National Stadium Flag Bacchanal in Trinidad

Life is a stage and we are the actors – we all have ah part to play” So sang Brother Valentino in his classic kaiso. Well it seems that the present administration under the leadership of archdeacon Patos is hell bent on playing the part of the gambler who does not know when it is time to stop placing bets that simply don’t reap any rewards.

The ‘Legacy Flag’ is the topic of conversation with some Trinis already proclaiming that it is a ‘Stripper Pole’ with a Trini flag draped at the top. Now when yuh think about it this could be the aim of the designers of the pole that hold the national marker. It is smooth, we are talking about A-36 carbon steel and what pole dancer you know who would not like all that smooth silky carbon between her legs as she slithers down the pole. Just think about it, draped in the national flag she swirls around the pole as she descends to the base where that rigid shaft is cemented in a “20-foot by 20-foot by 15-foot foundation with 400 tons of reinforced concrete and 200 tons of steel”. Rigid, and secure at the base, that pole will be the delight of many pole dancers as they dance in bacchanalish frenzy to celebrate and commemorate this project that “was part of the Government’s strategic national plan, Vision 2020”.

Ok so let’s take a look at how the tax payer’s money was spent on this project: $2M.  There were three bids for the project with Fireone Fireworks winning the bid for the project for the construction, erection, design and supply systems.  The final cost of the project is as follows:

The flag itself cost $18,112.15

The foundation and installation works cost $940,000

The design and supply of the flagpole cost $932,400

Three additional flags were bought for $54,336
Size of the Flag: 60 feet by 36 feet

Ok now that you have an idea of the cost and disbursement of the funds let’s talk ah talk now. I must remind you that you can participate in the discussion by venting in the shout box (http://www.trinizagada.com/) or add a comment of your own by selecting the comment feature at the bottom of the post. First off let’s look at the Minister Hunts comments and tell me what you think.

“Hunt said the flag was created to serve as a constant reminder of the nation’s sporting heroes and was meant to inspire patriotism and national pride among the population.”

How do I respond to the statement above? Simply put my friends – 20/20 Cricket.  The just concluded 20/20 cricket tournament in India in which the national team reached the finals and captivated the nation should have been on the mind of the minister when he thought about making the statement above. For those who don’t know it took Jack Warner’s intervention to get Darren Ganga released from his work duties to participate in the tournament – a State run company too. Even worse is the fact that a chicken company in India sponsored our national team – what a crying shame and he has the audacity to talk about patriotism and national pride?

He also said, "$2 million spent on it was a worthy and life-long investment”

What are we really investing in here? How does this monument that no one will care much about except to say in Trini style, “Oh goouuud it big eh” help improve the youth of the nation?

The money would have been better spent on a program or programs that teach self esteem and or the benefits of aspiring to become a national representative of the nation or simply to provide coaching clinics in the sporting arena.

He said, "the ministry had not publicly released the cost breakdown earlier, as it was ensuring that all calculations and facts were correct. Hunt explained that the cost of the flag itself was revealed on Tuesday to disassociate that cost from the total cost of the project.”

To be honest here I simply believe they knew that the population would be upset about the cost and they tried to bury the expenditure from public knowledge. The fact remains that we need hospital beds, drains are clogged causing flooding, a consistent and reliable water supply is needed, public transportation need to be upgraded, electricity shortages are still part of life in Trinidad and many more issues that need to be addressed. To take the tax payers money and spend it because the “flag will look good at the stadium” is a waste of finance that could be put to more productive use.

When asked about the two extra flags that were bought, he responded by saying "that the ministry had future plans to add more legacy flags to other stadiums across the country to promote national pride that would last for generations.”

Here we go again with the “national pride” mantra again. This clearly shows that the present administration has an agenda to leave their mark on the society without regard to the wishes of the people and many foreign nationals who clearly state that the present administration is spending the nations finances blindly.  Expect to see more legacy flags throughout the nation.

He said despite public controversy, "in time the public would come to appreciate the efforts made to inspire the nation.”

What the minister should have said was “we intend to leave our stamp on the country, PNM here there and everywhere”. I won’t be surprised if we have balisier planted around each legacy flag structure. The arrogance of the PNM is the only legacy I see here and that will never inspire me to aspire or gravitate to supporting the endeavors of the Manning administration.

