Maracas

So we gone dong Maracas Beach last Tuesday (Divali) and saw 6 big nigga setting up a huge suction/pump generator.

After the machine had been pumping water out for over 2 hours I couldn't help but ask one of the niggas what exactly they were trying to achieve. He explained that they needed to lower the water level because the river continues all the way around to the Main Car Park (by Richard's Shark & Bake) and it causing flooding there.

I then tried to simply explain to him that sucking the water out from one point and pumping it back into the same river (see pics & video below) just doesn't make sense ! Duh ! His reply was, "We just doing what dey tell we to do!"

Hmmmm..... PS. The TDC (Tourism Development Company Ltd) has big plans for Maracas beach on their website: Asshole Colm Imbert again nah!

What conts!

BMW

Once again, the fuckin Manning is caught being less than honest with the population............ did a "deaL" (PERHAPS) fall through.......... a former senior Executive of BMW was very firm that this is not the way that Company does business.....

BMW says it has no deal with Manning
2008/11/13


There's a new twist to the story about the supply of VIP vehicles for two international summits in Port of Spain next year. Now, the Trinidad Express is reporting that the German automaker BMW has denied that it has any deal with Prime Minister Patrick Manning to supply the vehicles for the conference.

Bavarian Motors Ltd, local agents BMW, issued a statement saying it has not had any direct discussion with the government of Trinidad and Tobago or Manning about the supply of the luxury vehicles for the summits.

It denied any connection between a recent visit by its managing director Gordon Borde to Munich, Germany and Prime Minister Patrick Manning’s statement about Government leasing vehicles for next year’s summits, directly from BMW.

Bavarian Motors said it had responded to tenders issued by the National Insurance Property Development Company (Nipdec) to provide vehicles for the summits and “is awaiting a response to its proposals.”

It said Borde attended the annual Importers Conference in Munich from October 28 to November 1 at the invitation of BMW and “had absolutely no knowledge of a visit being paid to Munich and BMW by the Prime Minister.”

It added, “Neither did Mr Borde have any contact with the Prime Minister during his visit to Munich...

There is absolutely no truth whatsoever in any suggestion that Mr Borde accompanied the Honourable Prime Minister on his visit to Munich.” That seems to contradict what Manning told reporters last week at his post cabinet news conference.

Manning announced that he had personally visited the showroom of a large BMW dealer in Germany and sealed the deal under which the Germans would ship the vehicles to Port of Spain for temporary use for both conferences and then take them back.

In dismissing local offers the prime minister said they were too costly. “The local people...put a price on the alternatives that is so high, that you have little alternative but to purchase the cars, which we are determined not to do. We don’t need 200 cars.”

Manning was in Munich from October 30 to 31, to address the “Day of the Americas” conference hosted by the Business Association of Latin America.

Both Borde and Manning were in Germany at the same time.

Manning did not say that he met Borde or any representative of BMW's local agents, Bavaria Motors Ltd. And he didn't say who he met. He told reporters, "I visited the BMW showroom in Munich, we had discussions on the matter and I have to discuss it with our people here.”

Based on Bavaria Motor's Ltd.'s statement and Manning's confirmation that he held talks with BMW, it would seem that the prime minister bypassed the local agent and went directly to the German company's representatives in Munich.

THE DJ

Hunt criticises UNC-built stadia

Government plans to spend some $102 million to refurbish the four stadia which were built under the UNC government for the 2001 Youth World Cup, Sport Minister Gary Hunt stated yesterday.

The stadia were built through the instrumentality of FIFA vice president and Concacaf boss Jack Warner and there was a controversy over the tendering procedures.

"It speaks to the quality of construction," Hunt said, as he noted that the 30-year-old Hasely Crawford Stadium, which was close to the sea, never had a need for that kind of upgrade.

Giving details of the breakdown in cost, Hunt said Government would spend $23.5 million on the Dwight Yorke Stadium in Tobago, $27.5 million on the Larry Gomes in Arima, $22 million on the Ato Boldon in Couva and $29 million on the Manny Ramjohn Stadium in Marabella. He said the Government proposed to put down two artificial fields on the two stadia - Manny Ramjohn and Larry Gomes- which were in high use.

"We would be using the highest specs in the refurbishment and upgrade of the stadia," he said.
Hunt said Government was doing a general refurbishment on the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Shaw Park in Tobago, Woodford Lodge and Saith Park, all in preparation of the Trinidad and Tobago Games next year.

Stating that international athletes such as Usain Bolt would be competing here, Hunt said the Games would be "as close to Grand Prix status as possible". -RT

Gary "Isaac" Hunt must fockin criticise the stadia the UNC built.

