Call for Action!!!

It is so easy to get distracted in this town. It seems every day there is something else to try and process – from prisoners being executed gangland style while being physically held by police officers outside a courthouse, to flagpoles costing two million dollars to erect, to pageant representatives and their personal work in foreign affairs.
Most people get by keeping their heads down and getting on with the necessities of earning and making a life, while others take advantage of the fact that no one is watching to steal and plunder.
There is so much stink surrounding Calder Hart at this point it is amazing he has not been charged by the EMA for polluting.
We again call on the DPP and The Commissioner of Police to launch criminal investigations into Mr. Calder Hart, UDECOTT, and any and all interlocking enterprise with a view to identifying fraud, misuse of public funds, corruption, and misbehavior in public office.

The Prime Minister, famous for keeping his 'hands off' these scandals and adopting a ‘wait and see what the population does’ pose, now seems to be up to his elbows in more than one allegation of impropriety and knowledge of if not the act itself, of misbehavior in public office.
We call on the Honorable Attorney General to launch a forensic investigation into the alleged misappropriation of public funds with a view towards having the guilty parties punished to the fullest extent of the law and to have said funds repatriated to the Treasury of the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago.
With reference to the conspiracy allegations between the Jamaat and the ruling party and his sworn affadavit - The allegations by that treasonous ‘would be’ ‘religious leader’ that he used the terrorist activity of his terrorist organization to assist Mr. Manning BECOME Prime Minister should have been enough to make conscious people everywhere pause to think.
When a sitting High Court Judge and the de facto (acting) DPP calls for an investigation into these same allegations and sworn affadavit, conscious people should be compelled to stop and act.
If these allegations turn out to be truthful (and we need them scrutinized by the Highest Courts of this land to determine this) then first and foremost Abu Bakr and the rest of his co conspirators need to be prosecuted for treason, as attempting to hijack our democracy by bullets or by ballots should both be considered treason. Secondly, and more importantly, if it turns out that Mr. Manning was INDEED involved and KNOWINGLY entered into that same demonic conspiracy as alleged by Abu Bakr’s sworn affidavit, then Mr. Manning has to be charged for his role and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
In my opinion and If possible, ALL CONSPIRATORS in this evil enterprise should be hung (if allowed under our law), so as to send a very public and powerful message worldwide that we will not have our democracy trifled with by anybody!

There can be no business as usual right now, regardless of how greedy or needy you may be at this point in time. Trinidad seems to have lost its moral center and is pretty much circling the drain.
These times call for REAL leadership, not paper tigers hungry for state dollars.
I love this land and I do this for my country.

On the Anniversary of the attempted coup, July 27th 1990

'We the people of Trinidad & Tobago now await with eager Patriotism the soon to be convened, much requested and continuously denied Commission of Enquiry into the events of July 1990, what actually occurred, who were involved and why.
We will never have closure on this issue until some searching questions are asked and answered; until all the players, both frontline and those behind the scenes are unmasked, charged for their crimes, tried by jury and punished to the fullest extent of the Law.
This long overdue Enquiry is High service in defense of our Democracy and, for reasons known only to the last two Prime Ministers twenty years too late.
It is a tragedy that evil had been allowed to prosper this long, and an insult to the dignity of every Trinidadian that no one has as yet paid for this assault on our Democracy'.
Though the wheels of Justice have been made to turn slowly, to the decent and the upright in society we say better late than never.

On July 27th we again face the anniversary of the repulsive assault on our nation’s democracy by Lennox Philip aka Yasin Abu Bakr twenty years ago.
We should pause and reflect on the families of those who died in the tragic events of that week, and commiserate with them in their grief for their loss.
In memory of their sacrifice, we as a people should not rest until the perpetrators and their benefactors are unmasked and brought to justice.

