – architects and engineers working in areas subject to earthquakes.  The reasons are manifest because they have to do with the fundamental geometrical characteristics of the Central Block.  In determining the vulnerability of buildings to earthquakes the shape of the building and type and configuration of the structure are very important. In many buildings these characteristics can be assessed, at least in a preliminary sense, without detailed analysis. Such is the case with the Central Block. The casual, but observant, visitor to the Hospital could also notice distress to some of the columns in this building.

It would not be surprising if the Central Block collapsed during an earthquake of the severity envisaged by the recommended standards for Trinidad.
In January this year a number of oxygen tanks exploded in the intensive care ward of a hospital in the Ukraine causing three floors to collapse and killing 16 people. To compound the structural problems of the Central Block, the main oxygen storage facility for the Hospital is located very close to the building. Is this safe?
All of these features are noticeable to any private visitor to the Hospital who happens to be observant and knowledgeable about earthquake-resistant design of buildings. Something can, and should, be done about this as an urgent matter."

It is not overstating the obvious to emphasise the level of preventable risk being discussed here, and I would like to ask the Honorable Prime Minister to look into this matter as a matter of urgency as, should we suffer a serious earthquake or other catastrophe, it would certainly be better for all if the General Hospital did not collapse.

If I were in her shoes I would dispatch the Minister of Health to conduct an urgent evaluation and verification exercise as to the veracity of these claims, and to take immediate steps to evacuate the areas of the facility most vulnerable to collapse.

It would be wise that those with interests and qualifications in these types of matters be included in a discussion with a view to an effective solution, as it is much better to be safe than sorry.

Our Colonized Minds....

What happens if you threw the greatest show on earth and nobody wanted to see it? The clash of multiples of diverse global cultures, their histories and how they/we all came to be on this tiny island expressed through the eyes and hands of the craftsman and artisan has been replaced by someone else's version of what the two days before the start of lent are for, and the immense and colorful spectacle that was Trinidad Carnival has been cast aside and no one seems to know why.

Titles like band of the year are now meaningless as there is little if anything left to judge. This is no longer an expression of culture but an exercise in excess set to music. The fact that the majority of mas bands are themselves owned by people who specialize in promoting parties and sponsored by alcohol companies is apt, because what remains of our carnival has been stripped down to its bare elements, one big party on the move. You don't so much as pay for a costume per se but a 'cover charge' to get into the dance. Now the running joke seems to be how to take the exact same costume used this year and rename it something else and sell it with a straight face next year.

Our music has become what music becomes when you allow a few to control what the masses gets to hear. We have no artists anymore, just clever businessmen, collusion and a stable of performers willing to gyrate for their share. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with profit, but profit for profit's sake  destroys creativity and individual expression and delivers instead the bland, tasteless, styrofoam packed 'mac-meal' that soca has become. I have nothing against the individuals in this list, but tell me, out of a population of one point three million, how do we get the same tired, rehashed, reheated performances of Destra, Bunji Garlin, Iwer George and Machel year in and year out? If this is pure coincidence and these few are always the best of the crop every year then I think that is the most telling sign of all that the art form is dead. It could also be the result of the rumored 'control' of soca, where unless you 'belong' to one of the 'outfits' that control the airwaves and the party stages there is no sense in writing much less incurring the expense of recording your song. The fact that ninety per cent of the major parties are promoted by the same two or three groups and the soca stations owned by an even smaller number contributes to this stranglehold and if the government is serious about 'culture' something has to be done here.

Instead of a two million dollar grand prize why not make the National Soca Competition a year long event, with ten competitions spread out over the course of the year open to anybody with a soca song vying for a hundred thousand dollars first prize and a chance on the Soca Monarch stage? If twenty people take part in each of those monthly prelims we just gave two hundred hopefuls a chance at a life changing opportunity, instead of funneling state funds into already full hands.

To the investors in carnival the name of the game is sponsorship, profit and prize money and ideas like those above are reprehensible, but society requires governing for much the same reason children require parenting. We need to set boundaries that works for the greatest good of us all, to help us develop a healthy sense of self even as we attempt to indulge our desires. Imagine what television would be like without rules for a moment, even the weather report would have a car chase, a shoot out or some other 'kill scene' ending in gruesome death and gratuitous nudity and sex. Carnival is no longer something to be proud of but two days of decadence that undermines our society a little more each time. Our inability to like ourselves is a sad condition that needs to be addressed if we are ever going to find and keep our identity in the 'global market place.' To me the fact that we took sugar and made shit is not even the problem here, the fact that we as a people are not even aware of it is.

