Voting ‘Indian’?

UNC-COP Supporters
UNC-COP Supporters
By Peter O’Connor
May 09, 2010 – newsday.co.tt

Today we need to address an issue which cannot be glossed over by euphemisms and pretences. And this has less to do with some of our increasingly silly politicians, and more to do with a large segment of disillusioned voters.

We are hearing comments from the increasingly large number of embarrassed former PNM supporters, now unable to support the flailing and failing antics of Patrick Manning, Marlene MacDonald and Colm Imbert, but who remain in a dilemma because they claim they “cannot vote Indian”.

What precisely does this mean to you, dear reader? Have you heard anyone making this comment? Have you asked what the speaker means — assuming that he (more likely than “she”) has any idea at all what he is saying?

Why exactly can one feel that they cannot “vote Indian”, or indeed, White, or Chinese, or Black? But the truth is that I have never heard this expressed until recently, and only in the context of “Indian”. And let us at first accept that this statement will only come from a disillusioned PNM supporter who is Black, or as we say these days, Afro- Trinidadian.

So here is my question to all of you who harbour this obviously deep racist prejudice — not, I think against Indo Trinis, but against “voting Indian”: Tell me why you feel so? What is it that you fear? And what do you think will happen to you if God should grant you some intelligence and you actually “voted Indian”, instead of voting corruption and incompetence, which you recognise, hence your disenchantment with the PNM? And what will happen to you if “Indian” and the UNC won the election?
Full Article : newsday.co.tt

83 thoughts on “Voting ‘Indian’?”

  1. The dirty and deceitful campaign to ignore tradition upon tradition of racist cultural manifestations by suggesting that racism in T&T is represented by blacks being afraid of voting Indian is the most sordid piece of propaganda I have witnessed. Blacks are more predisposed to vote for people of other groups than people in other groups are likely to vote for blacks. The ignorant black people whose comfort is unfulfilled unless they are massaging someone else’s racist ego have done more to retard our progress in this world than all the racism we have faced.

    Point me to an Indian majoritarian nation where blacks are prominently representative socially and economically. The idea that T&T is some island of difference in comparison with what goes on around the world is idiotic. It is time to make it plain and cease masturbating people’s racist egos.

  2. Mr. O’Connor, I find you very rude in your quest for information on the said topic. What exactly do you mean by “God should grant you some intelligence and you actually voted Indian.” Are you implying that all who supports this so called Coalition, are intelligent? I think NOT! Let me tell you about some of my neighbours who will be “voting indian” and their intelligence. Regardless of what anyone says, the PNM has done things for this country, but when you have people who always want hand-outs, never doing anything to improve their own lives, but want to
    blame the PNM for all their problems. I can identify at least 20 of my neighbours who collects social welfare cheques every month, and nothing is wrong with them. These are the same people whose children are school dropouts, and are making children, year after year, while we have free education via the PNM. That’s their intelligence, and they want to convince me to “vote
    indian”. Kamala has become “Hail Holy Queen” to them, as they will get higher social welfare cheques, to continue to drink rum all day, while I go to work to pay taxes. I will have you know Mr. O’Connor, that these are Indian people! Oh, and it’s election time, so now while they drink their rum, their radios blast through the neighbourhood, from sun-up to sun down the everpopular chutney “Go Nah”. While I don’t support violence, I can see myself commiting a crime or two before election day on some of these disgusting people. This is examination time in UWI and other places, I took time off from work to study and all I here all day is their radios. And you, Mr. O’Connor want to call me unintelligent and they want me to “vote indian.” Kamala is the same Kamala who was there when corruption took place in our government via the UNC. What makes anyone think she is somebody different today even though she has a bran new accent?
    In my opinion the UNC is not representative of our people, their culture embraces those south of the Butler Highway. While this may not be a reason to choose a government, it matters to me. I remember in March of 2008, just after the 2007 elections, I heard Inshan Ishmael lambasing our steelpan and calypso on TV. And people expect that I would vote for a coalition that embraces these fools or are we expected to listen to chutney during and after election?
    Mr. O’Connor, I will also have you know that I am an Indian who never supported the UNC and never will, and that does not make me unintelligent!

  3. Mr. James is so kind. He assigns to me as Friends, people I do not know, have never met, but whose comments seem to support a position I have taken on an issue. He would like to portray us as a bunch of racist Afro-centric folk who all have one mindset.Mr.Jmesis, perhaps, a failed analytic thinker.

