Suppose! Just suppose, that, when the case done,... (Part II)

Dear Editor/Head of News,

PART I:

...they find him not guilty? Who? Sunil Ali! The stepfather accused of ending young Hope's life in brutal fashion.

What then of the people who want so badly to lynch him?

The State has a duty to remain completely blind to the passions of relatives and friends of victims who seek revenge. Why? Because the business of the State is not vengeful in nature, rather it's that of ensuring that, at all times, justice is done and, seen to be done.

Suppose! Just suppose!

PART II:

Hope's murder accused, commits suicide

Sunil Ali, the 28-year-old accused, charged with the rape and murder of eight-year old Hope Arismandez, has committed suicide in his cell at Remand Yard, Golden Grove Jail.

Ali was discovered hanging from the ceiling of his cell around 6.30pm on Friday. His writst was also slit.

Now that he's dead, would they who clamoured for his blood be satisfied?

Or, would they, like me, wish to get prompt answers as to how a prisoner under suicide watch and locked away in his own cell could hang himself and slit his wrists without anyone noticing anything?

"Prison authorities last night made special security arrangements for Sunil Ali, the man accused of killing eight-year-old Hope Arismandez.

Reliable prison sources told the Express last night that Ali would be put in a special cell and would be kept under constant watch.

Earlier in the day when Ali was taken to court, prisoners had refused to sit with him and shouted when they left in the prison trucks: "We waiting for you in jail. We going to feed on you."

Before, only a noose hanging from a tree was missing, as a waiting mob chanted death and ran him. The crowd of mostly women begged the police to set Ali free, so they could have 30 seconds with him. He was called degrading names, threatened with beatings and told he was inhuman..." (Trinidad and Tobago Express, May 30, 2008.)

As to his guilt, we shall know the truth when we all stand before The Great Judge, shan't we?

Richard Wm. Thomas,
Five Rivers,
Arouca,
Trinidad and Tobago.

Until we try we'll never know what we can do.

For more of my writings visit: http://www.kid5rivers.com

Suppose! Just suppose, that, when the case done,...

...they find him not guilty? Who? Sunil Ali! The stepfather accused of ending young Hope's life in brutal fashion.

What then of the people who want so badly to lynch him?

The State has a duty to remain completely blind to the passions of relatives and friends of victims who seek revenge. Why? Because the business of the State is not vengeful in nature, rather it's that of ensuring that, at all times, justice is done and, seen to be done.

Suppose! Just suppose!

Simple solution to passport renewal commess.

Six/seven months' wait for an appointment to see after obtaining/renewing a Trinidad and Tobago passport? Madness!

Thankfully, there's an easy cure. How so? Bleed off renewals from the bloated wait-list by giving a blanket extension to all old passports, whether expired or not.

The logistics of implementing such extension would be that only when the holders of old-passports thus re-energized, present themselves to the Immigration authorithies at the ports of departure, would the relevant stamps of authority, -I suggest two (one, crimping type)- be placed on the renewal page to indicate that the life of their passports has been so extended.

As to other old-passport holders, who are not travelling in the near future? Let them wait! For passports were invented to faciliate exit from and entry into a country.

One hundred thousand hits for Sparrow's calypso.

The internet YouTube version of Mighty Sparrow's calypso, "Barack! The Magnificent!", dedicated to Barack Obama's 2008 presidential nomination effort has reached the milestone of one hundred thousand hits in the three months that it has been posted.

Countryfolk wisdom.

Speaking, yesterday, with my longtime buddy, Mitch, the talk drifted a while into the affairs of politics. I touched on the announcement by Prime Minister Manning that "the government" has advised him to appoint a Commission of Enquiry into the operations of the Urban Development Company of Trinidad and Tobago (UDeCOTT) and asked Mitch what were his houghts on the matter, especially as the man-in-the-street is saying that Manning's announcement suggests that his government has cracked under the weight of public opinion.

Port of Spain Waterfront Project (top). Brian Lara Stadium (below)

Mitch replied that what really made Manning crack was the weight of all those buildings being constructed by UDeCOTT with "we money".

Spot on target, Ms Seetahal, he IS, indeed, the anointed one!

Ms Dana Seetahal's commentary in the Sunday Guardian of May 25th last, provides an excellent analysis of the events as they unfurled in the Parliament Chamber last Friday and draws conclusions with which, wholesomely, wholeheartedly, I concur.

Ms Dana Seetahal.

The below distillation provides the essence of what she said:

The timing of (Prime Minister Patrick Manning's) announcement (of the establishment of a Commission of Enquiry [COE]) around 7 o’clock on (May 23rd, 2008) Friday night raises several questions, both of good governance and the respect/or lack thereof that the PM shows to his ministers.

The whole debate emanated from a motion by the Government for the formation of a Joint Select Committee (JSC) with a mandate to enquire into the operations of Udecott.

The Leader of Government Business, Minister Colm Imbert, introduced the motion...

Then came Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj and his hour-long presentation...

Mr Maharaj... concluded his presentation well after 5 pm. Then came the Attorney General, who spoke for an hour or so...

...the Government’s position was certain. It was unequivocal...

They had had the opportunity to caucus during the tea break, but there had been no softening of their position, as evidenced by the AG’s contribution.