Welcome to Fantasy Island.........

Okay, okay, I get it now. I  refuse to believe it that it took me so long to get it and I must admit I am feeling a little ashamed, but I get it. Only after watching the illusionary splendor of our politically influenced carnival for the second year in a row did it all click, and wow, it's really like looking through the looking glass when you get it.

I finally understand why the Prime Minister's residence is called La Fantasie, I mean, what other name could be more apt? Living there is usually as the result of mesmerizing the electorate with grand promises and nothing gestures like a magician manipulating time and space to deliver illusions, and in T&T the best magic show gets to go on to claim the first prize, five years in our own Magic Kingdom, La Fantasie. In La Fantasie the rules do not matter. You could make things appear, disappear and then reappear by just saying a word. You could conjure up whole new realities for everyone, and everyone is supposed to suspend their powers of disbelief and play along.

Similar to the 'results' in the Soca Monarch show, it's not SUPPOSED to be real. While the grand spectacle of the show is fantastic and the effort that most performers put out lulls you into the belief that there is a chance that the decision is being made based on the quality of the song, the performance and the stage presentation, it is obvious now that those messy details are taken care of well in advance so as to prevent any untoward or embarrassing mishaps.

Or the plot against the Prime Minister, it's meant to pull your leg, nothing more, and if anything I want to thank THIS government for the effort they put into the misdirection show. Whoever is coaching them backstage is doing one helluva a job, because once they agree on a story or a plot line, they all work so hard to sell it. Were the conspirators 'in' on the plot to expose a plot? I want to believe so because we've heard nothing since, not even a highly paid lawyer raising the messy spectre of a wrongful arrest lawsuit, so it must be that they all were part of one well planned, well delivered, piece of theatre.

I guess that's the reason there were at least seven different reason for the State of Emergency. Like plot lines in a 'coming attraction,' they were simply 'floating ideas' to see which one got the most traction and I must say as a policy it makes sense. I love the commitment to decision once made and I would like to applaud John Sandy above all else for the role he played, channelling a career in the disciplined armed forces into a strict one line delivery is hard and shows that this man has a huge future in the theatre if he chooses to pursue it.

I am laughing at myself for now 'getting' what Party Manifestos are. They're not like, promises or anything, but are there for pure entertainment value. Take last election and 'Rise' for example, anybody Rise? No, they weren't SUPPOSED to. Next election could be 'Twist,' as in 'We will Twist,' but don't expect to really twist, is just a joke, a make believe, a come along. Or 'New Politics,' that was a good one. It could just as easily have been Candy Coated Oxtail, just meant to sound interesting, nothing more. If 'New Politics' mesmerized them this time, then next elections let's try 'Focused Governance' or 'Prioritized Deliverables.' Anything really, that the masses could bite onto and use as a mantra, and I feel relieved to finally understand why none of the words and actions of any of our politicians ever add up.

All the time that I have been referring to T&T as La La Land, or quoting David Rudder and calling it Pappy Show Land I didn't know how close to the truth I really was. Now I have to reorganize my plans to make use of this eye opening discovery. Next year we are going to bring out a mas band/music troupe/political organization all in one called the People's United Congress, and we are going to PUC down the place for sure. Now that nothing that is said has to be real, our campaign slogan/soca monarch song could be either 'PUC You' or 'PUC Away' and we could win, we could sweep all the titles, because if is one thing we in this land of make believe loves, it is a PUC-ing good time.

What now Prakash? (Voting Confidently)

The clock is ticking Prakash. Do not doubt for one second that the nation does not see you chafing at the restraints of this partnership and surely by now the leadership of the UNC must know that you will not be as easily 'handled' as Dooks was, so what now? It must be a hell of a struggle balancing Party interests with government interests through MP's who would be called upon to choose loyalty to pocket over Party, but we're there friend, we're there. Losing a couple of greedy MP's who may have forgotten where their loyalties are supposed to lie and who may misguidedly think that they have a snow ball's chance in hell come next election is much better than the hundreds and thousands of members that have fled the Party since May 24th 2010 and who are fleeing daily. I do not envy you your position, but you volunteered for the post so let's move forward.