    I admire the fact that almost anything I say at trinicenter.com gets condemned by some people, and celebrated by others. This is what intelligent discourse is about.(I suspect that a lot of the negative comments are based on the fact that I am so opinionated. Thank UWI, and a free university education for that. Unfortunately, people like him tend to believe in the validity of their own experience, and treat other’s experiences as irrelevant. This speaks of a puerile brain, masquerading as intelligence.

    Now, there was a horrible murder of a woman in south today, reported glaringly in both Newsday and the Express. I cannot say how many pieces I have had published in the local papers on domestic violence. This violence seems to hit a specific community harder, because their men still dream of the woman being at home, subservient, “yes-siring” him to their deaths. I have long asked for a public forum on domestic violence in the Indian community, but like alcoholism therein, that is an issue so close to the skin that no one dares touch it. Years ago, a respected medical doctor pointed out to me a theory I call”drunk sperm”. It has to do with alcoholism at the time of conception, and the high possibilities of having a retarded child. He had done his research and found this connection high in the Indian community, probably based partly on a vegan diet over many generations. I suggested to him that he publish this finding. He pointed out that he would be condemned as racist if he did any such thing. Dr. Michael Breaubrun was White., educated, committed to our country, and did not have a racist bone in his body, but he knew that the stigma of being called a racist by Indians would fracture some delicate balance we cling to at the upper levels of the society. Same thing with domestic violence. We sweep it under the rug because it occurs at its deadliest, in the Indian community.

    When, maybe fifty years from now, we get a bit more comfortable talking as people, about people issues in TnT, we would deal with this domestic violence in the Indian community By then, another three hundred or so women would have been killed.I pray not, but the stats are there.

    You would think that the ease of mating between the races- (the two Edwards half Indian children, wear the same faces as the Baboolal half Indian children, all products of Catholic marriages,children who are my nieces and nephews)- but this very mating is resented on both sides, despite the beautiful children this crossing over creates.

    Race is an issue in TnT that matters.We could lie to ourselves, we could hope to one day move beyond it, we have been working at it since 1962, and we have made little progress.

    Are the politicians to blame? The religious zealots of every creed?Its worth thinking of, rationally and calmly.

  4. Is it possible that in the next 25 years, Trinidad could become another Fiji, or Sri Lanka, and Tobago another Guadaloupe, but a protectorate of Gt. Britain?

  5. Hopefully Vic , the people of Tobago would become much smarter by then ,to demand more than what another backward, naive, Francophone country choose to accept from their European Massas. Now if big brother Trinidad becomes another Fiji, Sri Lanka, and since you forgot I’ll remind you Guyana ,Uganda, Yugoslavia, Rwanda , and Burundi- who is to be blamed for such We have a choice therefore, learn from history , or pay the consequence. As you ponder this sober thought ,remember though , to “beware of a man with nothing to loose.”

  6. For too long we have blindly supported the PNM and endowed on them the opportunity to rule our country. But year after year they have become more and more corrupted and self serving. The PNM party in government is no longer serving the country but is using the country to serve the party. The entire PNM party has lost the vision and the dedication to serve us and to cover up their incompetence at ruling this nation they are now pulling wool over our eyes. They have been in power for so long that they have become complacent and don’t care anymore about doing what is right for the people and the country. It’s as though they feel they are the only party that can rule our country and it’s their god given right. It’s time we the people teach them a lesson. Let’s remind them that they are there for a single purpose, to serve the country and the people to the best of their ability. Let’s remind them of who hold the power, we can vote you in and also we can vote you out.

    Every election the PNM make promises after promises but seldom deliver. And when they do it is used as a cover up to fill their pockets first and to hell with whom else suffer. Are we really that stupid to fall for this crap again? We made this mistake for so many years. Are we that dumb to not learn and make the right choices this time? Are we not encouraging servitude upon ourselves? We are holding back the power we have in our hands to govern this country by blindly voting along racial and party lines. And this has to stop. The country and I mean we the people will never see prosperity or have progress if we allow this disease to spread. It will eat away the strength we have to fight for our survival and leave us as slaves, just waiting to be oppressed by the next dictator. By not realizing that only we can shape our life and in so doing the destiny of our country, otherwise we will become breeding grounds for the next Hitler or Idi Amin.

