Aiding and Abetting the Criminal Element

I received a message via Blackberry Instant Messenger recently that was quite disturbing. I had previously spoken about this application concerning matters of the heart. Now I want to address matters relating to crime. It has become popular now for people to send broadcasts messages via BBIM. These messages range from stolen items to fete and club promotions to protest on the Beetham. My issue is when the messages involve the activities of the police. The message I received and I quote “Police road block on the bus route by aranguez savanah”. It is a quote so I had to spell Arranguez and Savannah wrong. The average citizen usually does not know the reason for a road block simply because the police do not need to indicate the purpose of a road block. Even if the road block is routine and they are not looking for anybody in particular the point is to catch people who break the law. That is the job of the police which would assist in them achieving their mandate of protecting and serving. Why would you want to alert people of this activity? Is it that we as Trinidadians are friendly with criminals and we want to help them avoid the police?

There are several implications of this activity that we often do not consider. The first is that supposed there is a rapist driving along his merry way. This person has gone undetected for several years, however his insurance happens to be expired. Stopped in the seemingly innocent road block he is apprehended and taken to the station where he is charged and his fingerprints taken. These fingerprints then happen to match a series of rapes in East Trinidad. Would the rapist have been caught if he was alerted to the road block in advance? Now don’t in your mind say this scenario is farfetched because the point is that we should not circulate this type of information as the only people who benefit from this are law breakers. We do not know where this information would end up. We do not know the motives of many of the people around us. The police already have a difficult time staying ahead of criminals who do not have rules, regulations and laws that govern their operations. Please I am begging everybody to be responsible in the information that we disseminate. Once the information leaves us we have no control over where it would end up. Finally people should question the type of friends they have that would benefit from receiving a message of that nature and possible have a chat with the person about their illegal behaviour or distance themselves from the person.

Needless to say the person who sent me the message to me got an earful. Admittedly she was not aware of the implication of transmitting the message. So my friends fix the ME in criME and stop making the work of the police more difficult.

Good Luck SEA Students

Today a little over 17,000 primary school students would be taking the Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) Examination. This reminded me of my big day. The amount of pressure that this test places on children is unbelievable. I wrote this examination when it was still common entrance and a place was not guaranteed to every student. There were various possibilities that could come from the exam including failure, not passing for a seven year, or five year school. This is too much pressure for an eleven year old to endure.

My experience was quite interesting in that the night before the exam I did not sleep. This by the way was my first memorable case of insomnia, which is something that has plagued my adult life. Tossing and turning the night before the exam I was thinking of all sorts of things as I was quite nervous about doing the exam. Needless to say on the day of the exam I fell asleep while writing the essay, which was the first section. The sleep I got during the exam was probably better than the sleep I had gotten the night before. I awoke to the sound of the bell signaling the end of that section of the exam and I had only written two paragraphs. The sad thing about that scenario was that the person supervising my room was my neighbour whose daughter was my friend. The lady saw me sleeping and did not wake me up. Anyways I went on to do the rest of the exam without major incident.

I passed for a five year secondary school. I remember being a bit disappointed but I was grateful because I honestly thought I was going to fail. My neighbour’s daughter who was writing the exam that year for the second time passed for the illustrious St. Joseph Convent a seven year school. This whole thing about five year and seven year schools is nonsense because in seven year schools entrance into the A’Level programme is based on performance at CXC. However at the time of common entrance I was given the impression that it is was a guaranteed placement. Strange enough the young lady and I ended up in the same Senior Comprehensive School to do A’Levels. Essentially what I am trying to say is that please don’t put any undue pressure on the students. Even if the results aren’t what we as parents and adults would like all is not lost. Keep in mind that many times what we want for our children is often what we did not achieve for ourselves so while we may want the best it is important to love and support our children regardless of the outcome.

I wish all the SEA students the best of luck today.

Water Problems in T&T

This morning when I woke up it was raining. I don’t know how long it had been raining, but I was thankful for the rain. Although I am thankful, I am not naive to think that fifteen minutes of rain fall is going to solve the water problems in the country. I was thankful for the rain because I hoped that it would have extinguished some of the bush fires that have been burning for almost two weeks now, specifically the one on the southern side of the Beetham. I have been blessed in that I do not even have a tank and I always have an uninterrupted supply of water. Also strange enough my main problem would have been low water pressure but during this period of water restriction the water pressure has been excellent. Being mindful of the fact that there are a number of people who are without a regular supply of water I have followed the instructions of the Water and Sewage Authority. I have not washed my car, wash down my yard or use my hose for the year. However I cannot say the same for some of the people in my neighbourhood. Imagine that people are simply getting up in the very early hours of the morning to water their plants using a hose. This is not even a kitchen garden, I am talking about decorative plants and lawn. The beautiful thing about lawn grass is that it would withstand drought, winter and other harsh conditions and when the environment returns to conditions conducive to its growth, it grows back. Amazing isn’t it? The fact that people are getting up in the very early hours of the morning to wet their plants using a hose it tells us that they are aware that what they are doing is wrong. Pretty soon even the areas that traditionally had a constant water supply would be affected and these are the same people who would blame the government for not providing water.

