Jack Warner and Roger Joseph Made a deal

I got this today in an email. . . I think the PP has duped us. . .

The FINAL Results.

As Promised Final Winners after recounts and the EBC declared. As of today all recounts were cancelled. In total over 70% of Trini's came out to vote. That is an increase of over 5% than the election in 2007. Remember what I had said about voter turn out. Manning was truly living in an another world. These is so much to say about this election, that has not been said already. But what you do remeber is that voting DOES work. Always remember that, you CAN initiate the change you want by voting. If Kamla et al DON'T perform, then we vote them out to. Remember that.

Constituency	COP	NNV	PNM	TOP	UNC
Arima	Roger Samuels		Laurel Lezama-Lee Sing
Arouca/Maloney	Anna Maria Mora		Alicia Hospedales
			Joseph Ross
Caroni Central			Sheila Madoo-Kurban		Glenn Ramadharsingh
Caroni East		Prakash Persad	Harold Ramoutar		Tim Gopeesingh
East			Mustapha Abdul-Hamid		Stephen Cadiz
West			Ronald Heera
Couva North			Nal Ramsingh		Ramona Ramdial
Couva South			Anthony Khan		Rudy Indarsingh
Manzanilla			Darryl Mahabir		Colin Partap
D’Abadie/O’Meara	Anil Roberts		Karen Nunez-Tesheira
Central	Nicole Dyer-Griffith	Melissa Ochoa	Dr Amery Browne
Diego Martin North/East					Garvin Nicholas
Diego Martin West	Rocky Garcia	Zawadi Abu Bakr	Keith Rowley
			Joel Primus		Chandresh Sharma
La Brea			Fitzgerald Jeffrey		Ernesto Kesar
La Horquetta/Talparo			Nadra Nathai-Gyan		Jairam Seemungal
Laventille East/Morvant		Umar Khan	Donna Cox
Laventille West	Kwasi Mutema		NiLeung Hypolite
Lopinot/Bon Air West	Lincoln Douglas		Neil Parsanlal
			Clifford Campbell
Moruga/Tableland			Augustus Thomas		Clifton De Coteau
Naparima			Faiz Ramjohn		Nizam Baksh
Oropouche East			Christin Ramdial		Roodal Moonilal
Oropouche West			Heather Sedeno		Stacy Roopnarine
Pt Fortin	Nyahuma Obika		Paula Gopee-Scoon
Pointe-à-Pierre			Christine Kangaloo		Errol McLeod
Port-of-Spain North/St Ann's West		Fuad Abu Bakr	Patricia McIntosh		Annabelle Davis
Port-of-Spain South	Gisselle Russel	Travis Mulraine	Marlene McDonald
Princes Town			Anwarie Ramkissoon		Nela Khan
San Fernando East	Carol Cuffy-Dowlat
San Fernando West	Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan	Indrani Abu Bakr	Junia Regrello
Siparia			Vidya Deokiesingh
St Ann's East		Christian Dookie	Joanne Thomas		Annabelle Davis
St Augustine	Prakash Ramadhar		Balchandra Sharma
St Joseph			Kennedy Swaratsingh		Herbert Volney
Tabaquite			Farouk Mohammed		Suruj Rambachan
Tobago East			Gizel Thomas-Roberts	Vernella Alleyne-Toppin
Tobago West			Terrence Williams	Delmon Baker
Toco/ Sangre Grande		Neil De Silva	Eric "Pink Panther" Taylor		Rupert Griffith
Tunapuna			Esther Le Gendre

Meanwhile the PNM is in it process of imploding, as predicted. There is no doubt in my mind that Keith Rowley will stay as Opposition leader, but the fall out from that may be that the PNM as a party will have to find itself on life support for a good few months. However as one commentator put it: Chnage is good and for teh PNM its even better, they will be a party that will evolve, they have no choice, eveolve or become a footnote in history.

On another serious note. This new government must be very careful. It MUST not do the old ways of providing "work for the boys" in the ministries. More on that later. Let's see how the first 120 days go.

Life goes on. Now start cleaning up all those posters on the walls and T&TEC poles!

Finally, Someone Told Me Who to Vote For

I found this in my inbox yesterday. I was not only flabbergasted I was saddened. This is the desperation of a party that knows it has lost. Its own people are torpedoing their own campaign. Remember what I said about voter turn out. Please read an disseminate.

"Finally, Someone Told Me Who to Vote For…..

This is my fist time voting in a national election in Trinidad and Tobago, so you could say I am a bit of an election virgin.

I have taken on the responsibility very seriously though and I am, no let me correct that, I was, an undecided voter, that is, until yesterday afternoon.

I was at my desk working around lunchtime when I received a call on my business line. It was a PNM constituency representative who was inquiring if I was happy with the way my neighborhood or constituency was being run under the PNM administration.  “Gosh”, I thought to myself, “this is wonderfully pro-active of them. The timing is a little bit obvious but still the intent is there”. I told my interviewer that to be honest I was quite happy with the manner in which my area was being run. I could not speak for other neighborhoods but we were quite happy, we have a constant flow of water, an uninterrupted supply of electricity, good and regular sanitation and a tolerable level of localized crime. “So we can count on your vote then on the 24^th?”, she asked with anticipation. My response was simple, “No, I am sorry m’am but unfortunately I don’t think so as I have some serious concerns on the national level.”  

My interviewer was now audibly perturbed and asked if I would rather vote for particular persons on the side of the People’s Partnership (here she began to name individuals one by one and make an unflattering remark on each). I asked her to refrain from doing so and if she wanted to discuss the matter perhaps we could discuss the issues rather than the personalities to begin with. The conversation got a lot better at this point and we discussed areas such as education, water and housing which seem to be popular PNM platforms. I congratulated her on the PNM’s performance in these areas but also mentioned to her that there was no evidence that the People’s Partnership would discard any of these successful endeavors but rather there was actually debate on enhancing their framework.

“Hold on a minute”. I held as instructed, I think I even held my breath.  “I am looking at your last name here and it is Indian. Are you an Indian?” This question of race truly sent me into a tailspin. Had she found my Achilles heel? Was I being combative just because I was against any race other than my own, did I believe that under the PNM, Indians would put amongst the cane once again or subdued with offers of rum and river limes and then while incapacitated be quietly forced onto the steamers heading back to the motherland? My answer – “I am partially Indian m’am but I also have Caucasian, African and Chinese in me and I am very proud to be a true brown son of our multi-racial nation.” Well maybe I didn’t sound that enigmatic but you get the just of it.

In my best Winston Churchill impression I told her that I have never made any decision in my life based on race and I never will.

I don’t think that she believed me so I tried to explain to her the methodology I was utilizing to make a voting decision. I have decided to break down the evaluation process into 3 distinct parts (now this might not work for everyone so you find a recipe that suits you). The 1^st two parts incorporate evaluating each party on an individual basis and what it stands for as well as what it hopes to accomplish over the next term. To do this effectively I have gotten hold of both manifestos and I have looked through them at length, comparing, contrasting and trying to make fair judgments.