Then Mr Manning got up to speak (out of turn after the AG, but the Opposition gave way).

He did so for over an hour, at the end of which he announced that the Government was persuaded to appoint a COE. He announced detailed terms of reference and the name of the Chairman.

...the PM (said) he was “authorised” by his government to announce the formation of the COE, but could he have been?

Was this not a unilateral decision and not one collectively made by Cabinet? Indeed, that would have been impossible, given the sequence of events...

...with no opportunity to speak with members of his Cabinet, the PM was able to say he was authorised by his government to announce the appointment of a COE.

It could not be that the AG and other PNM ministers knew of the PM’s intention, and went ahead with their presentations arguing against it.

Furthermore, if the PM had just been finally persuaded that to have a COE, how was it that he had the 12 terms of reference ready and a chairman named to announce to the nation in the Parliament?

Who drafted the terms of reference? It was not something, given the detailed and technical references to procurement practices, that could have been thought of at the spur of the moment.

One would have thought the Government’s legal adviser, the AG, should have been the person to draft/finalise the terms of reference of any COE the Government is to establish.

It is evident, to me at least, that the PM came to Parliament on Friday with the settled intention to announce the appointment of a COE.

He would have consulted with Mr Gordon Deane beforehand as to his availability to head the COE. He would have had the terms of reference drawn up.

These he kept in his proverbial back pocket ready to spring on the Opposition as he did, effectively stealing their thunder.

The PM may think he has outmanoeuvred his political opponents and in the process secured public goodwill in agreeing to a COE.

What he appears not to have considered is the fallout in so obviously undermining members of his Cabinet and demonstrating he believes he is the only one that matters.

Spot on, Ms Seetahal! He IS, indeed, the anointed one!

Why things fall apart.

There's a large mound of dirt in the Five Rivers River that has all but blocked off the watercourse. The debris was dunped there by some unscruplous person(s) in the recent past.

According to the Trinidad and Tobago Express (May 26, 2008), the mound of dirt is as high as the river bank and, no doubt, if not removed, will lead to flooding in the Trincity area, such as occured on July 14, 2005, when all down by Trincity Mall was inundated, as can be seen in the below photograph of Keith Matthews.

Amazing, isn't it?

What is even more amazing is how the State department responsible for monitoring and maintaining the said river responded when told of the worrisome situation (by the Express?):

"...A representative from the Drainage Division of the Ministry of Works yesterday confirmed that the blockage of the river would fall under their purview. The representative noted, however, that they have not received a formal complaint and that was required prior to an investigation being launched."

Never mind that the know of the blockage, or that one of the department's staff members is made aware of the problem by the Express, the depatment's hands are tied because "a formal complaint" has not been made! A formal complaint!?!?! Do they mean something like:

"Dear Ministry of Works,
Drainage Division,
Eastern Main Road,
Curepe.

Sir/Madam,
I wish to advise that there exists a large mound of dirt that was dumped into the river bed of the Five Rivers River, in the vicinity of Trincity, south of the Eastern Main Road.
Please be further advised that the said mound of dirt is very big, as high as the river bank itself and, if it is not removed, it may impede the free passage of water, especially during the upcoming rainy season and lead to severe flooding in the area.
Your kind assistance in this matter would be appreciated.
I remain,
Your humble servant,
Richard Wm. Thomas,
Five Rivers,
Arouca."?

Sigh! And one, yet, wonders why, in this country, things fall apart?

Truly, the love of money is the root of this evil.

Picked this up from Wired magazine:

"...In the 1950s, the rosy periwinkle, a plant native to Madagascar, became the source of a lucrative leukemia drug for Eli Lilly; the island nation received nothing. In the mid-1990s, a US company filed for a patent involving the neem tree, long known in India as a source of antifungal medicines. The neem patent was later overturned, and in 2005 the Indian government started building a database of traditional knowledge to compare to international patents — with an eye toward fighting any overlaps.

But no country has taken biopiracy as more of an affront than Brazil. Here, anger over biopirataria started with Henry Wickham, an Englishman who smuggled thousands of rubber tree seeds out of Manaus at the height of Brazil's rubber boom in the late 19th century. Transported to Southeast Asia, the saplings allowed British colonies to flood the rubber market, crushing Brazil's economic fortunes. (Wickham likely purchased the seeds legally and then exaggerated his own daring, but the story stuck.)

The most infamous modern biopiracy incident involved Brazil and Squibb Pharmaceuticals. The US-based company turned the venom from a Brazilian viper into a blood-pressure treatment that was worth $1.1 billion in sales in 1996 alone — none of which ended up in Brazilian hands..." ("Why Does This Prominent Amazon Researcher Face 14 Years in Prison for Biopiracy?" by Evans Ratcliffe.)

Now, having seen what has happened with another natural treasure, the steelpan, my questions are:

• Is Trinidad and Tobago also afflicted by the biopirataria malaise? And, if so, what are we doing about it?

Remember this?

