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And the band played on!



Last evening we headed out to the wilds of Maracas, St Joseph to be with the Astronomical Society for an educational evening. Well if you earthlings think you are the only crazy people here well you are probably right. If you earthlings think that you are the only crazy people in the whole scheme of things then you are wrong wrong wrong. From what I learned on Saturday not only are we not alone but we are like the 'Cat in Bag' band on Carlos St with 'Tribe' passing on Ariapita Ave. We are one of a grillion galaxies, a speck in a world of stuff that my Arima brain cannot even start to comprehend. I have heard of 'black holes', OK, but then you want to add 'white holes' and then throw me into a spiral with 'worm holes'! I marvel at Aristotle, Galileo, Einstien, Hubble, and Hawking.

We are just an advanced breed of monkeys on a minor planet of a very average star. But we can understand the Universe. That makes us something very special.
Stephen Hawking.

Well, that was our Saturday evening and a very interesting one indeed. Thanks to the Astronomical Society and a well-organized function.  I left there feeling as though I was as dumb as stone, but based on what was presented, a stone is not that dumb!

Speaking of not being alone it would seem that we on the Rock really feel that we are the only ones who exist. Can you believe what has happened to our country? The Judicial system has collapsed and the only people who can fix it have all abdicated. This is the worst position we have ever found ourselves in. The Butler riots, 1970, 1990 is a joke compared to where we are today. The President, whether soon to be gone or not, he is the President, granting a Sabbatical when that is not part of the deal, the PMOTT keeping out of it when he is the only one to trigger Section 137 of the Republic's Constitution, the Law Association not staging a sickout or some other means of protest tells me that the judicial system on this Rock is a farce. I know many lawyers, and I have the highest regard for them, but if they allow this travesty of justice to continue then they are no better than the rest of us plebs. How can a country, a society, function with the high office being brought into disrepute like this and it is business as usual? We have gone to a new low. We have had all the scandals with elected Members of Parliament, con men, thieves, fake oil sellers etc but never where the Head of the Judiciary is in serious contention. This amongst all the issues of today is the most serious and dangerous position we have found ourselves in. Why is it that the PMOTT refuses to act? How could the President make this faux pax coming on the heels of the debacle of the appointment of the Chief Magistrate to the High Court? It makes me wonder if I could not be appointed as president rather than learned counsel? Certain people from the Red Store in Sangre Grande would not agree with me.
In all seriousness, what has happened to our country? the Band of Brothers seems to be in control and it makes no difference to them, it is business as usual! A horrible thought!

The Government of the day made a decision to establish the air bridge and the sea bridge as an essential service. No problem. This meant therefore that the State would be providing the service for both passengers and freight between the islands. The fare would be determined by the State, as well as the frequency of the various trips and the level of service. This has not been in contention. We all benefit from the subsidized fares, we accept the level of service, we understand that this is how it works. I do not for one minute accept this, but who am I? What has actually happened in the last two years of the Tobago service? The current administration seems to be totally lost at sea or like a plane that has disappeared without a trace when it comes to the transport connection to the sister isle. How can something as basic as a reliable air and sea connection go so wrong? It reeks of complete mismanagement, major political interference and complete bungling at the highest level, including the PMOTT and his Cabinet appointed committee. The PATT has gone through two Boards of Commissioners, the second Chairman has now resigned, the new ferry is going to arrive in a major cloud of corruption and mistrust. Tobago seems to be none the wiser, not at all interested in the lack of service with both the air and sea bridge. I guess once the cheque somehow finds its way into the coffers of the THA its OK. The THA employs more than 65% of the local labor force on the island, therefore, nothing is a problem. Hotel occupancy? what is that?. And the band played on!

Oh gaad oh, we have not even touched on the rest of the problems of the Rock but say what? The Rock without the stupid politics, the ridiculous Constitution whereby we cannot fire a person of high office, fire a totally incompetent CoP, have a true representation of a people, making all who are elected responsible to the electorate and other sundry matters can really find itself in one of the thousand galaxies that exist!
Don't forget about the 'worm holes'.

The dry season has finally arrived and I think welcomed, tired seeing rain.

Good night people of the Rock, its happening, and good luck!


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