Thus far my impression is that the manifesto for the People’s Partnership offers far more granularity for the upcoming term while the manifesto of the PNM contains much detail of what has already been achieved. I think that although many may disagree, the PNM is in a unique situation having been in power for the last seven years, as they have a track record from which they can draw. The challenge I have with this is that generally the PNM, as it has done in the manifesto, does not communicate a reference point when it describes the litany of its achievements. What I mean by this is that, did the PNM achieve what it planned, as a matter of fact what was the plan and how does the execution compare to that of the plan? Only with two points of reference can anyone make a fair and objective judgment. Over the last decade, due to the exploitation of our hydrocarbons and the overheating of the international economy, the commodity price of oil and gas (until the financial crisis) rose dramatically and so any government in place would have had a large purse to play with but the real and absolutely critical question one has to ask oneself is whether or not theses funds that belong to the people of Trinidad and Tobago were expended in a manner that added value to the people of Trinidad and Tobago and at all times. In other words, for every dollar spent (whether Yankee or Trinbagonian) are we the country and the people getting more than dollar in return.

To help me understand this better I have even attended a PNM cottage meeting in my constituency as well as a youth meeting for the People’s Partnership and afforded both parties an opportunity to express their views.

So we return to the saga that is my interview and the fact that I was never allowed to explain the first two steps of my methodology as described so eloquently above. What my interviewer did hear was that although I thought her candidate was a very strong option I could not vote for her in good conscience, as I did not agree with her leader. So now she was forced to momentarily listen to the 3^rd and final component of my evaluation - the leadership of the party and specifically the PNM.

This offered an easy segue into the area of crime and corruption. I told my now phone buddy that I could not condone much of the PM’s (this means Prime Minister by the way not Project Manager-I just want to make that clear) actions and attacks that have hurt or jeopardized the population. The foremost of these of course was the Udecott debacle and the failure thus far for the authorities to press charges on counts of perjury or otherwise but there are many others such as: the crime rate, interference in the choice of Police Commissioner, the Integrity Commission fiasco, Clico, insider trading, the construction sector war, illegal demonstrations, discrimination against the Maha Saba, emasculation of the EMA, a TT$2M flag of hubris, Tarouba, NAPA, the scholarships of shame, the devastation of the Grand Stand with no replacement, President’s House or what’s left of it, the mansion, the complete neglect of the health facilities, the abandonment of our current plethora of stadia, a licensing office from the dark ages, police stations where officers still write on scrap paper, no digital crime data-basing or local DNA testing, Guanapo religion, a 2 year wait for a new passport, cricket bacchanal, fixed deposits for the Minster of Finance, assault on the independence of the judiciary, empty skyscrapers, unwanted smelters and the Executive Presidency.

Unlike Mr. Rowley and Mr. London, I do not agree that you can vote for a party without voting for its leader; our system of government does not allow it. Mr. Manning has commandeered the party and makes decisions without the involvement of the people’s voice and in many cases contrary to public opinion. The PNM as a party has failed over the last seven years to remove Mr. Manning or control his flagrant disregard for the will of the people. I am not sure how they intend to do this if they win. To me it would seem impossible.

Well you can imagine how my telephone BFF reacted to this one. Although I only mentioned Udecott and not everything else she said that we should give the police service time, as they should not be announcing their findings during an election. I tried to explain that the two should be mutually exclusive but by now I was just saying “Yes m’am” to everything like a chastised school child.

All common sense leaped out of the window. I was told that I should not have ever attended the PNM cottage meeting as that was for loyal PNM supporters and not for people like me. I explained that I actually asked two friends who are PNM supporters if it was appropriate for me to attend and that they encouraged me to do so. They were obviously wrong according to my telephone sweet heart. I had insulted the PNM by going.

She also again expressed her disbelief that I was voting “party” and according to race. All that I could take from this was that she was not listening to anything I had said.

She then told me in no uncertain terms that I was an idealist who was chasing after rainbows, which I would never find, or happiness in life for that matter. Who knew she was my own personal prophetess. “Everyone makes mistakes.”, she said. “You are chasing after fairies”. Of course in hindsight I wish I had the quickness of mind to mention some other idealists like Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Gandhi and President Obama. I didn’t - I suck!

“Are you married?” she demanded. “No m’am, not yet.” was my honest reply. “Well you will never get married. You will have to find yourself a virgin!”. Well we all know that those only exist in storybooks and Disney movies so it looks like I am doomed.

Her parting shot was, “I can’t believe you would vote for a drug addict”. Now I am not sure who she meant but I am pretty sure that if anyone who is reading this has family who are braving the difficult road of recovery, you should probably abandon them as according to her, that person is useless.

After all of this and after I found a way to dislodge my battered ego from the crater in the floor I started to become incensed with anger. How can someone who is hoping to illicit your support speak to you that way one you have very politely declined to give it? Is everyone not entitled to his or her own opinion? Do we really now live in a dictatorship where once you don’t agree or acquiesce to the PNM ideology you are castigated, attacked and cast out until you submit or disappear.

My telephone Nazi left me robbed and empty. I was robbed of one of the most basic and most vital covenants of any democracy, the ability to express one’s opinions without fear of recrimination, persecution or discrimination. Are the people of this land no longer considered sovereign and sacred? Do they not realize that whoever wins this race will form a government, which is supposed to represent and be the servants of ALL the citizens of sweet T&T and not just those who voted for them?

It seems that this crucial tenant means nothing to our current administration and the people who support them. This is the most personal and intimate experience that I have had that has proven to me that we are indeed moving towards the acceptance of tyranny.

But surely, even as disillusioned as I was there must be a guiding light, a person to help me throw off this horrendous experience and place faith back in my heart for the PNM. I decided to call the PNM candidate for my constituency and whom I met at the cottage meeting. This is going to change things I said to myself. She can fix this, right?

Well once she realized why I was calling the conversation was short lived. She promised to investigate the matter but also blamed me for engaging the lady on the phone. WHAT?? That can’t be right. This person called me and I was polite and demure the entire time, how in the world, the whole wide world, from the volcano in Iceland to the Points Lisas Estate, is this MY fault? But it was. I was wrong to listen, to be accommodating, to be polite and mannerly as my parents taught me, to allow someone else to put across their point of view and give it due consideration. I guess they are right.

For the rest of our conversation she related to me how she was being attacked by the People’s Partnership on the hustings and told me they were MY people. I don’t think she was really listening.  Maybe I should go and live in a marginal constituency.

Now what should you do? Well, my experience aside, I encourage each and every person to become informed on the stances of the different parties, to learn as much as you can about the issues and become well educated on the proposed policies and plans. Ask hard questions, on both sides. If you want more attend some of the meetings and rallies and listen to the speakers. Satisfy yourself that you have learnt enough and have given BOTH parties a fair shake.

Then and only then make a choice based on sound judgment and logical thinking and for what you believe to be in the best interest of our country. Whatever that decision turns out to be, I stand behind you.

As for me and only for me, I CYAH VOTE FOR DAT!

Signed.

An insignificant and inconsequential single voter"

Father Kenndy "Rambo" Swaratsingh

I've just been reading this article in the Express and I have to make a comment here. For the record I KNOW beyond a shadow of a doubt that Mr Swartsingh is capable, I said CAPABLE of doing skullduggery. He did it before as a Roman Catholic priest. Mr Swaratsingh used the Catholic Church as a spring board to get him where he is now. The man is the ULTIMATE oppurtunist. Mind you he cannot give a sermon worth a damn as he has always been told he reads the scriputres wrong consistently. But I digress. While a Catholic Priest, and I have been told this is a well known fact, he APPLIED as member of the defense force. Not as a CHAPLIN mind you, but as a full fledged gun toting Army Man, trained to kill.

The Catholic Church has a set of rules (some may say that are broken daily, I am not here to dispute that) called Canon law that control the actions of the clergy, one such law cleary states that 

289 §1. Since military service is hardly in keeping with the clerical state, clerics and candidates for sacred orders are not to volunteer for military service except with the permission of their ordinary.

