Trinidad gone to the dogs

From the Trinidad Guardian of Friday 31st August, 2007

Prime Minister Patrick Manning may not have moved into the prime-misterial $148 million mansion and diplomatic centre at La Fantasie in St Ann’s, as yet, but these two dogs, which were able to gain entry onto the private premises, took time to swim, frolic, relax and lovingly rub noses in a man-made watercourse during yesterday’s media tour of the residence.

So he now get the thing and already it gone to the dogs? This country real jokey yes. First electricity cut off during the grand opening of the illustrious facilities, in addition to which the generator fail to work properly, and now we have a security breach by two pot hounds. Then again maybe they was invited guests. Maybe they was the first visitors to the diplomatic centre.

Or maybe this country really gone to the dogs and we not even near being ready yet.

Law and Disorder....Criminal Minds

So the police killed seven people last night and I have to say that in six of those cases I am
not sorry at all. In my books, only one of those people was an innocent. Wendy Courtney was killed by a stray bullet as she tried to close her window to protect herself. (Please note: A window is hardly likely to stop a bullet. The best thing to do is get as far away from the window that you can.) Still, it was sad that she had to die because some stupid fellas decided that they wanted to follow the wrong path. Of course the families of those killed are not likely to admit that their loved ones were on the wrong path. According to the mother of one of the men shot, a 17-year-old boy to boot:

"My son was working to buy his school-books and was waiting for his CXC results, he was a hard-working boy."

Hear more:

Friends of Blake and Lewis, who wished to remain anonymous, also angrily expressed their feelings saying "the police willfully kill the men, they had no gun on them, nothing to deserve what they get."

So all the men that police shot yesterday were innocent. Police just decided that these random men, going about their random business needed to be killed yesterday. Police said "You know what, we have too much bullets today. Let's go open fire on some innocent men and kill them, then say that they shot at us first."

It's amazing. If we go with what the families of men who are killed or arrested by police, there are no criminals in Trinidad and Tobago.

I think the families of these people who know that their relatives are involved in shady activities and say that they are innocent, while they reap the benefits of their nefarious deeds are just as much criminal as the ones they try to protect.

In my book if the police had to shoot at you then you were up to SOMETHING and it couldn't be good.

The empty cave

Some time ago my wife decided that she would visit her moms for a few days in these August holidays. Sort of a mini-vacation. She left on Tuesday and I started to lick my chops. This was the first time I would get a long stretch of "man time" since we have been married. Needless to say, I was chomping at the bit planning what I would do with my time alone in my cave.
It hasn't turned out the way I planned it.
Tuesday evening I couldn't find anything to eat. I munched on some dry bread and Coke. That night I realised that the bed that seems too small is kinda big when you're alone in it.. and cold.
Wednesday morning I got up late for work. She wasn't there to wake me up in that annoying way she does that guarantees I get up. I didn't have breakfast. I had to buy lunch. Dinner was boring.

Last night I tried hugging the pillow.. that didn't work.
This morning I woke up even later. The bed grew last night I think.

She's coming back tomorrow and to tell the truth I'm kinda glad. An empty cave sucks big time.

Mentally Disabled Government

So champion for the rights of the disabled in Trinidad and Tobago George Daniel score a big victory in court yesterday. Quoting today's Trinidad Guardian:

The disabled community scored a major victory in the San Fernando High Court yesterday when a judge ruled that the State’s failure to provide wheelchair access to the Hall of Justice was in violation of their right to freedom. The State was ordered to put necessary measures in place to ensure they had direct wheelchair access to the court with immediate effect. Ruling in favour of president of the Trinidad and Tobago Disabled Peoples’ International (DPI) local chapter George Daniel in a constitutional motion against the Attorney General, Justice Nolan Bereaux ordered the AG to pay all Daniel’s legal costs.

Now hear the interesting part:

Through his attorneys Anand Ramlogan, Mikela Panday and Joan Ramnarine Furlonge, Daniel filed the motion in March 2005, challenging the denial of access by wheelchair-bound people to the Hall of Justice.

So since 2005, a disabled person sue the State because he couldn't get into a Government building that the Trinidad people paying tax for. Now what a smart government woulda do, is to build a nice lil ramp for disabled people to get into the Hall of Justice. How hard is it really to build a ramp? I mean even a CEPEP crew could do the job in less than two years. They coulda even have a big opening ceremony and cut ribbon and thing and talk bout how they progressive and so on. But no, not my government. They not that bright. Instead:

The AG was represented by attorneys Christopher Hamel-Smith and Kavita Jodhan.

So instead of building the ramp for the disabled people, the AG hire two lawyers to justify why he shouldn't make it easy for the disabled to access a Government building.

The State was ordered to put necessary measures in place to ensure they had direct wheelchair access to the court with immediate effect.

So now, the State have to pay legal costs for Georgie D and his lawyers plus still build the bloomin' ramp immediately.

Clearly we dealing here with people in charge who are mentally deficient. But then again is a case of the little people not really being important to them. Do big business and to hell with the small man.
Well take that mister AG. Now you have to obey the ruling of the court eh. I mean, if the AG doh obey the law then tings real bad. Unless he appeal.
Wait.. you really go appeal boy? Nah!