It is no secret that I believe this UNC construct is equally bad if not worse that the PNM kleptocracy it replaced, and my arms length from the Congress of the People since the Fyzabad agreement was signed is due to this and this alone. I cannot in any good conscience consider myself a country first political activist and then stand by and benefit from the abuses that we fought against. As it stands the cancer is spreading and the rumors of corruption are starting to taint the COP through the allegations of investigations into abuses at the Ministry of Sport. My advice to you is the same as it has always been, bite the bullet and sever ties with the People's Partnership now before it is completely too late and all is hopelessly lost. The people of this country are not going to forgive you if you opportunistically part ways when you think the timing is right, as they are looking to you for the guidance of real leadership that you promised to have.

Sever ties and begin the work of building the Congress of the People into the only alternative for patriots and country first citizens, set up offices in every constituency and appoint candidates now so they can begin the work of familiarizing themselves with the issues of the area and offering themselves to the voters based on ability and not notoriety.

There is no turning back now, and while this vapse vote of no confidence in the PM by the Opposition will bear no political fruit for them, it will train the spotlight firmly on you as to the choices you make and where your loyalty lies in the face of this much bungling incompetence, outright nepotism and corruption. The ship is sinking and you're standing by a life boat, get on board before you sink with it. The people of this country are so frustrated with the political environment right now that they are ripe for real leadership and training in a new, more patriotic direction. If there is any truth to the belief that, if given a choice the people will vote in their best interest turns out to be false, then what have you lost if you lose? If they completely reject the politics of the COP, then so be it, at least we tried. Isn't it better to know that you tried rather than to become what you say you hold in contempt just to be close to position or power?

I am absolutely sure that that is not the legacy you want for your name, and I am telling you with all the confidence that I have that the Congress of the People is facing Waterloo right now. We are almost out of time and risk sinking with the mortally wounded UNC who are only benefiting from an Opposition themselves in self destruct mode.

Prakash, ready or not your moment in time is upon you. Do the right thing for the country and the COP and separate from the UNC before it is impossible to tell where the COP ends and the UNC begins. Do it now so that the confusion of who is fish and who is fowl will be over, and the question as to the strength of your leadership and moral fiber definitively answered.

The Illusion of Splendor... (Towards Anger Management)

When my son was not yet quite three years old he asked me a question that, even though I was accustomed to his searching, uncharacteristically-deep-for-his-age questions, still managed to catch me off guard and left me grasping to string something like a coherent or even logical response together. A little backstory is required here as the particular circumstances of our family life required that we spend every afternoon between five and seven together, so one day while we were on one of our little afternoon 'find something to do' jaunts, out of the clear blue he looked up and asked me (as if he was pondering it on his own for some time at first) what it meant to be a father. Not what it 'felt like' mind you (which would have been a lot easier to answer), but what it 'meant,' and I found myself struggling to put what I thought it meant into words. Sixteen years later and despite him being a legal adult and a full man in his own right now, I still find myself at times trying to answer that same question everytime we have to deal with something new. To be honest I did not have such a good relationship with my own father growing up despite the excellent relationship we have today, and I think my becoming a father so unexpectedly and being so amazed at this little person who always appeared like he was trying to devour the whole world put things in a  different perspective and helped me grow my own self up along the way.

The only thing I had then was my own personal view (so new was I to the concept of fathering myself) I told him that if ever your back is to the wall and no one else is around, your father would be. That a father protects and a father provides, a father answers questions and if he couldn't he'd go find the answers. I got to thinking about this today after receiving a call from the principal of a Port of Spain Secondary School who, at her wits ends for solutions and reaching out to anyone reached out to the Jericho Project and got me. She asked if we would be interested in coming to the school to talk to her male students, many of whom had no fathers and were acting out angrily because of it and I said yes of course. Speaking bravely on behalf of many of our stronger, more well known and qualified male members I said we would definitely be interested in helping and the relief in her voice could be felt over the phone.

So many of the problems that plague our society comes from the destructive cycle caused by bad or non existent parenting, leaving young developing minds at the mercy of much of the puerile drivel that Hollywood and the music industry keeps dreaming up to warp them. We've found ourselves in a place where gangs have replaced the family, and instead of trying to find out what is happening to the family and fixing it, we're attacking the gangs. Is it that we are so bankrupt for ideas that all we know is war? The needs for human connection will not be denied and if anything all we're doing is introducing violence and advantage into an already difficult equation. These children need surrogate parenting, functional schooling, hope and opportunity and they desperately need our understanding, our caring and our love.