WTF Kennedy!? You disobeyed your OWN churches law and joined the Army as a gun toting solider WHILE STILL A PRIEST?! He was told repeatedly by the then new Archbishop Gilbert to choose, Military Service or Priesthood. He chose NEITHER he went into politics! This man can't take pressure you know, that's why he was bamboozling the Army (saying it was ok for a Chaplin to be trained as an army man in full service so he can get "special treatment") and the the Catholic Church (Its ok to take arms against the oppressors and the Godless, so don't mess wit me, I'm a bad ass) AND get PAID BY BOTH the church (Priests receive a stipend) AND the ARMY (they get paid like any normal civil servant.

This man seems to have no respect for the rule of law and sees it fit to use any means necessary to further his own personal ambitions. I have met Mr Swaratsingh when he was a priest, he was patronising and arrogant then and I'm sure being a government Minister in the PNM hasn't made that any better.

So when Jack buss the mark on Kennedy I was reminded of the above story. I was also reminded of the quote from Othello. "She hath betrayed her father and may you. . ."

Kennedy, all I can say is, "You so crazy!" lol Not.

The Campaign growls on.

I'm making my list and checking it twice

Its like Christmas for the People's Partnership. All around signs of the impending collapse of the PNM campaign is evident. Collapsing as painfully as the collapse of the President's House roof. Now if you ask me THAT is more symbolic that anything. Not only does it show the rot that is occurring on the insides of our PNM held government, its also showing how the PNM's priorities are so screwed up. All the billions and the HEAD OF STATE HAS NO HOUSE!?

The collapse of the roof is not only the death knell, its the bell that tolls, who does it toll for? It tools for thee Patrick.

I read with interest that all the political pundits are predicting a coalition win, BUT not a landslide. I want to make it clear that I am by no means a pollster but I do hear what the people are saying. The ONLY thing that is keeping the people voting for the PNM is fear. I had promised to write about fear but there is no point at this stage the fear has overcome the PNM, even Rowley's starting to acknowledge that they will lose. Manning has been VERY quiet since his last Trinidad & Tobago sponsored PNM "Address to the Nation" TTTI has already sounded off on this, saying that in no uncertain terms must the ruling party EVER do what the PM did that night. Use the office to plug his party's wares and preempt ALL the stations programming to do so.

This is desperation.

So what will be the final figures?

My official results are as follows: PNM 19 TOP 2 UNC/COP 20. I will publish a before and after table, my list as it were, to show which constituencies went where. I will be checking it twice.

I realised with joy that hundreds of you read my previous article on the state of the campaign thus far. I hope you learned a lot. Thanks for reading my little blog. :) Please do return. Things are going to get interesting.

While I leave you to comment on this latest prediction, you might consider this little clip from the movie 2010, the year we kicked out Manning, I mean, the year we made Contact. Enjoy.

BWTMC!?

Yeah. I'm seeing it too. Is that a bottle of WHISKEY in that youth's hand?? But What The Mudder ¢ü~†?! THIS is the youth that is going to take the country forward? THIS is the people that will be voting in on Monday and beyond?

The PNM has a lot to answer for. This picture is the straw, forget the Guanapo church! Forget the alphabet soups of UDECOTT, THIS image alone will destroy the PNM.

But there are other WTMC's to come. I will list them out:

Colm Imbert, otherwise known as Tattoo and the Court Jester is trying to use his Napoleon complex to remove an electronic billboard in Maraval. WTMC Colm, you can't lift that by yourself! You too small! Call the police they will move it for you, because like the Ariapita Incident, you can make the Police do ANYTHING but catch the criminals in your constituency.

I mean WTMC!? They carjack Kamla's car, that was bad enough, but they going and BURN down this poor guy's house?! WTMC I seeing in this country?! We REALLY are getting bad. Its time people to fight and fight hard. Get out there and get the people who are undecided to vote!

BUT WTMC is this!? Sylwyn Ryan stop being a PNM stooge and is saying the Coalition is the ONLY answer!? This is unheard of! Patrick not going anywhere but Jail at this point. . . we going to have a by election in San Fernando East even if the PNM wins, because if Kamla and Co don't get him, the Rowley Faction will! He will meet hard concrete when they throw that Captain off the ship when it dock (if it ever does!)

Its the silly season! And its not silly anymore. Its downright scary!

The Home Stretch

One week. In one week's time, we vote. I have been a bit remiss in my duties. My plan was really to get soundings and publish them here, unfortunately time and carpal tunnel have made it difficult. Yes DeepThought's arthritis is back and its hard for me to type these days. I can't afford the fancy keyboards that help with alleviating wrist pains, so pain killers, Iodex and grinning through the pain is all I can do. It takes me twice as long to write now as I did before.

Oh well that said. Here's what I think.

The official results: 20 in favour of the Oppostiion, 21 in favour of the PNM. Manning going back.

Now before you all get upset (or cheer as the case may be) I will tell you why this election is going to be unlike any other election we've had before. Never in the history of our nation has blogging and sharing of information become so relevant. The Coalition was the first out of the gate to blitz the "New Media" with ads on ANY single page. Deepthought was actually remiss. . . I should have put in advertising onto this page and become an "unofficial" conduit to the People's Partnership to click to join Kamla's Facebook Fanpage. (I am not a fan, to be honest, on Facebook I mean. I have yet to put my thoughts onto there as yet) The PNM seemed to have played "catch up" to the Coaltion in EVERY way. But what they do have is the Grassroots but THAT group is shrinking rapidly as more down market citizens get access to Facebook and the internet.

This is why I have said that voter turn out is key. We shall see if the internet HAS indeed played a role in shifting the focus from an uninformed electorate voting on tribal lines, to an electorate fed numerous different ideas through simple social media that it makes them think twice about either not voting, or voting. We shall see.

I can tell you one thing. Safely. Lots of you have been reading this page. Ahhh how do I know that? Deep thought has his ways.

But back to the results. It comes down to the three marginals. San Fernando West is the seat that the Coalition has the greatest margin to lose. Dookeran will win his seat. As well as TOP winning one side of Tobago, they say East. I will not dispute that. Where things MIGHT get sticky is in Lopinot Bon/Air but I have a feeling that will go the Coalition's way.

Some have said 19-23 in favour of the Coalition. This is becasue the general feeling on the ground is that its like 1986. What happened in 1986? In 1986 the PNM was routed by the then "Coalition" of the ONR and the ULF forming the NAR. But that didn't cause the PNM to lose. What caused the PNM to only get 3 seats out of 36 was the mere fact that the PNM supporters were so angry with the choices made by the then PNM party (internally) that they just decided. "Fuck 'em, we going to send a message." I have serious doubts that this will EVER happen again my lifetime. But then again, stranger things have happened.

Some are talking about Rocky beating Rowley in Diego West. It will be close. But no. This election is a PNM internal election and the PNM WANT Rowley to take over from Manning, so in some "alternate universe" Manning loses his deposit in San Fernando East and Rowley becomes head of the PNM.

Regardless of the outcome on Monday. I do believe that we will be back in this same position in 2 years time, maybe 3. If the Coalition has its way (according to the Manifesto) the instituting of recall and referendum may mean we're going back to the polls every two years. If Manning DOES "go back" we may NEVER see elections again. lol That's also a fact.

Strange Days of Uncle "Jack" (and I am not talking about Warner)

We're down to the wire. More to come.