It was a calypso named, "Piece of The Action", sung by Black Stalin back in 1976:

Oil drilling, money making
Mr. Divider here is a warning
Mih blood in this country
Mih sweat in this country
So when yuh sharing yuh oil bread
Ah say remember me
This ent no Black power talk
This ent no talk ‘bout revolution
Ah say Mr. Divider listen to me
This is man talking to man

So much ah money making here,
Black Stalin want ah share,
Ah want piece ah de action,
Ah lil peice ah de action
Remember I have family too
Who is folks just like you,
Ah want piece ah de action,
Ah lil piece ah de action...

Well! It seems as though nothing's changed, or, rather, that at U$135.00 a barrel for oil, things have gotten worse.

When people are determined,...

...they will be undaunted by anything, anyone, standing in their way.

And so it is that, today, the day of planting -Corpus Christi- the residents of Spring Village, Curepe, gathered from early morn, to resume what they know best to do, resume what for more than thirty, forty years they have been doing -planting the lands in the fertile north bank plain of the mighty Caroni- mere days after The Government had literally bulldozed its way through, in the process beating back the simple peasants when they protested the violent intrusion, even going as far as having the police arrest their effervescent County Councillor, Ms Khadijah Ameen and one of their own, Daniel Benny.

Councillor Khadijah Ameen, extreme right, with hand on chin,
at another Spring Village protest last week.

Though she wanted badly to be, their sultry Councillor was not in their midst, she having been ordered by her doctors, among others, to take a few days off in order for the injuries she sustained during her arrest to heal.

Their Member of Parliament, Vasant Bharath, like his father did some forty years ago with the peasants of Bamboo Settlement, Valsayn, stood at their forefront as today's replanting exercise took place.

St Augustine MP Vasant Bharath (centre, all in blue) joins his constituents in Spring Village
Residents began replanting crops destroyed by the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) for a "housing development".
The government has suspended the project after protests from farmers and other Spring Village residents.
(Photo: Max Ottley)


FIRST TREE: MP for the area Vasant Bharath plants the first tree at Bassie Extension Road, Spring Village, Valsayn, yesterday. The farming area was buldozed by the HDC two weeks ago. -Photo: ANISTO ALVES

Like I said, when people are determined, they will be undaunted by anything, anyone, standing in their way.

UPDATE: See this Trinidad and Tobago Express story.

Dear Minister Gary Hunt,

Dear Minister Gary Hunt,

Your attitude and newly-espoused policy is incongruous to your Government's fifty-odd-year history. It also does not sit well or fit in with your Government's present and future policies. Why do I say those things? Because your Government is not, has not ever, and will never be about the people's business, rather and, sadly, only about its fine-tuning the art of oneupmanship. You don't agree? Well, then, where is my family's cut of the humongous profits being made out of our oil and gas revenues? Or, is it that, because of who we are, we have been cut out of our share?

Dear Andy,

Dear Andy,

Re your (as usual) insightful and erudite commentary today ("Big stage obligation"):

At first, the headline prompted me to think that you were referring to the Government-initiated fiasco surrounding the use of the National Stadium for the T&T v England football match. However, it is clear that the idea of having a foreign policy, even if it's one that's ill-defined, is something completely foreign, to the incumbent Trinidad and Tobago Government admistrators. And, to prove my point, I suggest you look at how those Government adminstrators are treating with those who have organized the said match. Sigh!

Before saying, "Giddyap horsey!", make sure the cart is behind the animal.

I shall quote the entire Trinidad and Tobago Express newspaper, 2008 May 22 article, since it must first be read, the better to appreciate my comments about it:

SPRING VILLAGE, CUREPE, "HOUSING" TALKS:
Councillor Khadijah Ameen, rear, looks on as St Augustine MP Vasant Bharath, centre, Valsayn South/Carapo and Oropouche West MP Mickela Panday chat following the meeting, in Port of Spain , with Housing Minister Emily Gaynor Dick-Forde and HDC officials regarding the Spring Village "housing" project.
Photo: JERMAINE CRUICKSHANK

PLANNING, Housing and the Environment Minister Emily Gaynor Dick-Forde announced late yesterday that all work will be stopped by the Housing Development Corporation at a project in Spring Village, Valsayn to investigate reports that agricultural crops were being destroyed.

She was speaking with more than 100 residents of the area during a meeting held yesterday evening at HDC offices, in Port of Spain.

A number of residents told the Minister that their crops were destroyed when the HDC bulldozed the area off Bassie Street Extension for topographical studies, a claim which the HDC has repeatedly denied.

After speaking to HDC managing director Noel Garcia, Gaynor Dick-Forde said the work would be stopped to investigate the level of farming on the area and residents' concerns that the area may not be suitable for housing because it was a flood prone "basin".

The announcement that work would cease was met with loud applause by residents but the Minister noted that Garcia would determine when this would happen.

She noted that in a 2003 letter the area of 54 acres has been designated for squatter regularisation and transferred from Caroni (1975) Ltd. One resident complained that the prime agricultural land should not be used for housing.

"Just now we will have to eat concrete," he quipped.

Residents also expressed concern about being removed from their homes during the regularisation exercise.

"Not one single resident will be displaced or be in a position to say we cannot afford (housing)," said Garcia.

Gaynor Dick-Forde said that a five-acre recreational ground residents have been calling for will be accommodated in plans for the project and assured residents that their concerns will be taken into account when preliminary plans are drawn up and brought to them in a month's time before any physical development occurs.