The first pillar of the unwritten social contract implores that our society owes it to itself for the strong to look after the weak; it is a non negotiable condition of our humanity that we all start and end weak, and if the point is lost on us in the beginning it surely will hit home in the end if, along the way of living selfish lives we sow the seeds of our own unhappiness and destruction. We can only know peace in the sunset of our days if we build a peaceful world while we could and the choice between barbed wire and open fences is still ours to make. As the saying goes you cant plant oranges and pick apples, and if what we want are healthy adults making healthy choices then we need to raise ALL the children of this nation with that goal in mind.

Love in the Time of Confusion...

I believe the children are our future, teach them well and let them lead the way, show them all the beauty they possess inside. Give them a sense of pride to make it easier, let the children's laughter remind us how we used to be....

The Greatest Love of All, sung by Whitney Houston.

Her voice may have opened the door for her, but it is that song that thrust her into overnight stardom and made her the superstar she eventually became. Ironically the latter half of her life became the polar opposite of those words and left her a crushed spirit unable to love herself enough to withstand the pressures of self destruction. The death of Whitney Houston has once again thrown the spotlight on the myth that a life of vanity and self indulgent consumption can deliver happiness, or that when it finally fails the broken spirit left behind can be medicated by either legal or illegal mind altering drugs or alcohol. The truth of the matter is that the deepest needs of a human being cannot be medicated away; human beings, people, need love, acceptance, intimacy and a feeling of belonging as much as air, water and food to develop, regardless of how unfashionable and contradictory that statement may sound in this made-up marketed world of raunchy, grungy, meaningless sex and the orgy of self indulgence.

The red carpet lifestyle, the celebration of all things young and beautiful and the marginalization of all things 'not' that is being sold to our people is leaving them confused and self loathing if for some reason their lives and worlds fail to deliver. Many end up spending their adult lives trying to get strangers to fill the needs that family and community used to, and turn to zany self help theories and half baked ideas and suggestions to raise their children out of ignorance instead of raising them in the love, care and guidance of a family.

Our society is now at the cusp of a complete breakdown because we bought the lie wholesale and sprung for all of the attachments as well. Our young girls have their self worth so skewed by the idea that they are life support systems for their genitalia that they're sweating it out in the gyms to package and present their 'wares' from as early as twelve and thirteen; posing nude or semi nude in their online bios and in their dress choices so as to be chosen for mating and discarding, as if that is the best use of a woman or a person on the whole. Our young males are told that emotions are taboo and to express them is wrong so they hide their feelings and behave like pack animals instead of sensitive, caring souls. They are told that they are made 'more man' by conquests, so they live a life of gathering and consuming with no real purpose for their existence, yet we wonder at some of the choices they then make.

The modern day man-made dilemma of depression that is caused either by the abandonment or outright abuse of our children when they are at their most vulnerable can only be turned around through deep self examination and acceptance in a healthy loving environment and by a life of purpose and of service to others, not by drugs. Our women are genetically programmed to a life of purpose, our men to provision for and the protecting of something of value and we need to return to a place where they can be whole, where they could reconcile their feeling with their public image.

The disconnect between the generations is being further amplified to prevent children from seeking and taking advice from their elders in order to isolate them into soft targets, consumers and posers. The biggest problem with this model though, is that the 'leaders' of this new order, the shiny happy people of today, the purveyors of the illusion fade from popularity and relevance long before the consequences of the lie, the empty existence and the loveless life that comes with it could warn their followers away, like the Marlboro man who died quietly from lung cancer.

The wake up call when it comes will be people with enough vision to recognize the signs and symptoms of brokeness, and leaders capable of warding off the potential social collapse. We need to re-empower the family, the community and the tribe again, return to a world where our heroes are those who have suffered and triumphed life's vicissitudes, not the illusion of ripped abs and fake breasts hiding dysfunctional minds and broken spirits behind a life of flash and no substance. We need teachers who love children, who chose the profession out of  the desire to mould and develop healthy young minds in a world of immense possibilities and dreams. We need to put back the structures of a healthy society into place, that encourages family life rather than its destruction; that rebuilds our nation into a place where it is safe and beautiful to be a child, and where it is healthy and possible to grow up and become an adult. We need to love each other, take care of each other, and to treasure and grow our communities into spaces of human development and care once again, so as to have somewhere to retreat to when times get dark and we need the trust and support only loved ones can give. Our children need positive role models and messages of hope and self belief from their parents and family to launch them into life. More than food sometimes, the right words, being there for them is all it takes to make a difference between a life of well adjusted happiness and a lifetime of misery trying to find meaning everywhere else.