Tearing Through The Manifestos

So this week saw the launch of both the PNM's (first to market) and the UNC's Coalition's Manifestos. It was not without some of its controversies. The PNM's manifesto is nothing more than a condensation of the Vision 2020 document that is more readily available online than the manifesto itself. I have been told that the Manifesto is so thin that its easy to tear. Its also doesn't seem to be available online. Impressive, most impressive. When Deepthought gets himself a copy of this document in his hand, he will read it.

Meanwhile the launch of the opposition's manifesto was not without some controversy. In the first instance they were denied the use of NALIS in Port of Spain at the last minute. It smells of political interference, BUT in reality in T&T (especially NALIS) it may have just been simple incompetence at  this institution. Highly possible considering the state of decay in our public offices. In the end Jack was running pillar to post (according to him) to find a new palce to launch this long awaited document. Thy eended up launching it in Center of Excellence (where in the end was only going to be natural since the COE, is owned by Mr Warner. Didn't know why they didn't go there in the first place!?) Maybe its all about getting coverage. They knew it would be mired in controversy and they used it to their advantage.

Then there was something more disturbing. The car that transports Mrs Persad-Bissesar was carjacked. It was later found undamaged and nothing taken from it, EXCEPT some personal documents. Where have DeepThought heard this story before? Ah yes, Mr Rubadiri Victor had also reported that his laptop was stolen on more than one occasion with the express intent to sabotage the ACTT's presentation to the Uff enquiry on the NAPA building. He who thinks that this government and this PNM party does not have its own "Tonton Macoute" is living in la la land.


In fact the week before the home of a PNM returned to UNC activist was fire bombed and the whole family was killed! This is getting crazy! There IS desperation in the air and its not yet over.

Back to the manifesto. It certainly isn't easy to tear! Its been sent mainly electronically and that's using technology the RIGHT way. The propagation of the document has already started flooding DeepThought's inbox from friends who themselves received a copy and have passed it on. Deepthought has a copy and I have posted it up here with the help of my more technically adept friends.

I think the PNM has dropped the ball. I have skimmed through the document and have found certain key things that are DEFINITELY worth exploring should the UNC and COP and TOP get into power. Its VERY thourough. Deepthought likes how it starts:


"We are guided by the principle that the highest  mission of society is the development of  its citizens. Accordingly the commitment of our government is to promote a process of people-centred development. 
To achieve our mission, we have built our policy on seven (7) Development Pillars, which are 
interconnected and which constitute the cornerstones of our strategy for sustainable development of Trinidad and Tobago."


So far other people have commented on this document and preliminary reports say that it is VERY well done. That's the COP for you, they wrote it!


Meanwhile the Campaign kicks into high gear.

On Loose Cannons and Sinking Ships

I'm late to press with my week in review. I apologise, I have no excuse. When one is thinking he forgets all time. I am actually writing a piece on fear, but I'm afraid its not finished yet.

So lets hear it for Mr (Former) Justice Volney, who, in my humble estimation, has torpedoed the UNC's chances of winning St Joseph and MAYBE even a few of the Coalition's marginals. Why would I say such a thing? Because Mr Volney is a loose cannon. In my estimation the campaign on the UNC side was going along quite well until Mr Volney took the stage in St Joseph. Holding up snakes and ignoring pleas to answer the "Brad Boyce question" he was presented with a small and masterfully executed protest.

Before I go on, let me give you a history of "protest." Before Gandhi protests were largely an unheard of thing, put down violently by the powers that be. Put up a resistance and you were destroyed. No more union, no more protest, the status quo was maintained. Gandhi achieved something no one could dream of though ONE thing and ONE thing only: The media. Here was this man, not even a "black man" a "Coolie" who got people to follow him in droves doing non-violent protest that moved an entire empire, through the eyes of newspapers and radio. The advent of the newsreel also helped highlight the plight of the Indians. This is the beginning of PR and nothing could stop it.

Back to the Volney protest. The T&T Media has lapped it up, opening up a wound that has remained festering for years. Why did Volney exonerate Brad Boyce? Well it wasn't because he was white, as the "other side" would have you believe. Its simply the fact that the state, as usual, screwed up the evidence. People fail to remember that in a court of law, evidence is the key, refuting of evidence is the defenses job, by bringing new evidence to prove their case. In this case the evidence was in the favour of the Boyce's How is that possible? He who has more money has more justice, this has been the way of the world since time immemorial. Its called having power. But I digress.

Volney had every right to ignore the protesters "I will answer that question soon enough." But the damage was done, the silent protest managed to torpedo Mr Volney's campaign as successfully as a German WWII Submarine in the Atlantic. Professionally printed placards, white T-shirts (to look like COP coalition members) and a SMALL group made up of the victim's family, small enough to be seen but not enough to be a threat.

Masterful.

So Mr Volney responded later by stating his involvement in the case (as outlined above) No matter that the Privvy council tapped him on the head and told him he was damn wrong, but the result is as it is, Brad Boyce has been free since 1998 and Johnson is worm food. Then Mr Volney scuttled his own boat. He RETRACTED his statement and apologised. . . This is NOT going down well with the voters in St Joseph. In my table I have put that constituency in "orange" to say it could swing either way. Now its back in PNM country because the COP voters who all of this depends on have stated that they are staying away from the polls and Swartsingh had to do NOTHING but print placards and provide white t-shirts.

Masterful.

Kamla has only herself to blame. This was faux pas number one. The second? A double edged sword that is Robinson. Once reviled by the UNC as the architect of their demise and hard core UNC supporters were caught off guard with Mrs Bissessar's cosying up to the "betrayer." But it was masterful. The whole of Tobago loves the ANR. HE is TOBAGO, his endorsement of Kamla and the Coalition has pulled a lot of the Tobago voters into the limelight. I haven't thought of Tobago yet. I consider that PNM safe seats. But if Ashworth plays his cards right (and he is by not actually running, since that leaves him freedom to float amongst the voters of both T&T and Tobago) he can win not just Tobago West BUT Tobago East (east is the hardest constituency to win and West has always been ANR's seat.) Tobago is now back on the radar as "Marginals" in my estimation. Meanwhile the UNC hardcore are wondering if this is a sign that Kamla has begun the "betraying" that Panday had predicted on the Internal Elections campaign. . .

Then there is Rowley.

Rowley's speech on Thursday night will go down in history. In one simple shot, Rowley has silenced Manning and co. The secret weapon has been let loose on the campaign, but like Volney, he's a loose cannon. Let's look at Rowley's famous "Don't throw the Captain Overboard" speech. In it he makes no mention of the infamous "10 times worse than Piarco" statement on UDECOTT, but what he DOES do is make it clear that when he wins his seat he will be going after Manning and co. Even though he failed to critcise his leader in words, he did it in actions. The splinter group of Hines and Annisette-George speak volumes. This is the PNM infighting drawn to the front without saying a word. This is a quasi-launch of a PNM internal campaign, no mistake about it, after the PNM wins the election, Rowley hopes, he can then move to step two, he will fight to remove Manning and install himself as the next Political Leader of the PNM thereby making himself Prime Minster in a NEW PNM lead government. This is all entirely possible and will all be done PNM style, quiet and in the background. You probably won't even realise it has happened until it does. Stay tuned.