    So come May 24th the PNM is not the only choice we have. We must all think of our country first and vote with sense and dignity. Think carefully before you select your candidate and make sure and convince yourself. I will not accept token treatment, lies and broken promises. I will not accept blatant corruption, mismanagement, mamaguy and nepotism. I will not accept handouts, bribe and wanton destruction of the quality of life. We the people deserve better and demand better. Too many people are suffering in this small country of ours and all they have to say every single election time is better days are coming.

    An entire generation has been exposed to this regime and many of the vulnerable young children have fallen through the cracks in society. The PNM don’t see it as their problem, its collateral of life in their eyes. But the hidden meaning is that the PNM breeds on the pain and suffering we face so that they can throw us some crumbs to pacify us every election time and all the while filling their pockets until we are smart enough to vote them out.

    And just to let you know we must judge all equally. Race or party must never be a factor. If the coalition were to form the new government then remember we have the power in us to vote them out. Don’t let it ever slip their minds as to who holds the reins over them. So exercise you right and vote with your intelligence and not with your instinct. Animals respond by instinct and if we were to as well then that’s how we will be treated. And as you can see it’s already happening. Are we willing to accept this? No, but what are we doing about it? We are not going to demean ourselves by voting for party or race, we will be voting for the candidates who can best bring back honesty, morality, integrity and vision to this land of ours. We have the choice people, use it intelligently. May God Bless You.

    1. Thanks for the blessing, Raj, but if you were to re-examine the tone of your advice it’s as if you were lecturing children, imbeciles … or dalits!

      1. Thanks, Vic for taking the time to read and comment on my post, at least you made my effort worthwhile.

        1. Hello Raj, are you for real? That my reading and responding to what you wrote on this site, “Made (your) effort worthwhile”? Mon ami, if group therapy is your thing, or some need of yours is met by your submitting to sites like these, feel free to be my guest!

  7. Religious heads condemn Mungalsingh

    By MARK LAWRENCE Thursday, March 1 2007(T&T Newsday)

    SEVERAL RELIGIOUS leaders have reacted strongly against statements made by Opposition UNC Senator Harry Mungalsingh which recommended a “change in abortion laws” and “cash incentives for voluntary sterilisation” in “specific communities” a as means of tackling the crime issue.

    Mungalsingh’s statement was made in the Senate on Tuesday. “I object one time to that. I find he is disrespectful, he has no right to call for sterilisation,” said an angry Baptist Archbishop and former UNC Senator Barbara Burke.

    Burke added, “Are we in a communist country? Crime is all over…they killing in Arima and Point Fortin, Diego Martin, not only Laventille.

    They will start saying they want to sterilise people in Laventille but tell them that we don’t have no yacht or boat to bring in the guns. So the guns come and they think the black boys will kill out themselves and stop making children so they could turn Laventille into Eastmoorings.”

    Pentecostal Pastor Winston Cuffie made reference to both Mungalsingh’s statement and the response by Local Government minister Rennie Dumas who shouted, “Genocide! Genocide on the UNC platform!”

    “It is very unfortunate that such a statement should be made by a Senator. I agree with the Minister’s response that it is tantamount to genocide, it is reminiscent to the Hitler philosophy to eliminate the less fortunate social class instead of dealing with problems by civilised means,” Cuffie said.

    Mungalsingh told Newsday he was closely connected with the Muslim community and his statement was not something that this religious group was opposed to.

    Anjuman Sunnat-Ul-Jamaat Association (ASJA) Public Relations Officer Kamal Hosein however told Newsday, “We are against any type of abortion unless the life of the mother is in danger.

    In the case of voluntary sterilisation it is not something that has been… you are talking about someone advocating for this but it is not going to stop crime.”

    He added that, “normally God has made man to be reproductive. We don’t see that as a means of bringing about (crime) control.

    Also, there are so many types of people in the prisons, people who are displaced, dispossessed, it is not because they want to be there.”

    When Newsday contacted several Catholic priests none wished to comment publicly on the matter.

    You will NEVER hear an Indian politician talk about reducing crime via….

    Military service like Israel, Sweden Singapore Holland USA etc.

    Fund T&T Cadet boarding High Schools like the private military schools in the US for troubled youths from broken homes of ALL backgrounds.

    Social services targeting children in Primary school for “intervention” away from gangs and a ruined homelife.

  8. My sister who was a maternity nurse at POSGH, but has now migrated, said that doctors often performed involuntary sterilization on women who came to the hospital with fifth or sixth child or who was not married.Perhaps public;y suggesting that they get permission from the woman is a step forward?