…..The greatest love of all is easy to achieve, learning to love yourself is the greatest love of all....

Pressing Freedom........

Who granted the warrant that was used by the police to storm the Newsday's Offices, and on what criteria did he/she rely to circumvent the freedom the Constitution guarantees the press? Who was the architect of this excursion into such a questionable and heavy handed exercise and who in authority granted them leave or permission to pursue it? The nation is in shock at what took place and, were it not in the middle of the distracting and busy Carnival season, may well have ground to a halt until some very serious questions were answered as to the freedoms that we all take for granted. The fact of the matter is we do not need multi million dollar foreign policing advice if all we do is tear up the Constitution and I daresay we may have arrived at a place of no return for Commissioner Gibbs and Assistant Commissioner Ewatski. Damned if they knew and further damned if they didn't, I can see no way forward for either of them that does not first involve the tendering of their resignations.

Ostensibly being justified to protect the internal workings of the Integrity Commission, looked at strictly from that point of view, the non disclosure and secrecy that certain public institutions such as the Integrity Commission rely on should in no way be used to hoodwink or deceive the population. Oaths of confidentiality should never be allowed to trump the greater good as they end up either being a law onto themselves or worse, working against the nation's best interest. Take the issue of CLICO/CL Financial as a recent example, which was allowed to threaten the entire region's economy all because those in oversight and supervisory positions who knew of the coming collapse years in advance were not allowed to blow the whistle, much to this country's regret. When former Attorney General Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj gave the nation a heads up in 2002 there were many who wanted to use the opportunity to expose the abuses taking place since then and, had they done so, the cost to us all would have been far, far less.

In Europe during the Middle Ages it was felt that there were three estates or classes — the nobility, the clergy, and the common people. The press didn’t really fit into any of the existing classes and so in the 1800s the term “fourth estate” came into use as a short-hand expression for journalists.
Today government has replaced the nobility and the press has become the “media.” Still the concept of the “fourth estate” applies: The media is separate and apart from the rest of us for a reason. John Stuart Mill approached the problem of authority versus liberty from the viewpoint of a 19th century utilitarian: The individual has the right of expressing himself so long as he does not harm other individuals. The good society is one in which the greatest number of persons enjoy the greatest possible amount of happiness. Applying these general principles of liberty to freedom of expression, Mill states that if we silence an opinion, we may silence the truth. The individual freedom of expression is therefore essential to the well-being of society.

Back on point, the nation needs a resolution to this matter in quick time that tells all and sundry just how seriously we take our democracy. There is an old Afghan saying -  “That which is obvious does not need to be explained.” The abuses we allow, regardless of how small or temporarily justified could have the cumulative effect of changing where we stand now and what we stand for in the future. Reporters without Borders 2011-2012 Press Freedom Index ranked T&T tied for fifty first with Latvia, but just ahead of Haiti out of one hundred and seventy nine countries. Surprisingly Canada came in tenth, which indicates that at the very least our Commissioner and his assistant knows better.

There is a slippery slope here and like it or not we're on it. Trinidad & Tobago is a Republic governed by law and for that to remain so the ends must never be allowed to justify the means where the means contradicts that basic truth. Respect for the Constitution and the rule of law must not be open to negotiation, no matter what.

Probing Deeply...

All of a sudden Trinidad seems to have moved from being a place where nothing mattered to one where everything matters. I do not know if it is because of the sheer number of Attorneys currently practicing needing work, but as everything that is being questioned wants to generate an expensive enquiry or probe, and based on the all 'of a sudden' and numerous requests for probes by certain highly placed officials, I thought I would take a look around myself and see who else could benefit from a good probing as well.

I did not have to look further than the daily newspapers where there seems to be countless probes into anything that stands still long enough. Take for instance the fracas at the pan semi-finals last weekend, where Head of the Mounted Branch Supt. Wayne Dick  called for a probe into whoever was responsible for the rough play took place. Police spokesman Sgt. Wayne Mystar, who should have suggested that perhaps everyone should have put their batons away, insisted instead that "The officers acted in an appropriate manner and acted lawfully” should also be probed in my view. Some say that if there is any justice in this world, whosoever was responsible for that lack of anything like a security plan for such a sizable and predictable event should also be probed. Head of Pan Trinbago Keith Diaz, in an attempt to head off any probe into his business distanced himself from the fence idea but said any probes would be welcome as he wanted to get to the bottom of things.