How fockin long now this nigga run regime trying to build one stadium (the Brian Lara Stadium) in Tarouba.

Cost overuns galore. It suppose to finish for the cricket world cup. Maybe for the fockin one in 2011.

This is only about givin contracts to dey fockin conts to milk the fockin country some more.

Due to lack of funds, baby Marissa dies

The Ministry of Health could not help nine-month-old Marissa Ramlal—who died on Tuesday— with funding for a liver transplant because of “budgetary circumstances,” Health Minister Jerry Narace said yesterday.

Narace was speaking at yesterday’s post-cabinet media briefing at the Diplomatic Centre in St Ann’s.

Baby Marissa, who was unable to suckle milk and had been vomiting blood, required $1.8 million to undergo a liver transplant.

Marissa’s belly was also swollen to the size of a football.

But Narace maintained that his Ministry could only operate within budgetary and policy circumstances.

He noted, however, that the ministry gave the maximum possible amount—$60,000—which was “the policy by which we are guided.”

Narace said, “The media will be the first to tell us we must always review our budgets and look at the way we are spending.

“My instructions to the ministry was for us to do the maximum possible to assist the young lady,” Narace added, while offering condolences to baby Marissa’s family.

He said unless the Health Ministry found some financing mechanism it was going to be difficult—but traditionally, people had engaged in different fundraising ventures and that the ministry was more than willing to give the maximum possible amount.

Asked whether the country was equipped to deal with liver transplants and other procedures, Narace said: “These are objectives that we are working towards and there are certain speciality measures/procedures that we are unable to do at this time.

“However, the Government, in trying to create a first world health care system—and we have plans currently to develop two new institutions, one in Port-of-Spain and one in Central Trinidad—we are hoping to acquire that kind of capability as we proceed.”

On the issue of a special fund that would assist families to get specialised care for their children, Narace said an appropriate solution was being sought through the introduction of the National Health System (NHS).

“That NHS is going to be a new system that would allow us to treat with all of these circumstances in the future,” Narace added.

He said the Cabinet had recently approved a health economics unit for the Health Ministry to make appropriate arrangements so that unit would be able to provide the ministry with the cost of a number of services which would commence the NHS system.

The interim measure, however, was the ceiling figure of $60,000, Narace said.

If this was ah fockin nigga baby, you woulda see how fast these fockin Hutu power hungry animals woulda geh da money to save the the niglet life eh.

It real fockin easy to take ah million dollars and give niggas for running ah 100meters under 10 secs, which is what they normally do after robbing some Indian home.

It real fockin easy to take up $50.000.00 and give that lil niglet "Chocolate" for starving she mudder cont self, which she was doin in any case.

But to save the life of ah lil Coolie baby.

Fock dat, leh she dead.

THat summarises how things are in Trinidad.

Thank you PNM, thank you COP.

The Barbados Nation

Manning's reformsPublished on: 7/27/08.
by ALBERT BRANDFORD Political Correspondent

IT IS BECOMING increasingly clear that Prime Minister Patrick Manning is on a journey to leave a legacy not only on the political landscape of Trinidad and Tobago but across CARICOM.
He is already known for toying with political constructs that seek to isolate sub-regions in CARICOM, such as the Manning Initiative which, to this day, does not have a compelling purpose.

But the biggest of Manning's ideas has come in the form of a working paper – not yet government policy – that strives to improve the governance structure of Trinidad and Tobago, perhaps inspired by the 18-18 tie in the 2001 general election.

The proposed reforms of the constitution, however, do not indicate in any way how they would resolve such an occurrence in the future.

The essence of Manning's proposed reforms is to make the executive president the head of both the government and the state, giving what is now an all-powerful prime minister even greater powers of governance and control.

While upgrading the status of the prime minister, the proposed new draft constitution devastates the contribution of other elected members of the House of Representatives, both in terms of quantity and quality in the cabinet.

In fact, according to Manning: "It is proposed that the cabinet would now AID AND ADVISE [my emphasis] the president on the general direction and control of the government. It would comprise the president, vice-president and up to 25 members, of whom not more than six would be appointed from the House of Representatives and three from the Senate. The rest of the ministers would be appointed from outside of the parliament."

Imagine, a leader of a political party in Trinidad and Tobago uses 40 other party members to assist him in securing victory at the polls, but then agrees sufficiently with proposed reforms to bring them to parliament suggesting that at most – not at least – six ministers could be elected Members of Parliament.

On two scores, Prime Minister Manning's motives would have to be questioned: first, no other elected MP has to be a minister; and secondly, the number of ministers elected is restricted to six.

It takes a very special politician, guided by some higher power, to reduce other elected Members of Parliament – from whom he derived his power – to mere statistical objects.