    1. The vast majority of Afros in T&T have very little idea how much Indian ppl HATE and dispies them.

    2. The Maternity Dept specialists in POS General Hospital in the late 1980s/early were Dr. Chin Yuen Kee, Dr. Jean Wong (department head), Dr. J. Woo (dept head after Dr. Won’s retirement, Dr. Ahow, Dr. Ramjanack, Dr. Naraynsingh, Dr. Brewster, Dr. Mathurine, Dr. Ali. Not exactly an all-indian posse. This oft-repeated allegation deserves a full investigation while most of these doctors remain alive, nonwithstanding its political usefulness agains East Indians in general and east indian health workers in particular.

  9. The United States voted for a mixed man as President. When they elect the Governor of Louisiana (Bobby Jindal) as President of the United States, then maybe we will be able to have a discussion about the similarities of the United States.
    People fear being displaced. At least that goes for those who claim to not be able to vote for Indians. However, globally there have always been people of African decent who aided in the campaigns and who have voted for people who were not of the same racial background.
    Me must focus on the issues that concern us the most and rely on those issues to asist us in our vote.

  10. YES THE TRUTH HURTS. PEOPLE WANT TO PRETEND AWAY THAT WE IS ALL DE SAME HERE IN CANADA ETC. BUT I WASN’T LIVING IN CANADA WHEN I WAS TOLD THAT,”PEOPLE LIKE THAT NASTY UP WE KITCHEN”, JUST BECAUSE I WAS INVITED THER BY A FRIEND. OR TO HAVE WITNESS MY GRANDMOTHER BAWLING ON HARRIS PROMANADE AFTER VISITING THE LAWYERS TO DISCOVER THAT SHE WAS TIEF OUT OF HER MONEY, DOWNPAYMENTS ETC BY A “LETS PRETEND WE FRIEND” ASSOCIATE. I WAS TEN YEARS OLD AND WE HAD NOWHERE TO GO.
    EVERYBODY NOW BAWLING FUH CHANGE AT ANY COST. WELL THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT YOU WILL GET.
    JUST BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU ALL WISH FOR.

  11. Curtis has intelligently struck on people’s fear as a reason for not wanting to vote “Indian”. The PNM has been in power in T&T since Independence, except for Panday’s relatively brief tenure. The supporters of the PNM have adjusted to a satisfactory level of comfort with the PNM governments over the years. Do they want to change that?
    Also, PNM supporters are used to the patrimony and positions afforded to them by their government. Do they want to give that up? PNM supporters benefit from programmes specially directed to assist them, for example, housing, make work programmes, etc. The PNM has also saturated Crown corporations, State boards and Ministries with their supporters and members. Would a house cleaning take place by a new government?
    Cultural image is also very important to many supporters of the PNM. There is a real fear out there that a change in government would accompany some tampering of the cultural institutions and international cultural image of T&T. Would the unique cultural character of T&T be “Indianised”? It is a legitimate question being proposed by many supporters of the PNM.

    The campaign speeches of the PM, his candidates and members of his Cabinet go a long way to instill these fears in the people. The campaign slogans are designed to create fear and mistrust, rather than to inform. Would this strategy work?
    If logical thinking is applied, the result of this election should be easily predictable, considering the early call by the PM, the numerous mistakes made by his government and the level of corruption under his watch. However, the election is going to be very close and even the reliable political experts like Selwyn Ryan, are hesitant to call it.
    If the Opposition is to be successful, they have to convince the people that they are representing a rainbow coalition, not a fragile coalition with the “Indian” party in charge.
    If you were a PNM supporter, would you not be afraid considering the level of mistrust between the races in T&T?

  12. I know there is a deliberate whiteout of anything Guyana in the T&T media..
    But here you go Peter.

    Revisiting Torture and Ethnic exclusion in Guyana The history of civilization.

    te for the sole benefit of a single the resources of te for the sole benefit of a single or racial collectivity or racial collectivity Guyana today is becoming a mini – Darfur despotism and ethnocracy. The People’s Progressive Party ( PPP ) government is a repressive, East Indian-triumphalist regime, with Indian-triumphalist regime, with Marxist leanings. Since it assumed office in 1992, it has engulfed the nation in racial supremacy, ethnic The resources of the state have been benefit of its East Indian political base The government services are being servitude. The regime has withheld African constituted and controlled African constituted and controlled abor unions. There is an ongoing campaign to dismantle black labor unions, like the Guyana Public Service unions, like the Union (GPSU) and the Guyana Labor Union (GLU), and to demonize their. There has been no substantial wages increase for the African ….

    http://www.caribbeanamericanforum.com/?p=828

  13. The PNM has also saturated Crown corporations……

    Tman I did’nt know we was still under British rule? get yuh s..t in order when yuh coming with your lies.