So where are we with the seats. I have already sounded off on St Joseph, but what happens in one seat affects all. The UNC needs to do damage control on Volney and so far nothing has been done. Meanwhile the PNM safe seats remain safe and the UNC safe seats remain safe. Meanwhile the opposition supporters are running around saying all kinds of things, but what is clear is that as of this post, NO manifesto has been forthcoming by ANY party and no solid plans from the Coalition has been put forth. The PNM is still one upping the opposition with plans (mind you the Vision 20/20 plans are almost 10 years old and 90% of the things outlined in such plans have not even seen beyond the theory stage. Don't believe me? Read it yourself.)

You know in the end I really do think it will definitely come down to Tobago!

But the campaign grinds on and there may be more surprises in store.

Those blasted emails!

When are people going to learn that passwords no matter how complex will never protect you from prying eyes. The PNM has seemed to have been set upon once again by whistleblowers. Jack Warner was in full theatrics mode on Friday night in La Horquetta when he strung the audience along for almost ten minutes of his allotted time talking about "The smoking gun contained in this Brown Envelope" Now the contents f the this brown envelope that he "claims" he got slipped under his door on Thursday night, was obviously given to him by a whistleblower.

Whistleblowers are a rare commodity in Trinidad and Tobago. If these emails are real. then it shows something significant. The old paradigm of keeping quiet and hoping the problem resolves itself seems to be fading, Trini's seem to be becoming more empowered and more brazen in doing something, even if its STILL for self gain and survival.

The question is, who in Valdez and Torry will be fired for this breach of security? If I were  the owner I would think carefully before firing his employees for whistle blowing why? Because then everyone will know WHO the whistleblower is and that will make the emails MORE legit. You obviously cannot fire someone (couching it in ANY company speak, as you'd like) without calling attention to it.

However the whistleblower must know that is he or she is found out, their life at this particular company is over, and if the said person resigns in due time it makes it less conspicuous to the public, so all Mr Valdez has to do is wait it out. He may know who the person is but when the election dust has settled, that person is gone. I hope said person has hedged his bets and gotten a job elsewhere and is ready to move before Valdez and co do.

But back to Warner's smoking gun. What does it say? Well simply put, the PNM is doing what the PNM always does, takes your tax paying dollars for its own party gain. The money was to pay a well known reporter who has a Warner/FIFA axe to grind to reveal ugly things about Mr Warner.

Well he's what I think. Mr Jennings is right in fighting up against Warner, he's an investigative journalist who has taken it upon himself to expose the seedy inner workings of FIFA. FIFA in reality is more corrupt than the Olympic Organizing Committee, who has only now after decades of scandal been able to shake off the problems and move forward. So Jennings feels that if he gets rid of Sid Blater and his "Dartth Vader" Warner, FIFA will be a "nicer" Committee. But who is Andrew Jennings?

Andrew Jennings, according to the Wikipedia entry, is "an investigative reporter, writer and documentary filmmaker. He is best known for his work concerning corruption in sports organizations and the politics of international sports, particularly within FIFA and the International Olympic Committee." So I DOUBT that Jennings would stoop so low as to oust Warner for the PNM for financial gain. If THAT were the case Jenning's career as a "Sports Corruption Buster" would be in question. If you're willing to sell your reports to the highest bidder as suggested by SANITAS' email, what does that say about your OWN integrity!? But SANITAS was trying to be more "sneaky"

This is SANITAS BTW. They seem to be a mercenary organisation employed by big high paying government states (maybe even people like the CIA) to influence and direct political campaigns. So SANITAS wasn't going to ask Jennings outright to let everyone in on the feed from the conference he was going to be speaking at, no they would interview him AFTER THEN re-cut and edit to discredit Warner. The truth of Warner's "corruption" would be FURTHER corrupted by making it into 30 second sound bites that would just be designed to inflame the population.

Now I think where this may sound like a noble gesture on the part of the PNM it is dirty politics at its highest, and where Warner ain't no saint either, this isn't designed to hurt Warner, that's a court of law to decide ultimately, it is designed to destroy the phalanx of the General's army by cutting off the head.

I am waiting to see what the PNM does to respond to this. They MUST now be feeling that EVERYTHING they do seems to be leaked to the enemy! Is this a sign that internally the troops are discontented?

The Campaign fights on.

Rising with the Sun - The week in review

The UNC and the COP are proving to be winning the hearts. I mean whoever thought of this symbol was brilliant! (lol I suggested it first, but say what, these are for the young, I am just the thinker!) The campaign has turned. The PNM continues to be silly in the season and the UNC has solidified its message.

Its NOT "DO SO!" but "Rise Up" Like a shot of viagra into a old man the UNC has risen to the challenge. With the COP the UNC has become more focussed and has taken every shot at its bows by the PNM mudslinging machine to rebound with solid issues. How is this being achieved? The COP.

Going in no particular order this is what the issues have been

Manning continues to speak from the pulpit as if the Coalition horde has started busting down the gates and the women and children in the castle will be raped and killed. The fear issuing from the PNM platforms is so thick you can cut it with a knife. The PNM supporters pictured in the press are old and die hard, the young ones continue to talk nonsense on the platforms. But most of the young supporters seem absent and maybe for good reason, this is the nonsense coming out of one of the youth leaders:

“Look in your own house, are there any coal pots? Fireside? Fibre mattress? Buffalo pillows?” ...“Or do you see flat screen TVs, a car in the garage, a computer. Ladies and gentlemen we are a prosperous people. Yet there are people trying to convince you that the economy is in bad shape, but ...they are promising pensioners $3,000 a month. Do you believe that? Are they trying to insult your intelligence?"

Yes, I kid you not this was said by a Youth Leader of the PNM on the platform on Tuesday night. This is what it comes down to for a PNM supporter. "We go lose we flat screen TV and other tings!" But let's get something straight, all the PNM has been doing is trying to STOP their own supporters from voting for the COP/UNC (COP mostly) So they are instilling the fear tactic. "You will lose everything when the UNC horde breaks down the gates!" This is countered by the UNC's tactic. Do not engage with like sentiment. Come around and get to the root.

What do people fear more in the country is not so much the loss of their things (most, despite what the PNM thinks in its disconnect, do not HAVE those things! and they won't lose it through a Government, but through the banditry that the government has allowed!), but the insecurity of the future. What the common man on the ground is dealing with up and down the island is having to face the daily grind made harder by no water, traffic and fear of becoming ill and dying on the floor of the hospital AND having your hard earned cash taken from you by the bandits that seem to be in collusion with the same Government!



The PNM has missed the point and also continues to try to divide and conquer. However the more Manning gets up on the stage and instills fear, the more the people begin to fear him as well as everything else. Fear is a powerful emotion and can get very out of control very quickly and has the possibility of turning on the one who created it and that is why Kamla's attack plan is based on "Love and togetherness" Where the PNM is "rending asunder", the UNC is building, the mere fact that the coalition is cementing and looking stronger everyday is because the people seem to be getting the message.

"If the UNC and COP can build then they can rebuild the country"

It is better to build, than destroy. Build up the nation's self esteem. Build up the assurances that we will see a brighter day. Will it be enough?