St Augustine MP Vasant Bharath blasted the Minister as a "puppet" of the Prime Minister and described her assurances as an attempt to bamboozle the residents.

Residents have held a number of protests on the issue and United National Congress-Alliance councillor for Valsayn South/Carapo Khadijah Ameen was arrested for obstruction of traffic during one protest last Friday.

My comments:-

Well! It seems that, at least with this issue, the Patrick Augustus Manning administration (hereinafter referred to as "The Government") is now beginning to understand that, before one says, "Giddyap horsey!", one must make sure that the cart is BEHIND the animal and and NOT the other way around.

Having been forced to back down because of vociferous, boisterous and sustained protest by the Spring Village, Curepe, residents over the "Braps! Jess so!" bulldozing of their homes and crops, The Government's decision, now, to do what can only be described as an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment. Which prompts me to ask:

• Given the magnitude of the project and the fact that, to facilitate what the Housing Development Corporation (read that as "The Government") is doing in Spring Village, Curepe, acres and acres of wetlands in the process are to be destroyed, was an Environmental Impact Asssessment (EIA) done? If so, where is the EIA report and the approval from the Environmental Management Authority (EMA)? And, if none was done, why not and, what is the EMA going to do about that?
  

That is what should have been done in the first place, for, by so doing, the residents would have been brought into the decision-making process, rather than being treated as if Emancipation and the end of Indentureship never occurred, as so often, sadly is the case with The Government in its reponse to the people's questions and as evidenced, in this case, by the brutalizing and arrest of the Valsayn South/Carapo Local Government Representative, Councillor Khadijah Ameen, last Friday, May 16th.

Notwithstanding the Housing, Planning and Environment Minister's assurances, the dry assessment of the St. Augustine Member of Parliament, Vasant Bharath, is most apt, for every word that utters from the lips of The Government needs to be taken with salt, many grains of it.

See also: .Click the picture.

Meanwhile,

As more and more bodies fall in Trinidad and Tobago (sorry Rowley, I wasn't referring to you!), oil settles above U$130.00 per barrel for the first time ever.

Maybe there a correlation between the price of oil and the number of murders in Trinidad and Tobago? I'm being deadly serious there, since those charged with the responsibility seem not to have a clue, preferring to shift blame this way and that, rather than rolling up their shirtsleeves and diving headlong into tackling the bull by its horns.

Dear Jack, Maybe it's time.

Dear Jack,

Maybe it's time for "the Government" to get the hell out of the stadium-owning business.

Maybe it's time for "the Government" to look for indigenous private entrepreneurs who know how, successfully, to run things of the like and invite them to but these stadia, rather than leaving these idle at great taxpayer expense, maintenancewise, as has been happening with them from day one of "the Government" coming back into power in 2001.

Maybe it's time for you swiftly to move to upgrade your Lee Marvin Stadium, while, simultaneously, to make a proposal to buy one of the several stadia built under the Basdeo Panday administration, but which have all been left to rot since "the Government" was re-installed in office back in 2001.

Fiery Councillor Khadijah Ameen fights (on) for Spring Village residents

Arrested United National Congress Councillor Khadijah Ameen has become the lightning rod for protests at Spring Village, Valsayn, where poor residents are struggling against the authorities.

The Housing Development Corporation (HDC) has bulldozed some 15 acres of land and is moving to demolish a further 30 acres in its geotechnical studies before it begins construction of public housing. In the process, the residents are being displaced and their agricultural land destroyed.

The residents are keeping up protests at the site in spite of meetings with the authorities, who include Junior Minister of Planning, Housing and the Environment, Tina Gronlund-Nunez, and HDC’s Managing Director Noel Garcia.

In the midst of the protests, Ameen, a young and outspoken representative of the community, was arrested Friday for allegedly obstructing the free passageway of Southern Main Road, in the vicinity of Spring Village.

...A fiery Ameen hit back at the authorities for her arrest, and dubbed the charges against her and Benny as being of a “nuisance” nature. She slammed: “I was arrested for crossing the Southern Main Road, so my warning to the villagers is not to cross the road.” She hit out: “It is a dictatorship sort of thing.”

The arrests of Ameen and Benny have not quelled the uprising by the residents...

...in the absence from the country of Member of Parliament Vasant Bharath, (Councillor Khadijah) Ameen is providing leadership to the poor and struggling residents. She emerged from the court Friday to cheers and she responded with a vow to continue to fight for the residents.

Ameen said that more than 28 years ago, the residents were told that they would be relocated to a nearby piece of land and have their tenancies regularised...

Read the full Hotlikepepper article by Jai Parasram blog >>here<<

UPDATE (2008 May 19): St. Augustine Memmber of Parliament, Vasant Bharath, returned to the country on Saturday May 17th. He was in England attending to his mother who is gravely-ill with cancer. Both Councillor Khadijah Ameen and MP Vasant Bharath are scheduled to speak at a public meeting at the Spring Village Community Centre, tonight, May 19th 2008, organized by the United National Congress Alliance.