Do you think that people are pleased after learning about the cost of the flag? Well after listening to WACK radio yesterday I can safely state that the population is not happy at all. People were calling in and venting their frustration.  I guess these are the same people who constantly ask, “Who we go put”. Well take what yuh getting now!

Information sourced from the Trinidad Guardian newspaper:

http://guardian.co.tt/news/politics/2009/11/05/it-s-official-2m-flag

Something in the mortar other than the pestle!

Trinidadians have a flair about themselves that is quite apparent during the carnival celebrations. However if you want to take in the action without having to wait for King Carnival to rise again all you need to do is keep up to date with the political events taking place every day.

Now we have three political parties that work within the system to affect change and take the country along a perilous direction every time "who we go put" comes around. Well the last general elections were no different while one section of population were adding to the "who we go put"kaiso the UNC and COP got together and decided to put the PNM back in office - I sometimes wonder why the contested the seats in the first place.

We also have the ruling party and their "Wajang" firing of Dr. Keith Rowley. Everyone has an opinion regarding his firing but the Prime Minister continuously states that it was his wajang behavior and the fact that he could not get his way. Well I guess everything is now coming out of the darkness and into the light ... UDECOTT!!! Maybe it is because Rowley is a better educated person and the fact that he and Manning were the two contestants for the leadership of the PNM.  Rowley should have known better and should now learn to talk to his constituents as if they were members of the Parish and he was their spiritual leader ... take my advice Dr. Rowley dress for the part and it shall be handed to you.

Now to the best joke of the land aka UNC. Oh me oh my... it is in the open and in plain sight for everyone to continue to turn their back on this bunch of "educated fools". Damn right I said it - they are all educated fools!

Every day they continue to fight amongst themselves Prime Minister Manning does not have to worry and will continue to avoid the real issues facing the nation. You see folks he knows that with a divided opposition and the white elephant named NAR wannabe, oh sorry COP, he know staying in power is as easy as putting a jackass as the representative for Arima and winning too (don't worry Arima Mayors have been braying for a long time now - figurative hee haw eh). That my friend was an old joke way back when Dr. Eric Williams ruled the PNM - so don't go quoting me on that one.  Regardless the end result is the same PNM wins and Manning will continue to snub the population all over again. In this case we can squander the financial gains then recoup it all with a property tax... there you go.

The COP. Well it does not matter how well intentioned Mr. Dookeran is he will not win any election as long as the UNC exists.  The bottom line remains the same race dictates the events of the election. Those who meal well and want to move away from race politics will end up with the COP and loose again.

So now that the UNC has removed the charges against RamJack does this mean that change is on the way? I mean they have invited Dookeran to attend their latest convention. Hmmm, but then again the RamJack faction has not bought into this latest attempt to bring about peace and unity. I guess Manning has sniffed the wind and is attempting to bring about peace with Rowley stating that he (Rowley) in PNM and will remain PNM. Something is in the mortar other than the pestle my friends. So when yuh talk yuh talk and "who we go put day" comes around again let's hope that we have only two parties contesting the elections otherwise the joke will be on you and that something else in the mortar with the pestle would surely be "guava season".

Just in Time

I was reading the Trinidad Express online edition this morning and came across an article titled "Mentally ill taken off streets". The follow-up sentence read, "This is not for C'Wealth Heads of Government Meeting". The statement came from the Mayor of Port-of-Spain. Why is this so hard to believe?

I know we should be patting him of the backside for taking the initiative to "help" these people who may be mentally ill and in need of help. However, this smells and the La Basse is just down the street in Beetham Estates so the odds are against the fact that this is an ongoing initiative to help the destitute.

Now if we look back to the recently concluded Summit of the Americas one would have seen the same drive by the government to clean up the place and make it press friendly. We know that Patos is wants to paint a picture of paradise for those nosey reporters who would be in search of their special report. So I am not buying that which the Mayor is selling. I do hope that the people that they move are really being helped and not simply being removed because they spoil the pristine look of the city or is that really the case? Should I believe the Mayor and give him a break? I don't trust politicians and that he is 100%. So if you are upset with this "train of thought" just ask 'yourself' what ever happened to the people that were removed from the streets during the Summit of the Americas? Do some checking and maybe you may just come and add to this post!

When Cock Get Teet'

Please take a look at my latest blog that also has a chat box for user interaction. Link below:

http://www.whencockgetteet.com/

Political Comess

On a serious note does anyone out there believe that complaining Trinidadians will ever put another political party in power?