Under the pretense and guise of an 'Islamic' fight, and in an insult and as an embarrassment to decent, law abiding Muslims everywhere, on Friday July 27th 1990, Bakr and his murderous band of thugs, dressed in Muslim attire, stormed the Seat of Parliament and the property of the Trinidad & Tobago Television and held Members of Parliament, members of the media and members of staff hostage in an attempt to overthrow the democratically elected Government of then Prime Minister ANR Robinson and the National Alliance for Reconstruction.
After a five day stand off with the Police Service and the combined Defense Forces of Trinidad & Tobago, Bakr and his gang were forced to surrender to the might of the state.
Many people died during the hostage crisis, and much of the capital City of Port of Spain was damaged by looting that followed the televised announcement, and from set fires that raged out of control for days.

As disgusting as that memory is, we also continue to face the incomprehensible position of our country’s last Prime Minister in his unbelievable stance on the national call for an enquiry into the events that led up to that fateful week in our history while he was in Office.
To say that an enquiry is important to the development of this nation is to understate it, and civil society demands that we unmask those behind the scenes and other accomplices who must be brought to justice.
Mr. Bakr is a criminal and a traitor and needs to pay for his crimes against the people of this country. There is no statute of limitations on treason and murder, and someone needs to hang from the neck until dead for that brutal attack on our sovereignty; anything less would be a slap in the face where crime and the punishment of crime is concerned. You simply cannot have a double standard when innocent lives are lost, and Mr. Manning’s astonishing ramblings on the subject will not put the issue to rest.
To this writer, his (Manning's) posture on the issue begs a lot of questions, not the least among them being what he knew and when; and why is he so hesitant to allow justice to be seen to be done by bringing the entire cast of characters to justice.

The fact that Bakr and his accomplices were able to escape the noose after committing treason, murder and violent crimes against the people and State of Trinidad & Tobago contributed in no small way to the rise in the incidents of violent crime, and the statistics pre and post 1990 bear this out.
Now, the Honorable Winston Dookeran has promised time and again that, were he to be elected to Office, there would be a Commission of Enquiry into the events of July 1990. Mr. Dookeran is now in Government as part of a Coalition, and that Government, like every Government since 1990 has an obligation to facilitate a clearing of the air on this matter.

Were it not for the men of our armed forces we may have lived a different history these last twenty years, and both Colonel Joe Theodore and Brigadier Ralph Brown are overdue the respect and accolades deserved by men who rescued the nation from these murderous thugs.

Regardless of anyone's grouse with a Government, killing innocent people IS NOT a way to solve it.
Terrorizing a nation IS NOT a means to an end.

Lennox Phillip aka Abu Bakr should have been hung for treason and murder.

In my view it's not too late to get that right.
I have absolute faith in the leadership and men and women of our armed forces and I am fully confident that any foolishness of any kind will not be tolerated this time around.


The members of the Jamaat were lucky that Colonel Theodore showed the restraint he did dealing with that megalomaniac ass, because he would have done the country and every other decent law abiding Muslim a favor if he had put a bullet in his head.

The enquiry should also pave the way for the naming and the honoring of all the national heroes including the hostages of that dark page in our history.

That said...

I would like to publicly acknowledge and applaud Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissesar and her Attorney General Mr. Anand Ramlogan for their decision to convene an enquiry into the events that led up to and including the week of July 27th 1990. You are doing the country and its people a great service, and I implore you to not flinch in the face of threats or lobbying due to cost or the silly argument that too much time has passed.
We stand with you as one people and would willingly take up arms side by side with the men and women of our armed forces in defense of our country should the worst occur and the need arise.
Let all potential terrorists and those who would attempt to violate our national sovereignty be very aware that you command an army 1.3 million strong.
The overwhelming truth of the matter is the nation needs this understanding as to what really motivated this assault on our democracy, our people and our country, and is vital information for getting this nation back on the path of decency, where respect and the rule of law can once more be obtained.

Where do we as a people go from here?

NB This is a note, not the full thesis, so a lot of this is condensed to make for easier reading and digestion.

Trying to answer the question ‘Where do we go from here’, I think it is beneficial to ask the question ‘Where exactly are we’?

In trying to understand the ‘political’ (of the people) problems, we need to address three questions:

1. Is national unity a hoax?
2. What divides us?
3. Can what divides us be rewoven into something more of a national identity?

Is national unity a hoax?