The COP have quietly slipped into the background as they are wont to do. A middle class "Knife and Fork Party" has no place on the rhetoric of the election platforms. This is the UNC's fight, the COP are the spy's and the cavalry to the UNC's foot soldiers. Observe. At 4 pm on Friday 29th April the COP revealed a plot to make the UDECOTT issue disappear from the hustings. The main foil used by the UNC/COP was in danger of being removed by a sneaky plan by the T&T Government. The PNM would bring back Calder Hart and in a show of masterful PR, would announce that he had been captured and arrested. Then a drum head "trial" as it were, would place Hart in police protection and a court order issued that since this is now before the courts a gag order is in effect, successfully stopping all mention of UDECOTT on the platforms. The PNM statement would be to the effect: "UDECOTT has ceased to be an issue" This meant that the people, under PNM thinking, would eventually forget it in all the mudslinging and the PNM would be in the clear. I SERIOUSLY doubt this would work. . .but let's see what happens on Monday (the date projected that Hart makes his return)

I say kudos to the COP for doing this and bringing this to the fore. Meanwhile the PNM, bowing to public pressure, presumably from INSIDE their own party, have allowed Bernie Campbell (the Obama man) to re enter the country. Any investigation into WHO actually thew the man out? Fuck no, that's the PNM way!

Herbert Volney threw his hat in the ring and as of the time of this writing, is going up for St Joseph on UNC ticket. I for one wish him luck, he may even win but other than being remembered as the man who angered the Attorney General I don't know what his credentials are as a Political animal. We have to wait and see. the PM was aghast, to say the least about this turn of events, I mean Patrick was outfoxed again. I mean he was having the man followed and he STILL didn't see it coming!

Everybody in the PNM seems to be eating Crow and the dishes seem to be getting bigger.

The campaign slugs on.

Wither Rowley

Everyone asking "Wither Dookeran?" and "Wither Panday" etc etc. But what I would like to know is:

Where is Mr Rowley?


He's been noticeably absent from the platform thus far. Hes been nominated and he's going up, but not a peep on the ground in Diego Martin about Mr Rowley. Now I'll be honest here, if Rowley weren't PNM I'd vote for him! (Sounds bad doesn't it?) But hear me out, hear the thoughts: Rowley is a well spoken, up in your face, no nonsense individual, who is tough and though always looking vex, we've seen times when he has laughed and looked less like the nickname they give him. In fact SOME people claim to be friends with him on Facebook, and he doesn't seem to have a separate person dong his posting, because he has been known to come on at odd hours and post infrequent personal things. This kinda shows that maybe Mr Rowley really does think the people are important. But from what I've heard on the ground in his constituency is that if a war were to break out tomorrow you'd want him covering you as you storm the pill boxes! (Go look it up, its a World War two thing (showing my age maybe??))

So Wither Rowley? Not at all. Maybe he's the secret weapon, maybe Patos waiting till things start looking REALLY desperate (they anymore desperate than they are now? I see they rescinded the deportation order on the UNC advisor) he'll unleash the "Rottweiler" (I think that's unfair to call the man that, so from now on I'll call him Rowlie. :) Remember what I said. . . Rowley is the ace in the hole. Will he "hang Jack?" we have to wait and see . . .

And now for a little election interlude:


(oh he's gone btw. . . more thoughts to come)

The week in Review

So we're coming up to the end of April, very close, its payday for most and just another day for most of us who live hand to mouth in this isle we call paradise. But here we are.

Not being one to ramble on, I'm looking at you Kamla, nor one to incite hatred, like you Patos, well maybe hatred for stupidity and thoughtlessness, I start this blog on a light hearted note:

This campaign cannot get worse than it is.

Or can it?

Stupidity reigns on BOTH sides of the political area (remember we have no third party this time, so we can't use them as a scapegoat) The first stupid thing is Manning calling this election in the first place! That was dumb. Bas saying he will fight Warner one on one, dumber still. But you know what was even dumber than that?

PNM Youth League says not to worry over Uff findings

Really? Really?! You can't be serious?! Really? But I digress. There is more dumb stuff to follow.

The COP and the UNC finally rallied together and signed the agreement. Now this may be nitpicking, but you don't go signing a YELLOW document in full view of the public and not expect SOME commentators to mention it. That would be dumb. What was more dumb was the presentations by both COP and UNC. Full of sound and fury, signifying. . . something.

This something was Ashworth Jack.

Without Ashworth Jack that entire meeting would have been lost. He was concise, he was powerful AND he spoke the issues for Tobago. Ashworth Jack needs to be Kamla's speech coach and writer, because what Kamla did after Ashworth and Dookeraan was to make everyone go home.

Kamla, if you want to be leader, you need to sound like one. You seemed tired and put upon by all those other men sitting behind you on the stage: all 7 leaders of this coalition. And yes Mr Manning coalitions DO work, except inside of the PNM as you and Rowley have so proved. Its your way, or the highway right? In fact do your research better and then maybe you wouldn't sound so dumb. Yes Malaysia has no freedom of the press, but then how free IS the press here anyway? You understand?

Dumb.

More dumbness. Cristine Kangaloo got up on the PNM stage on Tuesday night in Tabaquite and spoke a bout a myriad or things, one thing was that the country should vote for the PNM because they gave us "Free Education" and wrapped up in that is how the PNM has made education better for all of us. "They were teaching about the History of Texas! What does the History of Texas have to do with us?! I don't want to learn about that!" Well Ms Kangaloo, did it ever occur to you that learning about historical events makes you a little more knowledgeable? There is something you should know about the history of Texas that might apply very well to your party's current situation. It was called "The Alamo" Do you think yet that being surrounded on all sides by a greater number of issues raised about your government's corrupt practices, makes you like Davy Crockett et al, out gunned, out manned and out maneuvered? Tell us Ms Kangaloo, what was the result of "The Alamo?"  Or is it that you are rejecting the idea that one's pursuit of independence in action and in thought should not be learned?

I think that's what makes you dumb.

But the dumbest thing of all had to be the Thursday night deportation of Henry Bernard Campbell, the UNC advisor who was hired to handle the marketing and strategy of the campaign. I mean PNM, you could at least MAKE UP something, plant some weed on him or something! As of now even Martin Joseph backpedaling and saying "He never did it." Well if you didn't do it Mr "Homee-sides" Then who did? This was so blatant and shows that I think the PNM really are desperate! I mean they've been putting their foot in their mouth all this time.

This action has given Kamla something to work on, its like being handed the PNM playbook. You CAN'T POSSIBLY fuck this up now UNC/COP, this is handed to you on a silver platter. You can run with this.

But will they?

The campaign chugs on.

THIS. IS. ELECTIONS!

So we have a date. The country took a breath and everyone started running around like headless chickens trying to get registered, and checking lists and so on. DeepThought has been telling you about voting for the last few weeks and should you want to read it you can read about "Why you should Vote," "Why the Numbers Tell you to vote," and "How to get registered." As of today, the EBC is in full registration mode only 5 more days to get on that golden list. So before I start thinking about the events of the last week I just want to say a few key things.

1. That I will try to update this page everyday with thoughts, it will be difficult as the shits going to be flying fast and furious for the next 40 days.
2. I am hoping to start posting the lists of candidates hopefully by the end of next week, as the PNM has already nearly finished it nominations, I'm just waiting on UNCOP/TOP to solidify their agreement and get the candidates out the door.
3. I will try to concentrate on the marginals and see what the feeling is on the ground.
4. No I won't tell you what constituency I am in, DeepThought has to have his own privacy!
5. and No. DeepThought will NOT tell you what he's going to do in the voting booth, BUT I think you already know!

So onto this week in review. Well we'll start with Friday. May 24th is the day of election. No fanfare, no trumpeting from the pulpit by the PM Pastor, he simply called up his partner Max and after all the bullshit talk about free tickets to this fete and who was at the other fete, he conversationally said "May 24th breds" and the notaries rushed to the one fax machine in the new PM's office, and started faxing to everyone. I wouldn't be surprised which radio station got it first, that would be Citadel Radio, run by our very own PNM-ite Louis LeeSing. Good for him, he got a sccop. So now the opposition has a chance to do what they couldn't do in 2007.