    ‘The communists must be prepared to make every sacrifice and, if necessary, even resort to all sorts of cunning schemes and stratagems, to employ illegal methods, to evade and conceal the truth… The practical part of communist policy is to incite one [enemy] against another… We communists must use one country against another.. My words were calculated to evoke hatred, aversion, and contempt… not to convince but to break up the ranks of the opponent, not to correct an opponent’s mistake but to destroy him, to wipe his organization off the face of the earth. This formulation is indeed of such a nature as to evoke the worst thoughts, the worst suspicions about the opponent.

    V Lenin.

  14. Other than my mistakingly referring to State boards and organizations as Crown corporations, do you have any other crude criticisms, Mr. Samuel?
    You seem to be filled with hate and resentment and very little substance.
    And to challenge my comments with a quote from Lenin appears to be a last desperate measure when handicapped with inadequate skills of expression. Pity…..

  15. President barack Obama, child of a white American mother nad an African father, is a Black man, and an African american. My green-eyed niece, whose father is an Indian , is Black woman, because she had her grandfather’s african blood. My nieces by marriage, whose father is Chinese, and who have Chinese names are Black people because their mother was an African-trinidadian.

    We are the ONLY Race that can include everyone, who become us by mating with us.at least their children become us. Thus they all go back to that african mother , who lived in the Congo region (Not Manuel Congo, Not the Congo near Cleaver Woods, but West Africa) a quarter of a million years ago, whose gene pool we all share.That fact could make the UNC seem like an integrated party, they absorbed some of the “NAR GOLD” my designation for the Mervyn Assams and others who flocked to that party in 1986, but when you look at the UNC as it appears throught the eyes of its supporters, you see a party of one race, with a few tokens of the others.

    Worldwide, President Obama is regarded as Black, and he joyfully embraces it,while living in a world of people of all races, getting along with all, and integrating all into opportunities for advancement in the New America.By the same standard of his Blackness, 95% of New World Africans are mixed blood Black or African people, from the time when African women could not control even our most sacred possessions- vagina and womb.

  16. OK T-Man , it’s time to give this baseless , non scientifically provable ,anti ‘Indo Trini voting by African,’overblown story obsession a rest.
    One can sense you and a few conniving others,doing everything possible to milk it for all it emotional worth, a few days before the general election, as if by so doing you folks can prick the conscience of those who might not be inclined to support Madame K,into doing otherwise.
    Listen my friend, there are obviously some slight differences between not only the two dominant majority groups mentioned , but such differences ,and animosities where existing, are not limited to them , but all the 200 or more ethnic and racial entities across our beloved country.
    Many like yourself are not only delusional, but perhaps naive, nut cases if you believe that Europeans , are enamored with competing Indo Trinis in T&T, Trini Hindus care one hoot about their Muslim brothers and sisters , or business elite Arabs are excited about breaking bread any time soon with their Chinese, or Jewish fellow national, when the cameras are turned off.
    Yes we have our yearly carnival love feast posturing, Independence day skin and grin break dances,a myriad of beloved and mutually enjoyable festivals favored by all including Yankee Halloween, Irish rum drinking day stupors, at Movie Town and Westmoorings, Paghaw, Hosay , and most importantly, Arrival and Emancipation day river lime cookouts , but by and large our 1.3 million or more confused citizens have learned to tolerate , and coexist with each other , outside of the few degenerates that allow misguided leaders to force them to play out their unwarranted fears of the other, mostly in poor neglected , socially menacing enclaves.
    Hey we have learned quite well from you Canadian phonies , that pretend all is well in the Maple leaf land ,as they try desperately to lure gullible immigrants folks like yourself to populate their vast Iceland reservations wilderness, to work their minimum wage jobs, real Canadians won’t be caught dead doing. All the while, ignoring the basic Human Rights of indigenous Red Indians whose lands they stole , thus forcing those neglected canadians as fifth class citizens.
    http://minorities.fsv.cuni.cz/multiculti/02/essays02/hutchin.htm

    http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/44/240.html
    Sorry but we have unfortunately picked up some of the bad habits from big brother USA,where trying economic times are bringing out the evil , and selfishness of usually wonderful people across that great nation.