Yes I believe that it is.
For varying reasons, the different races have found themselves here over the last two centuries under differing circumstances and have settled in and carved a niche for themselves, within the patchwork identity called Trinidad.

For all intents and purposes (with the possible exception of the African slave experience), entire cultures and traditions were transplanted as well and survived more or less in tact under the tropical sun. The African experience was a more violent one, and different Africans traditions wove into the Caribbean-African traditions we know now, because to the whites the blacks were property, so no allowance was made for religion or culture.

Where the races meld into something like 'one' people are in the areas of commerce, sport, entertainment and food.

Where they rub against each other badly is in representation for specific interests (read religion and historical identity ) and equality, depending on the leadership at the time.

Those two issues, if properly addressed specific to race in this country, would lead to a relaxation of posturing and a development of true intra- national communities that would flourish with the specific need of the community and within the nation as a whole.

- We need a national vision.

Equal representation under the law is the bedrock of cosmopolitan societies, and is misused here as it is given and taken as a reward or a punishment. People feel involved if the system accepts them as equal, and have no need to fall back on the racial bogey if they feel disenfranchised in the face of other races.

Our Parliament and system of Governance was transplanted from a white dominated system that had no need to recognize the needs of other races. The flaw there for us, is, that no African can ever truly appreciate any other races needs and desires, likewise no East Indian, no Chinese et al.
So then what?
Fortunately for us all and what may eventually save us from the abyss, is that Trinidad & Tobago is a republic, and is governed by law.

- Some changes need to be made.

Our Parliament needs to be so divided as to accommodate proportionally every race in our spectrum and to guarantee that representation by law.
This would open the door to true national debate and keep all interest groups’ agendas at a national level.
Only then will we be able to form Governments that represent all the people, and in that will we be able to forge a truly national agenda that takes into account the needs of all participants.

This is very important for the seamless integration of ‘all into the best’, as opposed to us all grudgingly accepting the least as occurs now.
My example here is the education system.
Government role as provider and protector should stop at the classroom door, and should not be in the business of educating the nation’s children.
Denominational schools have proven successful to international standards here in the past, so much so we were boasting one of the highest standard of education in the western Hemisphere up until the early 80’s.
The ‘Government Controlled School System’ experiment has failed, and we need to accept that to move forward. We also need to invite the major religious organizations back into the business of education and divide the schools proportionately by racial demographic and area. (Need to wear a hijab? Go to a Muslim school etc... )

Secondly, all people regardless of race, class or religion must have equal access to government provision and protection.
No one race must feel victimized when another makes up Government, and no on race should benefit alone from national patrimony.

This should be established and guaranteed by law, and a separate body answerable to Parliament with redress available through the courts should be set up for this purpose.

I propose an Equal Opportunities Commission, whose main instrument and reason for existence is the promotion and preservation of racial harmony in our twin island state.

It will take some selfless individuals to step up capable of thinking country first, and it will take a mature electorate to put them into office.

What divides us?

The biggest problem here is one of perspective, as we continue to labor under the illusion that there is one national view, one Trinidadian and Tobagonian perspective.
Waving of flags for sporting events notwithstanding, I have found this to be patently false, and one just has to look at the relationship between Trinidad and Tobago to recognize how vast our differences are.
We have the East Indian perspective, which is different from the educated, middle class East Indian Perspective.
We have the African perspective, which again is different from the educated middle classed African perspective.
Alongside this there is a mixed class, catch all that includes Whites, Syrian/Lebanese, Chinese, Portuguese and others that devolve into their own tribal requirements, but not on a grand enough scale to affect the national agenda, save again for Commerce, Sport & Entertainment.

I have noted that the tribes are divided by culture, history, religion and by their respective wants and needs.
These do not weave into a national tapestry as much as we would like to think, and, as much as the advertisers would have us believe, the Ganges is yet to meet the Nile.

That said, there are benefits to be harvested here, and the franchising view of the world that wants to morph us all into one is obscene and overlooks the importance of culture on development, and on the whole being greater than the sum of its parts

Herein lies the dilemma. How do we achieve a standard of tolerance that allows everyone their respective expression space without trying to put every race into everything.