UPDATE (2008 May 20): Councillor Khadijah Ameen appeared this morning at the Tunapuna Magistrate's Court, after a live Gayelle TV on set panel discussion. The trial did not begin. It was simply called and adjourned till June 2, 2008, when she will re-appear in the Third Court.

St. Augustine Member of Parliament, Vasant Bharath, also attended court, in a public show of solidarity.

Afterwards, Councillor Ameen met and chatted with scores of Spring Village residents who had remained outside in the courtyard as a show of their love and support for her.

Meantime, today's Trinidad Newsday published the following article:

UNC A to take legal action

Wednesday, May 21 2008

The UNC Alliance is planning to take legal action against the Housing Development Company (HDC) for the bulldozing of land in Spring Village, Valsayn on May 9 which residents said were agricultural lands ready for harvest.

The political party is also planning action against police officers of the Tunapuna Police Station who were present at a protest last Friday held by Spring Village residents on roadways and the entrance to farmlands in defiance of HDC’s bulldozing of five acres of agricultural land.

The officers were also involved in the arrest of South Valsayn/Carapo councillor, Kadijah Ameen for the wilful obstruction of the free passageway and Spring Village resident Daniel Benny for use of obscene language against officers.

Speaking at a public meeting held by UNC A at the Spring Village Community Centre on Monday night, UNC MPs commended Ameen’s courage in the face of these charges. Ameen, sporting a pair of handcuffs on her left wrist insisted that she was merely crossing the road when she was arrested. She added that she will wear the handcuffs until the “nuisance” charges against her were dropped and, if the handcuffs prove to be comfortable, until the issue between the HDC and residents is resolved. Tabaquite MP and the Opposition Chief Whip, Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, said that he wrote to Prime Minister Patrick Manning on Monday indicating that what the HDC and police did was “unconstitutional and illegal”.

He is also seeking compensation for the lost crops for farmers and asked the PM to allow farmers to be permitted to plant on the land.

Related stories:
UNC-A councillor arrested
Fiery councillor to fight for Spring Village Residents
Don't give up hope, Warner tells Spring Village farmers
Spring protest

What Saturday's newspapers say about Councillor Khadijah Ameen's harrowing experience on Friday.

UNC councillor arrested in protest!

by Julien Neaves jneaves@trinidadexpress.com
Trinidad and Tobago Express
Saturday, May 17th 2008

UNITED National Congress-Alliance councillor for Valsayn South/Carapo Khadijah Ameen was arrested yesterday during a protest by residents of Spring Village, Valsayn, over a Housing Development Corporation (HDC) project.

At around 6 a.m. a number of residents began protesting on Southern Main Road, Valsayn. Police and fire officers were quickly on the scene. Half an hour later 19-year-old Daniel Benny from Curepe was arrested for obscene language.

Police say that during the protest Ameen was repeatedly cautioned to stop blocking traffic on the Southern Main Road; the protest caused traffic to be backed up to the Caroni Bridge at one point.

Police report that 27-year-old Ameen indicated she was not going to stop and at 8 a.m. she was arrested for obstruction of the free passageway by Acting Corporal Nirmal Ramjattan.

She appeared at the Tunapuna Second Magistrates' Court before Justice of the Peace Kavita Mahadeo.

Ameen pleaded not guilty and was released on $10,000 bail. Benny was released on $5,000 bail and both are scheduled to reappear in Court on May 20.

She emerged from the Court to loud cheers and whistles from supporters. She told members of the media that they planned to seek legal advice following their "rough" treatment by the police, saying that a number of senior citizens, including a pundit, were shoved.

She said that they would continue fighting for a recreational ground in Spring Village that had been promised for more than 28 years, for the farmers to be allowed to use land for agriculture and for the squatters to be regularised.

HDC said in release yesterday that it was disappointed by the protest, as Minister in the Ministry of Planning, Housing and the Environment Tina Gronlund-Nunez, HDC and LSA officials met with a delegation from Spring Village on Thursday, including Ameen.

HDC corporate communications manager Lesley John reported that assurances were given by the officials that no residents would be displaced during the regularisation exercise, and that recreational facilities and green space would be provided with any development.

They were also advised that work on the site was at a very preliminary stage and that plans would be shared with the villagers when they became available.

Residents, however, have charged that acres of vegetable crops were being destroyed by bulldozing, but HDC has denied this. Villagers told the Express that they were not being communicated with by the officials and protests would continue.

Gronlund-Nunez, who at the meeting apologised that villagers had not been communicated with prior to the exercise, agreed to hold a public meeting with all residents early next week.

Also, see >>this story<<

What does kid5rivers have to say about all this? Well! It's ironic, isn't it, that the government of the day could so quickly muster the most draconian units of the Police as well as soldiers literally to browbeat mere peasants and their elected representatives as they stand up for their rights, while, at the same time, as the below highlighted newspaper front page and headlines show, murderous criminals are allowed free rein to do their vehement thing?

Manhunt for Morvant killer

Police combed the hills of Mon Repos and Never Dirty, in Morvant, in search of the killer of 31-year-old Roger Snaggs who was shot dead at Angelina Terrace in Morvant...

Man kills lover; turns gun on self

Fisherman Saston Arjoon, 29, yesterday fatally shot Sasha Ramsumir, 23, his girlfriend of ten years, before turning the .38 revolver on himself...