With Attorney General Anand Ramlogan probing Deputy Commissioner Ewatski at the Prime Minister's behest and the Police Service Commission probing Commissioner Gibbs, it may only be a matter of time before things become explosive at the top of the Police Service. Others in the know see nothing to be concerned about as a lot of probing has been going on in the service for quite some time.

Crime Watch star Ian Alleyne who has made a success of probing and does not seem to care who knows it, makes no apologies for his brash probing style. He has set his sights on the Top Cop position and does not mind who he has to probe to get it. Together with his dream team of Attorney Om Lalla and businessman Davy Boodoosingh he has threatened to remain probing long into the future regardless, and has sent a cryptic message that “he coming hard, and who doh hear will feel.”

Also on the topic of probes in the media, Foreign Affairs Minister Suruj Rambachan, who seems to be proud of his own probing prowess has allegedly probed former CNMG Board Chairman Brian Stone completely out the door. Eerily similar to the time he attempted to probe morning show host Fazeer Mohammed live and on air, many say Stone knew what was coming and, like Fazeer, opted to run away instead. The formerly vociferous Chairman and Party loyalist for his part seems satisfied and has reportedly said that this opportunity would free him up to do more probing of his own.

The Minister of Health (a urologist comfortable working in tight spaces), in trying to keep a firm hand on things has decided to probe the junior doctors and some of them are pushing back hard. He has also signaled his intent to probe members of the Pharmaceuticals Board and just about anyone else who get's in his way.

Chandresh Sharma, a swordsman of some repute seems bent on probing the Mayor of Port of Spain much to the Mayor's dismay. His Worship, himself no stranger to probes has decided to stand firm and cross swords with the erstwhile Minister, causing many to look away over a situation that seems to be becoming more and more personal.

Also on the issue of public displays of questionable intentions is the fiery relationship between Leader of the Opposition Keith Rowley and the Attorney General Anand Ramlogan, who seems to have taken a special interest in Dr. Rowley and has allegedly probed him repeatedly. Spokespersons for him (Rowley) said the Opposition Leader would like an opportunity to probe back has not found his footing as yet and so the thrust remains one sided and hoisted on whatever the AG chooses to erect at that time.

Sports Minister Anil Roberts who is allegedly being quietly probed by the Integrity Commission is reportedly cooperating fully and has laid himself bare as he says he has nothing to hide. Some in the know have hinted that some measure of modesty should be called for here, but if Anil chooses to throw caution to the wind then it should be entirely up to him. Others who prefer to remain anonymous say he should have known things would heat up to this point when he chose to get into bed with questionable characters, but again his choices are his own.

There seems to be no let up in sight and as the Carnival season heats up there is the expectation that the probing situation is going to heat up also. Many who find themselves exposed are best advised to keep their backs to the wall so as to avoid being open to unexpected probing, unless of course they have nothing to hide.

Political Sense & Sensibility...

If (as David Rudder said) 'how we vote is not how we party,' then why do we vote the way we do? Is it that the people of this country are predominantly racist, or are we somehow stuck with a racist political system? To me this is the question that most needs answering if we are to ever grow into one people (if such a thing is indeed possible) and the reality of course is that for our politics to ever mature to that level, the first thing that has to happen is that the openly racist PNM and its spawned adversary the equally (if not more so if such a thing is again possible) racist UNC both have to be destroyed.

Not sidelined, marginalized or voted out mind you, but destroyed; destroyed the way you kill a cancer before it kills the host; destroyed the way the PNM was obliterated and on the way to destruction prior to the staged and funded attempted uprising of 1990. Make no mistake, what occurred in 1986 was the most important thing to happen to us politically since Columbus, because (ignore independence for a while) for the first time the people had real political power within their grasp. So important actually that the unseen hands that 'controlled' the nation from behind the scenes had to take it upon themselves to unleash an up 'til then little fringe religious group with axes to grind against the state, and so perfect was the deception to this day Bakr, Abdullah and others still believe it was their idea in the first place.