This ‘Chutneying' of the national culture is having the detrimental effect of forcing a ‘center’ into existence that has no place in nature, and then trying to meld everything into that new entity.

Again, guaranteeing all races, all religions their expression space by law would go along way into freeing up wasted resources.
A people free will express themselves freely, and all Government needs do is to financially support all equitably and proportionately.

I cannot tell you the amount of ‘Party Forming Groups’ I have been a part of that ALL had the unique idea of a symbol that joins a tassa drum to a steel pan.
The intellectual bankruptcy here is in the failure to accept, especially on the face of this desire to ‘douglarise’ everything, that a tassa will never be a steel pan and vice versa.

What about ‘Unity in Diversity’?

What about ‘Here Every Creed & Race Find(s) An Equal Place?’

Action in the national interest requires that we first accept, and not just with lip service, that we are made up of different things, and each should get its space, attention and reward.
When we can fully come to that place, we will know as a nation what our heritage is and where our future lies, and stop building buildings that block our view of the sea.


Can what divides us be rewoven into something more of a national identity?

Yes, but this where we have to cross the line(s), and we have to do it delicately.

In the above we accepted the need for the guarantee by law of our separateness and the freedom of space to express that.
Now we need to focus on the things that are common to all people and make sure that we use the state resources to protect and to provide, and where one race falls, we as a people should assist and try to elevate them to the ideal.
I would like to focus on the Afro-Trinidadian experience here as an example, and specifically on the ghetto culture of the lower class that has been hung around their necks that is proving difficult for them to escape.
There is a wall around Lavantille that you cannot see, but it imprisons the minds of most that live there.
It inhabits their self belief and limits their choices.
They are losing the battle and becoming our enemies even as they strive to be one of us.
We as a collective need to break down that wall, and fully embrace our less possessed brothers and sisters back into the national community. A people set on fire for a holy purpose cannot be constrained by the evil desires of the few. Ignore what has passed for Government in the past, this requires individual greatness on a national level.

Please note again I highlight this as one example of a national problem specific to one race, there are many others.

There are things we seem to have forgotten as we try to impress foreign masters.
We are a people of river limes, small goal football, windball cricket, j’ourvert, block-o, corner liming, ‘take a drink with we’ mentality.
We are deeply loving and easy to get along with.
We have been sold some heady wine that leads us down a path of self aggrandizement that only isolates us and leaves us alone, together.
We as a people need to go back to basics, and bring back the old time days, the old time ways.
We need to no longer be willing to do each other wrong to further our own ambitions. That is for other people.
Other cultures.
Other places.
We are ‘Trinis’, we are nicer than that...we could do much better.

Something to think about....

Does every creed and race really find an equal place here?
Last week a well spoken, intelligent, dynamic young man (a boy really, on his way to being a man) who worked as a bagboy at HiLo West mall died from gunshot wounds he accidentally received on his way home.
Digest that for a minute; somebody’s child was accidentally killed on his way home from work; someone’s brother, someone’s friend.
Now indulge the lunacy and for a moment imagine that you are that parent, getting that bit of news. Madness!
Anyone who was ever served by this boy could not help but notice his spirit, his manners and decency, his upbeat and enthusiastic personality, all the positive traits that we hope other people see in our children. Gone in a moment, because we as a people have failed, and I am so ashamed.
I point him out here not because he was special (God knows he was), but because he was one of any of our children but for the grace of God, Karma, the Universe, Lotto, whoever you are putting your faith and hope in at this time to bring your loved ones home, safe, everyday.
His crime was that he lived in the wrong neighborhood. What was our crime? Failing to protect him and all the other helpless youth who are dying because our Government has failed and we are doing absolutely nothing about it. Why? Because, as a poor black boy, he had become disposable, not our concern.
Madness!!!!
I will never march for a Westmoorings death if we don’t march for Laventille. I promise you.
I am neither black nor white, I am a Trinidadian, and this situation hurts me to my core and infuriates me on a level that will not go away.
I will never accept that these are disposable human beings, no matter how hard the Government and the media try to make it so.
Have we gone collectively mad? Is it that we are so overwhelmed by it all that we no longer look at it long enough to feel revulsion and disgust and a little ashamed for our inaction? Students of history know that this violence will not stay confined, it is growing, feeding on itself, and will be coming home to all of us soon. In a little while there will be nowhere left to look when we try to look away.