Meanwhile the PM continued his screening and Wednesday and Thursday were not free from Bobol. In fact Monday and Tuesday had even MORE bobol. The bobol for the PNM started on the weekend when Penelope Beckles was asked to take a "diplomatic posting" and car named Laurel, oooppss I meant a GIRL (for she is a VERY young girl) CALLED Laurel Lezema-Leesing (see a connection?) was put in Penelope's place. The Arima PNM-ites placarded late into the night shouting "No Penelope, NO VOTE!" Hmmm sounds familiar doesn't it? (excuse the language, I couldn't find the newspaper article) So the PNM-ites love to do the same things over and over. They placarded for Ken but the voted in that idiot Amery Brown, when they "claimed" they would vote for the COP. Hmmm What were the final results in that constiuency I wonder. Here check it yourself Amery Brown 9,301 votes. Not bad for the people who said they'd vote COP. (BTW the Vasant Barath people on the UNC side were saying the same thing. . . Trini's so predictable!)

So that leads us to the biggest bobol yet. Mr Keith "Rotweiler" Rowley. His seat is the ONLY seat I will consider a safe right now. The PNM knows it. The PM, KNOWS that he cannot lose Rowley this time around. See how politics makes strange bedfellows? Keith's nomination was secured and his crowd was just as big as Penelope. So how is this going to work? How is Keith going to go on a platform and extoll the virtues of his party, prepare speeches on PNM policy that has been proven bad for the country AND push the election of his Political Leader back in as PM. My thoughts are that Rowley can say ANYTHING at this point, even say vote for the COP, they can't stop him. So we'll just have to see what tricks he's going to turn on the hustings. We'll have to watch Mr Rowley over the next 40 days.

Now onto the Opposition. They've had the headlines for most of the week. Accommodation this and meeting that and "72 hour deadline" this. In the end what seems to have occurred is that Jack Warner has laid down the law. "Look we have 15 safe seats, you can give us MAYBE 4 more. You have nothing to bargain with. BUT we don't want you running off to your supporters and turning them away OR splitting the vote again. So here wha Dooks, you can run in St Augustine if you want, and other than San Juan/Barataria and our 15 seats and Tobago, you run anywhere you like." That leaves Tunapuna and the rest of the marginals for the COP to fight. Is this a good strategy? I will reserve comment on this until the analysts have sounded off some more as the election starts to get into full swing.

What I do know is that in certain PNM held seats if the voter turn out increases and enough people vote against the PNM, we could have a repeat of 1986. But we shall have to wait and see.

Kamla's speech on Friday night waffled some more and kept imploring people to vote out the PNM, but with no clear idea WHAT they plan to do when in Government, its seems that the only person to save Kamla and the UNC from itself is the logistics and policy making of the COP and THEIR track record hasn't been good at that either. How do you provide an alternative to something so solid as "Vision 2020?" while the "back to Basics" idea sounds nice, it DOES sound like a lot of hard work, and let's face it, Trini's lazy, they would rather someone TELL them that by 2020 they will be developed than someone tell them "You have to WORK to get 2020 status." So we shall see.

I am still formulating my last part to my "Manifesto for We." post on "culture" Stay tuned for that.

CNC3's Report on Rowley's Speech in Parliament

This is the speeech that started the PNM's fall. Rowely's stance AGAINST the PM. I put this here so you know what were fighting about.

God and Gravy get on the Train. . .

I listened to Mrs Persad-Bissesar's speech last night (I REALLY couldn't handle Patos, I tried, but after seeing poor Errol Fabien hawking Vision 2020, my Hart just wasn't in it!) Basically Kamla's doing what she did for the internal election (a winning formula?) She's stopped at being a Panday neophyte and beating up on the PNM and everyone else. She's encouraging all to become part of her plan to go "back to basics." Now Patos on the other hand, was in full election swing, firing shot after shot at the seemingly wavering opposition. While Kamla's talking about a "Ministry of the People" a rather lame attempt to provide the country a voice, that right now has no voice, Mr Patos says he's the "Most Vilified PM." And that he has turned this election into a war between Pharaoh and the Israelites, and he's Moses!

Kamla's sticking to issues. This is a good thing, however the issues are well known and unfortunately the speech, just like Patos, was very vague. What Kamla needs is the COP to GIVE her the meat to go on the bones. Kamla needs to start zeroing on solutions, not just repeating what we already know. How? How are we going to go back to basics Kamla? Its seems all pie in the sky right now. Nervous is the word I'd use to describe the UNC at this stage. Their supporters are wary. They've just come out of campaigning for her and Panday in an internal election, now that machinery needs to quickly re-tool and turn around to handle a General Election, and if Patos is to be believed, Local Government at the end of the year.

While we're on the subject of Panday. He was not there at the meeting. His days are done it seems. Will he "try a ting" with Ramesh during nominations? We'll have to wait and see.

Patos on the other hand hasn't said a word about the golden date of this election. Political Pundits are surmising that we're looking at a May 24th date as the latest he can hold the election. Patos and company answered back all their detractors by putting God on their side. This is an OLD tactic and unfortunately its usually 100% effective. These people fear God (and their pastor) more than anything. The immediate equating of God to a Battle in their eyes is easy to digest and EASY to keep the fuel going. If you're not with us you're against God himself. In the end, the pNM say, God HAS provided (houses, schools, GATE etc.) and if you DON'T vote us back in, God will forsake you. . .

This is scary yo. While I fear God, I fear Manning more if you ask me! And what he's doing in this election from his opening volley is even MORE scary.

Meanwhile Pato's wife, who they have claimed doesn't live with him anymore since she found him in the Palaces' pool with Karen Nunez-Texiera, said she loves her husband and in doing so loves the people. Everything is being centered around Patos because he's God! This is an election of faces, not of issues.

So far the opposition is still waffling.

The COP needs to step in now and give the jolt that the UNC needs. Kamla needs to appear firmer. answer the opening volley with a riposte. I think they have to remind Patos that the PEOPLE in an election is God. . . and the Real God Himself, in Heaven, doesn't take sides. . .

Everybody want change

"Fella, ah could get some change for dis here one dallar?"
Me nah give change, you need buy, get change, you want powwa mint? Dat give u 75¢ for dat dolla."
"But fella, ah want four 25¢ pieces, not three!"
"Why you no want tree instea ah four? You get powwa mint in bargin, get nice breath, win ova lady, eh? u gimme dolla I gi you 3 25¢ and a powwa mint."
"Yeah? well, you know, meh bret really ain't smellin dat good. . .ok gimme de power mint and de change. . ."

"Dat go be one dolla 25¢"

And that's how an election starts. One person promises you more for just one 25¢ piece, but in the end they take you for the whole dollar and more.

Everybody's wants change, but are they willing to fight and die for it? Not in this country. They want it for nothing. Simple rule to follow.

Chinaman say cheap ting no good!

And he's right. Don't sell your vote in exchange for some outer space concept like Visions and futuristic cities, these do not a country make. Hard work and sweat and tears build a country, not a ten days. So seek not the easy path, they are filled with good intentions by politicians to get you to "believe in them." Neither seek to find solace in your political "elders" they are no more a guru than an everyday snake charmer. Look not even to a tribe for the answer from a tribe is barrel of crabs each trying to climb over everyone else's back to get to the top.

Believe in yourself. Trust your instincts. Don't believe what other's tell you, seek the truth yourself and vote based on the issues.