Putting a pin in that too for a while, I want to remain focused on the divisive issue of race because real change will forever elude us as long as half the country has to be marginalized for political victory to occur. Neither of those two Parties could ever be a national Party simply because their base and base ideology is an 'us against them' posture based on race, the ability to recognize the enemy from a mile away. Add to this the idea that half breeds and douglas should inherit the whole thing because of their ability to exist in both camps simultaneously, but no, the game has been organized in such a way as to leave them even further marginalized because in Trini racist politics, half a thing is not as good as the whole.

Independence changed the handlers but not the way we were handled, and it was only until the Black Power Uprising of 1970 were 'the people' given real citizenship (not belonging to a country, but owning it), and it was sixteen years later at the height (depth?) of the recession that we finally pushed the handlers aside and seized the power of the state ourselves. Had we been able to keep our racism in check, if we did not need to visit Mother Africa and come back with useless,  jackass titles, if we did not need to take we 'indian self' to Aranjuez and build Club 88 to say Indian and African really cant saddle the same horse, 1990 would not have or could not have occurred. The Unity that Basdeo Panday and his Club 88/UNC was peddling was a 'Unity on an Indian Bed,' a concept that furthered our descent into the racial quagmire that has allowed Ishwar and Calder to rape and pillage knowing that as long as one side 'claimed' them they would remain free. Short of a calamity of tragic and destructive proportions that upsets the entire thing a la Haiti, Katrina or Japan, I do not know from where we would find the impetus to build real unity into what we think ourselves to be. Rest assured though, until we do we will continue to be divided and conquered, separated and culled, to the delight of those who want us to never find an equal place. Noted journalist, publisher, poet and thinker Charles Mackay said “Men, it has been well said, think in herds; it will be seen that they go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly, and one by one."

Sitting here contemplating the continued madness of our unwillingness to unite I see the vast wasteland that the squandered opportunities have wrought for us, but I remain hopeful for a better day. It's what keeps me writing long after I can no longer remember what was the point in the first place.

How to Save a Life....

Forty odd murders in thirty five days is a ridiculously high number for a country of one point three million people and we should be getting little comfort from statistics that indicate the numbers may or may not be minimally down from last year. The fact of the matter is that one murder per year is one murder too many, and we have to face up to the fact that as long as our people are killing each other we are failing as a society. More importantly to this issue, the way that our successive governments have been doing business where social management is concerned is contributing in no small way to this horrific state of affairs and we need to bring the discussion back to here.

Make no mistake we are at the mercy of the criminal underworld, and unless we get this right nothing else is going to matter especially to those left to mourn our failure to get it right.

For some unfathomable reason we continue to deal with the issue of our national security in reverse by reacting to events after they occur knowing full well that that does not work. We know that the overwhelming majority of our murders are due to gang violence due to massive poverty, broken communities and the temptation of easy money from to the drug trade and money laundering, yet we are dealing with the issue everywhere else but right there.Throwing hundreds of millions of dollars behind wild schemes hoping and praying that something 'sticks' is not the way to address this and we need to revisit our approach. The problem has to be dealt with from a social management perspective first, taking the necessary steps to mitigate violent crime at the cause level; until a worker earning minimum wage can work towards purchasing a home, our economy and our social management policies will remain sufficiently out of whack that they continue to fuel the allure of a life of crime. You cannot tell people to do the right thing without making avenues for them to get ahead and expect them to toe that line.

Before we do anything else we need to streamline our protective services so that they can become functional - dispense with the multiples of titles, departments and agencies (which only serve to inhibit the best performance through unnecessary channels, bureaucracy and chains of command) and repurpose the security services into one functional organization with land, sea and air divisions, precincted by constituency and working in harmony with the communities that they protect and serve. This apparatus must also serve as the strong arm and consequence of an adequately streamlined and repurposed Social Management Ministry with objectives as indicated above.

We need to end the ongoing charade where the drug trade is concerned and decide if we're serious about stopping it or not. If it is our intention to bring it to an end then it is my position that we are going to need help. We should not be expected to underwrite the cost of policing our borders when the illegal drugs and all of the associative ills flowing into our country from that trade are a function of US demand. The United States MUST acknowledge the significant role they play in the havoc being wrought on our shores and should be made to step up and assist. I propose inviting the United States Coast Guard to patrol our coasts, to set up bases on the four corners of Trinidad and to work with our protective services to police our seas to interdict and confiscate drugs and the machinery of the trade. We also need to unstuff every container on the port and no shipping containers should be allowed to leave the port under any circumstances whatsoever. All importers must be made to unstuff and cart their wares utilizing 'unstuffing' facilities set up specifically for that purpose.