I am calling on all Trinidadians to stand up. We need to pull together if we are to stop this madness. Fifty five murders per one hundred thousand is lunacy. We either swim together or drown alone. Don’t allow yourself to be conned, this is not unfixable. The evil doers want you to believe that, leave you isolated and powerless. Crazy talk! Trinidad is a dot. The Mayor of New York City has eight million people to protect and serve and pretty much does it by management alone. And they had less than one hundred murders last year. We had over five hundred. How many jokers in suits do we have? Aren’t you tired of living in a banana republic? Don’t you feel ashamed when what passes for Government parades itself on your television at night?

Reading this, seriously, do you trust Jerry Narace to run our nation’s health system?
Do you believe Colm Imbert is capable of solving traffic?
Are you happy with the revolving door that is now the Attorney General’s Office?
How about education, do you feel in your heart Hazel has a clue?
Every time you see the opposition, do you wince and look away in disgust?
Do you trust anything that comes out of Basdeo Panday’s mouth?
Do you trust Jack Warner at all?
Are you afraid of Ramesh?
Do you feel pity for Kamla?
Does Winston Dookeran inspire you?


These questions need answering, because state problems need state management and our managers are inadequate and it is up to us to do something about it.

There will never be a better time for you to stand up and make yourself available to be part of something bigger than yourself. This moment in times calls you to dig deep, push past fear, laziness, self doubt, malaise, whatever keeps you from joining destiny in righting the wrongs.
Shake off everything negative and step up, help us bring about massive change.

We deserve:

• Safety for ourselves and our loved ones.
• A working health care system
• Hope and opportunity for all our youths
• Compassionate care for all our elderly
• Equality of and for all citizens before all national institutions
• Common sense in Government
• Peace in our playgrounds
• Freedom in our streets


Never underestimate the power of a people alight with desire for change, a people set on fire for a cause cannot be broken, a light that will chase away the evil that plagues our society, a fire that burns bright for the whole world to see.

This could be our tomorrow... I am SURE of it

The state of the politics

Trying to decide what to say on the issue, I find that the focus keeps shifting. People know they want change, but they don't know who to put. People know what they're against, but they have little idea of what they're for. The politics has become so reactionary it makes little sense when looked at soberly. Players change sides so easily, it seems both major parties are really two sided of the same coin. Where is the ideology? Where is the rallying over national issues that take us forward? Yes we have a corrupt Government that we are trying to remove, who we are replacing with the same party that we used them to remove in the first place. Just that point should make us pause to think, but it seems that that is the one thing that is not allowed in Trini politics.
Thinking.
Party hacks and fanatics on both sides overwhelm you with why you should remove the other side, without really telling you why you should support their side. The absence of the issues is what leaves us all adrift come the morning after election, and the stale sweet taste of seminal victory lasts only until 'Our' 'New' side lets us down, and a member gets caught with their hand in the cookie jar. We could spend days talking about the corrupt and their corruption, and both sides are disgusting with it, and our politics stinks to high heaven because of it and I wonder; Why do we, the vast majority, the backbone and rightful owners of this country, why do we let this continue? Who decided that to make a difference you had to be in one of these two factions? who told you that you had to be corrupt and only support who will give you something? Who? They lied to you. And that lie is what keeps us in bondage. Look, the slavery we talk about ended two hundred years ago, while the real slave masters wine for us every five years.
My brothers and sisters I implore you to look at your hearts and find the decent incorruptible man and woman in you and refuse their handouts. Insist on information and intentions instead. Look at your elderly and your young and by your actions make a better world for them.
It is never too late and there is no better time than now.
Once again we have a chance to change our nation for the better, to inherit the blessings we've been given and to pass them on better than we got them.
Stand up.
Make yourself available, either as an independent or support your closest independent. Let us populate that Redhouse with Representatives of the People, and not party hacks and pardners in the party.
Say I will, so we can.
Together we can rebuild this once proud and beautiful nation.