How has the water shortage in the country affected you? Do you think that members of the public should report water wasters to the WASA Police?

Blackberry Instant Messenger is the Death of Traditional Romance

Forgive me if I am old, but I grew up in the age prior to cellphones. Cellphones became popular after I left secondary school. Recently thanks to Bmobile and Digicel the Blackberry has become the cellphone of choice for the masses. BBIM is an application that facilitates blackberry to blackberry messaging at no additional cost as long as both devices have a data plan. So for the last three years while I had five people in my BBIM contact list I now have about thirty. It has now become a trend when you meet a new guy to exchange pins instead of phone numbers. While this may be the modern thing to do, I think it takes away from the romance of a new encounter. Dating has actually been reduced to random disjointed messages. This is annoying on several levels. First Bmobile has proven itself to be probably the most unreliable mobile network in the universe hence there is no guarantee that the messages would be delivered in a timely manner, if even delivered at all. Secondly it allows womanizing men to carry on multiple conversations with various members of their harem. Therefore you no longer have the undivided attention of this man while chatting with him or in person because he is constantly tied to his phone. Third, men no longer feel the need to even pay for a phone call to make contact. And do not be fooled ladies the savings from these calls would not be seen in an improvement in the quality of dates. Finally, BBIM makes people think it is ok to message you all hours of the day or night. As opposed to a call where you would have to think about what the person may or may not be doing prior to placing the call. There is a reason that Machel did not sing “BBIM me anytime you want” and Jah Cure certainly did not sing “If you need a lover BBIM me”. That being said the next man to pick up the phone and call me I feel I will instantly fall in love simply because it has been so long. How has BBIM affected your dating life? Do you prefer dating life with or without BBIM?

Basdeo Panday – Politician or Actor?

Many of us in Trinidad and Tobago take for granted the ingenuity of Mr. Panday, Opposition Leader of the UNCA. This man is a stalwart in local politics. Born in 1933, Mr. Panday worked as a cane worker, teacher and civil servant prior to obtaining three degrees. Now this is where it gets interesting, Mr. Panday has degrees in Law, Economics and Drama. Who does that? Who combines those subject areas and why? Mr. Panday is a brilliant man in that he understands that politics is drama in its truest sense. Politics has been our reality TV for decades and unlike many other politicians Mr. Panday is well aware of this. Without a doubt Mr. Panday has changed the political landscape in Trinidad and Tobago simply by the strategic skits that he has played out throughout his almost thirty years as a member of the Parliament. I will take the activities of the Parliament yesterday to prove my point. The sittings which are governed by standing orders start on Fridays at 1:30 p.m. unless the House otherwise decides. Therefore Mr. Panday being a Member of Parliament since 1972 very well knows this, yet he arrived late for effect. Mr. Panday very well knew that there would be a media circus and as such for maximum effect he arrived after his opponent in the “mother of all elections” held on Sunday. In case you live under a rock the UNC-A held internal elections on Sunday and Mr. Panday and Mrs. Persad-Bissessar vied for the position of political leader, Mr. Panday lost. Upon arrival Mr. Panday theatrically offered his seat to Mrs. Persad-Bissessar, then as reported he proceeded to sit and say nothing to Mr. Warner his former cohort who was appointed as chief whip on his right and Mrs. Persad-Bissessar on his left. With Mr. Panday seated between them “KamJack” talked to each other and pass notes to each other. Well I anxiously await the next phase drama from Mr. Panday, after all the man is well trained in the field. I personally wish that Mr. Panday remains a Member of Parliament for as long as he is of sound mind to do so.


Do you think the actions of the Leader of the Opposition are deliberate? Do you appreciate the drama and theatrics brought to the Parliament by Mr. Panday?

Teen attacked in KFC

I would really like to know what is going on in our beloved country. We are all going crazy. People running into KFC to attack a 16 year old boy. Can you believe this nonsense? What can a sixteen year old do to enrage someone to attack him? Additionally I want to go back to the parents. When I was sixteen I had a clear mandate, go to school, learn, behave and go straight home after school. When I got into the house I had to call my mother to let her know that I was home. I never found out what would have happened if I did not go straight home because my mother made it abundantly clear that she was the boss and her rules were to be followed. Plus I am coward and I don’t like to get in trouble. So why was that sixteen year old in KFC at 2:45 p.m.? The news made no mention of him being a student of anywhere. We need to do something and we need to do it quickly. Additionally we as citizens need to stop waiting on the Government to find a solution. A simple start can be for us as adults to monitor the underage persons around us, provide guidance to them and act as mentors. That has nothing to do with the Government, it has to do with us being responsible citizens.