The ease with which illegal guns are available to the criminal element in this country has to be brought to an abrupt end. We need to simultaneously take the guns out of the criminals hands while  making it too frightful an enterprise to consider picking one up in the first place. We need simple legislation brought to the Parliament – if you are caught with an unlicensed firearm there should be mandatory jail time with the firearm confiscated and destroyed. Second time offenders should face significantly increased jail time with a three strikes and you're out penalty. A specialized anti-gun task force and a dedicated gun Court complete with gun crimes detention facility will all go a long way towards reducing this scourge, and as we have been suggesting this for years now I cannot for the life of me understand why it has not been implemented as yet.

Finally, we need to stop putting square pegs in round holes. Allowing financiers, investors and Party hacks government contracts as payback is one thing, putting them in sensitive governmental positions is something else entirely and the practice should be discontinued. ALL key Ministries should be mandated to produce plans showing estimated timelines for firm deliverables and all Ministers should have their positions bound by them. From this we would be able to manage the most sensitive of our human resources so as to get the right people into the right positions to deliver  much needed results, and we would also be able to identify those failing miserably and who may need to be reassigned. Let us be clear, our intention should not just be to wage a war on crime but to win it, and we cannot unless we take the necessary steps required to make that happen.

Postcards from the Edge.....

Amidst the whirling fervor of the coming mas the blood of a people is being thrown far and wide. Thirty Seven dead in thirty four days, among them a six year old boy on whom licks was having no effect despite the bruises dug into his skin so more than licks was sent for. No, this little deviant needed a harder lesson, to be flung out of the window into the oblivion and fall to earth in awe of the animal anger that could do such a thing to a small child, similar in scope if not to the depravity required to drag another small child into a dirty school washroom, stick his head in an even dirtier toilet bowl and to flush it for good measure. Flush it to make a point, to send a message, humble and humiliate at one time, and bring everything and everyone back into the order according to brute force. Those with authority to prevent such things from happening or to respond when they do seem incapable of understanding their role and their responsibility, so they too play a mas, point this way and that, blame this one and that and pose. We will deliver, we will surrender, fight to the end and give them no quarter. These words sound hollow because we know they're not true, yet we nod along and walk along because it is all we could do.

We hustle by impatiently interrupted by the white clad workers of the mortician's office removing the body and washing down the body fluids, causing a back up, a snail's pace and discomfort to those who wonder why this couldn't be done at night? A former beauty queen in the wrong place at the wrong time finds herself facedown in her blood, jaw broken and fighting for life as the anger that could both contemplate and deliver such hate moves on. The protective services find themselves overwhelmed by a wave of madness even while they themselves are under attack from their lowest rank to their highest officer. To the uninitiated looking on the country should not be able to claim to be civilized after this, but the discussion has to wait until the mas done. Back to the wall when guns bark, look left, look right and move. We are learning to dance the macabre dance, hustling to find we self jam pack in a corner to play a mas selector.

How can this little country take much more? How is it possible that a nation can consider itself governed yet not trust its own leadership? How can a Prime Minister announce a threat to assassinate both her as well as members of her Cabinet and no one believe her yet still remain Prime Minister? How could the forces of the State arrest this one and that one with no evidence to charge yet bad mind enough to distress using state sponsored strong arm tactics and not expect those advantaged to look to apply advantage when their turn rolls around?

Advantage has become a national pastime, and women lucky enough to make it home and safe find themselves in danger with a rapist hiding behind the eyes of someone they already know, someone who's supposed to care. The name of the game is to take what you want, and don't take no for an answer. We are breeding fatherless children into a motherless world and trusting that they will survive. The ranks of the wrong are swelling to a critical mass where soon it will be hard to tell the purpose of our laws or the reasons for our institutions any longer and no one is trying to answer the question, why is this happening? The clock of our good fortune is slowly ticking away as the seething anger is coming to a slow and steady boil. The people who can move already have passport in hand stamped and ready to go. The rest will be left to jam, play a mas and hope for the best. Amidst the ping-ping, tinging of the sweet sweet tenor pan a nation is dying, but we're doing it in style to a killer back beat made in China. Like yuhself...