It must be the case that only elected members of the House of Representatives can cast a secret ballot to determine who becomes the executive president.

Under the current constitution, the non-executive president is chosen by the Electoral College, a unicameral body consisting of all of the members of the Senate and the House of Representatives, convened by the Speaker, as chairman, and who has an original vote.

It is particularly striking that only the president and the vice-president are guaranteed membership of Manning's proposed cabinet which has an upper limit of 25 members.

Since the president and vice-president are to be appointed from the House of Representatives, only four other members from the ruling party can become ministers. That makes the proposals even more ludicrous!

Political folly

At the two extremes, ministers appointed from outside of the parliament may make up – at most – 23 out of the possible 25 members of the cabinet, or – at least – 16 out of the possible 25 members.

These ministers would be all appointed by the president who got his power from the elected members of the House of Representatives!

In its current state, the governing party in Trinidad and Tobago must have at least 21 members in the Lower House who, under the proposed reforms, would be restricted to offering only "aid and advice" to the cabinet on the general direction and control of the government – a restriction that is also imposed on the cabinet.

To me, that is political folly in the extreme.

The only reasonable proposal that prevents the new draft constitution from being seen as the making of an elected dictatorship is one for a term limit for the executive president, a maximum of two terms – ten years at most.

Otherwise, the Manning proposals smack of a leader trying to secure ultimate political power, more in search of creating a one-man show than entrenching a participatory democracy that broadens the base of leadership.

Having proposed to emasculate the elected representatives in the Lower House, Manning also wants to see an enlarged and essentially elected Senate for Trinidad and Tobago.

The following proposed reforms may help to restore a sense of balance with respect to those who voted for having some say in the general direction and control of government.

The Senate would comprise 49 – up from 31 – members of which 28 would be elected, and based on recommendations from the political parties following a general election, 18 would be assigned seats on the basis of proportional representation.

The other three senators would be elected by the Tobago House of Assembly.
More questions than answers

The existing nine Independent senators would be no more; yet, it appears that the broad principle – apart from the President becoming more powerful - is to involve more non-political practitioners in the decision-making process.

This identifies a basic inconsistency in the proposed reforms.

Oddly enough, the Cabinet, which has the responsibility only to "aid and advise" the President on the general direction and control of government, would be the least democratic of the institutions of government.

It is widely believed that people who get involved in elective politics do so out of self-interest, and so, it is going to be more than interesting to witness a national debate in Trinidad and Tobago on a proposed constitution that reduces the effective participation of the majority of elected Members of Parliament in running the affairs of government.

Prime Minister Manning is unorthodox, but his desire to change Trinidad and Tobago's constitution to increase the power of the political leader raises more questions than it provides answers.

It is being argued by some commentators that that increased power would come at the expense of the judiciary and the parliament – a frightening prospect for any country!

But perhaps the most frightening aspect of this proposed mischief would be the decimation of the will of the people in the first-past-the-post system used to elect members to the House of Representatives that would have to give way to the will of a political leader, especially in determining the composition of the Cabinet, a body of ministers who traditionally initiate policy and are collectively responsible for the government of the country.

For the sake of the people of the people of Trinidad and Tobago, may it never happen.
The rest of us in the region, especially here in Barbados, should watch the developments closely, because politicians are . . . well, politicians.

PS: I'll be off for a few weeks and, God willing, be back in this space on September 7.
albertbrandford@nationnews.com

Even Bajans realise that this ah real cont!

This after freeing the 2 Bajan fishermen.

The Trinidadian

A German, a Frenchman, an Englishman, and a Trinidadian went to an Art museum and were spending some time in front of the painting of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. After observing the painting for a while an intrigued observer asked the four men where they thought Adam and Eve's origins could be from.

The German said: 'Look at the perfection of their bodies. She with her slender and well formed figure and he with that athletic body and bulging muscles. There is no doubt they must be of German origin.'

Immediately the Frenchman reacts! 'C'est impossible! One can clearly see the eroticism that is exuding from both figures... She so feminine? he so masculine... and both so aware of the impendingtemptation.. . They must be French!'

Shaking his head in disagreement, the Englishman comments: 'Oh No, Chaps It can't be! Note the serenity on their faces, their delicate pose, the sobriety in their gestures. They could only be English.'

After a few more seconds of contemplation the Trini exclaims: 'Nah, I doh agree with ANY of alyuh! Watch de picture good nah man.
Dey naked cause they cyah afford clothes or shoes.
Dey eh have no shelter cause a house too expensive.
Dey eh have no electricity or water.
But dey eh protesting cause dey STILL think dey in Paradise !? ?
Clearly, dey is two Jack-Ass PNM supporters from Trinidad . ..!!!'