    http://gawker.com/5529320/the-racist-hate-group-behind-arizonas-new-immigration-law

    Now here is a nice ditty for us to bite into come May 25th base on certain manifesto proclamations. What is it ,100 million for Obamaish health care service to sick kids, even though we hate progressive taxation of the rich and landed gentries , and has no proposal to provide security to protect political candidates, or abused moms , and their kids from deranged boyfriends , and husbands ,in selective unmentionable sectors of the country.
    Irrespective , I’ll start the chant with you, as it sure sounds good :-” that’s change we can all believe in!”
    I wish you well my friend, so continue to encourage others to love country over tribe.

  17. Religious heads condemn Mungalsingh

    By MARK LAWRENCE Thursday, March 1 2007(T&T Newsday)

    SEVERAL RELIGIOUS leaders have reacted strongly against statements made by Opposition UNC Senator Harry Mungalsingh which recommended a “change in abortion laws” and “cash incentives for voluntary sterilisation” in “specific communities” a as means of tackling the crime issue.

    Mungalsingh’s statement was made in the Senate on Tuesday. “I object one time to that. I find he is disrespectful, he has no right to call for sterilisation,” said an angry Baptist Archbishop and former UNC Senator Barbara Burke.

    Burke added, “Are we in a communist country? Crime is all over…they killing in Arima and Point Fortin, Diego Martin, not only Laventille.

    They will start saying they want to sterilise people in Laventille but tell them that we don’t have no yacht or boat to bring in the guns. So the guns come and they think the black boys will kill out themselves and stop making children so they could turn Laventille into Eastmoorings.”

    Pentecostal Pastor Winston Cuffie made reference to both Mungalsingh’s statement and the response by Local Government minister Rennie Dumas who shouted, “Genocide! Genocide on the UNC platform!”

    “It is very unfortunate that such a statement should be made by a Senator. I agree with the Minister’s response that it is tantamount to genocide, it is reminiscent to the Hitler philosophy to eliminate the less fortunate social class instead of dealing with problems by civilised means,” Cuffie said.

    Mungalsingh told Newsday he was closely connected with the Muslim community and his statement was not something that this religious group was opposed to.

    Anjuman Sunnat-Ul-Jamaat Association (ASJA) Public Relations Officer Kamal Hosein however told Newsday, “We are against any type of abortion unless the life of the mother is in danger.

    In the case of voluntary sterilisation it is not something that has been… you are talking about someone advocating for this but it is not going to stop crime.”

    He added that, “normally God has made man to be reproductive. We don’t see that as a means of bringing about (crime) control.

    Also, there are so many types of people in the prisons, people who are displaced, dispossessed, it is not because they want to be there.”

    When Newsday contacted several Catholic priests none wished to comment publicly on the matter.

    You will NEVER hear an Indian politician talk about reducing crime via….

    Military service like Israel, Sweden Singapore Holland USA etc.

    Fund T&T Cadet boarding High Schools like the private military schools in the US for troubled youths from broken homes of ALL backgrounds.

    Social services targeting children in Primary school for “intervention” away from gangs and a ruined homelife.

    Trinidad will become a version of Fiji and Guyana if the UNC wins the election. This scion of Adolph Eichman is simply expressing out loud what is popular conversation behind ethic doors.

    Black people continue to be gullible in buying into this guilt trip stratagem designed to coerce them into contributing to their own marginalization. Black people don’t need a guide identify what is racist. Our unique experience of being the target of prejudice by every group in this world provides us with built in sensors. There is no variance between the manifestation of anti-black prejudice, whether it is in the South of America, Guyana, or Trinidad and Tobago. It is what it is, and we should not be shy about making it plain.

  18. I hear you Ruel, but what has the PNM done to deserve our vote? Is the Prime Minister just the lesser of two evils? Not if we all go broke while the PNM gets fatter. It’s definitely a tough decision. This is because the UNC hasn’t addressed the social fears and concerns of PNM constituents. The public more or less knows what to expect from the PNM, but what will happen in the absence of the PNM remains a mystery open for speculation based on the example that is Guyana.
    We shall see.

  19. IT IS ABOUT TIME.
    AND WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE IF THE PEOPLE VOTING
    FOR AN INDIAN AT LEASE SHE WILL KNOW HOW TO RULE THIS BEAUTIFUL
    COUNTRY OF T&T .THE LADY HAVE THE CHARISMA.