Businessman killed during robbery

A daylight robbery at the home of construction mogul Emile Elias’ daughter Charlotte resulted in the murder of a businessman who intervened to stop the perpetrators...

Robbed of ‘sou sou’ money, killed

A 68-year-old pensioner was robbed of his “sou sou” money and stabbed to death on Thursday night...

Ah woe! What a Friday Councillor Khadijah Ameen endured!

Councillor Khadijah Ameen, extreme right, with hand on chin,
at another Spring Village protest earlier this week.

After being arrested, in the process handcuffed, dragged and roughly manhandled byat least two burly police officers like if she were some muderous criminal, hauled off to the Tunapuna police station, there to be kept locked away for some five hours on the trumped-up charges of inciting a protest and disorderly behaviour, before being taken to the resident Justice of The Peace, Kavita Mahadeo, Councillor Khadijah Ameen was granted bail on her own recognisance, in the sum of $10,000.00 in order for the authorities to allow her her freedom at about 2:15 p.m. today, Friday May 16th 2008.

A massive crowd of old, middle-aged and young constituents from her electoral district of Valsayn South/Carapo exurberantly surged forward to greet her as she exited the courthouse.

So, too, did her mother, Hazel Simon, who, throughout, from the time Councillor Ameen was taken to the police station, was there, concerned as any loving mother would.

Twenty-seven year-old Councillor Khadijah Ameen has to return to court on Tuesday next, May 20th 2008, at which time, it is expected, her formal trial would begin.

If anything, her trial today, as reported above, was the baptism-of-fire preamble to the fireworks to come when the real trial begins, since, from all televised reports of her arrest, it is clear that the comely Councillor is innocent and is being targetted by the State authorities, who intend to make her the sacrificial lamb, just as the Mahatma, Tubal Uriah Buzz Butler, Martin Luther King Jr and Nelson Mandela, in their own time, place and circumstance, were.

Ah woe! What a Friday Councillor Khadijah Ameen endured! But, alas for the ruling régime, she is a strong black woman!

Spring Village protest turns nasty: Councillor Khadijah Ameen arrested at gunpoint!

Councillor Khadijah Ameen has been arrested and is in police custody at the Tunapuna police station, Eastern Main Road, Tunapuna.

Councillor Khadijah Ameen, extreme right, with hand on chin,
at another Spring Village protest earlier this week.

She was arrested at the scene of this morning's protest by residents of Spring Village, Curepe, who had, for the past week, agititaing against the sudden bulldozing of their homes and crops by personnel of the Housing Development Corporation (HDC). The area falls within her local government constituency of Valsayn/Carapo, which is part of the Tunapuna/Piarco Regional Corporation.

No charges have been laid against the Councillor, as yet. A police spokesperson said that the arresting officer has gone back down to the scene of the protest and nothing can be done until his return.

Stay tuned!

It is time!

There is no denying that the "powers-that-be" in Trinidad and Tobago have lost their way, have botched it, are not able or willing to provide us with the type of leadership we, the people, expected and deserve, preferring, instead, to use their high offices for personal aggrandisement.

Therefore, we, the people, with some prompting from me, shall, from the ground up, start the ball a-rolling to move these "powers" out of the way and to take control of our own destiny.

It is time!

Post-China-earthquake repercussions on Trinidad and Tobago.

No doubt, we join the international community in commiserating with the Chinese over their losses caused by last night's massive earthquake which hit central China.

In the aftermath, we now must brace ourselves for the repercussions: another round of increases in the price of building components and food.

Dujiangyan, southwest China.
Rescuers search the rubble of a collapsed school where six children died.
Picture: AFP/Getty Images

We must brace, also, for an immediate and dramatic reduction in the inflow of Chinese unskilled and skilled workers as that country redirects all resources inwards, the better to cope with post-earthquake relief and rebuilding efforts.

Excuse me?

Well! The Trinidad Guardian is, today (Monday May 12, 2008), reporting that:

Government officials are expected to provide "full, free and frank disclosure" today (Monday May 12, 2008) of all issues surrounding the oversight of the Urban Development Corporation of T&T (Udecott), according to Information Minister Neil Parsanlal.
This will be during a press conference to be held at 5 pm in the Old Fire Station building, corner of Abercromby and Hart Streets, Port-of-Spain. (Article headlined: "Govt to "tell all" about UDECOTT", by Kyle Jeremiah.)

Excuse me? That just won't do! Why? Because we, the people, do not want the "Government" to use any press conference to "tell all" about the Urban Development Company of Trinidad and Tobgo (UDECOTT). Where UDECOTTis concerned, we, the people, want the "Government" to come before us, the people, via our, the people's, parliament to be grilled by the members of the Opposition side and, when so grilled, to be truthful, if able and, very prompt, in providing the answers to the many searching and scorching questions which we, the people, have about UDECOTT's wheelings, dealings and misdemeanours, if any. The same applies where any other matter of our, the people's, purse is concerned.

We, the people, expect that the press, being the Fourth Estate (our, the people's, natural ally), will not side with the "Government" in its continued disdain for us, the people, by agreeing to attend or participate in any proposed "press conference" on this most important issue. The same applies where any other matter of our, the people's, purse is concerned.