A fool's choice (what do we do now?)

Now that the UNC and COP have agreed to agree for the purposes of unseating Patrick Manning, it leaves the electorate with much celebration about nothing.
No amount of posturing is wiping away the memory of corruption that brought the party down, and the concept of Jack Warner with any Government portfolio is leaving a very sour taste in even the most die hard UNC voter's mouths.
The issues facing the electorate are many; The deficit, the crime situation, break down in public administration (read health and security services). the loss of confidence in all things Governmental and a distrust in both national parties to have anything like the people's interests at heart once they (the party) have achieved power.
For the second time in our history, we are told that the PNM is the source of all our problems, and the coming together of all other organizations is the only option. This is stressful on the voter for two reasons, one: if neither party appears attractive to you then your vote is wasted and two: A 'for us or against us' stance is adopted by both camps leaving the unaligned voter no outlet for democratic expression.
That both parties are campaigning on the 'We are not them' position, the issues of the day are being ignored while the political stumps are being used to scandalize and defame the other side.
While it is very clear that the PNM government has collapsed under the weight of corruption charges and allegations brought from without and within, The UNC/COP alliance appears very short on substance and very, very long on distrust in the personalities that make up the party, with allegations of corruption swirling around some very key players.

Information does not solve a problem all by itself, but illuminates and guides us to arrive at solutions of our own.

For us to get to happily ever after, I fear we need a third choice.

Where do we go from here?

Ok, the bell has been rung, the date has been set, all hands have coalesced to either side and the slander has begun in earnest.

What now? Where DO we go from here?

Well, if past historical trends are to be followed, nowhere really. Some have even taken to accepting that by saying "it's not change, it's exchange" and I still don't think i am sure what they mean.
Look, because of the two party system, the only thing democratic about governance in T&T is that once every five years (or less if Manning is PM) you get to choose who rapes you. Because believe it or not, EVERY single government we have had has put aside the will of the people once in power and went about their own business, which loosely translates to robbing the treasury to enrich their friends, some dubious make work schemes for their die hard supporters and corruption of the highest order, relying in no small part for the other side to still look worse so they get the trough for five years.

Well now, what a pickle. Are the people doomed to this lot, where the choice is join a bandwagon and benefit from the corruption or fly out? Well yes and no.

You can upset the apple cart.
How?
Get informed. Organize yourselves into neighborhood and community improvement groups. Discuss what matters to you, find out if it matters to the neighboring communities in your constituency as well.
Nurture representatives from among you to go to Parliament and seek your interest. He will be beholding only to you and he will seek your interest because A) It's his interest too and B) You're his boss and you can fire him.

Too simple? No. When this system was created it was created for people who could not even read or write. It's why voting still requires an 'X' by your choice of candidate.

Putting Independents in the Parliament gives you back control. There is no advantage to voting race in this country, and as a sideline, if it was the UNC that had built that wall in the Beetham to hide black people from Obama (the irony has never been lost on me) we would have had (more) bloodshed. NO party cares about you, none. They are a business and you are a pawn.

It's time to take the power back. Time to truly rise Trinidadians. Don't be spoken to, you do the talking. If the people were really running this thing, you think Manning or Warner would have been so brave? They would have been laughed away like Taylor and consigned to the political dustbin like Hunt.

Make a very strong statement this election. Vote independents and more will rise. When the people have control of the House the people's business will be done there.

It starts with you, it starts with me, and it starts now.

Don't see fear, see hope. Don't see the problems, see opportunities. The whole is indeed greater than the sum of its parts, but it is made up OF those parts, and their opinion is valid.

This is the only way forward and we have to take responsibility. The future will ask many questions of us, one of them being 'Couldn't you have at least tried?'

Stand up Trinidadians, Rise as one people and take your power back.

On May 24th by your votes retake your Parliament that has been hijacked by the PNM and ALL the parties Panday was a part of.

Say no more. By your vote say 'Enough!' Fire them ALL.

We go forward from here.