  20. Christ had charisma. They crucified Him. MLK had charisma,they assassinated him. Ghandi-ji also.
    The vote is Charisma-0 Proven leadership skills for tough and good times-3. If one does not know how to govern in a modern economy, Charisma would NOT cut it.

    Most of the world pauses for a few days after a change in leadership anywhere, then the long knives come out. Pretty clothes and blessings of various “religious groups” is hardly enough to lead a nation of fractious, divisive, argumentative, often mean spirited people.

  21. Obama has charisma and you watch, in spite of the long knives, he will eventually prevail and capture a second term, sharp suits and “hottie” image in tact.

  22. The implication therefore T-Man is that Kamla too has charisma similar to Obama , and so can survive Trini contentious politics , and hang on to power for two or more terms, yes? Ms. L , I simply wish you well as you try to grapple with this new aged Canadian logic.
    I am busy trying to see if I can wake up the masses to find a real leader to keep these closet barbarians at the gate , for woe betide us if they are allowed to rule the roost for any considerable time .
    I have said it once , but it’s worth repeating , I would be extremely happy if the day comes when I never see another, smooth talking , high on rhetoric , low on substance, unethical Trini , com Yankee / Brit /Canadian lawyer, within the corridors of political power in my country.Remind this neo tribalist for me please folks – to love country. over self- and by extension de tribe.

  23. HAHAHAHAHA!!! I FART FUH SO WHEN I HEAR THAT OUR PRECIOUS VOTES MUST BE GIVEN AWAY IN A CHARISMATIC MOMENT, NO DOUBT IN A FIT OF GRINNING AND FAWNING LUNACY!!
    OBAMA I BELIEVE STILL RESIDES IN AMERICA WITH HIS SUITS AND CHARISMA AND NOT MUCH ELSE.
    MANY HAVE SO LONG BEEN WEARING THEIR PARTY CLOTHES, LONG,
    L O N G AFTER THE TENT DUN PULL DOWN AND THE CINEMA CLOSE UP THEY STILL “BLESSING”. ACTING COMPLETE WITH TWITCHY NECK IS THE ORDER OF THE DAY, BUT OUR VOTES ARE REAL, OUR QUALITY OF LIFE REAL NOT, BY ANY MEANS…REEL.

  24. Not really, Neal it is more a comparison of T&T,” a nation of fractious, divisive, argumentative, often mean spirited people”
    ( Linda Edwards), to the Divided States of America.

  25. There is a pernicious attempt to compare Ms. B to Mr.O.Let me, as one who voted for him clear up some things.
    His first act was to sign into law a bill that gave women in service industries (your average maid, and hotel floor scrubber) basic economic rights.
    He signed the bill to close Guantanamo Bay, and despite oppositions and delays, I believe he is working on it.
    3. The economic stimulus bill put money into people’s hands, so that they could buy things they need, so that people who manufacture things can stay employed. The trucks are rolling on our highways again.

    He asks voters what are their issues.I have sent in suggestions that were used.
    Seniors on pensions got a stimulus check of $250.00 the equivalent of two months’ groceries.
    Tax incentives and rebates have allowed people to buy new, more energy efficient appliances.
    4. He had instituted a new set of rules for WallStreet, and new rules of disclosure for the credit card industry which was ripping off credit card holders.He took hold of the banking slide, and saved the world for ending up like Greece and Thailand.
    He got the health care bill passed, despite those who tried to derail it.
    Mrs. Obama began by planting a vegetable garden at the White House, and is a leader in getting children moving to avoid childhood obesity and diabetes.
    NO AMERICAN PRESIDENT HAS DONE AS MUCH IN HIS FIRST YEAR OF OFFICE.

    TRINBAGONIANS ARE LIKE aAMERICANS IN FRACTIOUSNESS AND CONTENTIOUSNESS, BUT IN AMERICA,PROBLEMS GET SOLVED. IN TNT WE TALK, AND TALK, AND TALK. REGARDLES OF WHO IS IN POWER, NEEETHAM GARDENS WILL REMAIN A CRIME RIDDEN SLUM.”THE BAMBOO’ WILL REMAIN A HAVEN OF CAR THIEVES.