Peter Wickham's spin in the mud.

Peter Wickham's Bardados Nation commentary that was reproduced in the Trinidad Express on Thursday May 8th 2008 under the caption "Dookeran and Obama", is, at best, a most erudite work in vapidity. For, in it, having polled the opinion of only one unnamed American (he calls her his friend), Wickham strides to the amazing conclusion that Barack Obama may very well lose the Presidential election when selected as the Democrat candidate, I quote:

'...My friend's explanation was simple: "I like Obama but I am still not sure that the vast majority of Americans will set aside their prejudices and support him.''
This means that Obama could win among committed (and open minded) Democrats, but lose the national campaign because such progressive people are believed to be in the minority nationally and the national campaign provides a unique opportunity for people to vote based on prejudices...'

Peter Wickham

He goes on to surmise that:

'...This scenario relates to the concept of "electability'' which Senator Clinton is exploiting since she knows her gender is less of a problem to most Americans than her opponent's race. Naturally, political correctness does not allow Clinton to address this matter directly, but this is essentially what is meant when she argues that she is more electable since it is generally agreed that Obama's "Change'' platform excites Americans more than her "Solutions'' platform.
Open-minded Americans who support Obama therefore have to approach the primaries with one eye on their preference and the other eye on the national population's likely voting intention if they want to avoid George Bush III.In this scenario, Clinton could emerge the winner if she is able to convince a majority of the Democrats and a majority of super-delegates that a majority of Americans are more likely to elect her, than Obama who they appear not to like more...'

Wickham's analysis completely ignores the reality of how the DNC contest has been going, for Hillary Clinton has demonstrated, time and time again, to her detriment, that adherence to political correctness is not her priority, in fact, not even on her agenda, in that she and her husband, President Bill Clinton, are the one's who introduced race into the DNC campaign after Obama's stunning victory in Iowa. And it was she who introduced fear via her notorious 3 a.m. red phone call ad mere hours before the Texas and Ohio primaries.

Some good such strategies have done her, for, as I write, the consensus is that Clinton's campaign is sliding downhill, while Barack's is already atop the summit.

What more startles me though, is Mr. Wickham's attempt to Obamamize, by mentioning in the same breath, one Winston Dookeran!

'...the Obama-Dookeran option which is the best case (both offer a serious alternative to the status quo)...'

Laughable! Laughable indeed! For I know Winston Dookeran and I know Barack Obama; therefore, I can say without hesitation, "Winston Dookeran is no Barack Obama! Never was! Never will be!"

Laughable, also, is his attempt to insult the intelligence of the Trinbagonian electorate by suggesting that a narrow-minded Trinbagonian press is what most significantly contributed to the Congress of The People's (COP's) demise last November.

'...In this type of scenario, strategy can win or lose an election since the race comes down to managing propaganda and messages to the public. In the case of the COP they lost the propaganda battle and quickly thereafter lost an election that they were by all accounts winning at an early stage.
Comparatively, the Obama camp appears to be coping with its propaganda battle better, largely because his team understands the nature of the battle and because the United States media is less one-dimensional and more sympathetic to the Obama cause.'

Apart from attempting to re-write history by suggesting that the Trinbagonian press took an unfavourable stance towards the COP during the last election campaign, Wickham completely dismisses Trinbagonian acuity, an acuity which allowed the majority to see Winston Dookeran and his COP for what they were: pawns in the hands of the power-hungry elite who, no matter how they tried, could not control Basdeo Panday and, therefore, decided they had to destroy him.

It was because of such insight, without batting an eyelid, despite the COP's well-financed propaganda machine, Trinbagonians were able to send it and its leader packing.

I guess, then, one may call Peter Wickham's spin "a spin in mud".

Pappyshowing means, "making a spectacle out of people".

Upon encountering the newspaper article about Legal Affairs Minister distributing packets of seeds at City Gate on Friday May 9th, when I saw the headline, "Taylor gives away his seeds", the first thought that hit me was, "Good Lord! Legal Affairs Minister Peter Taylor has abandoned what little testicular fortitude, if any, he had!"

But, then, upon reading the article, I steupsed, because, apart from wondering whether Prime Minister Manning had, secretly, reshuffled his Cabinet (Taylor's not the Agriculture Minister, right?), Minister Taylor's actions at City Gate are nothing but another incident of a government Minister pappyshowing the suffering masses, who, from the evidence of the photograph included in the newspaper article, seem, overwhelmingly, to comprise middle-aged mothers of Afro-Trinbagonian descent. At least as far as the Patrick Manning administration is concerned.

Photo by: Roberto Codallo

While one appreciates that every urgent step needs to be taken to bring down food prices, pappshowing the population must not ever be one of those steps, for pappyshowing means, "making a spectacle out of people".

If the Minister was really serious, he'd have have led by personal example and would have invited the media to come view his own backyard garden.

But, then again, maybe the Express has a little more insight into Taylor's psyche and behaviour, hence the headline assigned to the story?

Islamic banking, the preferred option.