The Piss Poor Conduct of the El Do Blue Teachers

Teachers in El Do Blue don’t want to work until 3 o’clock to facilitate the Ministry of Education’s attempts to curb the violence between El Do Blue and El Do Brown. I am totally disgusted with those bastards. Teaching is no longer a profession, it has become a job, something to do during the day to get money. For many persons teaching, it was not a first choice but a last resort after trying unsuccessfully to gain employment elsewhere. These same teachers give themselves a holiday for two months during July and August, and two weeks or more during the Christmas and Easter vacation periods. How much would it hurt to work an extra half hour. The Ministry of Education should start to make deductions from their pay for not showing up to work during vacation periods.

Originally El Do Brown was a Junior Secondary and El Do Blue was a Senior Comprehensive, with the former having younger students that the latter. When news of this violence between the two schools broke I wondered whether the change to both schools having students of the same age had something to do with the violence. I remember back in the day it was said that the reason for Tunapuna Government Secondary and Hillview College being dismissed fifteen minutes apart was because there were some fights between the two schools. I always felt that was urban legend though so don’t quote me on that.

My entire point here is that I am disappointed with the El Do Blue teachers who don’t want to give half hour of their time, which I am sure they are already being paid for. I think that the Ministry of Education has responded relatively well and the Teachers are now sabotaging the efforts of the Ministry.

What do you think about the El Do Blue Teachers? What do you think about the Ministry of Education’s response to the incidents between the two schools?

Bishops Carnival Fete 2010

I had the opportunity to yet again attend a fete for 2010, which was Bishops 2010 production. This was my second consecutive year in attendance. First off I would say that the fete had noticeably less patrons than the previous year. Again I would attribute this to the hosting of another event on the same day, which was WITCO One. Last year One was held on the same day with QRC and I chose to attend One. My issue with one is that it is like a regular fete with food on the outskirts and there is no designated area to eat. So Trinis just walk all through the fete eating as they feel like. Additionally One fete this year was $800.00 (confirmed by a call made to Witco) and with no HD himself but just his wayward disorganized followers, not me, I good.

Anyway back to the matter at hand. Bishops was nice I was pleased with decision to attend. The entrance was nicely decorated with a white back drop and some splashes of colour here and there. The customer service from the Hilarians who were easily identifiable in their red t-shirts was excellent. The vibes was nice in that even though there was a wide cross-section of age groups, everybody looked like they were having a good time in their own way.

My only issue was that there were only two bands, a reduction from the previous year, Asylum and Roy Cape. Bunji and Fayanne were ok I guess I really was not paying close attention because I was liming. I saw their performance at Amnesia and it was good and it sounded like the same exact thing minus Fayanne talking about old ass people. Rita Jones caught my attention because she was wearing some ridiculous nonsense, but at least thank God she was wearing stockings. Jason and Blaze I love them. That is all I have to say and I hope to be palancing on the road.

What I essentially realized at Bishops was that a fete is about the lime, meeting new people and old friends. At Bishops there was a great combination of all the right factors and I had a ball of a time. Once there is a Bishops 2011 and I am alive and well, I will be there.

Where did you go on Saturday 16th January 2010? How was it?

Cabinet Reshuffle?

Yesterday there was a Ceremonial Opening of the Third Session of the Ninth Parliament. It is quite interesting because a ceremonial opening is usually held at the beginning of Parliament, which is after a general election, not for the opening of a Session. It makes me wonder what our Prime Minister is up to and what prompted him to have this gala opening at such an unusual time. I am wondering if he is possibly going to announce a Cabinet reshuffle maybe today at the Cabinet Press Conference or at the next sitting of the House of Representatives. I have already indicated my opinion on this in a previous post, so let’s see what happens in the next few days.

What do you think our Prime Minister is up to?

Haiti Earthquake – We are Truly Blessed

Once again Haiti has been affected by a natural disaster, this time an earthquake. It makes me wonder if that country is cursed or something. How unlucky can one country be? We as Trinidadians should consider ourselves to be blessed and thank God that so far we have been relatively untouched by natural disasters. I often wonder if our blessings come from the fact that so many religions are represented in Trinidad and Tobago. We just can’t help but be blessed.

In viewing the pictures of the earthquake, I questioned the soundness of some of the infrastructure in the first place. A country such as Haiti that has been through constant turmoil, building safety may not have been high up on the list of priorities. As such buildings may have been constructed without proper inspections being done. Additionally, with corruption of Government Officials being a major problem, even if inspections were done I am sure that the quality of inspection would be below standard.

So at this time when we Trinbagonians are feting and spending money on lavish ceremonial openings for Parliament, we also need to keep in our prayers our brothers and sisters in Haiti. What are your thoughts on the Earthquake and the general trials and tribulations that the Haitian people have been experiencing?