Soup-a-not Fly

Meh friend de Brazilian girl telling meh for weeks now that Miss Carol in Colsort Mall have the best soup in Trinidad and Tobago. Now I did know that wasn't true because meh mother have dat trophy already. But I figure Miss Carol hand must be nice too, since she getting rate up from Brazil girl.

So today the place was lil cold as rain was falling whole day and the thermostat in the office really didn't care to make we feel any warmer. Brazos ask meh if I ent want a Miss Carol soup for lunch to warm up. Now I am a man that prefer to chew my lunch thank you very much. Drinking soup cannot full my belly. I need solid food. But Miss Brazil say the soup full of green fig and cow heel and dumpling and thing to full belly. So I say arright, bring one for your boy.

Who tell me do dat.

When ah open de bowl I coulda swear it was a bowl with gravy stew. De thing was brown, brown and oily. And I coulda swear I was by the beach, because all I was seeing was water in de bowl. Well, ah tell mehself maybe the fig and dumpling down to the bottom of de bowl because them things heavy. So I say I go drink out some ah de brown beach water and I go find some real food later down in the bowl.

Well from de first sip I realise Miss Carol soup was the hottest thing around. But only because like she empty de whole pepper sauce bottle inside it. I feel like I was drinkin molten lava yes. Meh eye start to water, but I eh know if it was because of de pepper or if it was because I realise I waste meh money.

After all dat I still say I will give Carol a chance to prove sheself. All this time I still lookin for meh dumplin and I ent find it. Ah find two bun up piece of sweet potato and a marasme piece of cow heel. Apparently the poor cow was wearing a steel tip boots, fuss the meat hard, hard. I find more sweet potato, and more sweet potato and I start to feel real real sour. I find a lil piece of pumpkin too somewhere. Just when I reach de bottom and start scraping Styrofoam, ah find de dumpling. One marasmous piece of flour half inch long and quarter inch wide. I spend $20 for this. Yuh know Miss Carol not getting my money again.

The most beautiful thing

Tonight my wife said one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard her say. She said:
"I might not be able to do the latest dance, but I can write a song for you, and tell you how much I love you."
"I may not have the body you want me to have, but my heart is all yours."
"I might not want to go with you to football games, but I was there with you when your father died, and my heart broke because you were in pain."

That was seriously deep, and I felt somewhat selfish.

Beasts in Human Form

From the Trinidad Express Thursday June 28
Nurse robbed, beaten: police hunt for 3 men
Richard Charan South Bureau

Police are hunting for three men believed to have robbed and beaten a nurse with the sledgehammer they used to break down a door to get to her and her money.
Latchmin Rampersad, 51, was reported to be conscious and alert at the Mt Hope Hospital yesterday but she was unable to eat or speak because of her injuries.
Rampersad, who is a native of Guyana, has a home in Minnesota, United States, where she lives with her husband, an air traffic controller, and two children.
The couple are building a house at Pierre Road, Charlieville, as a vacation home.
Rampersad was in Trinidad to oversee the construction.
Late Monday night, four men broke down the back door of the house and attacked Rampersad in her bedroom.
The attackers stole her jewelry and $90,000-money she withdrew from the bank to pay for building material.
Her cousin and neighbour Doolarie Durga said yesterday: "They beat her so bad they thought they killed her.
But she threw her body on the ground and pretended to be dead.
About half hour after they left, she got up and ran across to us. Her head and front of her body were covered in blood. We wrapped her head with a towel. Now we don't know if God will take her or if she will come out of it."
Rampersad wore gold rings which the thugs ripped off her fingers, Durga said.
Rampersad, who left Trinidad about 20 years ago, returned earlier this year.
Her husband was expected to return to Trinidad yesterday.

I haven't posted here for a while because I have been suffering from an extended case of writer's block, but this article has gotten me angry enough to want to say something. What kind of monster would actually think it in his mind to beat another human being with a sledgehammer? I mean this is an implement used to destroy concrete. What venom does it take to strain against the weight of a heavy hammer, lift it and bring it crashing down onto the head of a defenceless woman? Did they feel any emotion when they heard the sickening thud of metal meeting flesh and bone cracking? Who are the people that do these things? Do I know them? Do they live on my street? Do they have any feeling in their hearts?

To make it worse, obviously this was organised by someone who knew she had the money. Was it an inside job organised by an acquaintance? Friend? Family? Perhaps the teller at the bank?
Is it right that people work hard for their money and some illiterate fool who decided he didn't want to study and make a life for himself decides to take it?

I think that Trinidad has really gone to the dogs now. Hardly anyone cares about anything or anybody else. It's a free for all. Do what you want. Drive how you want. Steal, kill, destroy. There seems to be a darkness over the country which is getting progressively more intense. What has caused my peaceful party-loving people to become to evil? I wish I knew the answer. One thing is for certain: we need to find the answer fast, before Trinidad and Tobago goes totally to the dogs.