    1. This is so one-sided it’s ridiculous. Wall Street got a bail out and Main Street got health coverage. Everyone in the United States would rather have a job where they can afford their own Healthcare. The only thing that he did economically was to delay the inevitable and that is the natural cycle of the Global economy. Why else do you think he and that weasel Tim Geitner beg China to not reevaluate their currency too quickly?
      The vegetable Garden at the Whitehouse isn’t a new idea. There was one there decades ago. Who cares?
      Perhaps in Texas $250.00 is two months of groceries, but that’s if you live on rice, beans, and Ramen products.
      The Stimulus package is a joke that hasn’t worked. He still follows Bush policies regarding Guantanamo, and the wars in Iraq, and Afghanistan. He wants to talk tough to Iran and North Korea, but the fact of the matter is that the United States doesn’t have the economic or political power to force its hand.
      Yes he supports labor unions, but in the meanwhile the standard of living for the average U.S. family has dropped. Families nation wide are still facing foreclosure and unemployment is still growing.
      The problems aren’t solved in the United States. That’s the illusion perpetrated by the news media for ratings and spin. My case and point is best demonstrated by the fact that President Obama may have inherited former President Bush’s woes, but President Obama has not solved anyone of those problems. Some have been temporarily dismissed.
      Texas. LOL!

  26. “TRINBAGONIANS ARE LIKE aAMERICANS IN FRACTIOUSNESS AND CONTENTIOUSNESS, BUT IN AMERICA,PROBLEMS GET SOLVED. IN TNT WE TALK, AND TALK, AND TALK. REGARDLES OF WHO IS IN POWER, NEEETHAM GARDENS WILL REMAIN A CRIME RIDDEN SLUM.”THE BAMBOO’ WILL REMAIN A HAVEN OF CAR THIEVES”.

    A really good arguement to give the People’s Partnership an opportunity to govern and to show the people of T&T what they mean by “change”.

  27. No matter what happens, change will come even if we don’t usher it in. Change will run you over if you resist it. We have to change with times and situations. Living Organisms must respond to stimuli.
    We have to give change a chance and critic it as it happens.

    1. Voter turnout amongst African Americans was at it’s highest in decades of U.S. politics with 99% of the African American vote going to President Obama. What exactly has he done for African Americans? I see that Gays get into the military, illegal immigrants get amnesty and labor jobs that once belonged to the growing number of African American inmates, Corporate American which stays clear of African Americans got a bailout and stimulus money never trickled down to African American neighborhoods 5 minutes walk from the Capitol building. If anything, when it comes to not supporting ones tribe, Prime Minister Manning has more in common with President Obama than Kamla.
      President Obama and the U.S. aren’t all that you make it out to be. Especially in Texas where they have the audacity to create and celebrate a holiday such as “Juneteenth” which celebrates the freedom of slaves that found out one day in June years after the civil war ended.
      I concur, logic cannot argue with venom or faith for that matter since it is obvious that you took Obama on as your messiah a long time ago.

  28. BARAK OBAMA ON RECEIVING HIS NOBLE “PEACE ” PRIZE SOUGHT TO CONVINCE HIS LISTENERS THAT THE WAR EFFORT WAS A HUMANITARIAN GESTER. HE DIDN’T ELABPRATE WETHER IT WAS A ONE FINGER OR TWO FINGER ONE. FELLOW WEST INDIANS IN HAITI ARE BEING AIRLIFTED TO GUANTANMO BECAUSE THEY HAVE THE FACILITIES THEY NEED, WHIOA??!! IT’S A BATTY CAMP PLAIN AND SIMPLE. THE HAITIANS HAVE HAD THEIR HOMES DESTROYED BY AMAERICAN MARINES AND THE UN SINCE 2005, BUT I GUESS HE’LL GET AROUND TO THAT SOON, WITH ONE OF BHIS FAMOUS GESTURES.

  29. Cee, seems like the word is getting out… No help from Brother Daaga doh.
    But CHANGE will come to Guyana.

    US concerned at reports of extrajudicial deaths, cop brutality
    By Gaulbert Sutherland | May 12, 2010.

    The United States says it remains deeply concerned about reports of extrajudicial killings and “the continuing discrimination, violence, and exploitation against vulnerable groups” here.
    Guyana’s human rights record came under focus in the Swiss city of Geneva yesterday before the United Nations Human Rights Council in the framework of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) under which the human rights record of each state is extensively reviewed every four years. Each member state is required to produce a ….

    http://www.stabroeknews.com/2010/stories/05/12/us-concerned-at-reports-of-extrajudicial-deaths-cop-brutality/

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