What are the issues? They are many and far ranging but the central issue is, this government as representatives of the people, have failed. That INCLUDES the opposition!

"You no want an exchange now sah? You want change? You need buy someting!"

Just don't sell your soul. . . for change

Elections fever has started. Stop thinking now and VOTE!

UDECOTT - Or how I learned to stop worrying and read the Uff report

If UDECOTT were in the Star Wars universe, (since apparently we've been on that bent lately) it would be the Construction Guild, or some other "private contractor" that would handle its building. There's apparently a lot of debate over that massive construction project, none so well put as Kevin Smith speaking through Dante and Randal in his move Clerks that in essence a project so massive as constructing a small moon, requires a lot more man power than the Empire's Imperial Navy could supply. So what we have is a SPECIALISED conglomerate, or "giant private contractor" overseeing the construction under control of the Imperial Navy led by Darth Vader and ultimately the Emperor. So ANY major decisions on procurement and so on would be handled by the "Private Contractor" and not by the ones on top. However if the project hit slow downs and deadlines were not met, Darth Vader arrived to "put you back on schedule."

So what does this all have to do with UDECOTT? Well simply put, the Death Star's "private contractor" IS UDECOTT! You see? The Empire wishes this massive project to be done, and doesn't REALLY care HOW its completed, it just HAS to be completed FAST! (so ultimately it can go and blow up planets and some-such!) You get my drift?

So let's look at NAPA through this "lens." NAPA is like the Death Star laser. That HAD to be finished FIRST or else the Emperor would have a giant moon that would just float and look menacing. NAPA is a "key" component in the whole VISION 20/20 plan. It pulls together more than one "ideal" that turns a third world country like ours into first world status. Education, Culture and Engineering. (Loosely) But the darned thing was taking too long to build. The Emperor needs that super laser! So he sends Darth Vader. . . and wow. Look at that. It's operational! You get my drift? All Calder Hart was to Manning is Darth Vader to the Emperor. He's the one making sure the Vision 20/20 gets done!

This is really oversimplifying the situation. Maybe even muddying it. But why was UDECOTT set up in the first place? Lets look at a little history. I pulled this from UDECOTT'S website, and when you pick apart the layers of propaganda bullshit you get two simple points. the SOLE reason for UDECOTT'S existence is to make vision 20/20 real and following that, to handle the things that the government can't handle through normal channels. Here's the text in full. In the end the whole idea of accountability and fairness and money well spent was thrown out of the window in order for the Emperor to get this stupid Battle Station operational in time! And those who said "That's no moon. . ." were basically reduced to ashes.

In the end only ONE man (as it has been now proven by the Uff inquiry) had total control, and who did he answer to? Only one man.

We all know who that is.

Its like Manning and co sat down and watched Star Wars and figured this is the blueprint for making themselves all powerful! I mean I can type "LOL" here but its no laughing matter. Its just plain craziness. I still don't know how all of us let this happen! Its mind boggling.

In the end we can NEVER let this happen again.

Vision 20/20 isn't about infrastructural development. I read our presentation to the UN and nowhere did the T&T government (Otherwise known as GORTT

) say that big massive buildings were going to be a solution to poverty alleviation and education.

No where.

But what's the next step? If and when we vote them out, what do we do?

That requires more thinking and I'll be back with a few thoughts.

Now stop thinking and go DO something!

Corruption Evidence. St James Youth Facility Part 1

What follows is a citizen's attempt to find out more about the construction and maintenance of a new "Community Center" in St James. Its called the "St James Youth Facility" And its a massive building comprising at least 4 stories on a heck of a lot of land behind the Cemetery and next to the Pan Yards on Bournes Road. Liam, as he states in this first part, is NOT a reporter, nor is he a professional investigator. He's just trying to get answers. I say kudos to Liam and the rest of the people like him who don't just sit idly by and accept things because "that's how it is." Its time we take a page from people like Liam and start asking qestions and demanding answers. I have also been informed that the brouhaha associated with the $2 million flag's genesis occurred around this young man. In the end it doesn't matter who started the ball rolling. Let's get it rolling hard enough to see that justice is done. Please read on and share:

I have begun a full scale investigation into the construction of the St. James Youth Facility. I am by no means an investigative journalist nor do I pretend to have the qualifications. I am simply a concerned citizen of Trinidad and Tobago that is begging for transparency, consultation, accountability, monitoring and evaluation. By doing this series I'm hoping someone with the right tools, resources and avenues can pick up my story.

Over the past few weeks we have heard numerous allegations towards UDECOTT, the Ministry and Minister of Culture, Community Development and Gender Affairs and by extension the Government as it relates to the National Academy of Performing Arts.

Unfortunately, after reading several of the reports released by the Artists Coalition of Trinidad and Tobago on the flaws of the construction of NAPA, I regret to inform you that I believe the St. James Youth Facility has a similar story, possibly worse.

The (St. James Youth Facility) SJYF was first mentioned by the former Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs Mr. Roger Boynes in October 2004 costing us a whopping 34.4 MILLION. When driving pass the facility one can clearly see a billboard that states the contractors, managers and the start date of September 2006. As of today March, 2010 the St. James Youth Facility remains incomplete and closed to the public.

One can see that judging from the exterior the building looks near completed but still has galvanize, scaffolding and construction sand strewn throughout the premises.

Today, was an interesting day. I called the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs seeking answers as to why the building which started in 2006 is not yet completed. Which is six months short of four years. After being transferred back and forth and not actually being able to get any answers by anyone and this is after speaking with persons from the Youth Affairs, Public Relations and Accounting departments. Everyone including a representative in Youth Affairs was not even aware that there was a St James Youth Facility.

After futile attempts at getting any headway in the Ministry I called the Woodbrook Youth Facility hoping they may have information on the St. James Facility. I spoke with what seemed to be a very courteous young man who informed me that he was not aware of any St. James Youth Facility but stated that all Facilities fall under the Sport Company of Trinidad and Tobago. He was also helpful enough to give me a number for the company.

I called (SPORTT) requesting information on the facility I was transfered to the Health, Safety, Security and Environment department of the company as the operator informed me that they will best be able to assist.

After posing as a member of a youth group wanting information on the Facility. The Assistant Manager of the HSSE department stated that she was also not aware of any St James Youth Facility. I began to explain it's location and she then remembered and stated that that does not fall under the Sport Company that still falls under the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs.

So as expected typical government office finger- pointing took place as the majority of persons in both government offices knew next to nothing about the Facility far less who was responsible for it.

Now I posted as my status on Facebook that I was beginning an investigation into the Facility hoping that anyone with information would share. One Facebook friend commented stating that there are Chinese workers living there. Now with all the allegations being bandied about Chinese workers in Trinidad and Tobago I merely shook it off as sarcasm and humour.

Tonight, a friend and I decided to take a drive up to the Facility just to see close up and first hand how behind schedule the facility may actually be. As we slowly drove passed we noticed a SUV parked up in the car park of the Facility and we also noticed just opposite two individuals sitting in what seemed to be a condemned pan yard.

I poked my head out of the car inquiring about the facility, they then eagerly without hesitation called us in to chat. Ironically these two community persons were discussing the Youth facility itself.

In my next note I would enlighten you as to the shocking revelations that proved our worst nightmares a reality. Lets just say that supposedly humorous sarcastic comments below my status are not to be taken lightly!

See Part two here

Posted on Monday, 22 March 2010 at 23:47 by Liam Carlos Rezende Via Facebook.