The PNM won the last general elections but the combined votes of the two competing political entities showed that the greater percentage of the population were dissatisfied with the modus operandi of PM Manning and his band of merrymakers.

Do you believe that the feuding opposing forces can ever pool their resources to go mano ah mano with the ruling party? Sheeesh... Everyone wants to lead... maybe that is the problem.

I participate in a chat-box called the Shout-box on the WACK radio TV page and the trend there is to complain about the problems at home but almost everyone participating in the chat don't want to remove the ruling party. There are so many excuses but in the end they choose to blame everyone else except the ruling party. "How dey go do dat? They cyar do dat!"

Some of the people simply don’t want to change the ruling party for various reasons but they usually come to the conclusion that a change is not worth it with the typical and boring line creating a stench that is nauseating at times: “Who we go put?” Or maybe for some it is a case of race because as everyone is aware (but don’t like to admit) that the PNM is pro African and the UNC is pro East Indian – so much for National Unity.

Ahh, but then there is the COP (a reincarnation of the NAR?) that is pooling resources from all ethnicities. However, there is still a big problem – Dookeran. First he was a member of the UNC and secondly he is of East Indian decent. Yikes – you say race is an issue in this blessed land (sorry seems like it is cursed with the crime rate spiraling out of control – maybe new governance is needed?); not me, I did not come up with that it is a fact of life and only people wearing blinders won’t admit that it is indeed a fact.

So where do we go from here. I say back to the polls with hope for change. Oh my… but then again it has been four years since the last local government elections… need I say more. Trini has been fooled or is being fooled by the 'Politrickians' not Politicians.

What do you think?

Captain the ship is sinking

The UNC never seems to want to get out of its own way and is forever condemned to survive in opposition because of their silly leadership quarrels constantly taking place.

Now the trouble in the UNC is good news for the PNM and their continual survival that is created because of the foolishness of educated fools who believe that they all know that which is best for the party. Do I believe that Basdeo Panday has outlived his importance as leader of the UNC? Yes I do believe that it is time for him to step down as leader of the party. However, after watching the events that have been taking place recently I really don’t know, in typical Trini style, “who dey go put as leader”. No one has cleansed themselves and moved above all the 'commess' that is taking place within the party. Gypsy, Ramesh and Jack seem to want to take the party in a different direction. Do you believe that these men are genuine? I am very skeptical but I also feel the same way about Basdeo Panday.

Now if you believe that the only hope to unseating the PNM lies in the unification of the opposition forces under one umbrella with one leader (not a caucus of leaders) then you may be on the path to something that could make sense and just might work. However, this may be just a dream of many that will be soundly defeated by the minority group of persons who have the finances to influence the major players backing the political aspirants. Only time will tell but it is difficult at this time because the Silver Fox who has served the party and the Labor movement for so many years still has a grip on the rural communities that is primarily the lifeblood of the party.

These men have to be without reproach and place themselves above all the chaos and realize that it is time for most of them to move on but Caribbean politics is more in line with “politricking” and they are extremely good at fooling the masses. Someone has to influence Basdeo Panday to step down from the leadership position but stay in the party to keep that loyal base in play. Next they need to decide on the main players and select the best person to lead the party. That is the trick to winning the election – to get a face and voice that people will believe in and vote for without hesitation; and coupled with a sound agenda that will resourcefully spend the finances of the country to better the circumstances of the population.

Can it be done? Of course it can be accomplished but lawyers and big shots playing politicians need to put aside their egos and think about the good of the people. These so called leaders must remember that public servants and anyone involved in government are there to serve the needs of the people. The problem is most of these men are in it for chest thumping and self accomplishments.

In the end the people will suffer because most people are like sheep and choose to follow instead of thinking for themselves that which is best for their family and their community. When this happens then maybe they will find the right person with character and virtue fitting to be called leader of the party. Until then Gypsy will have to keep singing that, “Captain the ship is sinking”.

It has been so long...

Well this is just to let everyone (who has ever taken a look at my blogs) know that I will be back at the keyboard soon. I'm taking care of a few things and will posting soon. I have had a few posts on my fun blog babash@vox.com but my regular blogs will soon get an article or two soon.

LiveLong, LiveStrong and Prosper!