Attorney Martin George in his this week's Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) Sunday Guardian op-ed May 4th 2008), raised the spectre of a housing mortggae meltdown in T&T in the not too distant future, one similar to that being experience by the United States of America.

In it, Martin seems to challenge us to devise new ways/methods/srategies whereby to fend off the inevitable, to wit:

"...I have long been saying our Central Bank needs to be more pro-active and responsive to these scenarios rather than just sitting back and trying to put plasters on the sores after the fact.

Armed with the data, it is supposed to be reading the signs and the trends and advising the nation and the Government. It is the ultimate vanguard of the public’s interest in this regard.

Of course it may well be that its recommendations and suggestions are ignored by the Central government but its duty is to come out and let its advice be known and do what they could to help avert these crises..."

The best, maybe, only, solution, is to adopt Islamic banking principles.

Tales of the ancients.

It just struck me that the Trinidad and Tobago Sunday Express newspaper (online edition) does not include a single person 'neath the age of forty years in its battery of featured columnists!

Way to go, Sunday Express! And, a long way, too.

Dear Aretha Welch,

Dear Aretha Welch,
Are you for real?
What mean you by your opening statement:-

• "Cheap food will no longer be a thing of the past if Government and the National Flour Mills have their way."?

Who, presently, has Government's and the National Flour Mill's way, Aretha, pray tell?

Maybe I should throw my hat back in the ring?

The way I see it, given our overabundant national patrimony, the National Treasury should cut a cheque for every man, woman and child who is a NATIVE of Trinidad and Tobago, each year.

I hazard a guess that one in every four nationals is NOT a native. Which means that there'd be some 975,000 souls that qualify for such a grant.

Proposing that 25% of the TT$42.3 billion national budget be set aside for that purpose, then each native would get TT$10,846.15.

But, then, I'm not in charge, am I? Maybe I should throw my hat back in the ring?

Amrit Sharma: A work in progress. (I can't wait to see it finished.)

Alain Sirju's letter to the Trinidad Newsday alerted me to this boy's ongoing exploits.

Friday, May 2 2008

THE EDITOR: Amrit Sharma has been making Trinidadians very proud lately. He placed first in the Young European Arena of Research 2008. He was the only UK student to win a gold medal in a technical paper and competed against 285 top researchers across the 36 countries in the European Union. He won it for his novel mathematical and optimisation techniques to assess and ensure stability for high performance vehicles.

He also placed first in both his graduate and post graduate programmes in the top engineering university in Europe and the 5th ranked university in the world! For some reason the Trinidadian press has always ignored his impressive achievements while the UK media seems to be more interested.

PS: He's being passed off as a UK achievement but he's born and bred Trinidadian! Check out his university page for more information:

So I did some checking, because the name rang a bell. Turns out that Amrit won an Open Scholarship (Science) from Presentation College, Chaguanas, back in 2001, having attained distinctions in all five Advanced Level subjects which he sat (no pun intended):

1. Mathematics (A),
2. Further Mathematics (A),
3. Physics (A),
4. Chemistry (A),
5. General Paper (A).

That, after "mashing them up" in the 1999 Ordinary Levels, same institution, when he got ten subjects, all distinctions!

1. Mathematics
2. English
3. Geography
4. Physics
5. Chemistry
6. Biology
7. Spanish
8. Technical Drawing
9. Computer Science
10. Additional Mathematics.

What does he look like, this brilliant Trinbagonian? Well, see for yourself!

I salute you Amrit Sharma! And, so, too, all Trinbagonian sons and daughters who have excelled in like fashion! You make/have made us proud and give/have given us hope for the positive future of this place we call home.

And yes! I agree with Alain! For news like this must be emblazoned on the front pages of all local newspapers. Stick news about the exploits of the bad/rude boys/girls where they belong: in the obituaries pages.

PART II: I'd also emailed the above to all Trinbagonian media houses (copy to Amrit). Amrit replied:

2008/5/2 Amrit Sharma <amrit.sharma@imperial.ac.uk>:
Dear Mr. Thomas,

Thank you for your kind words. I must admit that your email made me smile today. However, it is times like this I remind myself that a tree will quickly wither without its roots. Good parents, who fostered sound values and placed an emphasis of perseverance, are the ones to congratulate. In saying that, I'm glad that my story can be used for something positive.

PS - I quite enjoyed reading some of your blog articles. I completely agree with your views on Trinidadians needing to adopt a more introspective and proactive attitude towards the country's affairs.

Yours respectfully,
Amrit.


------------------------------------------------------------------
Amrit Sharma,
MEng, ACGI, MIET, MIEEE,
Researcher in Controls and Signal Processing,
Imperial College London
SW7 2AZ.
Email: amrit.sharma@imperial.ac.uk
Webpage: http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/people/amrit.sharma02

PART III: See also:

1. >>Amrit's Own Blog<<;
2. >>SWAHA Int'l blog<<;
3. >>Trinbagonian Heroes<<.

Calder Hart is not the issue!

Don't trivialize the problem! Calder Hart is not the issue! The real issue is our lack of ability, will even, to establish and maintain a government of the people, for the people and by the people. That so is because too many of us possess piratical proclivities: we view Trinidad and Tobago as a Treasure Island to be plundered for personal profit and, the devil take the hindmost.